Tales of the Endless Empire
Chapter 162: Power Leveling (3)

Thalion hovered in place, wings outstretched, watching the blue hawk circle the giant crystal far above. His instincts urged him to rush straight into the battle, but experience tempered that impulse. He clenched his talons tightly around empty air. No, that would be reckless.

Sure, he had easily slain higher-level beasts over the past few hours, but these creatures guarding the topmost crystals were a different breed. One wrong move could spell his end. The memory of a flying jellyfish one-shotting one of his fighters with a venomous stinger was still burned into his mind. He had to be cautious.

The hawk probably wasn't venomous, but beasts like that often had other deadly tricks. Even with his insane recovery abilities, a single mistake could be catastrophic. If things went sideways, he could always use Mistform to escape. Thalion doubted the hawk would pursue him that far. It wouldn’t want to leave its precious crystal unguarded.

But first, he needed to test his new skills. A bit of practice wouldn't hurt and perhaps he'd earn another skill along the way. His eyes gleamed as he scanned the sky, looking for a promising target.

There was nothing as impressive as the flying serpent he'd just defeated, but a small swarm of sky turtles floated nearby. Their thick shells and lumbering flight made them decent practice dummies. If he couldn’t get a new skill, at least he'd sharpen his techniques.

Beating his wings, Thalion glided toward the turtles, the sun warming his back. He maintained a cautious distance, circling a few hundred meters away while studying their behavior. Thalion also wanted to know how close he could get undetected with his new passiv skill. Sky turtles were tricky. They likely wanted him to get close before launching an ambush.

Fortunately, Thalion had an edge. His title. By focusing hard enough, he could sense the turtles' emotional states. It wasn't perfect, but he could usually tell if a creature had noticed him.

When he closed to about eighty meters, hovering twenty meters above the turtles, he felt it—a sudden shift in their demeanor. Anticipation and excitement pulsed through them.

They've spotted me.

Thalion scanned the skies, checking for other threats. Nothing. Good.

Time to test his Wind Blade.

Abandoning his slow glide, Thalion propelled himself forward with powerful wingbeats. He didn't activate Tempest Glide yet. He wanted to save that for an emergency boost if the turtles got too close.

The moment he revealed his intent, the turtles reacted. Their flippers churned furiously as they shot toward him, surprisingly fast for their bulky forms.

Thalion twisted sharply to the side, activating Wind Blade. A massive arc of cutting wind sliced out from his wing, striking one of the turtles. He couldn't see how deep the cut went, but the beast lagged behind the others, clearly injured.

Gaining distance, Thalion wheeled around and fired off several more Wind Blades. The turtles struggled to dodge the rapid attacks. Flippers were severed, shells cracked, and one even lost its head. Not bad, Thalion thought, pleased. The skill was deadlier in his hands than when the snake had used it.

There was still one thing he wanted to test. Most of his abilities were attuned to both wind and lightning—the essence of the storm. But Wind Blade seemed purely wind-based.

What if I empowered it with the Storm Crystal?

Would the blade become infused with electricity? Or would nothing happen? Maybe the wind affinity in the crystal would enhance it slightly but not dramatically.

Only one way to find out.

Thalion banked hard, angling toward the closest turtle. He fired an empowered Wind Blade, charged with the Storm Crystal's energy.

The result was immediate—and astonishing. The blade tore through the turtle, cutting it cleanly in half. Both halves twitched violently as electricity arced across their bodies. The empowered Wind Blade was faster, sturdier, and crackling with energy.

Excellent, Thalion thought, watching the turtle's remains plummet. The skill was now a formidable tool—perfect for repositioning himself in battle while setting up a devastating lightning beam.

Satisfied, he sped up to gain more distance, taking small turns to fire additional Wind Blades at the remaining turtles. They had no chance. One by one, they were cleaved apart by the enhanced attacks.

Thalion put the Wind Crystal the turtles had guarded into his spatial ring, his focus shifting upward. The hawk was still circling the giant crystal, its sharp eyes fixed on him now.

Unlike the sluggish sky turtles, the hawk reacted immediately. It dove toward Thalion with incredible speed, wind swirling violently around it.

Domain skill, Thalion realized, his eyes narrowing.

Winds raged around the descending predator as Thalion calmly began charging his lightning beam. He could’ve used the crystal to boost it, but the hawk wasn’t in range yet. There was no need to rush.

