Human Imitations

There are only Human Imitations on the continent of Tinbrika. They are a Race called the Scars. What Muno told us was shocking.

There are other beings on this continent whose speech we can understand, but that means they, too, are not human. Apparently, all Human Imitations, including Muno's people, have been abandoned by the goddess. The goddess in question must be Aruru, the 'Goddess of Light and Order,' said to have created humanity. If so, why were they abandoned?

"There are many things I would like to ask you about, but would it be all right to ask?"

"I don't mind. In return, though, whenever you acquire ingredients like you did today, I'd like you to give us some. Hunting monsters is the men's job, too, but we don't always have enough to go around."

"Of course. Fortunately—or perhaps it is strange to call it that—we have someone who can't settle down unless he's fighting. I believe he can provide us with a steady supply of meat."

The person who could not settle down unless he was fighting was, of course, Jigorou. I had witnessed it for the first time today, but apparently he regularly ate the flesh of monsters he had defeated raw. He could do so thanks to the 【Gluttony】 Skill he had possessed from the very beginning, back when he was a Goblin.

Jigorou had also said that he sometimes bit into monsters during battle and tore chunks off them. Once he learned that eating them restored his fullness, he began biting targets to death whenever he did not need their materials to be in good condition. He was no longer merely another player; he was a completely savage beast.

"Frightening. You mean the man with the red horns, right?"

"That's right, but... how did you know?"

"Hee hee hee. It's simple. Thanks to having lived a long time, I can sense a person's 'Karma.'"

I had seen information about 'Karma' on the forums. Every NPC priest knew about it; it was a standard indicating whether a player's actions leaned toward good or evil. Doing good deeds caused one's Karma to lean toward 'Good,' while repeatedly committing evil deeds caused it to lean toward 'Evil.' Doing both in roughly equal measure resulted in 'Neutral.'

Humans could easily lean toward either good or evil, but it was just as easy for them to return to neutrality or shift their Karma toward the opposite side. For example, even after committing a series of evil deeds, one could bring one's Karma closer to good by following the proper steps and then performing good deeds.

In the case of monsters, Karma began at evil and tended to lean further in that direction. It was possible to become good or neutral, but doing so required diligently accumulating good deeds. One had to seriously play as a good monster.

As for what Karma affected, it determined one's favorability with ordinary human NPCs. The more good one's Karma was, the more easily one was liked, while the more evil it was, the more one was viewed with suspicion. Apparently, it could also increase quest rewards and allow one to enter places inaccessible to those who were not good.

Of course, events, quests, and Jobs that required one to be neutral or evil had also been reported, so being good was not necessarily an advantage. It would be more accurate to think of it as improving one's reputation among ordinary people.

Although Karma was connected to various elements, apparently even high-ranking NPC priests could not convert it into a concrete numerical value. It was said that only a very small number of NPCs could sense the finer differences. Muno was probably one of those few people.

"Your 'Karma' leans toward evil, but for monsters, it's unusually close to neutral. At least you don't seem to be the dangerous sort who kills everyone you meet. You must have helped people now and then, haven't you?"

"Helping people... now that you mention it, I suppose I have, from time to time..."

I had slaughtered players and killed NPC knights during the war event. But wherever I went, I felt that I had also helped resolve various troubles. That must have been what brought my Karma back toward neutral.

Th-this was a problem for someone aspiring to be a villain...!? I had acted however I wanted, but at this rate, wouldn't I simply become a good person!?

No, wait a moment. When I visited Sairu Village, where Margaret had been staying, the villagers were supposed to have been afraid of me. What was going on?

"But in your case, there's something a little strange. Something besides your 'Karma' is emanating from you. Do you have any idea what it might be?"

"Something besides 'Karma'... Perhaps my Title has something to do with it."

I possessed the Title that had changed three times, from 'The Heretic' to 'One Who Knows the Abyss,' then 'One Who Delves into the Abyss,' and finally 'One Who Reached the Abyss.' Its flavor text contained wording about people fearing me, so this had to be something separate from Karma. I told Muno about it.

"So that's what it is. I think you're right. People like us, Human Imitations, wouldn't care, but pure humans would either tremble in fear the moment they saw you or attack you."

"Oh, good."

"...Why are you relieved? You're quite the oddball yourself."

"I am often told that. Out of curiosity, may I ask which of us has the most heavily skewed 'Karma'?"

"That floating eyeball. He has killed a considerable number of humans."

The floating eyeball Muno referred to was, of course, Mikelo. He had said that he attacked evil people who had established hideouts outside the city in order to learn how to reach the Vettus Floating Island. He must have accumulated his Karma then.

That our only former human and sole genuine priest had the most deeply skewed Karma was, in its own way, exactly what one would expect from a group of monsters. He was usually mild-mannered, but perhaps he was actually the most dangerous one of us all. We had better not anger him...

"Well, we're Human Imitations. Our Karma already leans toward evil, so it doesn't matter to us."

"Human Imitations... What other Races are there?"

"I'd like to tell you, but that's all for today."

Following Muno's gaze, I saw that Iris and the wives had finished their trade. Both sides were smiling, so it appeared to have been a worthwhile exchange.

"I'm getting old, you know. I can't come here every time. But I'll tell you all sorts of things the next time I visit. In return..."

"Of course. We will prepare compensation commensurate with the information."

"Hee hee hee! You understand perfectly!"

Muno-dono and I firmly shook hands before parting. We would exchange the supplies we had gathered for the handicrafts only they could make, along with information about this continent. This transaction would mark the beginning of a full-fledged exchange!

◆◇◆◇◆◇

――――――――――――

Your Race level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

Your Job level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

【Tail Strike】 level has increased.

You learned the 【Tail Strike】 martial technique Tail Wall.

