Last night, Rem said.
The attitude toward life that the man named Encrid showed, and the way he walked, showed him the path he should take.
He was grateful for that.
It was infuriating that he wanted to follow this man again, but gratitude was still gratitude.
That was why.
Ayul wanted to show what he, his family, his friends, and the West loved.
"I have something to show you."
Ayul said as he led Encrid. The two walked, avoiding ants, observing bugs, and facing the headwind.
Before long, they left their dwelling. Their steps showed no hesitation.
Though monsters were not as common in the West as they were across the continent, it was still dangerous to wander carelessly.
However, neither Encrid nor Ayul were ones to be troubled by a few monsters.
They had cleared out several monster groups while the tribe settled, so there were hardly any around.
Perhaps they'd encounter a copycat, a wild cat that deceives humans.
These creatures were more troublesome than dangerous.
They cleverly exploited the weak spots in people's minds with sound.
That's why in the West, the term 'wild cat' was considered a common insult.
It was then that Encrid finally understood why Jaxon was called a sly wild cat.
It was an insult. Well, it sounded that way even when he didn't know.
Both walked quickly, and Ayul ascended a small hill.
Encrid, following behind, gazed up at the sky.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Ayul asked.
Encrid nodded.
The sky looked like a white ceiling had been laid across it.
Clouds stretched low and wide, covering the sky.
But it wasn't dark, the clouds were thin. Sunlight filtered through them, illuminating the ground.
It was a wondrous sight.
"It's a sun-shielding cloud."
Ayul said.
It was a view only seen in the West. It was beautiful.
The clouds, the sunlight, and even the horizon beyond.
'Oara, who was like the sunlight.'
The thought of Knight Oara came to him.
The sunlight was like her smile.
It wasn't scorching or prickly but gently enveloped everything.
It was different from the sunlight in the city of Oara.
The light there drove away the darkness of the Demon Realm with force.
It broke through the fog and became a source of power.
But the sunlight in the West didn't break anything, it embraced gently.
This sunlight resembled not the city Oara but the Knight Oara.
She fought on the front lines, but in daily life, she was someone who embraced the city.
"Do you think it's worth protecting?"
One day, the ferryman had asked suddenly.
There was no direct object, but the meaning was obvious.
He was asking if the things you wanted to protect were worth it.
Was there a reason to endure pain and move forward?
Encrid didn't bother to answer.
Because the answer was already set in his heart.
Value is something you decide for yourself.
Just because someone called a sage says something, does that mean you must follow it?
What someone else determines cannot become your own standard.
This is your life.
Therefore, value is completed by your own perspective.
That's how it was with the people of the West, Ayul began to tell her story.
A story that might seem trivial, or perhaps, it was a story that carried on the spirit of the Westerners.
"On a sunny day, the heat causes mirages to rise over there, and oddly enough, after such a hot day, it rains a few days later. We call that the Bear's Blessing."
To explain why it was called the Bear's Blessing would probably require delving into mythology, a story long enough to span ages.
"It's not abundant, but it's not filled with hardship either."
What is it that must be protected?
Ayul said.
She loved this West.
She truly enjoyed protecting this land.
"I've never seen snow, but it's probably similar to white hailstones, right?"
Hailstones referred to here were small, hard stones of ice. You couldn't exactly compare hard stones to snow.
"Snow is probably beautiful too."
Just because she loved the West didn't mean she looked down on other places.
Of course, if you told the military that snow was beautiful, they'd immediately grab their weapons and charge.
And there'd be plenty of them, more than a full circle around the drill ground.
But you couldn't deny that snow was beautiful.
There were days when they gazed at snow-covered mountains.
There were also days when they admired forests dyed with autumn colors.
Encrid's hometown had two trees guarding the village front.
Even if you spread your arms wide, you couldn't hug them, they were enormous trees.
In autumn, their leaves turned a brilliant red, and in summer, they were lush green.
In winter, their bare branches would be covered with snow.
Encrid found those trees beautiful.
The things worth protecting are defined by oneself.
Ayul felt the same.
The Westerners were the same.
"We love this land."
Ayul said.
Therefore, they didn't covet the continent. They were content with what they had.
What had been passed down through the ages was called tradition.
The tradition of the West was deeply rooted in their spirit.
On this day, Encrid saw the sun-shielding clouds, and he also saw the cloud tower.
As they stood atop a high hill, they could see the horizon, and beyond it, a white cloud descended like a tower.
It was the afternoon after they returned from admiring the horizon, the sunlight, the wind, and the clouds.
Just as the sun was setting, Ayul came again.
"Hira, are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
Encrid had become a sort of protective talisman or human totem, but there was no need to stay in the tent all day.
Unless the fortune-teller tribe performed another collective ritual, the same curse couldn't strike again.
Hira knew that group rituals weren't easy to pull off. It would have required sacrifices to complete the task.
