episode_0067

The Last Card Mage, Kaman.

A Beastman I met in the place that claims to be a shop floor.

He was different from the Beastmen generally seen in the Labyrinth City and its surroundings.

While Beastmen in this other world typically resembled humans more closely.

Kaman resembled animals more closely.

To put it simply, if Beastmen have human bodies with ears and tails.

Kaman felt like a cat walking on two legs.

But it seems he was different at first.

Because there are several Beastman statues similar to Kaman in the Beastman village.

I distinctly heard that the period when Kaman appeared was several hundred years ago.

Did the appearance of Beastmen change during that time?

Many questions arise.

‘Perhaps….’

Information about Kaman might be obtainable here.

Even if information about Card Mages is kept among themselves everywhere.

They wouldn’t have restricted it all the way to this independent place called the Beastman Village.

Looking closely at Kaman’s statue, I discovered that the same deck as mine was equipped inside his left sleeve.

Of course, it’s to the extent that you wouldn’t find it unless you looked carefully.

But it is definitely implemented.

The thought occurred to me, perhaps there’s a way to get that information within this Beastman Village? Just then.

“Ivan!!!”

Grace approaches, waving her hand from afar.

The image of Grace being dragged along by the Beastman yesterday momentarily overlapped, but I quickly shook it off.

Speaking of that Beastman I met yesterday.

Even Noah, who would be sufficient for the upper floors, as well as us 5th-floor explorers, were helplessly defeated.

Who on earth is that person?

“Where are the others?”

“Oh, I just came out too, so I don’t know. More importantly, is this really the Beastman Village?”

“I guess so?”

“Normally, only Beastmen are allowed to enter the Beastman Village! They’d probably only open the gates for someone like the Empire’s Emperor or Crown Prince!”

“It’s that much?”

“Yes! The Beastman Village is such a closed-off place.”

“Luca said she’d invite me to her tribe the other day though?”

“No matter how I think about it, it seems it’s definitely because of Luca.”

Grace touches her chin slightly with her finger, contemplating.

But no conclusion was reached.

“Well, we’ll find out when we meet them. Who knows? Maybe Luca is the daughter of a hidden Beastman village chief.”

“She usually didn’t talk much about herself. But if she were such a person, wouldn’t there have been some clues early on?”

Just as we were talking about this and that.

“What, when did you come out?”

Noah appeared from among the plants next to us.

She had small Beastman children in her arms.

“Look, aren’t they cute? I kidnapped them from playing over there.”

“…….”

Seeing Noah laughing happily while playing with the Beastman children, a sigh naturally escaped.

“More importantly, where’s Kailus?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t seem to be in his room either.”

“Then he must be training. Maybe we can find him by wandering around nearby?”

Kailus always woke up from dawn to do all sorts of training.

As they say, old habits die hard.

He must be somewhere around here.

“Noah.”

“Okay, just a minute!!”

After petting the Beastman children’s heads vigorously, Noah eventually stood up and started following us.

We slowly walked around the Beastman village.

Every human we saw was a Beastman.

And everyone looked at us curiously.

The same went for us.

“Excuse me, haven’t you seen a Barbarian around here?”

“Ah, the big guy in the river over there was the Barbarian!”

Guided immediately, we arrived at the spot where Kailus was.

He was sitting firmly in the place where the strong river water fell, as if enduring a waterfall on his head.

You might ask what kind of training that is.

But they say he likes it because it clears his mind and makes him strong.

Perhaps it’s a Barbarian culture.

“Kailus!!!”

“……You’ve come!!”

Kailus came out of the water and put on the armor and equipment nearby.

“I’ve roughly heard the story! Why we were dragged here!”

“Oh, what is it?”

“I heard that the fox girl gained some strange power. So, they say she has to take a test according to the tribe’s tradition.”

As soon as Kailus spoke, Grace suddenly snapped her fingers as if remembering something.

“I think I know what it is! It’s [Savage Nature]! It seems Luca-씨 has gained Savage Nature!”

“Savage Nature?”

“We humans don’t know, but each race of demi-humans has a special power!”

“What, then demi-humans can use cards and also special powers? Then demi-humans must be really strong?”

“Well, right? That’s why Elves are incredibly strong. And their proportion among deep explorers is also high.”

Certainly, Elves have long lifespans, they have racial powers, and if they have magical talent, they can use magic. If they engrave cards, they can use cards too.

“How did humans come to dominate the continent?”

“I wouldn’t know that?”

“…Just keep explaining for now.”

“I don’t know the details either though.”

Just as the questions remained unanswered.

Kailus stepped forward.

“Not all demi-humans can use special powers. I myself did not gain the qualification to gain the power of a Barbarian. Right now, in our Barbarian tribe, less than 100 people know how to use that power.”

Hearing Kailus’s words, it seems that the power each demi-human race possesses applies only to a very small minority, and the rest are no different from humans.

In other words, are demi-humans higher at their peak? But wouldn’t they also be higher at their baseline?

As these thoughts came to mind.

Suddenly, someone started walking towards us from afar.

“…Entrance.”

Luca made a grand entrance.

Several Beastman warriors had somehow attached themselves to her side.

And among them was the tiger Beastman who brought us here.

Seeing her being escorted by such a strong Beastman.

It felt like Grace’s hypothesis about her being the Tribe Leader’s hidden 13th daughter might be true.

“What, was she a high-ranking person?”

“…Will be high-ranking from now on.”

Luca grinned and gave a V-sign.

Higher tension than usual. It’s clear something has changed.

“I was rude yesterday.”

The tiger Beastman bowed his head.

As he did, the explorer’s badge inside his clothes was slightly visible.

