Thud! Whack!

Chang Long was unceremoniously dropped into a nest that was both hard and soft, made of large branches and dry leaves. She wanted to say that it was both hard and soft, but the branches were the size of logs. She looked up at the giant bird that had carried her away. It stood about four meters tall, its black feathers thick and soft, with bright golden eyes staring at her intently. Suddenly, the system announced in her head:

"Level 95 Black Eagle Beast King has appeared."

And that was not all. As the system announced the bird's name and level, she noticed a deep crevice behind it, from which four eaglets emerged, all looking at her with hunger in their eyes.

"Squawk squawk squawk! (Eat up, kids!)"

Chang Long almost fainted when she understood what the mother bird told her children.

"Squawk, squawk squawk. (It's too small, Mom. We won't be full.)"

The eaglets complained, clearly disappointed. Just one eaglet could swallow Chang Long whole.

"Squawk squawk squawk, (Eat it for now. When your father returns, he'll bring something bigger)"

The mother bird replied. Meanwhile, Chang Long tried to climb out of the two-meter-high nest to escape into the forest below, knowing that a bird this size could not follow her into the dense woods. Fortunately, she had already stuffed the candle bags into her backpack, avoiding the need to buy them again.

Thud!

The mother bird noticed her escape attempt and swatted her back into the nest with its wing. The eaglets, despite their dissatisfaction with the scrawny meal, began to move towards her out of sheer hunger, waiting for their father to return with a larger meal. Chang Long backed away in fear, remembering how the Sky Hawk Beast King family had accepted her. Why was the Black Eagle family trying to eat her? She did not even have time to think about such trivial matter as doom was approaching.

"Sky Hawk family... right, the skill I got from father bird's Eye of Wind: Avian Alliance!"

Chang Long quickly recalled the information and used the skill just in time, as the eaglets' beaks were only inches from her flesh.

At first, it seemed like nothing happened—there were no flashy effects, and the eaglets continued to approach her. But then their eyes changed from hungry to friendly. Instead of biting her, they used their beaks to nudge her gently, knocking her back onto the nest floor.

"Aheh. Hehehe, hahaha,"

Chang Long laughed strangely, lying face down in the nest with her wings spread out. The mother bird began preening her wings affectionately, while the four eaglets sat in a corner, waiting hungrily for their father to return with bigger prey. Devi-chan and Hisa-chan, watching from a distance, shook their heads in amusement at Chang Long's demeanor.

With the mother bird's help, Chang Long's wings were soon sleek and shiny again. She started feeling that she wanted a bird as a pet. They would be useful for preening her wings. She found out that preening improved her flying efficiency and eliminated the discomfort she felt while flying. Satisfied with her flight test, she returned to the nest just as the father bird arrived with a Snow Rabbit Beast King, as large as a pickup truck.

The father eagle dropped the prey onto the nest and let the mother eagle tear its flesh to feed the four hungry eaglets. Chang Long watched the scene with horror, quickly turning away as the snow rabbit beast king struggled futilely with its remaining strength. It was not dead yet and was desperately trying to escape.

Chang Long suddenly realized she was starving as well. She pulled out the Cone of Abundance to summon some food in a corner of the nest, far from the eagles' gruesome meal, to avoid watching the disturbing sight.

"What are you going to do now, missy? This is the second time something like this has happened, right!"

Devi-chan asked, unable to suppress his laughter.

"Well, it's better than being eaten. We can leave once the eagles fall asleep. By the way, how far are we from Elder In's place, Devi-chan?"

Chang Long shrugged nonchalantly as she asked.

"Not too far. If you fly, you'll get there in about an hour. But at night, we don't know if there are fierce flying beasts hunting. If they're around, you might end up in another nest,"

Devi-chan replied, worried.

"Then let's ask the eagle family,"

Chang Long said, planning to ask the eagles. But she remembered she could understand animal languages but could not speak to them, except with her pets Kitsune and Hulu.

"What's wrong, Chang Long?"

Hisa-chan asked, noticing her silence.

"I can't speak bird,"

Chang Long replied with a wry smile.

"You're really something. Try mimicking their calls. Maybe it will level up your skill,"

Devi-chan suggested with exasperation.

Chang Long sighed through her nose in frustration, packing away her eating utensils. Then walked over to the mother eagle, who was watching her eaglets play happily after gorging on the snow rabbit until they were full. She listened closely, trying to distinguish the calls of the eaglets and their meanings to mimic them accurately.

"Squawk... uh... squawk squawk,"

Chang Long tried to imitate their sounds, nearly laughing at her own awkward voice. Devi-chan laughed loudly nearby, unbothered by her embarrassment, while Hisa-chan turned away, shaking as he was trying to stifle his laughter.

"Player Chang Long has fulfilled the basic requirements of the beginner profession. Special Skill 'Animal Language' has leveled up to level 2. Player Chang Long has met the conditions to fully communicate in Avian Language."

The Black Eagle Beast King looked at Chang Long in confusion. The phrase she had just said meant, "Mom, I need to poop." Chang Long almost laughed herself to tears at the absurdity of it. Of course, mimicking the play sounds of the eaglets was not going to be very effective, aside from provoking Devi-chan's laughter. And that was without him even knowing the meaning. If he had known, he would have laughed even harder.

"If you need to poop, then go ahead, child,"

the mother eagle replied. At first, Chang Long was frustrated, but then she realized she no longer heard bird calls before understanding the meaning. It was like a normal conversation, just like talking with Kitsune and Hulu.

"Not that, Mom. I mean, are there any beasts that hunt at night around here?"

Chang Long asked again in human language, knowing that if they fully understood each other, the system would translate her speech into the animals' language, avoiding the need to mimic their sounds.

