I Died and Received an SSS-Rank Unique Ability-Chapter 81: Some Action

Vale lingered for a moment, studying Ayla’s expression. Her violet hair swayed gently in the breeze, and her eyes stared into the distance, focused on something only she could see. Admiring it, perhaps. Or fearing it.

Now he understood why she had woken him.

She simply didn’t want to be alone.

He had a tendency to assume the answer was always complex. After all, nothing in the Demon Realm was ever simple. But people? People were the simplest creatures.

His smile softened as he turned his gaze back to the distant mountains, towering like silent sentinels under the rising sun.

They sat together in silence, watching the light slowly spill over the horizon.

Eventually, the quiet broke—not from the wind or the earth, not even from a sudden ambush of monsters, but from the unmistakable voice of Dain, who was the first to wake up.

"Ahh, what a glorious morning!" he shouted, his voice echoing across the mountain. Loud enough to jolt everyone else awake.

Vale was amused that the massive student saw it as a ’glorious’ morning despite the cold, the bleakness, and the overall lack of anything glorious around them.

One by one, the others stirred awake, annoyed voices escaping their mouths as they shot daggers at the massive student’s back.

Soon enough, the camp came alive with movement.

Loud chatter erupted across the passage as everyone began packing their gear. Some even managed to steal a quiet moment to eat before the journey.

Before long, the group was ready to continue.

They moved swiftly through the narrow mountain paths, wasting no time on anything unnecessary. Despite the Demon’s vivid descriptions of the route to the Centaurion’s lair, they still found themselves at forks in the path, uncertain which way to go.

On three of those occasions, Vale called upon his relic.

With the sudden stretch of his vision, he was quick to find the right path.

He had grown used to the sudden shift in vision that came with using the Four-Eyed Raven. Even the toll on his mana essence had lessened, or rather made less of a difference, thanks to the large pool of mana essence surging inside of him.

The journey had soon become repetitive. The group had traversed through countless narrow passages, cold biting at their skin as monsters continued to emerge from the icy walls of the mountain.

The number of monsters had increased ever so slightly, allowing Vale a single opportunity for combat. With a quick flash of his blade, he cut down the Ice Golem with practised ease, frowning at the lack of action.

He had started to question if he was becoming like Dain, as he began to yearn for more combat. This might have been the easiest time he had in the Demon Realm so far, and oddly enough, he was not liking a moment of it.

Not seeing the numbers go up in his status window was underwhelming. He had grown accustomed to chasing a goal, cutting down as many monsters as he could—and now? He was forced to the sidelines, watching the many Awakened dispose of their enemies before he could have a chance to do so.

Then—as if on cue to his thoughts—a shriek came from above.

His gaze snapped upward, where three massive birds tore through the air, eyeing the massive group below.

Vale eyed the monsters in anticipation, ready to cut them down when they struck. But the monsters seemed to know better. Seeing the large number of people might have scared them off, as they lingered just above, not attacking and simply observing.

Vale sighed deeply. Disappointment started to creep in, before suddenly, an idea emerged in his head.

He walked hurriedly to the end of the passage and closed his eyes, focusing on his spirit. Particles of mana swirled before him, and within the same moment, a menacing figure of an ice dragon materialised.

"V-Vale? What are—" Ayla started to ask, but a sudden wave of wind stopped her sentence midway.

"I’m just gonna dispose of those birds above us. Don’t worry, just continue forward," he said, a wide grin spreading across his face as he raced toward the birds flying overhead.

Before long, Vale was already meters away, now able to fully see the figures of the birds.

White feathers stretched across their entire bodies, with long black beaks and ice-cold navy blue eyes. The birds shrieked at his approach, lunging at him—but the dragon’s jaw snapped open and, before the birds could react, one of them was crushed under the heavy weight of ice-shard teeth.

[ You have slain a B-Rank, Awakened Monster, Scavenger of Snowveil ]

The remaining two birds scattered, trying to escape the ominous figure of the ice dragon. But their speed was far too slow. With a single clap of his wings, the dragon was already upon the second bird. It pivoted, trying to shake him off, but before it could escape, the dragon began to inhale.

Vale’s smile widened as he realized what was about to happen.

A wave of crushing ice tore through the sky.

The figure of the white scavenger disappeared under the frost as a voice echoed once more in Vale’s mind.

[ You have slain a B-Rank, Awakened Monster, Scavenger of Snowveil ]

[ You have received— ]

Suddenly, Vale’s grin was wiped away as the third bird attacked—not the dragon, but him directly.

He stretched his left arm, blocking the long beak that tore into his skin.

Vale summoned his weapon, but before he could swing it, the bird’s beak locked onto his arm and threw him off the dragon’s back, into the long fall below.

Vale’s eyes widened as he fell through the sky, his gaze shifting upward just as the dragon twisted toward the third bird, its jaw wide open.

[ You have slain a B-Rank, Awakened Monster, Scavenger of Snowveil ]

With a silent command, Vale sent the dragon racing toward him.

The mountain below grew closer with each passing moment, but before he could crash against it, the dragon dove under, catching him on its back with a heavy thud.

Vale’s chest rose and fell rapidly, panting for air.

"Let’s not do that again," he said out loud.