Ch.113113. Birdman (1)

In my shared vision with the Squeakers, the appearance of the group of beings approaching us was that of avian humanoids.

That is, they were human-sized birds with two hands and legs like humans, walking upright with straight spines.

They stood slightly over 2 meters tall, with body parts resembling those of a fictional bird similar to birds of prey… most notably their heads and wings.

Their bodies were covered with abundant yet stiff feathers, over which they wore simple clothing reminiscent of Native American attire.

The wings protruding from their backs were massive enough to cover their bodies completely, and naturally, they could use them for flight without any difficulty.

While their hands didn’t look much different from human ones, they had claws at the tips characteristic of birds and only four fingers covered in fur.

Their legs, like those of most creatures, had a reverse joint structure, and their feet in particular looked almost identical to those of birds.

These imposing figures, armed with javelins and shields, seemed to have spotted me as well. Facing them as they appeared startled by my irregular presence, I set down my staff and raised both hands above my head, waving them.

It was the perfect gesture to clearly indicate I had no hostile intentions.

Their response visibly changed as well.

Those who had been approaching cautiously with spears at the ready soon hung their weapons on their belts and began approaching me after I showed I meant no harm.

‘…Oh?’

In any era, but especially in this one, strangers rarely receive good treatment, so I had been prepared to accept hostility from them. I was impressed by their relatively gentle approach.

…Ah. If you’re wondering why strangers aren’t well-treated, I might have to question why you’d even ask.

Think about it. Most people in this world live their entire lives in their hometowns. Their families, relatives, and friends are all there, along with whatever assets they might inherit.

Of course, things are different for those whose villages have been destroyed by monster attacks, or for wandering merchants, adventurers, or those with special positions, but looking at the total population, these numbers are extremely small.

In other words, with few exceptions, people not only spend their entire lives rooted in their hometowns, but those who enter from outside are rarely friendly to them.

Merchants looking to swindle them and the villagers. Mercenaries and adventurers who could turn into bandits or thieves at any moment. Officials or soldiers of the lord who appear backed by authority and openly extort them.

In this era, outsiders, with very few exceptions, are people you can safely be hostile toward, so being exclusive toward external entities is actually…

‘…Ah.’

[Who are you?]

My thoughts were interrupted by the avian humanoids’ question, translated thanks to the wild magic of “Animal Language Translation.”

“I am a stranger from a distant land. My name is Gregory Aleinos.”

[Gregory Aleinos… I see. Then, what is your reason for appearing here?]

“I’ve arrived here looking for my friend’s homeland. Korin, come out.”

[…Ahem.]

No sooner had I finished speaking than Korin revealed himself, making his presence known.

It was an attempt to gain favor with the natives of the northern New Continent who held animistic beliefs worshipping spirit-beasts like Korin, and indeed, my attempt yielded successful results.

“””Oh, ohhhhh!!!”””

“It’s the Thunder Eagle Lord! Blessed, blessed!”

“It’s the great Thunder Lord! Ohhh!!”

The response was so intense and passionate that it might be considered excessively successful.

※ ※ ※

The moment they laid eyes on Korin, all their previous wariness vanished. Afterward, these avian humanoids became so cooperative it was as if they had been hypnotized.

“…So the totem must be at the center of the village.”

[Yes, companion of the great one!]

They were so cooperative that they answered every single question I asked.

Thanks to this, I was able to gather a wealth of excellent information about the northern New Continent, which I leisurely organized in my mind.

First, the northern New Continent was a land where plains, forests, and mountains coexisted, creating a natural environment similar to my homeland in the Western Continent.

Of course, perhaps due to the complete lack of human intervention, the natural mysteries of the New Continent were so extraordinary that even someone like me could potentially step into the realm of high-grade if I played my cards right.

And the people living in this land, equivalent to North American natives on Earth, were also strongly influenced by these natural mysteries.

There’s a race commonly known as “beastkin.”

While most beastkin are born with the characteristics of their original animal, it doesn’t mean that acquired beastkin don’t exist at all.

Just as our master gradually transformed into a deer beastkin through harmonizing with nature’s mysteries, humans can change to become more animal-like when exposed to the wild or nature’s mysteries for extended periods…

In particular, the beastkin of the New Continent were extreme cases.

Usually, the beastkin of this world mostly have animal ears on their heads and animal tails, similar to the “animal-eared beauties” in subculture.

But the appearance of New Continent beastkin was… frankly speaking, furry.

They had reverse-jointed legs, bodies covered in fur, and strangely protruding snouts, giving them a bizarre appearance.

And this tribe of avian humanoids could be considered an exception to this classification.

While beastkin inherit the physical characteristics of “mammals,” these avian humanoids—let’s call them birdmen—were the only non-beastkin tribe in the vicinity.

Because of this, they exhibited somewhat different traits from the surrounding tribes—according to their explanation.

One reason was that they could be classified as the distinct species of “birdmen” without much issue.

Another important factor was that their animistic beliefs differed somewhat from those of ordinary beastkin tribes.

For typical beastkin tribes, faith is limited to small everyday superstitions, but this birdman tribe lived with a serious, albeit primitive, religious system.

This difference… perhaps stems from the legend that the birdman tribe descended from the bloodline of the thunder bird.

In any case, because we were traveling with Korin, a thunder bird, and were accepted as a kind of religious symbol by them, we were invited to their village despite being strangers.

The village, consisting of mobile homes (tents) that looked like a mix between Native American tepees and Mongolian gers, presented a very exotic landscape, as did the large, plump bird resembling an ostrich that they kept as livestock.

But what truly caught my eye was something else.

“That is…”

[Ah, you mean the totem? That’s a symbol made in the image of the great spirit who protects our village.]

The totem, which appeared to be modeled after a thunder bird and made by stacking several cylindrical wooden blocks, caught my attention not just for its striking appearance, but for another reason.

The mystery imbued in the totem closely resembled that of Korin’s… the mystery granted by a thunder bird capable of handling spirit power.

Thanks to this, the totem not only fulfilled its role as a religious symbol but also protected the tribe through its inherent mystery.

It established an otherworld within a radius of several hundred meters around the totem, blocking magical attacks from outside and providing various beneficial effects to those inside.

Among the most notable functions of the otherworld formed by the totem was the ability to enhance all the powers of allies within, albeit slightly.

Though each individual enhancement wasn’t significant, their combined effect was not to be underestimated.

Additionally, the totem alerted those inside when someone with hostile intent approached and could channel electricity into intruders, inflicting minor electric damage and a stiffening effect.

This second function’s stiffening effect could completely disrupt the flow of battle. The fact that it injected electricity in a way that was difficult to resist couldn’t be overlooked either.

…It was no wonder these people worshipped the thunder bird almost like a god; the totem possessed enough power for me to understand their seemingly eccentric behavior.