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Zero Ranker - Chapter 3

Published at 13th of January 2019 06:28:27 AM


Chapter 3

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Shen Public Hospital, Shen City

The view of the orange sun setting down from the horizon illuminated the open windows of Old Ben's room. "That boy isn't here yet?..." A look of worry was painted all over his wrinkled face.

For the longest time; he had taken care of Xenith, who was an orphan adopted by his late son. Sadly, his son had passed away just as soon as Xenith was added to the family. Now, he and Xenith were the only ones left to take care of each other.

Scrunching back and forth his gray hair, fixing it as soon as its dampness was gone; Old Ben tried his best to rise from his hospital bed, heading straight towards the hospital's check-in counter.

---

The loud and craggy chirping obviously wasn't coming from any ordinary bird.

A hatchling Roc, curiously pecking on Xenith's head, somehow made its way outside its nest. Although it was still a chick, a rock hard beak made its pecking tremendously strong and painful.

'Ow… ow… ow…'

The curious hatchling incessantly continued bothering the unconscious Xenith, who woke up just in the nick of time to avoid as head trauma from all the pecking. "... What are you doing here little birdie— birdie?.... What the—"

With blurry vision, Xenith tried lifting the little Roc hatchling off of him. Unfortunately, the baby Roc was heavy… extremely heavy, weighing about 50 pounds even after just a week from hatching. The pain crashing through the rift and being pecked on the baby Roc suddenly washed onto Xenith, causing him to barf and cramp up.

The nauseating sensation pervaded for a few more minutes before Xenith sobered up.

Wonderly looking at him was the Roc hatchling, rocking its head back and forth as it curiously gazed at the puke all over the ground. "No little bird, don't eat that…" Xenith chortled, wiping his face clean from the excess barf as he carefully moved the Roc hatchling away.

"... Where am I?" Xenith pondered as he inspected the surroundings. Kicking dirt to cover the "mess" he made, he finally was able to stand up without the mind-racking pain. Bleeding was apparent on his right cheek, but he was unconscious the entire time that it now had dried up.

Looking around, all he could see were wide clearings with tall trees here and there. Nothing was odd at first glance, that is if Xenith did not count the rock-solid bird incessantly pecking on his shoes. "You can't fly, little one?"

Judging by how big its wings were compared to the rest of its body, Xenith could hardly believe that this thing still could not fly. The hatchling wasn't even big to bigger with, the totality of its height could barely reach Xenith's knee.

"I couldn't bring you either, little one. Hmm... "

If Xenith was to get out of this odd place, which he could only guess to be the opposite side of the rift, he had to act fast. 'I have heard of reports about people being sucked by rifts, but I have not heard of any survivors…' Although the possibility of him being stuck within this mysterious place forever was highly likely, Xenith was not the type to just throw the towel and give up. 'Grandpa Ben is still waiting for me.'

If the way he came in here was due to a rift, chances would be— The way out would be through another one. "If that were the case… All I need is to find another rift go through. Wherever I land, anywhere on Earth is better than being stranded here."



If Xenith was to compare the shock he had when he discovered that he was indeed a New Human to what he was currently facing right now, he wouldn't even be shocked if he was some sort of a prodigy 10-star ranker… Because right now, a mountain-sized beast with wings spanning the heavens was intensely glaring at him.

It barely had been an hour since he roamed the place before this gigantic thing suddenly greeted him. Xenith could easily dismiss this as the Roc hatchling's mother, but… it obviously wasn't.

This was no Roc… With an eagle beak, sharp feline claws on its hind legs, and a feathery tail that stretched as long as its body— It was a different kind of beast. 'A Griffin…'

'I guess my luck is extremely bad no matter the place, heh' Xenith smirked. It might have been the feeling of helplessness, but somehow, he wasn't worried as to what would happen. In the face of overwhelming odds, the weak could only surrender.

Unfortunately, in this instance, he was the weak one.

*Whooosh*

With a beak as sharp as a spear, the seemingly hungry Griffin brazenly dove its head towards an easy prey. It did not even mind the hatchling Roc beside the "worm he had never seen before".

Two worms in one peck, now that was a bargain...

*Boom!*

Damage threshold reached! Acquiring skill…

Skill "Blade Immunity" successfully acquired!

Blade Immunity - Reduces incoming damage from sharp objects by 90%

Gift of the Great Rift used… Gifts Remaining— 8/10

Incessant notifications from an unknown voice rang inside Xenith's consciousness. He could not really understand anything it was saying as he was too focused on deflecting the wild Griffin's attack.

He could only flail his arm and shield the rest of his body with it as he closes his eyes.

But somehow, "It worked?... I— I am still alive!"

Slowly opening his eyes, the confused Xenith was greeted with an odd scene.

The gigantic beak of the Griffin was stuck on his arm! It's peak barely pinched either side.

*Krrrrr!*

A muffled cry from the wild Griffin's mouth soon followed. As it tried to get rid of the annoying "worm" that it could seemingly not eat through, the Griffin forcefully lifted Xenith off the ground.

Flailing in all direction and finally smashing Xenith back on the cold hard ground, it was freed from the odd peril.

"Brunt Immunity" Activated, Damage reduced by 90%

Coming out from the rubbles was the merely scathed Xentih— arms a tad bit injured from the bite and a bleeding head from the trauma of a forceful impact, he was still somehow… fine. "How…. how was that possible?"

He could not think of a reason as to what was happening, perhaps, if he listens closely to what the odd voice was saying, he could gain at least a clue. 'Here goes nothing…'

As it seems that he wasn't taking significant damage from any of the wild Griffin's attacks, Xenith had to test it out once more…

"Yow, you dumb bird! Come and get it!"

With the most provocative action he could muster, Xenith dared insult the maddened feathered beast. If he were to focus on the voice rather than the upcoming attack, he could understand.

As soon as the Griffin turned, its gaze was ice cold towards Xenith.

It was indeed a creature from the family of birds, but it was no bird-brained— Knowing that the beak attacks were not effective, it needed another move to deal any sort of damage. A Griffin does not solely rely on its physical strength. It's gigantic wingspan obviously served another purpose.

*Foog* *Foog*

With two consecutive flaps, tornadoes swept the ground, heading towards the direction of Xenith…

"Here it comes…"




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