Chapter 96
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Trait Evolution
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"Caw... Caw..."
Tears of sorrow streamed down.
A gacha system with no ceiling? Whoever made this thing had to be a devil.
Eternal Night? Compared to gacha, that was nothing ruthless.
Lost in such wild thoughts, I gazed at the feathers I'd obtained.
"Caaaaw..."
A sigh escaped me naturally.
"Shwoooong."
I wiped my face with Swungswung, now as big as a tablecloth, then examined them closer.
「Lightning Spark」
Just looking at the name, you wouldn't understand why I was sighing.
But if its effect was truly like a spark of lightning, I wouldn't be disappointed, right?
「Lightning Spark」
Creates a small, sparkling ember.
In dry environments, there's a chance the fire could spread.
Yeah, an effect that didn't live up to the grandiose name of "Lightning Spark" at all.
Should I call it a lighter?
No, even a lighter would be better than this.
This just created an ember for a very brief moment.
Still, if I had firewood, I could start a fire. I could easily do the same with my beak and thread.
The problem was getting dry firewood. Once I had it, I could make fire anytime, so this wasn't really necessary.
「Lightning Rod」
Attracts lightning strikes.
Fixes the position of falling lightning to your location.
At first glance, it seemed like an amazing ability to control lightning, but reality was different.
I literally became a living lightning rod.
There might be ways to use it effectively.
On a rainy day with lightning, activate this trait and charge at the enemy.
Then lightning would strike me, and I'd take the enemy down with me in mutual destruction.
"Caw!"
Absolutely useless, right?
Plus, I'm a bird.
Getting hit by lightning or thunderbolts felt like it would have devastating effects.
And there were tons of other weird traits like that.
If it was just using feathers, fine, but making me spend precious silver coins was downright evil.
"Caw-sigh..."
I let out a sigh.
"Shwoong..."
Swungswung patted me with his short arms.
Money gone, traits gone.
But it was too early to despair.
If there's no ceiling, make one.
What I'd done so far was trait synthesis.
Combining three different traits to create a new one, with higher traits appearing only by low probability.
I didn't know exactly what a higher trait meant, but looking at the list so far, I could tell I'd been pulling duds.
But trait evolution was different.
Combining three of the same trait guaranteed a higher trait.
And right now, I had duplicates piling up to the point of boredom.
「Sturdy Beak」
Sturdy Beak.
I had a whopping nine Sturdy Beaks right now.
Why so many of the same? Because it was such a basic trait.
The creatures here were very different from what I knew.
Plants were tougher and more resilient, animals faster and fiercer.
The magic beasts that hunted and ate them naturally had highly developed bodies, especially the mouthparts for eating prey.
Sturdy Beak.
Sturdy Jaw.
Sturdy Teeth.
That's why these traits were common.
And traits like teeth or jaws automatically converted to beaks, so having nine Sturdy Beaks wasn't that strange.
My first trait was Sturdy Beak, so it was that common.
Common, but its effect wasn't negligible.
I'd equipped this Sturdy Beak in most situations.
Sometimes even stacking multiples for strategy.
The higher trait of Sturdy Beak? Had to be good.
Knowing that, I'd saved it for the main course.
Evolve first for some fun; if synthesis fails later, mood sours. But synthesis fails and evolution succeeds? Feels a bit better.
Comforting myself like that, I pressed my beak to the red gem.
「Sturdy Beak」
「Sturdy Beak」
「Sturdy Beak」
[Do you really want to combine traits?]
Yeah.
Whatever comes out has to be better than Sturdy Beak.
"Caw!"
I nodded vigorously, and the traits began combining.
Fwaaash.
One gold coin in the box turned into golden light.
"...Cawk?"
Gold coin?
No, what the hell?
It took silver coins just a bit ago!
And there are still silver coins left—why take gold!?
"Caaaaaw!"
I screamed, but it was too late.
The gold coin melted into light and seeped into my feathers.
