“Duncan, use this,” she said, handing him the bottle. “You have a chance to prove yourself. You have to hit the eye.”

“In the eye? Why?” Duncan asked, surprised.

“Wait until I give you the signal and shoot. Mitta, you go around him from the side and hit him in the head with a fireball. Here we go,” informed Elrianthe.

Taygeer, taking turns attacking the monster with both Matt and Gaz, managed to keep it occupied enough to prevent it from reaching Elrianthe. In all the confusion, they themselves did not notice when she joined them.

“Boss! Are you okay?” asked Taygeer, jumping away from the monster in her direction.

“Nothing serious. I came to straighten things out,” she replied.

“You're covered in blood! We should retreat,” cried Matt, dodging the attacks of the furious eagle.

*SKAAAAAA*

The monster let out an ominous scream at the sight of the woman standing in front of him. Unexpectedly, a fireball came from its right flank, exploding on its beak.

< Daze >

[ The target's immunity is high, and the effect has been weakened. ]

“Duncan, now!” Shouted Elrianthe, and momentarily a poisoned arrow flew towards the monster.

Duncan missed the monster's eye by a few centimeters, but the arrow penetrated deep enough for the poison to spread quickly through its body. The eagle fell to the ground after a few seconds.

'The poison has reached the brain. This is your end,' she thought.

< Research >

[ Great Mountain Eagle Level 13 ]

[ Health Points: 3957/7200 ]

[ Status: Weakened. Grounded. Temporarily paralyzed (approximately 220 seconds remaining). ]

“I should have treated you like this right away,” she said, approaching the immobilized monster.

Elrianthe made a strong thrust with her spear, driving it into its body. The blade penetrated deeply, but the damage was not satisfactory.

[ Health Points: 3907/7200 ]

'I dealt a measly 50 damage... There are still 190 seconds left.'

“Taygeer. Beat him until I say enough.”

The cat-man began to strike the defenseless monster with his axe. His sweeps were confident and powerful, but the level difference worked in the bird's favor.

[ Health Points: 1705/7200 ]

[ Status: Weakened. Grounded. Temporarily paralyzed (about 90 seconds left). ]

“Matt, help him,” said Elrianthe.

'1604... 1340... 923... Quick, 30 more seconds. 727... 391... 169... 32!'

“Stop!” cried Elrianthe. Without wasting time, she thrust the spear into the monster's body again, dealing the final blow.

[ +12,000 xp ]

[ Promoted to Level 8 ]

[ Received 1 development point ]

[ New quest ]

[ Defeat the Big Three of the Crow Forest: 2/3 ]

[ Achievement gained: Doom of the Eagle King ]

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

[ Doom of the Eagle King - the achievement is awarded for defeating the Great Mountain Eagle from the Crow Forest, having a level lower than 12. ]

[ Prize calculation...

High-level difference...

The fight was completed in 10 minutes...

Handing out rewards... ]

[ Promoted to Level 9 ]

[ Received +10 HP and +20 PM ]

[ The following rewards were received:

- instant promotion,

- expansion for the selected skill,

- opportunity to choose one of three rare skills. ]

“It was definitely worth it,” Elrianthe said, sliding on the ground as the adrenaline wore off.

The orc fortress in the hills...

Marguz and Struka reached the settlement and headed straight to the chief to report on the expedition.

“Father, we found the bodies of our hunters and confirmed the death of the Bear King,” began Marguz.

“You have done a great job. Do you know who defeated the beast?” Narzagul asked.

“No Father, but we know who killed our hunters,” said Marguz.

“Who was it?”

“Humans.”

“Hahaha. A bunch of random humans wouldn't have defeated our guys. They probably died in battle with some powerful beast like Sornek,” laughed Narzagul.

“My chief, that old troll doesn't venture into those areas,” remarked Urguluk, the orc shaman.

“This forest is full of various beasts.”

“My chief, Marguz speaks the truth. We saw them with our own eyes,” Struka added nervously.

“Are you sure about this?” Asked Narzagul with a serious face.

His pride did not let him accept the possibility that his orcs would lose a clash with humans. Another thing was that they didn't meet many of them and didn't realize what potential they could hide under their seemingly weak bodies.

“Yes, father. We saw those humans,” Marguz added, defending Struka from the chief's wrath.

“Ha! They must have fallen into their trap. Humans are weak and always resort to such tricks. A weak race.”

“There is something else. These humans were led by an elf. More precisely, by an elven woman,” Marguz said.

“That explains everything. It was thanks to her that they were able to defeat our hunters. Elven curses and tricky magic are too much even for us,” added Shaman Urguluk.

“An elven woman, you say? Marguz, do you know what you have to do?” Narzagul asked.

“I will avenge our kin and bring you the heads of these people and the elf.”

“The elf you will spare. She is a woman. Bring her here and I will make her my toy,” said Narzagul with a satisfied face.

“Yes, father.”

Elrianthe's room...

After Elrianthe lost consciousness after fighting the great eagle, she was immediately taken back and left in Alison's care.

When she opened her eyes, she looked around the room and momentarily realized what had happened. Her health level had already exceeded 70%, but exhaustion still reached more than 80/100. In such a state, her regenerative abilities were blocked.

“I wouldn't come back on my own, huh?” burbled Elrianthe under her breath.

“Miss Elrianthe, are you alright? Is something hurting you, or is something bothering you? I've used up all the mana for healing, but I still have some potions,” said a concerned Alison, hurriedly approaching the bed.

'True wife material...'

“I'm fine. I'm just a little battered and tired,” replied Elrianthe.

“A little? Matt said you almost died!”

“I went All In and won. I think it was worth the risk.”

“Alin? What does that mean?”

“Never mind. I need power, and beating this eagle brought me closer to my goal. Alison, I know you're worried, but believe me, I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't necessary. We have a few days left until we meet this nobleman, and I need to be able to carry it out according to my plan,” Elrianthe said, getting out of bed.

“Good. I believe you have an important reason, but please take care of yourself.”

“Sure,” replied Elrianthe, smiling.

'It wasn't the first time I was close to death. Since I died on Earth, it stopped bothering me. Death itself is not so scary.'

“I'll be in the next room if you need me,” replied Alison, heading for the door.

“Okay.”

Alison went out, and Elrianthe was left alone. She sat down on the bed again and opened a window from the system. She saw three skills to choose from.

< Spiritual medium > (Class A, Black Magic) - A skill that allows communication with the dead, regardless of the date of their death. Allows you to make contracts with souls, enabling you to draw power from their energy.

'Ugh, creepy. That's definitely not what I want. Still, though...'

< Team Manager > (Class S, Support) - A skill that allows you to oversee the development of your team members. Those with this skill are invaluable support for those who wish to develop their abilities and reach the heights of power. It provides insight into their current level and class, allowing you to add, remove, and develop the skills of others.

'It's not bad. If I wanted to create an elite group, I could easily manage their abilities. Not everyone has a system like mine,” she said. Alison mentioned that few people are offering such services.

< Hybridization > (Class S, Forbidden Magic) - A skill that allows two or more beings to merge into one. Hybrids created with this skill retain their characteristics and are fully functional. Depending on the mentality of the creator, they can serve him or turn against him, wreaking havoc.

'I could create my own army of monsters! Like some mad scientist. Hahaha.'