Chapter 143
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: Queen of Jewels
"Caw, caw!"
"Color doesn't matter?"
Where the hell did this kid pick up something so dangerous?
This is an assassination attempt! Assassination!
Of course, no one would pay attention to a crow saying something like that, but it still made me uneasy somehow.
Wait, I'm black myself, so maybe it's fine?
....
Hold on, thinking about it—Swungswung was originally a white ghost.
Then after following me around, he turned black.
A color similar to mine. So, did he change into a color I'd like?
Maybe he really was just asking out of simple taste.
I mean, our innocent little Swungswung wouldn't know about stuff like that.
...Right?
"Impressive power, nonetheless. So this is the ability of that 'White Night' you mentioned. The cost is steep, but it's worth offering up a gem for."
Moona recognized the technique I'd used at a glance.
As expected of a sage.
Just as he said, White Night's power was tremendous.
But the price wasn't simple.
To use White Night, you had to offer a tribute.
Skills like Night Summoning required tributes too, of course, but there was a difference between White Night and Night Summoning.
Night Summoning could be activated effectively with just a few silver coins, but White Night was different.
This time, the tribute I'd offered was none other than a gem.
Gems could surpass even gold coins in value, let alone silver.
And even after sacrificing such a gem, White Night's duration ended after just one use of the technique.
I'd boosted the output, sure, but the cost-performance was abysmal.
If I ran into enemies that didn't drop in one hit, my resource consumption would skyrocket.
Of course, I wasn't the old me who shivered at the thought of spending a single silver coin anymore.
My wallet situation—no, Swungswung's belly fat—was quite plump now.
The Forest Queen had given us a substantial amount of gems as reward.
It was an amount I couldn't even compare to what I'd earned from voluntary dealings with humans.
But just because I had money didn't mean I should blow it all?
That would just make me a foolish crow who didn't think about tomorrow.
The coins and gems we had were precious resources directly tied to our survival, so I needed to conserve them however I could.
"Caw."
Except when testing skill power like this.
"Even so, with gems like these, we can hold out for a while... Hmm, not sure if it'll hold up in the fight with the Lion Heart King. Might need to recharge midway."
I did need to make money.
And to do that, I'd have no choice but to interact with humans.
Pickpocketing or trading my possessions would be the way to go.
"Raven. Do you like those gems?"
"Caw?"
Swungswung's sudden question made me nod for now.
Of course I liked shiny, sparkling things.
I'm a crow, after all.
"I can find them."
"Caw?!"
Find them?
"Shiny things. Glowing things. I can sense them."
"Caw!"
Right, come to think of it, Swungswung's traits...
Queen of Jewels! That's right!
Swungswung turning human had been incredibly convenient.
We'd been communicating in Swungswung-ese until then, but now we could use human language.
Of course, Swungswung and I had managed fine with caws and swungswungs.
We could read each other's intentions just from body language.
But no matter how in sync we were, explaining something like this required human words.
"Queen of Jewels?"
"Yeah?"
"Caw caw."
Seemed he didn't know the trait's name.
Makes sense—unless you're like me, you wouldn't know what traits you have.
But he should know what his abilities were.
"I can see shiny things. Like you, Raven, and Moona shines too."
Swungswung and Moona both looked shiny to my eyes too.
Probably meant we were opportunities for him.
"Ho ho. I see. Seems like it's evolved focused on sight. Maybe because it was with the Little Wind. Or perhaps it's the influence of that crown from the Tin Woodman. It can detect gems within a certain range, and maybe even wield the power of gems themselves."
Moona extracted a ton of info from Swungswung's short words.
Swungswung pouted a bit and nodded slightly.
Probably wondering why Moona jumped in when he could explain it himself.
Swungswung pulled a gem from his bosom.
It resembled a blue sapphire.
"I can do this too."
As Swungswung stared at the gem, it split into three smaller ones.
"Caw!"
No, that precious gem...!
Of course, it hadn't vanished—it had just divided into uniform sizes.
That ability looked pretty impressive.
Splitting gems without any tools, without damaging them.
If Swungswung became a jeweler, he'd rake in serious cash.
But Swungswung's abilities didn't end there.
Whoosh.
He was even juggling the split gems!
And without using his hands!
"Caaaaw!"
Some kind of telekinesis?
Given the name Queen of Jewels, it seemed like control limited to gems.
He kept spinning the gems, then grasped them in his pale, slender hand.
The three gems merged back into one, just like before.
"What do you think?"
"Caw caw!"
Amazing!
So, to sum up the Queen of Jewels trait:
It could split or merge gems, control them with telekinesis, and detect them.
Some might call it vague, but this was already an incredible ability.
It could reduce wasteful gem consumption and make acquiring other resources easier.
"And I think this works too... Can I use just one gem?"
"Caw...?"
Use a gem?
If anyone else said that, I'd kick them in the nuts, but Swungswung was different.
"Caw caw."
Go ahead, use as many as you want.
"...Raven, loosen up. Why are you gripping so hard?"
"Caw...."
Sorry, got carried away.
"Fine. I'll use the smallest one. So let go already!"
"Caw."
Swungswung placed the small split blue gem on his palm.
What was he about to do?
I was excited and worried at the same time.
Humm.
A faint blue light emanated from Swungswung's body.
At the same time, the gem in his hand resonated.
Hummm!
If what he'd shown before was a side ability, this had to be the true power of Queen of Jewels.
Fwoosh!
The gem in his hand turned to powder and scattered, the blue light intensifying.
Just an ability to emit light from gems?
No, that wasn't it.
The emitted blue light seeped into my body.
"How's that?"
Swungswung.
So the true power of Queen of Jewels was consuming gems to enhance others' abilities.
"Caaaaw!"
...But where was the enhancement?
I felt better, though.
My mind felt clearer, refreshed.
My body felt lighter too.
But no major changes.
Maybe because the gem was too small?
I wasn't sure yet, but it was worth exploring.
"Caw caw caw."
This was enough—I could trust Swungswung with the gems.
As his proficiency grew, it could create a virtuous cycle.
"Like it?"
"Caw!"
"Good. Oh, and you said you can sense shiny things? I felt one near that treasure chest over there."
Oh yeah, there was a treasure chest too.
The one guarded by the card soldiers.
Moona said it had an opportunity, and Swungswung's ability reacted to it.
Naturally, something good was inside.
Alright, ability check done—time to open the treasure chest?
"Heh heh. This is exciting. Opening a treasure chest always gets the heart racing."
Moona, who usually rolled around sluggishly, shot off like a bullet.
Before I knew it, his plump butt was hovering right in front of the chest.
"That chest doesn't shine on the outside, but inside it does."
I watched Moona with Swungswung.
Moona had no material greed, but he seemed to crave wisdom and knowledge.
Right now, he looked thrilled not by the treasure, but by the intriguing treasure chest itself.
Normally I'd open it, but I'd yield to my precious comrade Moona.
He could sort whatever was inside, while I explored Swungswung's ability more.
I knew the blue energy around me was beneficial, but not exactly how.
The ongoing refreshment suggested it cleared the mind.
I'd never faced anything worthy of mental attacks yet, but with Swungswung's help then, I'd handle them comfortably.
Or maybe stamina recovery.
The lightness suggested both.
Or effects varying by gem type.
Would need investment to find out.
That was when I organized my thoughts.
"Hmm, it's damp in here."
Moona's plump butt was visible.
How curious was he to shove his face inside...?
【Mimic LV20】
That's a mimic!
No, my kiwi!