4. Secret History>The bizarre army retreated after doing nothing but smashing Tian’s north to pieces, and many changes came to Tian afterward.
The Harijan invasions still continued steadily, but every nation realized through this incident that they could no longer afford to slow the construction of the Great Northern Wall. If something like that happened again, it would be the end.
Thus, unlike before when progress had dragged on, construction of the Great Northern Wall began advancing at a rapid pace. At this rate, a year would be enough. Such speed was possible because the calculations of each nation were also reflected in it: Tian’s strength had been sufficiently shaved away by this incident, so they could ease their checks on it a little.
King Narasha felt his insides twist as he watched the extension of the Great Northern Wall proceed at a pace utterly unlike before, but he could hardly criticize those who were helping him, so he kept his mouth shut.
Now he could feel somewhat at ease about the north. The Great Northern Wall was a matter concerning all seven kingdoms.
The problem was the south. To be precise, the enormous new canyon that had appeared in the southern region.
When the crisis in the north had struck the entire nation, the problem in the Rogadis region had not become an issue. But once the country began to stabilize to some extent, the newly formed canyon in the south set all of Tian—no, the entire Ra
-Sian Continent—abuzz.
A great canyon that had appeared overnight, cutting across the massive Kon
-Tian Mountains.
People’s opinions about it were divided. Some said it was the trace left by a god’s wrathful stroke, while others claimed it was the mark of some new gigantic Harijan that had been hiding beneath the earth and emerged upward.
It had not yet been officially named, but among the people, a name for the canyon was already circulating.
-Bash>
However, many people did not know that this canyon, which could only be called a divine miracle, had been created by the power of a single person.
“I never knew I was such a two-faced man.”
When the army of the dead had been stopped, he had been so grateful, but now that he thought of the problem in the south, his head ached all over again. King Narasha spoke with a bitter expression.
“Anyone would feel the same. Please do not blame yourself too much.”
Viscount Talin, standing before him, responded to King Narasha’s words.
“Yes… Still, this time we owe that child Sian a great debt. Compared to the problem in the north, the problem in the south is far less of a headache.”
Dealing with the cunning Usharan bastards was far better than dealing with those grotesque dead things.
Fortunately, the newly risen holy star of the south, Count Pareon, had quickly reinforced Kulan Castle, which was located where the hole had been opened, and was using it as a makeshift fortress. That much would be enough to tie down Usharan’s feet for the time being.
Once construction of the Northern Wall proceeded, they could gradually withdraw the soldiers stationed there and redeploy them below, to the canyon. Though their numbers had greatly decreased, the area to defend was far narrower than the entirety of the Great Northern Wall.
“What is the current state of the war?”
“Usharan and Taran have stopped their war. Because of the sudden movement of military forces…”
“Keep watching them. And pay special attention to rooting out the spies they must have left behind as they moved.”
“Understood.”
“And… is that child Sian staying in Rabilan right now?”
“Yes. They say he hardly goes outside.”
“Keep your senses sharp at all times. In particular… watch the hammock hanging inside that inner castle carefully, and if it disappears, investigate the people around him immediately.”
“Understood.”
Even if they watched him, it probably would not mean much. Still, Narasha felt that he would only be able to get any work done if that child remained within his sight. After giving the order, he sank into his chair.☆ ☆ ☆Sian was enjoying the long-awaited peace to his heart’s content.
It was the peace that should rightfully have become his the moment he emerged from his shell.
But he had lost that right after getting caught up in the unexpected kidnapping incident involving Miss Steel and running all over the continent to save her. Now, in Rabilan, Sian was fully savoring it.
He could feel the gazes of Uncle Narasha’s subordinates watching him from afar, but he understood how that Uncle Narasha felt, so he left them be.
It had been tiring, but judging only by the results, he had gained a great deal from this journey.
He had easily obtained materials he had thought would be difficult to acquire, and though he did not know where he would use it, he had also obtained a heart that looked extremely useful.‘But this fellow really is the best.’Sian drew Karnain’s handle from his left hand and swung it through the air, a satisfied smile on his face. The newly acquired Karnain was a weapon perfectly to Sian’s liking. To what extent? He liked it as much as the armor he had originally owned.
Condensed destructive power that did not manifest needless destruction.
Durability sufficient to withstand his strength.
On top of that, as long as he did not draw the blade, it made an excellent club.
