I Can Extract Game Items-Chapter 208: Plump Featherstrike

BATTLE FOUR: EZRAN VS. LEONIA VOSS

The arena lights dimmed and then the sky above the dome split open.

A surge of wind blasted sand upward as a gigantic creature swept down through the shimmering membrane, feathers scattering like gilded shrapnel.

It was a deadly looking golden griffon.

Upon its back sat Leonia Voss, Stormcaller Ranger, Level 50.

Wind swirled around her cloak, electricity crackling across her gauntlets. Her eyes were fierce and cold, like someone who belonged in storms, not on land.

Across the arena, a circle of shape-shifting sigils flashed open.

From it rose Ezran’s mount, the runebound Stag, the Azure Runestag.

A large stag with ethereal rune-sails unfurling between antler tines and shining hooves that left blue glyphs in the air as it leapt. Its body was covered in shimmering markings that channeled arcane currents; where a dragon beat wings, the Runebound Stag navigated the sky with powerful bound leaps and gliding rune-winds.

Ezran climbed confidently onto its back with blue fire rippling across his gloves.

Leonia raised her spear and pointed it at him.

"Let’s see if your flames can survive a storm, mage-boy."

Ezran smirked.

"Let’s see if yours can catch me."

The announcer’s voice boomed:

"BATTLE FOUR—BEGIN!!!"

BOOOOOM!!!

Both mounts shot upward at unbelievable speed, spiraling toward the open-sky ceiling of the arena.

Sandstorms whipped across the ground below as their ascent tore a spiraling tunnel of wind through the battlefield.

The crowd gasped.

"THEY’RE ALREADY TWO HUNDRED METERS UP!"

"NO WAY I COULD EVEN SEE WHAT’S HAPPENING!"

At the peak of their climb, the two riders turned, and dove at each other.

Leonia shouted:

"[GALE SPIKE!]"

A compressed javelin of screaming wind launched from her spear.

Ezran countered instantly.

"[BLUE FIRE WALL!]"

A barrier of roaring blue flames erupted around him.

The attacks collided—

FWOOOOM—KRAAAASH!

The explosion turned the air into a tornado of heat and razor wind. The Runebound Stag staggered mid-glide, ethereal glyphs flickering, the flame barrier warping its rune-wind.

But Leonia was already on him.

Her griffon spun through the storm like a dancer.

She slashed sideways with her spear—

and Ezran barely conjured a shield in time.

"Damn, she’s fast!"

The Runebound Stag twisted, corkscrewing in the sky, using pulses from its rune-sails to change vector and evade another strike.

Leonia leaned low across her griffon’s neck, eyes narrowed, controlling every subtle shift of the beast’s wings.

She dove lower and the two mounts slammed into each other.

THUUUUD!!

Feathers and the stag’s rune-sparks scattered like sparks.

Ezran nearly fell off.

The stag struck with a shockwave hoof, sending the griffon staggering— but the griffon barrel-rolled away with impossible agility.

Leonia smirked as electric arcs curled between her fingertips.

"You mages rely too much on distance."

Ezran wiped blood from his lip.

"And you griffon riders rely too much on luck."

Leonia raised her spear to the heavens.

Lightning crackled.

Thunder rolled.

Clouds gathered inside the dome itself—

unnatural, heavy, glowing like they were alive.

Ezran’s eyes widened.

"She’s summoning a full storm spell? Midair?"

Leonia’s voice echoed like a goddess:

"[TEMPEST CONDUIT!]"

A vortex of lightning erupted around her.

The lights went white-hot.

The griffon dove, talons aimed for the Runebound Stag—

Ezran yanked hard on the stag’s reins.

"Stag—now!"

He pulled mana into his core, chest glowing with blue light.

"[AZURE NOVA!]"

A shockwave of blue fire rippled outward like a sunburst.

The attacks collided mid-sky—

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The explosion turned the entire battlefield white.

Spectators shielded their eyes.

A shockwave blasted down to the floor, cracking stone and sending dust clouds rolling like waves.

When the smoke cleared—

Ezran was spiraling downward.

Bleeding from his forehead.

The Runebound Stag’s rune-sails flickered, one glyph screaming out as a rune-charge overloaded. The stag’s momentum wavered, its glide interrupted.

Leonia descended after him, spear glowing with killing intent.

"Fall," she whispered.

"Fall so I can claim the semifinals."

Ezran forced himself upright.

"Not... today!"

He pulled the stag up just before they hit the ground, channeling his last reserves into rune-winds that pushed them upward.

The crowd roared.

Leonia swooped again with more intensity this time.

Her griffon accelerated, wings flaring with lightning streaks. Its talons sliced toward the stag’s flank with enough power to rip through rune-sails.

Ezran shouted:

"STAG—ROLL!!"

The Runebound Stag twisted violently, flipping on a rune-wind pulse.

But the griffon clipped its rune-sail again.

Ezran winced as the stag shuddered, barely stabilizing.

Leonia closed in.

"You’re losing momentum, mage!"

Ezran grit his teeth.

"You want momentum?"

He raised his staff.

"Take THIS!"

