My first attempt to escape the Crow Palace ended in vain failure.
I thought we were going right back to the nest, but suddenly the crows started cawing.
Caw— Caw—
Hearing that sound, the mother crow immediately wheeled around.
‘W-wait a minute. You’re not, are you?’
From a height roughly double the eleven meters at which humans are said to feel the most fear, a free fall commenced.
‘Nooooooo!!’
Ggurk?
Just then, the monster that appeared to be the target suddenly moved.
‘Stop!! If you run away, I’m the one who dies!’
Gguuuaaargh—!!
‘Whoa, I really thought I was going to die….’
Fortunately, its movement was slow, so I landed on the target’s back instead of the ground.
Maybe because it wasn’t hit in the head, it was still alive, but it seemed to have suffered a fatal blow.
Caw—
At the mother crow’s call, the chicks swarmed over once more.
‘This guy’s even more pitiful than the bear.’
The mother crow, which had already flown right over my head, picked me up.
Who am I to worry about anyone else in my situation?
This time, without even receiving the price of my life, I was forcibly returned to the nest.
‘Still, maybe being treated like this isn’t so bad in its own way?’
Whether the mother crow possessed a throw-related skill or it was thanks to Headbutt, a level 17 monster had died in a single strike to the head.
Of course, falling from a high altitude probably played a part too.
That damn crow doesn’t seem to care much even if I eat the magic stone.
‘Above all, it consumes no mana.’
This was a hunting method absolutely impossible on my own.
‘In fact, it means I can eat magic stones while doing practically nothing.’
The problem is that I have to leave my life to sheer luck.
‘…What am I even thinking?’
Did I fall for Stockholm—or rather, Stone-holm—syndrome in just a short moment?
If things went wrong and I hit something like a boulder, the one shattering would definitely be me, not the monster’s head.
‘You’ve been kidnapped! Pull yourself together, pebble!’
First, I have to survive somehow until I can use Gigantification.
The moment my mana recovers, I’m running without looking back.
Caw! Caw!
Whether they had already devoured the hunted prey in that short span, the chorus of death resonated once again.
‘The kids are in their growing phase, so they sure eat wel—’
Caw!
‘—l, my foot! Stop stuffing your faces, you feathered b*stards!!’
* * *
A pair of brothers with suspicious appearances were walking through the forest.
“Are you sure it’s around here?”
“Yeah. I’m telling you, I’m sure.”
“Hehe, if we just find the nest, we’re raking in a fortune, Hyung!”
“Shh.”
Caw—
Placing his index finger to his lips, he looked at the flock of crows flying off in unison in one direction.
Viewed from below, it looked almost like a black wave.
“Found it.”
Indi Crows usually live independently, but when young, they grow through the sacrifice of a single individual chosen as the leader.
The smartest and strongest crow takes charge of feeding all the chicks.
At this time, a special ability manifests in the leader: red eyes that discern precious things.
“The leader is definitely around here.”
That is why valuables pile up in the leader crow’s nest.
Expensive artifacts were occasionally discovered there, too.
Many adventurers used to enter the Great Forest to search for them, but recently, as the monster population and danger levels rose, more and more people lost their lives, leading everyone to shun the place.
“Fools. Times like this are exactly when you should come in.”
If others avoid it, it’s only natural that your own share grows bigger.
Besides, if many died in the Great Forest, there would be even more treasure piled up in the crows’ nest.
The brothers had set out, just the two of them, in search of the nest with precisely that in mind.
“Brother, over there!”
As if the heavens themselves were lending a hand, they spotted the red-eyed leader crow right on cue.
It stood out clearly because it was clutching some white pebble in its talons.
“Follow it!”
The brothers swiftly gave chase.
* * *
Gyaak— gyaak—
If you’re wondering what this sound like boiling phlegm is, it’s the sound of that sly, vicious crow snoring.
It means the life-risking free-fall bungee jumping is finally over.
‘At this rate, aren’t I really going to die?’
I had completely degraded into the crow’s hunting tool.
I tried to take comfort in the fact that it was an effortless hunt, but unless I hit their heads, the monsters didn’t die immediately, so I couldn’t eat as many magic stones as I’d thought.
