Chapter – 10
ćCharacter Stat Change Notificationć
- Mana capacity: F+ ā E+ (Grade increase)
The brass ring fitted on his finger glowed faintly.
Mikhail looked down at the ring and lifted the corners of his mouth in satisfaction. With this, his mana capacity stat had grown as much as he’d hoped.
He’d cleared one hurdle. And the second hurdle would be cleared before long. Because.
‘The sky fox quest will also be finished soon…’
That’s when it happened.
Pain that seemed to stir up his chest struck him.
“!”
Mikhail’s shoulders trembled at the intense pain.
However, it was only for a moment. The pain vanished cleanly before he could even react.
‘What was that?’
Mikhail blinked in bewilderment whenā
Caw!
An ear-scratching cry echoed from outside the window.
Mikhail whipped his head around. A flock of crows was flying toward Haeohreum Forest, spitting out cries.
Even at a glance, there were quite a lot of them. Mikhail narrowed his eyes and recalled the quest progression.
‘Is it almost time for the large crow attack event?’
It was the core progression of the sky fox quest and a relatively easy battle event.
Of course, “relatively easy battle” was a story based on the protagonist Ethan as the standard…
‘Anyway, the sky foxes will be driven into a corner right about now… I should go help them.’
Mikhail looked at Ada, who was gleefully flipping a gold coin across from him.
“Sorry, but could I ask for one more favor?”
“Huh? What is it?”
“I’d like to borrow the poker next to the furnace.”
Ada looked toward the furnace. The poker rolling on the ground covered in dust was practically junk.
Something you’d refuse even if they gave it for free.
Ada withdrew her indifferent gaze from the poker and shrugged her shoulders.
“Sure, go ahead. We’re not using it anyway.”
“Thank you.”
Clatter.
Mikhail approached the furnace and picked up the poker, then glanced at the armory owner standing at the counter.
The old man looking around at the children with a foolish smile.
“Hehe, kids. Don’t fight too hard. I’ll bring more good items…”
Alex Flon.
A once-renowned mercenary and blacksmith.
This poker was one of the weapons Alex had made himself, and it was particularly light yet sturdy.
Among weapons suitable for those with lacking abilities, it was quite excellent.
Clack.
Mikhail picked up the poker and slipped away from Ada.
“Great, 10 gold!”
The moment he stepped outside the entrance, Edwin’s shout burst out from inside the armory.
“You saw, right? I won! I won! …Tsk, where do those nobodies get off acting cocky with me?”
“Of course! As expected of Sir Edwin! Then that sword is now…”
“Right, this time Neil! You take it! I’m a greatsword user anyway. I don’t need something this thin.”
“Wow, as expected! Befitting the name of the Lowell family, who are both the head of the guild alliance and the master of the top guild!”
“Hehe, kids. You have to handle the mithril sword carefully. Refunds are difficult for damage issues… Are you listening? Huh?”
While the noisy conversation stabbed at his ears, Mikhail clicked his tongue and recalled the mithril sword’s information.
[Sharply Honed Mithril Sword][A mithril sword honed by an artisan’s touch. Boasts excellent attack power and a high critical injury rate, but if handled carelessly, it will quickly wear down. Durability consumption is twice as fast.]
‘…In two days, he’ll be causing a fuss asking for a refund. After turning the sword into a rag.’
Mikhail, who’d recalled the progression, let out a snicker and shouldered the poker.
He began moving toward the forest.
Flutter, flutter!
Caw! Caw caw!
About ten minutes had passed since Mikhail set foot in Haeohreum Forest.
Though he was still only at the forest’s edge, his surroundings were already filled with large crows.
“Caw!”
The crows flapped their wings between the bushes and clashed their beaks threateningly.
Seeing how they even surged up in flocks to threaten him, they didn’t seem to welcome Mikhail at all.
“…”
But Mikhail moved forward without concern.
Though their displayed movements were quite threatening, the large crows weren’t targeting him.
The crows’ goal was the sky foxes.
More precisely, driving the sky foxes who could be a threat to them out of this forest.
So they wouldn’t waste unnecessary energy on him.
…Besides, there was one more factor distracting his attention.
‘Why does my chest feel so stuffy?’
Mikhail struggled to calm his roughening breath.
In truth, his condition had been a bit strange since arriving at the forest’s edge. His vision occasionally blurred, and an unpleasant heat sometimes surged up.
And then sometimes…
“Kugh!”
Pain that stirred up his solar plexus would strike deeply.
‘What the hell is this?’
Mikhail bit his lip and slowed his steps, but only briefly. He shook off the lingering questions and picked up speed.
He couldn’t let some unknown issue hold him back and make the quest he’d progressed over several days amount to nothing. Resolving the remaining incident wouldn’t take long anyway.
‘Let’s visit the infirmary as soon as this is over.’
While thinking this, he reached the lake area. The crows’ cries cut through the air.
Caw! Caw!
At the sharper noise, Mikhail frowned.
The source of the ear-scratching cries would be the lamp tree where the sky foxes had been staying.
Rustle, rustle, rustle.
Mikhail hastened his movement toward the lamp tree.
The sound of his footsteps brushing the grass grew faster than before, and the bushes touching his waist broke roughly.
“Arrrr…”
What finally appeared was the sight of the large crows and the sky fox siblings in confrontation.
The sky foxes standing on the ground had their fur standing on end toward the large crows, but their tails were anxiously flailing.
Their ceaselessly rolling eyes looked like they were planning to run away at any moment. Mikhail clicked his tongue disapprovingly.
‘So foolish, honestly.’
Sky foxes were beings blessed by the wind who could command the atmosphere.