Though he had not yet used it, Sian liked this fellow so much that he had long since handed over the metal rod he owned to Miss Steel. In Sian’s opinion, that sort of club suited Miss Steel far better than it suited him.
When Miss Steel heard about the club’s function, she had tried to refuse it, saying it would ruin the feel in her hands, but Sian forcibly handed it over, insisting there would definitely come a time when she needed it. The gloves Miss Steel wore were simply too vicious in power.
“By the way, Miss Steel, what did you name the gloves?”
Sian asked Miss Steel beside him again.
“Why not give them a name while you’re at it?”
“I’m really not good at that sort of thing.”
“Then how about Kong-Tiang? Hehe… What name could suit them better than that?”
“…
You didn’t make that name just to tease me, did you?”
“Of course not. Little brother, why don’t you change that weapon’s name too? To Kon
-Tian. Hehe. It’s a weapon you got after grinding away one whole mountain range, isn’t it? Or something cool like ‘Gada
-Bash.’ ‘God’s Strike,’ they say. They really named it well.”
“Oh, please… God, my foot… You say that because you didn’t see it, Miss Steel.”
Sian waved his hands as he spoke, and he was sincere. Having seen in his memories just what kind of authority a seven-horned Harijan possessed, Sian could not even jokingly call himself a god. The word “god” belonged to a great monster like that; he was still far from it. If he wanted to even try doing something about one, he would first have to break through the wall. Of course, even if he did break through the wall, he had no intention whatsoever of trying anything.
As Sian chatted idly with Miss Steel about this and that, a shadow suddenly slid over him. Since Sian knew who it was, he greeted the figure without being surprised.
“Mr. Ragaofe, you’re here.”
“It has been a while, Mr. Sian.”
It was not just a polite greeting; it really had been a long time since he had seen Ragaofe. After Sian returned to Rabilan and contacted him, Ragaofe had come to receive the materials, then had gone around tremendously busy for a while. That morning, he had sent word that he would come today, and now he had come to see Sian like this.
“Is the Soul-Transference Orb being made well?”
“The manufacturing process is proceeding smoothly. There is also a preparation period… and it will take some time to make, but it will not take too long.”
The materials Ragaofe had taken to make the Soul-Transference Orb had been less remarkable than Sian had expected.
Sian had worried that he might have to hand over something like pieces of bone, but Ragaofe had only taken the golden blood drawn from the Rosharan tribe and a little blood from each of his family members.
Sian had been somewhat concerned that his family members would have to live again through their descendants, but Ragaofe had swept that worry away.
The fairies last time had looked at him and called him a noble.
He had thought that the learned and knowledgeable Ragaofe might know, so he had intended to ask, but Ragaofe had left in a hurry after only receiving the materials, and he had not been able to. Since it had remained on his mind ever since, he decided to take the opportunity today and ask.
“Um… Mr. Ragaofe, there’s something I’m curious about. May I ask you?”
“Please ask, Mr. Sian. If it is something I know, I will answer as much as I can.”
After listening to Sian’s explanation that followed, Ragaofe wore an interested expression.
“Ho…”
“Do you know something about it?”
Even knowing that Ragaofe knew many things, Sian had not expected him to know about something like this, so his eyes took on a curious light. He had only asked on the off chance and had not held much expectation, but judging by Ragaofe’s expression, he seemed to know something.
“I do indeed. However, the story may become a bit long. Do you have time?”
“Well, I’m fine.”
He had nothing to do anyway, so Sian nodded lightly.
“This is also related to the organization. Miss Steel, you should listen as well.”
At those words, Steel sat on the hammock with a curious expression.
“Hehe… Seeing the two of you seated like that, you make quite a fine picture.”
Perhaps finding the sight of the two pleasing, Ragaofe spoke with a smile, and Sian urged him to continue with an embarrassed expression.
“I made a proposal to the two of you last time, did I not? I said I would first make you the Soul-Transference Orb, and that you should think about joining the organization. I will begin explaining that. You will only be able to decide whether or not to join us after knowing what we aim for.”
At those words, Sian and Steel nodded. First, they needed to know what kind of organization it was and what its goals were before deciding whether to work with it.
Seeing the understanding expressions on their faces, Ragaofe continued.
“Whether it is the matter of the organization or the matter of the nobles mentioned by the Rosharans… in order for you to understand, you will first need a lesson in history. That is why I said the story would be long.”
