Chương 8: Soaring

Besides the stats, Alex had obtained a brand-new Skill. It seemed powerful in its own right and activated whenever he descended from a high place or dove toward a foe.

"It might be useful if I could use it on something other than my own body," he thought. After storing the rest of the wyvern corpses in his Bone Storage, Alex retrieved several wing bones and began using Bone Crafting on them while Gryg took a break. She started roasting a whole boneless wyvern carcass.

"You sure you don't want some?" she asked.

"The meat's tender without the bones."

"I cannot eat," Alex replied.

"As you can see, I lack a throat to swallow and a stomach to digest food."

"Right…" Gryg sighed.

"So what are you doing now?"

"I am trying to create wings for myself," Alex said.

"It's more complicated than I imagined, but I am making progress. I will design them as separate items first, enchant them with wyvern cores to power them, and then… implant them into my body."

"…" Gryg watched him in silence as she ate, relieved she didn't have to share her food. As long as she gave him the bones, she could have all the meat she wanted. Alex, meanwhile, spread his Soul Threads, grafted bones together, connected them to Wyvern Cores, and inscribed precise runes by commanding his own body to execute every line perfectly. After an hour and a half, Gryg finished her meal. Thanks to her massive size and appetite, she had eaten three of the six wyverns they had caught.

She still had room for more but decided to save the rest for dinner. Ding! [You have successfully crafted Bone Wyvern Wings (C Grade).] [The Bone Crafting (Tier 1) Skill has gained +10% Proficiency.] Alex had finally finished as well. The design was more elaborate than he would have preferred, with extra bones and glowing orbs, but he quickly "equipped" the wings by weaving Soul Threads tightly into his main frame.

The moment the Bone Wyvern Wings fused with his body, a surge of power coursed through his skeletal form. He commanded himself to master them, and in mere seconds he had already learned how to manipulate the wings with natural ease. He moved them up and down, testing their flexibility. They responded like extensions of his arms, shifting to any angle he desired. Whenever he heard a creak, he repaired the flaw instantly with Soul Threads, nether, and small pieces of bone.

He shaped the fragments into a white, clay-like substance that hardened the moment he stopped infusing it with mana and nether.

"It works perfectly," he said with a nod.

"And when I don't need them, I can simply store them in my Bone Storage. Now, let us test them." He jumped off the cliff without hesitation.

"Woah?! Hey!" Gryg panicked as she saw him plummeting, her eyes widening in horror. She couldn't reach him in time.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Just as she prepared to drag him back with magic, Alex spread his wings. He descended slowly at first, then caught the air and shot upward. Mana and nether surged through the wings, generating propelling blue, ghostly flames. FLUOSH! Gryg's mouth fell open, her eyes nearly bulging from her skull. She clutched her head in disbelief as she watched the impossible.

"H-He really made wings work?! W-What the… Haha… Hahahahah!" She burst into laughter at the sight of a small skeleton soaring through the skies on oversized wings wreathed in ghostly flames. He looked utterly free, as if the whole world now belonged to him. Although Alex could not fully express emotion, exhilaration flooded through him. His eyes glowed brighter, his jaw hung open as he soared through the clouds and gazed at the vast blue sky. This sensation… I could never have felt it while alive.

"So this is the tutorial zone," he whispered. He spread his wings wide and glided back down toward Gryg, taking in the full view of their surroundings. They stood on a large island surrounded by an endless sea.

"So we've been teleported to an island. How fascinating. There's so much left to explore. I can hardly wait." As he landed, he shared the discovery with Gryg. She looked utterly stunned.

"So you didn't know either," he said.

"No, I only knew I was in an area called Giants Mountain," she replied, still amazed.

"Hahah, you're pretty crazy! But… you're kind of growing on me, little bones! Can you make me wings too?"

"Hmm, that would be difficult. You're too large and heavy," Alex said plainly.

"With my current resources, it seems impossible."

"A-Are you calling me fat?!" she hissed, nearly swatting him like a fly. Alex dodged her palm and landed lightly on her left shoulder.

"That is not what I said," he replied.

"I apologize if it offended you. I was merely stating an unbiased observation."

"…Hah," Gryg sighed.

"Whatever. I guess you can't fly as much as you want?"

"No, I nearly exhausted all my Mana and Nether up there," Alex admitted.

"I need to rest before flying again. But with Mana Stones or Monster Cores, I could probably stay airborne for a couple of minutes." He stored the heavy wings in his Bone Storage and began meditating, channeling his internal energies to restore them faster. He had discovered this method increased recovery speed by roughly seventeen percent.

"Are you sleeping?" Gryg asked while resuming work on the staircase.

"No, I am meditating. This allows me to recover my energies more quickly," Alex explained.

"You're a shaman—have you never figured this out?"

"What? You think shamans just sit around doing nothing?" she sighed.

"In my clan we're always busy solving problems, helping crops grow, hunting… everything."

"That's not what I expected," Alex said.

"I will teach you meditation later. For now, keep digging the stairs."

"At this point you could just fly down on your own," Gryg muttered.

"Why bother with me? I'll catch up later."

"For survival, it's better to have someone watching my back," Alex replied.

"And I will watch yours. Do you dislike that?"

"…No." Gryg lowered her head, too embarrassed to say anything more, and focused on her task. Hours passed, and night fell. Thankfully, no more wyverns appeared—likely because Alex had stored the remains, leaving little scent behind.

"We're halfway there," she said.

"We should reach the bottom by tomorrow. Let's dig a cave here and rest for the night." Gryg carved a hole into the mountain wall and shaped a comfortable interior with seats, tables, and a stone bed. Alex leaped inside and walked around, noting everything was giant-sized. He flew up onto the table, took out several items from his storage, and began working.

"What are you doing now?"

"This is what you're eating, right? Here." He offered her the three remaining wyvern carcasses, then returned to crafting bones, practicing rune inscriptions, and more.

"Well… thank you?" Gryg raised an eyebrow, but Alex was already focused on his work. Now that he had created a strong pair of wings, he wanted to craft stronger armor and permanent bone weapons he could evolve over time. His immediate goal was a new sword. His current one was growing too weak; its durability might fail at any moment. He wanted something fresh, preferably made from his own element. While roasting the wyverns, Gryg watched in silence as he constructed bone armor pieces with machine-like dexterity.

Later, he began polishing a long bone until it sharpened into a deadly blade, then added decorations and a hilt. Growing more curious as boredom set in, she finally approached him again.

"You wanted to learn Alchemy, right? Let me teach you."

"Really? I thought you didn't want to."

"I've changed my mind. You're smart. If you learn Alchemy, you'll become even better."

"Thank you. Before we left, inside the treasure chest you were protecting, I found quite a few items. Do you want to see them?"

"Hm?"