[Month 11.] [After several months of “getting used to each other,” your mindset regarding the presence of that Wind Whisper Crow has undergone a subtle change.] [You seem to have grown accustomed to her presence, and the initial resistance has long since vanished.] [It’s more of a calm acceptance, like the saying “My humble door opens now for you.”] [You even gave her the name “Little Airplane.”] [As for why you chose that name…] [Because “Crow flies like an airplane.”] [Cough, cough…] [It’s worth mentioning that your Danger Sense has evolved.] [Danger Sense → Minds Eye (Proficient 1/5000).] [Minds Eye: Deploys a spherical perception field with a radius based on your current mental strength.
Within this field, you gain a 360° precise “vision” with no blind spots; not even the slightest rustle of grass can escape your “eyes.”] [You’ve tested this skill, and its effects are far more complex than the description suggests.] [As long as an area is covered by your mental strength, you can “see” it.] [Seeing pulses, seeing mana, seeing the flesh hidden beneath clothes…
cough, cough.] [Anyway, it’s basically a large-scale X-ray vision.] [The ability to sense danger is also retained.] [This skill is very much to your liking.] [Month 12.] [The Wind Whisper Crow has disappeared again.] [This time, you aren’t full of resentment like before; instead, you’re a bit more composed.] [With her Chieftain Rank strength, combined with the speed and wisdom of a Wind Whisper Crow, there are very few existences in the inner Gloomy Forest that could threaten her.] [Coupled with her nature of not wanting to be tied down…] [There’s absolutely nothing you can do about her.] [You have no choice but to let her be.] [But once she’s gone…] [The days of hunting by yourself have returned.] [Thanks to the leap in strength from evolving into a Curse Crow, hunting is much easier than before.] [Your Wind Blade is sharper, Curse can tire out prey in advance, and Minds Eye allows you to always find the best ambush points or avoid powerful enemies.] [You begin to consciously expand your range of activity.] [Besides hunting, you pay special attention to plants that look strange or emit unusual energy fluctuations.] [The evolutionary miracle brought by a single “starlight grass” is unforgettable to you, and you can’t wait to experience that thrill of skyrocketing strength again.] [Unfortunately, rare plants containing powerful mana aren’t everywhere.] [You search for a long time, but aside from a few herbs that can treat external wounds, you find nothing.] [However…] [The Plunder talent has never let you down.] [After a fight to the death with an extremely agile “Forest Cat,” you extracted a precious trait from its blood essence.] [Gained Talent: Wind Affinity (Green)] [Wind Affinity: Your ability to sense and manipulate the wind element is enhanced.
The power of all wind-attribute skills increases by approximately 10%, and it becomes easier to comprehend wind-related techniques.] [This adds wings to your already proficient wind-based abilities.] [Year 2.] [Amidst the complex emotions of hunting alone, cultivating, and occasionally “anticipating” whether the Wind Whisper Crow would return…] [Your level steadily rises to LV.
15.] [A large amount of actual combat has made your use of skills increasingly proficient.] [Wind Blade (Beginner) → Gale Combo Slash (Proficient 91/1000).] [Gale Combo Slash: Can instantly condense up to twelve Wind Blades, either covering an area or concentrating on a single point, greatly increasing power and suppression.] [You even unlocked the “Chef” talent point on your own.] [Using weak fire mana to roast prey.] [Your favorite spicy strips are roasted until they’re crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, overflowing with aroma.] [Even without any seasoning, you eat with great relish, feeling like your “bird” life has gained another enjoyment.] [Mid-year.] [Little Airplane, who had been missing for nearly half a year, finally returned.] [Her level has risen to LV.
21.] [Her aura is deeper.] [But what shocks you is that she is actually carrying three small birds with sparse feathers and eyes not yet fully open on her back!] [Two of the chicks have pale green feathers, with a faint aura of wind surrounding them.] [The other one has dull feathers, half-black and half-gray, making it impossible to tell its specific breed, and its aura is somewhat strange.] [Meanwhile, her own condition is extremely poor!] [Her feathers have lost most of their luster, her flight is staggering, and she can barely stand when she lands.] [You observe closely; she has actually been poisoned!] [Staggering, she carefully places the three chicks in your nest and gently touches them with her beak.] [She looks up at you again.
Those once domineering eyes now hold only endless exhaustion and a hint of…
apology?] [She lets out a faint cry that is almost inaudible, as if she has used up her last bit of strength.
