The sound of scratching from inside the egg was becoming clearer moment by moment.
Tap...
Khish...
Tap...
Every few minutes, the white crack on the shell would grow a little larger, and every time that sound echoed in the nest’s space, the hearts of all four people beat heavier than before.
Lian said nothing for a few moments, just silently looking around.
His mind was analyzing the situation with incredible speed. Climbing down the tree’s trunk was almost impossible.
Jumping was equal to suicide, even for him, the distance was so great that nothing of him would remain if he jumped.
Staying until the egg hatched meant becoming the chick’s first meal.
Killing the Giant Sky Bird? Even thinking about it was absurd.
In the end, only one conclusion remained, the only creature that could take them down from such a height was the monster itself.
But before any decision, he had to understand what these three people were capable of, to see if he could get any help from them or if he had to rely only on himself.
Lian fixed his gaze on Ravian.
"Before we decide about escaping, I need to know what each of you can do." He said in a quiet voice.
Ravian looked at him in surprise for a few moments.
In such a situation, he expected a stranger they had just met to be blindly looking for an escape out of fear.
But Lian was like a commander in the middle of a battlefield, examining all possibilities.
"I’m not looking for combat power. Any skill that helps with climbing down, hiding, or surviving... tell me right now." Lian said again.
The three looked at each other, the first was Ravian, he placed his hand on the rough surface of the branch.
Mana slowly flowed around his fingers, feet, and even his tail, a few moments later, it was as if his body was stuck to the branch’s surface.
Even when he pulled himself back with all his strength, his hand did not separate.
"The name of this skill is Root Grip." He continued with a low voice.
"I concentrate mana into my hands, feet, and tail. As long as I have mana, I can climb most trees or rocks, maintain my balance on narrow branches, or stick to some monsters’ bodies." Then he gave a bitter smile.
"But it only works for myself. If I have to carry the weight of several people, my mana will run out very quickly. It doesn’t work well on very smooth surfaces either, and if I use it too much, my hands and feet go numb for a few hours."
Lian’s gaze unconsciously fell on the Giant Sky Bird’s feathers, thick feathers, a suitable surface for sticking.
He said nothing, but registered that information in his mind, and the next person was Sera, she picked up a handful of dried moss from around the nest.
Mana flowed between her fingers, a few moments later, the plant fibers slowly intertwined and formed a thin but strong strand.
Sera pulled it, and the rope neither broke nor changed shape.
"Thread Sap." She explained.
"I combine my mana with plant sap and make strands that are lighter and more resistant than normal rope." She wrapped the strand around her wrist.
"They stick to rough surfaces, have a lot of flexibility, and can hold the weight of several people for a short time." Then she lowered her gaze.
"But I can’t use it without plants. It’s not very resistant to fire either, and if it stays for a long time, it dries out and becomes brittle."
Lian looked around, branches, moss, dry fibers, the necessary materials were everywhere.
Finally, Nemi stepped forward hesitantly.
"I... I don’t have combat skills." Her cheeks flushed slightly.
"But... maybe this will be useful here." She quietly closed her eyes, and weak mana spread around her body.
Lian suddenly noticed that the sound of leaves hitting the wind had become slightly weaker, even the sound of Ravian’s breathing was less audible.
"Quiet Pulse..." Nemi said.
"It only works for a few seconds, but it makes the small sounds and vibrations around me weaker. It doesn’t create complete silence... it just helps that no one notices our movements." She then added with embarrassment.
"Its range is very short... it also consumes a lot of mana."
Lian nodded calmly, contrary to his initial thought, all three skills were exactly what he needed for such a plan.
And with just one look, it was clear that all three of their skills were for hunting, survival, and exploration, and based on that, he could reason that most of their abilities should be skills related to the environment and their way of life.
Probably most of their tribe’s people also knew these same skills and they were spread among the people.
He started examining escape routes one by one. The first option was climbing down the tree’s trunk.
"If we get from the branch to the trunk, maybe with Root Grip I can climb down slowly." Ravian said.
Lian immediately shook his head.
"You might be able to climb down a few hundred meters." Then he pointed to the clouds beneath their feet.
"But we don’t even know how many thousand meters tall this tree is. Your mana will run out before you reach the ground." He paused for a moment.
"Besides, the lower branches are full of flying monsters."
Everyone fell silent. The first plan was rejected.
The second option was building a glider. Sera suggested that with the fallen feathers around the nest and Thread Sap, they might be able to make something like wings.
Lian lifted one of the massive feathers, its weight was several times more than he had imagined, he immediately let it go.
"These feathers weren’t made for us to fly with." He turned his gaze among the three.
"None of us have any flying experience either. One small mistake... is enough for us to fall straight down."
The second plan was also set aside, and Ravian, after thinking for a moment, said hesitantly.
"If we wait... maybe after the chick comes out..."
Lian didn’t even let him finish his sentence.
"A chick that has just hatched, the first thing it will do is eat us."
No one said anything more, and he fixed his gaze on the Giant Sky Bird again.
This time, not as an enemy, but as part of the plan, his initial goal was also to use the bird as help for going down.
He noticed that one of the bird’s claws was still bloody, the feathers under its belly were wet in some places, and its belly didn’t look very full either.
That meant it hadn’t brought the prey for itself, it had brought it for the chicks, and it would probably leave the nest again after resting to hunt or drink water, because clearly it hadn’t eaten anything itself either.
"Sky Birds don’t stay in the nest for long." At that same moment, Sera said quietly.
"How do you know?" Lian looked at her.
"The tribe’s hunters have seen them from a distance several times. When the chicks are still inside the eggs, they travel between their hunting territory and the nest several times a day."
That sentence sparked something in Lian’s mind, he was completely silent for a few seconds, then a very faint smile settled on his face.
"We’re not climbing down this tree."
The three Lacerians looked at him at the same time, and he continued quietly.
"This bird itself will take us down."
"...You mean to let it grab us with its claws again?" Ravian was stunned for a moment, but wasn’t that synonymous with suicide?