Above the mage

Chapter 153 Going into the Mountains to Hunt Birds

Frost gold month 30th.

On the last day of the Frosty Golden Month, Gaode Maps had no classes, which was a rare occurrence.

Of course, He west's rune tutoring classes will not stop.

However, the rune class only takes half a day, so Gaode freed up half a day for it.

He wouldn't waste this half-day of free time.

Gaode is preparing to go into the mountains to hunt birds.

As Master Falon said, spells are not finished once the spell model is built. You need to cast them more and practice more in order to gradually master the essence and details of spells and improve your proficiency and control.

Compared to spending money to practice on the spell-testing puppets in the spell-testing field, it is obviously more useful to practice on the red-eyed sparrow.

In addition, Gaode's current savings have fallen to 71 gold and 12 silver, and it urgently needs to "increase revenue" to obtain new income.

Each red-eyed sparrow is worth 1 gold coin.

According to the description in the [Patrol the Mountain] quest, a large number of red-eyed sparrows have escaped from the pet system.

Since the adjective "a large number" is used, there must be more than a hundred, right?

Furthermore, if he hunts seven red-eyed sparrows, he can gain another bit of essence.

Gao De was naturally happy to do something that would achieve three goals at once.

Most importantly, according to the mission description, the red-eyed sparrow is not very aggressive.

In other words, the challenge of this task lies in finding the red-eyed sparrows in the vast back mountains, rather than killing them.

This is precisely what Gaode excels at.

The hill behind Cyrus Academy is not dangerous, because it is not a wild, desolate place, but a developed scenic area.

After round after round of cleansing by the academy's mages, not a single creature remained in the mountains.

In most cases, the purpose of the back mountain is to provide a suitable environment for certain magical plants in the academy that require a natural growing environment.

In addition, there is the so-called landscape function.

This is why the task of clearing out red-eyed sparrows is assigned to the trainees as a "mountain patrol" mission.

Because this task was actually just a menial job, not a combat mission, and it wasn't urgent at all.

The only concern the college had was that the red-eyed sparrows would damage the ecosystem of the back mountain.

It took Gaode half an hour to officially enter the back mountain area of ​​the academy from the teaching area of ​​Seres Academy.

Compared to the desolate mountains and forests, where withered leaves cover the ground and dangers lurk everywhere, the back mountain of the academy is not only safe, but also has a man-made path because mages often come and go.

Of course, if you want to hunt birds, you can't just follow the path; you have to venture deep into the forest.

The task comes with a document that details the habits of the red-eyed sparrow.

Most importantly, red-eyed sparrows prefer certain habitats and food sources.

"Areas near water sources and abundant fruits" are the habitats that red-eyed sparrows prefer.

"Wild fruits and berries growing in the bushes, magical plants." This is the food that the red-eyed sparrow prefers.

There are many magical plant cultivation areas in the back mountains, opened up by mages from the academy's potion department, but they are all equipped with corresponding barriers or magic circles, so the red-eyed sparrows cannot get close.

Only the former needs to be considered.

Gaode gradually moved away from the man-made path and stepped into the denser forest.

The surrounding scenery also changes accordingly.

The trees grew taller and their branches became denser, and the air was filled with the fresh scent of earth and leaves.

Gaode looked around, afraid of missing a red-eyed sparrow lurking in a tree branch.

A glint of light flashed in his eyes.

After entering the back mountain, he had already cast [Detection Magic+].

This is Gaode's true reliance for bird hunting.

The detection range of 【Detection Magic+】 is not particularly wide, but the ability to detect biological magical auras will definitely make him more likely than other students who accept missions to find the red-eyed sparrows that are good at hiding.

As Gaode ventured deeper into the forest, he held a map of the back mountain for reference.

Firstly, to avoid getting lost, and secondly, to avoid entering the "restricted area in the back mountain" designated by the academy.

Soon after, Gaode discovered a clear stream.

The stream murmurs.