Ezran slammed his staff down onto the stag’s back, grounding rune energies into the creature’s core.

Mana rippled out—like he ignited the sky.

"[SAPPHIRE FIRESTORM!]"

A whirling cyclone of blue fire erupted around them, forming a blazing spiral that reached up to the clouds.

Leonia’s eyes widened.

Her griffon tried to pull away but it was too late.

The firestorm expanded like a living beast, swallowing her whole.

But Leonia wasn’t done.

Inside the flames, she screamed:

"THUNDER—

RELEASE!!!"

A massive bolt of lightning tore through the flames, ripping the firestorm apart from the inside.

Flames scattered like glittering blue embers.

Ezran stared.

"You tore my firestorm—open?!"

Leonia emerged, cloak singed, hair wild, spear smoking.

She pointed the charred tip at his chest.

"I told you, mage-boy.

Storms don’t fear fire."

The mounts spiraled into a vertical high-speed chase.

Up—

Up—

Up—

Until the arena was nothing but a speck below.

Ezran felt the air thin.

His vision blurred.

He whispered to the Runebound Stag:

"Take us higher... one last burst."

The stag obeyed, unfurling its rune-sails to catch a lightning sheath and surge upward with one final noble bound.

Leonia followed right behind, refusing to lose.

"End of the sky," Ezran murmured.

"End of the duel," Leonia answered.

Ezran raised his staff—

Leonia readied her spear—

Their mounts dove at each other one final time—

ZIP—BOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Ezran sidestepped a meter at the last heartbeat—

just enough.

Leonia’s spear cut through empty air.

Ezran whispered:

"Checkmate."

He slammed his palm into the stag’s flank—

[DISRUPTION BURST]

A pulse of unstable magic blew outward.

Not lethal.

Not destructive.

But enough to knock Leonia off balance.

The griffon screeched.

Its wing folded for a fraction of a second.

Just enough for Leonia to lose her footing—

She fell.

Her griffon barely caught itself, but Leonia plummeted downward, tumbling through the sky until the arena safety barrier caught her.

A soft glowing field wrapped her, slowing her descent until she gently floated to the ground.

Silence fell.

Then—

"WINNER... EZRAN!"

The crowd erupted in cheers as Ezran guided his battered Runebound Stag down.

He dismounted shakily, exhausted, singed and wounded but victorious.

Leonia landed nearby and exhaled.

"That was... insane."

Ezran nodded with sweat dripping from his face.

"You almost had me."

She smirked.

"Next time... I will."

Ezran smiled weakly.

"I look forward to it."

BATTLE FIVE: GREGARIOUS VS. GALEN THE BONE KNIGHT

The arena fell strangely quiet when the next matchup was announced.

Not out of suspense.

Not out of awe.

But out of complete, painful, secondhand embarrassment.

"Next battle—GREGARIOUS... versus... Galen the Bone Knight!"

Half the players groaned.

The other half whispered things like:

"Oh no..."

"How is he still in the tournament?"

"Did he bribe someone?"

"I swear if he wins again I’m uninstalling."

And then Gregarious entered the field.

Riding—

No—

Jiggling

on his mount.

The majestic, the legendary, the heavily overweight—

PLUMP FEATHERSTRIKE.

A crossbreed between what looked like an overweight chicken and a pigeon.

A pudgy, spherical, balloon-shaped chicken-pigeon with tiny wings that flapped with the urgency of someone who absolutely did not sign up for physical activity.

Its beady eyes stared in two different directions, trembling from fear, confusion, and possibly indigestion.

Greg raised his sword, which he held upside down.

"FEAR NOT!" he shouted. "FOR I, THE GREAT GREGARIOUS, SHALL—"

He sneezed violently.

His helmet fell off.

The crowd put their heads in their hands.

Across the field, Galen the Bone Knight entered atop his horrifying undead mount which was a skeletal Deathcharger with glowing green flames bursting from its eye sockets. Galen’s armor rattled as he rode, and the skulls on his pauldrons wailed in chorus.

He pointed his jagged bone lance at Greg and declared:

"I shall end your suffering swiftly."

Greg immediately looked offended. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"What do you mean suffering?! I’m thriving!"

Plump Featherstrike let out a soft "coo" and then violently hiccupped, shaking Greg out of his saddle before he grabbed a handful of forgotten crumbs stuck to the bird’s feathers to stabilize himself.

The announcer took a deep breath.

"Battle... begin."

THE MOMENT THE BATTLE STARTED... EVERYTHING WENT WRONG

Galen kicked his Deathcharger forward.

The undead horse shrieked, green flames roaring across the arena floor. It launched toward Greg at incredible speed—

And Greg—

Greg tried to dodge...

By pulling his reins the wrong way.

Plump Featherstrike rotated 180 degrees in place.

Not moved.

Not sidestepped.

Just swiveled like a malfunctioning office chair.

Galen thundered past, missing entirely.

The crowd gasped.

Greg blinked.

Plump Featherstrike burped.

"That was strategic!" Greg yelled.

"It absolutely wasn’t!" someone from the audience yelled back.