Looking over his shoulder as he came up, he saw a large black bird circling for another pass behind him. It looked like a cross between a raven and a vulture.

This bird wasn't a Nightling but a beast instead, one of the animals in this world, and it probably hunted at night. It wasn't something he had come across before, but he knew powerful animals existed, and some roamed the dark.

It wasn't a fierce beast with a core, as he would probably be dead if so, but more likely, whoever was on overwatch would have intervened. That meant it was just a regular beast, powerful but something he should be able to kill.

I really need to find a way to sense an opponent's cultivation before I leave.

Standing up, he conjured several black daggers similar to Kunai and threw them at the flying monster nearly twice as big as himself. Most missed as the bird spotted the thrown weapons and moved to avoid, but one didn't. The problem was it didn't penetrate and bounced off.

Not good.

He grabbed one of his real daggers and waited until it swooped in for another attack before he threw it, catching the large avian in the chest, but it didn't stay in and fell out immediately.

Rolling quickly to the side again as it passed, he winced in pain as a sharp talon slid across his shoulder and drew blood. He didn't let the pain hinder him as he continued to move. Pain wasn't a stranger anymore.

The flying beast must have a cultivation similar to his own or a little higher for it to be so tough, and that was one of the problems he had found using reverse cycles.

His body strength and durability were a little lacking in comparison to others. This meant his daggers weren't as effective at piercing sturdy hides as they should have been, but he had other advantages, like a strong soul.

Holding his hands out, he conjured a group of giant wasps, leaving them with a command to approach the flying bird from different angles and attack its eyes.

As the bird swooped back around for a third pass, he sent out two clones that mirrored whatever he did and stayed close by. With them running slightly ahead, he ran for the bird that was angrily pecking the air above.

It finished dealing with the insects just in time to spot him and the clones dead ahead. With a screech, it extended two large talons, using them to destroy the leading clones and kept coming.

Using them as a distraction, he summoned a springboard under his feet and shot through the air towards the bird whilst he conjured a grappling hook and rope and sent it out as the bird sped past, his jump allowing him to slide between its legs and avoid the sharp claws.

The grapple hooked where the front of its left wing met the body, and he felt himself get pulled along as another screech sounded out.

The bird had decided to head for the sky now, and he could see its head frantically looking around for him, but its own large body hid him. As it flew upwards, the rope flapped in the wind behind it, but he managed to slowly pull himself closer to the body.

Holding on with his left hand, he conjured another grapple and threw it in an arc, watching as it shot over the top of the wing and landed next to the first.

He switched to the new rope trailing behind the grapple, about to pull himself up when the bird suddenly went crazy and started flying erratically through the air, trying to dislodge whatever was digging into its wing.

Looking down, he noticed they were far up in the air, and he could see some of the sentries out on the mountains watching him. They must have come out worrying, but he was too high for them to assist. He was on his own.

After fluttering about in the air for a time, the avian went into a nose dive towards the ground, and there was nothing he could do but hang on for life as he trailed behind it like a human kite.

He spotted they were still over the valley, slightly higher than the mountains, when it quickly levelled out. This sudden change in speed caused him to fly towards the creature, and he rotated and got his feet under him, using them to push off the bird's backside with a jump.

As he pushed off, he let go of the rope, reached into his pouch, took out an Ember Burst Talisman, and activated it.

He watched as a spout of searing hot flame landed on the creature's back, sticking like napalm. The bird let out a pained cry as it frantically flapped around in the air, and then, after a few moments, the flames burst in a small explosion, sending the charred form spiralling through the air towards the ground.

Oh fuck, I'm so dead.

Conjuring a hang glider around him, he watched as a giant flame-covered bird crashed into a large shed in the valley that housed a lot of expensive tools and winced.

He had never fought a flying creature before, so everything he had done tonight was more based on theories, and he was happy to see it had worked out in a way. However, destroying a chunk of the village equipment wasn't in those plans.

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Nosing the glider to the ground, he landed beside the burning wreckage, spotting several people nearby, including his parents. Valeria sent out water spurts at the fire, dousing it as he walked over. Everyone turned to look at him. It was apparent they knew he was responsible.

"Hot wing, anyone?" He deadpanned.

They didn't look impressed.

What was I meant to say?

Things had gotten out of hand, and he was ready to face the consequences. Selling a few Talismans in the city should pay for all this, but he couldn't help but feel guilty anyway. The village had plenty of spare tools, but that wasn't really the point.

***

"What you did last night was foolhardy," Marcus said as their little family sat around the table eating breakfast.

"Honestly, I've never met anyone who fights in such an abnormal manner. Why not just conjure a bow and arrow? Surely, that was a better idea than mounting it mid-air. Even using a Talisman would have worked," Valeria said, and the exasperation was evident in her voice.

