Chapter 122
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: Plunderer Crow
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Right now, I possess all sorts of traits, but when I was first born, I didn't have a single one.
Having no traits is the norm, but it feels off to say only the strong ones have them—most of the folks I've seen so far have had traits.
Even passing snakes and bugs have traits, so a crow like me not having any?
A praying mantis walking by would be shocked.
I might not have had traits, but I could take something else instead.
The ability to steal others' traits.
To be precise, I could equip traits from others that fell in the form of shining feathers.
And that was my identity.
Stealing from others.
But lately, I hadn't seen much in the way of results.
I'd been able to evolve them into superior traits by combining the abundant ones I'd gathered, which let me breathe a sigh of relief, but something inside me felt hollow.
That thrill I'd felt when I first stole the Mountain Eater's trait.
It had been ages since I'd experienced anything like that rush.
Boss-level magical beasts didn't drop feathers to steal, and humans were tricky to pilfer from too.
Sure, there were specific conditions to steal them under, but fulfilling those was no easy feat.
So for a while, I'd just been taking traits from weak opponents.
But the opponent in front of me now?
Strong.
And every trait it had was tempting enough to drool over.
Not a human, not some boss droning Latin chants.
Just knock it down, and I'd definitely get the feathers.
My goal in taking it down was to oppose Dabih and Vega, and to deal with the forest's headache.
But now I had a new purpose.
To fill this hollow chest of mine after so long.
"Caw, caw."
Fear not.
Your feathers will join mine.
"Kieeeeeek!"
The cockatrice charged at me in a panic.
Its two heads unleashed poison and petrification energy wildly.
"Coooockle-dooo!"
Maybe because it had gone berserk, its faltering stamina seemed to have recovered somewhat.
That must be why it could bellow its Command Roar like that.
With the Command Roar invoked, I could see its abilities strengthening in real time.
"Caaaaw!"
Swungswung immediately hurled the green gem into the sky above, and I used Night Summoning once more.
This time, I called forth twilight.
The sky, filled with lingering light, was dyed once again in the red hues of dusk.
And my feathers shifted to twilight colors as well.
Kwa-gagagagak!
I launched countless feathers at once.
They swirled like a twilight storm, ready to shred it to pieces.
Puh-hwaaaak!
Its spraying poison mist was blocked by the rotating feathers, unable to approach any further.
But my feathers were in the same boat.
The best they could do was hold back the poison mist without reaching it.
My feathers and its evil eyes were locked in a standoff, each blocking the other.
So what was left to us?
Close-quarters bare-handed brawl.
A frantic melee at claw-and-beak range.
"Guruk... Saaaaak!"
Its two heads glared at me fiercely.
The bird's beak plunged down to pin me in one strike, while the snake's fangs aimed for the gap, slashing up from below.
And the evil eyes on both heads began to glow.
I could see its intent: brush aside the feathers blocking its view and lock eyes with me straight on.
Even a momentary stiffening at this range would let it inflict massive damage.
Kwajik!
I struck its thigh with my talons, seizing an opening.
"Kieek!"
Aim was to rob its mobility, but it was too shallow.
The cockatrice tanked the hit and focused on clearing the rotating feathers.
Pasususu.
Chwajajajak!
Concentrated petrification and poison mist blasted away the feathers between us.
Pasusususu!
It ramped up its evil eyes' power.
The moment the feathers cleared, it'd target me next, no doubt.
"Kak."
I flashed it a sinister grin.
The instant the last feather was about to turn to stone and fall.
Pajijijik.
Light gathered in the amber feather.
Flash!
Tri-colored light burst forth in an instant.
"Kieeeeeeek!"
It screamed in agony.
It was night now.
Its dark-adapted vision hit with sudden intense light—those eyes had no choice but to go temporarily blind.
Just for a moment, but its evil eyes were sealed.
Which meant...
I could aggressively wield the Twilight Feathers I'd been using defensively to block its gaze.
Swishhhh!
Puh-hwaaaaak!
The steel-hard feathers sharpened, slicing gashes across its body nonstop.
"Gurururuk... Kieeeeeek!"
It didn't end with just the feathers.