Then her head tilts, her body collapses at the edge of your nest, and her life force completely dissipates.] [You stare blankly at her lifeless body, then at the three bewildered chicks in the nest.] [It feels like something is blocking your heart, an indescribable feeling.] [Anger?
Sadness?
Confusion?
Perhaps all of them.] [You remain silent for a long time, eventually taking her remains to be buried under the Iron Ridge Ancient Tree.] [While smoothing her feathers, you see two clear snake fang marks on a hidden spot on her flank.] [You know snakes extremely well and instantly judge that this was caused by a mixture of two snake venoms with completely opposite attributes.] [One ice and one fire, intensifying each other and eroding her life force.] [“…I will avenge you.”] [Standing before the small burial mound, you recall the various ways she domineeringly barged into your life…] [Complex emotions finally turn into a low cry.] [You may have never truly understood your relationship with her, but you have noted this blood debt.] […] [You give names to the three sudden “burdens.”] [The two that are clearly Wind Whisper Crow hatchlings are called Big Crow and Second Crow.] [The little fellow with the strange feather color is called Three Spoons.] [Don’t ask why.] [End of the year.] [Because you have to take care of three chicks with no small appetites, the pressure of your hunting increases dramatically.] [The speed of your leveling has slowed down relatively, finally barely reaching LV.
16.] [Big Crow and Second Crow perfectly inherited their mother’s wind attribute talent and are growing rapidly.] [You yourself are skilled in wind magic, so it’s a “perfect professional match.”] [Under your careful guidance, they soon successively awakened basic skills such as Wind Blade, Wind Shield, and Gale Haste.] [However, Three Spoons…
he remains a mystery.] [Your basic Appraisal Technique simply cannot identify his specific information; what comes back is a blur.] [But what is certain is that he is more influenced by your bloodline, because the earliest ability he awakened was Curse!] [Soon, he also self-taught a skill that even you don’t have—Curse Nail Technique.] [Condenses an illusory black nail and drives it into the target’s body, causing continuous damage.] [Overall, your three children are all geniuses.] [Days as a stay-at-home dad are busy, yet strangely happy.] [Watching the three little guys go from waiting to be fed, to stumbling as they learn to fly, to being able to follow behind you and assist in hunting—that sense of accomplishment is beyond words.] [As they grow, hunting efficiency is actually much faster than when you worked alone; the advantages of teamwork are beginning to show.] [Beginning of Year 3.] [Your level has finally broken through to LV.
18.] [The three children have also successively broken through to become Elite-rank demonic beasts.] [In that same year, perhaps from frequently using Appraisal Technique to observe herbs, your Appraisal Technique finally accumulated enough experience to successfully evolve.] [Appraisal Technique (Beginner) → Intermediate Appraisal Technique (Proficient 1/1000)] [Intermediate Appraisal Technique: You can view information on targets that do not exceed your own level by more than 20 levels, including more precise level assessments and current status.] [It can also perform more effective analysis on non-living mana items, materials, magic circles, etc.] [You can’t wait to cast an Intermediate Appraisal Technique on Three Spoons.] [Name: Three Spoons (Curse Crow)] [Level: LV 11 (Elite)] [Bloodline: Calamity Crow (Thin, approx.
5% Atavism)] [Aptitude: lord-level.] [Description: A mutated crow-type demonic creature that has inherited an extremely thin bloodline of the ancient Calamity Crow.
Naturally attuned to the powers of Curses and misfortune.
Possesses growth potential surpassing ordinary demonic beasts.] [“lord-level?!”] [You say in shock.] [That is a powerful rank above Chieftain Rank (LV 20-29)!] [This means that before this kid Three Spoons breaks through level 30 to become a lord, he will encounter almost no major bottlenecks.] [“Damn!
This is infuriating for a bird!”] [You now feel that leveling up is becoming more and more difficult for you.
Every increase requires a large amount of accumulation, and breaking through the hurdle of Chieftain Rank will likely be very tough.] [And this kid actually…
Sigh!] [After a complex sigh, you look at Three Spoons and a sudden mischievous urge strikes you.] [You lift him high with your claws.] [You cry out toward the forest.] [“Caw—!!
(Translation: My son Three Spoons has the bearing of a Great Emperor!!)”]
Maybe it’s not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”