“Hmm…”
“You need not make such an expression that says you hate studying. It is an interesting story. Hehe. Once you hear it, you will certainly become interested.”
“…”
“First, let me ask you one question. What is the name of this continent?”
“The Ra
-Sian Continent.”
“That question was too easy. Hehe. Then here is the next one. What lies above it?”
“The Sky Mountains and the Great Forest.”
There was no one who did not know of the Great Forest and the Sky Mountains that blocked the north of Ra
-Sian.
“Good. Then what lies above that?”
“Haha. This one is easy too. Isn’t there the Don
-Nasian Continent?”
Sian confidently answered the elementary-level question.
The continent where the sun rises, Ra
-Sian. And though it was blocked off by the Sky Mountains, above it existed the continent where the sun sets, Don
-Nasian. Even a child knew that.
“Well answered. Then here is the next question. How did you come to know of that continent’s existence?”
“Mm?”
“Others may not know, but you, Mr. Sian, should know. What lives in the Sky Mountains and the Great Forest…”
At those words, Sian nodded. That place was the domain of Dragona and Krona. A region blocked off by absolute beings. According to his memories, they had been blocking that place for thousands of years. Since long before humans developed language and founded nations.
“Huh?”
Thinking that far, Sian realized something strange.
There could be no one capable of passing through the Sky Mountains and the Great Forest. Even putting Dragona and Krona aside, that place was a prohibition among prohibitions, blocked by all manner of ferocious Harijans and harsh terrain. And even if a superhuman crawled into that region, they would be caught by the seven-horned ones and torn to death.
Yet everyone on the Ra
-Sian Continent knew of the Don
-Nasian Continent’s existence as though it were only natural.
“Hehe. You sense that something is strange, do you not?”
“…”
“I will begin from there. You will probably understand more easily if you hear it from the beginning.”
And Ragaofe began to lay out a long story.
“First, let me state the conclusion. Among those who lived here on the Ra
-Sian Continent, no one has ever confirmed the Don
-Nasian Continent.”
“Hmm…”
“However… there have been cases of people who lived there crossing over to this place. Of course, those people did not call their continent Don
-Nasian, nor this place Ra
“We do not call it Sian, mind you, but let us unify the names for the sake of understanding.”
“Aha….”
If someone who lived there had crossed over, it would have made sense.
“Hehe. That is where the story begins.”
And with that, Ragaope began his tale. ☆ ☆ ☆
There was a man who lived on the Nasian Continent.
That continent was unimaginably vast, and befitting that expanse, countless different races and monsters dwelt there. There were many dangerous places commensurate with that, and quite a few regions still remained unexplored.
But even in the long history of the continent, there naturally existed places that were especially dangerous and held far more secrets than others.
The people of the Nasian Continent gave this place separate names—the Forbidden, the Perilous Domain—and warned the ignorant against entering.
But there are always those in the world who do not value their lives and wander about to satisfy their curiosity. And—
The Nasian Continent was no different.
He gathered his companions and decided to explore the Forbidden. The companions all worried, but birds of a feather flock together; they, too, were people overflowing with curiosity just like the man, and so they resolved to explore the Forbidden at the risk of their lives.
The Forbidden they set foot in was exactly as expected, yet completely different from what they had expected.
It was indeed dangerous. Among the companions, the only one who survived and passed through the Forbidden was, in the end, the man alone.
But it was far less dangerous than he had thought. Had even half of half the rumors about the Forbidden been true, the man would have already been torn apart and killed, yet he had made it through. Above all, the masters who made the Forbidden what it was were nowhere to be seen.
The sorrow of losing his companions was short-lived. Having passed through the danger zones and escaped the domains of the monstrous beasts, the man strode forward energetically, anticipating the wonders he would discover in this new world.
But soon, the man was enormously disappointed.
The newly discovered land was considerably vast. Compared to their continent it was quite small, but considering the tremendous size of their continent, this was still a vast expanse. To the extent that the man would have to wander for hundreds of years.
But it was empty inside. The result of the man traveling every nook and cranny of the continent for hundreds of years was that all he found were deficient monkeys and other races such as beastmen living in groups here and there. Even these were incomparably weak compared to those back home—at a level where they would have been annihilated in a single day had they been on their continent.
The man deduced the reason from the unique nature of the Forbidden. The masters of the Forbidden had planted themselves firmly at the passages from the continent to this place and paid no attention to the interior, so these weaklings had lost their natural predators. Thus they continued to live in a weak state. With no races capable of building wonders, it was only natural that the land the man discovered held nothing marvelous.