...Only then did I realize.
Trait synthesis costs one silver coin.
Trait evolution costs one gold coin.
Isn't the price difference too much?
[Trait combination completed!]
Success!
「Black Bird's Beak」
The beak of a mystical bird with black feathers.
Hard, sharp, and lets you eat the uneatable.
Grants slight resistance to natural environments.
"...Caaaw."
It's different.
The feather size was different.
About twice the size of a normal one.
And the color was perfect black.
A color indistinguishable unless by size.
This was the higher trait.
It carried on Sturdy Beak perfectly, clearly a step above no matter how you looked.
After seeing junk like Lightning Rod or Spark, this felt purifying.
"Caaaw..."
Yeah, this is what a trait should be.
This makes the gold coin worth it.
...Still hurts to lose the gold.
I equipped the feather and tested it right away.
Craaack!
Kwaaaack!
Pecking an innocent wall showed its power.
Hard yet sharp.
Compared to one Sturdy Beak, over twice the power.
But not three times.
Pure power-wise, stacking three Sturdy Beaks was better.
But this had effects Sturdy Beak lacked, and considering limited slots, this was several times more efficient.
"Caw!"
Combining four Sturdy Beaks and one Black Bird's Beak would be insane.
...Wait, do I have to use Sturdy Beaks?
I counted remaining feathers.
Six Sturdy Beaks left.
Evolve again?
Three higher traits.
Evolve those too?
Might get a trait one step above Black Bird's Beak.
"Caw!"
I had to try it once anyway.
Didn't know if evolution always gave the same result, so had to test.
Of course, three more gold coins.
Almost my whole fortune again, but what good is saving gold?
Earned to spend anyway.
And it was free from the Tin Woodman.
Flapping my wings, I gathered the feathers.
[Do you really want to combine traits?]
Hesitated a tiny bit, but nodded anyway.
[Trait combination completed!]
If a random beak pops out now, plan ruined.
Please Black Bird's Beak.
「Black Bird's Beak」
"Cackack!"
Second was Black Bird's Beak too—what about the third?
If it backstabs me on the third, I don't know what I'll do.
「Black Bird's Beak」
Thankfully, Black Bird's Beak again.
Evolution seems to give fixed results.
Not 100% sure yet, but easier to assume so.
Gathered three Black Bird's Beaks.
「Black Bird's Beak」
「Black Bird's Beak」
「Black Bird's Beak」
And now, I'm combining these three.
[Do you really want to combine traits?]
Thump.
Spending another gold coin nagged at me, but no reason to hesitate now.
If there was, I'd have stopped at one Black Bird's.
"Caaaaaw!"
I nodded wildly, declaring my bold ambition.
Then the gold coin in the treasure chest vanished.
Along with the nearby silver coins.
"Caaaaaw!"
No, what is this!?
Why silver too this time?
I could only watch my money disappear.
Still, think positive.
Black Bird's Beak cost one gold.
Making higher trait costs more—makes sense.
"Kweeeuk..."
I gnashed my beak.
[Trait combination completed!]
Yeah, let's see the result.
New trait!
「Beak of Evil's Demise」
"Cackackack!"
I flapped my wings and fell backward.
Thud.
That's how startled I was.
Why this name?
Something ominous.
Beak of Evil's Demise?
The name alone screams power.
No, can't let guard down.
Lightning Spark sounded great too.
Beak of Evil's Demise.
Show me the goods.
「Beak of Evil's Demise」
The beak of a divine bird that exterminates worldly evils.
Extremely hard, extremely sharp, lets you eat the illogical.
Grants resistance to natural environments, eliminates recoil from beak attacks.
Allows direct strikes on impure beings and magical rituals.
...What is this?
Can I even have something like this?
After feathers that just made tail bigger, played with embers, or spun head...
They give me this high-performance trait!?
"Caaaaw!"
If they're giving, I won't refuse.