"Yes, there are. They're terrifying and strong, like demons,"

the mother eagle replied, making Chang Long swallow hard.

"Can you and Dad fight them off?"

Chang Long asked nervously, hoping she could call for help if something unexpected happened.

"That'd be difficult. That's why we have to sleep in the crevice at night!"

The mother eagle said with a tone of fear. Even these giant Black Eagles were scared of the nocturnal beasts. Chang Long reconsidered her plan. She thought it might be better to leave early in the morning before the eagle family woke up rather than risk traveling at night.

"Uh-huh..."

Chang Long ended the conversation and began planning her return trip to Elder In's cave.

"The sky is getting dark. Let's go into the stone crevice, kids,"

the mother eagle called her eaglets back into the stone crevice, their nighttime shelter. Chang Long hesitated but was eventually herded into the crevice by the mother eagle.

"Yuck!"

Chang Long gagged as soon as she smelled the stench inside the stone crevice. It was the eagles' resting place, filled with their body odor and waste. The smell was so overpowering that she could barely breathe, but she had to endure it until the eagle family fell asleep.

An hour felt like an eternity, but finally, the Black Eagle family was sound asleep. Chang Long slowly wriggled out of the crevice and took a deep breath of the fresh night air, relieved to be free from the bird droppings' stench.

"Spread wings,"

Chang Long commanded, spreading her wings and flying up to stand on the edge of the log-and-leaf nest. She scanned the surroundings by the light of the crescent moon and saw several strange creatures resembling gargoyles with tridents flying around.

"What are those, Devi-chan?"

Chang Long asked the spirit of the former pirate king nearby, noticing the variety of sizes among the creatures.

"The small ones with bat-like wings are level 60 Diabos. The slightly bigger ones are level 72 Demonics, and the human-sized ones are level 80 Gargoyles,"

Devi-chan explained the names and levels of the beasts gathering in the sky at a distance.

"They look hungry. I think we should get moving,"

Chang Long said, gliding quietly down into the forest below. She did not want to face those beasts. Even though they were just ordinary beasts, their high levels and numbers made them a dangerous threat. She could not afford to draw their attention.

Once she landed on the forest floor, Chang Long retracted her wings and immediately continued her journey. Standing still in a forest filled with nocturnal predators would make her a sitting duck. She moved at her highest speed, using Mystic Gust skill to aid her. As she predicted, the moment she started moving, the nocturnal beasts began chasing her in droves.

"How popular I have became…"

Chang Long muttered as she glanced behind her, seeing a variety of hungry beasts chasing her. She turned back just in time to duck and avoid the claws of a leopard beast that leapt from a high branch, its' claws narrowly missing her. The leopard beast, having missed its target, crashed into the other beasts chasing Chang Long, causing a pile-up.

"Hmph! Serves you right!"

Chang Long smirked before speeding away, putting distance between herself and the beasts.

After running for two hours and forty-five minutes, evading beasts along the way, Chang Long finally reached the Ancient Warrior's Graveyard. This reassured her that she was not lost. She walked for a while before encountering the three demon puppets guarding the path to Elder In's residence. Recognizing her, they immediately stepped aside to let her pass.

Chang Long staggered up the path, exhausted from the long journey, until she finally reached Elder In's cave. Completely spent, she collapsed in front of the cave and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

"...Mas... Master, wake up!"

Kitsune called softly, shaking her gently with concern.

"Mm... Kitsune, what are you doing here?"

Chang Long groggily asked as she woke up.

"I should be the one asking. How you ended up sleeping here?"

Kitsune replied, pouring clean water from a bottle onto a white cloth to wipe Chang Long's face, helping her feel more refreshed.

"Oh... I was caught by a Eagle and had to wait until nightfall to escape. On the way, I was chased by fierce beasts with hardly any rest. By the time I got here, I was completely drained,"

Chang Long explained as she recalled the events to Kitsune.

Chang Long stood up and walked into the cave, with Kitsune following closely. Elder In, who was enjoying a lively conversation with Kimhant, turned and smiled warmly at Chang Long as she entered. She rummaged through her bag, pulling out all ten logo bags, and handed them to Elder In. He opened one and smiled with satisfaction.

"Ten thousand candles, much more than I expected. You must be quite wealthy!"

Elder In laughed heartily as he put away the bags of candles. The system announced that Chang Long had completed the quest.

"And what about unsealing my profession?"

Chang Long asked, getting straight to the point. Despite feeling a bit hungry, she was more eager to know about her profession.

"I bet you're hungry by now. Why don't you eat while I explain the details of your profession!"

Elder In suggested. Chang Long quickly agreed. She spread a cloth on the ground and started setting up her dining equipment, much to Elder In's bewilderment.

"What are you doing? Aren't you going to hunt some beasts for food?"

Elder In asked, watching her actions with curiosity.

"No, I have something much more convenient,"

Chang Long replied, pulling out the Horn of Abundance. She ordered various dishes to appear on the plates she had laid out, much to Elder In's astonishment.

"Oh, what is that? Such a strange item. Why are food coming out from that white horn!"

Elder In exclaimed in excitement, seeing the delicious-looking food pouring out from the Horn of Abundance.

"I'm not sure myself. But would you like to join me?"

Chang Long replied, lighting incense sticks and placing them in front of Devi-chan and Hisa-chan's spirit tablets. When she reached Alice's spirit tablet, she hesitated, unsure if Alice preferred regular food or blood. She decided to summon Alice to ask her directly. After that, she also called upon Anya, who had been a fairy embroidered on her cloak for some time, and unsealed Hulu to join them for breakfast.

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