I suffered all that misery only to gain a measly single level.
It’s a touching, tear-jerking true story that I didn’t even get a single skill out of it.
‘This is no good.’
A few quick-witted ones dodged mid-fall, causing me to slam straight into the ground several times.
Feeling as though a piece of my body had chipped away, it seemed my durability took a hit.
‘Still, I can escape soon.’
After realizing I wouldn’t die from falling, I tried escaping while the crow had its guard down.
Yet somehow, it figured it out and gave chase right away.
All I did was shave off precious durability for nothing.
‘The moment my mana recovers, I’m bouncing.’
Once I can use Gigantification, I will flee immediately.
That damn crow won’t be able to lift a boulder.
‘Shall I use the downtime to check out the treasure?’
I rolled over to the treasure pile on the inner side of the nest.
‘If I could take all of this, it’d fetch a pretty penny.’
If only I had an inventory function, I could pack it all up, but what a shame.
Looking at it only made the regret grow, so I turned around and rolled away.
Then, my body bumped into a ring rolling around on the floor.
‘Ugh, clean your room once in a while!’
[Would you like to activate Blessing of Predation (lv. 1)?]
‘Huh?’
Just as I was trying to skirt around it, I froze for a moment at the notification window that suddenly popped up.
Caw— Caw—
Damn it. Those little demon birds started cawing around the nest again.
That meant it was about time for the mother demon to wake up.
‘Devour it, quick!!’
I swiftly activated Predation before the crow could wake up.
Then, blue smoke flowed out of the ring and entered my body.
[You have absorbed condensed magic. Magic increases.]
At the same time the notification window popped up, the luster faded from the ring.
It wasn’t a massive change, but I could feel my total mana pool expand slightly.
Along with that, some mana was restored as well.
‘Whoa. What’s this?’
To think that what I thought was a pie in the sky was actually a gourmet treat sitting just a few rolls away.
‘Could it be that I can absorb magic from the others this way, too?’
Caw—
Just as I tried to approach again to check, the owner of the treasure walked over and blocked me.
‘Wait a second! Just one, just one more!’
In the end, I was seized just like that and dragged outside the nest.
If only I’d realized a little sooner, I could’ve eaten them all!
‘…Should I hold out a little longer?’
Originally, the plan was to run away as soon as my mana recovered.
However, that was before tasting the gourmet treat, and leaving just like this feels like such a waste.
I think I can endure a few more drops, and in a pinch, I can just use Gigantification to bolt.
‘Yeah. It’s way too much of a shame to leave like this.’
Raising magic was impossible solely by hunting monsters.
Who knows when a chance like this will come again; I can’t give up like this.
‘Alright. Let’s hold out just until that damn crow comes back and falls asleep.’
Then I’ll suck up all the magic over there and really bounce.
* * *
Was it said that human greed knows no bounds and repeats the same mistakes?
That remained an immutable truth even after becoming a pebble.
‘Haaa….’
Right now, I feel like I’m standing on the very edge of death’s threshold.
One slight slip, and I’d literally become a gravestone.
‘Please stop! I’m gonna die at this rate!!’
Whether its accuracy dropped or the monsters grew sharper, it failed to hit the targets repeatedly.
‘Should I bolt even now?’
Yeah. Gourmet treats or whatever, I’m about to die right this second. Staying alive comes first.
‘This time, I’m definitely using Gigantification to bail.’
Clutched in the crow’s talons, I looked down below.
Without even realizing it, I had developed a habit of observing the target before dropping.
The final sacrificial lamb seemed to be a bipedal lizard.
‘A lizard, huh. Its tail is peculiar.’
The skin color and the tail color being different looked completely unnatural.
It seemed similar to how an autotomized lizard’s tail regenerated on YouTube.
‘A severed tail regenerating, huh….’
Wait a minute.
That means it might have a regeneration-related skill.
‘If this goes well, maybe I don’t have to give up after all?’
If I can restore my battered durability, I can loot the crow’s treasure vault with peace of mind.
My future pebble life will become far more stable, too.