Let’s see what you’ve got, Thalion thought, his feathers bristling with anticipation.

Maybe it would’ve been wiser to wait until he was within range and then use the crystal to fire the lightning beam. The element of surprise might've tipped the fight in his favor, but it was too late for that now.

The domain around the hawk intensified, the winds growing fierce as the creature dove faster. Thalion fired the lightning beam once he closed the distance, then immediately activated all his domain skills and Tempest Glide to gain additional speed, the power of the crystal fueling each move.

The hawk dodged the lightning beam effortlessly, continuing its descent. Thalion barely had time to react before the bird countered with a wind blade of its own. Strong winds from Thalion's storm domain altered the blade's trajectory slightly, but not enough to deflect it completely.

Impressive, Thalion thought, narrowing his eyes. Beasts usually struggled against the fierce winds of his storm, but the hawk sliced through it effortlessly, its wings barely shifting.

Then it opened its beak, releasing a blast of compressed wind. The gale tore through the air with destructive force. Thalion twisted hard, narrowly dodging the blast. That skill looks incredible. I need it, he thought with a fierce grin.

In response, he fired an empowered wind blade and began circling the hawk, wind swirling around them like the heart of a hurricane. Neither bird seemed hindered by the chaos. Until a lightning bolt from above struck the hawk squarely.

The creature flinched mid-flight, its feathers crackling with residual electricity. It seemed attuned solely to wind, unable to handle the lightning surging through Thalion's storm domain. More bolts rained down in rapid succession, forcing the hawk to conjure a shimmering windshield as it pressed forward, trying to close the gap.

Damn, a windshield? Thalion thought, eyes gleaming. That would be perfect for Eagly. I have to kill this thing.

For now, Thalion maintained his distance, gliding through the tempest with ease. Occasionally, he fired wind blades at the hawk, but its speed made it difficult to land a clean hit. A lightning beam would be ideal, but the hawk’s maneuverability was exceptional.

They were locked in a stalemate, neither able to land a decisive blow. Thalion's only advantage was his storm domain. The relentless lightning bolts would eventually wear the hawk down. His mana reserves were still healthy, while the hawk seemed to be burning through its resources rapidly.

Thalion sensed the creature's mounting desperation as it unleashed its skills in quick succession. Its movements grew less precise, its attacks more frantic.

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Time to end this.

Thalion pushed his body to the limit, speeding up before rolling onto his back. In one fluid motion, he fired a lightning beam. The hawk managed to dodge but not entirely. The beam struck its shield, which absorbed most of the impact but shattered under the force.

The maneuver had slowed Thalion down, but he used the moment to change direction sharply, launching a crystal-empowered wind blade. The hawk struggled to dodge and failed.

Before it could resummon its shield, a powerful lightning bolt struck it from the stormy sky. The hawk screeched in pain, its body flung downward by the force of the impact.

Thalion didn’t waste the opportunity. He fired another lightning beam while gaining altitude. The hawk dodged again, but its shattered shield left it vulnerable.

The hawk gave Thalion one final, defiant glare.

Then it vanished.

Thalion scanned the skies, his senses heightened as he used his title to gauge the area. Nothing. The hawk was gone, likely teleported to the next stage.

So that's how it works for beasts? Thalion wondered, frustration gnawing at him. He had wanted those skills badly.

Still, it had been a good fight, and he'd learned plenty. Deactivating his domains, Thalion descended onto the massive wind crystal. It shimmered like a colossal diamond, radiating immense power.

He had used almost half his mana during the battle, but with his skills deactivated, his reserves had nearly fully recovered in the short time. As he rested, he absorbed as much wind affinity as possible. It wouldn’t make a huge difference, but every bit helped.

Fully recovered, Thalion stored the giant wind crystal in his spatial ring and took off toward the distant sky turtle.

A swarm of at least twenty smaller turtles surrounded the massive beast, which was the size of a small house. The smaller ones matched the size of the sky turtles he’d slain earlier.

Now just a few hundred meters away, Thalion felt the giant turtle’s formidable aura. Its shell looked nearly impenetrable. This fight might be far more challenging than the one against the hawk.

How fast is that thing? And what skills does it have? he wondered.

It must possess some powerful ability. Otherwise, the birds would simply fly away everytime the skyturtle tried to hunt. Thalion couldn't imagine any creature here willingly trying to break open that shell.

Well, I’ll try, he thought, determination tightening his grip.

