The shadows above loomed in the distance, diving between grey clouds and circling towards her. Their visages moved slowly, but only because they were closing in from afar. The monsters would soon be upon her, and she preferred to have figured out their identity before then. Monsters in the skies usually did not reveal themselves until they were certain of their kill. Still, it was nothing to be too concerned about.

Unlike the ashen woods, the clouds provided only the barest of covers against a bright non-blood soaked sky, and the shattered moon was barely visible within the borders of the kingdom. The stronger flying monsters made the skies closest to the moon fragments their territory, and their prey was marked ones in the frontlines. This meant that aerial threats within the kingdom territories were usually weaker, and monsters dwelling above preferred guile rather than brute force when hunting humans.

Flying monsters were generally weaker therefore much more susceptible to damage. A lucky bolt could ground them, and enough spears to its gut and brain meant even normal humans could take them out. That was not to say that there was a zero chance of encountering the more dangerous aerial monsters, but if they were to appear, they did not need the cover of the clouds.

Rana paused her thoughts and frowned. She made it sound like monsters were sentient, that it was by choice that they changed their hunting practices rather than it was simply due to circumstance. She knew she was a monster that did not follow established truths, but now she wondered if she was truly an exception, or simply part of another set of rules.

She sighed and realigned her thoughts. She seemed to be doing a lot of that recently. It was truly irritating to know so little, and it was also downright insufferable to know her past knowledge did little to help. She wished the monsters would show up sooner, so she had other things to think about other than how little she knew.

The monsters stopped and two distinct appendages sprouted form their wings. Rana threw herself to the side instinctively and avoided the slash of a sickle made of bone. The ground broke just as the screech reached her ears. Just her luck. It was a Crypt Poacher, and there were three of them. However, it was not what they could do that concerned her, it was why they were here.

Crypt Poachers were lanky fowls with grey feathers. They stood two meters tall and had a wingspan double their height. Their battle cry echoed out of their beaked skull head, and thin sharp scythes protruded from their wings. If the monster did not manage to take the head but a limb, they would then waddle to their victim, killing them with their bone-shattering screams. However, despite their clumsy and tall features, they were fast enough to break the sound barrier when lunging down and lopping off the heads of the unsuspecting. It also meant that it took them some time to recover before being able to lift off once again.

Rana rushed towards the monster. It flapped its wings, desperate to return to the skies and try its attack again. She would not let it. She glanced to the sky behind her, and just as she thought, one of the remaining one began its descend. With her current speed, she would barely be able to react to it. However, she knew how the descending flight would path. Field monsters did not attack other field monsters, and their attacks would approach the human without harming its brethren. Once she knew of that, anticipating the attack became rather simple.

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She positioned herself between the grounded Crypt Poacher and the one preparing to strike. She stepped to the side. It was an opening, a clear path the monster could swing and lop off her head. It was also a feint. The screech came just as the sickle cut through the air, yet she was already out of its path. She did not stop running. Each moment was valuable and she would not give the grounded monster a chance to take off again. She would also not give her other attack an opportunity as well.

The mana within her was ready.

Rana formed two Spells, one in each hand. She unleashed the one in her right towards the second monster. A column of spiked ice skid on the ground towards it. The Spell Ice Geyser latched onto its feet, its feeble flapping unable to set itself free. She then focused her attention on the one that was about to take off. She unleashed Mana Blast, the energy struck the skull and the monster was dazed. She was not finished. With the Talent Support Attack, she was close enough to trigger a melee follow up. Her staff smashed into its head, cracking the skull and another its beak. The monster flayed its sickle, but without the aid of its speed, its struggle was easily parried, Eventually, the monster slumped to the ground.

She then turned her attention to the one trapped in ice as its bladed appendages was about to break the chilling grasp on its feet. However, it was too late. She was already upon the monster, and with a few more swings from her staff, the monster fell and its weight broke the ice trapping it. It vanished soon afterward, becoming experience for her to claim in an Altar.

There was one Crypt Poacher left. It flapped its wings and maintained its position in the sky. Was it afraid? No, it could not be. Monsters had no emotions. They were instinctual, built for only one purpose. Yet here it was, hesitating, and there could only be one explanation for its pause and it confirmed her earlier suspicion. How troubling. No matter. She would deal with the monster in front of her first. Everything else came later. Besides, the monster could no longer hold back its instincts.

Rana faced it head-on. When there was three, she had to worry about attacks coming from her blind spots, but with only one foe, there would be room for experimentation. The monster’s screech marked the path for its sickle. She raised her arm and the bone slammed into her guard. A chill exploded but quickly subsided.

The monster was visibly confused. The human’s bone should’ve shattered and his skull lopped off. Yet its single long talon was stopped by dead flesh. Did it attack another monster?

The answer was in her Talents. She employed Support Defend, a Talent that allowed a marked one to ignore space and distance to guard an ally. It was normally a useless ability for a lone marked one, but thanks to Twin Soul, she could use the Talent by herself. Her guard became two, one upon another. It practically became a stat boost, giving her 150% effectiveness when defending.

Rana did not allow the chance to escape her, and just like before, she made short work of the helpless monster.

She wanted to savor the victory, few low leveled marked ones could boast of taking out three Crypt Poachers alone. However, she was not one for vanity. The only result that mattered was she was not dead and her foes were. Besides, there were far more concerning matters. Crypt Poachers became aggressive only after feasting on humans, and they only wandered when commanded. This also explained why they exhibited some abnormal behavior earlier.

There was a fiend on the prowling about and they were near.