To spread the foolish Boar tribe's curse like this, it must have been impossible without a sacrifice.
The eldest sorcerer had to counter it. He had offered his own ritual items and life force to stop it.
In other words, this curse couldn't be cast or stopped without a sacrifice.
That was why the eldest sorcerer still hadn't recovered.
What he offered as a sacrifice wouldn't easily return.
Rem occasionally visited and asked if the eldest sorcerer would ever wake up, but even Hira couldn't know when.
'If it weren't for him, the entire tribe would have fallen to the curse.'
The eldest sorcerer had succeeded in reducing the scale and buying time.
It was easy to say, but from a sorcererism perspective, the eldest sorcerer had succeeded in several gambles.
He was lucky.
It was as if someone, somewhere, had taken on bad luck on behalf of the tribe.
Hira thought only that far and didn't bother to ponder further.
It's hard to keep track of everything happening in various places.
She simply split her sleep and continued her tasks.
Her job was to erase the traces of the curse as quickly as possible.
Hira nodded as she heated short needles in her hands over a flame. It was her answer to the question, 'Hira, are you okay?'
"Let's go."
Ayul once again led Encrid.
This time, they were on their way to a very large lake.
"You've never ridden one, have you?"
She asked as she held the reins, and at the end of those reins was a velopter. A creature with vertically slit eyes observing Encrid.
Beside her, Juol and the man who had guarded the tent followed.
He had short hair and a blade-like pattern drawn across his forehead, giving him an unusually fierce look.
Ayul had brought four velopters.
"Do you know where Rem is sleeping?"
She asked because he hadn't been seen for a while.
"He sleeps with me, of course. Where else would he sleep?"
The answer came immediately.
Had they reconciled already?
"A married couple sharing the same house is only natural."
Ayul continued calmly.
What kind of charm did Rem use to turn Ayul's heart?
The only skill Rem had was chopping with an axe, so perhaps he subdued her with brute force.
Encrid decided he would say a word to Rem about not treating his wife that way.
Juol just smiled beside him.
And the man standing next to them was quietly showing subtle hostility towards him, and now Encrid was beginning to understand why.
The man's eyes kept glancing between him and the woman following him.
"Benefactor."
It was Ziba's mother who followed despite being told it was unnecessary.
Even now, she had her hands on her knees, insisting he step on her hands and mount the velopter.
"Please ride."
"I can get on by myself."
Encrid said, and turning to the other side, lightly kicked the ground and mounted the velopter.
The creature was docile, not even flinching as the weight settled on its back. It bent its knees slightly to absorb the weight before standing upright again.
It would be like saying it had good reflexes if it were a person.
It knew how to disperse the weight that settled on its back.
Rem had said it was smarter and faster than a horse.
But it probably wasn't smarter than Odd-Eye. That one wasn't just smart, it also had a steadfast heart.
Even though it had the blood of a beast, it still had the audacity to mate with a mare.
They said it had spread its seed around the Green Pearl.
That was something Nurat, the lover of Krais and once under the Green Pearl Battalion Commander, had told him.
Why he was thinking of such stories now, he didn't know.
It must have been because of the mounts.
Encrid shook off the stray thoughts and grasped the reins of the velopter.
He was told that the reins, when pulled, would guide the creature on their own.
Luagarne stayed behind at the tent. There was a reason.
"There's a strange smell."
That was what she said after getting ready to move.
"I bathed two days ago."
Next to her was the limping Dunbachel, whose feet were numb.
"It's not that kind of smell."
Luagarne gently scolded, saying she was scanning the surroundings.
Encrid didn't particularly care.
Though Frog was slow, when it came to the goals and desires she set, she was more sensitive than the scent of a beastwoman. It seemed something was bothering her.
"Let's go."
Ayul said, taking the lead. The velopter kicked the ground and began to run.
Encrid braced his legs and used his strength to endure. Getting used to the velopter wasn't as easy as riding a horse.
"Having trouble riding?"
Juol, seeing this, assisted him.
"Don't tense up. Let your legs dangle. The velopter is very smart. Just relax and let it take you. This one is well-trained."
Listening to Juol's Western dialect, Encrid did as he was told.
Ayul slowed down a little.
"Skilled kids get the hang of it right away when they first ride. You're a bit slow, aren't you?"
It was a way of saying that people with natural physical talent picked it up quickly.
Still, after riding for a while, he became more accustomed to it.
His ability to control his body had improved twice as much as before.
The place they arrived at after riding was a massive lake.
It was so vast that you couldn't see from one end to the other with a single glance.
"It's a big lake."
Ayul said with a smile.
There were times when mist lightly veiled this lake, a rare sight in the West, but today was not one of those days.
Under the clear sky, the lake reflected the heavens. Fish could be seen playing in the rippling waves.
The white pebble shore around the lake made the water appear even cleaner.
