Piper stood on the barren mountain slope, watching Justina stride away from them. The woman had bidden them a terse farewell before leaving. She could tell the vampire was torn by her decision to abandon Ophelia, and for a second, she feared that Justina would renege on their deal. But after a tense few moments, the woman had stalked away into the gathering darkness.

  Alone once more, they set out in the direction of the Black Pyramid. Both of them were hungry and exhausted, and neither spoke on the journey. After a few hours of navigating the field of boulders, the sun dipped behind the peak, making it too dark to travel.

  Piper found a sheltered overhang and flopped down onto the hard rock. She ran a hand through her hair and yawned. It had been almost two days since she had slept, and aside from a stolen sweetmeat given to her by Ophelia, she’d eaten almost nothing. At first light, she was going hunting. There must be some birds around here.

  Ophelia collapsed beside her and gazed up at the stars. “Do you think my mom and dad are alright?”

  “I’m sure they’re fine.”

  “But what if Ransford…”

  “The duke is a good man,” Piper said firmly. “He won’t do anything to your family.” While she hadn’t met the duke personally, everything she’d heard about him led her to believe what she’d said was true. “Plus, Justina is about to kick Ransford’s butt.”

  Ophelia giggled. “I wish I could see that. You know what? I wish that I could do it after what he did to me.” The younger woman was silent for a few seconds before she continued. “Do you really believe I’ll be an adventurer someday?”

  “With your deeds? I bet you’re going to be way more powerful than me.”

  “Thanks, Pip.” Ophelia squeezed her hand. “Why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll take the first watch.”

  Stifling another yawn, Piper nodded her head. “Don’t let me sleep for too long.”

  Piper rolled onto her side before resting her head on her arm. Even with her thick cloak, the hard rock dug into her body. She thought for sure she would never fall asleep in such uncomfortable conditions. Then she blinked her eyes and slipped into a deep slumber.

  It felt like she’d only been sleeping for a few seconds when she felt something shaking her arm. Opening her eyes, she saw her friend leaning over her.

  “Wake up,” Ophelia whispered. “There’s something out there.”

  Piper sat straight up, groping around for her bow. Her fingers found the smooth wood of the grip, and without thinking, she activated [Infernal Bowstring]. A dark red string instantly appeared between the ends of the bow, her mana dipping slightly.

  “What is it?” she breathed. “Is it the vampires?”

  Ophelia shook her head and pointed out into the darkness. A short distance away, large round eyes glinted in the moonlight. Then more appeared, watching them intently. There must be at least a dozen creatures out there in the darkness. A haunting hoot confirmed their identity—they were facing dread owls.

  Without moving too quickly, Piper attached her quiver to her belt before drawing an arrow and nocking it. She cast [Veil of Lies], making both of them disappear behind a wall of rock. Hopefully, the birds were too stupid to realize it was an illusion.

  After her battle with the ooze, she still had 60 attribute points to allocate. She briefly considered dumping them all into magic. If there was ever a time to make sure her illusions would work, it was now.

  But a flurry of hoots announced she wouldn’t have to time to place her points. She heard claws clicking on the rocks as the birds rushed toward them. Either they were too smart to be fooled by an illusion, or they were planning to search the overhang until they found their prey.

  “Stay behind me,” Piper whispered. “And only fight if you absolutely have to.”

  Ophelia nodded her head as she drew her gleaming angel blade. The metal pulsed in the darkness, and a golden script briefly flashed along its length. Her mouth was tight, while her face appeared pale in the moonlight. For all her bravado, she was still just a 12-year-old girl facing monsters.

  “Oh, and make sure you don’t touch me with that thing,” Piper said, pointing at the short sword. “I really don’t want to fight a curse while I’m facing the owls.”

  “Do you really think I’m going to stab you in the back by accident?” Her friend said indignantly. “I’m not a klutz.”

  “Just be careful.” Piper tightened her grip on the bow, her heart hammering in her chest. Not for the first time, she wished that Alfred were here. He always seemed so unflappable in the face of threats, almost like an unmoving rock. Plus, his skill with an axe would come in handy right about now.

  One of the dread owls strode closer and shocked her with its appearance. The head and plumage superficially resembled the birds of prey on her world, but it had long legs like an ostrich. And each toe ended in a wicked-looking talons. While the legs had grown, the wings had shrunk to the point where it must be impossible for the birds to fly.

  As the dread owl charged toward her hiding place, she used a quick [Identify] on the birds. The result made her relax slightly. The birds might stand nearly twice her height, but at least the lead one was only level 76.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  She drew in a practiced motion and released an arrow; it soared through the air and struck the dread owl in the chest. But the creature barely registered the impact and increased its pace. She hurriedly launched another arrow, this one lodging in the bird’s wing.

  Her third arrow was released when the creature was only a dozen paces away. The bow’s skill [Demonic Mark] activated and blew it apart in an explosion. The shockwave nearly knocked her from her feet as she was showered with bits of feather, bone and blood.

  Congratulations! You have slain a Dread Owl, level 76.

  “Ewww,” Ophelia cried out. “Can’t you shoot them further out?”

  A series of notifications crowded her vision, and she dismissed them quickly. She could deal with them at the end of the battle. Assuming she survived.

  Piper set her jaw and drew another arrow. The spectacular death of their comrade hadn’t deterred the other birds. They were charging en masse directly toward her illusion. Apparently, they weren’t as stupid as they looked.

  Her bowstring twanged as an arrow surged toward the closest dread owl. This one struck its neck, sending it tumbling forward head over heels. It skidded to a stop along the stony ground. Then, she received another notification.

