Chapter 137

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Translator: ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠MadScientist

Chapter: 137

Chapter Title: Nightfall Crow - White Night

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Crunch.

My body was changing.

The moment I selected the new option, my very skeleton reshaped itself to accommodate the influx of new power.

Normally, I would've gone to where the Night Crow was beforehand and chatted with him.

And stolen some feathers while I was at it.

But whatever I just did seemed to take care of that, letting me evolve right away.

I'd been worried he might try something weird if we met, but this solved that problem.

Surprisingly, he didn't seem upset either.

Every time I stole his feathers, he secretly acted like he enjoyed it, so maybe this is exactly what he wanted.

Does he like having his feathers taken by me?

He could just grab me and pluck them out himself.

Lost in such thoughts, I surrendered to the familiar sensation of evolution.

It was always fresh and thrilling.

I panicked at first, but now I even craved this feeling...

Craaack!

"Craaawww!"

I screamed without realizing it.

What the hell?

Why does it hurt so much?

This made five evolutions in total, including this one.

So I knew the sensation of changing form was a bit odd but never came with pain.

Even if there was any, it was tolerable.

But the agony I felt now was incomparable to anything before.

"Caw!"

It wasn't just my bones resizing and reshaping; they were outright disintegrating.

Snap, crackle!

Of course, they immediately began reforming. Like dismantling the body and reassembling it.

Whatever it was, it felt utterly repulsive and painful.

Thankfully, the torment didn't last long—just a single, intense moment—but it was immense.

"Caw... caw..."

Catching my breath at last, I continued sensing the changes in my body.

I could've sworn I heard laughter like the Night Crow's.

Is this guy pettily making it hurt more because I chose both options?

Making it worse than any previous evolution...

...No way.

A spirit beast of his caliber wouldn't be that petty...

"Caw...?"

Why does it feel so real, though?

Craaackle!

"Caw!"

Pain so intense it felt like drool would pour from my beak hit next.

My skeleton shifted, all my feathers fell away, and new ones covered me.

Shhhhwish.

Right, even the head feathers I'd lost grew back.

I'd felt so empty without them, but evolutions really do regrow them.

Now I won't need to wear Swungswung on my head anymore.

"Craaackle!"

The long-awaited evolution was finally over.

"Caw... hack..."

I collapsed immediately and caught my breath.

All my previous evolutions combined wouldn't have been this tough.

Is it because I forced two options together?

This was no joke.

"Uh, it's over...? W-What, what the hell, crow! Why are you so huge now? You're almost as big as me!"

"Hack?"

Black Wolf, in her wolf form, placed a chunk of meat beside me as she spoke.

She must've hunted it for me in the meantime.

"Caw, caw."

Time to fill my stomach first.

Hunger always hit hard after evolving.

I'd usually stuff myself with the red ginseng jelly Gretel force-fed me, but with meat available, no need for that.

"Shwoong! Shwooooong!"

Swungswung stretched his body while screeching.

He was probably trying to measure my size against the sky.

But success didn't seem likely on the first try.

"What... Why'd you get so big, nyang...? This ruins my plans..."

The red cloak eyed my feathers intently.

Is this guy thinking of stealing back the feathers I took?

"Shwung!"

Swungswung quickly fetched a mirror.

Seeing my reflection, I understood their shock.

For starters, my base size had grown enormously.

Not quite Black Wolf-the-wolf level, but far bigger than a normal wolf.

My standing height had gone from half a human's to taller than most people.

I had a bird of prey's skeleton, but my size rivaled an ostrich.

And despite that bulk, I could still fly freely, so even in melee, I was at least twice as strong as before.

My appearance still resembled a crow.

The difference? Feather tips glimmered with deep green.

From neck to tail, lush mane-like feathers flowed continuously—that was the change.

The feathers were large, but this mane doubled the number I could wield.

Peck, peck.

Enough admiring the looks; time to check the specs.

Even the name screams power.

Nightfall Crow is the Night Crow.

White Night must be from White Snow's option.

Combining them birthed this species.

"Caw..."

The description alone is extraordinary.

Holds the rank of a spirit beast?

Did it inherit Lesser Hresvelg's nature?

Whatever the case, it's incredibly satisfying.

I was already moved by the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠description, but pleasant messages kept coming.

"Caw!"

Exactly!

This is what I'm talking about!

"Craaawww?"

This too?

Whatever it is, I'll take it!

"Craaawww!"

And what's this!

Not just one slot, but two more?

That means seven instead of five?

Plus, Twilight, Afterglow, Early Evening, and White Night are skills, not traits.

This means I can equip seven full traits alongside these key skills.

Fill 'em from red to purple and become a Rainbow Crow.

Thanks to Swungswung, I could switch anytime, so five never felt short.

But more is always better.

And not one, but two extra? That's intriguing.

Previous evolutions always added just one.

One per evolution.

But two this time?

Maybe this evolution counted as nearly two.

"Hack, hack, hack..."

Thinking that made me feel even better.

Great, now for the main menu.

Early Evening and White Night.

Can't tell what they do from the names, so details time.

"Caw...!"

I flapped my wings in shock.

Early Evening Feather's power... was none other than storm control.

I thought I'd get something like this as Storm Crow, but Nightfall Crow had a similar ability.

Obviously, this was the superior version.

Twilight: crimson.

Afterglow: blue.

Early Evening: deep green, for some reason.

And I'd used those green feathers before.

During the Scarecrow fight, when I used Night Feather.

Eternal Night fell, and the green feathers evolved into massive storm generators.

Without that storm, I couldn't have beaten him.

That power let me topple a higher-rank foe.

This new ability was very similar.

Matching color symbolism, for one.

Those feathers were the Night Crow's, so essentially the same power.

Basic use might summon a breeze, but timed right, a full storm like before.

Extremely satisfying.

I'd made good use of Command Roar for forced winds, but this enables diverse strategies.

"Hack, hack, hack..."

Early Evening Feather checked out; now, what about White Night?

"Craaawww!"

I was more shocked than ever.

White Night meant brightness like daytime at night, right?

I figured it was time-related, but this exceeded expectations.

From White Snow, so base effect: cold on feathers.

But it didn't stop there.

The Night Crow must've tweaked it into something hugely beneficial.

Apply to summonable time periods.

Adds effects to each feather.

What did that mean?

The answer was simple.

Twilight, Afterglow, Early Evening.

Normally, just those three time slots.

But with White Night...

Twilight-White Night, Afterglow-White Night, Early Evening-White Night.

Like that!

Twilight Feathers become steel feathers laced with frost; Early Evening, ice storms.

My strategies doubled instantly.

And that's not all.

White Night applies to future feathers too.

Every evolution adds two abilities now.

...Isn't this way too OP?