The Enigmatic Giant Pigeon

Chapter 25: The Mysterious Giant Pigeon

After telling Fiona his own polished version of the cats' mysterious legend, Anvis returned to his room under his sister's admiring gaze that said, "Big Brother knows so much."

But the moment he stepped through the door, Anvis noticed something strange.

Outside the window beside his desk, there was an odd white shape.

Judging by its outline, it appeared to be an extraordinarily large pigeon.

A Carrier Pigeon?

For an instant, Anvis felt the disorientation of still being a Player, before realizing that something was wrong.

Although it looked similar to a Player's Carrier Pigeon, this one was at least three times the size of an ordinary Carrier Pigeon—larger than a watermelon from Blue Star in his previous life.

For it to fly all the way to Moonrise Fortress atop the Snow Peak, it might be some kind of ice-element Magical Beast pigeon.

Anvis slowly approached, studying it with interest.

But as he drew closer, he noticed something else was wrong.

The pigeon was standing at an angle to the window, and the tip of one snow-white tail feather had pierced through the window's Enchanted Crystal, extending directly into the room!

It had clipped through the model? As if noticing the Youth's gaze, the pigeon turned its head. Its round red-and-black eyes met the Youth's azure ones.

Anvis was somewhat surprised to see that the pigeon showed no fear beneath his gaze.

As expected of a pigeon from a Magic world—so huge, and not even afraid of people...

While Anvis observed it, the pigeon suddenly turned around and took two steps, bobbing its head.

—It walked straight through the transparent Enchanted Crystal from the platform outside the window and into the room.

It could pass straight through glass too...

"Coo? You can see coo?"

Standing on the Floral Windowsill inside the window, the pigeon tilted its head, examined Anvis carefully, and suddenly spoke.

It could even talk...

The pigeon spoke?!

Anvis's expression twitched. He took a deep breath, gathered his emotions, and with some difficulty forced out a reply.

"Yes, I can see you, Mr. Pigeon... sir."

Come to think of it, this was a world of swords and Magic. Many things could not be explained by common sense.

Stay calm, stay calm...

"Pigeon coo? In your perception, does coo look like a 'pigeon' right now?"

White Dove tilted its head, took another two steps forward, and hopped onto a small round Pearl Wood table before the window, where a White Porcelain Vase sat.

This time, Anvis saw it clearly: part of its body was "embedded" in the vase.

The pale purple Hyacinth Grass that had been placed in the vase passed directly through the top of its folded right wing, creating an exceedingly bizarre sight.

"Then, were you the one who summoned coo?"

"Me? Summoned you?"

"Three days ago, someone summoned coo here, so coo came, coo—"

Anvis finally calmed down completely.

Three nights ago happened to be when he had fully absorbed the mysterious energy.

Clearly, this was probably another arrangement by the Wish Spell.

"If the summoning you mentioned took place three nights ago, in this room, then it was likely me."

Upon receiving Anvis's answer, the pigeon immediately jumped up, flapped its wings, and landed atop his head.

The pale golden-haired noble Youth was somewhat startled by the pigeon's action. Instinctively, he lowered his head slightly to avoid its flapping wings.

But the next moment, he noticed something strange.

It had no weight! Given its watermelon-sized body, Anvis had expected it to weigh at least several kilograms.

Yet when the pigeon truly landed on him, he did not feel the slightest weight upon his head!

Anvis moved his head a little awkwardly, though he could not feel anything on top of it.

"You're very special, coo—"

As Anvis's thoughts shifted, the pigeon tilted its head and examined the pale, handsome Youth.

"Coo has been in this world for so long, and you're the first among your 'kind' who can see coo, coo—"

"Although they're similar to you, none of them can sense coo's existence, coo, nor are they affected by coo in any way, coo—"

As he listened to the pigeon's account, a certain familiar feeling grew stronger and stronger within Anvis.

NPCs could not perceive it—wasn't that exactly like a Player's Carrier Pigeon? He just did not know what rank this one was.

"My name is Anvis, Anvis Olivenndi. May I ask how I should address you, sir?"

As he introduced himself, Anvis walked over to the desk and sat down, casually switching on the elegant Crystal Lamp.

Pigeon also flew up from his shoulder, landing on the lamp-lit surface of the desk.

Yet beneath the warm yellow glow, Pigeon cast not the slightest shadow.

"You mean Pigeon's name, coo? Pigeon has no name, coo—you can call Pigeon whatever you like, coo—"

"I understand. Then I'll call you Pigeon."

Anvis nodded. At the same time, he casually pulled out a sheet of pale yellow parchment. The ruby-inlaid Quill dipped into the silvery ink in the bottle, swiftly tracing a strange Symbol across the page.

It was a special detection-type Inscribed Array Anvis had dredged up from his memories, generally used to detect unusual fluctuations such as sound waves and Spiritual Power fluctuations.

Paired with a specially made Quill and Magic Ink, it did not need to be guided by Spiritual Power throughout the drawing process. Once completed, it only required a trace of Spiritual Power to activate and take effect.

As long as the lines were precise enough, even those who had not yet entered the ranks and possessed only scant Spiritual Power could use it.

"Pigeon, can you describe the nature of your existence?"

"Coo—Pigeon can explain it to you, coo, but Pigeon can't guarantee you'll understand, coo!"

Pigeon flapped its wings and lifted its head. Because it was so close, Anvis instinctively narrowed his eyes.

"I am real, and I am false~"

"I exist, and I do not exist~"

"The past is my feathers, the future my flesh~"

"Fools look upon me yet cannot see me; wise men look upon me yet cannot find me~"

After singing out those lines in a strange, songlike tone, Pigeon stopped.

"In terms you can understand, coo, Pigeon is one part of the low-dimensional observable perspective of the shadow cast in the surface world by the higher-dimensional being 'Carnwoda,' coo—"

Anvis: ...? He didn't understand it, but it sounded impressive.

Though his mind was full of question marks, his expression did not noticeably change. He merely gave Pigeon a deep look.

When you did not understand what someone was saying but did not want them to realize it, giving them a deep look was the best response.

He glanced at the page. The Symbol showed no reaction whatsoever.

"Meaningless, coo—"

Pigeon lowered its head and swept a glance over the page as well, then disdainfully raised its head.

"Just because you can perceive Pigeon doesn't mean other things can perceive Pigeon, coo—"

Anvis nodded, crumpled the parchment into a ball, and tossed it into the wastebasket.

At least he could confirm that Pigeon was not communicating with him through sound or Spiritual Power. And the Family Amulet on his chest had never issued a warning, proving that it was not an Illusion Magic effect.