Richard was pushed back.
His talons dug trenches into dirt as his body skidded, feathers spraying mud like torn cloth. The impact rattled through his bones and up into his skull, turning his thoughts into a brief, ugly blur.
His pupils shrank.
'How is it so strong?'
Taking their stats into consideration, the lizard shouldn't be able to overpower him so cleanly.
And yet.
Here it was.
The truth, staring at him from a face he knew too well.
The lizard's eyes were black.
Not like the darkness of the night.
But the abyss black where lights don't seem to be able to pierce through.
Richard's mind flashed, bitter and grim.
'Is this the power of a bloodline and a combat talent?'
No wonder the otherworlders had managed to fight back despite their number disadvantage.
A difference between combat Talents and support Talents was already this huge. Not to mention the difference between Talent and no Talent.
All of those otherworlders seem to have awakened something.
Even if their bodies were weaker than half his rabbits.
Their Talents let them punch above their weight.
If Richard hadn't commanded his subjects to prioritize survival.
If he hadn't drilled caution into them.
How many of his subordinates would have died tonight?
His thoughts were shattered as the lizard twisted.
It spun with unnatural fluidity, then whipped its tail.
Richard's instincts screamed.
He leapt.
The tail sliced the air under him and struck a tree.
The trunk exploded like it had been hit by a siege hammer.
The tree fell with a thunderous crash, narrowly missing a cluster of rabbits scrambling away with frantic squeaks.
Richard landed, talons skidding, heart hammering.
The lizard lunged again.
Richard ducked, rolled, and sprinted sideways, trying to create distance.
He had to think of another way.
Wear it down?
Wait for the frenzy to burn out?
He clenched his beak.
There was no other choice.
Not only because it was his subordinate.
But because it was one of the few strong enough to protect the flower field from the next wave of otherworlders.
Richard's comb twitched.
'Damn it. I need to create some distance.'
The lizard struck again.
Richard blocked but the impact rattled his bones anyway. He felt it down his legs, through his talons, like his skeleton was a bell being rung.
At that moment, he made up his mind.
If he kept trading blows, he'd lose.
He needed space.
He needed time.
Richard made an obvious move.
He slashed forward with his talons wide, committed, almost desperate.
He didn't expect it to land.
With how the lizard's physical prowess was overpowering him right now, it should dodge easily.
Then Richard would use that moment, while it shifted to create distance.
That was the plan.
The lizard twisted, exactly as Richard expected.
And then stopped.
Mid-motion.
As if an invisible hand had grabbed its body and pinned it in place for a heartbeat.
Richard's talons kept going.
They struck squarely into its chest.
TWACK.
A dull, heavy impact landed.
The lizard was sent flying backward, tearing up dirt as it crashed through low brush.
Richard's eyes widened.
"…What?"
The lizard scrambled back to its feet.
It roared and rushed forward and slammed its head toward him.
Richard, still half-stunned by what had just happened, barely reacted in time. He twisted, barely dodging the vital hit.
The horned skull clipped his shoulder instead of his chest.
Pain flared down his wing like fire.
He staggered.
Blood splashed.
The mist thickened around the black lizard as it roared again. Its fighting style grew more volatile by the second, wild, reactive, murderous. Every time it noticed movement, every time a leaf rustled, every time a snake shifted an inch too close…
It charged.
Like it was trying to kill everything that breathed.
"I said back!" Richard shouted, voice cracking with strain as he blocked another strike aimed at an oblivious snake. "All of you, BACK OFF!"
His Commander's Presence flared instinctively.
Golden threads rippled through the air, pushing his subordinates away like a silent wall. The smaller creatures obeyed without thinking.
They could feel it too.
This wasn't a battle they could help with.
The lizard's claws came again.
Richard dodged, barely or so he thought.
SLASH.
One claw raked across his chest.
Feathers and flesh tore in brutal lines.
Richard hissed through his beak.
'It's getting faster?'
His legs trembled.
His breath came hard.
He forced his eyes to sharpen.
'Think Richard think'
He couldn't overpower the lizard head-on.
Not while it was in this frenzy state.
So he changed the battlefield.
With a provocative cluck, sharp, insulting, Richard pivoted and sprinted into thicker trees.
The lizard chased instantly, crashing through trunks like a living battering ram.
Richard weaved between roots, forcing tight turns that his more agile body could handle.
For a few seconds, it worked.
The lizard clipped trees, slowed by its own frenzy. It didn't weave through like Richard.
It tried ramming through.
Woods shattered.
Leaves burst.
The forest screamed.
Richard looked back with a grim expression.
'Its Body tier should be higher than mine now… did it reach D-? Or maybe D...possibly even D+'
The thought made his stomach sink.
Then the lizard roared, angry at Richard's slippery style and jumped, using the thick trunks as a foot hold it vaulted over him and slammed down ahead of Richard, blocking his escape like a wall of scales and wrath.
