CHAPTER 65: KNOWLEDGE IS THE GREATEST WEAPON

Mika turned to look at both of them, with a smug twinkle in his eye.

"You two might not know this...actually, I don’t think anyone else knows this." He said, voice low, like he was letting them in on a state secret. "This, what I’m about to show you, is something I found out myself. Took me a little adventure and observation to figure this out myself...But there is a weapon."

"A secret one. One that anyone can use, and it’s powerful enough to take down something as majestic and terrifying as that bird without any effort at all."

He pointed up at the sky with a flick of his chin, to the massive avian soaring high above, its enormous wings slicing through the clouds like a blade.

It was the kind of creature that looked like it belonged in an epic poem, not their backyard. Even grounded, it would’ve taken a full-grown team of hunters to restrain it, let alone kill it.

Hence, Charlotte blinked up at it in awe, her lips parting slightly, and even Yelena crossed her arms, visibly intrigued at how he was going to take it down so easily like he was saying.

"Is it some kind of ancient relic or artifact?" Charlotte whispered.

"Maybe it’s a divine treasure." Yelena added, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "Something rare and blessed to be used against sky beasts."

There was a beat of silence, heavy with expectation. Mika let it drag just long enough before finally saying, "Nope, it’s none of that, the secret weapon I’m talking about is actually a.."

"...banana."

"."

".."

"..."

"...A what?"

Charlotte blinked, visibly confused.

"D-Did you just say a banana?"

Yelena’s face also stiffened for a second. Then she turned and looked at him as if she were trying to detect illness.

"You’ve lost it, Mika." She muttered. "You’ve completely gone mad. Stayed away from us for too long, didn’t you? All that loneliness did something to your brain." She shook her head slowly. "Now he thinks a banana can take down a goddamn bird."

"It happens sometimes, Mama." Charlotte nodded solemnly, playing along. "Poor thing. Maybe he just needs some rest."

Together, they cast a pitying look toward Mika. That familiar kind of "he-used-to-be-sane" kind of stare that made his eye twitch.

"Alright, that’s enough. Stop looking at me like that!" He barked, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "I’m serious!"

He then turned to Charlotte with a sharp glance.

"And no more questions. Just go to the kitchen and bring me that banana I saw earlier. The one sitting on top of the counter. Just get it and come back. That’s what you need to do right now."

Charlotte paused, still squinting at him, but eventually nodded. "Fine, alright." She said, tone half-curious and half-exasperated, and then jogged off into the house.

Meanwhile, Yelena stepped closer to Mika, arms still folded, her gaze now more suspicious than amused.

"Okay mister... Now tell me you’re not actually pulling some ridiculous prank. You do realize what kind of bird that is, don’t you?" She asked, pointing upwards. "I’ve hunted those before. I’ve even eaten them roasted with cloves and fireroot. I know what they’re capable of. But never, never, have I heard of a banana being used to kill one."

She leaned forward just slightly, eyes narrowed.

"What are you planning, huh? Gonna enchant the banana and turn it into some kind of magical monkey king? Or maybe fling it so hard it becomes a rocket and knocks the bird out of the sky?"

Mika simply smiled at her, calm and insufferably sure of himself.

"Yelena..." He said in a slightly patronizing tone. "Just because you’re older than me..." He paused as he watched her brows twitch. "Doesn’t mean you’re wiser."

Her brow arched dangerously. "Excuse me?"

"There’s a lot of things you don’t know about the world so it’s better if you don’t act like—"

He said with a grin. But before he could finish, her hand shot out and she grabbed his side, pinching hard and twisting like she was wringing a towel.

"Who are you calling old?" She growled through her teeth. "Say that again. Say that again, you little brat!"

"Ow, ow, okay! I take it back! I didn’t mean it like that!" Mika flailed slightly, trying to wiggle out of her grip, only making her twist harder.

Just then, Charlotte returned, balancing the banana on her head like some kind of prize.