Various wildflowers and wild fruits grow on both sides of the stream.

This perfectly matches the habitat environment preferred by red-eyed sparrows.

Gao De immediately slowed down and carefully looked around.

Suddenly, a glimmer of inspiration appeared in his eyes.

It begins in a dense thicket of bushes not far away.

Even though he was drawn to the light, Gao De looked over and, apart from the piled-up green leaves, still couldn't see any trace of the source of the light.

However, he noticed that some branches of the bushes were covered with remnants of pecked fruit.

Gao De's heart skipped a beat; he was already about 80% certain.

"He is indeed skilled at concealment," he murmured to himself.

Without any hesitation, in the blink of an eye, Gao De had already cast [Flame Arrow+] and shot it towards the bushes.

Among the spells he knew, the fire arrow was not only the most powerful, but also the one with the longest range and the fastest flight speed, making it the perfect choice for shooting birds.

A burst of intense flame instantly pierced the air, shooting towards the bushes radiating magical light with a dazzling trajectory.

However, just as the flaming arrow was about to hit the target area accurately, a sparrow with red eyes and a grayish-blue body suddenly flew out of the bushes at an extremely fast speed, seemingly about to escape.

This perfectly matches the description of the red-eyed sparrow in the mission instructions: it has undergone special training and is extremely vigilant.

However, this was useless for Gaode Maps.

There was a slight movement in his heart.

The exploding fire arrow suddenly made a sharp turn, drawing a jaw-dropping arc in the air as it shot upwards along an extremely illogical trajectory, approaching the panicked, fleeing red-eyed sparrow.

The red-eyed sparrow was so startled that its feathers almost stood on end, and it frantically flapped its wings in the air, trying to escape the sudden threat of death.

But even with extensive training and incredible speed, it simply can't react at such a short distance.

boom!

With a crisp sound, the flaming arrow struck the red-eyed sparrow precisely.

It was instantly engulfed in flames, causing it to plummet like a kite with a broken string.

After falling to the ground, it struggled and flapped its wings a few times before quickly falling silent.

Only a wisp of smoke slowly dissipated and the burnt smell lingered in the air.

origin:

0 rings - [Red-eyed Sparrow] (1/7).

A hint of satisfaction flashed in Gaode's eyes as he looked at the newly appeared entries in the source section.

But it's not over yet.

Gao De walked to the corpse of the Red-Eyed Sparrow, took out the Hidden Mist Fang, and deftly removed the pair of slightly charred red eyeballs from the Red-Eyed Sparrow's eye sockets.

"Red-eyed Sparrow, a 0-ring ley line creature, is descended from the 2-ring ley line creature Crimson-Eyed Blazing Feather, but did not inherit Crimson-Eyed Blazing Feather's ability to control flames."

At the same time, the knowledge he had learned in the "Basic Knowledge of Dharma Masters" class a few days ago flashed through Gao De's mind.

Earth-line creatures are very particular about lineage; in most cases, tracing their bloodline upwards will lead them to their ancestors in higher rings.

In fact, Gaode thinks this is very unreasonable. Doesn't reproductive isolation exist between ley line creatures?

But if something exists, it must have a reason, so Gaode silently accepted it.

The red-eyed sparrow only inherited the night vision ability of its bloodline ancestors.

Its only prominent feature is its pair of eyes, which have excellent eyesight and are also the hardest part of its body.

It is precisely because of its excellent eyesight and weak aggression that the Red-Eyed Sparrow is selected by the Magic Pet system and trained for high-altitude reconnaissance.

Gao De carefully placed the extracted eyeball into a cloth bag he was carrying, then put it away with him before feeling at ease.

This is proof of mission settlement; without it, the academy won't recognize his achievements.

Gold coins +1!

If one is found, another will follow. The fact that a red-eyed sparrow was found here indicates that there are likely other red-eyed sparrows roosting nearby.

Gaode continued its efforts.

(End of this chapter)