Chapter 105
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: The Bird is in the Sky and the Fish Cannot Win
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The bird is in the sky and the fish cannot win.
Rain began to fall in a perfect circular pattern.
I was a bit surprised by how wide the range was, more than I'd expected.
"Indeed, if someone unfamiliar saw this, they'd truly believe you could control the weather."
Moona's tone carried a note of genuine admiration.
Even if it wasn't weather manipulation, wielding that much water was an impressive power.
If she focused it into a single point instead of spreading it out, it could rival a high-pressure water cutter.
I could easily picture someone arrogantly trying to block it, only to get a hole blasted straight through their body.
"Kawk."
Best to avoid a head-on fight.
"Shwoong! Swungswungswung!"
Swungswung was moving around with unusual excitement.
Did he like the rain?
There are people like that sometimes.
Some love the unique scent of rain, others enjoy getting soaked without an umbrella.
Tsk, but wasn't Swungswung made of fabric? Wouldn't he get heavy if he got wet?
"Swung?"
Maybe I was worrying over nothing about the lace doll.
"Let's land here for now. We need to prepare, and even a slight gust could splash water our way and complicate things."
Flying inside the squall's range would be incredibly tough.
So we needed to regroup here and make full preparations.
I slowly flapped my wings and landed on the ground.
Not gliding like a Little Crow anymore, but properly flying with the wings of an Afterglow Crow.
Having visited Gretel's cabin, our supplies of food and water were plenty stocked.
But that didn't mean we could slack off when resupply was an option.
The food from Gretel was mostly long-lasting stuff by default.
Venison jerky or her favorite oddly flavored candies—they kept without spoiling and held their taste for ages.
But ease of storage came at the cost of flavor.
The jerky was salty and tough, and the candies... well, no need to elaborate.
So our supplied rations were true emergency food.
The kind you eat only when everything else runs out.
"Kiwiik..."
...Though that guy sometimes sneaks them as snacks.
Right now, we needed food we could eat immediately.
It wouldn't last long-term, but it'd taste great—we had to hunt for that.
And as a bonus, we could scout the local ecosystem.
Understanding the types of monsters here would make future activities smoother.
Plus, hunting them could net us new traits.
This time, I'd scored an amazing trait: Beak of Monster Slaying.
Surprisingly, it required nine Sturdy Beaks.
A common trait, but stacking them evolved it into something powerful enough for mainstay use.
In other words, the best targets were common traits from plentiful monsters.
No guarantee you'd get a trait from tough prey, but this evolution path ensured top-tier ones.
We were near a riverbank.
I scanned for riverbank prey.
Splash, splash!
"Shwoooo..."
Swungswung and Moona, perched on my head like the Bremen Town Musicians, stared intently into the river.
Watching for tasty prey to appear.
"Swung!"
Swungswung signaled that he'd spotted something.
Turning that way, I saw some decent catches.
【Black Piranha LV11】
Good level, and plenty of them.
Fish, too, so they'd taste decent.
【Black Piranha】
A massive piranha covered in black scales.
Usually docile, but it grows ferocious when attacked or catching a whiff of blood.
The sight of hordes grinding their teeth and charging en masse is enough to christen them Hunters of the Shadowed Waters.
【Skills】
「Leap LV5」
「Scale Headbutt LV2」
「Abyssal Dragon Buster Cannon LV1」
【Traits】
「Sturdy Scales」
「Sharp Scales」
「Enhanced Water Resistance」
Hunters of the Shadowed Waters? What kind of nonsense is that?
Did they think they were some kind of river dragons?
"Black Piranhas, huh."
Moona recognized them at a glance.
I'd gotten info from the status window, but a sage's knowledge was different.
Let's hear what he had to say.
"The meat isn't that tasty, so don't get your hopes up."
Great.
That means it's definitely delicious.
One thing I knew: when it came to food taste, do the opposite of what the sage says.
"Legend has it that Black Piranhas that reach the pinnacle ascend into dragons."
What kind of bullshit is that?
Why not just say the fish are performing dragon ascensions?
They looked like they could barely leap out of the water.
