Chapter 3: Bird’s Nest

It was already the 4th day when Zeus stopped his mountain descent. Despite his strong physical condition, the oxygen atop the mountain kept him from moving down. Due to this, his stamina ran out faster. 

The extreme cold at the peak also hindered his steps, together with some small beasts. 

What's more, he also encountered steep and narrow routes which required more physical effort to pass through. 

Even then, as he looked towards the position of the kingdom atop the mountain, it felt like he didn't even go down. It's as if he never left his original position in the first place. 

'This is tough.' Zeus exhaled deeply. He put down his bag beside a tree and cleaved the bushes around to prevent monsters and beasts from hiding inside. 

'I still have a long way to go.'

According to his estimate, the Beastial Mountain Peak should be many times higher than Mount Everest. As for the exact estimate, he couldn't determine as he never really went down the mountains.

'How could dad even go back and forth in here? Does he teleport or something?' 

Zeus already knew the concept of magic in this world. However, he had never really seen one. 

Even though his father was a powerful knight and could also mobilize 'aether', he had never really seen him cast a spell. He usually dealt with ferocious beasts using his fist and sometimes a sword. 

After cleaning any potential dangers around the surroundings, Zeus set up a primitive tent. He used large tree leaves and connected them with wood and rope. 

Despite the limited resources in the jungle, after a few hours of labor, the tent was finally done. 

"It looks good. Those books really helped."

However, when he was about to set a bonfire, suddenly a loud noise startled him. 

ROAR! 

Many trees trembled as a large herd of birds fled on sight. Then, the roar was followed by another one. 

ROAR! 

Zeus' nerves tightened and his heart pounded in his chest aggressively. In a fit of fear, he grabbed the ax on the ground and positioned himself in a defensive stance. 

Oozes of sweat trickled on his forehead as he glanced around left and right with all his senses working to their maximum capacity. 

Roar!!! 

Roar!!! 

This time the loud noise was somewhat lower than the first ones. Zeus immediately sensed this disturbance and glanced at the spot where tremors could be felt. 

His eyes sharpened. 

'It's near here. Someone's fighting there?' 

Due to limited vision, he couldn't tell what was fighting over there but based on their noises, it seemed like the battle finally reached an outcome. 

'Maybe there's a human there. I could ask for help!' he screamed inwardly. 

Zeus threw all his fears and cautiously moved toward the battle location. The bushes rustled behind him as he slashed them with the sharp ax. 

Sniff—

As he slowly reached the place, the strong stench of rust assaulted his nose. 

"What in the world happened here?" 

Before his eyes, several bodies of dead beasts littered the ground. Splashes of blood were everywhere with some even having their organs around the ground. 

He couldn't even tell their species as they were ripped apart like a toy. 

Zeus covered his mouth and resisted the urge to vomit. 

Gulp—

His throat had gone numb and he was stupefied. This was the first time he had seen such a merciless bloody massacre. 

But the bodies weren't the only sight he could see as the more he walked, the clearer he could see the damage in the surroundings. 

Broken trees and devastated lands entered his pupils. The flames rage around, casting heat around the area before lighting a forest fire. 

Large rubbles were everywhere but the one he noticed the most was the dark arm-sized feathers above and under it.

Zeus picked one and sniffed it like a detective. He rubbed it between his fingers and finally concluded. 

"This came from a bird. It seems like it's the culprit of the massacre but the bird was not without damage too." He said. 

Looking at the feather which seemed to form a path ahead, Zeus decided to follow after it. And, in about a few minutes, he reached a trail leading to a giant cave. 

It was so large that it would make a human standing inside look like a small dot. 

'This should be the place.'

However, he was about to set foot in when suddenly, 

'What!?' 

Zeus felt his body rooted in the ground. Despite the cold weather, he felt his back drenched in sweat like a water-soaked rag. An invisible energy seemed to be suppressing him from taking small strides towards the cave. 

It was like gravity became much heavier in his area. Although he couldn't tell what was going on, he could sense a faint emotion mixed in the air. 

He encountered this before. 

It was like the emotions of those ferocious beasts that attacked their house back then. 

'Killing intent.'

