Wyvern, Overnight Stay

Cain followed the direction of Erza's finger and indeed saw a flower resembling crystal standing proudly at the edge of the cliff.

No matter how fiercely the wind and snow raged around it, it remained utterly fearless.

"That's right, that's the Crystal Flower. Erza, watch the rope while I go down and collect the dew."

Cain tied one end of the rope around his waist and fastened the other to a nearby rock, leaving Erza to guard it in case a passing monster snapped it.

"I'll definitely keep watch over the rope. Be careful, Cain."

Seeing Erza looking as though she would protect the rope with her life, Cain instinctively patted her head before slowly moving toward the Crystal Flower along the rope.

"I'm not a child. Cain, honestly."

Erza was somewhat displeased that Cain was treating her the way one would treat a child, then she worriedly looked toward him at the cliff.

The heavy wind and snow made it much harder for Cain to obtain the Nectar Dew Crystal, so he could only inch toward the Crystal Flower step by step.

Good thing I've always trained my body. Otherwise, collecting the dew would have been quite troublesome, Cain thought to himself.

Cain picked out his next foothold. Just as he extended his left foot, the rope above him suddenly shook, followed by Erza's furious shout.

Cain understood that a monster had arrived and that Erza was fighting it.

"I need to speed up."

Cain knew that rushing would only make mistakes more likely, so he could only force down the anxiety in his heart.

On the other side, Erza glared at the monster before her. It was as tall as two adults, covered in white scales, and its gleaming fangs and claws made it clear that it was no harmless creature.

As Erza watched the monster beat its enormous wings and fly through the air, she could not help recalling the appearances of the various monsters on Great Snow Mountain that Cain had described to her.

She soon identified the flying monster before her as a Wyvern.

The Wyvern had just tried to ambush her, but she had blocked it. However, because it had happened too suddenly, she had crashed into the rope. Fortunately, it had not snapped.

At this point, the equipment in Erza's Requip Space was nowhere near as extensive as it would be in the future, capable of handling every kind of situation.

For now, her Requip Space contained only a longsword and some armor. She had no way to harm a Wyvern flying in the air.

"Roar!"

The Wyvern let out a furious roar, beat its wings, and swooped toward Erza.

"It's coming."

Watching the Wyvern dive at her at high speed, Erza narrowed her left eye and instantly judged where it would attack. Just as it was about to reach her—

She slightly shifted her body aside, avoiding its attack. But it was not over yet.

Several longswords were summoned by Erza and, under her control, flew toward the Wyvern's wings.

"Pssh! Pssh!"

Empowered by magic, the longswords instantly pierced through the Wyvern's wings. The intense pain sent the Wyvern into a loud, miserable howl.

Cain, who had just finished collecting the Nectar Dew Crystal, felt somewhat relieved when he heard the scream. "Looks like that monster is no match for Erza."

Although he had guessed that Erza was not in much danger, Cain still hurriedly climbed upward with all his strength.

Compared to the care he had needed while descending, climbing back up was much easier.

When Cain climbed onto the cliff, he saw several longswords embedded in the wings of the enormous Wyvern, dark red blood slowly flowing from its wounds.

Unable to fly because of its injured wings, the Wyvern was constantly chasing Erza and trying to tear into her.

However, Erza's small body was extremely nimble. She always dodged at precisely the right moment and occasionally swung the longsword in her hand, leaving wounds of varying depths across the Wyvern's body.

Seeing this, Cain was completely at ease. It seemed that Erza defeating this Wyvern was only a matter of time.

The longer Cain watched, the more shocked he became. When he had first climbed up, Erza had still been in a very sorry state. She had nearly been struck by the Wyvern several times and was far from skilled at judging the right opportunities.

Yet as time passed, Erza seemed to have completely seen through the Wyvern's movements. Her dodges became increasingly effortless, and her grasp of timing grew more and more precise.

"Whoosh!"

As Cain pondered this, Erza seized the instant when the Wyvern, weakened by excessive blood loss, paused slightly. The longsword in her hand traced a mysterious arc with incomparable naturalness.

It pierced straight into the creature's eye. The blade sank to the hilt, stabbing into the Wyvern's brain.

Time seemed to freeze. The ferocious light in the Wyvern's eyes gradually faded, and in the end, it fell to the ground without moving.

Cain stepped forward and pulled up the girl, who was sitting on the ground and panting from exhaustion. "Erza, you defeated a Wyvern all by yourself. Amazing."

As he spoke, he handed Erza a recovery potion. She took it without asking any questions, pulled out the stopper, and drank it in one gulp.

Cain was a little surprised that Erza had drunk it without even asking, then he smiled. "I made that stamina recovery potion myself. How does it feel?"

Although they had not known each other long, Erza felt an inexplicable trust toward Cain. She believed he would not harm her.

Erza smacked her lips. "Mm, it doesn't really have any taste."

Cain did not know whether to laugh or cry. "I'm not asking about the taste. How does your body feel?"

"Ah." Realizing she had made herself look foolish, Erza's face reddened slightly. "Pretty good. Mm, very good."

Cain shook his head and did not ask further. He raised the Rain Dew Crystal he had collected beneath the cliff. "The Rain Dew Crystal can be preserved for three days, and Granny Porlyusica needs one day to make the medicine. Let's search nearby for more, just in case this isn't enough."

Looking at the Rain Dew Crystal in the bottle, which looked no different from ordinary dew, Erza said energetically, "Mm, let's go."

Cain glanced regretfully at the Wyvern's corpse. Its scales, claws, and fangs could be used to make fine armor and weapons, but unfortunately, they had no time to deal with it now.

After shaking his head, he continued searching for Crystal Flowers with Erza.

After a day of searching, the two found five Crystal Flowers and collected a total of ten milliliters of Rain Dew Crystal.

Cain looked at the Rain Dew Crystal in the bottle. "This should be enough. We'll rest in the cave tonight, then take the train back to Magnolia tomorrow."

"Mm-hmm, Cain, hurry up and sleep."

As she spoke, Erza scooted closer to the side of the sleeping bag, leaving part of it empty to show that she had saved the space for him.

That was right, Erza had not prepared a sleeping bag either. Cain had originally intended to give his sleeping bag to Erza, but she said they were both children, so squeezing in together would be just right.

Cain thought about it and agreed. They were both children, so it was no big deal. Besides, sleeping in the bag was certainly better than freezing outside.

And so, breathing in the faint, unfamiliar fragrance from Erza's body, Cain soon fell asleep.

With Cain beside her, Erza felt inexplicably safe, and she slept comfortably as well.

As they slept, the corners of their lips curved up slightly, as though they were dreaming of something happy.