During his travels he found a kingdom that seemed to be the remnant of some race, but it was already smashed to pieces, and the races that had lived there had left long ago, their whereabouts unknown. Only deficient monkeys, presumed to be slaves, had settled there and were living in the ruins.
The man put on a hollow expression. He had not crossed through the Forbidden for this; there had been no yield whatsoever. But he could not stay here forever either, so the man gave up and tried to return to his homeland. Though coming here had been dangerous, having experienced it once, he thought he could somehow make it through if he was just careful of the strange race called the Kalgul.
The moment the man moved his feet, an enormous wave erupted. From exactly three places.
One was from the Great Forest he had passed through.
One was from below the giant mountain range he had named the Sky Mountains.
One was from the giant southern sea the man had named the Great South Sea.
The enormous waves, as if celebrating the birth of great beings, burst forth simultaneously as if competing and swept across the entire continent where the man stood.
In that moment, the man despaired. He realized how he had been able to pass through and enter inside, and what the masters of the Forbidden had been doing and where.
They had been conscious of their rivals and sizing each other up, then entered evolution simultaneously. And it was through that gap that he had been able to enter inside.
But now that evolution had ended. And those beings would take their places centered on where the great waves had emanated.
One in the sea.
One in the Sky Mountains.
One in the Great Forest.
This meant every hole through which the man could escape was blocked. Those ferocious rulers would never let strong ones of at least noble rank pass through their territories.
Therefore, the man could no longer return to his homeland, and the man who realized this fact despaired.
He was trapped alone in this land with nothing but seedling creatures close to the level of monkeys. ☆ ☆ ☆
“…
*Sigh*… And so, that is how I became trapped in this land. The despair I felt then… it still comes back to me occasionally.”
True to Ragaope’s word, Sian and Seutil, who had been listening to the fascinating progression of the story, were startled by Ragaope’s final words.
Wondering if he had misheard, Sian looked at Ragaope and asked.
“…
The protagonist of the story is you?”
“Yes. I am that foolish explorer. Thinking about it now, it was madness… but I do not regret the choice I made then. I am rather inclined to wander by nature.”
“No… that’s not… then just how old are you……”
Among the masters of the Forbidden Ragaope had spoken of, one was certainly Keurona. And the master of the Sky Mountains was Deuragonai, and the one said to live by the sea was certainly Raiona.
Thus, Sian could not understand. According to what Sian had read from Nekura’s memories, Keurona’s evolution had taken place thousands of years ago. That would mean Ragaope had lived for thousands of years until now.
“Well… I gave up counting long ago. It must be well over two or three thousand years.”
“…
Are all the people of that continent immortal?”
Sian could not understand. If a being of Ragaope’s caliber had trained for thousands of years, he ought to be far stronger than Miss Seutil, at the very least. But the Ragaope before his eyes appeared weaker than Seutil.
“How could that be? It is simply due to the blessing of a priest I received before coming here. Though whether it is a blessing or a curse, I do not know… I received it in case my journey grew long, but *sigh*… I never imagined it would grow this long.”
“…
Could that blessing be?”
“Well, it is nothing much… simply a blessing that separates a human from the flow of time. This way, one does not age, but one can no longer grow stronger either. For it is hiding and deceiving the world. That person will live out their entire life in exactly that state. It is nothing special. One merely does not age—getting killed is still entirely possible.”
Ragaope spoke as if it were nothing, but Seutil made an expression of disbelief. There were priests here as well, but their abilities were nothing extraordinary. At best, slight wound healing and buffs. She had never heard of a priest capable of wielding such a great miracle.
“Is this not what is important? Hehe. There is still much of the story left. Well… this is a tale hardly related to the organization, so please listen to it as something of a lament. It has been a while since I brought up old stories, so memories are flooding back.”
“Ah… well… please continue.”
Sian did not know how much of it was truth, but decided to continue listening for now. ☆ ☆ ☆
For the first few centuries, the man searched desperately for a way back. But it was impossible. When a noble of the man’s caliber passed by, the Harijyans all latched on. Fighting through them like that, gradually stronger ones came. If that continued, eventually Harijyans stronger than the man would come, and further still… the masters of the Forbidden would come directly.
After countless attempts all ended in failure, the man despaired. Judging by the look of things, escaping alone was absolutely impossible.
