Kai looked back.

In the carriage, Shae's face was so low that only the top of her head was visible. Behind her was Simon, whom Arlen had already won over before starting the journey. Now, the one-eyed man was smiling at him creepily.

Arlen walked up to Kai, dragging a person and ignoring the bloody mess Red had caused.

The man, who had a long nose and broken lips, shuddered seeing Sonia's state. One of his legs was twisted, and his hands were bleeding. "No!" the man cried. "Kill me, you kill me first."

"Be quick about it," Arlen said, throwing the man at Kai's feet. "The officials will come soon. We should have already gone by now."

Kai took out the longsword and buried it in the man's heart. A jerk and twist of the hilt did the rest.

…

[

You have killed 1 Order's Contestant

…

Your Title Status is updated…

Title: Murderer

Specification: Kill 10 Contestants in a single random world. The Contestants must be from the same or higher floor than yours.

Status: (6/10)

Effect: Perception +2, Worth +1

]

…

A treasure chest hologram appeared over the body just like the witch's, followed by the same notification.

Kai had already played it safe last time. As he wanted himself to be familiar with the process, he opted for the Random Item.

A hologram key appeared out of nowhere. With a click, it opened the treasure chest, and then both the treasure chest and the key vanished.

Kai waited for a few seconds, and then his face became ugly. Nothing?! Motherf…

"It's already in your Inventory." Simon approached Kai, crouched and began examining Sonia's face. "What a waste! Anyway, the Systems are fair like that. Your loot, your choice. No one can know what you obtained that way."

With a thought, Kai checked his Inventory, and, sure enough, there was an Explosive Kunai within it.

"You must have got those Explosive Kunais," Simon said, his single eye peering into Kai. "That man had many. So you must have got like 3-5 of them, right?"

Kai only smiled in return. The number of curses he had said in mind was a different matter.

"What are you two doing?" Arlen asked, holding the three brooms. "Simon, go bring Mr. Beedle."

"Captain," Kai said. "Leave one broom here. When officials would come, they would think these three had been fighting over the broom. Also, unlike this Order's Contestant, Desmond and Sonia's bodies match the bodies from the shop. They would have to relate the two events. It should give us some headway."

Arlen's mind shook.

Simon, who was walking away, suddenly paused. He turned around and planted his one eye on Kai. "And I thought you were just crazy… butchering them like that…"

Kai shrugged. Doing extensive calculations before conducting experiments was as deep a part of his life as killing. Never had he taken a life, or butchered someone, without a purpose behind it. So why must he explain himself to anyone now?

Arlen ditched one broomstick between the corpses. "Mr. Beedle will sit between us on a single broom," he said. "Simon and Shae will ride on the other."

Shae was standing as far from Kai as it was possible. Arlen didn't even hide how much this had pleased him. The smile on his face never vanished, even after standing over the broom.

"Are you ready?" Arlen asked, but it wasn't much of a question.

A sudden gust hit Kai's face, and they were already flying.

*

*

150 minutes later,

"What happened there?" A voice asked, bringing Kai's wandering thoughts to reality. "What happened there? Tell me."

They were flying over the lowest layer of clouds. If they had the luxury of finding them on their route.

Simon and Shae, riding just behind their broom, weren't half as good as Arlen in controlling the broomstick. They were only two, but even then, it had become hard for them to keep up.

Simon again smiled at him when Kai looked behind.

Why does he smile so much? Kai asked himself, rubbing his misty eyes because of the wind.

It was chilly and painful, but they were thankful that they hadn't come to face any thunderstorm. In front of them now towered high and low hills, undulating like sand mounds of the desert.

Just more colorful.

Kai could feel a hint of Mana around him. Whatever lay ahead was covered for ordinary eyes to see.

Arlen stirred the broomstick into the unseen Mana layer. The moment they entered, the moonlight seemed to intensify. The hills become mountains, and the lands become valleys. A thick smell of danger challenged Kai's nostrils.

Arlen must have sensed it too. He brought the broomstick as high as he could go.

"Oh!" Mr. Beedle, stuffed between Kai and Arlen, exclaimed. "Why have you come here?"

Their hearts gave out on the spot.

Arlen's face had become like a rotten onion. "My Lord…" he asked, "… do you know where are we?"

The four Contestants waited with bated breath. The wizard, meanwhile, gave his long beard two powerful strokes.

"Yes, yes." Mr. Beedle mumbled. "I remember."

"Where?" The Contestants asked simultaneously.

"The Hidden Moor Hills… The breeding grounds of the Hippogriffs."

It was obvious that the information Shae had collected from the books wasn't complete. When Kai looked over in her direction, she was already crying.

Going back wasn't an option, either. It would cost them double the amount. Moreover, if someone was monitoring the grounds, then it was easier to pick up small disturbances in the magical field surroundings the hills that happened twice at the same place and around the same time.

"How much time would it take to cross it?" Arlen shouted over the wind.

"At our fastest?" Shae thought, rubbing her eyes. "We will be out of its boundaries in 12-15 minutes."

"Simon." Arlen gave the one-eyed man a look. "If we get separated, you know what to do."

Simon nodded.

"Let's go then," Arlen shouted.

And the wind stirred.

The sudden acceleration made Kai almost lose his grip on the staff. The wind went into his mouth, blasting his cheeks. Everything blurred around him, and it felt like someone was pulling his long hair from behind.

Arlen was losing height as the broomstick became faster. The lower they went, the faster it became.

