Living Like a Beast
Han Yeoreum froze in place like a beast. She stood there like a statue, utterly motionless. Had something gone wrong with her body all of a sudden? Anxious thoughts swirled in my head, and I urgently tugged at the hem of her clothes.
"Are you okay...?"
"Ah, yeah. I just got a little startled when you went kraaang like that, Winter."
"Startled?"
"Yeah. Sis, my heart nearly stopped just now, you know?"
Her heart nearly stopped? I definitely hadn't put out that much ferocity. Everyone else had been fine, so I couldn't understand why Han Yeoreum, a top-tier hunter, would react like that. Had her instincts gotten sharper from all her training? It felt off somehow, but if she said so, I'd have to be more careful from now on.
"Sorry. I won't do it again."
"N-No! I actually want you to keep doing it to me...?!"
"Keep doing it? But just now..."
Didn't she say her heart nearly stopped? There was no need for her to put herself in danger on purpose.
"W-Well, you build up a ton of resistance after going through it once."
"Really?"
"Y-Yeah. And to me, that just now was just a fluke. Like, if you shoot an arrow a hundred or a thousand times, you're bound to hit once, right?"
"Hmm..."
So, out of a hundred or thousand practices, the ferocity just happened to slip out by chance. I think I got what she was trying to say.
"Wouldn't it be better for you to practice on people instead of a mirror, Winter?"
"Yeah, you're right."
"Exactly. So from now on, keep kraaanging at me. I've been through it once, so I'm good."
Fair enough. People were definitely better than a mirror. I nodded toward Han Yeoreum.
"Okay. I'll do that."
"Yeah!"
Hehe. Han Yeoreum flashed a gentle smile. It was the kind that made her look truly happy.
"By the way, I probably shouldn't do this to other people, right?"
"Other people?"
"Yeah. If the ferocity slips out by accident like just now, it could be dangerous."
Han Yeoreum stroked her chin at my question, seeming lost in thought.
"Hmm... What if it's just people you're close to?"
"People I'm close to?"
"Yeah. The ones you know won't get hurt even if you let out your ferocity."
"Ah."
Like when I'd faced En Sia's ferocity. It had been terrifying, but I'd believed she wouldn't harm me. Just like she said, it should be fine with close friends.
"Okay. I'll do it with people I'm close to. But first, I need to head to the dungeon."
"Yeah. Take care of yourself, got it?"
"Yesss."
I waved to Han Yeoreum and left the training room. For some reason, the moment I stepped out, the people inside started buzzing.
"Hey, Han Yeoreum! You only doing it for your favorites?"
"Woo, don't hog her."
Hog her? What did that even mean? Had Han Yeoreum been hogging something? Puzzled, I grabbed my bow and headed to the dungeon. Even if I was training, I still needed to make money.
* * *
That afternoon, after hunting, I sat on a bench by the pond practicing my ferocity. Sophia, sitting beside me, was unfazed, but Levi Nas was trembling all over. It wasn't because of my ferocity—she was just scared of a lot of things in general.
"Whoa, King, Levi Nas is super scared..."
"S-Sorry..."
Levi Nas hid her face against my back where it met the bench. I'd been the one to scare her, but seeing her seek comfort from my body made me feel terribly guilty.
"Sophia, is this right?"
"Yes, you're doing quite well enough, so don't be impatient. Unlike a bow, this isn't a power you master quickly."
"Ah... How much more practice do you think it'll take?"
"At least ten years, I'd say."
Ten years. That was longer than I'd been alive in this world. My eyes went wide in shock.
"That's a really long time."
"It is. More than double the time you've lived."
"D-Double?"
It wasn't double the time I'd lived. Had I ever told Sophia my age? Staring at her in confusion, it hit me—she might have only counted the time since I became a beastkin. Fair enough; as far as beastkin years went, I had no grounds to complain about being treated like a kid. I knew nothing about beastkin life.
"I say again, don't rush. Mastering ferocity before adulthood is extraordinary."
"Extraordinary?"
