Chapter 33

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

Chapter: 33

Chapter Title: Scarecrow

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So this was the sub-quest. It didn't seem all that significant.

"Caw."

Still, it felt like I'd gained some fame, and that wasn't bad.

I had no idea what "increasing influence" really meant, but there was no need to worry too much about it.

If there'd been some eye-catching reward, I might've considered it, but with no reward in sight, I wasn't interested.

That said, it didn't feel right to just ignore it completely, so if humans showed up later, I could always give them a good head-spin.

My eyes drifted to the altar the Sage had built.

No way this was connected to that, right?

Logically speaking, it made more sense that the adventurer party I'd scared off had spread the word, but the guy was a Sage.

There was no way he'd made something like that for no reason...

There was no way for me to ask him about it, either.

Communication wasn't great to begin with, and half of what he said was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠boring, pretentious nonsense I couldn't even understand.

The only thing I could ask him about was that plump butt of his.

"Caw."

I playfully nipped at his butt with my beak for no reason.

"Kweewee..."

Kiwi didn't even twitch, dead asleep and snoring away.

I gently pulled out Swoong, who'd fallen asleep in my feathers, and tucked both of them under a blanket.

I didn't know about anything else, but I had to take care of these precious golden opportunities that glittered.

Plus, the situation was pretty relaxed right now.

I had a month left.

Before then, I planned to build up enough power to take on the Scarecrow.

Hunting other monsters for traits would be good, and leveling up along the way to trigger my next evolution sounded like a solid choice too.

And I intended to do both.

The early bird gets the worm.

While these lazybones slept, the crow headed out to hunt.

A week passed.

"Caw."

Caw-fucking-what.

Unlike traits, I'd learned that skills level up the more you use them.

Shadow Flame had gone up a level from constant use.

Naturally, that meant more flickering shadow feathers.

Now I could use the flame twice in a row.

That drew my eyes to Feather of Night right above it.

My distant underling Shadow Flame had hit LV2, but this one showed no signs of even activating, let alone leveling.

"Caw caw."

What the hell kind of skill was it, still keeping its secrets locked up tight?

Skills checked out. Time to look at traits.

Hunting around had netted me a bunch of feathers as byproducts.

The valid new ones were...

Sturdy Femur (Skeleton)

Damp Body (Water Ghost)

Sharp Beak (Tree Eater)

These were the only worthwhile ones.

I'd collected ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more feathers, but the rest were worthless decorations I'd gifted to Swoong.

Sturdy Femur did exactly what it said: made my femur tougher.

If this counted as valid, you could guess how trash the others were.

Damp Body literally made my body damp, but it actually helped me swim better.

Having one like this wasn't bad.

Of course, it did make me damp, so I wouldn't use it often.

Finally, Sharp Beak.

Similar to Sturdy Beak, obtained from hunting a Tree Eater—a cousin to the Mountain Eater, like a burrowing bug.

This one was decently useful.

Similar effect to Sturdy Beak.

They even stacked.

But it couldn't beat out Glow or Shadow Form for constant equip.

If I ever needed pure physical power, it might be worth slotting in.

One skill level-up and a good trait haul.

Most importantly, my level.

I'd hit the monumental LV19.

As expected, higher levels meant more EXP needed, slowing my growth.

But LV20 was right around the corner. Fact.

And somehow, I had a feeling LV20 meant evolution.

My third one already.

"Caw caw caw."

No one had told me evolution hit at LV20, but the pattern screamed it.

Anything else would be a crime.

This progress in a week? A month would be more than enough to crush that thing.

Hell, I might even squeeze in another evolution.

As I cawed at my status window, Swoong and Kiwi finished prepping.

"Swooooong!"

Swoong, waving colorful cloths like a cheerleader from who-knows-where.

To celebrate a week since arriving here—and my upcoming evolution—we'd set up a feast.

"Oh, you've arrived. Not bad work."

Surprisingly, Kiwi had even cooked something.

Well, Kiwi salad, but it counted as cooking.

Slicing up the tough bread the adventurers had donated made it look legit.

