“look! over there! a lone deer!” amy whispered, pointing at the cave in the opposite cliff with her small finger.

  sam’s eyes lit up. “that is a golden scale deer!” he was very excited, but he managed to keep his voice down. “hide! the golden scale deer is very wary and timid. if it sees us, it will probably not come here again. this is an adult golden scale deer, and its fur looks very beautiful.”


  they quickly hid behind rocks, peeking at the deer, wonderstruck.

  mag was also surprised. the deer was about the same size as an ordinary sika deer, but its body was covered with a layer of golden scales. resembling fish scales, they were shining with dazzling light. the curved horns were glittering as if made of pure gold. it attracted all eyes as soon as it appeared.

  sunlight patches slowly moved forward on the ground. the dark basin was illuminated, the humidity was suppressed by the sun, and small animals came out of the safety of their caves, looking up and enjoying the short sunshine.

  the boulder caught the sunlight as well, shining as if sprinkled by gold powder. the water in the pit glinted brightly.

  the big black eyes of the golden scale deer scanned around with vigilance. it waited for more than 10 minutes, until the sun covered the whole basin, and then it carefully jumped down from the steep cliff.

  there were only a few protruding rocks on the nearly vertical cliff, but its hooves managed to find them with every step it took. its steps were light and graceful, like those of a fairy.

  after the golden scale deer landed on the ground, it stopped, its erect ears moving. it looked around for a while, and then walked to the boulder warily, stopping every few steps.

  “sam has set up many traps, but we can’t take any chances,” sivir said in a hushed voice. “get ready. try not to damage its horns and pelt. they are the most valuable.” she put a hand on the boomerang.

  they held their weapons in hands, never letting the deer out of their sight.

  their cave was about a dozen meters above the boulder. it was the perfect spot to ambush their target.

  “let’s do it!” amy said excitedly, two fireballs dancing in her hands.

  mag touched her head. “no, sweetheart. your fireballs are too hot; you’ll toast it.”


  amy thought a moment. “what about this?” two blue balls of icy flames emerged from her palms. they could feel the air temperature quickly.

  they gasped with admiration when they saw the icy flames. she could cast such powerful magic at so young an age. her potential was simply unimaginable. they couldn’t imagine how strong she would become when she grew up.

  loath as he might be to admit it, evan sensed energy in the flames so powerful that he felt terrified. he might be a mid-level magic caster, but he wasn’t capable of working such a powerful spell.

  a four-year-old was doing something he couldn’t. rage and frustration overwhelmed him.

  all bad enough, but she was a fire-type magic caster as well as an ice-type one, and that made it worse.

  mag said nothing as he looked at amy’s icy flames. no other skills were more suitable to take the golden scale deer down than this. after all, ice wouldn’t hurt its fur or horns.

  mag had levelled up to a 6th-tier knight last night with the help of a flash of lightning.

  however, it was not wise to reveal his strength right here and now.

  of course, he couldn’t wait to test his power on some scum now that he had become much stronger.

  the deer was getting closer to the rock, and thus closer to the traps.

  they tensed their muscles. scott and skol were ready to jump out. sivir raised her boomerang; she looked as if she would throw it any minute now.

  there was nothing strange about the dirt around the boulder. it was as damp as ever, with several dry fallen leaves on it.

  the deer sniffed at the dirt and raised its head to look at the water. it hesitated a moment and took a cautious step.

  suddenly, the ground caved in, revealing a deep pit underneath.

  “we got it!” dennis exclaimed happily.

  “not yet,” said amy. “it’s hanging on the edge.”


  amy was right. the golden scale deer didn’t fall straight into the pit as expected. its forehooves caught the edge and stopped its fall.

  “let’s go!” sivir ordered. she grabbed hold of a vine and rappelled down right away, throwing the boomerang at the poor animal’s forelegs.

  skol and scott followed right after her.

  evan stood up and started reciting an incantation. his staff glowed blue at the top. then he pointed it at the trap, and an ice cover began to form over the pit.

  however, before skol and scott reached the ground, the golden scale deer jumped out with a beasty growl.

  crack.

  the ice cover broke before it was completely formed. the boomerang whistled inches past the deer’s behind and sank into the dirt.

  the instant the deer landed, the ground caved in again. a net from nowhere came straight at it, and inside the pit, a big iron cage was waiting.