A turquoise badge.

“You are a Deep Explorer…?”

“That is right.”

The tiger Beastman answered curtly.

He seemed about to say something more, but just kept staring blankly at us.

I quietly whispered to Grace next to me.

“Are Beastmen normally silent?”

“No, they often lack intelligence.”

“What? Barbarians are like that too.”

“Right.”

“Dwarves too.”

“They’re stupid.”

“Okay.”

Roughly understanding why demi-humans were pushed out on the continent despite having strong powers, it seems they are just stupid.

Even the Beastman warriors in front of us now.

Finding no discipline in them, like poking at butterflies fluttering in front of their eyes with their hands.

Or spinning in circles chasing their tails. They seem to lack concentration.

However, among them, only the tiger Beastman, a Deep Explorer, stood there with discipline. You could tell just by looking that he was a great person.

“So why did you bring us to the Beastman Village?”

“Please follow me for now,”

“Yes.”

I shouldn’t have said that.

Because the tiger Beastman suddenly picked up both me and Grace at the same time.

“……?”

Before I could even be flustered, the tiger Beastman ran.

For the first time in a while, I lost consciousness.

*

The structure of the Beastman village is very simple.

Agriculture is developed around the river that cuts through the village.

And buildings are located a little distance away from there.

That’s it.

Well, it’s not like the Labyrinth City where areas are divided and there are nobles or anything like that.

You can tell just by looking that the Tribe Leader’s house is a regular village house.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had guests.”

In the Tribe Leader’s house, there was the Tribe Leader and his wife.

Perhaps there was no rule that the same animals must marry, the Tribe Leader was a bear Beastman, and his wife was a dog Beastman.

There was remarkable intelligence in the Tribe Leader’s eyes.

That must be why he could be the Tribe Leader in the Beastman village.

Furthermore, even at a middle age, his entire body was packed with muscle, so it felt like we might lose even if we all banded together and fought him right now.

“A witch slayer, and even a lunatic. Our little Beastman baby has met good companions.”

The Tribe Leader, who seemed pleased, then lightly snapped his fingers.

Mana moved as he did.

This old man is a mage.

“Is it your first time seeing a Beastman mage?”

“…Yes.”

“Well, it’s not common. They don’t appear often in the long history of Beastmen either.”

As the Tribe Leader waved his hand, teacups and tea were somehow placed before us.

“Have some first.”

The moment I reached out to drink the tea.

The Tribe Leader’s gaze was on my wrist.

It seemed I might be able to get information about Kaman and various other things.

Of course, I couldn’t ask now.

“So why did you call us to the Beastman Village?”

“Among the countless children born, there are sometimes children who obtain [Savage Nature].”

“Did Luca obtain that?”

“She didn’t have it originally. However, after being with you, she recently obtained it.”

“I see.”

Originally, Luca was a 3rd-floor explorer.

She overcame life-threatening situations with us and gradually climbed higher, reaching the 5th-floor explorer rank.

Naturally, there’s no denying that her skills rapidly improved during that time.

“This time, after losing an arm and returning to the village for treatment, I learned a surprising fact. The fact that [Savage Nature] had bloomed in her body.”

“I see. That’s good news.”

“And a Beastman who has obtained [Savage Nature] must definitely pass a test.”

“What is the reason for that?”

“Only then can they unleash [Savage Nature]. Yes. To use a mage’s analogy, this child could be said to be in a state of having acquired the talent to become a mage. And the test is what they must do to train to become a mage.”

I think I roughly understand.

Didn’t the Mage Tower also have a separate training institution when I went there yesterday?

If you have talent, you must make an effort to manifest it.

“But what does that have to do with us? Training shouldn’t require someone else’s help, right?”

When Noah raised a question, the Tribe Leader spoke gravely.

“It’s because of tradition. A tradition passed down from long ago. A Beastman who is able to unleash it must definitely take a test, and if that person is an explorer, they must definitely proceed with their companions.”

As the Tribe Leader was speaking gravely, the tiger Beastman next to him interrupted.

“It’s not mandatory. I chased away all my companions when I took the test.”

“You stay quiet!”

“Don’t want to.”

“…….”

The Tribe Leader stared at the tiger Beastman with a bewildered expression, then eventually gave up and let out a sigh.

“Well, times have changed. Still, it is a suggestion. If you help, we will provide corresponding compensation or reward.”

“Hmm, troublesome……”

I cut Noah off.

“Understood. There’s something I’m personally curious about.”

Seeing my gaze, the Tribe Leader grinned.

His eyes momentarily went to my deck, then looked back at my face.

“I will help with anything.”

*

And so, we decided to attend Luca’s test together.

Well, Kailus and Grace seemed interested, or perhaps they just decided to follow my words, as they had no complaints.

“But I still have novels I haven’t read?!!”

Because Noah was whining, I hit him hard on the head.

“Ouch!!”

“No way, you got hit by me and it hurts?”

It shouldn’t hurt this guy to get flicked on the forehead by a weak mage.

“Ah, I don’t care!”

“When we go back, I’ll do what you want.”

“Really?”

“…Yeah.”

Suddenly, Noah became docile.

With this, I felt relieved for now.

Step, step.

Turning around at the sound of stepping on leaves, I saw the tiger Beastman approaching.

“Are you ready?”

At that question, everyone looked at Luca.

After taking a deep breath, Luca quietly nodded and said.

“…Yes!!!”

Immediately, the wooden gate blocking our front came down.

What awaited us as soon as we entered.

Was a large pond.

“What is this?”

Grace tried to ask the tiger Beastman.

But she was no longer there.

Now, only we were here.

What on earth are we supposed to do here?