  Congratulations! You have slain a Dread Owl, level 68.

  “Two kills?” Gorebark said, “What’s the special occasion?”

  Somehow, she must have struck something vital in the owl’s neck. Or perhaps it was the magic damage from the [Infernal Bowstring] skill. But it was rare to kill something of this level with a single shot. At least that’s what she’d heard from Alfred in the past. She hadn’t defeated many monsters without using [Demonic Mark].

  As another dread owl drew near, she cast [Umbral Terror] and watched most of her mana drain away. But it was worth it as the bird went screaming away from her. She hurriedly nocked another arrow before sending it soaring into the darkness.

  This one tore a tuft of feathers off before shooting right through the oversized bird and striking a boulder behind it. How small was the bird’s body under all those feathers? That should have easily struck its hip.

  Biting her lip, she aimed again as the dread owl leapt into the air. She released just as it came down, hammering her with its beak. The sharp tip tore through her flesh and made her cry out in pain.

  She activated [Quick Claw], her claws raking across its neck. Blood sprayed out, soaking her, as she kept clawing. In a cloud of feathers, she received the death notification.

  Congratulations! You have slain a Dread Owl, level 78.

  Gasping for breath, she pushed off the surprisingly light bird only to watch as another dread owl skidded to a stop about ten metres away. It raked the air with its talons.

  Her brow rose with confusion before she realized that it was using a skill. A second later, searing agony wracked her stomach as deep wounds split open. Grimacing with pain, she responded with an arrow, the tip finding the bird’s oversized eye.

  Another kill notification appeared.

  Congratulations! You have slain a Dread Owl, level 56.

  But even with four owls dead and another feared, more continued to emerge from the darkness. How many would she have to kill before they retreated? Were they going to try to overwhelm her with sheer numbers?

  Piper pushed down her growing fear and released arrows as quickly as she could. Another invisible strike tore through her thigh, sending her tumbling to her knees. But she fought on. She activated [Demonic Blood] feeling her wounds begin to heal. She also had to pat her clothing as it smoldered from the heat.

  A bird emerging from the shadows behind her set off [Ambush Detection], but she was too slow to react; the bird hammered her arm with its beak. She cried out in pain, the bow tumbling from her suddenly limp fingers. As Piper raised her tail to strike, Ophelia rushed at the bird with a cry.

  The young woman swung her sword; the glowing blade sliced through feathers, flesh, and then bone. When she finished her strike, the owl’s head tumbled from its shoulders. The bird’s body wobbled around for a second before collapsing to the ground.

  Piper raised her eyebrow, and Ophelia nodded in reply, a look of grim determination on her face.

  Turning back to the other dread owls, she realized they’d stopped a short distance away. As she scrambled to retrieve her bow, she watched as a larger one pushed its way to the front of the group. Its feathers almost seemed to be made out of stone, and dust drifted down from its limbs with every step.

  She used [Identify] and her heart sank.

  Dread Owl, Level 115

  This one was far more powerful than the others. And based on its appearance, it had an earth affinity. She doubted this one would be easy to defeat, especially since she was almost out of mana. And it was only trickling back in drips and drabs.

  Slowly rising to her feet, she waved Ophelia back. Her friend didn’t have her improved physical stats to avoid whatever was coming.

  As if in response to her thoughts, a boulder began to form in the air above the dread owl’s head. The rock started to spin, attracting other pebbles and dirt as it continued to grow.

  Piper raised her bow and loosed at the dread owl. The arrow streaked out, but an earthen wall appeared in front of the bird to block the shot. She fired two more in rapid succession, her [Demonic Mark] detonated and blew the earth apart. But it was too late.

  The bird jerked its head forward, and the boulder sailed toward her position. She tried to dodge, but it smashed into her leg and spun her around. She heard crunching bones, and then she was falling. The ground rushed up to meet her, and she grunted as she slammed into the rocky soil.

  Rolling onto her side, she struggled to retrieve another arrow from her quiver. As she did, the dread owl advanced on her, another boulder taking shape above its head. She hastily loosed, but her shot fell short because she couldn’t draw the bowstring far enough while on the ground.

  She pushed herself into a sitting position, trying to ignore the agony radiating up her leg. It felt like everything from her ankle to her hip had been crushed. But she couldn’t give in to the pain. Otherwise, she and Ophelia would end up as a meal for these overgrown owls.

  Gritting her teeth, she lined up another shot. But this time she focused on the boulder. When she’d fired before, the wall of earth had only protected the caster and not the large rock it was forming above its head. Hopefully, it couldn’t extend the protective spell any higher.

  Piper loosed, and as expected, a defensive wall burst out of the ground. But it wasn’t high enough to protect the boulder. Her arrow glanced off the growing rock. She then released another weak shot, striking her target before her missile deflected away.

  Just as the dread owl released its spell, her third arrow sailed toward the spinning rock and struck it on the top. The resulting blast sent the boulder hurtling down, and with a shriek, the dread owl was crushed flat by its own spell.

  Congratulations! You have slain a Dread Owl, level 115.

  The rest of the dread owls stared at the slain member of their pack for a moment before turning and fleeing into the darkness. Piper was left sitting on the ground with a crushed leg, a partially healed arm, and numerous other cuts and scrapes covering her body.

  While she was out of mana, at least she’d survived. And she’d gained a huge number of levels in the process. Now she just had to hope that her mana regenerated enough to heal herself before the vampires caught up with them.