Huh? How did I get into the tree? Did I somehow manage to crawl up before fainting from exhaustion?

Waking up on one of the large branches of the tree she should originally have been sleeping beneath, Scaly found herself still in a half-asleep state staring down on the stack of leaves at the base of the tree that she should have originally been sleeping inside from her memory.

No… I clearly remember burying myself in the leaves to ensure it wouldn't be easy to find me while asleep…

But as her mind slowly cleared and she recalled everything she had done before falling asleep, it became clear that she hadn't suddenly managed to find the strength to climb up the tree before falling asleep. Meaning that someone or something had moved her up into the tree while she had been asleep.

However, no matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn't think of any monsters that would move her up into the tree where it was easier for her to hide instead of just killing her. Leaving only one answer in Scaly's head as to how she might have ended up in the tree, herself- or more precisely, she had crawled up the tree while still in a half-asleep state to ensure her own safety after recovering enough strength to move around again before lying down to fall asleep again.

Although this was a bit of a stretch, it was the only reasonable explanation Scaly could think of and the only one that would explain why she couldn't remember crawling up into the tree.

Any other explanation she could think about seemed far more unlikely, as she couldn't imagine any monster or passing human lifting her up into the tree to help ensure her safety while she was sleeping. Especially with the shadow condor having potentially returned during her sleep to look for her.

Rustle~

In the end, after concluding that she herself should have been the one to climb up into the tree while in a half-asleep state, Scaly decided not to think about what had happened anymore and began to slowly make her way down the trunk of the tree. Not intending to spend any longer than necessary on the barren hillside that still had no trace of other monsters around it.

The lack of monsters being a source of unease for her, as she had already started to wonder whether the barren hillside might be the nest of a powerful demon beast like the shadow condor. After all, only the presence of such a powerful demon beast could explain why no other demon beast had dared to approach… And her encounter with the shadow condor itself also indicated that it should be living somewhere nearby. Potentially at the top of the barren hillside that she hadn't had the chance to explore after crashing into the side of the hillside before rolling down the side of it.

With that in mind, now might be her only chance to safely leave the barren hillside before the shadow condor returned.

Thump~

Thus, the second she landed on the pile of leaves that she had originally hidden inside of before falling asleep, Scaly wasted no time as she began making her way down the barren hillside.

Of course, because she was uncertain about the true danger of the barren hillside and if the shadow condor was really gone, she didn't dare rush down the hillside recklessly. Instead, deciding to slowly move downwards while keeping her eye out for the shadow condor that might emerge from the top of the hill or anywhere above her.

But even as she kept her eyes peeled for any potential while moving down the side of the barren hillside, there was nothing outside an empty sky with no sign of the shadow condor. The only few demon beasts she spotted being another flock of blue moon hawks flying high above her.

However, the sight of these blue moon hawks above did set off alarm bells in her head, as there was no way they would be flying through this place if the barren hill was really the home of the shadow condor that she had already seen hunting them down.

Meaning, the barren hillside might very well be home to another powerful demon beast that didn't have the ability to fly!

With that in mind, Scaly could not help observing her surroundings in more depth compared to before, but same as in the past, she found no traces of demon beasts. The only thing standing out on the barren hillside being the lone trees that were scattered around the barren hillside.

But… A few trees were hardly anything special and was far from enough to draw her attention. Instead, she began theorizing that the owner of the barren hill might be some kind of underground demon beast that lurked beneath the surface and had turned the entire hill into its home by creating countless tunnels beneath the surface.

In fact, as she thought about this, she felt that it made sense, as it would explain why the place was so barren and no more than a few trees were able to grow on the hillside.

Maybe in the past, the hill had far more trees, but the powerful underground monster moved in and dug countless tunnels beneath the surface, cutting roots and killing most of the trees that originally inhabited the hillside in the past.

Yes… That should be the case, in which case, I will have to be ready to counter a potential attack from below!

Narrowing before her eyes with a look of understanding as she felt like she had figured out the situation of the barren hillside, Scaly decided that it might be too risky for her to continue walking normally across the ground, as it might create vibrations that the underground demon beast could use to locate her and attack her from below.

Rustle~

So, to solve this issue, she decided to climb up a nearby tree before jumping off the top of the tree while unfurling her wings-

Swish~!

Soon enough gliding through the sky a few meters above the surface of the ground below.

Although she couldn't fly normally, gliding was more than doable and with the hill sloping downwards ever so slightly, she didn't have to worry about having to use wind magic to keep herself afloat, as she descended back towards the ground at a slower pace than the ground beneath her slopped. Soon enough, causing her elevation from the ground to reach a little over five meters.

Even if the powerful monster that she guessed was lurking somewhere underground decided to jump out to reach her, she felt confident that she would be able to avoid the attack with her wind magic, able lift her even higher up into the sky.

The main reason why she didn't just immediately use her wind magic to soar into the sky and ensure that the monster that might be lurking beneath the surface stood no chance of reaching her, was because she was worried that going too high up into the sky might draw the attention of the blue moon hawks flying far above her.

Outside the blue moon hawks, she was also worried that something like the shadow condor might appear again and target her.

She might have the ability to escape if she was noticed by the blue moon hawks because of the distance between them, but in the face of a skilled flying monster like the shadow condor, she wouldn't even have a chance to reach the ground again before it caught her.

For this reason, she ensured that she kept her height between five and ten meters. Folding her wings to forcibly descend in case she exceeded ten meters in height. Doing her absolute best to ensure she was in the safest possible position to deal with any danger she might be faced with.

Whoosh~

Like this, Scaly soon found herself flying past the line of green foliage and towering trees the surrounded the barren hill, but even with this, she didn't stop, as she still couldn't find any monsters hidden among the trees. Meaning that she was still in dangerous territory.

[Branch Eater, lvl 13]

[Branch Eater, lvl 17]

[Branch Eater, lvl 11]

[Branch Eater…]

Only after spotting a group of weaker monsters in the form of green worms more than a meter in length munching down on the branches that had fallen on the ground from a nearby tall tree, did she feel at ease. Landing in the crown of the tall tree in question before taking the chance to rest from the long flight.

Even though she hadn't used any wind magic to keep herself afloat, her wings weren't exactly the strongest part of her body and using them for such an extended period of time was nothing short of exhausting.

Now that she had the opportunity to relax her wings again, Scaly was more than happy to do.

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