Terror Strike—that was the skill Draven had just unexpectedly obtained after completing the Forced Contract with the Ghost-faced Owl.

  This skill was similar to the mental attack the Ghost-faced Owl used when hunting, but it went a step further.

  After all, the Ghost-faced Owl was born with those strange magical patterns on its face, while Draven wasn't.

  His Terror Strike relied entirely on the activation and use of mental power. Even with deliberate control, that low-level beast, the Ghost-faced Owl, couldn't fully resist the strike.

  Draven estimated that if he unleashed this skill at full strength, against an opponent of equal rank, Terror Strike could at least stun the target for a few seconds.

  A few seconds of vacancy may seem brief, but in a life-and-death battle, even a moment's lapse could create a fatal opening.

  He was very pleased with this new skill. What pleased him even more was that the skill would not disappear if the Ghost-faced Owl died.

  In other words, he had originally thought that with only five contract slots, he could gain a maximum of five unique abilities. But now it seemed otherwise. He could obtain more skills later by swapping contracts and gaining them from different beasts.

  Yes, the special feature of the Forced Contract was that even if the contracted beast died or the contract was broken, these skills would remain.

  Thinking of this, Draven couldn't help but laugh, almost crookedly. Feeling great, he grabbed the wild goat from the ground. Since he wasn't planning to spare it anyway, taking it back for meat was a good idea.

  He shrugged and prepared to have the Ghost-faced Owl lead the way back to the group.

  Unexpectedly, under the Forced Contract, the Ghost-faced Owl showed a strong reluctance to leave.

  This surprised Draven. After all, once contracted, he could have simple communication with the beast.

  Although the Ghost-faced Owl was just a low-level beast and couldn't express complex thoughts like high-level beasts through language, it could convey feelings through emotions. Right now, it was clearly showing reluctance.

  Did it have a family? A mate and offspring?

  A pang of sadness hit Draven's heart. Even a bird had family—what about him? Since coming to this world, he had never had any...

  However, in the next moment, Draven's expression changed.

  He sensed the emotion the Ghost-faced Owl conveyed was not an attachment to its own kind, but a vague yearning.

  What was going on?

  Following the direction the Ghost-faced Owl was looking, Draven saw it occasionally emit low, deep calls toward a bird's nest on the cliff face.

  Draven was puzzled but soon felt a flicker of anticipation. Could something good be hidden in the nest?

  After all, the Ghost-faced Owl was a beast, and generally, beasts' nests would always contain treasures.

  With this thought, a flame of excitement rose in Draven's heart.

  He released the Ghost-faced Owl from his shoulder, activated the blood demon power within him, and instantly transformed into a werewolf.

  Using all four limbs like an ape, he swiftly climbed the sheer cliff face.

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  Before long, he reached the place where the Ghost-faced Owl's nest was located.

  The nest was built in a basin about the size of a washbasin, woven messily from various twigs and feathers. Half of the nest was hidden inside the pit, and half dangled outside.

  Draven pressed close to the rock, peered inside, and suddenly a gleam lit up his eyes.

  Inside the nest was a clear patch of ground, where several grayish-white, long, narrow plants grew.

  Magic herbs!

  Draven could feel the faint magical aura emanating from the leaves of those plants, and he couldn't help but feel a surge of joy.

  No wonder this place was so spacious. The Ghost-faced Owl had even purposely built half the nest suspended in the air—it was to protect these precious magic herbs.

  Just as Draven reached out to pick the unknown magic herbs, the Ghost-faced Owl circling outside the nest suddenly let out several anxious cries.

  Draven was startled, turned his head, and smiled at it, saying, "Don't worry, there's a share for you."

  After all, the magic herbs were something the Ghost-faced Owl was guarding; Draven wouldn't hog them all for himself.

  Besides, the Ghost-faced Owl had become stronger, and so had he. He understood the balance.

  However, as Draven reached out again, the Ghost-faced Owl's cries grew more urgent, the voice tinged with tension.

  The Ghost-faced Owl even flew directly into the nest and suddenly spread its wings, blocking Draven's outstretched wolf claws.

  Was it going to rebel?

  Draven frowned and sneered coldly in his heart: This newly contracted beast seemed not so simple after all. It was so disobedient—a real rebel!

  But then he paused his killing intent.

  "Wait a moment, the Forced Contract is an ironclad bond. Contracted beasts wouldn't dare to defy their master."

  Draven reconsidered—could the Ghost-faced Owl have other thoughts?

  Sensing Draven's killing intent, the Ghost-faced Owl let out a series of startled cries, nervously stepping back a few paces, lowering its head, and assuming a submissive posture.

  Seeing the Ghost-faced Owl's fearful and aggrieved expression, Draven couldn't help but laugh. He restrained his emotions and patiently tried to communicate with it.

  After a long time of asking and guessing, he finally understood the reason for the Ghost-faced Owl's obstruction.

  It turned out that these magic herbs were not yet mature, and picking them now would destroy their effects.

  Draven conveyed his thoughts to the Ghost-faced Owl—that he would not recklessly harvest the immature herbs.

  Upon hearing this, the Ghost-faced Owl seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, a trace of joy appearing in its eyes.

  But just then, Draven impatiently extended his wolf claw again and gently pushed aside its blocking wing.

  A look of despair appeared in the Ghost-faced Owl's eyes, as if it could not understand its master's decision.

  Draven's wolf claw firmly dug into the soil, his movement as clean and sharp as slicing tofu.

  "If I'm not picking them, fine. But I'm not leaving the herbs here," he thought.

  The Ghost-faced Owl would surely follow him. Without its protection, these precious herbs would sooner or later be stolen by other beasts.

  Since he couldn't pick the herbs directly, he would transplant them with their roots and soil.

  "Let's go." He called out and slid down the cliff face.

  He landed heavily at the bottom. Although the cliff slowed his fall somewhat, he still slid fast enough to smash a deep pit in the ground.

  The herbs in his hand shook loose a lot of soil and looked dirty.

  Holding them like this was obviously not ideal.

  Draven squatted down and frowned as he carefully examined the herbs. The root sections had already been exposed above the ground, looking unstable.

  He struggled to stand back up, then turned and started digging in the crevices along the cliff wall.

  Before long, he dug out a rough, hemispherical stone shell that looked like a crude flowerpot.

  Cradling the "flowerpot," Draven gave a sly smile.

  He bent down, casually dug up some moist soil, and carefully planted the herbs in the stone pot.

  After planting, he tilted his head and said to the Ghost-faced Owl, which had been nervously following nearby, "How's that?"

  Then, regardless of whether the Ghost-faced Owl understood, he held the flowerpot in one hand, the wild goat in the other, and called for it to hurry along.

  As Draven was about to catch up with the team, he suddenly realized the Ghost-faced Owl was no longer beside him.

  After all, the Ghost-faced Owl was not a symbiotic beast and couldn't be absorbed directly into the body like Ragnar.

  Moreover, with outsiders around, Draven didn't want to expose his secret weapon casually.

  The Forced Contract allowed him and the Ghost-faced Owl to sense each other's positions within a certain range and share vision, switching to the Ghost-faced Owl's perspective at any time—very convenient.

  Approaching the team, Draven had the Ghost-faced Owl quietly circle from behind and slip to the front of the group.

  This was partly to avoid others and partly to assign it as aerial scout.

  Rurik, who was trailing behind the team, saw Draven return with items and hurried forward.

  Draven smiled as he handed over the wild goat and magic herbs to Rurik, then casually withdrew his bloodline weapon and asked, "How is it? Usable?"

  Rurik's face showed a mixture of disappointment and envy. He said, "No, I can't use it."