Take Me Out of This Forest

Take Me Out of This Forest

High above the forest, a black shadow glided leisurely through the air.

The shadow was a monster with the body and claws of a lion, the head of an eagle, and a pair of matching eagle wings—a creature born from the combination of a lion and an eagle.

It was a rather famous monster: a Griffin.

Griffins were recognized as formidable beasts. Possessing the ferocity and strength of a lion, combined with the speed and wings of an eagle, they were on par with, if not superior to, wyverns.

Even in his previous life, the Griffin was a well-known mythical beast, and in this Another World, it was a presence not to be underestimated.

This particular Griffin didn't seem to be here because it had spotted prey; it was just passing through, flying quite casually, completely unaware that it had already been targeted by a human.

Shien watched the Griffin soaring through the high altitude.

If I could ride on that Griffin's back, I should be able to fly straight out of this forest, right?

That was the idea Shien was toying with.

And the more he thought about it, the more restless he became.

If he wanted to leave this forest as soon as possible, this was the best method he could think of.

It would be a huge shame to miss this opportunity.

In the ten days he had spent here, aside from the human-faced, snake-bodied Fierce Bird he encountered at the very beginning, this Griffin was the most suitable flying monster for riding that Shien had ever come across.

It wasn't that he hadn't encountered flying monsters during this time; it was just that those monsters were either too small to be ridden or so bizarrely shaped that riding them was physically impossible.

Only this Griffin was perfect; riding on its back would be no problem at all.

"Alright!"

After a moment of thought, Shien, who was always decisive and possessed an extraordinary capacity for acceptance, stopped hesitating.

"Limit Break!"

Instantly, Shien activated his Limit Break skill, causing his mana to circulate rapidly through his body, transforming into raw power and granting him a superhuman physique.

Immediately after, Shien performed a deep squat, gathering all his strength into his legs.

Thanks to the effects of his max-level God of War skill, Shien, who could perfectly control his own body, easily concentrated all his power into his feet.

The next second.

"BOOM!!!"

With a thunderous explosion, Shien shattered the ground beneath him, kicking up a violent gust of wind and a thick cloud of dust as he shot into the sky like a rocket.

"SCREECH!"

High above, the leisurely flying Griffin was startled by the sudden, deafening roar, only to see a figure shooting toward it like a sharp arrow.

The trajectory was aimed directly at it.

"THUD!"

Not long after, a dull impact echoed through the sky above the forest.

The Griffin felt as if it had been struck by a heavy weight. It let out a cry, its entire body tumbling in mid-air, nearly losing its ability to fly.

By the time the Griffin stabilized its form and flapped its wings to fly steadily again, it immediately noticed something strange on its back.

A figure had landed there at some point.

"Success!"

Shien, gripping his Holy Sword in one hand and the Griffin's fur in the other, laughed as he sat firmly on the beast's back.

Obtained skill: Riding. Learn?

As this message flooded his mind, Shien hadn't even made a choice yet when the Griffin beneath him finally reacted.

"SCREECH!"

Realizing what had happened, the Griffin let out an angry cry the moment it regained its senses, and mana surged from its body, manifesting as ripples.

Then, a tornado appeared around the Griffin.

The Griffin's mana transformed into a tornado, carrying countless wind blades that began to whip wildly around its body.

"!"

Shien's expression changed, and he instinctively gripped the fur on the Griffin's neck tighter.

The tornado rising from the Griffin's body carried astonishing power, lashing against Shien.

If it were an ordinary person, they would surely have been blown off the Griffin's back by the frantic swirling of the tornado and shredded into mincemeat by the power within it.

Shien possessed max-level Physical Resistance and Magic Resistance, and with the protection of his Holy Sword, he naturally wouldn't be shredded into mincemeat, but being blown off the Griffin was inevitable.

However, Shien learned the newly acquired Riding skill at lightning speed, and without a moment's pause, he leveled it up to the maximum, granting him the highest level of riding technique.

Consequently, not only was Shien not blown away by the tornado, but he also instantly clamped his legs tightly around the Griffin's body with maximum force. His hands, gripping the fur on the Griffin's neck, exerted all their strength, and he lowered his body, putting his heart and soul into resisting the power of the tornado.

"SHHH!" "SHHH!" "SHHH!"

Suddenly, the already tattered clothes on Shien's body were continuously shredded and torn apart by the tornado.

Yet, Shien remained firmly seated on the Griffin, completely unharmed.

"SCREECH!"

Noticing this, the Griffin shrieked in extreme fury and began to fly wildly, spinning, diving, and darting through the air in an attempt to shake Shien off.

Unfortunately, Shien was like the most skilled rider, keeping himself firmly controlled on the Griffin's back. He adjusted his position, shifted his weight, lowered his body, and straightened his spine, perfectly mastering the centrifugal force and balance.

"Behave yourself!"

Eventually, while still firmly controlling the Griffin, Shien raised his hand holding the Holy Sword, gripped it in reverse, and slammed the hilt hard against the Griffin's head.

"THUD!"

Amidst the dull thud, the Griffin let out a pained groan.

At the same time.

Obtained skill: Taming. Learn?

Shien was slightly stunned, then immediately learned the newly acquired skill and leveled it up to the maximum.

At that moment, a look of realization appeared in Shien's eyes. He placed one hand on the Griffin's back and began to inject his own mana into it.

This mana was injected into the Griffin's body slowly, following a specific frequency and flow path.

"SCREECH! SCREECH!"

The Griffin, which had been enraged by the pain just moments ago, suddenly let out a cry of comfort, and its struggle weakened.

Seeing this, Shien felt a surge of joy and hurriedly continued to inject mana into the Griffin using the same method, making the Griffin's cries increasingly comfortable and causing it to stop resisting him.

After an unknown amount of time, the Griffin stopped struggling entirely. It no longer resisted Shien's riding at all; instead, it kept chirping at him, seemingly wanting him to continue injecting mana.

"What? You want more?" Shien chuckled and said to the Griffin beneath him, "If you're willing to take me out of this forest and to the nearest town, I'll satisfy you."

Hearing this, the Griffin chirped a few times as if to acknowledge, then flapped its wings and soared in one direction.

Understanding what this meant, Shien could no longer hide his joy.

The man and the beast flew rapidly toward the edge of the forest.