Zio opened his eyes while grabbing onto his head tightly, his head hurting very bad right now, he removes his hand from his forehead and notices bloodstains on his hand.

He tries to find any cuts or scraped skin over his body and sighs in relief as he finds none, the Vulture's body actually cushioned all the blow from that fall.

He looked around and found bloody bones and pieces of flesh everywhere around the area, Zio got to his feet slowly and started to investigate the area, he looked at the bones and realized that it is from the Vulture that brought him here.

Zio thanked his luck, if it was not for that vulture he would have died in the mountain path from cold and hunger, and thanks to that Dragon he is able to survive from that vulture as well.

Zio looked at his surrounding once again and noticed that there are trees and bushes everywhere he knew he cannot stay here longer as the smell of the flesh may attract some scavengers here.

He took his bow and arrows and headed up the hill, he could see the peak from where he is standing, he also knew that the thing he is searching for is right their according to the book.

Zio knew that he is in constant danger right now because a magical beast can jump out and just eat him out of nowhere, he slowed his footsteps and steadied his breathing, trying to make as little noise as he can.

Walking on the ground can be dangerous so Zio decided to go through the trees, even though trees might not be safe he will still have an advantage regarding vision and maybe he could spot the danger before the danger spots him.

After taking a good look, Zio found the tallest tree in the area and started to climb it, this tree was very thick and had a lot of branches and holes in it which made it easier for him to climb, as he was halfway up the tree, Zio noticed movement up in the branches covered by leaves, he stopped and mounted an obsidian arrow on his bow and took aim at the source.

His hunter's instinct kicked in as his breathing became silent, his heartbeat stabilized and he became one with his bow, with his eyes locked on the branch he noticed his target.

A green-colored snake that has diamond patterns on its back, Zio doesn't know what species is this snake from, whether it is a Magical Beast or just a Wild Beast.

Zio carefully looked at the snake, he noticed that the snake was also looking at him with its bright yellow eyes as its tongue flickered in the air, it was ready to strike as well.

Zio observed the snake and noticed that he can only aim for the snake's underbelly as its back is covered with thick scales, Zio doesn't know how good those scales are defensively but he cannot take the risk.

His father once told him that a hunter's life is hanging from a thread, one mistake and they will be the ones who will get hunted.

Aiming at the snake's soft underbelly Zio is ready to release his arrow, without giving any chance for the snake to strike, Zio released the arrow, the arrow swiftly shot through the air towards the snake but it didn't go as Zio expected.

As the snake saw the arrow shooting towards it, it made a quick movement and dodged it without being fatally injured, the arrow however still left a mark, it had graced the snake and cut the side of its soft belly and dug into the branch that was next to it.

The snake flared its fangs and hissed at Zio after surviving that, the snake then moved away to another tree quickly, snakes are smart predators, they won't try to go after a prey if they think the prey can hurt them in any way, shape, or form, seeing how Zio just injured it, the snake knew that it could die if it tried anything so it gave up on hunting Zio.

Zio watched as the snake's tail disappeared into another tree, till then he didn't move, once he was sure that there is no danger, he started to climb the tree again, after a few minutes he is on the top looking around.

He can see the thick vegetation on this mountain, he could see some birds he has never seen before flying, he could see a weird deer species grazing on grass in a herd.

This mountain top is not just a mountain, it is a whole ecosystem for many beasts that are unknown or forget by the world.

Zio could also see the top of the peak and to his disappointment, he couldn't see anything there but he didn't expect the Religan to be there in the open, he also noticed that there is a cave near the peak.

"Maybe its inside"

He said and got excited.

"I need to get there and find out"

He said and was about to climb down to jump to another tree when he noticed the dragon that ate the vulture again, he panicked as he saw the Dragon land near the cave and rolled its body and fell asleep.

"Shit, it's that Dragon again, how will I get past it?"

Zio questioned himself but he has no answers, he still remembered how strong the Dragon really is but Zio being stubborn doesn't want to give up, he has come this far so he is either going back with the god Religan in his hand if it exists or return empty hand finding out it was all a lie and there was never a God Religan in the first place.

The thought of dying here never crossed his mind at all.