Liam went on a brief shopping trip to prepare. It was afternoon when he and his friends set off. The others were curious about their destination, but Liam remained mysterious. The teleporter flashed and the friends were surprised to once again find themselves in Icehaven. The beastkin were enthusiastic, trying to pull the friends to the tavern but unfortunately now was not the time to enjoy a cup of Sorov Brew.
"I am really growing fond of this city. It appears to be icy but is one of the warmest places."
"Are you sure you aren't just afraid of getting on your mount, Shield?"
The conversation drew laughter from the friends. Even the majestic griffon lowered its eagle head to nudge Radiant Shield. The tank smiled wryly as he accepted his fate, mounting his griffon. A moment later the friends shot into the air, crossing the snowy landscape on their flying mounts.
Even as they raced at full speed, the travel was quite lenghty. Is slowly became obvious why only flying mounts were able to fully explore Crunaboul. In the distance the friends could see the Eternal Flame Tribe, but they didn't approach. Soon, it disappeared on the horizon again. At that point everyone's attention was captured by the massive mountains rising in front of them. Despite being far away they were like grey pillars supporting the heavens. From the trajectory Liam was taking it seemed the mountains were their targets.
Half an hour later they finally arrived.
"Welcome to the Great Spirit Mountains!"
The friends hovered in the air, taking in the amazing sight. The Great Spirit Mountains was the place where the Great Spirit River originated. They were a chain of mountains covered in lakes and water fountains. Hot steam rose from the water. According to legends, these lakes hadn't always existed. It was only after a powerful malevolent water spirit had been sealed below the mountains that water kept erupting, chiselling away at the stone and ice, forming serene lakes.
There was a constant roaring. The friends kept some distance from the mountains as they flew around it. After a short while they spotted the thundering waterfalls originating from these lakes. They came together at the feet of the mountains, creating a broad river, which flowed into the distance. This was the origin of the Great Spirit River which flowed through the Eastern Mountains towards the Rising Basilisk Empire.
The sight of the waterfalls was simply breathtaking. White foam splashed, sparkling in the air. Due to the heat of the water, the ice in the immediate surroundings had been melted but the ice further away indirectly shone azure light on the water.
"It's so beautiful…"
"There is so much to see in Crunaboul. If I'm ever tired of making videos about you guys, I could switch to nature documentaries."
"Not a bad idea. You could be the next David Attenborough!", joked Liam.
"Who?"
"Eh… forget it."
Liam shook his head. Fortune looked at him strangely but didn't keep the matter in her mind.
The friends slowly pulled their eyes away from the waterfalls and scanned the lakes again. They noticed the high density of monsters in the area. However, this was not enough to make it a prime levelling spot. By simply killing monsters they wouldn't be much faster than others. There had to be some kind of trick.
"Shouldn't we start?"
Silver Blade asked this looking at Liam, who answered with a nod. He guided them towards one of the smaller lakes carefully avoiding any monsters on the way. The others quickly understood why, as a few checks revealed that even the weakest monster in the vicinity was at level 69.
Yet no one questioned Liam. Instead, they were curious about what trick would allow them to train here.
A minute later the group hovered above the targeted lake. The scenery was quite peculiar. There was no monster to be seen on the ground. The lake surface seemed tranquil except for the occasional ripple. However, there were countless birds hovering a certain distance above the lake. They were white, with large wings, appearing similar to seagulls but bigger. Their incessant cries quickly caused everyone to develop a headache.
"Please tell me we can kill these birds…", shouted Cyclone.
"Kind off."
"Are you finally going to tell us your plan?"
"Watch and learn."
Liam chuckled slightly. He took a conspicuous green brocade pouch from his inventory. This was what he had prepared previously. The pouch was filled with poisonous powder.
"Let's go."
"Nah~"
Drasky let out an excited cry as he received his master's pat. The elegant fox hopped around in the air, flying higher and higher. Soon they were just below the cloud layer. At this moment both master and mount increased their concentration, shaking off all distracting thoughts. Their eyes were fixed on the lake below.
Suddenly the fox tilted forward. Instantly it was as if he lost the ability to fly. Liam and Drasky went into a nosedive. The [Dive] skill activated. Their speed increased crazily. 24 times their basic movement speed, 25 times, 26 times…
Eventually they reached 34 times their basic movement speed. The surroundings turned into a blur. Even Liam couldn't help but tighten his grip. In the eyes of everyone else they turned into a white shooting start which looked as if it would crash into mountain.
At the last moment Liam finally gave the mental signal. Drasky showed his incredible skills as he turned the horizontal flight into a vertical one. They approached the mountain from the side, reaching it in less than the blink of an eyes. The white light raced close to the lake's surface, below the swarm of birds. They were faster than any ship, splashing water in all directions.
Instantly bird cries came from above. The monster became agitated, diving at Liam. However, they were way too slow. When they came close to the water, Liam was already miles away.
But the birds were not the only ones disturbed by the commotion. Countless shadows suddenly appeared on the water surface. Fish jumped up, snapping at Liam with terrifying jaws. They were like oversized piranhas, angered by Laim's brazen intrusion.
The fish were somewhat more threatening. But Liam knew that if he just kept going straight at this speed, he would be able to escape unscathed. Only if he showed fear would he fail. However, this was easier said than done as Liam didn't only need to control his flight. With his other hand he shook the brocade pouch, causing it to open slightly. The poisonous powder spilled out, drawing a long, green trail behind him. It spanned about half the lake before the powder was used up.
The birds behind Liam cried angrily as they entered the poison cloud. However, they quickly lost interest in the fast-moving prey as they spotted their mortal enemies. Their eyes went red, and they instantly started a war with the piranhas.
The fish were not any less ferocious. Because of a treasure below the lake the two swarms have been in a battle for countless years. Whenever a bird came too close to the water, or a fish jumped up, they would instantly be attacked form all sides. And now thanks to Liam's provocation the war instantly erupted.
Fish rammed their dagger-like teeth deep into bird bellies. Birds tried to swallow the fish with their large beaks. It was a scene of carnage as the water took on a reddish colour. Bird and fish corpses alike fell into the lake.
However, if the monsters killed each other, the players wouldn't earn any EXP. Thus, Liam's targets were only some of the monsters.
Among the birds and fish there were a few who were bigger and more ferocious than their peers. They were the elite monsters among both species. The elite monsters had all developed a certain skill, perhaps influenced by the treasure below the lake. No matter whether they were bird or fish, once their HP dropped to a single point, they would surround themselves with an impenetrable shield. With the help of this shield, they could escape to the air or the water and slowly recover. This was also one of the reasons why the war would never end.
However, it was at this point that Laim's poison came into play. Because once they were already inflicted with poison the shield couldn't block the damage anymore. Even if it only dealt a single point of damage, this was enough to claim the life of the elite monster.
Liam had already reached the other shore. He continued for a bit until he could be sure that none of the birds would be chasing him. He was quite satisfied with his first attempt. The biggest danger when levelling like this was the loss of stance. Should a monster attack come too close it would count as entering combat. Although thanks to the exaggerated speed and the effect of [Dive] the players wouldn't slow down, allowing them to instantly escape combat, the cost of doing so was around 50 points of stance. Should one's stance drop to zero, though, [Dive] would instantly get cancelled and the flight speed would drop to five times the basic movement speed. One would instantly be swarmed by monsters, and it would be game over.