At that moment, something flashed through the man’s mind like lightning.
If it was hard alone… he could make companions. Even if returning to the continent with companions by crossing the Forbidden was impossible, at least he would not be lonely with companions. In truth, the man was closer to going mad from loneliness than from the despair of being unable to return to his original continent.
From then on, the man entered into his plan.
A grand undertaking to create kin of the same ilk as himself, which might take hundreds or even thousands of years. ☆ ☆ ☆
“Well… I brought this race and that race and tried this and that… but surprisingly, the most suitable race turned out to be those monkeys.”
“Monkeys?”
“You know, the ones I mentioned at the start of the story… the ones originally living here. They seemed to have lived as slaves somewhere, but their masters had vanished without a trace. These creatures are inherently stupid and weak, but peculiarly, their sync rate with us humans matched well. I had a bad feeling that might be the case from the moment I saw they looked similar to us, but…….”
“Hoo….”
From listening to the story, it seemed they were not real monkeys. It was merely an expression used to distinguish them from humans.
“So I chose them. *Sigh*… back then, really… how did Mr. Rimainu put it? That it’s enough to give you cancer? The thought of when I would make these creatures useful truly made me feel like I was getting cancer.”
“Heavens, I can imagine.”
Sian agreed with those words. Making a good-for-nothing into a proper person was a difficult task indeed. How much more difficult, then, would it have been to raise monkeys to the level of humans.
Hearing that, Seutil asked curiously,
“So did you succeed?”
“Haha, who do you think I am! Of course I succeeded.”
“Oh! Congratulations. Then where are those monkeys?”
At Sian’s question, Ragaope looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“Where they are?”
“No… did you not say you succeeded in making them human? Then where are the remaining monkeys?”
Then Ragaope said with a smile,
“Haha. I suppose my explanation was lacking. The probability of becoming human is extremely low. And the ones who failed to become human are spread splendidly across this continent, are they not? It is all thanks to my raising and caring for them well. Hehehe.”
“…Huh?”
Sian was only able to understand the meaning of those words after a moment. ☆ ☆ ☆
At first, the man tried this and that. Fortunately, the man’s interest in knowledge was extraordinary, so he was erudite, and among the items his companions had brought, there were many treasured artifacts that could aid him.
But he continued to fail. No matter how hard he tried, it was impossible to elevate these monkeys to humans in a short period of time.
Therefore, the man resolved. He would remodel the race itself from scratch and scatter their seeds across this wide continent. And he would wait with the mindset of accelerating evolution and harvesting the fruits. Fortunately, what he had to spare was time.
After that, the man entered into experiments. The basic direction was to mix his own blood and fuse it into their essence to improve talent and abilities. Fortunately, this direction was not wrong, so the man succeeded smoothly.
But another problem arose. The portion corresponding to his own blood in the monkeys’ blood was too small. Most were around five to ten percent… at this level, it was not worth so much as half a penny. They were merely slightly smarter, slightly stronger monkeys.
The man was disappointed, but the monkeys continued to multiply. Though they did not meet the man’s standards, in this continent without natural predators, the monkeys who had inherited even a sliver of the man’s blood began to develop at an astonishing rate.
It was around this time that the man began to take interest in the monkeys again. Some among the monkeys began to be born with higher values.
Some monkeys had fifteen percent, some twenty percent… perhaps it was a matter of probability, but as the monkeys’ numbers grew, monkeys born with higher blood gradually began to appear. With this, the man took hope and focused on increasing their numbers. If probability was the issue, he need only increase the number of cases.
But then a problem arose. As their numbers swelled enormously, these monkey brats began fighting amongst themselves. Moreover, to make matters worse, the Harijyans began sneaking down as well, turning everything into a complete mess.
He had thought they had grown a bit smarter and stronger, yet they used it to fight one another.
While the man was wondering whether he ought to sweep all of them away, against miraculous odds, the monkey he wanted was born among them.<…80 percent!>A man born with a full 80 percent of the man’s blood in him. It was not enough to fully satisfy him, but it was quite usable. Of course, the ratio of blood was merely high; he was still pitifully weak.
But the man was not disappointed. There was no need for him to be born at 100 percent. This much was within his calculations. If he had inherited that much of his blood… there was more than enough possibility. He would have been born with talent far closer to the humans of his own continent, incomparable to that of a monkey, and if so… there was every chance he could knock against the wall.
