EFWM 10

Chapter 10

“Hoo—ha—”

Just like now, standing at the edge of a sheer cliff, the view was incredible.

“This is insane. I can’t even breathe.”

The altitude was so high it made her ears ring.

Whoooooosh—

A strong wind blew her hair in all directions.

Anyone with a fear of heights wouldn’t even dare to look down—and might have already soiled themselves from sheer terror.

“If you fall from here, they probably won’t even find your body.”

Erika looked ahead.

Her field of vision was vast and expansive. All of Rujis could be seen in a single glance.

It was a majestic sight.

Looking at the overwhelming grandeur of nature, she felt like just standing there quietly and watching the sun rise and set.

You could never see a view like this in any other region.

‘Was this maybe a single massive mountain range in ancient times?’

The terrain was that unique.

Cliffs jutted up like scattered spires—strange and unnaturally shaped.

Though each one had a different form, the dizzying height was enough to give anyone chills.

Maybe the creator god had gotten bored and karate-chopped a giant mountain range into pieces for fun.

Come to think of it, Erika really liked the unique geographic features of Rujis.

Except for one thing.

The stench of monsters.

“Kreeeeek—!!!”

Fwoosh—

A wyvern suddenly flew past overhead at breakneck speed.

“Damn, that thing almost took my head off.”

Her scalp tingled.

Zoning out and enjoying the view had almost sent her straight to the afterlife.

Erika quickly pulled the bow from her back.

She tugged the end of her shirt and rubbed it a few times over the bow’s body like a cloth.

The stretched hem revealed smooth abs—but there was no one nearby to notice. Not that Erika cared anyway.

She quickly finished the familiar habit of prepping her bow, secured the quiver tightly to her back, and got ready to leap.

‘Thirty arrows.’

The wyvern hunting request was paid by daily wage.

There were no bonuses per kill, but Erika had set a personal challenge for herself.

Thirty arrows. Thirty one-shot kills.

‘If I miss even once, I skip dinner.’

She made herself the harshest promise possible—because that’s what made it thrilling!

Erika scanned the sky with her eyes.

Countless wyverns were flying about, wings flapping.

‘That one!’

Target identified ahead.

Tatatat— Erika sprinted forward.

With a running start, she leapt straight off the cliff.

Whoosh—

She soared through the air.

Thud! She landed on a wyvern’s back.

“Krrk? KREEEEK—!!”

Fwishhhhh—

The wyvern she mounted sliced through the sky, flying wildly.

It thrashed about, trying to shake her off.

Then suddenly, it plummeted in a steep dive!

“Huugh—!”

The violent wind knocked the breath out of her lungs.

As they plummeted toward the ground, Erika pulled a rope around the wyvern’s neck and yanked it tight.

The creature’s path shifted upward, soaring back toward the sky.

“…Hiyah!”

Exhilarating.

The wind slapped her cheeks.

She narrowed her eyes slightly.

The sound of the wind rang in her ears. The only other thing she could hear was the loud flapping of wyvern wings.

Her long ponytail trailed behind like a tail.

Before she knew it, she was way up in the sky.

So high up, her whole body tingled from the rush of adrenaline.

The view from up here was on a completely different level than from the cliff.

People on the ground looked like scattered dots.

No average person could handle this.

“What…? Riding on a wyvern? What the hell is she doing?”

Even among the knights of Rujis, only half could pull it off, and no top-tier mercenary ever dared attempt it. It was a death wish.

If you fell, you died. End of story.

And not just death—you wouldn’t even leave a corpse behind.

That’s how high it was. The pressure was maddening—your ears hurt from the altitude.

Once she reached a stable trajectory, the wyvern began flying more smoothly.

Flap, flap.

She was among a flock of flying creatures.

“Kweee, krurrk.”

Wyverns weren’t very intelligent.

They were dumb enough to forget something was riding them.

‘Good, picked a simple one.’

Amid a large flock spread across the sky, wyverns flapped their bony wings as they zipped by.

Their screeches—krrrk, kreeek, keeeh—were eerie.

But her ears were already numbed by the altitude, so the monster noises didn’t bother her.

“Hoo…”

Erika raised her bow.

She nocked an arrow and aimed into the air.

Deep breath.

She slowly pulled back the bowstring. Even after it was taut, she held her breath a while longer.

Wyverns flew rapidly without rest. You couldn’t track them with normal eyesight.

But a trained Erika could.

Twang!

The arrow flew and struck the wyvern’s neck far in the distance.

Thunk!

“KREEEEEEKK—!!!”

It crashed down. Without pause, Erika locked onto the next one.

Whoosh.

Thunk!

“KREEEK—!!!”

Whoosh.

Thunk!

“Kkek!! Kkurk!”

Two more in a row.

Perfect. She was in good shape today.

She didn’t even glance at the falling carcasses.

Instead, she nocked another arrow and took aim.

But soon—

“……”

She let the string go slack again.

The wyvern she was riding was still a living monster. It didn’t move the way she wanted.

Once her line of sight shifted, it was hard to time the next shot.

She circled the sky helplessly a few times.

And just then—

“…?”

She spotted a particularly large wyvern in the distance.

Lifting her gaze—It was flying above her.

“What the heck is that? Is it the king?”

It was twice the size of the others. Even its color looked different.

The king of wyverns? King Wyvern? This was crazy—was that a King Wyvern?!

There was no such official name, but Erika made one up anyway—and began targeting the King Wyvern.

‘Get closer. Just a little closer!’

If only she could get a bit nearer!

She pulled the bowstring slowly.

‘…No good.’

Still out of range. But she wasn’t about to give up.

Fwip—!

“Damn it!”

Missed.

She cursed under her breath as the arrow vanished into empty air.

She had promised not to waste a single arrow and skip dinner if she did—but screw that now.

‘I’m taking that thing down. I swear I will!’

As if it sensed her resolve—

The wyvern she was riding began drifting in the direction of the King Wyvern.

Soon, it was positioned below it.

“Kyiiik—kurrr.”

Still a fair distance away—but closer than before.

She slowly aimed upward again.

The icy wind stung her skin—but Erika’s intense expression was even scarier.

‘Will the belly pierce?’

Wyverns had thick hides. The neck was thinner, which is why she usually aimed there.

She’d never targeted a wyvern from below before.

‘What if the arrow just bounces off? Should I wait and aim for the neck instead?’

Under the shadow of the giant wyvern—

Just as Erika was deep in thought—

Thwack—!

“KIEEEEEEKK—!!”

SPLASH—!

Suddenly, blood sprayed.

Crimson rain scattered across the sky.

“…?”

The King Wyvern let out a bone-shaking shriek.

“KIEEEEEEEK—!!”

CRACK!!

SPLASH—!

More blood splattered like a wave.

Some of the monster’s blood even hit Erika’s face.

“Kkrrrk, kek—keeek…”

Flap.

The King Wyvern lost strength and plummeted.

It fell toward the ground, blood pouring from its skull—where a sword was embedded.

‘…A sword?’

Erika stared blankly.

THUMP—!

Suddenly, someone leapt onto her wyvern. From behind.

She jolted in surprise.

“…?!”

She spun her head around—

A man, hugging her from behind, had landed on the wyvern too.

“…?”

“Hello.”