"I got it! I got the banana!" She sang, grinning like she was delivering sacred treasure. "One perfect banana, just like you asked!"

Seeing her deliever the fruit, Mika reached out with one hand and grabbed the banana. But even before Yelena could question him again, something else suddenly appeared in his other hand, a thick, marbled slab of raw meat.

It had shimmered into existence without a sound.

That made Yelena pause.

Not shocking, necessarily as storage magic existed. She herself wore a sleek obsidian ring on her middle finger that held maybe a couple of cubic metres of space.

But even with hers, conjuring something instantly and precisely took a bit of time.

But Mika?...Mika had nothing on him.

No ring. No gem. No artifact...Nothing.

And yet, he’d just summoned meat like it was nothing.

Even though she knew he had some sort of innate dimensional storage, a trait that no one else other then a few blessed possessed, it still hit her again just how much of a damn weirdo the boy really was.

While Yelena was thinking away, Mika casually peeled the banana, not even looking up as both women watched him, half-curious, half-distrustful.

Without a word, he split the banana in half vertically with his bare hands, then began scooping into the soft flesh with his fingers, not to eat it, but to suprisingly extract the seeds hidden inside. He flicked the rest of the banana into his mouth and chewed while keeping the seeds with him.

Then, with quiet focus, he grabbed the thick slab of meat they’d prepared earlier, pressed his fingers deep into its surface, poking multiple holes like it was soft clay, and carefully embedded the banana seeds into them, one by one, dotting them through the insides.

Yelena furrowed her brows slightly and Charlotte opened her mouth to ask, but before either could speak, Mika abruptly tossed the meat onto the ground a few meters away.

Then, with a gleam in his eye, he reached out, grabbed both of their wrists, and without warning, yanked them back.

"Come on, quickly. We need to hide." He said with urgency, dragging them behind him toward the house. "It’s probably already smelled the meat and is diving right now."

"Wait, what? Why are we running? Was the piece of meat a secret grenade or something?" Charlotte asked mid-step, trying to look back, but Mika only tugged her faster.

By the time they were a safe distance near the edge of the house, crouched low behind a thick cluster of shrubs, Yelena was blinking in confusion.

But there was also a warmth in her eyes.

For a brief, fleeting moment, they weren’t two young youths and an old lady navigating through a world forever altered.

It felt like the old days, when Mika and Charlotte were still kids, laughing and darting around her like wild little foxes, turning every moment into an adventure...The smile on her face was unshakable.

Charlotte, on the other hand, was less sentimental and more annoyed.

"What are we even doing?" She hissed, squinting at him. "Why did you mix banana seeds with meat? That’s not just gross to think about. I mean—"

"Shhh." Mika whispered sharply, pressing a finger to her lips. "Just wait. Don’t say anything...Just watch what happens."

Charlotte grumbled but slowly turned her head toward where he pointed.

And then it happened.

Screech!!!

A piercing cry ripped through the sky as all of a sudden the massive bird, which had been soaring in lazy spirals above the clearing, suddenly jerked its wings and dove like a missile, its sharp, glinting eyes locked on the bait Mika had planted.

Seeing this Yelena’s eyes widened, while Charlotte immediately grabbed onto Mika’s sleeve.

The creature then screeched to a halt above the meat, hovered for a second like it was scanning, then, without hesitation, swooped down, grabbed the slab with its powerful beak, and swallowed it whole in one clean gulp.

Then, just as swiftly, it ascended again, wings flapping hard as it disappeared back into the sky.

Whoosh!

"That’s it? It just...ate it? That was your plan? To feed the bird that didn’t even bother to say thanks for the meal?"

Charlotte blinked, dumbfounded as she expected something really cool to happen. She turned to Mika, brows raised, but Mika only chuckled softly.

"Wait for it on the count of three." He said as his eyes gleamed mischievously.

"W-What?"

"Three..."

He folded one finger that he was holding up.

"Two..."

