Chapter 37

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 37

Chapter Title: Third Evolution

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"A small gust fanned the flames, banishing the night. Truly, you never fail to amaze me."

Once again, the kiwi spouted his dull, pretentious drivel.

Muna was perched on my shoulder.

With my eyes closed and beak tucked in, he shrank down so much that he was indistinguishable from a regular kiwi.

His voice pitch had risen to match.

He looked a bit pitiful like that, but apparently, a good meal and some solid sleep would have him back to normal in no time.

No matter how I looked at it, this guy was no ordinary kiwi bird.

"Caw caw."

The evolution was what I was most looking forward to, but first things first—I needed to tidy up the area.

The top priority was the gem the scarecrow had dropped upon its death.

Not feathers, but an actual gem.

I hadn't even glanced at it out of mourning for Muna, but now that he was revived, there was no reason not to inspect it.

A crow whose eyes would roll back at the sight of a single silver coin? A gleaming blue gem?

I couldn't resist.

I flapped over in a flash and swooped straight to the gem.

"Ho... this is..."

Even the Sage sounded astonished.

And who could blame him?

It was a gem so beautiful it seemed out of place on a scarecrow's body.

Just thinking of it as decorative loot would be satisfying enough.

But I could see even more.

"Caaaaw...!"

Was I really worthy of something like this?

Even for a hidden quest reward, this seemed over the top.

I stared hard at my status window.

No doubt about it—following this quest's lead was the right call for now.

Especially hidden quests; you'd have to fabricate excuses to trigger them if they didn't exist.

The reward from the ghost bride had already been plenty good, but this? It might even top that.

Common knowledge: a great passive skill often outshines even the best active ones.

Just equipping this would bring all sorts of benefits.

Less strain from Shadow Form, boosted power for Shadow Flames.

And it'd apply to any future skills too.

But how the heck was I supposed to equip it?

Should I swallow it like the scarecrow did?

"Caw..."

As I stared at it intently, our bag of wisdom piped up simply.

"A gem this size could easily be shaped into a small accessory."

"Caw-kak!"

The Sage, as expected.

Just like he'd made me a food pouch, he could craft this too.

Not by carving the gem itself, obviously—just adding something to turn it into a necklace or whatever.

Even that would be a huge help.

Way better than me fumbling with my beak.

"Shoong."

Shiny circled the gem.

With his mouth slightly open, was he hungry?

Normally he'd have gobbled up the scarecrow's corpse, but it vanished without a trace.

If Shiny had eaten it, he might've evolved too.

A bit of a shame.

With the area cleared, I headed inside the mansion.

"Don't mind us—do what you need to."

Muna's reassuring words.

His size wasn't imposing, but his vibe sure was.

What I needed to do? Check the incessantly flashing status window and evolve.

I was fully prepped for evolution.

Safe spot, food stocked.

That was all it took.

My size wouldn't outgrow this mansion anytime soon.

With Shiny and Muna standing guard, I selected the blinking evolution option.

I knew it instinctively.

This was just a teaser.

Special evolutions would pop up soon, claiming I'd met the conditions.

I'd pretend to mull it over, then caw in surprise at the special options.

But that didn't mean I could skip these regular ones.

What if one was secretly the best?

Plus, eyeing these first would make me look all fairy-like when the specials appeared.

First up: Giant White Crow.

The undying White Crow was back.

This time with a giant upgrade!

At this point, it felt like they were begging me to pick it, but my heart was elsewhere.

Now that I knew what a Night Crow was, some White Crow wasn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠catching my eye.

No more white in my dictionary.

"Shoong?"

Jet-black Shiny tilted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his head.

Black beat white any day.

As long as it wasn't some mutant mermaid with black scales.

Anyway, next.

X Bird.

Bird, not Crow.

Made me wonder if picking this would branch me into a whole other species, but it felt off somehow.

No direct connection, obviously.

But why did it reek of Twitter vibes?

Little Twitter, Twitter, X Bird.

Felt like that kind of progression.

Blue feathers turning black or whatever.

But the harmfulness? That wouldn't change, so this one's out.

Next, Gold Kiwi.

Nothing to see here.

Slapped "Gold" on it as some superior kiwi variant?

I did wonder what reaction it'd get if I strutted in front of the Sage post-evolution.

Imagined him revealing his true form and declaring, "I'm no kiwi!"—shattering my innocence.

Shiver.

Pass for now.

Superior kiwi or not, it'd probably just mean more vitamins and sugar.

The big finale: fourth option.

Two-Headed Shadow Crow!

Even Shiny could tell this was a proper evolution of Shadow Crow.

He knew how useful Shadow Crows were, so this wouldn't be a bad pick.

But two heads?

A crow with two heads?

The visual impact would be brutally violent, but not great for me.

Another head sprouting right next to mine? How could I see that positively?

It'd be part of me, sure, but it felt like it'd have its own ego.

Fine for a full-on hydra monster, but an extra head from here? No thanks.

You too, pass.

As expected, nothing worthwhile in the regulars.

The Two-Headed one looked decent as a legit Shadow Crow upgrade, but it didn't satisfy me.

Now for the main event.

Special evolution!

...

"Caw?"

Why wasn't it coming?

Was there no special this time?

Forcing me to choose between Whitey, Harmful Bird, Kiwi, or Two-Headed Crow?

Giant White Crow was starting to look fairy-like again.

"Caw!"

Why now?!

Something extra delayed it, huh?

Makes sense.

Come on!

A species surpassing Shadow Crow!

"Caaaaaw...!"

Metal Claw? Getting way too serious!

The conditions were no joke, so the options matched.

Defeated the scarecrow and activated Feather of Night.

That meant I'd waited for Eternal Night's host to fully reclaim its power before fighting.

Unintentionally, I'd played on hard mode.

The "proper" way was probably taking it down before Eternal Night fully arrived.

Not my intention, but I'd completed the mission and earned the rewards.

Metal Claw.

Steel talons, literally.

My claws would get insanely strong.

They were already pretty tough—gripping a tree of decent size would crush the bark.

And they'd get even stronger?

A species specialized in claws?

I could run around on the ground honing martial arts.

Bouncing about and unleashing a slash kick would obliterate most foes.

Combine that with my flight?

Sky hunter supreme.

No one blocking dive-bomb attacks like carpet bombing.

Personally, a fantastic option.

Shadow Form for evasion and utility, Shadow Flames for range—claws would fill the melee gap perfectly.

Metal Claw Crow synergized amazingly with my current build.

Metal Claw, let's stick together long-term.

...But that didn't mean ignoring the rest.

My heart was set, but I had to at least pretend to look.

Last option.

Dusk Wing.

Twilight Wing, literally.

Synergy this, efficiency that.

Didn't matter.

The moment I saw Dusk Wing, my heart was sold.

"Caw-gagak!"

Evolve first, justify later!

Sorry, Metal Claw.

Guess I'm just a man of whims too.