The Sculpture’s Heritage
Weed found a cave to hide in with little difficulty. A cave that was not artificial, but natural. It was a hole that spewed lava when the tectonic plates collided.
If you went deep into the underground territory you could see lava flowing, emitting immense heat. Though there were monsters like dolphins and spearfish jumping out of the lava, Weed didn’t look for very long.
“No, who knows if just looking at them could burn me then there’s no way I’d want to fight with those guys!”
Golden Bird was confused and wondered why Weed was staring at him so intently.
“If I were as free as a bird, it would be a convenient way to scout. After all, flying would be much easier.”
Using Golden Bird as a reference, Weed created a new piece. Covered in volcanic ash; dark as night; a creature that blended with the current environment: he made a crow.
“Sculpture transformation!”
Weed’s body suddenly shrunk and doubled over. Feathers sprouted over his body and his mouth transformed into a sharp beak; his beady eyes turned jet black like coal.
◾In this form you will not be able to use your current equipment.A small winged creature will suffer a penalty when wearing heavy equipment.
◾Wearing heavy equipment has severely impacted your current agility
◾If you do not maintain the minimum amount of strength and agility it will be impossible to walk or fly.
◾The effect of sculpture transformation has lowered knowledge and wisdom to its lowest point. However, agility has improved for quick flight
His current stats were impacted as it imitated a bird completely, all feathers and no brain.
The crow’s bad luck status followed him closely too. The luck stat moved into the negative range, as if it was necessary to spread the misery around. Yes, it was sad, intrinsically the crow was known as a precursor to misery.
Mana, stamina, and vitality -25%.
Valid until transformation is undone.
Weed wanted to test out cawing once.
“It’s stuck in the AH Ah Ah Ah AAH.”
It was a very irritating, unpleasant noise that frightened golden bird a little, annoyed Rover, and made Geumini wince in resignation.
“Anyways, I’ll just scout around for a bit.”
A crow is not suited for battle. Even worse, it’s beak can’t be used for writing, and it is unable to use any kind of equipment.
“Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot.”
Weed did a small series of steps to adapt to his new body. He sat down and stood up again, then folded and unfolded his wings. As a small crow, there were a number of things to adapt to. After staggering around for about 10 minutes in that awkward body, he seemed to get the hang of it.
“Well, I think it’s time to try flying.”
Weed sped up the vacant lot like a plane taking off.
*Da da da da da da da da*
Weed lifted off from the ground as he scooped up the empty air under his wings. It was unstable, but he finally left the ground, flying as a crow. It was awkward but successful.
Digging with his wings into the air, he soared higher and higher. From his place in the sky he could pick out firedrakes that circled around. Unfortunately, Weed was too weak to fight them.
He was great in battle, and would have easily prevailed in his human form, but as a crow he would surely die, as his current arsenal only included a beak attack. After one strike of that move, it would all be for naught; as he would instantly receive a counter strike. He would not be able to escape after attacking.
He adjusted his wings and changed direction. His goal was to look at the monsters’ formations. Almost every monster here could be called a natural treasure.
The video on the Royal Road homepage called this area a ‘really dangerous neighborhood’. Weed did not cry out, he slowly nodded his head back and forth, wary of his surroundings.
Since he changed to a crow, the highest points of Las Phalanx that could not be seen from ground level, came into view. Las Phalanx wasn’t an isolated island. The big and wide volcanic region, the unfreezing river, and the other parts of the glaciers were all connected.
Between Las Phalanx and the glaciers there was a buffer zone covered with snow and some hills.
“You’re either too hot or too cold.”
Both sides of the border had high-level monsters. On the glacier side of the island, monsters were often ready and willing to engage in a fight against the monsters that poured from underground on the other side. It was an area of strife that this half hearted crow wanted to be nowhere near.
“I have to find an Armenian pirate…”
Scouting as a raven in the nearby terrain was difficult. Hot air rose out of the mountain and the fire drake circled the volcanoes. The landscape was a valley full of cracks and coves where lava flows. In one area with several cracks, there was a unique old tower. A stone tower, drawing 20 meters high, was set in an area that was relatively untouched by the volcanoes.
“What’s that over there?”
Weed cautiously flew to the tower. There were monsters all around the tower spires, but they didn’t care about a crow so he arrived at the entrance to the tower in safety.
At the entrance to the tower, sculptures of the monsters in Las Phalanx had been vividly created. Since the Emperor’s death, the empire had disintegrated. Invasions spread across the continent and the empire was split up falling into chaos, leaving the pieces he made scattered.
With his passion for art and beauty, any person who had a piece was reluctant to give it up. In Las Phalanx, one could easily find all of the precious metals of the Versailles continent. Sculptors can turn those precious metals into living metal statues. So they mostly escaped during the split of the continent.
Before Weed arrived, the only person who knew of this place was the Emperor Geihar Von Arpen. Every sculpture was at a high level. But when they arrived at Las Phalanx even the advantages they had as pieces of life were not enough against the monsters of the natural environment, and they lost their lives. The tower was the legacy created by the pieces who came here. Anyone who creates sculptures would be convinced.
‘The Sculptor’s guild’s head and 13 pieces of life sculptors…’
You have made the great discovery “The History of the Sculptor.”
◾If you report these finding to the sculptor’s guild you can receive great rewards.
◾The reward for the Sculptor’s Heritage is to pick out a gift made here! A piece on the tower has engraved writing. The name is not known; maybe it is from a very famous sculptor.
(PR Note: Someone tell me what the Sculptor’s Heritage is!)
Geihar Von Arpen’s pieces of life. Weed had made five Magnum pieces.
‘In the Versailles continent, there is still no better sculptor than the emperor.’
The evidence was what he was touching right now. Weed admired the view for a while, then went up the tower.
“Call Death Knight”
The area in front of Weed shimmered and Death Knight appeared in front of the pitch black crow.
“Master, now that is a rare appearance, but it fits nicely.”
“It fits for now.” Weed said in response to Death Knight’s comment.
He sent Death Knight down to the entrance of the tower. The door had been created so that it could only be opened from the outside. There was a dangerous bell in the corner that he could ring, but he was fearful of the monsters it’d attract so he left it alon.
On each floor there were scary looking knight sculptures posed to attack. The sculptures actually seemed like a threat. They were covered in a thick crust because of the years of accumulated dust or perhaps it was the massive earthquakes that made the ceiling give off a fine powder. The number of monster seemed to be huge.