Chapter 62 - 56: STORM AT THE PEAK OF WINDHOWL, THE STONE GARGOYLE, AND THE DANCE OF THE HUNTER

The wind roared like the howl of a starving wolf in my ears, carrying grains of dust and small pebbles that scraped roughly against my gray cloak. The higher I climbed Windhowl Peaks, the thinner the air felt. My stamina indicator in the corner of my vision slowly blinked yellow, signaling that every movement at this altitude drained energy twice as fast as on the lowlands.

Before stepping further through the storm, I sought shelter behind a giant limestone formation that jutted outward, forming a natural canopy. In this relatively calm spot, I sat cross-legged on the rocky ground to regulate my breathing and open the system interface panel.

The level-up notification from Level 22 to Level 23 granted an additional 3 Attribute Points (AP).

Without hesitation, I immediately allocated those points:

+2 Points to Dexterity (DEX): To maintain shooting accuracy and increase my close-range agility, especially when using the Spellweaver’s Dirk.

+1 Point to Intelligence (INT): To strengthen the destructive power of the Gale Slash passive from my dagger and my innate elemental magic.

I closed the screen panel, exhaled a long breath, and stood up.

"Let’s continue. This area is too good to pass up," I muttered to myself.

Emerging from behind the protective rock, I was once again faced with steep cliff terrain. The Stealth passive made my footsteps blend with the roar of the wind, turning me into an invisible hunter in the middle of nature’s chaos.

About three hundred meters to the northwest, my eyes caught a strange movement. On a vertical cliff that looked impossible to stand on, three stone creatures resembling gargoyles from gothic mythology perched. Their wings were made of overlapping flat stone plates, and their claws gripped the cliff with a strength that crushed the surrounding rock.

[Cliffside Gargoyle – Level 27]

HP: 4000/4000

Defense: High (Physical Resistance 60%)

Description: A hybrid elemental creature of stone and wind. Prefers to dive from heights to crush its prey. Its stone skin is immune to light weapon attacks.

Physical resistance of 60%. For players with ordinary weapons, this number was a concrete wall. But for me, who possessed the Titan’s Ironbark Longbow with its passive effect of ignoring 25% Armor, they were merely fragile bricks waiting to be shattered.

Our distance was about sixty meters. My position was slightly lower than theirs, which meant I had to shoot at an elevation angle. Combined with the extremely strong crosswind from east to west, shooting straight was pure foolishness.

I released the giant bow from my back. The heavy weight immediately burdened my left arm. I planted my stance, then nocked a Blood Oak wooden arrow.

I drew the bowstring made of Bog Troll sinew with all my strength. My virtual muscles tensed to their limit. Three seconds felt like an eternity in the middle of these wind gusts. When the draw reached its maximum point, my vision narrowed. The Sniper’s Nest passive locked onto the target.

I did not aim at the Gargoyle’s chest. I aimed about two meters to the upper right of its position, letting my instinct calculate the gravitational pull and wind pressure.

DHAAAANG!

The sinew string exploded, releasing its kinetic energy. The Blood Oak arrow shot through space. The storm wind immediately slammed into its side, bending the arrow’s trajectory sharply to the left exactly as I had predicted.

CRATASSSHH!

The arrow slammed precisely into the left wing joint of the Gargoyle that was still sleeping! The attack from a distance of more than 50 meters granted me an additional 20% Critical Damage. The physical impact from the Ironbark that ignored most of its stone defense completely shattered that wing plate.

The Gargoyle howled with a sound that resembled two granite blocks being scraped together. Its HP bar immediately plummeted by more than half. The creature lost its grip on the cliff and fell headlong, crashing onto the rocky ground below.

[Lethal Hit! Armor Piercing Triggered!]

[-2650 Physical Damage!]

However, its scream woke its two companions. Glowing red eyes opened on their stone faces. Their wings expanded, creating a rumbling sound as they leaped from the cliff and glided using the updrafts.