Kiwi salad with Kiwi-made bread bits.

And some wine donated by a warrior.

Way more food than two birds and a ghost needed.

"Swoooong!"

Truth be told, this feast was somewhat necessary.

I didn't know much about special evolutions yet, but satisfying certain conditions opened up more evolution options.

I was guessing a grand spread like this might count as one.

...That was my excuse if anyone asked, but innocent Swoong didn't question it.

"Swooooong."

Just drooling at the food.

Yeah, you've waited long enough.

"Cawgawk!"

Time to drink and drop dead.

"Swoooong!"

Swoong dove in, slurping away.

"Indeed, Skarnas's wine is top-notch."

Kiwi sipped from a wooden cup, grunting in satisfaction.

But could Kiwi even drink booze?

As I gave him a look, he cracked open his sleepy eyes.

"Not all booze is the same. This local wine might as well be juice."

I wanted to call bullshit on a Kiwi knowing jack, but that "Sage" trait sealed my beak.

If the Sage said it, it must be true.

Wasn't that high-proof anyway.

But seriously, what the hell was this guy's deal?

Status said plain Kiwi bird, but no way.

For starters, no Kiwi sounded that deep and gravelly.

And look at him—wearing clothes, doing research.

...Maybe normal for Sage Kiwi, but not for me.

I had no way to tell if it was normal or not here.

Lack of world knowledge was frustrating like this.

In that sense, sleepyhead was a valuable knowledge pocket.

Better I keep him than let someone else snag him.

"Shlororororo..."

Swoong was stuck to the floor like a glutinous rice cake.

She's a ghost—why's she getting drunk?

Everyone having a good time made me feel great.

I'd given all sorts of reasons, but this was also about bonding with them.

"Caw."

Damn, Muna knocked back a lot of that wine.

I barely tasted it.

"Hm, overdid it a bit. Tough for this little body."

But his voice sounded way too steady for that.

"Caw caw."

Wait here.

Muna seemed fine, so I'd grab another bottle of wine.

I left Swoong and Muna in the nest and headed out.

I knew where the wine was stashed.

Piled up near where I'd run into the adventurers last time.

Just snag a decent bottle.

I arrived at the wine pile.

As I went to grab the prettiest bottle, I caught a weird smell.

"Caw?"

Wasn't here last time.

Unpleasant, nagging at my nerves.

Like my crow instincts begging for a check.

Couldn't just ignore it.

"Caw."

Fine, let's investigate.

Hop hop hop.

I hopped toward the source.

The scent grew stronger, but I couldn't place it.

First time smelling it, so why so drawn in?

The booze messing with me?

Bzzzz.

Flies buzzing.

You guys smell this stink too?

Mid-search, I spotted something shocking.

Traces of what used to be human.

"Chirp... cheep..."

Sobriety hit like a truck.

Not even slapping my cheeks with my wings changed it: human remains.

I'd seen tons of skeleton bone monsters, but nothing like this.

Not ancient corpse.

Recent death—blood drained, horrific and grotesque.

...I'd followed that smell here?

Gag reflex kicked in.

Scavenger habits lingering?

Why was I drawn to it?

Body shaking, head spinning.

Self-loathing?

Nah, I'm not that deep a bird.

Normal me would've shrugged it off as crow nature and poured wine on it.

This reaction wasn't disappointment in myself.

Something was wrong.

One month till Eternal Night.

Host touching human blood shortens it, so I'd twisted myself chasing off the adventurers here.

Figured my rep would keep small groups away—no humans eaten.

Wrong.

Not that party—other humans had come.

What did that mean?

Scarecrow had drunk its fill of blood.

Eternal Night was coming sooner than I thought.

No time for wine.

Hurry back, make a plan.

...

Too late.

A sudden choral voice.

If not for this situation, I'd have loved the Latin hymn-like sound.

I knew when this played.

When you face the boss in a game.

"Caw... gack... Bro... ugh! Bro, yooou..."

And when the boss notices you.

The boss fight I never saw coming had begun.