[The ninth month.] [The nightmare continues.] [That powerful Spirit-Tail Black Crow seemed to have set its sights on your nest, “visiting” punctually almost every day.] [Then, without a word, it repeated a series of “exchanges” that left you feeling humiliated.] [But every time it came, it would always drop off one or two preys with strong auras and plump flesh as compensation.] [You felt more and more like the helpless girls described in some storybooks.] [And your nest had become your “brothel.”] [The stifling feeling of powerlessness was so similar—you really didn’t fucking want to take any “guests!”] [However, a fact that made your heart even more conflicted was: whether or not to eat the “payment” brought by this “regular.”] [Those preys were all Elite-level magic beasts with abundant mana and high-quality meat.] [The quality was significantly higher than the prey you usually had to go through great lengths to hunt.] [So, you fell into a deep moral dilemma.] [“This was traded for with my body!
It’s food handed out in contempt!
It’s the price of my dignity!”] [But another voice was shouting frantically.] [“You’ve already sold yourself!
Wouldn’t it be a total loss if you didn’t eat?
Why leave such good flesh and blood to rot and stink?”] [Your internal drama played out every day.] [In the end, you would say…] [“Even if I jump off this Iron Ridge Ancient Tree and starve to death, I will never eat a single bite of it!”] [A few hours later, facing the fresh meat emitting tempting energy fluctuations…] [“So delicious…”] [And so, you bounced back and forth between “integrity” and “deliciousness.”] [Ultimately, the desire to become stronger triumphed over that bit of “avian dignity.”] [“I’m a crow now!
A magic beast!
I’d be a total idiot not to take advantage of this!”] [Giving up on yourself, you came to terms with it and began to enjoy the “gifts” of fate with a clear conscience.] [It had to be said, getting high-quality food without having to go out and hunt or fight yourself…] [Life…
was actually a bit comfortable?] [In such days, your level soared, quickly reaching Level 13.] [However, you were horrified to find that you seemed…
to be getting used to this life of having food served to you.] [Even toward the aura of that overbearing female crow, you felt a few degrees less of the initial pure fear and a bit more of an indescribable, complex feeling.] [“Wake up!
You can’t let yourself be molded by her!”] [Occasionally, you would snap out of it, flapping your wings and pacing anxiously in your nest.] [The tenth month.] [A change occurred.] [That regular Spirit-Tail Black Crow suddenly disappeared.] [For several days, the familiar sound of flapping wings and the thud of dropped prey did not come from outside the nest.] [Your first reaction was: That scumbag girl ran away!] [“She tricked me out of my body and heart, then vanished once she got bored, without even a goodbye!
Isn’t this the textbook definition of a scumbag girl?!”] [You felt ruthlessly abandoned.] [In a fit of rage, you threw a small tantrum—catching a few unlucky passing venomous snakes and slicing them into bits with Wind Blade to vent your frustration.] [“Just you wait!
Once I get stronger, I’ll definitely make you pay, you scumbag crow!”] [Only, my dear.] [You didn’t know that among many crow-type magic monsters, there exist partner relationships far more stable than those of humans.] [They are often lifelong monogamous, raising offspring together, with deep emotional bonds between partners.] [At the end of the month, just as you were about to forget her.] [That familiar yet even more powerful figure descended once again.] [You cast an Appraisal Technique on her.] [Wind Whisper Crow, Level 20, Boss-level magic beast.] [“Good heavens!”] [You were stunned; she hadn’t run away, she had gone off to evolve behind your back!] [Having returned from evolution, she seemed even more urgent.
This “exchange” was more violent than any before, even making you consider “cutting off your tail to survive.”] [Afterward, she didn’t drop off prey as usual but instead left a shimmering little herb before departing.] [Your gaze fell upon that herb.] [It emitted pure and massive mana fluctuations, far stronger than any low-tier magic crystal you had ever seen.] [“What on earth is this?”] [You muttered, leaning in to sniff it; a refreshing fragrance rushed into your mind, jolting your spirits.] [“Since that female crow gave it…
it shouldn’t be too bad, right?”] [With curiosity, you cautiously pecked at and ate the “herb.”] [The leaves melted in your mouth, turning into a scalding and majestic torrent that instantly surged through your entire body!] [“Consumed rare magic plant ‘Starry Grass,’ Experience +1000…”] [“Boom—!”] [You felt as if countless tiny bombs were exploding one after another inside your body!] [Intense pain swept through every inch of your flesh and soul, ten times more violent than when you evolved into a Blood Feather Crow!] [Your vision went dark, and you passed out from the pain.] [Who knows how much time passed before you slowly woke up.] [First, you felt that the nest seemed to have gotten smaller and a bit cramped.] [You moved your wings and hit the hard tree wall, realizing then—it wasn’t that the nest had shrunk, but that you had grown larger!] [At the same time, the system notification sounded.] [Evolution successful!
Current species: Curse Crow!] [Awakened Skill: Curse (Beginner 1/500)] [Curse: Release an incantation containing your ominous mana to apply a Curse to a single target.
Effect: Moderately increases the mana consumption of the target when performing any ability.] [A useful debuff skill!] [You struggled to stand firm, carefully sensing the changes in yourself.] [Level increased to Level 14.] [Your size was another circle larger than when you were a Blood Feather Crow, appearing more robust and slender.] [Sensing your changes, your heart was filled with an inexplicable shock.] [You hadn’t expected the herb left by that Wind Whisper Crow to be so precious!] [It directly solved your worries about your lowly bloodline…] [The anger you previously felt toward her “husband-abandoning behavior” unknowingly dissipated by more than half.] [A different kind of emotion rose in your heart.] “If two hearts are meant to be together, what does it matter if they are but birds and beasts…” Outside the simulation, Ray uttered these words almost with a sigh.
He actually realized it too.
In the simulation, his consciousness was more or less influenced by the instincts, habits, and even aesthetics of the current species.
From a bird’s perspective, that powerful and elegant Wind Whisper Crow was indeed “beautiful.” Even…
full of attraction.
“Whatever!
It’s all a simulation!
Even if I were doing something as depraved as necrophilia, it has nothing to do with the real me!!” Ray in reality seemed to be emphasizing this point in a bit of a flustered manner, as if to distance himself.
Then he tried to calm his emotions and continued reading.