‘Please be there. Even if you don’t have it, manifest it!’
Caw—
Having circled above the lizard’s head biding its time, the crow finally dropped me.
By now, I was so accustomed to free-falling that I disgusted myself.
Kuruk?
The lizard noticed belatedly and tried to flee.
‘No you don’t!!’
To ensure I caught the guy, I cast Gigantification.
If it had taken just one more step, it might have lived, but I’m in a hurry myself, you see.
Thuuump—!
[Would you like to activate Blessing of Predation (lv. 1)?]
‘Yes!!’
I immediately triggered Predation.
[You have predated the magic stone of a Scale Lizardman (lv. 14). Absorbing magic power.]
[Level Up! You have obtained 2 Skill Points.]
[There are skills available for acquisition.]
‘Show me quickly! I’m feeling dizzy!’
It wasn’t a joke; it was real.
Although I crushed the monster, perhaps because the impact was transmitted back to me, I felt lightheaded.
It seemed all the more so because my durability was chipped down as much as it could be.
——————
[Available Skills]
- Scale Shedding – 1P
- Tail Severing – 1P
- Scale Blade – 2P
- Regeneration – 4P
——————
‘It’s there!!’
Forgetting that Gigantification was still active, I hopped in excitement without realizing it, making the ground shake.
——————
[Regeneration (lv. 1)]
Gradually heals wounds. The more you rest, the faster the recovery speed.
——————
‘Insane. It’s a passive?’
There’s no mention of consuming mana.
While I can’t know the extent of the effect, having zero resource consumption itself is a massive perk.
If hunting ever gets risky, I can just hole up in a corner and wait until I’m healed.
‘Yahoo!’
Just as I was hopping around in excitement, that demon crow killed the mood.
Caw—!
‘Always so tactless.’
The guy kept scratching at me with its talons.
As expected, it can’t lift my gigantified body.
‘It’s not that I couldn’t run away, I chose not to, bird brain.’
When I deactivated Gigantification, it snatched me up as if it had been waiting and took to the sky.
‘Now, let’s go! To the nest!’
* * *
Caw—
The crow fell asleep as soon as it arrived at the nest.
The chicks probably won’t be looking for it for a while.
It was a routine I figured out after going through it several times.
‘Sleep tight. It’d be even better if you never woke up.’
Now was the golden opportunity to rob its treasure clean.
‘Hehe… to think all of this is mine.’
Dazzlingly brilliant, they seemed to be begging me to absorb them quickly.
Not only did I gain the Regeneration skill, but I can also raise my magic; this place is definitely The Giving Tree.
‘Well then, thanks for the meal!’
Humming a tune, I made contact with the closest necklace.
Tap—
‘….’
What gives. Why isn’t anything popping up?
Strangely, no notification window popped up even after waiting for a long while.
I tried rolling back and forth and even roared “Predation” at the top of my lungs, but there was no response.
‘Could this just be an ordinary necklace?’
It seems the first ring must have been something like an artifact.
‘I guess ordinary accessories are mixed in too.’
Well, with this many, there’s no way they could all be artifacts.
Right. A few might not be.
‘Yeah. It better be only a few.’
An ominous premonition flashed past in an instant, but I forced myself to ignore it and attempted contact with the other items.
‘Ah, there are still plenty left. This one surely works.’
‘Wait, not this one either?’
‘Even this one?!’
When nothing popped up one after another like some cruel joke, I dived headfirst into the pile.
[Would you like to activate Blessing of Predation (lv. 1)?]
‘Yes. I believed in you!’
Rejoicing over the rekindled hope lasted only a brief moment.
‘Why can’t I ever be haaaaaappy!!’
Out of all this heap, merely four contained magic.
‘Artifacts must really be rare, huh.’
Even though I looted all the treasure in the nest, my magic rank didn’t go up.
It’s disappointing, but my mana recovered quite a bit, and holding out because of this led to gaining the Regeneration skill, so in the end, it turned out well.
‘Now it’s really time to leave.’
Since I’ve gotten everything I can, I’m definitely escaping on the next drop.
Without fail!
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