Assault

The bird monster sliced through the air and made its way toward the both intruders of the plains.

David felt a surge of nervousness, but he clutched the kitchen knife he brought from his bag, his only form of assurance.

Thud!

But the knife never came to its play as the bird monster hurtled towards them, only to collide with an invisible wall, causing a resounding crash that stirred the insects hidden in the grass.

Feathers scattered everywhere as the bird monster remained suspended in mid-air, trapped against a yellow translucent dome that became visible at the contact.

Then just like in a cartoon show, it comically slid down, tracing and making the hemispherical shape of the dome visible.

Seeing the funny sight, no world escaped from both of them before Keira finally decided to break the silence and explained about the dome.

"For three days in Cosmic Confluence, newcomers are given a sort of protection in the form of a shield that nearly repels and stops any kind of being other than the Lord and his subordinates."

"I see…"

'Did she forget about it? Can't blame her.

She said that everyone was provided with this kind of basic knowledge in her home world since her world was connected to Cosmic Confluence for so long that they didn't remember.'

Shortly after, they both arrive near the location the bird monster has fallen and now flapping its broken wing repeatedly but wasn't able to do anything.

Its condition was worse after taking a closer look.

Beak was crooked, one eye had blood filling inside, wings broken and blended in an unnatural state and talons were in similar condition as well.

Blood was slowly accumulating on the ground, dying the grass in crimson color.

Seeing its appearance, even David felt pity. But his sympathy turned to surprise as the bird, despite its injuries, attempted to attack him.

Before it could strike, a silver spear flashed through the air, lodging itself in the creature's neck. With a flick of her hand, Keira severed the head from its body, blood gushing forth in a macabre fountain.

Feeling fresh and warm blood directly landing on face, caused goosebumps to appear on his whole skin while his hands shuddered as they wiped the blood off the face.

Raising an eyebrow, Keira asked, "It Seems you led a more sheltered life till now than I first imagined."

Looking at his savior, David didn't know how to respond to such questions.

Nonetheless, he did confess to her honestly after some consideration.

"Most people in my world lead a comfortable life. There is no danger like this present in my home world."

He said, pointing at the monster's corpse hanging in Keira's hands. Examining the creature's corpse, Keira began draining its blood and plucking feathers. 

"Would have guessed with the mana concentration in your planet. Check your status."

David seemed confused but still followed her command.

==========

[Status]

Name: David Taylor

Race: Human

Rank: Tireless

Level: 1 [--------(51%)------]

Attributes:

Class:

Ability: Ruler's Mind{★}

Strength: 0.7 / Agility: 0.9 / Constitution: 0.6(0.5) / Dexterity: 0.8 / Intelligence: 1.3 / Mana: 0.1

==========

A new percentage bar was added alongside his level indication.

That was not all as another panel showed.

[+51% exp for Tesar Tawny Falcon]

David blinked a few times and tried to think of his involvement in exp gain.

"51% increase. Did this come from sharing or the barrier involvement counts as my own?"

"I only got a 39% increase, so that's probably the second option.

The barrier's involvement counts as your own. The shared gain is about 5% of the total exp gain from the subordinate's hunt."

David nodded at her comment and moved away after feeling a sickening sensation from seeing the monster corpse.

While he didn't feel empathy for the bird that tried taking his life along, he was still human at the end of the day.

A human that didn't have seen any bloodshed in his life.

A human that didn't nothing other than study.

While he was excited to see the magical world and its wonders, to explore the vast expanse and level up and get stronger, his short encounter with the Tesar Tawny Falcon had also reminded him of the dread this place carries.

******

Sitting a few meters away from the summoning gate, David gazed over Keira who was handling the bird's corpse like an expert chef.

All feathers were plugged out, blood fully drained, wings and talons were separated, only the meat on the bulging belly of the bird was left.

After digesting all the information, David cooled his brain from the recent event and started seeing things more pragmatically.

He already knew about how weak he was right now but he also realized he didn't possess any other aspects of survival.

Like gathering food, processing the said food, cooking, identifying poisonous or harmful things in Cosmic Confluence, etc.

So right now what he was doing was to observe one of those things and learn from it.

But…

'This isn't enough. I can bring food along, and other items as well. As for poisonous plants or other things, I rather not touch and slowly learn about.

And that learning could only come from this person in front of me.'

Thinking such lines in his head, David moved closer to Keira before saying out loud.

"Could you also teach me what you are doing? And more about this place as well…"

Keira glanced at David's face for a few seconds before replying, "Sure".

One word was enough for David to sigh in relief.

He wasn't sure if the elf in front of him would agree to the demand or not.

Even though he was her lord and could forcefully command her to his whim, he rather not do it.

'These are real people, not like a game npc. Treating them well like normal people would be the only correct choice in this situation. Also…'

He would rather not lose his head.

There is no telling in the future, they could become strong enough to sever the loyalty link in just a few days or there could be other ways as well that Keira hadn't shared with.

And after seeing through all the available information, David could certainly say,

'Cosmic Confluence is not where the strongest survive, it is where the fittest survive. Strength plays a big role, it is not all.'