My talons dug into its wounds, and I powered my Extinction Beak toward its weak points.
The tide had clearly turned.
My beak was just about to pierce its chest.
Chwajajak.
Its eyes regained their glow.
My legs turned to stone in an instant.
I felt the petrification lift right away, but that brief window was enough to reverse the flow.
Ppeoeoeoeok!
The two heads rammed me like a headbutt.
Kwaaaaaang!
The size and power gap sent me flying several meters back.
I crashed into a small tree to stop, scrambling up and steadying my stance in a hurry.
"Caw... caw..."
My head was spinning.
Birds aren't built tough to begin with.
Our durability isn't something to brag about.
So even one solid hit left me reeling.
"Kiruk... Kiririruruk!"
I could hear the cockatrice crowing in delight.
It had endured and endured, then landed a counter.
And with that one counter, it thought it'd turned the tables.
"Coooockle-dooo!"
Convinced of victory, it bellowed its Command Roar with gusto.
Its power would strengthen further, and so would the petrification and poison mist.
"Kreururuk?"
If it had used Command Roar, that is.
"Kueeeek...?"
I could sense its confusion.
Its swollen bulk shrank back, and the boosted poison mist faded.
The cockatrice wore a baffled expression.
"Coooockle-dooo!"
It tried bellowing Command Roar again to hold onto the buffs, but no chance.
Its Command Roar was gone.
"Kreurururuk... Coooockle-dooo!"
Realizing some trickery, it raged and charged at me.
"Caw, caw."
Was it just the Command Roar gone?
I smirked lightly at it, showing off what my beak held.
No way it'd recognize it.
No one but me and Swungswung knew what a shining feather was.
But having a trait stolen right in front of it, it'd at least grasp what I'd done.
"Kieeeeeek!"
It charged, shrieking like a bird now, not a chicken.
The moment its head connected, I'd snatched the shining feather from its chest.
My goal from the start was this feather.
Getting hit that hard was outside my calculations, but the objective was achieved.
「Master of Command Roar」
Wield the power of the star that heralds dawn.
Gain related skills based on the user's strength.
Unlocked Skill: 「Command Roar LV1」
Its trait.
I'd stolen the Master of Command Roar.
"Kieeeeeek!"
Realizing the truth, it charged in fury.
It kept shrieking noisily, but two could play that game.
"Caaaaaaaaw!"
「Command Roar LV1」
Bellow a commanding cry to boost all physical abilities by a fixed amount.
Duration and effects amplified while the sun is up.
I activated Command Roar.
Kudududuk.
Now I knew what Command Roar's power was.
I could feel my body strengthening.
My flesh swelled, and the very power I could wield grew mightier.
This guy had been hogging something this good all to itself?
The enemy's power weakened, mine strengthened.
It shrank, I grew.
Its size still dwarfed mine, but the gap wasn't as vast as before.
The cockatrice rushed at me.
Staring it down, I charged right back.
The cockatrice now was in full berserk mode.
Its body crumbling bit by bit, shadowy energy scattering around.
Command Roar symbolizes dawn, after all.
That roar had kept it within the realm of living creatures.
But now, robbed of Command Roar, the cockatrice was utterly profane.
And such existences...
Swishhhhh!
Couldn't dodge my beak.
I led with my Extinction Beak and barreled toward it.
It didn't even think to evade, just accelerated straight ahead.
Not that it could've dodged even if it tried.
Kwaaaaaang!
My Extinction Beak slammed right into its skull.
Kwaduk, kadududuk!
The cockatrice had two heads: snake and rooster.
It tried blocking my assault while jamming fangs and beak into me.
But I wouldn't allow even that.
「Shadow Flame LV2」
Shadow Flame turns a single feather of mine into shadow flame.
Hwarurururuk!
Two black flames touched its beak and fangs.
Like my Extinction Beak, Shadow Flame deals massive damage to profane existences.
Hwarururururuk!
The black flames raged fiercer.
As if echoing my Extinction Beak, they blazed to utterly annihilate the impure being.
"Kieeeeeeek!"
"Saaaaaaaak!"
The snake head.
The rooster head.
Those were the last sounds from its two heads.