Chapter 83

Upon arriving at the Harpy Valley, Carpe surveyed the surroundings.

"It's quiet. This is the most spacious hunting ground I've encountered so far."

-It is the least popular hunting ground near Luana.

"Why? Is the experience or drop items not good?"

-Not really. The level is similar to other hunting grounds of the same level.

The reason for its lack of popularity is different.

The hunting difficulty was overwhelmingly higher compared to other monsters of the same level.

-Even if you set that aside, they can fly. The moment they take to the air, most melee characters are left with nothing to do but suck their thumbs.

While harpies needed to be approached to fight, they could escape into the sky whenever their HP dropped.

Once their HP recovered, they would either approach again or fly away to another place. From a player's perspective, this was a waste of time and effort, so it was only natural that it wouldn't be popular.

"Hmm. I guess I need some ranged attack methods. Like a bow or magic."

-That's right. But even then, it's not easy.

Since harpies are flying monsters, they were fast and had good evasion.

Therefore, unless you invested a considerable amount of stats and skills, even archers or mages would find it difficult to hit them.

-Not to mention, they are cunning and will attack the party's ranged damage dealers or healers first. They are quite troublesome monsters.

In short, they are monsters that have all the annoying patterns.

"Indeed, that would explain why there are so few people here."

-Even if you go through all the trouble, the rewards aren't particularly good. It's better to hunt easier monsters in a crowded place.

However, there were still some players.

"I'm coming down. Get ready!"

"Roger. Skills on standby."

Although harpies were troublesome monsters, there were ways to deal with them.

Parties with a strategy were enjoying the quiet hunting ground.

"Here it comes! Now!"

"Got it! Entangle!"

Swish!

As the party member, who seemed to be a mage, activated the skill, tree roots sprang from the ground and quickly bound the harpy.

"Now! Finish it!"

"Die!"

With the mage's Entangle skill in effect, the party members mercilessly attacked the harpy.

"Kieek-!"

Despite being specialized in evasion, the harpy, lacking in defense, turned into a cold corpse and disappeared.

"Phew. We handled that smoothly again."

"It's all thanks to Mr. Swan's binding skill! Thank you."

"Not many people have learned binding skills... Thanks to you, we can hunt comfortably."

"Oh, no. It's all thanks to the rest of the party."

"Ugh. It's hard to find a hastily formed party that works this well. Would you like to add me as a friend? Honestly, I think we're the fastest-growing party at this level."

The party, having cleanly dispatched a harpy, laughed and praised each other.

-Binding skills can turn a hellish hunting ground into a honey pot. Of course, it doesn't mean you absolutely need them...

At that moment,

"Kieek-!"

A harpy that had been circling in the air spotted Carpe and quickly swooped down.

A screech like a tearing sound accompanied by large bird talons aimed at his face, but...

Swish.

Carpe simply turned his head to avoid the attack.

And a single punch landed squarely in the harpy's abdomen.

Thud!

A sound like a drum being hit echoed as the harpy was flung away at a terrifying speed.

After crashing into a nearby rock, it gradually turned gray and disappeared.

It was a clean one-hit kill.

-...If you can deal enough damage before the harpy takes to the air, it's quite easy.

"Indeed. It's quite easy."

Carpe, with a remark that reminded one of an angry uncle, checked the spot where the harpy had disappeared.

There were no special items left behind.

"I need to deal with regular monsters as they come and quickly take down the boss. Let's see. The boss monster's location... Ah, is it over there?"

Carpe used the FB radar to advance toward the boss monster.

The party that had been watching Carpe's actions from the beginning to the end was still observing.

"..."

"Let's say this is the second-fastest growing level range."

"Y-Yeah. Second place is still good!"

Carpe had unintentionally dampened the players' enthusiasm again.

* * *

"That's it."

Unlike the common harpies with white wings, this one had pitch-black wings.

The boss monster 'Harpy Queen' was not far from the entrance of the valley.

Apart from the wing color, she looked no different from other harpies. At least, that's how it appeared on the surface.

-Actually, there isn't much difference. She's just tougher and faster than regular harpies. Oh, and she can use a bit of magic.

"That's quite a difference..."

-But the outcome is the same; you'll one-sidedly crush her.

"Still, it's surprising there's not a single player around the boss monster."