They could tear through air currents to neutralize the crows’ wingbeats, so if it came to their abilities, they could easily defeat the large crows.
But the sky foxes before his eyes clearly wouldn’t do that. The choice to abandon their nest would be more familiar to them.
…The reason being, simply to avoid fighting.
That was the only peace the creatures knew.
‘That way, they’ll be wanderers forever.’
Mikhail bit his lip and gripped the poker.
“Caw!”
That’s when it happened. The largest crow among them cried out.
Using this as a signal, the crows circling in the air stopped abruptly, folded their wings vertically, and dove toward the sky foxes.
Shwick!
A spine-chilling sound of cutting through air struck.
But the sky foxes seemed to have no will to resist. They only pressed their bodies together and squeezed their eyes shut.
Just as the sharp beaks were about to touch the sky foxes’ bodiesā
Clang!
“Caaaaw!”
Mikhail, who’d burst out suddenly, swung the poker. The crow that had been in the lead rolled on the ground.
“!”
The sky foxes whipped their heads toward Mikhail.
They seemed startled, yapping, but there was no time to pay attention.
With that previous strike, the crows’ attack target would have changed to Mikhail himself, and the fight was just beginning.
Thwack!
“Caw!”
At the cry full of hostility, Mikhail narrowed his brow. He swung the poker frantically.
His reaction speed and strength were absolutely terrible, but the current situation was a pattern he’d repeated endlessly while playing the game.
He knew exactly where the critical hits would come from.
Flutter! Thwack!
Heavy bodies struck the end of the stick several times.
He’d blocked the critical attacks at least. But that was all his lacking physical abilities could handle.
The crows’ talons and beaks grazed various parts of Mikhail’s body. Small wounds began to accumulate one by one.
The tide gradually tilted.
“Kugh…”
Before he knew it, Mikhail’s vision was covered with black feathers.
Something hot flowed down his left cheek, and a fishy scent wafted strongly from the tip of his nose.
“Caw! Caw!”
Sharp cries rang in his head. The crows’ fierce attacks continued as if not to miss their advantage.
‘Just a little more…’
He covered his face with both arms against the pouring attacks and forcibly put strength into his buckling knees.
Meanwhile, his gaze waiting for something remained firmly fixed upward.
Shwick!
That’s when it happened. The white-tailed crow that had been leisurely circling alone glided toward Mikhail.
It was the leader of the crow flock. Mikhail glared at the leader and gripped the poker.
“Caw!”
At that moment, the crow’s cry echoed sharply.
Just as its beak, even sharper than that, approached Mikhail’s eyesā
Whoosh!
Mikhail swung what he held with all his might.
The poker cut through the air and struck the leader crow’s body squarely.
Clang!
A scream burst out.
“Kwaaak!”
The leader, having taken the impact head-on, tumbled.
The massive body crashed to the ground and rolled several times over the bushes. Finally, it didn’t move at all.
“Did I… get it?”
Mikhail swallowed dryly and lowered the poker.
Since it had gone limp, he’d wondered if it might be dead, but soon confirmed its wingbones twitching and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Krr…”
When the leader, having barely raised its body, flew up unsteadily, the crows who’d been restless also followed suit.
“Caw, cawā!”
Black feathers fell like afterimages. The crows disappeared into the distant sky. All that remained was their long, drawn-out cries.
Finally, silence descended over the bushes.
“Huff… ha.”
Mikhail caught his breath and dropped the poker with a thud. The fatigue dulled by tension poured out like a flood.
Was it because he’d engaged in an unskilled close-quarters battle on top of losing quite a bit of blood? Somehow his insides felt twisted…
“Kugh!”
That’s when it happened. Intense pain covered his consciousness.
Mikhail collapsed on the spot as if crumbling. His head felt like it would split, and he couldn’t breathe. He was so, so cold.
“Huk, kugh…”
His vision was turning hazy. Convulsions, chills, and headaches each took turns stirring up his entire body.
But there was no time to even struggle with the pain. Mikhail doubted his own eyes amid his fading consciousness.
“Huh?”
Through his blurred vision, something unbelievable was happening.
Gurgle…
His palm pressed against the ground. Beneath it, a dark blue liquid rippled. Like a sea holding the night sky.
“Huu, huk.”
As his chest constricted tightly, even his consciousness faded. He couldn’t lose consciousness like this. He had to fix his vision…
Flicker.
His vision flickered.
Along with it, a golden message inscribed in the air.
Character Trait Expansion
: Hidden grade, [ā Type ā ā ā ā Abyss]ā.
…What the hell is this?
Mikhail froze with his eyes wide open.
The message repeatedly overlaid new text.
Flicker.
Character Trait Expansion
: Hidden grade, [Origin ā Powerā Abyss]’s functionā.
Flicker.
: Manifestāā ingā.
And finally.
Flash!
Character Trait Expansion
: Hidden grade, [Origin Mana: Abyss]’s function is manifesting.
The text floated in complete form.
‘Abyss… did it say?’
Mikhail stared at the message without even moving.
All that rang in his ears was the sound of his own irregularly rising and falling breath.
His mind, where even thoughts had stopped, was only pure white.
‘This kind of thing… no, this kind of thing can’t be applied…’
Pain that seemed to pierce his heart cut into his train of thought. Scenes that suddenly came to mind struck Mikhail’s mind.
Right after the possession, being severely sick inside the dormitory.
The intense pain that came immediately after his mana capacity expanded.
The pain worsening the deeper he went into the forest…
‘Don’t tell me, the reason my condition kept being bad was all…’
His mind, having caught the clue, began turning again. Mikhail recalled the identity of the situation and moved his lips.
“…It was because that mana was settling into my body.”