【Skills】
「Leap LV5」
「Scale Headbutt LV2」
「Abyssal Dragon Buster Cannon LV1」
【Traits】
「Sturdy Scales」
「Sharp Scales」
「Enhanced Water Resistance」
Good, ordinary skills and traits...
"Kawk?"
What's Abyssal Dragon Buster Cannon?
Why does a fish have such a badass skill?
These weren't pushovers.
But huntable, still.
"Kawk."
I set Moona and Swungswung down in a safe spot and prepared to hunt.
Preparation was simple.
Take off high above where they couldn't see me.
Flap.
Using Crow's Eye, I roughly pinpointed them, then flew vertically overhead.
Halfway to success already.
Screeeeech!
Dropping straight down, I focused my mind.
Lots of them, strong-looking, but how do you counter a dive from the sky?
Crack!
Splash!
My talons pierced a Black Piranha in an instant.
"Kraaak!"
The bird is in the sky and the fish cannot win.
I let out a victory cry, and its comrades counterattacked immediately.
Scale Headbutt or Leap would be fine, but given the situation, they were going for their ultimate move.
Rumble rumble rumble...
Finally, time to see the Abyssal Dragon Buster Cannon!
Screeeeech!
A massive water jet blasted out at incredible speed.
Don't underestimate a water jet.
Crack crack craaaack!
A tree hit by it split clean in half.
"Kraaaaaak!"
The power and speed were insane.
Not just water—it mixed in river stones and metal shards to amp the damage.
But the downside? Accuracy was abysmal.
I wasn't even dodging, and it still missed.
Well, if it had good aim too, everyone would farm fish.
...Assuming that's an option.
"Kwek! Kweeeek!"
The Black Piranha impaled on my talons thrashed wildly.
Luckily, out of water, it couldn't use moves like that.
Still, the struggling was annoying, so time to end it quick.
Processing a caught fish was easy.
1. Hoist the fish high into the sky.
2. Drop the fish.
Splat!
Mother Nature kindly severed its life thread.
"Kawk kawk."
The scales were tough; the flesh wasn't too mangled.
Was gonna make fish stew, but this could go on the grill too.
Hunting difficulty: extremely easy.
Easy to catch, huge numbers.
What did that mean?
This was a grind spot, a perfect farming area.
"Kaak, kawk kawk."
Not asking for much—just drop me nine traits?
I caught a ton of fish.
They grew wary as I kept picking off their comrades, trying various tactics, but I wasn't about to lose to mere fish.
Wanted to hunt more, but one fish took to the skies, forcing me to stop.
Sounds ridiculous, and if I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't believe it.
But a fish really flew.
It whipped up a waterspout like a dragon ascension, rode it into the air, and fired Abyssal Dragon Buster Cannons at me.
I could've handled it, but dealing with that sounded tedious, so I called it quits.
Enough food secured, and plenty with shiny feathers.
Pile 'em up, prep properly, and enjoy a feast.
Dry the rest into jerky.
Chest puffed with anticipation, I headed to the stash spot.
"Kawk?"
Then I tilted my head.
The pile that should've been full of fish was completely empty.
Had I misremembered the spot?
Swungswung and Moona had gone off pop-pop-pop to gather nest materials—did they move the fish?
Even Swungswung couldn't haul that much.
He wasn't even deflated.
So where the hell did the fish go?
...A thief.
Fish thief!
"Kraaaak!"
I screamed.
Over an hour of hunting, all gone.
I'd considered theft, even used a ledge to block easy access.
Yet everything vanished—that meant an intelligent thief.
"Nyahaha..."
As I spun my beak searching, laughter rang out.
"Lucky's on my side today-nyan. Spotted a fun combo-nyan."
A red cape-like voice, but not quite.
Red Cape faked it; this felt authentic.
Playful, like a cat's voice brimming with mischief.
Cat.
And fish.
I whipped my head around to check the culprit.
Purple hair, red eyes.
Suit-like clothes with a checkered tie.
Human shape, but unmistakably cat-like.
"And the fish were pretty tasty-nyan. Hit the spot-nyan."
Screeeeech.
No hesitation—I unleashed a chicken-foot kick.
"Nyaaaaak!"
Whoever you are.
Actually, I had a hunch, but I wasn't letting this slide.
"Kraaaaaak!"
One thief under the sky is enough.