They immediately locked their gazes onto me.

Two Level 27 Gargoyles dived down at high speed like stone missiles. I had less than five seconds before they reached my position.

Drawing the Titan’s Ironbark Longbow a second time was completely impossible with the 30% Attack Speed penalty. Forcing it would only turn me into an easy target.

Without hesitation, I released my grip on the wooden bow, letting its sling strap hold the giant weapon on my back. My right hand slid quickly to my thigh, drawing the Spellweaver’s Dirk. The astral silver blade reflected the pale sunlight.

The first Gargoyle landed with a hard impact, creating a small crater and a shockwave of dust. Its stone claws immediately swung horizontally toward my abdomen.

I activated the magic [Wind Walk]. A gust of wind instantly formed under the soles of my feet, making my body feel as light as cotton. I leaped backward just in time, allowing the stone claws to split empty air.

Upon landing, I immediately spun my body and charged forward. The dagger in my hand glowed green as I channeled mana into it.

SRAAAT!

The silver blade slashed the Gargoyle’s stone arm. Its physical resistance was indeed high, yet the Spellweaver’s Dirk possessed a combination of Magic Damage that directly penetrated the pores of its stone.

Ding! A sharp sound rang out as the passive [Gale Slash] triggered! A crescent-shaped wind slash exploded from the tip of my dagger, slamming directly into the face of the Gargoyle from a distance of less than half a meter. The Magic attack calculated from 50% of my INT blasted away part of the creature’s stone face, making it stagger backward.

However, the second Gargoyle did not give me a chance to breathe. From above, it used its ability, firing small stone spears coated in wind vortices.

I ran in a zigzag, avoiding the series of stone spears that embedded sharply into the ground around me. My brain worked extremely fast, calculating magic cooldowns and positioning myself.

"Stone and wind elements... Let’s make them a little wet," I whispered.

While continuing to run and dodge, my left hand cast [Water Ball]. Not one, but two water balls in succession. I did not aim them at the enemies’ bodies. Instead, I threw the water balls onto the dusty rocky ground right between the two Gargoyles.

Byash! Byash!

The water colliding with the dry dust sand blown by the strong wind instantly created a thick temporary mudstorm around them. The vision of both monsters was blocked. They roared in confusion, attacking blindly into the mud mist.

This was the true agility of the combination of Mage and Elf agility. I slipped to the rear side of the first Gargoyle whose face was already half-destroyed, leaped onto its stone back, and stabbed my silver dagger precisely into the gap of its neck joint!

CRASH! The Gale Slash passive triggered again inside its protective gap, blasting its head from within. The monster shattered into pixel particles beneath my feet.

The second Gargoyle, realizing this, immediately turned and swung its stone wing. But I had already predicted it. Using the destroyed body of its companion as a foothold, I leaped high into the air, somersaulted over its head, and slashed precisely at the vital point on its back.

The dance of silver and wind continued for the next two minutes until finally the last Gargoyle fell with the sound of collapsing rocks.

[You have defeated Cliffside Gargoyle x3. Gained 9000 EXP.]

I landed with my knees slightly bent, panting as I sought oxygen in the thin mountain air. My heartbeat raced like war drums. I wiped the sweat from my avatar’s forehead and smiled widely.

I picked up the loot they dropped:

[Gargoyle’s Core] x2: High-quality crafting material for increasing armor durability.

[Wind-sculpted Stone] x4: Porous stone good for absorbing magical elements in the alchemy process.

After resting for several minutes to recover my stamina and mana indicators, I continued the climb. The terrain grew steeper. The footpath was now replaced by steep cliff fractures that forced me to climb manually at several points.

About thirty minutes later, I arrived at a fairly wide high plateau. The ground here was covered by silver grass that bowed under the endless wind. In the middle of that plateau stood a giant nest made of ancient tree branches and monster bones.

Inside that nest slept a creature that made my virtual blood surge hard.

