Fourth Trial... trap!?

Using Wand, Elias spread the Fog beyond the Dome to feel what kind of Birds were attacking. While with concentrated Mental Fortitude he held the Force field in place without allowing it to break.

Elias observed the Bird's movement and timed it well. 

When it was least expecting it, the Bird slipped through the Dome and crashed on the Island but before it orientated itself a red hot spear pierced its body.

*cocooo*

It screeched in agony and tried to fly out and escape, but due to its injury, it failed and fell before dying! 

The Birds that have a bit of intelligence were able to understand this Island is not easily destroyed.

Elias on the other felt his lungs filled with air and himself awake as blood circulated in his body fast. It was an exhilarating feeling as if he was high on drugs.

Boom!

Boom!

More attacks were pummeled on the Dome trying to break it but failed.

Then, the Alpha Flamingo made a beeline fast and silent and poked the Dome with its beak before it flew fast, avoiding the spears that shot automatically.

At the same time, hundreds of Birds got inside before the Dome was reactivated, and attacked where Elias was. But at that moment a Dust Cloud was raised and a spark was ignited. 

Kaboom!

The whole Island was engulfed with fire and the shooting of metal shards killed all the Birds in one go.

Hoo!

Elias took a deep breath as his body crawled with chills before he stabilized. 

"Wand. What happened?"

[Body tempering. Killing Birds that attacked the Island within the Island grant three things]

<Air affinity and Positivity>

<Strengthening the body>

<Mental Capacity Improvement>

"I see! Is it magic?"

[It's the nature of this section of the Okenus. Life forms kill each other to gain a portion of their Force]

[Killing Strength base beast will grant you Strength. Killing the intelligence base beast will grant you Mental Capacity]

"Is Mental Capacity the same as Mental Fortitude"

[Mental Capacity denotes the Processing Power of the Mind. Smartness, Understanding of Complex things and Intelligence]

[Mental Fortitude signifies the Strength and Stamina of the Mind]

"Alert me whenever I got an improvement"

[Affirmative]

Elias wanted to use it to motivate himself. As the battle was a battle of attrition. He has technology and weapons while Birds seem endless. 

More Birds attacked the Island Dome and died but Elias didn't hear the alert so he asked. 

"Where is the alert?"

[They have to die on the Island]

Understanding that, he shrank the Dome. Making it be within the Island edges, protecting him.

After about 10 Birds crashed.

[Body Stamina increased]

[Air affinity increased]

After some repeated attacks, he came to understand that a single small Bird didn't give anything substantial. But if many were involved then it would make a difference.

Another thing was, he began to feel hunger the more his Stamina increased, and he was forced to divert his attention to eating and drinking. 

All the while thanking his odds that the big Birds wouldn't attack him again. Elias didn't know that all this was a test. 

The Alpha Flamingo wanted to study him and his powers before it took him down because it had experienced facing Creative Bipedal Beast—Islanders—and knew they were crafty and resourceful.

The reason for the raid was, the Alpha Flamingo has concluded that Elias has enough intelligence to turn useless things into something useful and that means high Mental Capacity. 

And killing him will allow it to improve leap and bounds.

The Alpha ordered a new batch of Birds to attack but to its surprise, they slipped through the Dome… and in the next moment, flames burst around the Dome.

What Elias didn't know was, Fourth Trial was a trap. 

Birds were the most intelligent creatures in that location—they travelled from one Island to another, hunted in groups and protected each other and avoided danger. And some of them develop human-like intellect.

When Islanders that came from the Third Trial to the Fourth Trial without explanation of anything about the mission by the Wand

That usually made Islanders to assumed that the Trial needed them to master their Island Fortes. With that assumption, they move to activity by creating products using the Island resources. 

Those creative activities usually attract the attention of intelligent flying beasts. They will recognise that the Islander is intelligent and killing them will benefit them.

Elias' constant work and Metal Manipulation have garnered the attention of many Birds. But seeing him playing with fire and strong enough to bend metal, most Birds leave him be.

But the Alpha isn't one of them.

The more it observed Elias, the more it understood how vulnerable he was and then planned how to kill him.

It had assumed that with enough small Birds it could penetrate the invisible Dome but it was wrong. Nevertheless, it was learning and it understood that somehow the Dome uses energy so all it has to do was exhaust that energy.

But what it was seeing now made it change its mind. With a screech, it compelled the plump Bird, which resembled Shoebills, to attack the Island.

The Bird dived down and came close to the Island hoping that the Dome would allow it to enter, but it was firm and close.

Then it opened its mouth wide and released a sound wave. 

The whole Dome vibrated and Elias scowled but then… the wave reflected at the Bird and it crushed into blood and gore.

Elias felt sour in his throat and when he spoke he felt as if he had hurt his throat.

The Wand explained Screaming Bird was a special Bird that improved only its screaming ability. All other parts of its body were normal, thus his sore throat.

Killing a beast that followed the path of improving one part of its body, only its speciality will be obtained. But, for those that improve overall then it was a chance endeavour.

In this part of Okenus no matter how famished a Lion was, it would never eat a worm, the reason was the Lion will regress in power. 

That means if a beast reached a certain threshold in power, it will never kill anything weaker.

Except if that thing has intelligence. 

And when a beast reached its evolutionary limit, the only thing it would crave the most was more intelligence, nothing less!