Usually, even for a field boss, there would be parties attempting a raid, but there was no one around the Harpy Queen.

This was proof of how troublesome she was.

-Even a decent binding skill won't hold her for long. At least a 7-star skill is needed to bind her.

Moreover, her attack power was on the higher side compared to other bosses, and she had good evasion.

But since the rewards weren't particularly good, she became a neglected boss that most players ignored.

Among all the bosses in Rase, she was one of the least popular.

"That's good for me."

At least, he wouldn't have to worry about other players interfering.

Carpe stretched out his hand toward the Harpy Queen, who was flying majestically.

"Fire Arrow."

A single flaming arrow shot toward the Harpy Queen at high speed.

[Huh?]

But Carpe's magic didn't reach her.

The Harpy Queen, noticing the arrow flying toward her, quickly evaded.

[Human?]

The Harpy Queen looked at Carpe with interest.

Unlike the screeching harpies, she spoke in clear human language, a sign of intelligence.

[I'll eat you. You'll be delicious.]

However, her tone revealed more of her animal instincts than her intelligence.

The Harpy Queen charged at Carpe like a bolt of lightning.

The raid had begun.

"Striking, Haste."

[Physical and magical attack power increased. Attack and movement speed increased.]

At the moment Carpe buffed himself,

[Head. I'll pluck it.]

The Harpy Queen tried to grab Carpe's head with her large bird feet.

But...

"Haah!"

Instead of dodging, Carpe quickly extended his fist, and it collided precisely with the Harpy Queen's foot.

Boom!

A showdown between a field boss and a regular player.

If it were any other player, they would have been flung away for sure.

[Ow! It hurts!]

The result was the opposite.

Carpe didn't budge from his spot.

On the contrary, the Harpy Queen, caught off guard by the unexpected pain, tried to pull away.

"Where do you think you're going!"

Carpe didn't miss his chance. He grabbed her ankles with both hands and...

Whoosh!

Swung her with all his might, slamming her into the ground!

[Kaaah!]

Crash!

The ground cracked, and dust flew as the Harpy Queen's head collided directly with the ground.

[A critical hit to a vital point. Harpy Queen is stunned for 1 second.]

Crack!

During that 1 second, Carpe landed six punches.

[+12 Cursed Fist Carpe's designated spell 'Wind Cutter' activated.]

[50% of the target's magical and elemental defense is ignored.]

[Wind Cutter activated...]

[A healing spell activates on yourself.]

The hit spells, which were proportional to the number of hits, kept exploding.

With the damage from the Permanent Frost DoT added, the Harpy Queen couldn't even scream.

The HP value shown by the dragon's eye plummeted instantly.

[HP 80%... 65%... 45%... 24%... 18%]

She was going to die.

If this continued, she would definitely die. She had to do something.

Perhaps due to the overwhelming fear of death,

The Harpy Queen did something unimaginable.

Swinging her sharp wings,

She severed her own frozen legs.

Crack! As she was freed from the ice, she flapped her wings desperately.

And her body began to rise.

Glancing down, she saw the monstrous human staring at her in disbelief.

[That's it! That's it!]

She was alive.

Although she had lost her legs, it was better than losing her life.

Relief spread throughout her body.

Just as she was about to fly away to a distant place, she felt a strange weight on her right wing.

[Huh?]

Turning her head, she saw a black squirrel sitting calmly on her right wing.

The Harpy Queen couldn't understand the situation at all.

What is this?

Why is it on my wing?

When did it get there?

These questions flashed through her mind, but unfortunately, she couldn't continue thinking.

[Kieeeeek!!]

The Harpy Queen screamed in terror, her heart nearly leaping out of her chest.

The squirrel was gone, replaced by the monstrous human clinging to her!

She couldn't have guessed that the 'Casting' skill, which swaps the positions of the user and their pet, had been activated.

"Where do you think you're running now?"

Crunch!

While clinging to her wing, Carpe broke it.

With the wing losing its function, the Harpy Queen and Carpe fell helplessly to the ground.

Boom!

Carpe used her as a cushion and landed safely on the ground.

[You have defeated the field boss 'Harpy Queen'.]

[Level up! You have received bonus points.]

[You have obtained the quest item 'Feather of the Wind'.]

It was the moment Carpe achieved another solo raid.

A 10-star player who had become strong through luck.