But the question remained. How did the giant turtle hunt? Perhaps the answer lay in the swarm of smaller turtles surrounding it.

No, that couldn’t be it. Why would the smaller turtles share their food with the big sky turtle instead of just eating it themselves? There had to be some other reason, but Thalion wouldn’t find out just by staring at the beast lazily resting atop the crystal.

He sped up, activating Tempest Glide. Moments later, when he was in range, he unleashed a crystal-powered lightning beam at the massive turtle.

It was a shame his body couldn’t handle more power when using the lightning beam, meaning the crystal-empowered version was only as strong as his charged attack. Still, the blast packed a devastating punch. Two smaller sky turtles were instantly fried, their bodies spiraling toward the ground, while the giant one was blasted ten meters backward.

The beast let out a deep, guttural growl—a sound you'd never expect from a turtle. But creatures shaped by the system were far different from those on Earth.

Thalion’s sharp gaze focused on the shell where his attack had struck. Only a scorched black dot remained—no real damage. That was a first. What is that shell made of? It didn’t seem to have conducted the lightning at all. Unlike its dead companions, the big one wasn’t even twitching.

He needed to be sure. Veering slightly to the left, Thalion lined up another shot, positioning himself directly in front of the turtle at a fifty-meter distance. The second lightning beam struck its head as it tried to retreat into its shell—but it wasn’t fast enough.

The turtle flailed violently for a second, its flippers twitching from the pain. Still, it didn’t die. Only a dark spot marked the impact on its head.

What the... Thalion blinked in disbelief. This was the first time anything had outright resisted his full-powered lightning beam.

The giant sky turtle made its move.

It shot forward with shocking speed, its massive form cutting through the air like a warship slicing through waves. Thalion hadn’t expected something that size to be so fast. He had assumed the smaller turtles would hunt or at least corral prey for the larger one. Clearly, that assumption was wrong.

The smaller turtles were practically useless, unable to keep up with the giant beast. They didn’t even seem to have ranged attacks to compensate.

Thalion activated Stormcaller’s Fury and Thunderous Eye, empowering both with the storm crystal embedded in his chest.

Let’s see how you handle this, he thought, beating his wings fast to maintain distance.

To his disappointment, the sky turtle plowed through his storm domain like an icebreaker through frozen seas, completely unfazed by the lightning bolts raining down on its shell.

Troubling, Thalion thought, pushing his speed to the limit. This was the first time his domain skills had absolutely no effect on an enemy.

Still, the smaller turtles weren’t immune. The powerful winds tossed them around, and the lightning bolts finished them off quickly. That left only the big one—the real problem.

How do I deal with you? Thalion mused, considering his options. Before the fight, he had thought about testing his beak or talons against the turtle, but now that seemed like a terrible idea. That monstrous shell would probably break his beak clean off.

For now, he stuck to firing lightning beams at its head, hoping repeated hits would have an effect. He weaved through the air, turning sharply and changing direction often. The beast was fast, but not agile. Quick turns gave Thalion a slight edge, one he exploited relentlessly.

Empowered wind blades proved useless—they couldn’t even penetrate the hide on its head. At least the lightning beams showed some effect, but Thalion doubted they would be enough to kill the creature, even over time.

Plan B began to form in his mind. He would circle behind the turtle, switch to his human form, and use the vines of the Sanguine Thorn to latch onto the shell. Then he'd try cutting through it with his blade.

If that didn’t work, he’d have to retreat and pray the turtle didn’t follow him back to his skyships. They needed to gather air elementals and wind crystals—losing that opportunity wasn’t an option.

Thalion deactivated his domain skills to conserve mana. With them off, his reserves recovered quickly. The repeated lightning beams didn’t drain much, and his energy refilled fast.

Good. At least I won’t lose a battle of endurance.

The turtle, however, adapted. Leaning its head to the side, it prevented Thalion from landing direct hits. Annoyed, Thalion fired two more beams, but neither found their mark.

Then the beast surprised him again.

Its massive mouth opened wide as it drew close, sucking in all the air around him.

What the— Thalion's eyes widened. It’s like a vacuum cleaner!

He activated Skydive, barely managing to keep his distance from the powerful pull. Thankfully, the range wasn’t too great.

Better stay far away from that thing, he thought grimly.

But the turtle wasn’t finished. Its shell began to glow with a bright, almost blinding light. Gravity warped around Thalion, reversing suddenly and dragging him back toward the turtle.