Before the beast could gather energy for another attack, Arya clenched his bleeding arm and punched it hard on the head. Since he was in his Weapon Master form, his enhanced physical strength sent the beast flying. Without hesitation, he swapped his weapon back into his hand and ended the creature's life before it could recover.

The beast let out a final, agonized cry, but just as its scream faded, another shriek echoed from a different direction. Arya immediately recognized it—it was the bird's cry.

His thoughts shifted to the little beast. He had yet to see its full strength, but if it had managed to take down a flying beast, it was far stronger than he had expected.

Curious, Arya quickly collected the corpses of the two beasts before heading toward the source of the sound. As he moved, pain surged through his wounded body. During battle, the adrenaline had dulled his injuries, but now that the fight was over, the burns and wounds throbbed painfully.

When he arrived at the scene, he saw the small beast standing atop the charred corpse of the bird, sniffing the air. Arya, too, caught a whiff of the scent of roasted meat lingering in the area.

"So… you really are strong, huh?" Arya muttered, eyeing the burned corpse. He had suspected it, but now he had proof. "But I still don't know how strong you actually are."

He then glanced at the scorched remains of the bird and asked, "Are you… a Fire Element beast?"

The small creature looked up at him and nodded. Then, with an excited expression, it flexed its skinny arms again, as if boasting about its strength.

Arya watched as it began making strange gestures.

It spat into the air while glancing up, as if reenacting something.

Two possibilities crossed Arya's mind.

One: It was suggesting they celebrate by howling at the sky like wild beasts—unlikely, considering its intelligence.

Two: It was demonstrating how it attacked the bird.

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He leaned toward the second option.

Even though Arya knew the little beast was both strong and dangerous, he still didn't feel any fear toward it. Maybe because it had shown no hostility so far.

His gaze shifted to the burned corpse before him. The bird had been big, nearly nine feet long, but now it looked like a hairless, overcooked chicken.

"...It's not fully cooked yet," Arya noted.

The small beast looked at him, then back at the bird. Without warning, it opened its mouth.

Arya instantly felt a surge of heat gathering around him—so intense that even he, a Fire Element cultivator, found it uncomfortable.

"Stop!" Arya shouted.

The small beast immediately closed its mouth, looking at Arya with a confused expression, hands raised as if asking, What's the problem?

"Were you planning to cook me along with the bird?!" Arya scolded.

The creature's eyes widened in realization. It quickly covered its mouth with its hands, then lowered its head, looking guilty.

Arya sighed. "Leave the cooking to me. First, we need to remove the valuable parts of the beast's body."

This bird was almost as valuable as a Rank 1 beast. Arya wasn't about to let any part go to waste. Even after extracting the important materials, there would still be plenty of meat left for them to eat.

But before that—

"We should leave this area before more beasts show up," Arya said. "I'm not in any condition for another fight."

The small beast nodded, then suddenly grabbed onto Arya's clothes and climbed onto his head.

"Hey! Get down!" Arya swatted at it. "What do you take me for, a tree branch?"

The little creature hesitated, then finally climbed down, looking around before pointing in a direction—toward the inner region of Dreadfall Forest.

Arya frowned. "You want us to go deeper?"

The small beast nodded, then gestured with its hands, as if saying, Not too deep—just a little further in.

Arya hesitated. "I'm still weak compared to the beasts in there. We stay near the outer border, no deeper."

The deeper parts of the forest were marked by strong cultivators, warning others of the dangerous beasts beyond that point. Even high-level warriors avoided crossing those borders recklessly.

The small beast thumped its chest confidently, clearly unfazed by the dangers.

"...Fine," Arya sighed. "But only to the border. No further."

He collected the bird's corpse without extracting anything, deciding to harvest its materials later once they reached a safe location.

With the small beast leading the way and Arya using his camouflage skill, they traveled through the forest without encountering a single beast.

That was odd.

His second skill only concealed his aura—it didn't make him invisible. In a forest this vast, he should have still spotted a few beasts along the way.

Yet, not a single one appeared.

Finally, they arrived at their destination—and Arya's instincts screamed in warning.

The entire environment had changed.

Before him stood a massive network of caves, with numerous hollow entrances leading inside. It looked like a giant ant colony, but the tunnels were large enough for beasts twice the bird's size to fit through.

Arya couldn't see where they ended—they extended deep into the inner regions of the forest.

But what unsettled him most was that the little beast was pointing toward the first cave entrance.

"...You want us to go in there?" Arya asked cautiously.

The small beast nodded and pointed at the other cave entrances, then gave a thumbs-down gesture.

Arya frowned. "What does that mean?"

He didn't understand, but something felt off.

Caves like these were often home to powerful beasts. Entering blindly could invite unwanted trouble.

Still, since this was technically still the outer region, it shouldn't be too dangerous—as long as they stayed cautious.

"I'll inspect the entrance first," Arya muttered. "If it seems too risky, we're not staying."

With that, he cautiously approached the cave, keeping his guard up.