Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Beastkin Nation
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Beastkin.
The beastkin race's country.
Excluding the starting village where I first arrived and Cradle, it was the first nation I'd ever visited.
'I thought it would be the Empire at first.'
We were suddenly heading to the beastkin country.
Not that it was a bad thing.
The beastkin holy site known as the mana vein.
They said it was the place where the world's mana gathered most densely.
'They say training there builds up an insane amount of mana, right?'
I was a little excited.
I'd only recently acquired the Lightning Art, so I was still on the weak side with it.
But there was one small problem.
'...Their glares are seriously piercing.'
I thought as I looked at Diago, who was glaring at me.
"Why are you glaring at me like that?"
"Nah, it's nothing. Just something that Holy Sword guy said that I can't wrap my head around."
"Does the Holy Sword talk?"
"All divine weapons used by heroes can speak."
Cheong Yurang said it so matter-of-factly.
"It's been bugging me since earlier, but how did you turn that thing into this?"
"...?"
"If it's Cheong Yurang, even our Empire keeps close tabs on her, and we know her personality pretty well. She's similar to that Genius Slayer guy, or maybe even..."
"You know about that? People can die, you know."
"...Yeah, comparing her to the Genius Slayer is a bit much, huh?"
Diago quickly backpedaled.
From what I'd heard, that Genius Slayer guy's personality was no joke.
'...Even so.'
Cheong Yurang had a weird way of speaking and acted like a puppy,
but still.
"She's polite and a good kid."
"... ."
Diago made the strangest face at my words.
Grrr grrr.
When I placed my hand on her head, Cheong Yurang started purring like a cat.
She seemed more like a fox, though.
'Are foxes even in the cat family?'
No, her behavior was more like a dog's, actually.
As I scratched under her chin like you would a cat, she looked like she was in absolute bliss.
"S-stop that. This is too... for us..."
"You like it here?"
"Ngh, it feels so good...!"
Cheong Yurang flailed happily under my touch.
'...Somehow.'
It felt less like interacting with a girl and more like raising a pet.
But despite her actions, she had an incredibly striking beauty,
and
'...How can those be even bigger than her face?'
Curiosity overrode any other urges.
Others were big too, but among the women I'd seen, hers were by far the largest.
'...Is this the power of the medieval era?'
It was truly astonishing.
"To think that thing acts like that. As expected of a hero."
"Why am I the hero here?"
"You were chosen by the Holy Sword, after all. More than that, from my perspective, it's harder to believe you're not a hero. Though honestly, in my ideal world, the Genius Slayer would wield the sword, you'd take the thief role, and the Saintess would stay the Saintess."
With that, Diago tossed the Holy Sword at me.
I casually tilted my head to dodge it.
"Normally, you'd catch it in a scene like this. It's polite."
"No, the real issue is that the Holy Sword chose me."
"Don't worry. Even if it didn't say so, the Holy Sword would go to the Genius Slayer anyway. It might even be fun to have it compare your talents to his... Plus, you can't even use sword aura yet, right?"
"... ."
Sword aura.
They said you could use it after reaching Level 5 and unlocking a certain swordsmanship level.
"Using the Holy Sword lets it give you advice, which is nice. And in terms of experience points, it's got at least a few thousand years' worth."
That was tempting.
'But if I grab the Holy Sword like this.'
I'll end up dancing to Diago's tune.
No way in hell I'd do that.
"Want to know about sword aura? This humble one could teach you."
Oh.
Come to think of it, Cheong Yurang was here.
"I could teach you that much myself."
Diago scowled at Cheong Yurang's words.
"Hey, it's not a loss for you either."
"Sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about."
"If that guy becomes the Sword Hero, you could become the Thief Hero and travel with him."
".........................................................This humble one does not fall for such loose talk."
She almost did, though.
Whatever, that was beside the point.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
And weighed my options.
The gains and losses from touching that Holy Sword.
'At this point, it might actually be worth getting the Holy Sword.'
But the problem was, it wouldn't be weird if I ended up enemies with that Genius Slayer guy.
And he was someone the Empire had poured everything into raising.
'...No, that might actually be a loss.'
Someone the Empire had invested heavily in.
If I snatched everything he had, did they really think they'd just sit still?
'To make a difference, I'd need an overwhelming gap.'
The true killer of geniuses.
That's the kind of nickname the Sword Hero had.
'No need to get tangled up with a guy like that.'
No matter how I thought about it, I didn't want anything to do with him.
⚙ Holy Sword Speaks ⚙ -Hah, to think a guy with thoughts like that possesses such talent! Truly regrettable! A furious voice echoed from somewhere.
I stared blankly at the Holy Sword.
I definitely hadn't touched it.
"...Yuseong?"
It didn't feel good at all.
When was the last time I'd felt this way?
⚙ Holy Sword Speaks ⚙ -I am the Holy Sword forged by the Goddess from the Milky Way. -...Why? -Kuhuhu, because you've got the qualifications, obviously. But it's weird? You're clearly a thief... This feels like something from the past... The Holy Sword trailed off there and clamped its mouth shut.
⚙ Holy Sword Speaks ⚙ -No, maybe that's too wild an imagination. Anyway, you've got what it takes to wield this Holy Sword. Grab it already. -Why should I? -...Don't you want to be a hero? Become one, and you'll get endless riches, marry the Empire's princess, and if you're lucky, even become emperor? -Being emperor sounds like a huge hassle. I just want to make a ton of money quietly without the fame. A short, thick life was worse than a long, thin one.