"Indeed. No beastkin has ever fully controlled it before reaching adulthood."
"I-I see..."
Even if I trained another ten years, I'd only be ten in beastkin years. Of course, my actual age was higher, but at least by beastkin standards, that was it. I started to understand why Sophia told me not to be impatient.
"And you have talent, too."
"T-Talent? Me?"
"Didn't you live in the wild for a long time?"
"Ah...!"
The wild. Sophia's casual words brought a huge realization. Memories flashed by like a montage—the day I first met En Sia and Argo.
'She said I was feral.'
Having lived in the wild so long made me feral. In other words, living in the wild could cultivate ferocity.
"Sophia! I figured it out!"
"...Figured what out?"
"How to cultivate ferocity!"
Like a savage—or a beast—living wild might build it up. The other beastkin, including Sophia, had hinted at that. I'd have to live even harsher in the wild than before. It was all for my future self.
"I don't know what it is, but give it a try. Even failure is experience."
"Yes!"
I bolted toward the container house. I needed to prepare a few things to live in the wild.
* * *
After finishing Kwon A-rin's training, Han Yeoreum returned to find her jaw dropping in front of Winter.
"Whoa..."
Winter usually wore ragged, torn clothes, but now they looked even more worn. She resembled a primitive from a comic book. Adorably so, since it was Winter.
"Winter, what's with the clothes?"
"I'm trying to cultivate my ferocity."
"Ferocity...?"
"Yeah. I think living in the wild will help me build it."
She'd heard something like that from Sophia. Han Yeoreum's head turned toward her.
"Sophia...?"
"Ahem... It's not wrong, but I didn't expect Winter to go this far."
"So it's possible?"
"...Possible, yes."
Such a brute-force method actually worked. Hard to stop her then—no parent in the world hinders a child's growth.
"Winter, so what are you planning?"
"Try living without a house."
"W-Without a house...?"
"Yes."
Thud! Thud!
Winter started digging the ground with a trowel. Levi Nas, who'd wanted to play in the dirt, helped from the side.
"Levi Nas digs good too!"
Levi Nas dug like a rabbit with her bare hands, faster than Winter even.
"Why dig the ground?"
"I'm gonna sleep in a burrow."
"Oh my god."
They'd brought her to the guild with such hardship, and now she wanted to live outside again. Not even in the container or a tent—a plain burrow. Shocked, Han Yeoreum tore at her hair.
"Levi Nas likes burrows too! Can Levi Nas sleep underground?"
"Sure. Then we'll need to make the burrow bigger."
"Don't worry! Levi Nas is a digging genius!"
Thud thud thud!
Watching Levi Nas dig, Han Yeoreum closed her eyes. Winter definitely looked feral now. Perfect for igniting beastkin ferocity, but she still wanted to stop her.
"Winter, you'll eat with me, right?"
"Well, I'm gonna hunt my food..."
"Hunt it...?"
"Yes. For a while, I'm really gonna live like a beast. I think I lack the beastly side compared to other beastkin, since I lived as a human so long."
Lacking beastliness, so live more beastly? Absurd. Winter had lived more ferociously than any beastkin. Even Sophia looked surprised.
'En Sia and Argo were right.'
More feral than beastkin—that made the best king candidate. She'd thought those two dimwits were wrong, but now even Sophia had to admit it. Winter surpassed any past king.
'Smart from her human days, and top feral skills.'
Plus a kind heart. An under-ten-year-old at this level. Sophia nodded in satisfaction. Han Yeoreum didn't mind—her kid was the best.
"Sophia, you can't just like this."
"S-Sorry."
Sophia scratched her cheek sheepishly. How'd she become such a doting grandma? Ahem. Clearing her throat, Han Yeoreum crossed her arms in dissatisfaction.
"So what now?"
"Leave her be for now."
"L-Leave her?"
"Yes. I don't want to hinder her enthusiasm. And it's not wrong."
True. Han Yeoreum sighed deeply. She worried about Winter, and about what the park folks would say.