Richard skidded to a halt, dirt spraying.
His comb twitched.
He raised his talons.
The lizard lunged again.
Richard desperately activated the only debuff he had.
A panel flashed.
[Ability: The Ruler's Condemnation - Activated]
A faint pressure rippled outward, subtle but heavy, like a judge's gavel slamming down on the world.
For a heartbeat, the lizard's posture stiffened.
Its limbs slowed.
Its breath hitched, like the air had thickened into tar.
Richard felt a flash of hope.
Then the black mist surged again.
The lizard's body spiked with strength, fueled by pain and frenzy, and it ripped through the sluggishness like a beast breaking chains.
Richard's hope died instantly.
The lizard slammed into him.
Richard was thrown backward again.
He hit the ground hard, dirt exploding.
His vision strobbed.
He forced himself up.
But the lizard was already in front of him.
Claws descending.
Richard twisted aside.
The claws struck the ground and cracked it open.
Soil flew.
Roots snapped.
Richard rolled, got to his feet, and ran again.
Minutes felt like hours.
His body burned.
His chest bled.
His shoulder throbbed.
His breath rasped like sandpaper.
The lizard kept coming.
Relentless.
Furious.
At one point, Richard jumped onto a rock, trying to gain height.
The lizard's tail hit the rock like a whip.
The stone cracked.
A spark flashed as the scale scraped against stone like a knife.
Then the tail slammed into Richard.
His body launched into the air.
Richard coughed blood as he fell down.
THUD.
The lizard roared.
Richard's legs trembled.
'When was the last time I was injured like this?'
He couldn't remember.
Even when he fought for the flower field…
Even when he battled that otherworlder murderer in rage…
He had never felt this close to being broken.
The lizard raised its claws again.
Richard lifted his talons to block.
And for the first time tonight…
He felt his bones cracking as he was pushed back.
His eyes widened.
'Damn it. Is it still getting stronger?'
Richard rose to his feet, breathing ragged.
He raised his talons again.
Bracing for the next attack.
But the attack never came.
The lizard suddenly paused.
Its head snapped upward.
Its abyss-like eyes stared at the sky.
It roared.
But this roar wasn't aimed at Richard.
It was aimed at the world.
Indignation.
Anger.
Agony.
Like it was cursing the heavens, clawing at something inside its own body.
Its legs buckled.
The black mist sputtered like a dying flame.
The black in its eyes flickered, black, gold, black, gold…
And then the massive lizard collapsed.
It crashed into the dirt like a fallen tower.
Silence spread through the forest.
Richard stood frozen, chest heaving, talons shaking.
He didn't move for several seconds.
He watched.
He waited.
He waited for it to jump up again.
Slowly and cautiously Richard approached.
Every step was careful.
Every muscle remained tense.
He lowered his head.
Checked the lizard's breath.
It was unsteady.
But still alive.
Richard exhaled a long, exhausted cluck of relief.
"Damn lizard…" he muttered softly, voice thick. "You nearly killed your boss."
His subordinates peeked from behind trees, wide eyes, trembling bodies.
Rabbits pressed their ears flat.
Chickens huddled together.
Even snakes lay strangely still.
Richard straightened and turned toward them.
"Help me," he commanded, voice hoarse. "We're taking it home."
For a moment, hesitation flickered through the group like a ripple.
Then they moved.
It took several of them, rabbits pushing, chickens bracing, snakes wrapping around like ropes to haul the lizard's massive body onto Richard's back.
For a moment, the image was absurd: A rooster, bleeding from head to toe, carrying a scaled tank like some tragic hero from an epic.
Richard would have laughed.
If he wasn't too tired to do so.
They began the trek back.
As they approached the edge of the clearing near the Novice Village, Richard's gaze drifted, against his will, toward it.
The clearing was empty now.
The shimmer remained.
The village torches flickered behind that invisible boundary.
And the fox-eared woman…was gone.
Richard's beak tightened.
Meeting her had flipped his worldview upside down.
He had thought he was strong.
And he was, compared to what he knew.
But against someone like that?
He was a chicken in a well.
The difference in strength was so large that, for the first time in his life, Richard felt something he hated more than pain: powerlessness.
He had been born stronger.
He had grown stronger faster than anyone else.
That had built his confidence like armor.
Now that armor had cracked.
His mind replayed the moment she looked at him.
Again.
Again.
And again.
Unlike the fight with the lizard where he could fight for his own survival. There was no such feeling when he stood under her gaze, it was like his life and death could be decided on a whim.
He hated that feeling.
He barely noticed when the trees thinned.
Barely noticed when the scent of flowers replaced damp soil.
Barely noticed when thousands of clucks, hisses, and growls rose like a storm around him.
They were back.
The flower field.
His home.
His subjects surged toward him, injured creatures, creatures that should've been sleeping and resting.
Worry filled the air.
Richard forced himself to keep walking until the lizard was laid down properly, surrounded by bodies that pressed close like a living blanket.