As they admired the lake, a Western man who had been showing hostility asked.
"I'd like to know what you intend to do with that woman."
He cut straight to the point, as was typical of Westerners. There was no need to ask who he was referring to.
This man had no intention of hiding his animosity. He was talking about Ziba's mother.
"I have no interest and no intentions."
"Don't forget that Ziba is still young."
The man said, and Encrid calmly cleared up the misunderstanding.
"Do you know how to fight?"
"...I am a warrior."
"Then let's spar."
It would be quicker than explaining. They exchanged blows with their swords.
The man used a wide falchion, and he wasn't bad.
If he continued training like this, he would surpass most Squires. He had talent.
"Don't worry about it. I'm not interested, and I know Ziba is still young."
Encrid said after tripping him and striking his solar plexus.
The man, barely able to breathe, turned pale but managed to cough and respond.
"Ugh, I know. It's just jealousy."
Indeed, Westerners didn't hide anything. To Encrid, that was an admirable trait.
"How well does Geom Nares fight?"
"You mean Geom Nares from the Nares tribe? He's the top warrior."
The man said, and Ayul added.
"Top warrior means he's the best fighter in the tribe."
Encrid had already picked up on that from their context.
They returned to the camp, trained, and shared jokes with Geom Nares.
"I saw a wide river. Beyond it, I saw my dead father."
Someone who had just woken up said.
"And then?"
Geom Nares asked as he listened, and the man lowered his voice.
"I crossed the river, didn't I? My father was calling me."
By now, even Ziba had come over to listen. The man was a good storyteller.
For a moment, he gazed into the distance as if looking into a faraway void.
Then he spoke.
"As I crossed, the water came up to my waist. But the current wasn't strong. I dragged my wet pants across and stood face to face with my father."
"Face to face?"
Geom Nares asked again. By now, Encrid was also sitting and listening intently.
"I punched him in the jaw and came back, telling him it wasn't time yet!"
He mustered his strength, though weak, and tapped his right hand against his left arm, then raised his left fist.
He said he punched his father's jaw, and everyone laughed.
Geom Nares roared with laughter, and Ziba let out a childlike giggle, causing her mother to burst into laughter as well.
"So, is this where the sky God resides? Or did the earth mother hold me back? Seeing your face, Geom Nares, it seems we're still on this stinking land of ours."
It hadn't even been half an hour since he woke up, and he was already cracking jokes.
"Outsider, when someone wakes up, don't ask questions—just say thank you. Did you catch Hira's weakness or something?"
This man was truly amusing.
"Does it look like it?"
"Or did you woo her with that face? I didn't think Hira was like that."
The man chuckled as he made his joke.
Later, when Encrid heard himself being called a human totem, he forced himself to rise and bowed his head.
"Thank you. If I had died like that, it would have been a great injustice. Outsider, I will repay your dedication."
As more people awoke, Encrid observed the lives of the Westerners through Ayul and those around him.
They saw the vast lake, the sun-shielding clouds, and the Mother's sunset. They even saw the long, connected hills called Miro Orum.
Encrid was doing light training in the camp when he heard a voice.
"Hu-man!"
A thunderous voice boomed outside the tent. The thunder was speaking, and it sounded as if it would tear through his eardrums.
Encrid stood and looked outside. The entrance to the tent was open.
Beyond the entrance, he saw a massive head with glaring eyes.
It was so large it distorted the sense of scale.
It was a Giant.
Encrid had heard of the two giants who threatened the entire tribe.
They were both monsters beyond the level of Junior-Knights.
As he turned his gaze forward, Rem entered the tent and their eyes met.
Rem spoke.
"I've been looking for you everywhere."
Rem turned, and Encrid followed him outside.
They stood in front of a makeshift, flimsy fence made of cloth and wood.
"Give us five humans, we are hun-gry!"
A Giant, ignorant of its strength, demanded. It wore a thick fur coat and wielded a large, black, and spotted club, big enough to crush an adult human in one blow.
The club was black and spotted because it was stained with the blood of those it had killed.
Every time the Giant moved, there was a stench.
The scent of blood mixed with the foul odor of base desires.
"It's a tough one."
Luagarne, who had followed behind, spoke. Frog's keen senses had already assessed the Giant's power.
Of course, Encrid could do the same.
His eyes also saw the Giant.
Among giants, this one was particularly strong.
Just as not all humans are the same, not all giants are the same either.
Two giants, both skilled fighters, stood before them.
They blocked the horizon Ayul had shown him earlier.
Rem grabbed his axe, preparing to charge forward, but Encrid, who had already approached, grabbed Rem by the wrist.
"Are you suggesting we do this together?"
"No."
Then what?
Rem asked with his eyes. Encrid stepped forward and spoke.
"I'll handle this alone."
Rem had eyes. He knew these were formidable enemies.
But alone?
Encrid didn't repeat himself. He simply stepped forward.
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