Just as Allen and the twins were deep in animated conversation, the sudden caw of a crow interrupted their lively chatter. Startled, George and Fred instinctively looked around for the source of the sound. It didn't take long for them to spot the culprit, it was perched in a cage on top of Allen's suitcase.
"A crow?" George blinked in surprise. He whistled softly and turned to Allen. "Cool! Is it your pet?"
Allen nodded in response. George leaned closer to inspect the unusual creature through the bars. The crow's glossy feathers and sharp, intelligent eyes clearly showed it was in excellent health. However, what annoyed George was how the bird, upon noticing him, simply cracked one eye open lazily, then turned around in the cage, offering him nothing but its backside.
Fred, a little uneasy, asked Allen, "Why a crow, though? You do know crows are said to be the eyes of the Grim Reaper, right?"
Allen shrugged, lifting his hands in a helpless gesture. "Can't help it. This guy's been following for a while. It's a bird like an owl, and I don't use it to send mail anyway, so I figured, why not? Just think of it as a decorative owl."
"Fred, don't be such a buzzkill," George huffed. "What are you, five? You still believe those fairy tales Mum used to scare us with?"
Fred sighed in defeat. "Alright, I'll admit, it is cool. What's his na, Allen?"
Why don't you tell ? Allen thought, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. This wasn't a pet, it was the manifestation of a Hero Power granted by his system.
The Harbinger of Doom, Fiddlesticks, otherwise known as the Scarecrow. When Allen activated this hero's ability, the crow had appeared as part of the package, faithfully staying by his side ever since, like a familiar.
Which, of course, had cost him more money. Cages weren't cheap. Sure, Allen could sense the crow's location and emotions at all tis and knew it wouldn't fly off without his command, but still, walking around with a crow perched on your shoulder wasn't exactly subtle. The cage was a necessity.
As for why he chose the Scarecrow in the first place, Allen could co up with a laundry list of reasons, its powers included anti-magic, fear, and healing; it was a well-rounded and powerful champion; the other heroes at the sa price were trash in comparison; or maybe he was just feeling rich and impulsive...
But the truth? He clicked it by accident.
And, of course, the system didn't have a refund option.
That one misclick cost him 1,350 gold, gold that could've gotten him four 450-gold heroes instead.
Still, after receiving the Scarecrow's powers, Allen decided to stop investing in new heroes for a while and focus on saving his gold. For one thing, the five powers he already had were pushing his body to its current limit. They weren't just fragnts, they were full-strength, battle-hardened abilities. Even tapping into a small portion of one gave him a sense of overwhelming fullness. But with ti, he figured, he'd adjust and handle more.
Another reason was that the Scarecrow's powers felt slightly more potent than those from the 450-gold heroes, like the difference between a sample and the full-size product. Sa brand, sa formula, just... more of it. In short, a scam, but one with perks.
And lastly, Allen had his sights set on two very specific heroes: Quinn, Wings of Demacia, and Swain, the Noxian Grand General. Both had bird companions, Quinn worked in tandem with a hawk nad Valor, while Swain, like Fiddlesticks, wielded dark magic through ravens. Combining all three? The synergy potential was terrifying.
But alas, that was all a dream for future Allen.
Right now, he was broke.
Tragic.
"Allen, what's its na?" Fred suddenly asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. "It looks really dignified!"
Allen blurted out the first na that ca to mind: "Valor!"
Sensing his intent, the proud crow turned its head around to look at them, eyes gleaming.
"Valor?" George tried calling to it. Still ignored. He turned back to Allen. "Strange na, but it sounds pretty cool. What does it an?"
"It ans 'courage.' Originally, it was the na of a hawk, one of the mightiest of its kind. That's why I gave it to this guy," Allen said.
The crow seed to like it. Allen could feel its satisfaction through their link.
All in all, Allen was satisfied with the Scarecrow's powers. While not as mathematically efficient as the 450-gold heroes, whose power-to-cost ratio could practically be graphed, among the 1,350-gold tier, it was definitely top-tier.
Here's a list of all 1,350-gold heroes available for purchase with system gold:
Sion the Undead Juggernaut, Tristana the Yordle Gunner, Amumu the Sad Mummy, Malphite the Shard of the Monolith, Janna the Storm's Fury, Urgot the Dreadnought, Twitch the Plague Rat, Zilean the Chronokeeper, Alistar the Minotaur, Brand the Burning Vengeance, Fiddlesticks the Harbinger of Doom, Morgana the Fallen Angel, Dr. Mundo the Madman of Zaun.
Allen had already passed on so of them.
He outright rejected Urgot, no explanation needed. Seriously, ask anyone to compare Urgot and the troll king Trundle on looks alone, and it's a dead tie for ugly.
Other species-based heroes like Malphite and Alistar were also ruled out.
As for Veigar, the Tiny Master of Evil, Allen didn't dare touch him. If his power really scaled through killing, he'd be done for. Dumbledore might off him before Voldemort did.
The rest were all solid picks, with no glaring weaknesses. Sure, the Alchemist might've boosted his Potions class, but in the grand sche of things, no regrets there.
For the remainder of the train ride, Allen and the twins exchanged prank ideas. He ntally apologized to Percy again, knowing full well the poor guy might end up the first test subject for whatever nightmare they cooked up next. They even began seriously discussing how to magically upgrade Muggle tricks like taping signs to people's backs...
Eventually, Allen happened to glance out the window, and was startled to see that the sky had grown dark. In the deepening twilight, mountains and forests began to draw nearer. The train gradually slowed.
They were almost there.
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