Cry!

"Damn it! Damn it!" Arlen cursed, blabbering whatever was coming to his mind.

These broomsticks had no variable function. They couldn't add their Mana to it to make it fly faster. The advantage? It didn't need a single MP to maintain its height or speed.

Mr. Beedle had become a round ball between them, tucking in his hands and head.

Cry!!

It felt close. Almost on their back.

Kai spun his head backward, his eyes moving up. There it was.

A Hippogriff!

The moonlight failed to hide the color of its feathers. Deep marbled brown, and patches of white and black on the belly. It had the body, hind legs, and tail of a horse, but the front legs, wings, and head of an eagle, with cruel, steel-colored beak and large, brilliantly orange eyes.

The talons on its front legs were half a foot long and deadly-looking

It cried again, flapping its mighty wings. A loud piping call, waking the entire forest from its deep slumber.

"Captain!" Kai shouted at the top of his lungs. "It's coming!!!"

The Hippogriff dived and, in an instant, it was upon them. Arlen jolted the broomstick, spinning it completely like a screw, making the magical beast miss its target.

The beast let out a deafening cry.

When the broomstick returned to its normal state, Mr. Beedle's head came out like a turtle and he peered at the beast. It made a round turn and was flying up, gaining distance with every flap of its wings.

"Captain," Kai said, the broomstick gaining speed, but not fast enough. "Can we store corpses of the magical beasts in our Inventory?"

"Of course! Why not?" Arlen replied, not thinking about what he was saying. But then it must have struck him like a bolt of lightning, for he thundered like never before.

"RED! HAVE YOU GONE INSANE?!"

The broomstick carried Arlen's anger like a current.

"You just have to swoop down and catch me from falling," Kai shouted back, ignoring everything else. I" can take care of the rest."

But Arlen was having none of it. The broomstick hadn't stopped its crazed rush. 8 more minutes, and they would be out of these hills.

"No!" Arlen roared. "If you want to die so badly, then jump off. I don't care. Just don't expect me to come for you."

"1 drop of potion," Kai said, smiling slyly. "For you to catch me after I am done with it."

Arlen had gone so silent, tasting those words, that they could hear Mr. Beedle's snores then. The wizard had dozed off, feeling pleasingly warm between Kai and Arlen.

"10," Arlen finally said. "I want 10."

"One." Kai feigned reluctance. "I only have 3 of them left."

"Then give me all of them," Arlen said.

"Deal!" Kai said, fearing Arlen would realize what was going on.

Kai's fear was genuine.

Arlen's wind-battered face became as ugly as a hag when he found out Kai had ripped him off. Before he could cancel the deal, though, the broom suddenly became light.

Kai had already jumped off.

Hands and legs outstretched and bent, Kai looked at the magical beast rushing towards him. It wasn't as fast as its dive from above, but it was gaining speed. Whenever it flapped, it generated a tremendous force, blasting away the surrounding wind.

Sounds seemed to vanish then.

Kai knew he would have to survive that massive bite first, as the creature would lunge at him with both its beak and huge talons. There was no other way. Arlen would have never agreed to bring Broomstick near the beast. Not when Mr. Beedle was with him.

Come forth… Kai called out.

The blue-tailed Boa Constrictor reappeared on his arm. The wind blew away the rising hot air around Kai instantly.

100 meters…

40 meters…

10…

Just when Kai saw murder and rage written in the magical beast's eyes, his eyes narrowed, becoming slits instantly.

Elementary Snake Instinct!

The beast cried a call of fury. A last flap of the wings, and it snapped its beak at Kai's reddish figure. Its talons seemed to replace the world, coming from left and right. There was no escaping it now.

The snake slithered then.

Like a rope bending upon being punched, Kai's spine bent as he twisted himself. A talon ripped his chest, taking away a big piece of flesh, but the rest of his body slid down as if he was slippering on oiled steel.

…

[

Elementary Snake Instinct: Proficiency 13% (+3%)

Elementary Slither Footsteps: Proficiency 45% (+5%)

]

…

Kai hit its feathered head with a thud, and as he tumbled down, he also looked into its eyes. Round and big, red veins surrounding its orange pupils like a web.

Then Kai was on its back. His hands caught the feathers, gripping them like his life was depending on them.

He saw the stats hovering over the beast then.

…

[

Magical Beast: Hippogriff

Grade: E+

Type: Steel, Flying

HP: 140

MP: 50

SP: 30

Attributes-

  Strength: 16

 Agility: 18

 Stamina: 14

 Perception: 17

 Correspondence: 5

 Breath: 3

Abilities-

 1. Advance Flying Maneuver

 2. Elementary Far Sight

Skills-

 1. Talon Prison (Grade E+)

 2. Griffin Bite (Grade E-)

]

…

The Hippogriff let out a cry and its rage doubled, being mocked by a puny target. It thrashed its wings, rolling and maneuvering in the air, trying to throw Kai off its back. But Kai's grip only tightened with passing seconds.

Cry!!!

This wasn't a cry of challenge, Kai observed. It's calling for others.

The entire hills woke up. Hundreds, thousands, or maybe even more animals cried. Calls were being passed and the Hidden Moor Hills became a death zone suddenly.

A red-black mass rose from behind many hills like a black sun. Kai saw them, and they were coming.

Scores of Hippogriffs… crying out loud, the sound of their flapping wings tearing through the night.

Time… was running out!