The massive chamber rumbled before he could make a move. The falcons screeched, just as alarmed as he was at the changes.

Large pillars with ridged sections grew out of the walls, spaced only ten feet apart at most. Kade quickly realized what this was for.

If the karnathis didn’t use ranged weapons, they would have no chance of fighting any monster that could fly. These ridged pillars gave a way for him to get into the air, though there was nothing easy about it.

Kade knew it would require tremendous strength, speed, and dexterity for him to do so. This wasn’t about the level of attributes he possessed—though that still mattered—but more about his natural control over his body.

The rumbling soon stopped, and Kade shifted into action, heading directly to the closest pillar. The falcons weren’t idle either.

A piercing screech echoed through the cavernous chamber, slicing through the brief silence that it had after the rumbling. He looked up to see them eyeing him as they settled back into their circling.

Is circling what birds do before they attack?

Kade didn’t give two shits about birds back on Earth. Now, he wished he did, so he knew what the hell these things were doing.

He monitored them as he planned how to get up there without the birds scattering away from his reach. Multiple distractions would be necessary to make this possible.

Kade counted ten falcons above him. He thought that was an excessive number, but he wouldn’t complain too much about something that would feed his [Arcana Level].

Without warning, a falcon dove at him, a streak of flame hurling through the air. He had plenty of time to avoid this telegraphed attack, but he had to practically dive to the side as its flaming talons slashed through the space where he had stood moments before.

The heat was surprisingly immense—relatively. Kade could feel the cozy warmth even though it was at a distance. It was due to the impressive size the falcon possessed. He hadn’t realized it was big enough for him to ride.

It was unfortunate for the falcons that fire was their natural element. That would do next to nothing against him… unless they could match the heat the patriarch could casually throw out. It was basically a nonissue.

When the first one sliced his cheek open, Kade was aware these falcons were fast, but they were faster than he had anticipated—much faster than he could be—but he sensed they were individually weaker.

These falcons might have a higher [Arcana Level] but were fragile. He just needed to get his fist in contact, but that was easier said than done.

A light bulb lit up in his mind.

He kept an eye on the falcon that just dive-bombed and moved closer to the pillar. He kept enough space to get a good run toward it and waited for the next attack.

Kade didn’t know why these things took turns instead of going at him all at once, but he would make them regret it.

The falcon that attacked him slotted back into the circle, and the next in line dove at him. He gambled.

Kade timed his move perfectly. He ran straight at the pillar and used the ridges to climb its height rapidly. He cracked the pillar from the force of his kick to launch him towards the falcon.

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The falcon clearly didn’t expect to meet him in the middle of the air. He hesitated just long enough for Kade to grab onto his leg.

The falcon’s defense was to light itself on fire and try to shake him off as it struggled to gain height with the added weight.

Kade already acknowledged the birds’ natural element being fire. It truly was unfortunate that setting itself on fire did nothing to him.

He found the perfect moment to use the falcon’s momentum and swung himself upward, flipping onto its back. The bird thrashed wildly, but he held firm and used his weight to steer it to the circle.

Kade fully expected the birds to scatter in different directions. Thankfully, they chose a perfect moment to be bird-brained.

The birds slowed as they looked at each other, confused about what to do with what they saw.

He couldn’t blame them. If he saw some random monkey using a friend of his as a steer, he would be shocked and frozen, too.

Still, Kade intended to blow them into smithereens.

The moment his ride unwillingly brought them closer, he kicked off with a devastating blow to the falcon below him. He leaped toward the circle and delivered a punishing fist to a second falcon.

Both birds didn’t have a chance to make a sound. They exploded into a shower of embers before turning to that familiar white powder as he fell back to the ground.

Kade kept his ears out for any screeching as he tried to position himself the best he could to absorb the blow from such a high fall. He landed in a crouch, his muscles absorbing most of the impact, but his bones still cracked loudly, breaking from the sheer height it had to deal with.

The pain was an old friend. He could deal with anything and fight on as long as he didn’t have a limb or two cut off.

Eight left.

Free Points: 1—>2

Kade grinned when he saw the notification. He had leveled up. This time, he didn’t save his [Free Points].

Free Points: 2—>0

Speed: 17.5—>19.5

He could only perform the surprise maneuver once. There were still eight more falcons to destroy, and he needed to lessen the gap in quickness.

Rage-induced streaks exploded above him. The bird-brained falcons finally noticed the absence of two of their brethren.

They finally gave up their little game of attacking one by one. Still, they once again proved to be bird-brained.

Two falcons dove at him simultaneously from opposite directions. An upgrade from just one, but still not enough. Especially when he noticed that their speed didn’t seem quite as daunting. The falcons were still faster, but not fast enough for him to dodge frantically at the last moment.

So he didn’t.

Kade waited until the last moment, and instead of dodging, he suddenly jumped high into the air. The falcons were stupid enough to crash into each other violently.

He took advantage of their disorientation, stomped heavily on both the falcons’ backs, and brought them down to the ground purely with his downward force.

Kade reached down and grabbed both their necks with an unbreakable chokehold, squeezing with all his might as they frantically tried to get out of his grasp. He crushed them under his grip long before the falcons ever hit the ground.

He grunted as he hit the ground with his damaged bones without cushion. The falcons’ bodies had turned into white powder the moment he crushed their necks.

Six left.

Kade hadn’t leveled up… unfortunately. He eyed the remaining falcons and waited for them to act.

It seemed like they finally understood the necessity of taking group action against him.

He still had a few tricks up his sleeve that could deal with at least one more falcon. After that, it would be a real challenge. Even if he leveled up again, adding that [Free Point] to [Speed] would be negligible help.

The temptation to draw his [Soulrend] made Kade’s hands twitch. He was aware it was unlikely to be of any help, but a simple distraction or a feint using his [Soulrend] could prove extremely helpful.

The issue with that plan was his [Soulrend]’s habit of shattering after it left his hands. It made him wary of risking that.

Kade hadn’t forgotten what awaited him outside after he killed all these falcons. At least thirty karnathis wished to slaughter him. He had no desire to contribute to their wish by being without his [Soulrend].

He would need to reform it once again and sacrifice half his health to do so. Fighting them with only half his health would not be what he called ideal.

The falcons shrieked out a war cry as they changed their circling positions. It seemed like they finally had a plan of attack, and he hoped it worked out better for them compared to the brainless birds that delivered themselves to him for slaughter.

All six dove at him from different directions. More importantly, their trajectory would not cause them to smash into each other.

They learned. Good.