⚙ Holy Sword Speaks ⚙ -What kind of man has such modest dreams? The Holy Sword sighed in lament.
⚙ Holy Sword Speaks ⚙ -Whatever, doesn't matter. Soon enough, you'll be begging me: 'Please make me the Sword Hero!' '... .'
No, why the hell would I ever do that?
⚙ Holy Sword Speaks ⚙ -You seem like you want to use sword aura. Just grab anything and try. Following the Holy Sword's words, I picked up a random stick.
⚙ Holy Sword Speaks ⚙ -Sword aura is drawing out your mana. You're already top-tier at handling aura, so shape it and imagine forming a blade. -That's all? -Hmph, do you know how many fall behind because they can't? 'That's all'? I narrowed my eyes and started doing exactly as the Holy Sword instructed.
"Looks like you're communicating with the Holy Sword... Learning sword aura?"
"Sort of..."
I nodded vaguely at Diago and focused.
'Keep it simple.'
Blood Spirit Weapon.
And the wind from Whisper of the Wind.
They mimicked sword aura, but that was as far as it went.
To truly match sword aura, I needed the real thing.
Weave mana into the shape of a blade.
Crackle crackle.
A purple blade began to form. Add aura on top.
'Easy.'
I'd done it once before.
That's why.
Sizzle.
Black lightning began overlaying the purple blade.
⚙ Holy Sword Speaks ⚙ -Wh-what?! Success on the first try?! The Holy Sword sounded flustered.
It must not have realized I'd gotten used to it via Whisper of the Wind and Blood-Soaked Dagger.
⚙ Holy Sword Speaks ⚙ -What nonsense. Using swords that mimic sword aura to get familiar? If that worked for making the real thing, it'd be even more expensive. Hah... This guy's the real deal. It nitpicked me first, then praised me in an admiring tone.
'Wait, hold on.'
If this kept up, it'd only get more interested in me.
'...But with the Genius Slayer around, it'll be fine.'
More importantly,
Diago was looking at me like I'd done something ridiculous,
and
"As expected, this humble one's eyes never lie... If I just kidnap him and..."
Cheong Yurang was mumbling with a slightly unhinged expression.
For some reason, she looked creepy.
Anyway, the important thing was,
"Looks like we're almost there."
Cheong Yurang said with great dignity.
But her image was ruined long ago.
I didn't point it out, though.
"Welcome to the beastkin nation."
*
The beastkin nation didn't look much different from Cradle.
If anything, the village seemed a bit more underdeveloped.
Or maybe it was just the varying sizes of the people.
'They're huge.'
Those smaller than me were much smaller.
Those bigger were at least 20cm taller.
Considering I was pushing 180cm, the variance was bigger than expected.
The real issue was the guys over 2m tall.
"That the human that one brought back from Cradle?"
"That puny thing's supposed to be better than us? Hah, ridiculous."
They glared at me like they couldn't accept it.
Who were these guys?
"Sorry about this. Even for this humble one, the entire beastkin race has high expectations."
So, because I was needed by someone representing the whole race, I got these looks.
'...Or maybe not.'
It felt less like looking at a national genius,
and more like
'gazing at an idol.'
Of course, it probably wasn't that.
Anyway, Diago, Cheong Yurang, and I headed deeper in.
"... ."
I stared entranced at one spot.
At the mana particles turning pure white and rising like a pillar into the sky.
"That's..."
"The beastkin holy site, the mana vein. It's like the elves' World Tree holy site, the orcs' Giant Plateau, or the dwarves' Eternal Flame."
"...No human one?"
"Your Empire has something similar."
"That's not the point. Hurry up and take me to my father."
"Why are your cheeks so red?"
Diago gave Cheong Yurang an incredulous look.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm introducing Yuseong to my father."
"...Are you two getting married?"
"We're just here to help with a Labyrinth commission. Why are you looking at us like that's so fascinating?"
"Glad I joined this trip. Who knew the kid had potential."
Diago said that while eyeing the Holy Sword.
Ignoring him, I followed Cheong Yurang.
The deeper we went,
the more my skin prickled. Beastkin glared at me from all sides,
wrapped in their aura.
'...Is this a greeting?'
The aura wasn't strong enough to call it hostility.
-It's not aura. Just killing intent. Aura is a power only the chosen can use. Very, very few can wield it. Rishiel had said something like that before.
Honestly, though,
'Most people I've met can use aura, so it's hard to relate.'
Volkan could, Rishiel could, Ermé could, Lucia seemed to, and even Burkan.
As I walked thinking that, we arrived at a spacious meeting hall-like room.
There were many beastkin there,
with eyes like that.
So murderous.
"Hoo?"
The man in the largest seat raised an eyebrow at me.
"He's got some seriously intimidating aura. Did the humans combine an orc hero and beastkin hero to make this?"
"... ."
The beastkin in the head seat looked at me like some lab experiment.
Snow-white hair and blue eyes.
But he was a bit short. Around 170cm, looking almost boyish.
Judging by appearances,
'That's Cheong Yurang's father?'
It was a perfectly reasonable guess.
"What are you talking about?"
"Can't you all see it? If he just released that, every Level 4 or below here would foam at the mouth and collapse."
The beastkin grinned at me with an amused glint in his eyes.
Released what?
-Hoo, this generation's beastkin king has a good eye. Why not test it? Release your aura and show them a hero's dignity. This was ridiculous.