*** 29 Days prior ***

Ace woke up with a start.

He was greeted by the feather coated underbelly of a Grade 1 Raven. A sense of weightlessness pervaded his entire being with each flap of the creature's powerful wing strokes. Unable to move, he felt his body grasped tightly in the creature's massive talons. With escape impossible, he craned his neck to get a better look at his surroundings. What he saw nearly made him throw up.

They were so far off the ground that he could only see clouds beneath him. Flying alongside him were various ravens of different sizes. Some of them carried humans in their claws as well... or at least what was left of them. He grimaced as he thought about how the people met their ends.

Seeing the deceased members of his community, he was even more grateful that he didn't try fighting out of the creatures grasp. If it believed he was dead, he wasn't eager to change its mind. It would have been a long fall back down anyways.

With the Sun starting to peek over the horizon and no means to escape his situation, Ace decided to rest his eyes. Images of his family flashed in his mind as he tried to drift off.

Before he could fall asleep however, a beeping sound boomed in his head.

[Alert! Alert! 3 minutes remain to select from the following rewards!]

A red screen shined almost painfully bright in his vision

---

[Reward Choices]

- Terran Beast Guide

- Trial Hidden Objective Guide

- Sever Ascension Guide

---

Ace stared at his choices confusingly. He had nearly forgotten about the reward in the panic of the previous day's attack.

'But wait! What about the 24 hour timer? I killed the Raven only earlier today!'

[No, you have been unconscious for about fifteen hours. During that time, you have been regenerating your lost Sever Energy. 2 minutes now remain to make your choice... I suggest you hurry it up.]

Resisting the urge to focus on how long he'd been asleep or argue about the unfairness of the situation, Ace evaluated his options.

'Alright, I need to choose the best option that will help me survive now, not later. With that said, the Hidden Objective Guide is definitely off the list. What good are the bonus rewards if I get killed as soon as this thing lands!'

[1 minute remains]

'Damn it! It's hard to go wrong with either of the remaining options! The Ascension Guide will definitely help me get stronger but... the strong don't always survive.'

An image of Thalia being drowned in a nearly endless mob of Ravens flashed in his mind.

The warden beeped in his head once again.

[30 seconds remain. If you do not select a reward, the opportunity will be lost.]

Ace mouthed Thalia's stern words.

"Analyze the situation."

[15 seconds remain]

It was time to make his choice.

'What I need right now is knowledge. I can get stronger if I'm alive. That will be much easier if I know what I'm dealing with! I choose the Terran Beast Guide!'

[Selection registered! The database has been downloaded... You still have another reward available. I can be given a name which will deepen our bond. As stated earlier, there will be benefits as we grow closer.]

Ace smiled to himself. He had already decided on a name for his watchful companion. It was from one of his favorite stories that Thalia used to tell him and Icarus before bed.

'How about Talos?'

[It is a great name... alias registered! Synchronization has increased. This unit has grown closer to the user! Congratulations Ace! I await your command!]

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'Alright Talos! Let's do this thing! Please tell me about the Raven carrying me!

His floating friend prepared a response.

[Now displaying the file on the Raven]

---

Raven

Highest Grade Present on Terra: Grade 3

Number Detected in Vicinity: 30x Grade 1

Typical Behavior

- Opportunistic hunter that prefers to attack prey from behind.

- Will openly challenge creatures weaken than itself.

- When hunting in a flock, the quarry will be taken back to the community nest to feed the young.

- As this creature rises in rank, its feathers take on a more metallic quality

- The eggs of these creatures are highly nutritious and sought after by other Beast in the ecosystem. These creatures build their nest in tall trees.

Special Abilities

- This creature possesses wind manipulation starting at Grade 2. Its proficiency with this ability scales with its grade.

---

Ace looked over the information, frowning at the notion of being fed alive to one of the creature's offspring. At the same time however, an inkling of an escape plan began to form in his mind when he saw where the creatures built their nests. He would have to move quickly, and even if he succeeded, he wouldn't be in the clear.

With the thoughts of a grim death on his mind, Talos spoke to him, almost as if to give him some good news.

[Ace, please note that some Sever Beasts may possess capabilities unknown to even the Interlopers. Should you discover this, record it in the guide and you will receive a reward!]

