Chapter 20: The Dawn of Humanity (2)

After becoming capable of bipedal walking, humans were able to gain two weapons.

One was two hands that could grasp tools.

Instead of having sharp teeth or claws, they gained a means to attack other animals from a safer position by grasping long tools in their hands.

Especially, long-range attacks like throwing stones allowed them to hunt animals much larger than themselves.

And the other weapon was endurance that allowed them to run long distances continuously.

Humans who gained remarkable endurance instead of instantaneous speed used that endurance to hunt other animals by following them until they exhausted.

At the same time, it had the effect of greatly expanding human territory by increasing their range of movement.

The population of humans, an animal that gained these two weapons, exploded.

Up to this point, it could be seen as a good situation, but unfortunately, reality is cruel.

Overpopulation inevitably led to problems with limited food, living areas, and so on.

Human groups began to drive out some members to resolve the population they couldn't handle.

Well, it's natural if you think about it. They hadn't even started farming yet. Fruits picked from trees weren't available all year round, and hunting wasn't always successful.

Moreover, if they encountered dangerous predators during hunting, they could lose their prey or even their lives.

Of course, if they were lucky, the prey could be two for one! But such cases were extremely rare. Usually, it ended with giving up the prey.

Anyway, humans driven out of groups began to scatter all over the world.

Some lost their lives unable to withstand the harsh environment outside the group, but not all humans met such an end.

Because life adapts and changes.

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When I created the first organism, slime, I made it so that various mutations and evolution would occur frequently.

And magical power is a force that brings about change in response to will.

When these two combine, they can cause amazing changes, like a lizard-like creature just out of the sea becoming a giant dinosaur.

"This change is a bit unexpected."

I discovered a group of humans who had settled in a quite cold forest.

Their number was about fifteen. It was a considerable number for wandering humans, but fortunately, although the surrounding environment was cold, they seemed to have no shortage of food thanks to abundant prey.

But that wasn't the important thing.

Humans.

And giant humans at that.

Humans who had grown two to three times larger than other humans.

I really don't understand if these creatures have a habit of trying to grow bigger at every opportunity. Really.

Because they had grown so large, their food intake had increased greatly, making it seem a bit difficult to maintain the group... but except for the cold surrounding environment, it seemed quite abundant, so maybe it doesn't matter.

The sight of giants using uprooted trees as clubs to hunt large animals looked more like human-shaped monsters than humans.

In fact, looking at their current behavior, it doesn't feel like there's any particular intelligence.

Is it that if you have a huge and powerful body, you don't need intelligence? Or is it the result of putting all the elements needed for evolution and mutation into physical enhancement?

Well, either way, it doesn't matter. Isn't the existence of such giants a kind of uniqueness in its own way?

Oh, by the way, perhaps due to the influence of such giants, the animals in this area were also starting to increase their body size.

It might be the judgment that a large body like a giant is more advantageous for survival than a small body whose head would be smashed by a single punch.

I was really surprised to see a deer as big as a giant. Of course, that deer's head was smashed by the giant's wooden club.

For wild animals living in the fierce wilderness, weight and size alone were sufficient power, but fortunately, the number of individuals was small due to problems like the food needed to maintain that size.

I thought it might become chaotic if such large creatures were let loose, but surprisingly, they didn't spread far, perhaps because they were greatly affected by the environment.

Well... let me search. Getting bigger in cold environments is... Bergmann's rule? The tendency for animals to get larger in cold environments? Anyway.

I don't know if such laws from that side apply in this world.

In the age when dinosaurs existed, the overall environment was warm because there were no elementals. Perhaps it was a sight that could be seen thanks to the diverse environment created by elementals.

Anyway, that's it for observing giants. I can't stay here as I need to look at other places too.

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Giants are a demi-human race boasting a size three times that of normal humans.

Although their intelligence is slightly lower, they can communicate to some extent and are a race that can be reasoned with enough to be used as excellent workers if proper compensation is given.

But one must be careful. You must never make a giant angry.

A giant throwing rocks and swinging uprooted trees is truly a one-man army. Even if dozens of veteran adventurers gather, it's not easy to deal with a giant.

However, in the case of slightly civilized giants, they can be good companions and will physically destroy obstacles blocking an adventurer's path.

Many have coveted such powerful giant strength, but unfortunately, all their attempts have ended in failure.

There are various reasons for this, including their tendency not to leave their homeland and their constitution that prevents them from using their full strength if the temperature rises even slightly.

The biggest reason was their intelligence that couldn't understand long-term contracts.

It wouldn't be strange to think that unless the God of Wisdom bestows wisdom upon giants, an army employing giants cannot exist.

- From the Guide for Adventurers Exploring the World.

Chapter on Demi-humans. Giant section.

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Humans scattered all over the world in search of a way to live.

There were a total of 3 places where primitive human races that could be called human first appeared. The north, east, and southwest of each continent.

The giants I saw earlier were humans who had split off from the human group in the north.

"Kyaoong!!!"

"Take it easy."

I grabbed the back of the neck and pressed down on a bipedal large cat trying to bite me.

Perhaps because I'm walking around in human form, wild animals pounce on me like this. It's really troublesome.

But if I walked around in dragon form... It's obvious it would become chaotic.

It's annoying, but it can't be helped.

"Kyaaang..."

"I won't let you go even if you look at me like that."

A bipedal large cat. A cat whose front paws are even changing to be like human hands.

A very suspicious-looking cat.

Well, if monkeys living in trees can come down to the ground and become primitive humans and giants, there's no law saying other animals can't change to be like humans.

Even Lizardmen were originally dinosaurs, but they changed just out of admiration for dragons who had changed into human form.

It's not strange for other animals to be influenced by human appearance and change.

And the result was this furry bipedal large cat held in my hand.

In other words, a cat beastman.

The term 'furry' naturally comes to mind. Hmm. Suspicious, very suspicious.

Of course, it's not just cats, which makes for a very intriguing feeling.

There were also werewolves, staples of fantasy, and creatures with cow heads or pig heads all over the world.

At this rate, I was a bit worried that bipedal animals might push out humans and take over the earth.

"Kyaooong..."

The humanoid cat starts looking up with unnecessarily sparkling eyes.

While this creature's claws or teeth don't even scratch my scales, I'm a bit worried about how it might affect other humans.

Although their intelligence is still at an animal level now, if they gradually develop and become as smart as humans, won't they surely harm humans?

I let out a small sigh and threw the bipedal humanoid cat I was holding far away.

If humans evolve a bit more, I should give them a small gift.

I wanted to avoid direct intervention, but I don't want to see humans decline and be pushed out by other creatures.

Even though it's a world with dragons and Lizardmen, humans should still be the main axis.

A world where various demi-human races blend together with humans as the main axis would look quite good.

Let's see. What would be good for the first gift?

That decision could be made quickly.

What humans need now was too clear.

Now. It's time to become the Prometheus of this world.

Let's gift fire to humans.