Its form resembled a giant lion, yet its head and front wings belonged to a silver-colored eagle. Its feathers radiated an extremely dense storm-wind aura, creating a static air vortex around its body. Its size was three times larger than an ordinary Grizzly bear.

I swallowed and activated the Identify skill from behind a large rock chunk.

[Silverwing Zephyr Griffin – Level 29 (ELITE BOSS)]

HP: 18,000/18,000

Type: Mythical Beast / Wind-Lightning Element

Description: The absolute ruler of Windhowl Peaks. Its silver wings can cut through steel, and its cry can summon lightning from the mountain storm. Do not provoke it if you are not prepared to face the wrath of the sky.

"Level 29 Elite Boss," I muttered softly, feeling an extraordinary mixture of dread and excitement.

At Level 23, facing an Elite Boss alone with a 6-level difference was an action usually only taken by fools or those who wanted to commit suicide. Its HP touched 18,000, and its attack type combined wind and lightning elements, a deadly combination that was difficult to avoid.

But retreating was not in my dictionary today.

I began analyzing the battlefield. This high plateau was wide, yet it had several stone pillar chunks that could be used as shelter from Area of Effect (AoE) attacks. The Griffin was currently sleeping soundly, giving me the crucial advantage of the first strike (first strike).

I set aside my dagger and took a crouching position. I carefully drew the Titan’s Ironbark Longbow.

This time, there was no tolerance for mistakes. I took a pure Blood Oak arrow and tied a [Lesser Mud Bomb] behind its arrowhead. I did not use a large bomb because I wanted the physical penetration power of the arrow to remain dominant, not merely the area explosive power.

I took a deep breath, pushing all the roaring wind sounds out of my head. My focus narrowed. Full draw was performed. The Ironbark wood creaked heavily.

I began casting my absolute combo.

[Power Shot]: Blue glow wrapped the arrow, exponentially increasing penetration momentum.[Vital Shot]: Blackish-red light ignited, seeking the Griffin’s absolute weak point. That point appeared right on the lower chest, where its eagle feathers met its lion fur.[Piercing Gale Arrow]: A massive amount of mana drained. A high-speed drilling wind vortex formed, wrapping the tip of the Blood Oak arrow and the mud bomb fuse at the same time.

Five seconds of casting felt like one hour. My avatar’s muscles screamed holding the tension of this three-layered combo.

"Wake up, Ruler of the Storm," I whispered coldly.

I released my finger grip.

DZHAAAAANG-BOOOM!

The sound of the arrow launch shattered the eardrums. The wildly spinning drilling wind vortex pierced through the air for eighty meters in the blink of an eye.

The Griffin had just opened one of its eyes, sensing the dense mana fluctuation directed at it.

CRAAASHHH! DUARRR!

My arrow pierced directly into the broad chest of that creature! The Titan’s Bow passive shattered its natural feather armor. Piercing Gale Arrow drilled inward, tearing flesh, followed by the internal explosion of the Lesser Mud Bomb that immediately applied an instantaneous Stun effect!

[Lethal Hit! Elite Weakness Exploited! First Strike Bonus!]

[-6500 Physical/Wind Damage!]

[Additional Effect: Target afflicted with STUN for 3 seconds!]

That opening attack successfully took away one-third of the Elite Boss’s HP bar!

However, the moment the Stun duration ended, true hell began. The Silverwing Zephyr Griffin rose with a howl that shook the mountains. The previously merely cloudy sky now rumbled with blue lightning flashes. Its silver eyes glowed full of wrath, locking onto my position instantly.

It flapped its giant wings once, and that body weighing tons shot toward me through the air, creating a sonic wave.

"Damn, its speed is unreasonable!" I cursed while immediately leaping behind a protective stone pillar just before the Griffin crashed into the ground where I had been.

BRAAAAK!

The ground shook violently. The stone pillar where I took shelter cracked severely.