Ace chuckled as he responded.

'I don't know how the godlike aliens who literally teleport people don't know everything there is to no about us, but yea, I'll do my best.'

Not even a second after he thought the words, he felt the Raven carrying him lurch forward and then dive. Turning back to look towards the ground, he felt his stomach in his chest as the fluffy white carpet of clouds grew closer at an alarming rate.

In the next second, he was doused in moisture as they pierced through the fluffy whiteness. In every direction he looked, all he could see was a faint gray mist. Out of the corner of his eye he could have sworn he saw a long and writhing black mass, but it disappeared almost instantly.

After a brief stint in the cloud, Ace and his beast captor broke through the gray mist and were greeted with a beautiful sight. A vast mountain range mountain range stood before them. On one side of the stone behemoths a vibrant forest stood. On the other, rolling plains extended as far as the eye could see.

In the sea of green that was the forest, various splotches of blue that matched the sky could be seen along with a vapid river that branched vigorously through the ecosystem.

Ace could only marvel at the view.

'Mountains, lakes, a river, and a forest?! Thalia didn't do these things justice when she described them! This is... just... wow!'

With each passing second, the bird descended closer and closer to the high canopy of green. It didn't take long before Ace could make out the details of a massive nest that was perched on top of it.

Constructed from dead trees, the structure the Raven was flying to could have easily fit an entire building in it. Worse still were the pink dots in it that were growing ever bigger as the bird continued its approach.

Soon enough, a cacophony of shrill cries pierced Ace's eardrums. The high pitch was almost enough to disorientate him. It didn't take long for him to make out the features of the source. Infant ravens.

Now able to see the chicks more clearly, it was apparent that they lacked the lustrous black feathers of their parents. Instead, they sported small gray patches of fuzz all over their bodies which did a terrible job of concealing the pink and wrinkled skin underneath.

Noticing the arrival of their parents, the chicks squawked loudly while keeping their mouths open.

Ace's captor wasted no time as it dropped him towards the babies' gaping maws. Despite the fact that he was much larger than them, he had no doubt they could easily rip him to pieces.

Left with only a second before landing in their midst, he prepared himself. He had been constructing his plan ever since he saw the file on the Ravens.

Whipping around in midair by using his arm as a counterweight, he managed to fall on his feet. The chicks jumped back, startled at their food's movement. Their parent shrieked violently before diving at him and stopping abruptly.

He had grabbed one of the baby chicks and used it as a shield, trying to buy himself more time. Now engaged in an intense stare down with the parent, he yelled at the beast as he held up its squirming chick. It cooed anxiously.

"This is what you want right! Well you can have him then!"

Staying true to his words, Ace threw the baby over the edge of the nest and sailing into the ground over hundreds of feet down below. Much to his delight, the adult Raven ignored him as it dove through the air and after its baby.

He would have celebrated but the rest of flock was now approaching his position with alarming speed. Left with no choice, he continued with his plan, running through the nest while launching chicks out over the canopy. Each thrown baby caused a member of the flock to abandon the chase. He continued this for over a minute, throwing a chick every few seconds.

In the back of his mind he knew that not every chick would be saved. He had already been notified by Talos of a few confirmed kills.

While he didn't take pleasure in killing defenseless animals, it was either them or him. He chose them of course.

Once he had forced every Raven to dive down for a chick, he swiped a handful of palm sized eggs and stuffed them in his leg pockets before throwing himself over the edge of the nest. Pulling out his crowbar, he jammed the hooked side into the tree trunk he was falling next to.

Unable to fully stop his fall, he gripped the opposite end of the crowbar tightly and hoped for the best.

During his descent he noticed multiple Ravens climbing back up to the canopy. Some carried chicks in their talons while others did not.

As his perilous descent persisted, his hands grew raw as he struggled to keep hold of the crowbar. Letting go would certainly result in more than just some bruises. He only had a few dozen more feet to fall and he wasn't confident he could call upon the strange energy to strengthen himself.

Eventually, almost impossibly, Ace's feet touched the soft earth.

Wrenching his crowbar from the tree, he was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not bent. Still armed to defend himself, he finally took in the surroundings.