Another finger went down.

"One."

And right then—

BOOOOM!!!

A sudden, thunderous crash echoed from down them, and both Charlotte and Yelena spun toward the sound.

And the moment they saw the source, their eyes widened.

The bird, just seconds ago flying high and proud, had plummeted out of the sky like a stone and shockingly had slammed into the ground with a terrifying thud, skidding across the clearing until it stopped, completely still.

It was dead...Completely dead.

Mika ignore their reactions and instead dusted his hands off like a magician finishing a performance, then turned toward them with a cheeky grin.

"Now that, ladies..." He said, voice rising with flair. "...is how you catch that type of monster bird without needing a single blessing."

"Just like I said before, anyone can do it. Even a child. No sacred technique, no magic rune, no divine luck needed. Just this...." He pointed to his head. "...and a bit of creativity."

He looked like he was waiting, no, expecting, applause. But Charlotte’s mouth only hung open, still utterly dumbfounded.

Yelena, on the other hand, though clearly surprised, kept her expression calm and unreadable, only raising one brow slightly.

Still, she was the first to speak. "How...exactly did you do that?" She asked, stepping toward the bird. "Was there poison in the meat?"

"Technically yes, and technically no." Mika wagged his finger and tilted his head.

And with that vague statement, he started walking toward the fallen bird. The two women followed without hesitation, Charlotte still looking back and forth between the meat, the sky, and Mika as if trying to piece the whole sequence together.

"The meat..." Mika began as he crouched beside the bird’s body. "...was a specific type of lizard meat. Not just any lizard, though. This species called the Blue Tailed Puffins give off a strong scent that these birds absolutely love. It’s like catnip to them."

He lifted the bird’s wing slightly and gave it a look over before continuing.

"I had some leftovers from a hunting trip I went on a while back. Figured I’d keep it on me. You never know when it’ll come in handy...And hey, turns out today’s the day."

Yelena nodded slowly, intrigued, while Charlotte still looked like she wasn’t convinced.

"But the poison..." Mika said, glancing over his shoulder. "...that came from the banana. The seeds specifically."

Charlotte blinked. "The banana seeds?"

"Yup." Mika stood up and dusted off his hands again, now looking more serious. "When I was staying in this one realm, one filled with these massive birds, I started noticing something weird."

"These birds would fly all over the place like maniacs, but there were always certain patches of forest they avoided entirely."

He clasped his hands behind his back as he started pacing.

"Naturally, I got curious. So I started looking into it. Took samples, spent a few hours watching their behavior. And what I found was, those birds weren’t avoiding those patches for no reason."

"The trees there bore a specific kind of fruit, very similar to our bananas here. Almost identical in appearance, but the seeds inside...deadly. Only to Glintfeather Falcons like this one though."

"...Something about the chemical compound affects their cardiovascular system."

He held up one finger.

"One seed, just one, and their heart starts slowing down within seconds of ingestion. A few more seconds? Instant cardiac arrest."

Charlotte’s jaw dropped again, and even Yelena’s calm demeanor seemed to falter just a bit at that revelation.

"So when I saw that bird flying up there earlier." Mika said, pointing at the sky. "I figured...why not try it?"

"Split the banana, scoop out the seeds, embed them right inside that juicy lizard meat...The bird comes down, eats it whole, and bam, dead before it even realizes what hit it."

He turned back to face them, a proud smile on his face.

"And that’s why I told you that you don’t need flashy powers or supernatural abilities to survive in a world like this."

"You don’t need blessings or high-tier relics or fancy titles."

"...What you need is knowledge. That’s the real weapon. The most powerful one there is."

He crossed his arms, firmly like be was giving them a lecture.

"When you understand how something works, how nature, mana, biology, instincts, all of it intertwines, you don’t need to overpower it. You just outsmart it."

Then, grinning again, he added with a wink,

"Also helps to carry a bunch of bananas and lizard meat around too, just in case."