Queen of the Land

After finding a spot thick with vegetation to hide in temporarily, Gordon took out the map the Instructor had given him and turned it over. Some details about this wyvern nest were recorded on the back.

The rocky mountain was structured somewhat like a volcano, with a sizable hollow inside and an opening at the summit that made flying in and out easy. For Flying Wyverns, it was an ideal nesting site.

Thus, even if its "owner" died in some accident or left, another Flying Wyvern would soon move in. Because of the local distribution of species, the nest's occupants were almost always fire wyverns.

Aside from the entrance at the summit, the wyvern nest had two other passages leading in and out.

One was a low opening less than a meter high, and the other was a long, narrow fissure in the rock.

To the enormous Flying Wyverns, these two passages were like mouse holes in a human home, hardly worth their attention. Their scent alone was enough to keep ordinary animals away.

Hunters, however, used these two passages to "visit" the nest's owner.

Gordon was doing exactly that now, except today he was playing the part of a sneaky "thief," rather than a murderous, pillaging "bandit."

The first step in burgling a house was, naturally, to establish whether its owner was home.

"Porkchop, I'm counting on you. Be careful," Gordon whispered.

Porkchop nodded his little head, secured the Felyne Pickaxe on his back, and ran toward the wyvern nest on all fours.

Small size and agility were the Felynes' greatest advantages.

The larger a monster was, the less attention it paid to them. After all, in the wild, being small often meant being harmless.

Even if Porkchop had the bad luck to run straight into the nest's owner, he would be fine as long as he did not lose his mind and attack first.

A few minutes later, Porkchop came running back.

He looked very excited.

"The fire wyvern isn't in the nest, meow! I saw its eggs-they're huge! There are three of them, meow!"

Gordon's eyes lit up. This was the best possible situation.

He pushed aside the branches of the shrubs and looked up. There was nothing in the sky. Without further hesitation, he left his hiding place and jogged over to the narrow rock fissure.

The fissure was narrow at the top and wider at the bottom, but it still offered enough room for an adult man to walk through normally.

After following the passage for about eight or nine meters, he emerged into a broad space.

It was an enormous cavern covering more than a thousand square meters, its interior roughly cone-shaped. At the top was an opening about twenty meters across, large enough for even a Flying Wyvern to pass through easily.

It matched the Instructor's description exactly!

It was afternoon, and bright sunlight streamed through the opening, forming a shaft of light that illuminated the dim cavern.

The cavern was untidy but dry. The remains of large animals such as Aptonoth lay scattered everywhere, and a pungent, foul stench hung in the air.

Porkchop could not help sneezing, but Gordon's attention was wholly drawn to the nest beneath the shaft of light.

Large quantities of wood and grass, burned to charcoal or even pale ash, were piled there. In the center of an ash bed more than half a meter deep lay three enormous wyvern eggs.

Each egg stood roughly forty to fifty centimeters tall and would probably be difficult to encircle with both arms. Their shells were not particularly smooth, with a granite-like grayish-white color that made them look extremely hard.

All I have to do is carry one back to camp, and the quest is complete!

Inside a wyvern's nest, Gordon was not foolish enough to stand around wasting time. He flexed his arms and prepared to walk over and pick up an egg.

Just then, Porkchop let out a startled cry. His pointed ears swiveled in every direction, and his eyes betrayed unmistakable anxiety.

"Meow?! I hear wings flapping, meow! The fire wyvern might be coming back, meow!"

Gordon immediately stopped in his tracks. He could feel his heart rate nearly double within seconds!

He trusted Porkchop's hearing and sense of smell completely. Rather than waste time checking over and over like an idiot, he needed to act.

Grabbing an egg and running was out of the question. Once the fire wyvern discovered a missing egg, it would fly into a rage and immediately take to the air to search the surroundings. He would never get far enough away.

We have to hide first!

Picking up Porkchop, Gordon glanced around, then bent down and grabbed a handful of fire wyvern droppings from the ground. He smeared them all over himself and Porkchop.

The overpowering stench nearly made him retch, but this was the best way to mask their scent.

Once that was done, he and Porkchop hurried into the fissure they had used to enter the nest. The passage was not straight, and hiding around a bend would keep them out of the fire wyvern's sight.

Having chosen their hiding place, the man and Felyne lay flat, trying not to make the slightest sound.

Not long after they hid, an enormous shadow appeared at the opening overhead amid the roar of air churned by wyvern wings.

More than fifteen meters long, the immense creature made monsters like the Blue Velociprey King look like children beside it. Its broad wings almost completely blocked the opening.

Its blue-green scales and armored hide, powerful legs, and the distinctive spike beneath its chin all proclaimed its identity.

The Queen of the Land-Rathian, the female fire wyvern!

Peeking just slightly around the bend in the passage, Gordon watched the Rathian land steadily inside the nest and almost forgot to breathe.

Could human strength really stand against a creature like this?

Dozens of warnings from the Instructor had been less effective than this single glimpse. For the first time, Gordon felt regret.

Even if the Bullfango King from his qualification quest could be brought down through courage and strategy after a difficult hunt, the gulf in raw strength between him and the Rathian was one he had no way to cross.

This is not a monster I can face as I am now!

Gordon could feel Porkchop trembling uncontrollably beside him.

Of course he was. Never mind Porkchop-even Gordon himself could not suppress the fear in his heart.

Back in her nest, the Rathian first glanced at the eggs. A rare hint of maternal tenderness appeared in her cold, slit-pupiled eyes, but then she raised her head warily.

There seemed to be an unfamiliar smell in the nest.

She folded her wings, stretched out her neck, and sniffed around.

Seeing this, Gordon and Porkchop instinctively held their breath.

Ten-odd agonizingly long seconds passed.

Fortunately, that handful of foul-smelling fire wyvern droppings proved decisive. Finding nothing else, the Rathian concluded that the odd scent must have come from prey she had brought back earlier.

She slowly returned to the eggs and lay down, curling around them. Her scorching breath, flecked with sparks, washed gently over their shells, as though helping them hatch.

Gradually, she fell asleep.

Gordon and Porkchop exchanged a look. This might be their best chance to leave.

The man and Felyne cautiously tried to get up, but a heavy steel weapon and a full suit of armor made completely silent movement impossible.

At his very first movement, the tip of the Buster Sword scraped against the ground with a metallic clang, neither particularly loud nor soft.

The startled Rathian instantly opened her eyes. She raised her neck and looked around.

Inside the passage, Gordon and Porkchop froze in place as though playing statues, terrified of making even the slightest further sound.