"Rhode, what do we do now?" Lilia asked.
Rhode thought for a moment and said, "Let's go up and look. There might be some treasure in these birds' nest."
Crows liked collecting shiny things. Carrion Vultures might do the same.
Looking up from below, Rhode couldn't see anything. Their nest was clearly well hidden by the tree's thick canopy.
But that was no challenge for Rhode.
He summoned a Mage Hand, slipped it beneath his feet, and lifted himself up.
Unfortunately, Rhode discovered that when he used it to lift himself, both its height and speed were severely limited. Perhaps that was one of Mage Hand's restrictions.
Was it a little like trying to lift yourself by wrapping both hands around your own legs and pulling upward? It never worked as well as lifting someone else's legs.
That made sense. Otherwise, he could have used it as a flying mount like a Somersault Cloud.
But that was fine. It was already very useful. At least most mages still couldn't use Mage Hand as flexibly as Rhode could.
"Lilia, come here. Let's go up and look together." Rhode beckoned to her.
Lilia sheathed her shortsword and scampered eagerly over to Rhode.
Rhode took her hand and gave a slight tug, and she jumped onto the Mage Hand too.
"You fought really well just now," Rhode said. "That Carrion Vulture was fierce, but it couldn't do a thing to you. You ran circles around it."
Lilia chuckled. Everyone liked being praised.
Rhode continued, "You could have killed that Carrion Vulture on your own without my help. But you're far too weak physically. Even when you stabbed it with your shortsword, you could barely hurt it."
"Then what should I do?" Lilia tilted her head at Rhode.
"There's not much you can do