Occult Awakening: From Commoner to Archmage

Luca's whole body froze at the sudden sight of the Sky Tyrant staring at him so curiously. The beast's eyes were nearly human-like in the amount of intelligence he could feel.

The air stilled and an immense pressure crashed down on his body.

Now that the Sky Tyrant was awake, he could feel its energy even clearer than before, and it was more than nearly anything he had ever felt in his entire life.

It was only inferior to the strange spirit that followed Finley around.

A sense of terror made its way through his whole being. The only thing that could compare to the fear that this creature made him feel was the spirit that floated behind Finley.

However, while that spirit had a less overbearing energy, the primal fear he felt was the exact same.

Like he could be dead in the blink of an eye if they truly wanted to get rid of him.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

His heart crashed against his ribs rapidly with fear, at the same time excitement in ways he couldn't describe.

Many questions passed through his head.

What rank was it at? How was it captured? Who captured it?

He didn't know much about the Duke, but now he realized he probably wasn't so simple even as a Duke for him to have kept such a beast in captivity for so long.

Another question popped up in his head.

'What kind of initiate-rank spell would require such catalysts in the first place?'

Still, all of that was hardly important, considering he needed to get the feathers regardless of what happened.

But how the hell would he even do that?

There were dozens of plans that went through his head, but nothing that he felt could actually work.

The magnificent creature finally seemed to lose all interest in him.

It blinked, as if realizing the predicament it was in and then started to move with a fury.

SWISH!

Its wings, which he previously thought were free, were actually restrained as well.

The restraints binding its wings together groaned with a loud noise as it thrashed around trying to escape from the chains.

The ankle locks on its legs didn't help matters as it was completely stuck in place.

FWOOSH!

Each movement it made ignored large gusts of wind that crashed into everything around. Trees flew back and everything in the forest escaped with the same chronic fear infecting Luca.

He dug his feet into the ground to resist getting completely thrown away by the gusts of wind, and it helped, if only barely.

'No chance the guards haven't already realized what's going on. But it's likely that they'll be as crippled as I am.'

That understanding somehow restored his confidence just a little.

Luca took a deep breath, amidst the flying trees and heavy air, realizing that he would be fine.

The Sky Tyrant lost interest in him almost immediately, and from the way it behaved at the moment, he doubted it would notice if he took a few feathers off its body.

Another breath.

'Go!' he yelled to himself, and his body began moving without any further preparation.

He pushed against the heavy wind and air, moving to where the creature rested with each new step he took.

However, that plan fell a little short as the Sky Tyrant did something he didn't expect.

SHRIEEEEK!

It let out an ear-piercing shriek that cut through the whole forest and probably even sounded out in the city.

The loud noise bounced off its restraints, causing faint cracks to appear in the surface, but it wasn't yet enough.

Luca fell to the ground and a small trickle of blood fell out of his ears.

'Bloody hell…'

His ears were ringing and his vision had blurred.

The Tyrant wouldn't even have to pay attention to him before killing him!

Soil crumbled in his squeezed hands as he dragged himself to his feet and grit his teeth through the pain he currently felt.

The bird still hadn't stopped struggling, so there was an abundant amount of time to pluck some feathers before people came to see him—and the bodies—in the clearing.

He ran even closer, preparing his body for collection.

'Beginning to think I should have saved the Nature's Renewal potion for later. Fuck!'

It had mostly subsided but he could barely even move at this moment.

BOOM!

The large beast moved again, this time lifting its large tail and slamming it against the ground rapidly.

RUMBLE. RUMBLE. RUMBLE.

It was too much to handle to see the earth crack and rumble from just a few casual movements. But at the same time they were far from casual.

Trees fell as the earth ruptured from the tail slams. The tremors caused multiple cracks and chasms to appear, with it right at the center.

The goal was simple, and that was to hopefully uproot the foundation of the chains in its legs entirely. When that was done, it would be one step closer to escape.

Another loud shriek came afterwards, but he was prepared for one of those, having coated his ears with a small layer of mana.

Its golden eyes screamed with fury, roaring to be let out of its chains.

Luca almost felt bad for it, but right now he couldn't be bothered.

Everything was made slightly more difficult with the sudden gaps in the terrain, but he had gotten used to things like that in the city itself.

'Cakewalk compared to those bloody massive potholes.'

He leapt forward, crossing a small chasm that the creature's tantrum had created, which was also the only barrier between him and it!

And finally got close to the pristine white feathers of the Sky Tyrant!

The wind howled, and the ground still cracked beneath his feet, but he forced himself to move.

He reached up, fingers brushing the base of the enormous feathers. Each one was longer than his arm or just as long, smooth and gleaming with a faint sheen that shimmered even in the dim light.

Up close, he felt the heat of the beast's body, the crushing aura rolling off it like a storm. His knees threatened to buckle, but he ripped a feather free.

SHHHK!

The sound was small compared to the roaring and thrashing, but it rang in his head like thunder.

The Sky Tyrant didn't notice. Its mind was focused only on the restraints.

He pulled another feather, then another. Each one heavier than expected, but he forced them into the satchel, careful not to drop them.

A fourth feather snapped loose. Sweat drenched his face, both from fear and the sheer effort of moving under the creature's aura.

'That's enough… enough!' he told himself, though his hands still reached for another.

The beast slammed its body again, and Luca stumbled, nearly crushed beneath one of its chained wings as it thrashed. He threw himself aside, hugging the feathers close, rolling against the trembling ground.

BOOM!

The Sky Tyrant shrieked again, its fury shaking the clearing. The cracks in the restraints spread further.

"Shit."

He could feel time running out. Any second, the chains might snap. Any second, the guards might arrive.

Luca pressed the satchel shut, feathers secured, and staggered back toward the cover of the broken trees.

One last glance at the beast. Its golden eyes blazed with hate, but they didn't turn toward him. He was nothing in its eyes. A fly buzzing at the edge of its vision.

That was the only reason he was still alive.

He fled into the forest, ears still ringing.

Behind him, the Sky Tyrant roared and struggled against its bonds, and the sound promised only one thing.

The chains would not hold forever.

***

Author's Note: 2/5. Sorry that the chapters couldn't come at once, but more soon! Please vote with power stones and comment if you're enjoying the story so far :)