【Health Regeneration Rate Up】 level has increased.

【Magic Regeneration Rate Up】 level has increased.

【Fire Magic】 level has increased.

You have newly learned the Burnout spell.

【Fire Magic】 has reached its growth limit. SP is required to break through the limit.

【Curse Arts】 level has increased.

You have newly learned the Severe spell.

Your tamed monster's Race level has increased.

Your tamed monster's Job level has increased.

――――――――――――

For about a week after that, we camped near the river mouth, interacting with the people of the Nadeus clan while diligently leveling up and gathering materials. We also finished updating everyone's equipment, so it had been an extremely fulfilling week.

At the same time, I repeatedly spoke with Muno and managed to obtain all the information they knew. First, regarding the Nadeus clan: they were nomads who spent a year traveling around the outskirts of the grassland field called the Ashfall Hills, which bordered the river mouth where we were currently staying.

They lived in assembly-type dwellings resembling Mongolian gers, along with docile Quartet Horn Cows, livestock that produced milk used as food and as a raw material for woolen textiles, and Hippoceras, rhinos with horse-like silhouettes that served as riding beasts. As they moved in search of pasture for their livestock, they bartered with the other Human Imitations living in the area to make up for whatever supplies they lacked.

Other Scar clans existed besides the Nadeus clan, and they apparently lived as settled communities in small villages scattered around the land. The Nadeus clan also served to connect these settlements, making them the most respected clan among the Scars. Muno spoke with great pride about that.

Next were the Human Imitations with whom they traded. Besides the Scars, including the Nadeus clan, there were three other Races. They corresponded to Elves, Dwarves, and Beastmen.

The ones corresponding to Elves were Dark Elves. They were a Race often seen in fantasy worlds and, just as I had imagined, were apparently characterized by brown skin and long ears.

They lived quietly in a forest to the west, one teeming with monsters. Whenever the Nadeus clan passed near their forest, they received medicinal supplies such as herbs from them. They were apparently cheerful, friendly, and childlike in their curiosity. Muno said they would surely welcome us if we visited.

However, they were strong enough to survive in the forest. I was told never to antagonize them, as they would attack with the full strength of their clan if angered.

The ones corresponding to Dwarves were called Metallika. Their entire bodies were smooth and metallic, and they apparently had small, doll-like bodies less than a meter tall, with three-head-tall proportions.

They had no eyes, noses, or mouths, but possessed all five senses. They were terrifyingly taciturn, and even the people of the Nadeus clan found it extremely difficult to communicate with them.

They lived in the precipitous mountains to the north, digging caves in which to make their homes. Since they rarely came down from the mountains, even the Nadeus clan considered themselves lucky if they met them once every few years. They were not bad people, but communication was too difficult for trade to be possible.

The ones corresponding to Beastmen were Centaurs. They did not have the 'upper body of a Human and the lower body of a horse' that we imagined, but rather the 'upper body of a Beastman and the lower body of that beast.' In other words, if the upper body was that of a tiger Beastman, the lower body would also be that of a tiger.

Incidentally, it was not necessary for the parents to be the same type of beast to have children, nor were children necessarily born as the same beast as either parent. Thus, there would be nothing strange about a Lion Centaur being born to a Deer Centaur father and a Horse Centaur mother. What a strange biology.

They were scattered throughout the Ashfall Hills in family units, and apparently encountered one another frequently while traveling around the hills. They were free-spirited but valued their families, and also respected strength. If we had Jigorou trade blows with one of them, wouldn't a friendship develop on its own?

"It was only for a short while, but thank you for taking care of us."

"It's all right. It's about time for us to move somewhere else, too."

And today, we decided to leave the river mouth. There were no more new materials in the surrounding area, and the rate at which we leveled up had also stabilized. It was time to move to another stretch of riverbank.

"But that girl ended up crying after all."

"Yes. Eiji is probably comforting her even now."

For young Alvie, parting with Eiji, whom she had grown close to, seemed to be painful. She had burst into tears, sobbing loudly. Eiji and his older sister Seira were doing their best to handle it together, but it looked like it would take some time for her to calm down.

"That girl gets lonely easily. She probably doesn't want to part with anyone she has taken a liking to."

"I see. Still, it is unfortunate that we never got to meet the chieftain-dono even once."

"It couldn't be helped. He was terribly embarrassed by that meat incident. He gets into a bad mood just from hearing you mentioned."

The meat incident had begun when the chieftain's son stole meat from Alvie. The chieftain's son told his parents that the meat he had snatched from Alvie was something he and his friends had acquired themselves. Although going hunting outside on his own was dangerous, the chieftain and his wife were delighted that their son had grown capable enough to bring home prey. They went around telling everyone in the settlement about their son's growth.

But that was a mistake. Later, it was discovered that the meat we had served and the meat the boy had brought home were the same. Well, considering how delicious it had been—even the people of the Nadeus clan had praised it—that was the inevitable result. When they questioned the boy after realizing something was wrong, he confessed to his misdeed.

Apparently, rather than scolding his son over this, the chieftain began to resent us for making him lose face. That went far beyond simply being a doting parent, didn't it? From our side, being resented like that was unbearable. As a result, we had not been allowed even to meet the chieftain, let alone speak with him.

"I'm sure he loves his only son, but he really needs to stop indulging him. If he spoils him any further, we'll have to make someone else the next chieftain..."

"Obaba-sama! Obaba-sama, are you here!?"

Just as Muno-dono casually said something that could affect the future of their entire people, a warrior of the Nadeus clan came rushing toward us. Could there have been some kind of trouble?

"Don't make such a disgraceful spectacle. It's shameful. Something happened, didn't it? Tell me."

"K-Kilde-sama has gone missing!"

Upon hearing the warrior's report, Muno dropped the staff they had been holding.