Chapter 126
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: The Bird That Drinks Poison
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Moona's body sparkled with a golden light.
Even before, if you looked closely, it had a subtle golden shimmer.
But that wasn't unique to Moona—Swungswung had it too.
It just appeared golden to me because they were fated encounters.
But now, things were different.
Not just me—anyone could see Moona's golden glow now.
【Gold Kiwi LV10】
【Gold Kiwi】
A nocturnal bird with fully degenerated wings.
It moves quickly using its well-developed leg muscles and finds prey with its excellent sense of smell.
This is the form that has regained some of its lost power through a certain trigger.
"Caw…!"
I couldn't help but flap my wings in surprise.
Moona had evolved.
Into a Gold Kiwi, no less!
Swungswung and I had evolved over time as levels rose, but Moona never did.
I'd worried something might be wrong, but thankfully, it had succeeded.
Gold Kiwi, huh.
The name suggested even richer sweetness.
I stared intently at Moona's exterior.
Apart from the occasional golden light leaking out, there weren't major physical changes.
Maybe just a bit bigger?
The size gap had widened as I evolved, but now Moona had caught up some.
Its head was now about the same size as mine as an Afterglow Crow.
Since my size grew with levels, Moona's had probably doubled.
But the status window showed no big changes.
All traits and skills remained the same.
What caught my eye was the line describing the Gold Kiwi.
The first two sentences were the same as before.
But the last one was new—that must be the difference from a regular kiwi.
'This is the form that has regained some of its lost power through a certain trigger.'
Regained some lost power.
This line nagged at me.
Swungswung and I seemed to advance to the next species through new powers.
But Moona?
It hadn't always been this unimpressive kiwi.
With the Sage trait, I figured it wasn't ordinary, but apparently it had lost its power for some reason.
Moona didn't seem to be hiding it, though.
It had forgotten some memories itself and had vaguely mentioned similar things to me before.
But the words were too profound, so I'd just brushed them off.
"Cackle cackle cack!"
"Hm, thanks to this, I've recovered a few forgotten memories. They might help on our little wind journey."
Moona spoke in a satisfied tone.
Good thing it recovered some memories, Moona.
But how exactly?
Moona hadn't directly joined the fight.
It hadn't done anything to gain levels, either.
If anything… it saved my life?
Moona seemed to grasp my gaze and murmured softly.
"I've learned that hoarding isn't everything. Sometimes, you have to let it out."
It stared right at my beak as it said that.
…What the heck did you do?
What do you mean 'let it out,' and why stare at my beak like that?
"Oh! You're awake!"
As I cackled back and forth with Moona, the oriole came scampering over, having heard the noise.
"Thank goodness—I was so worried! That cat helped carry you, so you survived."
"Meow meow."
The Cheshire Cat naturally shifted into a purple furball.
The oriole chattered on, explaining what happened after I collapsed.
It had struggled to move me somehow, but a passing purple cat had carried me.
No way it was just passing by—it was probably lurking and peeping.
The voyeur who loved collecting stories must have watched my cockatrice battle with glee.
"And that kiwi bird… uh… maybe I shouldn't say…?"
What?
Why so embarrassed?
"You two were doing… uh, never mind!"
Why twist your wings like that?
"…You haven't laid eggs yet, right?"
I gave the oriole a light talon kick to punish its weird misunderstanding.
Having gotten a taste of my wrath, the oriole remembered its purpose and said the queen was looking for me.
Come when I was conscious and mobile enough.
I could deliver talon kicks now, so heading over was no issue.
I toddled off to where the queen stayed.
"Eek! Eek!"
"Busy! Busy!"
The queen's office buzzed with countless parrots rushing about.
"Swung!"
In the center sat the puffed-up Swungswung.
And there were cockatrice byproducts Swungswung was pulling out.
Parrots coated in the queen's powder were dividing up those byproducts.
"Ah, you're conscious!"
The magpie queen folded one wing gracefully in greeting.
It was a bird's formal bow, full of dignity.
"Caw."
I nodded roughly in return.
Such gestures didn't suit me.
"First, on behalf of this forest's birds, allow me to thank you, Little Wind, for hunting the cockatrice."
"Caw."
Sheesh, no need for that.
I'd used up plenty of feathers, my back ached, and I had bruises, sure.
The queen flinched briefly before smiling kindly.
"I promise fitting rewards for our benefactor. But first, achieving our common goal takes priority."
Clang!
Clang!
Parrots dusted in white powder were smelting cockatrice byproducts.
I'd done the hunting, so they'd handle the processing.
"With these cockatrice byproducts, we can resist Dabih and Vega's powers."
Dabih and Vega.
They were tough for two main reasons.
One: they controlled water.
Combined, the nymphs could summon a pseudo-downpour—hopeless for birds.
Wet feathers meant lost mobility.
But there was a counter: the white powder that kept bird feathers dry in rain.
Dubbed powder.
Regular powder might not block a deluge, but the queen's special powder could let us fly briefly.
But they had another edge.
Sealing bird feathers' powers.
Not ordinary feathers, but those with abilities.
It sealed traits in feathers.
Thus, mortal enemies to birds—and to me, where all traits linked to feathers, they were natural predators.
That's why we hunted the cockatrice.
"The cockatrice's poison is potent. Especially from a beast with a bird's body—it'll naturally disperse Dabih and Vega's powers."
Cockatrice poison was strong.
But not the strongest.
With petrification and poison, its venom might pale against same-class monsters.
But it had feathers.
So the queen figured it'd critically counter Dabih and Vega's seal.
I wondered if it'd work, but Moona's silence meant high odds.
"Using the raw poison would fully resist their powers, but we'd collapse from toxicity first. So we're smelting these byproducts—weakening the poison while preserving its essence."
Parrots hammered with beak-held tools.
Some wore beak masks, pecking like woodpeckers.
All united against Dabih and Vega.
"It'll lose some potency, but enough to break their feather-sealing ability. Strike at that moment, and we can halt their rampage."
The magpie spoke with resolute eyes.
"Caw? Caw caw caw."
I pointed at the feathers to convey my intent.
Didn't smelting weaken the poison?
Thus limiting it.
Why not use them raw?
"Hm, as I said, we can't endure the raw toxicity. Better to fight with limited powers than swallow deadly poison."
Feather limits hurt, but less than ingesting venom.
I toddled over and stared at a cockatrice feather.
Then naturally slipped it into my beak.
"Wh-what are you doing! Spit it out now!"
The queen cried in horror.
Yeah, she'd think I'd gone mad eating concentrated poison feathers.
But she didn't know one thing.
「Hundred Poisons Immunity」
Grants strong resistance to a hundred poisons.
Immune to poisons below a certain level; reduces effects of stronger ones.
Additionally, resistance to other status ailments increases rapidly.
Strong resistance to a hundred poisons.
Not specified if cockatrice poison qualified, but no worries.
Its previous owner was a cockatrice.
"Caw? Caw caw!"
I had no issue using cockatrice poison raw.
To show off, I swallowed another feather.
My belly twinged slightly, but that was it.
No big deal ingesting this poison.
Yes—now I was the bird that drinks poison.