1 Lightning Drake defeated! 50,000 Exp gained!

"The drake had your people enslaved?"

Bird says "Yes, he kept our mates and eggs hostage."

"Is that why the others rushed off?"

Bird says "Yes, they went to rejoin their mates."

Lizzy says "So why aren't you rushing off?"

Bird says "I am the leader of my people, my mate was killed as an example."

Lizzy says "Oh, I'm sorry."

Bird says "No need to be, you've avenged her."

"How long have your people been enslaved?"

Bird says "The drake arrived here about ten years ago."

"Any idea where it came from?"

Bird says "Other than that it appeared from the south, no clue."

"South, huh? Interesting!"

Lizzy says "Why does it matter?"

"Well, a fully grown drake wouldn't just up and leave its territory. Something stronger must have driven it out."

Lizzy says "And you want to go find out what, right?"

"Well, yes, but not right now."

Ekard says "Mama, is it safe?"

"Yes, little one, you both can come out now."

The two of them don't need to be asked twice and immediately start exploring the corpse. The clouds started breaking up when the drake died and now it is back to clear skies. When I notice the two of them tearing pieces of flesh from the wounds and eating them I start the butchering.

First I skin the thing, all but the head which I leave intact and put in my pouch. Then I start butchering the drake while the bird watches me, he seems to enjoy watching. Yet when I ask if he wants to eat with us he refuses, but he also doesn't leave.

Once I have some steaks cut free I start a fire and set them to cooking. Then I continue butchering the drake while the steaks cook. The smell of the cooking meat has Ekard and Haku sitting by the fire and drooling.

Lizzy is more inclined to watch me, she knows I will be pulling out the heart soon. She also knows that after I eat some she will get the rest and she is looking forward to it. I can feel her eyes boring into me as I pull out the drake's heart and start eating it.

Devour Activated! Str +20, End +10, Toughness +10, Flight Speed +10!

After tossing the rest of the heart to Lizzy I go back to butchering the drake. All the skin, meat, and bones are going into my pouch as I break down the corpse. The first round of steaks are to feed Ekard, Haku, and Windy, while they are eating I cook more for myself and Lizzy.

By the time ours is ready Ekard and Haku have finished and are fast asleep. Windy has also finished and she doesn't look like it is going to be long before she joins them. I can't really blame her, it ended up being a fairly active day and with a full stomach on top of that.

As Lizzy and I start eating, Windy curls up with the kids and falls asleep. The bird has just been quietly watching everything the whole time. It seems fascinated by how we interact with each other since we are all different species.

Bird says "You are a strange group. Did you come here just to hunt the drake?"

"No, we had no idea it was even here."

Bird says "Then what would bring such a strange group to our lands?"

"We are looking for a mana beast that is maxed out and ready to evolve."

Bird says "I am not sure what that means?"

So, as I eat I start explaining to the bird what it means to be max rank and about sacred beasts. He seems to have known most of it just not the words to go with the meanings. He is very intelligent and quite curious, we end up talking for hours.

Bird says "From how you have described it, I am probably the one you came looking for."

"Do you mind if I check and see?"

Bird says "Go ahead!"

When I reach out and place my hand on his neck the first thing I notice is how soft his feathers are. Then I scan him with my sacred power and find that he is max rank, but not quite ready to evolve. However, he is close enough that I can supply the missing energy to trigger his evolution.

After I explain that to him and get his permission I start feeding my energy into his core. It doesn't take long for me to fill his core with energy and then all it takes is one last push. Once the evolution starts I check the rest of the bird's body but when I find no problems I withdraw.

Then I just sit back and watch to see what happens, because each evolution is different. For the bird it turns out to be some fairly big changes, for one he grows several feet. Surprisingly his two pairs of wings merge into a single pair, the first time I have seen that.

Normally, at least so far, the evolutions I have seen have all involved gaining limbs. The new pair of wings are bulkier and bigger than the old ones, they are also brighter. In fact all of his feathers are brighter, at least that is what I think until I notice they are on fire.

At first I think it is just a reflection from the campfire, but I quickly realize that it isn't. His feathers are actually on fire, and the flames get bigger as I watch. It would seem that he has evolved into some kind of fire bird, which I wasn't expecting.

Bird says "I feel amazing!"

"You changed more than I expected. Take it slow and get used to them before you try anything."

As the bird takes a look at himself I am surprised that he doesn't freak out about being on fire. Even having changed from four wings to two doesn't seem to phase him. He adapts to his new form smoothly, enough so that I feel a little jealous.

"So, what do you plan to do now?"

Bird says "Protect my people and my territory."

"You understand how to work on your core, right?"

Bird says "Yeah, I do."

"Okay, then our job here is done. By the way, if you run into another sacred creature, try talking first. The sacred beasts tend to try and work together against the humans."

Bird says "Don't worry. I won't attack any beast without cause. Even the humans will be safe if they behave themselves."

"Alright, then we will leave in the morning. It has been interesting to meet you, but we have more mana beasts to find."

Bird says "Alright, well it has certainly been good to meet you! My people and I owe you, if you ever need anything you only have to ask."

"Sure, I'll keep that in mind."

After expressing his thanks a few more times the bird flies off to rejoin his people. If there is nothing else stronger in the area he should become the king of this territory. I may end up asking for their help against the demons, we will need some kind of counter to flying demons.