Sure enough, the newly born monkey began to grow stronger at a tremendous speed. And he began beating down the monkeys who had been fighting one another, unifying them. In the process, his martial power grew exponentially, and as his realm rose, his body was remodeled, and the ratio of blood gradually increased. 85 percent… 90 percent… 95 percent… 99 percent… and then 100 percent.
And the monkey on whom the man had placed his hopes… finally succeeded in erasing every last trace of the monkey within him and evolving into a human like himself.
The man cheered, realizing that the direction of his experiment had not been wrong. His hypothesis had been correct. These monkeys had succeeded in using his blood to evolve into humans, the same species as himself.
Thousands of years after arriving here, the man had finally brought into being a companion who could be with him, laugh and cry with him, and share emotions with him.
Filled with joy, Ragaope personally gave the monkey—no, the man who had now become his kin—a name.
“Huh……”
The Great Emperor who first unified the continent, Broxian, had been the first success of Ragaope’s project.
According to Ragaope, it meant that the humans on the entire continent had originally been monkeys living here. And Ragaope had injected his own blood into those monkeys and carried out, across the whole continent, a grand evolution project to accelerate their evolution and turn monkeys into humans.
“Hmm… does that mean… all of us are Mr. Ragaope’s children…?”
Sian asked with a sour look. Ragaope waved his hands and said,
“Oh, goodness! What a horrifying thing to say. We merely share blood. Mm… rather than feeling that you are my children, I feel much more strongly that you are my siblings, my own kind.”
“Hmm……”
Sian and Steel, having unexpectedly learned the history of the continent, looked dazed, but they soon recovered. Steel in particular nodded as if she had understood something.
“Right… I thought something was strange… Even if one becomes a superhuman, it was odd for one’s personality to change so drastically.”
“What do you mean, Miss Steel?”
“You seem a bit unusual, little brother… but the moment a human changes into a superhuman… the people you used to know no longer look human at all. They feel more like pets… that kind of thing. You’ve experienced it too, haven’t you?”
“Mm……”
Sian nodded at those words. He had certainly felt something like that. He had merely suppressed it to a certain degree. To think that this was not simply a change in the self, but a change that came from a change of species.
“It wasn’t completely incomprehensible, but it felt strange that even people I had been close to became like that. I wondered if I had lost my emotions, but after meeting Mister Groin, Mister Livias, and you, little brother, it wasn’t that either. So I wasn’t sure what this was, but now I understand clearly. We no longer see only ourselves as human in a metaphorical sense, but quite literally. And those below us look like monkeys. So there’s no reason for lust, jealousy, envy, or familiarity to arise.”
“That is correct, Miss Steel.”
“Then there’s one more thing I’m curious about.”
“Please ask.”
Miss Steel had been speaking informally the whole time, but Ragaope accepted it all with a fatherly smile.
“Then… beyond there, on the continent you came from, is it inhabited entirely by superhumans—no, by humans, as you call them? Are they all as strong as me, you, and Sian?”
Ragaope smiled and answered.
“Mm… you are misunderstanding something.”
“Hm?”
“We are not all born strong and become superhumans immediately after birth. I think this will also answer the question Mr. Sian asked earlier about nobles.”
“Oh?”
“Let me explain from the beginning. Do you know of the limits of a species?”
“The limits of a species?”
“Yes. There are various kinds, but I will speak in terms of the most important standard: martial power. This is accurate, as it is based on the research I conducted when I was over there and the research I conducted on the monkeys here.”
And what Ragaope summarized was as follows.
1. The strength of a species has a clear limit.
2. This limit is as if it were set by the world itself, and no matter how much one strives, one cannot break through that wall.
3. The limit of strength as a monkey is, in the terminology here, precisely up to Gran-Bander. No effort or talent can surpass this wall.
4. There is only one condition for becoming human from a monkey: raise one’s realm, remodel the body, and while blocked by the wall, continue replacing one’s blood until one is transformed into a human.
5. At the same time as one transforms into a human, one also escapes the limits of a monkey and reaches a new realm.
“So… the limit as a monkey is Gran-Bander… and the superhumans who reach the next realm have already ceased to be monkeys and become humans, stepping into that realm. Is that it?”
“That is correct. For monkeys to completely replace the interior of their bodies, they need at least the talent and realm to become La-Bander. If the ratio of blood is low, it is impossible. Then I shall now explain nobles.”
