Chapter 119
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: Small King
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The cockatrice was a powerful magical beast with two demonic eyes.
Poison and petrification.
Any opponent it encountered in the wild feared its abilities, and the cockatrice easily hunted its prey with those powers.
Even magical beasts stronger than itself dared not touch the cockatrice.
Because the damage it could inflict was no small matter to them.
Thus, the cockatrice could grow its power without threat from anyone.
Of course, it wasn't without natural predators.
Lizards and snakes, among other reptiles.
They possessed the strength to resist the cockatrice's powers.
Though the cockatrice was capable in close combat, if it encountered a reptile on its own level, it faced the risk of becoming the hunted.
But it harbored no worries about such things.
It knew exactly where it was.
In this forest teeming with birds of every kind, there were no reptiles.
That meant the cockatrice was virtually invincible within this territory.
Of course, reptiles from outside did wander in occasionally.
Otherwise, how would it know its powers didn't work on them?
A long-tailed lizard sometimes poked around here and there, but it paid the cockatrice no mind.
It had a suspicious glint in its eye, but that was as far as it went.
Since petrification didn't work on it anyway, the cockatrice ignored the lizard in turn.
It knew its weakness, but there were no natural predators here that could exploit it.
No one could stand in its way.
Of course, ruling the forest like its king would be difficult.
They left it alone because its poison was troublesome, but there were stronger magical beasts lurking in the woods.
Free from the threat of predators, the cockatrice continued hunting prey and building its strength.
And then one day.
On the day it devoured unfamiliar prey, the cockatrice sensed something within itself had changed.
A feeling like its walnut-sized brain had suddenly expanded.
Its actual size hadn't grown, but its mind had broadened.
After that, the cockatrice began calling itself the small king.
Having gained wisdom, it was no longer the same as before.
With this power, seizing control of the forest might even be possible.
But now was the time to build strength.
Biding its time until the day it could claim the title of forest king, the small king cultivated its power.
More power.
More wisdom.
The cockatrice craved it.
With the wisdom it had gained, it overcame the weakness of its Command Roar.
If it could acquire even more wisdom, it might transcend the inherent flaws of its very species.
It had discovered quite the appetizing prey.
Attacking at night meant it knew the cockatrice's weakness.
And knowing that much implied it possessed knowledge and wisdom.
The small king realized one crucial fact.
Devouring those with knowledge and wisdom would further expand its own.
Quite the delectable opponent.
The small king turned their strategy against them.
And at last, it faced its prey head-on.
It doubted its own eyes.
A single kiwi bird with a plump body.
No, it was no mere kiwi bird.
If the wisdom it had gained was like a fallen branch on the ground, this creature's wisdom was like the mightiest tree.
It swallowed involuntarily.
More shocking still, traces of even greater wisdom lingered beyond what it now beheld.
This kiwi bird wasn't just a towering tree.
It was a mountain formed by countless such trees.
Yet for some reason, only this much wisdom remained, it instinctively knew.
The small king couldn't hide its excitement.
If it devoured this being, it would claim all the wisdom of the world.
For one with such vast wisdom to have fallen to this state...
It had to be a delicacy beyond compare.
To savor the feast laid before it, the small king took another step forward.
And in that moment, it saw it.
A bizarre entity carrying its prey on its back.
Instinct screamed a warning.
What stood before it was clearly a bird with feathers.
Yet the aura it exuded was no bird's.
Birds, reptiles, mammals.
Powers of every variety emanated from it.
Even the forces of spirits and other impure entities.
The small king had never witnessed such a phenomenon.
Reptiles like lizards ignored its petrification.
This was undoubtedly a bird, yet it bore the form of a snake.
A snake with a tail that extended to scent and hunt its foes.
Beside it stood a ghost with a pumpkin head, and the figure of a cursed bride.
This was no bird, nor was it a reptile.
Its petrification wouldn't work.
But that was all.
Even without petrification, it could overpower it.
It was larger in size, and the creature's flight advantage wouldn't last long in this weather.
It would smash it head-on and then feast on that tender kiwi.
Inferior to the kiwi, but this one seemed to possess some wisdom of its own.
Especially that ornament on its leg.
The blue gem there.
Just a gem, yet it evoked the very wisdom the cockatrice craved.
The small king greedily opened its maw.
The creature's legs and the fallen kiwi.
Claiming them would make seizing the throne of this forest no mere dream.
The moment it stepped toward them.
"Kkik... Kkiiik..."
The small king was dumbfounded.
It finally saw the black bird in full.
What it had glimpsed moments ago was a mere bird harboring traits of countless other species.
A rare sight, but nothing changed.
It was the prey, and the cockatrice the hunter.
Yet the instant it saw its face, all its thoughts were negated.
Could it hunt them?
Was that truly a bird?
Could it claim their wisdom?
Did it even have the right to call itself small king?
Such doubts flooded its mind.
Its very foundation was being denied.
And the greatest denial came from the truth it had uncovered.
The Command Roar was the rooster's cry at dawn.
Staring at the sun empowered the cockatrice with Command Roar, surpassing its natural limits.
Thus, ordinary cockatrices grew stronger by day and weaker at night.
But the small king was different.
Having gained wisdom, it realized the sun still shone even at night.
It hadn't used Command Roar at night before because it believed the sun vanished then.
Changing its perception allowed it to overcome the weakness.
Only after learning this truth did the small king truly begin craving wisdom.
The sun was eternal.
But now, its thoughts shifted.
Really?
Was the sun truly eternal?
"Kkokkiooooooo!"
The creature crowed once more.
But strangely, its power didn't surge.
The strength from Command Roar drained away entirely.
"Kkik... Kkiiik..."
Even at night, the sun stood firm in its place—a plain fact.
The cockatrice had recognized this, enabling Command Roar at night.
But witnessing that ominous aura shattered its perception.
The sun did not eternally hold its place.
Behold that power.
Behold the deep, profound darkness.
The night it had known was no true night.
That was the real night, the eternal night.
An aura vast enough to blanket the world in darkness emanated from it.
A malevolent force that would eclipse the shining lights in the sky and plunge the world into oblivion.
The moment it felt that power, the cockatrice knew indescribable fear.
And a sense of duty.
If such a being revealed its true nature, the entire world would be shrouded in darkness.
It was a bearer of Command Roar.
Command Roar was the star that heralded morning.
Bearers cried out when morning came.
When night fled and the sun illuminated the world, their voices rang.
"Kkokkiooooo!"
It cried out once more.
The cockatrice, the small king, brimmed with conviction.
Slaying that wicked abomination was its duty.
And the same went for its vast wisdom ally, the queen's successor.
They all had to be purged.
"Kkokkiooooooo!"
The small king roared.
It had lost its Command Roar (morning star), but it was undoubtedly a rooster's crow (Command Roar).
White light enveloped its body.
Having overcome fear and awakened conviction, the cockatrice was worthy to advance.
"Kkak?"
It blinked its eyes.
Swallowing on its own, then startled, then terrified.
Before it could grasp the situation, another change occurred.
White light gathered around its body.
I'd seen this phenomenon before.
Just like when Swungswung evolved.
No, was it evolving now?
This was the first time I'd seen something other than me or Swungswung evolve.
I'd thought it might be exclusive to us, but apparently not.
I stared intently at the cockatrice.
Already strong, what would it become after evolving?
I was curious, but it would remain a mystery forever.
I'm not merciful enough to just watch.
Sssshwaaaaak!
I swiftly unleashed a chicken-foot kick to halt its evolution.