Chapter 71: An Unexpected Hunt

The next morning, Ren had planned to start making simple arrows by the riverside right away. But instead, he found himself walking through the forest—completely off schedule.

Originally, he intended to hunt horned rabbits in the grasslands at the edge of the forest. While draining their blood, he expected three-eyed eagles to gather, drawn by the scent. By hunting those eagles, he could collect feathers for arrow fletching.

Horned rabbits would also serve as dinner, and any extra could be sold to the Adventurers’ Guild. After that, he planned to go to the riverside to make glue, heat branches for arrow shafts, and continue his work.

However, near the forest’s edge—where he had previously shot down a three-eyed eagle—he thought he caught a glimpse of a vividly colored feather through the trees.

“Could that be… a Rainbow-Tail Featherbird?”

It was a bird-type magical beast he had been curious about for a while. If he could catch one, he could make rainbow-colored quill pens—or even arrows with brilliantly colored fletching.

Driven by that thought, he rushed into the forest.

But once inside, there was no sign of the rainbow-colored bird.

He sharpened his focus, listening carefully and scanning for even the slightest movement. Then, high in a tree, he sensed something faint shifting.

Staring closely, he saw what looked like a wavering film of magical energy.

“…That doesn’t look like the rainbow one…”

He loosed an arrow—and just as expected, it wasn’t the bird he was after. Instead, it was an Ashveil, a gray-feathered bird-type magical beast with a dark-attribute magic stone. The arrow pierced one of its wings, and it flailed wildly.

“…One shot isn’t enough to bring it down. Maybe better arrows would do it…”

As he stored the Ashveil in his “Small Box,” he pulled out the arrow lodged in its wing. The arrowhead looked worn and fragile, the fletching frayed and messy. It worked well enough to hunt—but now that he was thinking about crafting his own arrows, he wanted something more powerful.

After draining the blood, he turned back and checked his markers to make sure he wouldn’t get lost. He had only just entered the forest, but after getting lost last time, he was being cautious.

Rustle.

A nearby bush shook slightly. Ren raised his bow—but at the same time, he sensed something behind him.

“Small Box!”

Thud!

“Kiik!”

Something slammed into the shield-like “Small Box” he had created behind him. It was a horned ferret.

“Not again!”

As he focused on his rear, another one lunged from the front. He shoved it away with the “Small Box,” then continued using it to trap them one after another. Soon, eight separate “Small Boxes” were scattered around, each containing a ferret.

Once he confirmed there were no more attackers, he finally let out a deep breath.

“…Today was supposed to be bird-hunting day…”

As he dispatched the trapped ferrets, something caught his eye inside one of the boxes—a broken horn.

“Oh, this…”

He took the horn out and examined it. It was lighter than it looked, sharp, and cone-shaped. Taking one of his arrows, he compared it to the arrowhead.

“…This could work as an arrowhead!”

He had planned to find suitable stones by the river, but shaping them would take effort. These horns, on the other hand, looked like they could be used with minimal carving.

He looked around, almost hoping more horned ferrets would appear—but instead, he spotted something else.

A round, bird-like magical creature with deep green feathers moved between the bushes. Only its tail stood out—a vivid red.

“Red feathers!”

Ren quickly readied his bow. Though the creature was partly hidden, he could see flashes of red tails—there were several of them.

Focusing his vision, he saw faint glimmers of magical energy moving.

He drew the bowstring tight.

“Kwa! Kwa!”
“Kwa!”

As his arrow flew, the bushes erupted in noise. Ren grabbed his knife and rushed forward.

On the other side, the birds flapped wildly—and then, noticing Ren, they attacked.

“—Small Box!”

The creatures were round-bodied, with deep green feathers and striking red tails. He remembered reading about them in the Adventurers’ Guild records.

Mossred Cockatiel

• Body feathers: deep green 
• Tail feathers: red 
• Build: round 
• Trait: tail glows red and emits sparks when threatened 
• Meat: firm and mild; becomes aromatic when grilled 

Quickly, Ren trapped them in “Small Boxes.” Inside, their bright red tails crackled with sparks.

“Mossred Cockatiels… It said their meat smells great when grilled…”

As he finished them off, he thought about dinner—but he was just as pleased to have obtained the red feathers.

He plucked one of the tail feathers and examined it closely. It was just the right size for a quill.

“…What if I channel magic through it—whoa!”

Crackle crackle!

The moment he sent magic into it, sparks and smoke burst out. Startled, he immediately stopped and waved the feather to disperse the smoke.

“…Yeah, that’s dangerous for a quill…”

He frowned, imagining sparks flying while he was trying to write.