Not everyone in that world was strong. They were all born at the same starting line. However, each of them was born with different blood. There, too, the difference in individual talent was severe, but on average, compared to the natives of this continent, the difference in talent was literally on the level of monkeys and humans. Naturally, they grew stronger at a far faster speed.
Even so, they also distinguished between what would be called Gran-Bander and La-Bander here.
“Because if Gran-Bander are those who control the interior of their own bodies, La-Bander are those who have reached a realm where they can express that influence externally. That difference is enormous. It means they can manipulate the external environment for the sake of their own combat.”
The reason the ground did not cave in even when Sian lifted thousands of tons of Krona-pon, and the reason he could drag over the enormous Harijan without moving a single step, was all because of that. In this place, research on La-Bander was still insufficient, so people thought only the internal coefficient changed, but the decisive difference was whether only the inside changed or whether that influence could be expressed externally as well.
And on that continent, those who reached a realm where they could express their influence externally, not merely change internally, were called “nobles.”
“So it would be easiest to think of La-Bander as the noble class. Those below are commoners. It is not that someone designates them and calls them nobles. There is no separate king to bestow the title, nor are they born with it. They are grouped together and called nobles because they have proven their own nobility.”
“That is unusual.”
“Though it is the same word as the nobles of this side, the nuance is somewhat different. And over there, even nobles and commoners often fall in love… things like that. Even commoners are of the same species, after all.”
“Ah……”
According to Ragaope, the reason superhumans treated humans like monkeys was not the difference in strength, but the difference in species. Thinking about it, the superhumans of Granain and Kal-Gul that Sian had seen had not looked down on their own races. They had merely shown somewhat less interest.
“Ah, and… if there is one difference from this place… it is much more finely divided.”
“Mm? Why is that?”
“Because here, the number of La-Bander is so small that there is no need to divide them… but there, the number is considerable. Even over there, becoming a La-Bander is not easy… but the possibility is far higher than on this side. And as you know, not all La-Bander are the same, are they? Since the difference in ability is great and their numbers are large, they have divided them into ranks to some extent.”
Sian listened with his ears perked up, as if the story of an entirely different world he was hearing for the first time was fascinating.
“Then… does that answer your question about nobles? The one leading that Rosharan tribe must have seen people from the continent beyond at some point. Or perhaps he lived there and crossed the Great Forest……”
It was not as if he knew every different race, and among the different races, there were some who lived for an immense length of time. If they had crossed over before the Forbidden Zone was sealed off, it was nothing particularly strange. And the Krona were comparatively more lenient toward the Harijan than the Dragona.
“Yes. I understand.”
“Well… hearing the story, I can roughly guess. Their race was probably enslaving humans back when they were still monkeys and building a kingdom. Then some incident occurred, they fled into the Great Forest, and later saw evolved humans for the first time. So they could have mistaken them for nobles. The monkeys here could never become nobles.”
Ragaope, having learned the identity of the kingdom he had found while traveling thousands of years ago, spoke with a relieved expression.‘Judging by the look of them, they must have been a Narija-class species… but of all people, they ran into Mr. Sian…….’Ragaope clicked his tongue inwardly.
“Hmm… Then did you continue producing superhumans after that?”
“Well, that is not something I can artificially manipulate. It is a matter of probability. However, there is one thing I can do.”
“I did not manage them with particular care, but when I prevented only the major crises, their numbers increased quickly. That is also why I make Soul-Transfer Jades for you. You are kin I produced with such difficulty, after all. Perhaps it was a side effect of mixing the blood… but strangely, you live only about three hundred years.”
“Mm? Is the world over there different?”
“Of course. Fundamentally, the stronger one becomes, the longer one’s lifespan grows, so there are truly monstrous individuals.”
After asking and receiving answers about various things, Sian posed his final question.
“If you have gathered superhumans like that… what is your goal?”
Sian was curious what Ragaope, who cherished superhumans so dearly and desperately gathered them, was doing. If he had created an organization, it did not seem to be mere make-believe.
And the answer to that would determine whether or not Sian joined the organization.
At that, Ragaope received the question as if he had been waiting for it.
“Now we finally come to the main point. Please listen carefully, Mr. Sian. We… are going back. To the place where I was born.”
Migration, or perhaps return. A simple goal, yet one Ragaope had attempted for thousands of years and failed to achieve.
That was Ragaope’s goal, and the goal of the organization he had created, Heranter.