Ah, yes, my Talismans.

He had forgotten to close his pouch and didn't realise until later that they had all flown off through the air. He had even misplaced a dagger in the struggle that he would need to go and find today. The battle with the bird was like a comedy of errors, but he didn't mind. It was all practice.

He could draw some more today, but his materials were getting low, and he would need to head into the city soon to restock.

"I don't want to get overly reliant on Talismans, and I'm not good with a bow." He replied as he shovelled some oats into his mouth.

"Is Big Brother a baddie?" Nyx asked in her usual childlike voice, causing him to grin.

"Maybe a little." He said and winked at his sister, who smiled back at him.

"Don't encourage her. The last thing we need is two of you carrying on like this." Valeria said with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm not that bad." He declared, trying to sound offended.

"Remember the time you pushed Persus off the top of the waterfall?" Marcus stated.

"He asked me too! He was afraid to jump but didn't want to look scared in front of the other children."

How was I supposed to know he'd break his arm?

"Or the time you caved in Erinna's chimney and caused her house to fill with soot and smoke," Valeria remarked.

"I was practising jumping from roof to roof and getting around a built-up area. It was an accident. Besides, how do we know it just didn't happen on its own?"

She was rather angry when she came out covered in soot.

"Or the time you almost caused a stampede and got people trampled." Marcus finished.

"Okay, that was probably my fault, but not the others." He said defensively.

I didn't expect the roar to be so loud. I'd never got a mirage to create noise before.

"Nobody got hurt, though, right?" He said, finishing his morning meal.

"That's not the point. Like last night, you didn't mean it to happen, but it did anyway. Your skills are not toys, and if you keep doing these crazy things, someone will get hurt." Marcus sternly said as he looked over.

"You're right. Perhaps I should take my training outside the village from now on?" He asked, sounding hopeful.

His parents had so far resisted his attempts at getting let out to roam the surrounding mountains, stating the danger, but he still wanted to go anyway. He was determined to get stronger, and the more he cultivated, the more he developed a taste for advancement. Watching his skills grow over time was highly satisfying.

It wasn't that he wanted to keep causing chaos around the village. He just wanted to train and practise for different scenarios he might encounter when he was out in the world alone, but some of these training sessions led to him getting into trouble.

"Maybe it's time. You will be coming of age soon. I could even get you on guard duty to see how you manage." Marcus said as if in thought.

"Alright, you're free to roam outside the village. I'll let the guards know, but you'll stay within a few miles. That area should be safe with all the hunting." Marcus spoke, finishing his meal and leaving the table.

It was village training today, so they all got ready and went to that, and he managed to find his dagger on the way.

Now he stood watching Nyx spar against another child a few years her age and trouncing him. It wasn't even close.

She danced around the older boy, using tendrils of darkness that shot up from the ground to hinder his movements as she pelted him with training arrows. There wasn't much the boy could do but throw the odd rock and try his best to dodge and close the gap, but she never let him.

He had to stifle a smile as a blunt arrow hit the boy in the forehead, leaving behind a red mark and knocking him over. Like their mother, his sister had become an archer and appeared to have a knack for it. It wasn't just that her arrows were wickedly accurate, but also her timing and sense of her surroundings were exceptional.

Marcus had said some of this was due to her aptitude caused by being born with a powerful essence body.

Being the owner of an essence body, he didn't feel that it made him more talented, but he had managed to create and constantly tweak his cultivation technique. He had also become highly proficient with inscriptions and was generally above the other village children his age in weapon mastery, so maybe there was something to it.

He felt it was more because of his diligent hard work and being a grown adult in a child's body, but he would probably never know if there was a hidden talent there assisting him.

Ouch!

"Pay attention." Kouris snapped, lowering her hand, having thrown a stone at his head.

The woman had moved to train his group, comprised of the older children in their teens. Mysthaven had undergone a population boom and even a slight expansion, causing the groups to be broken up differently.

"You're in the middle against Tantalus. Weapons only," Kouris repeated.

He turned to see the older boy in the centre holding a wooden training sword, so he stepped out from the side, holding the wooden twinblade he used for practice, with a small assortment of wooden daggers strapped to his body.

Staring at Tantalus, he saw that the boy had grown into a handsome young man with the same cold, ice-coloured eyes. Even though he was dressed for training, his clothes were still a tier above everyone else's.

Over the years, the arrogant attitude had lessened, but it wasn't that he had changed. It was just better hidden now. The only thing the young noble had learned coming to this village was how to hide his true nature better. He was still a vindictive asshole.

The fight was a weapons-only bout, which meant no skills or essence use, just weapon versus weapon to see who had the better mastery.

"Begin"