Take Me Out of This Forest

At this moment, high above the forest, a black shadow was leisurely gliding through the air.

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

It was a rather famous monster—the Griffin.

Griffins were widely recognized as formidable monsters. They possessed the courage and strength of lions, as well as the speed and wings of eagles. They were no less impressive than wyverns, and perhaps even surpassed them.

Thus, even in his previous life, Griffins had been famous mythical beasts. In this Another World, they were equally not to be underestimated.

This Griffin did not seem to have appeared because it had spotted prey. It merely happened to be passing by, flying along leisurely, completely unaware that someone had already set his sights on it.

Shien watched the Griffin flying overhead.

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

That was exactly what Shien had in mind.

And the more he considered it, the more eager he became to try.

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

It would be far too regrettable to miss this opportunity.

Over the past ten days, aside from the Fierce Bird with a human face and serpent body he had encountered at the very beginning, this Griffin was the most suitable flying monster Shien had found for Riding.

It was not that Shien had not encountered flying monsters during this time. Those monsters were either too small to ride or so bizarrely shaped that riding them was simply impossible.

Only this Griffin could be ridden without any problem.

"All right!"

After giving it some thought, Shien, ever decisive and quick to adapt, stopped hesitating.

"Evolve!"

Shien immediately activated Limit Break, causing magic power to race through his body and transform into strength, granting him a superhuman physique.

Right after that, Shien crouched down and gathered all his strength into his legs.

Thanks to the effects of his max-level God of War skill, Shien, who had perfect control over his body, easily concentrated all his strength in his legs.

The next second—

"Boom!!!"

With an explosive roar, Shien shattered the ground beneath his feet. A fierce gust laden with dust erupted around him as he shot into the sky like a rocket, tearing through the air.

"Shriek!"

The Griffin, which had been leisurely flying high above, was startled by the sudden blast. Then it saw a figure shooting toward it like an arrow.

The figure was headed straight for it.

"Thud!"

Not long after, a dull impact rang out high above the forest.

The Griffin only felt something slam heavily into it. It cried out as its entire body tumbled through the air, nearly falling and losing its ability to fly.

Once the Griffin steadied itself, flapped its wings, and resumed flying steadily through the air, it immediately noticed something unusual.

At some point, a figure had landed on its back.

"Success!"

Grinning, Shien gripped the Holy Sword tightly in one hand and clutched the Griffin's fur with the other, seated squarely on the Griffin's back.

"Skill acquired—Riding. Learn it?"

Before Shien could make a choice, the Griffin beneath him finally reacted.

"Shriek!"

The instant it realized what had happened, the Griffin let out an enraged cry. Magic power surged from its body and transformed into rippling waves.

Then, a tornado appeared around the Griffin.

The Griffin's magic power transformed into a tornado, carrying the force of countless wind blades as it violently tore across its body.

"!"

Shien's expression changed, and he instinctively grabbed hold of the fur on the Griffin's neck.

The tornado raging from the Griffin's body struck Shien with terrifying force.

If it had been an ordinary person, they would surely have been blown off the Griffin at once by the savage tornado, then shredded into mincemeat by the force within it.

Shien possessed both max-level Physical Resistance and Magic Resistance, along with the Holy Sword's protection, so he would naturally not be torn into mincemeat. However, being blown off the Griffin was still unavoidable.

Yet Shien learned the Riding skill he had just acquired at the fastest speed possible, then immediately raised it to max level without a moment's pause, gaining the highest level of Riding technique.

Thus, not only was Shien not blown away by the tornado, he instantly clamped the Griffin's body tightly between his legs with all his strength. His hand gripping the fur on the Griffin's neck exerted maximum force as well, while he lowered his body at once and focused entirely on resisting the tornado's power.

"Riiip!" "Riiip!" "Riiip!"

At once, Shien's already tattered clothes were continuously sliced and torn apart by the tornado.

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

"Shriek!"

Noticing this, the Griffin cried out in extreme fury and began flying wildly, spinning, swooping, and darting back and forth through the air in an attempt to throw Shien off.

Unfortunately, Shien was like the most skilled rider imaginable. He kept himself firmly fixed on the Griffin's back, sometimes adjusting his position, sometimes shifting his force, sometimes lowering his body, and sometimes straightening his back, perfectly controlling centrifugal force and balance.

"Behave yourself!"

Later on, while firmly controlling the Griffin, Shien raised the hand holding the Holy Sword, gripped it in reverse, and viciously struck the Griffin on the head with the pommel.

"Thud!"

Amid the dull blow, the Griffin let out a pained cry.

At the same time—

"Skill acquired—Taming. Learn it?"

Shien paused slightly, then immediately learned the newly acquired skill and raised it to max level.

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

This magic power slowly entered the Griffin's body through a specific frequency and path of flow.

"Shriek! Shriek!"

The Griffin, which had been raging in pain just moments ago, suddenly let out cries that sounded almost comfortable. Its struggles also weakened.

Seeing this, Shien was delighted. He quickly continued injecting magic power into the Griffin in the same manner, making its cries increasingly content as it became less resistant to him.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, the Griffin stopped struggling completely. Not only did it no longer resist Shien's Riding, it kept crying out at him as though it wanted him to continue feeding it magic power.

"What? You want more?" Shien smiled 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 that, the Griffin cried out several times as if acknowledging the request, then beat its wings and shot off in one direction.

Understanding something, Shien could no longer hide his joy.

One man and one beast sped toward the edge of the forest.

Third chapter for today!

Please bookmark, vote, and support!