Once he moved, the owner of the cave would surely shoot him. 

But, he already came here. He couldn't even lift his leg to run away. 

[Human.]

Zeus' thoughts were stopped by a voice that suddenly rang in his head. 

"Who—!?" 

His eyes juggled around finding its source but the owner of the voice seemed to know what he was doing. 

[Human, get out of here. If you come any closer, I will take your life as a price.]

This time, the voice rang inside his head with a hint of exhaustion as it sounded lower. 

'Beasts could talk?' 

Zeus' eyebrows knitted together. Despite his fear, he asked, "A-are you alright? Is there any way I could help?" 

[It's none of your business. Get out of my…] 

The bird responded but its voice was suddenly cut off.

Something was definitely wrong with it. 

Zeus wasn't a smart man but he's not a complete idiot. Based on the blood tracks and the abnormally amount of fallen feathers, the bird was seriously injured. This was also the reason why he wanted to help. 

If he could somehow get this bird's protection or maybe a free flight, wouldn't descending to the kingdom easier? 

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"Hey, are you there? Hello?" 

Zeus tried to call the bird again several times but he didn't receive any reply. The killing intent also vanished and he regained his control over his body. 

Looking at the cave entrance, Zeus hesitated. The killing intent earlier was already a red flag but strangely, he had a hunch that this bird wasn't as violent as ferocious beasts. 

It could kill him anytime but it just warned him, showing its mercy. 

Zeus closed his eyes and as he opened them, he looked at the dim cave with determination. 

"I am going in." 

He began to climb the rock wall and entered the cave. The eerie silence sent cold shivers down his spine and the gloomy atmosphere around the surroundings was enough to make his legs weak. 

However, for survival, Zeus trudged forward. The path was pitch dark. He occasionally stumbled and fell after stepping on rocks but even then, he didn't stop. 

Following his instincts, Zeus reached the end of the cave. 

Before his eyes, he saw a silverish gleaming light in the darkness. 

It's like a large eye, enough to dwarf him. The eyes stared at him with a spiteful gaze. Something cracked under his feet but due to the lack of vision, he could only assume it was branches. 

Gulp—

Zeus gulped the lump in his throat. His legs couldn't stop shaking just by the sheer pressure of standing next to this behemoth. 

'Such a large eye, then how large is its body?' 

[Human, why have you come?] 

The voice once again echoed in his ears. This time, it wasn't through telepathy but rather a direct conversation. 

Zeus dropped the ax and raised both of his hands. 

"I'm not here with malicious intentions. I was just passing by when I saw dead beasts ahead so I followed the trails of your feathers. It seemed like you're injured so I wanted to help."

The eye stared at him momentarily before squinting in disdain. 

[With such a weak body, do you really think you can help me?] 

"Yes, I am weak but… I'm the only one who can help you." 

[No, I don't need—]

The bird was about to answer when an abrupt noise forced it to stop. 

Caw! Caw! 

Zeus also put down his hands and carefully listened to the sound. 

Caw! Caw! 

At that moment, Zeus' eyes widened. There is another bird here albeit its chirp sounded rather cute. 

Although he couldn't see what it was, one thing was certain. 

"You have a child."

As if hitting the bullseye, the bird snapped out immediately and threatened him once again. 

[Human, don't you dare to even step forward or I'm going to kill you!] 

At the same time, the large eyes became vigilant. Although she was restraining herself for fear of hurting her child, Zeus could feel the atmosphere become heavier. 

'Hang on…!!! The cracks!' 

Zeus stepped backwards. 

Crack—! 

He stepped sideways. 

Crack—! 

And then forward. 

Crack—! 

No doubt, the thing he was stepping on wasn't a tree branch but rather the eggshells of the bird. 

'Such a large amount of shells, it seemed like she had many children. But why does it seem like she only had one?' 

As soon as he thought of this, Zeus' head seemed to be enlightened.

'Could it be…'  

Now, he could somewhat understand what was going on. 

Zeus looked straight into the bird's pupils and asked a question. 

"Those beasts earlier… Did they eat your children?" 

However, instead of an answer, what he received was the scent of his impending death. 

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