He barked quick commands for them to keep watch, to keep it warm, to keep it breathing.
His voice was steady.
His posture stayed straight.
Hiding the fact that his whole body screamed.
Then he ascended the hill slowly, each step heavier than the last.
Clouds drifted overhead, swallowing moonlight, painting the flower field in darkness.
For a moment, the only light in his world was the faint glow of a status panel he'd been ignoring for far too long.
Richard finally looked at it.
And his view exploded with notifications.
[Congratulations. You have led your creatures under your protection to fight against otherworlders in an all out war and achieved crushing victory.]
[Your Achievements have been noticed.]
[Soul: D- → D]
Richard's comb lifted.
His Soul tier had gone up.
D- to D.
He should have been celebrating.
He should have been crowing until the entire field woke up.
But his mind flashed to the black-scaled lizard, abyss eyes, black mist, strength that shoved him backward like he was nothing.
Richard's feathers prickled.
If he, at D-tier Soul, had still been suppressed like that…
Then what would happen if the lizard's Soul ever caught up?
His tongue clicked.
Not in annoyance.
In awe.
"Still… it's a double-edged sword," he murmured.
The lizard was powerful.
But if it went berserk like that again…
Even he might not be able to stop it.
Then more text flooded in.
[Congratulations. You have led creatures under your protection into a life and death battle where they had a possibility of extinction. Despite having the power to end the battle without any danger, you stood behind, shrank back, and didn't step in. Your cowardice is astonishing.]
[Your Achievement has been noticed.]
Richard stared.
His beak twitched.
"…Excuse you?" he muttered, half insulted, half offended.
His eyes narrowed.
"Hmph. Ignorant system," he grumbled, defensive pride flaring. "What do you mean 'possibility of extinction'? Unlike you, I have the talent to tell me what to do so that doesn't happen…"
A guilty little laugh escaped him.
"…As long as I follow it."
More panels pushed forward, relentless.
[It has been confirmed that you have a Domain-type Path.]
[Conditions fulfilled.]
[Domain-type Path Unique Ability Manifestation in progress.]
[A Chain Quest: Chains of Civilization has been generated.]
[Note: You can abandon the quest anytime. Abandoning will absolve all chains. All abilities gained will be retained. The quest cannot be repeated once abandoned.]
Richard's breath caught.
"Chain… quest?"
New lines formed.
[First Stage: The Sin of Observer has been created.]
[Condition: Unknown.]
..
[Condition fulfilled: You chose not to enter a battle that could erase your people, despite being able to end it safely.]
[First Stage: The Sin of Observer - Completed.]
[You have gained a title: The Sin of Observer.]
Richard blinked.
He was about to read it again as more panels arrived.
[Second Stage: The Sin of Indecision has been created.]
[Conditions: Unknown.]
[Congratulations. You have manifested the ability: The Observer's Rage.]
[The Observer's Rage: The first time you're attacked, your first counterstrike becomes unavoidable.]
[Note: You can use your Talent to see specific conditions.]
Richard stared.
His beak twitched again, this time with excitement.
"The Observer's Rage…"
His mind connected dots in a sudden spark.
So that was why.
That was why the lizard couldn't dodge his strike earlier.
That moment when it froze mid-air like an invisible hand had pinned it.
It had been because of this.
His mood lifted, just a little.
After all, he wanted more power now more than ever.
Every ability counted.
A tired grin tugged at his beak.
Then he looked out over the dark flower field, where his subjects rested like shadows below him.
His chest still hurts.
His body still bled.
His mind still replayed the fox woman's gaze like a bruise.
But the glow of the panel reflected in his eyes like a promise.
Richard's eyes locked onto the words.
Chain Quest.
Stages.
Sins.
His comb slowly lowered as a realization struck him like thunder.
A cold chill slid under his feathers.
"…So that's how it is," he muttered, voice flat.
He stared at the panel like he could bite it.
For a stupid moment, he'd honestly believed it would be simple.
One condition.
Follow The Path, don't actively intervene unless provoked, and then Infinite resurrection would just… fall into his lap like a reward for holding himself back.
A ridiculous laugh escaped him, sharp and self-mocking.
"…I really am naive."
He shook his head, beak tightening.
Of course an ability like that wouldn't be handed out for free.
Of course it wouldn't be just one step or one condition.
He exhaled, long and heavy, and the laugh died.
Whatever this chain quest needed him to do…
Whatever sins the world wanted to hang around his neck…
If it led to infinite resurrection.
If it led to a future where his people never had to die permanently again.
Then he'd drag those chains himself.
Even if they cut into his flesh.
Even if they tried to break him.
Richard's comb lifted.
His gaze hardened.
"…Alright," he whispered into the wind. "Show me the next stage."
A final panel appeared, soft and inevitable.
[Talent: The Path - Activated]
The world went quiet.
And then the roads appeared.