NOVEL NEXT Chapter 31
Episode 31
No, sure, humans were animals just like them, but how the heck could this happen?
Did these suspicious bipedal creatures change just to hang out with humans? Or did humans suddenly want to have a love affair with these animals?
Seriously, how is this even possible… I just can’t wrap my head around it.
Of course, if we trace everything back to the roots, we all came from the same branch! It hasn’t been long since those branches split!!! Maybe a thousand years or so?!
Still, this is a bit strange!!!
No, maybe some other factors are at play here.
For example… magic.
If it’s some kind of magic that reacts to willpower and causes changes, then it *might* be possible for humans and animals to produce offspring.
But no matter how much I think, I just don’t get it! Why are perfectly fine humans suddenly going for animals?! I’m completely lost here?!
On top of that, the kids they’re having are strange! Some kids are just humans with animal ears and tails! Some look like fuzzy bipedal animals! What the heck is this?! Are their genes all over the place or something?!
Is it even okay to let this go on like this? Is there going to be some kind of problem?! Can those hybrid kids even reproduce properly? I heard that mules born from a horse and a donkey can’t have babies! Are those kids going to be similar?!
Okay, let’s just calm down for a second. Breathe. Not every human is like that crazy animal-loving lot. It’s just some peculiar humans with unique tastes!
The bipedal animals seem to be living alongside those humans pretty happily. They occasionally show some wild behavior, but it seems like a minor issue.
If those creatures blend into human society… well, there’s really nothing I can do about it.
They seem to like it, so what can I do?
All I can do is hope they don’t stir up any trouble.
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After some suspicious folks who liked fur joined a bunch of humans, little changes started happening.
First off, humans mixed with beasts… To avoid sounding discriminatory, let’s call them beastmen.
With beastmen joining in, humans suddenly had another option to consider.
It wasn’t just about hunting or farming anymore; they could now raise animals to get various goodies like meat or fur!
In simple terms, it was the dawn of livestock farming.
At first, they only hunted wild boars or bison, but with the addition of beastmen, a new choice emerged.
Strangely, beastmen could communicate their intentions directly to animals, leading some to adopt stray animals, thus kicking off the first livestock farming.
Humans figured out that raising animals and getting stuff from them was way more profitable than just hunting them down.
So, humans got wool from sheep, milk from cows, eggs from chickens… and with pigs, it was just all about the meat.
Of course, that was just the start. They also used cows to make farming easier. Anyway.
Through this process, the potential of beastmen began to surface.
Beastmen turned out to be natural hunters and shepherds.
Was it thanks to their animal blood? With their instinctive senses, they could hunt, direct animals to do their bidding, and protect livestock from predators. Surprisingly, beastmen were blending into society even better than I’d thought.
Really, what the heck happened? I’m at a loss here.
Beastmen hunters could track animals’ habits instinctively and set simple traps for hunting, showing they had the potential to supply enough meat for humans.
They even had the courage to take care of livestock and protect them from predators… Humans without any bias generally welcomed them.
Of course, not everyone was so accepting of beastmen.
Since their appearances were pretty different, not all humans could embrace them. In different worlds, people discriminated over skin color, so how could they treat beings looking like totally different species without bias?
Plus, even when grouped under beastmen, there’s a huge variety in what kind of animal each beastman is. So uniting and teaming up wouldn’t be a walk in the park.
But hey, credit where it’s due—it’s kind of heartwarming to see them trying to fit in with humans!
Anyway, I really didn’t have much to do with beastmen. Until a big problem arises, I’ll just have to keep my eyes peeled.
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To everyone’s surprise, having kids between humans and beastmen didn’t seem to pose any real issues.
However… there were some complications with the animalistic traits beastmen brought into parenting.
Like, for instance, with bunny beastmen… Oh boy. I think I should skip over the male bunny traits to protect their dignity.
Things like mating seasons, shedding fur, and all sorts of other issues popped up, but honestly, the biggest drama was the hybrid situation.
So, what happens when a wolf beastman and a bunny beastman have a kid?
One’s a carnivore and the other’s a herbivore. They’re from totally different ecosystems and appearances!
The answer seems to be that the child ends up with the traits of one of the parents.
I don’t get all the science behind genetics or chromosomes, but apparently, it gets even weirder.
Sometimes it seems like rabbit traits skip a generation too! A wolf beastman and a rabbit beastman’s kid ends up being a rabbit, just like their grandma or grandpa.
Cue the drama of “Who’s cheating on who?” But thankfully, a passerby (thank you, random stranger!) clarified that the wolf’s mom was a rabbit, and if grandma’s blood is involved, it could happen. So, one couple got to avoid a breakup!
Man, it really gave me chills. Honestly, I had to jump in after just watching for a while!
The good news is that this skipping trait only goes back two generations. So, if grandpa or grandma’s traits show up, it shouldn’t cause too much fuss.
Anyway, that’s how beastmen were living among humans.
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Beastmen exist in the space between animals and humans.
They can be classified into three types: those resembling humans, those resembling beasts, and those that are a mix of both.
First up, human-like beastmen, commonly known as humanoids.
Except for their tails and ears, they look almost identical to humans. Because they’re so human-like, they have dulled beastly senses.
Of course, being beastmen makes them stronger and faster than humans, but they definitely fall short compared to other beastmen.
Yet, they’re so close to humans that they manage to live within human communities without much discrimination.
Next, the beast-like beastmen, also dubbed beast-type.
These beings walk on two legs, use their hands, and can talk while being close to animals.
Their face and oral structures resemble beasts, making their speech a bit unclear, and many have legs that bend like animal joints, making them look pretty strange. At first glance, you might mistake them for monsters and in some areas, people often do attack them thinking they’re actual monsters.
Yet, their intelligence surpasses that of actual beasts, and with the combination of animal bodies and human intelligence, they make excellent hunters.
Sure, they sometimes get into trouble due to their overpowering wild instincts, but even considering that, they can still become great adventurers.
Lastly, we have the intermediate beastmen who exist between the two.
These folks are perfectly balanced between the two types, inheriting both the good and the bad traits.
They have human-like faces but are covered in fur, and while their skeletal structure hasn’t strayed far from humans, they have muscles like beasts, boasting way more strength than average humans.
However, their ambiguous appearance makes it tough for them to be accepted by either side, leading to a pretty lonely existence.
Of course, there are some who prefer their human appearance with beastly fur, but they’re a rare bunch.
But hey… Among that tiny fraction, it’s interesting that many seem to be wealthy or in power.
Perhaps those who crave wealth and glory, biting and clawing at each other like animals, instinctively prefer beastmen who look more beastly.
– A Traveler’s Guide to the World.
Chapter on Subraces: The Beastmen Section.