He took a deep breath. "For this quest, you are really risking your life."
"Of course. That's why I'm asking you for help," she said, her eyes fixed on the Pterodactyls' nest through her binoculars.
Ash watched one of the Pterodactyls fly close to their hiding place. He muttered, "They are too big to be hunted using normal methods..."
She turned to him. "You don't need to hunt them down. Just help me so I can enter their nest."
"How?" he asked suspiciously, his eyebrows furrowed.
"We need to observe them first. Find out their habits and the best time to sneak into their nest," she answered.
Ash looked at her with disdain. "If that's all, why don't you just do it yourself?"
She snorted and put her binoculars into her Inventory. "I told you, I don't have the skills to fight."
"So you're going to use me as your shield if something happens?" He started to get annoyed, the implication clear.
"Yeah. It's true. Your skills are made for fighting, mine are different."
"My skill only works when I have prey, Maya," he said through gritted teeth, the limitation frustrating.
"Then let's do it your way, hunt them," she hissed.
His patience was wearing thin. "First you say you're doing the hunt, now you want me to do it. Which one is it?"
She shrugged. "It's up to you, but either way, you need to use your skill."
"That's it, I quit!" He stood up and turned to walk away, a sudden, decisive movement.
"Wait!" She grabbed his sleeve, her grip surprisingly firm.
"Okay, listen," she said, her tone urgent. "Inside that nest, there's a vault full of treasures. You can take everything."
Ash flicked his sleeve in annoyance. "I don't need that. I just don't want to die. Beside, the treasures will only make my Inventory full with useless stuffs."
"Please?" She begged with teary eyes. "I promised to help you with all your quests, didn't I?"
"Hhhh... Alright, alright," he sighed, the promise weighing on him.
***
They carefully approached the barren hills, making sure not to draw the attention of the Pterodactyls flying overhead.
After finding a safe spot to hide, they began observing the Pterodactyls from a distance. They took shelter in a small cave, a place too confined for the giant creatures to reach.
While sitting by the campfire, they prepared their equipment and planned their strategies for infiltrating the Pterodactyls' nest.
For the next few days, they observed the Pterodactyls closely. They tracked their flight patterns, noting when they left to hunt and when they returned to the nest.
It became clear that the Pterodactyls followed a predictable routine: they left in the morning to search for food and returned to the nest at dusk.
"We need to enter their nest while they're out huntin," Maya said as she reviewed her notes. "That's the best time, when the nest is completely empty."
Ash nodded in agreement. "Okay, we will move tomorrow morning. We have to get ready now."
But that afternoon, something happened that made him truly regret his decision to follow her to the nest.
Several people in three jeeps approached the nest. The animals started screeching, flying, and swooping down, trying to grab the jeeps and the people inside.
However, those Pterodactyls were met with machine gun fire mounted on each jeep.
The injured Pterodactyls returned to their nest. Meanwhile, the rest floated in the air, not daring to approach the jeeps.
These people, armed with swords and spears, confidently jumped out of their jeeps.
But suddenly, two other Pterodactyls, much larger, appeared from the nest. The length of their wings reached ten to twenty meters. They began swooping down to grab the jeeps.
The machine guns fired relentlessly, but they could not harm the giant Pterodactyls. Their skin was far tougher than that of the younger ones.
The large Pterodactyls flew at high speed, snatching up jeeps and smashing them apart with their powerful beaks. At the same time, the smaller Pterodactyls began attacking the people.
The smaller ones dived down, pecking viciously at everyone. A few Pterodactyls were wounded by swords or spears, but there were far too many of them.
In the end, everyone was dead. The destroyed jeeps lay scattered across the dry valley, surrounded by silence.
Then, those creatures took the dead humans into their nest, for their meals.
***
Ash and Maya watched everything unfold from a distance, hidden behind sparse, dry brush. The scene before them was a brutal, a raw display of power and survival in a land already harsh.
The two giant Pterodactyls were a shocking discovery. They had spent days observing the creatures, meticulously tracking their movements, and had never seen these massive ones leave the nest.
This unexpected danger changed everything, making their mission far riskier than before. Their previous encounters with smaller, less formidable creatures had not prepared them for this scale of threat.
Still, despite the fear creeping into their minds, Ash and Maya silently agreed—they would continue as planned.
The next day, they would carry out their mission.
***
The nest was located inside a large cave at the top of a barren hill.
They entered the cave quietly, trying not to make any noise that might attract the attention of any Pterodactyls that might still be nearby, or the giant ones inside the cave.
Inside, they found many large, greenish Pterodactyls eggs. Both were amazed by the size of the eggs.
But they could not waste time. They needed to move quickly.
She called her system map and started examining the markings on the cave walls.
"My sense map says there's a secret vault in this cave with valuables," she whispered to him.
He nodded and followed her. They walked through the dark cave passages, using torches to light their way.
After a few minutes of walking, they found a large stone door with strange carvings on its surface.
"This is the door," Maya said, examining the carvings. "We need to find the hidden mechanism to open it."
They examined the carvings carefully. They touched and moved parts of the carvings, trying to figure out how to open the door. After a while, she found a small button hidden in one corner of the carving.
"Press that button," she said to him, pointing to the button, while pressing another one herself.
He pressed the button, and the stone door slowly opened.
The door made a screeching sound as it opened. They both held their breath.
"We have to move quickly," he said, guarding the room entrance. "Those giants could notice us at any time."
She ran into the room quickly and grabbed the item she was looking for.
After a few minutes, they heard loud footsteps and screeching inside the nest. Those giant **Pterodactyls** must have heard the door.
"We have to leave now," she said in a panicked voice.
He nodded, and they both ran out of the secret room. They quickly moved back through the cave passages, trying to get out before the Pterodactyls noticed them.
As they almost reached the exit of the cave, they saw a group of Pterodactyls landing in the nest. They hid behind a large rock, hoping the creatures would not see them.
After a while, the Pterodactyls entered the cave. They took this opportunity to sneak out quickly, then ran down the barren hill as fast as they could.
"We did it," he said breathlessly as they stopped at the edge of the tropical rainforest.
She chuckled, panting. "Yes, we did it."
"What did we steal from that place?" she asked curiously. He had risked his life to help her, so he wanted to know.
Then she took out a silver box from her **Inventory** and opened it. Inside, there was a round, dark blue crystal about five inches in diameter. In the middle of the crystal ball was a white circle that looked like an eye.
She took out the crystal, and after reading her system notification screen, she showed it to him.
He observed the crystal in her hand and asked, "What is this?"
She answered with a grin, "It's the Eye of The Storm. It is very valuable and powerful."
"Powerful?" He squinted his eyes. "What kind of powerful are you talking about?"
"This item can change the weather at the holder's will." She turned the white circle, and suddenly, the bright daylight turned dark and cloudy.
The white circle's color shifted to grayish-black, and soon, strong winds and thunder began to roar over the barren land.
Strangely, the tropical forest's sky remained clear and unaffected by the storm.
Ash's mouth hung open with astonishment.
"Is it a Rare rank item?" he asked.
"Yeap. It's cool, isn't it?"
"Absolutely cool," Ash nodded approvingly, then turned to her. "Are you not going to turn it off?"
Maya chuckled. "No. It's better for us if that place is having a thunderous storm right now. So those big angry birds won't come out soon."
"LMAO. Let's get out of here and find someplace to rest, shall we?" he started to walk away from the edge of the tropical rainforest.
"W-Wait," she hurriedly placed the Eye of The Storm back into her Inventory and caught up with him.
She strolled cheerfully alongside him and asked, "What are we having for dinner tonight?"