Chapter 21: Chapter 20 - Karl
For as long as I can remember, my tribe has followed traditions.
Since I was born, our home had always been in the Black Forest. At the age of four, I began my training to become a warrior.
Unlike many of the other races, beastmen do not have the capacity to use magic, whether by mana organ such as the Elves and high ranking Demons, or other methods such as the runes of Humanity.
In fact, it was for this reason that Humankind and Beastman were united for so long in the past.
However this was an alliance borne out of necessity for humanity. With no magic and no enhanced physical abilities like us Beastmen, they were forced to look for shelter, and as the Demons had made an enemy out of both of our races, it was only natural for us to ally with one another.
The elder of our clan would tell the young boys tales of the time he fought in the war, though not ones of heroism or valour, but of sadness and death. It was during the war that the elder lost his wife and daughter.
Since then he has hammered the notion of protecting our women, and more importantly our clan, into the brains of each and every boy who walks the path to become a hunter, and it was because of the elder's decision that only men were allowed to become warriors.
At the time I thought it was natural as did everyone in our village. Of course we would protect them, it was because we loved them.
Our clan was once one of the strongest in the entire Beastman continent, being one of the few which had the strength of tier 9 in their ranks. Thanks to our agile bodies, ability to move freely in the dark, and predisposition for the dark attribute, members of our clan would often be sent to assassinate high ranking members of the Demons. Even today our name is used as a boogeyman for their young.
But once the war was over, our already small clan was cut down to just a few.
It was then that the strongest member remaining, the current elder, though back then he was still a young man, led our members into the depths of the Black Forest, hidden from the eyes of the world, to nurture a new generation.
The Black Forest was not a safe place to live, and so our homes were made in the treetops, far off the ground and out of reach for most of the dangers that dwelled within.
Despite the sudden reduction in our numbers, our strength gradually recovered. Thanks to a hidden technique passed down by our ancestors, the elder was able to speed up the awakening of warriors in the boys, though some had such bad affinity for mana that they wouldn't get far down the path, while only women who awakened on their own would get to become warriors.
It was at the age of eight that I awakened as a warrior, and not only that, but one who could create a mana barrier. Hailed as a genius and a rising star, the elder paid close attention to my education. Oftentimes he would give me private lessons on combat techniques, cultivation, and assassination arts.
At the age of 10, I broke into tier 1.
Immediately I was sent to join the hunting squad to gain experience and learn under their tutelage. Our task was to guard the village, securing food, and sometimes venturing outside of the forest to gather information and trade goods.
It was there that I met the love of my life.
Sophie was older than me by four years. Having awakened at eight as well and with no help from others, she cultivated herself to tier 3. She was also assigned to the hunting squad.
Once I found out, I couldn't believe it. In fact I was so adamant that she was lying, and thanks to the pride of being a genius having been set deep in me, I challenged her to a duel.
Naturally, I lost.
No matter how many times I challenged her, I could never make her yield, so eventually I was forced to face the reality that was in front of me. Thus I turned her into my target. I cultivated harder than ever to try and best her, inwardly competing with her when we went out on hunts, comparing our catches, seeing who could reach our destinations faster.
I'm not sure when my obsession with beating her turned into love.
I became a tier 6 warrior at the age of 24. I had been appointed as the leader of the hunting team by the elder, graduating from learning under the older hunters to teaching our younger ones.
That day the elder brought me to his house, and it was there that he told me his decision. He had been stuck at tier 7 for too long, and he could tell he had no more room for advancement. As such, he would pass his position as elder onto me once I had learnt all of our ancestral knowledge.
Over the years as a hunter, I had matured from the rash youth I once was. I understood his decision and accepted gratefully.
By now I already saw him as family, like he was my grandfather, so when he told me that he was worried about me being single forever and that I should find a wife, I immediately knew what to do.
I asked Sophie for a duel. The winner would get to request one thing from the loser. We were both tier 6, though Sophie had been at that level for a few years already. Even so, I still had my pride as a genius and the leader of the hunting squad. There was no doubt in my mind that victory was assured and that she would soon be mine.
Unfortunately, it didn't go as planned.
It was a close battle, but she ended up beating my by the skin of her teeth. The way she looked at me in annoyance after our duel still haunts me to this day.
I wasn't going to give up though.
If brute force wouldn't work, then I needed to be gentler. I tried all manner of methods, from inviting her out on hunts, giving her gifts, and even singing to her. None of them worked.
One afternoon while I was watching the sunset from the canopy, Sophie sat down next to me. I remember looking at her, her beautiful face lit up by the sunset glow.
I couldn't take it anymore, so I simply went all out and said what was on my mind right then and there.
"Sophie, I have loved you since the day I met you, and I will love you till the day I die. Will you marry me?"
I don't remember what happened after I heard the word yes. All I can recall was the smile on her face, but for me, that was enough.
Our wedding was held before the entire village, and just like that we became a happily married couple.
During the 517th year of the Human calendar, four years after our wedding, Sophie gave birth to our first child.
A daughter.
We named her Alexandra, and she quickly became the lady of the household. Whenever she wanted something, she would get it, and Sophie ended up leaving the hunting squad to care for our daughter.
As the years passed by and Alex grew older, she became more and more like her mother. Strong, free-willed, and with an insatiable curiosity.
Though I was opposed to it, Sophie would always take her side and since I trusted my wife, I left the education of our child up to her. In the end, I was forced to step in.
When I found out that she wanted to become a warrior and fight, bragging about being stronger than a few children I couldn't help but scold her.
I didn't want my darling daughter to end up becoming a warrior. What if one day she were called upon to defend the village from invaders, or even worse, another war broke out and she ended up dying?
Even being a hunter was a dangerous job, oftentimes members of the squad would never make it home due to one misstep during an encounter with a high tier creature.
As the next elder of the village, it was up to me to protect everyone, and unless she was able to awaken on her own like her mother, there was no way for her to become as strong as the other boys once they had.
Our daughter didn't take it too well though, and immediately locked herself in her room.
When Sophie heard what had happened, she made sure to give me a good beating and forced me to apologise. She explained to me that since I was the next elder, why not give her the opportunity to become a warrior too?
There was no need for me to follow the rules of the past elder.
Hearing that, I realised she made sense, and so I did my best to apologise to Alex.
She never came out of her room.
One afternoon, I realised the food that my wife left outside her door remained untouched. Worried, I broke down the door to check on my daughter, but to my dismay she was nowhere to be found.
Noticing the open window, I asked the entire village whether they had seen Alex, but there was no news. None of the sentries had noticed her leave either, but there was no doubt that she was no longer within the village.
Immediately, the hunting squad was mobilised. We scoured the forest for any sign of her, but to no avail. Thoughts of the worst possible scenario ran through my mind.
'Could she have been kidnapped? Did she run away? What if she ran into a powerful magic creature and was killed?'
It wasn't too long before we found traces of her in an abandoned campsite near the outskirts of the forest. At least she was still alive.
We found out that the people she'd met were slave traders who traded to the Demons, and so our search was focused there. The only ones who could afford to buy such slaves were the nobles, so our search was focused on the capital.
Since the treaty was still in effect we couldn't go too far with our methods, however it wasn't too long before stories of the Shadow Panthers spread once more throughout the Demon continent.
Three years since the search began and there was still no news. I had long since rethought over my past positions. Why couldn't I have just been more flexible. If I wasn't so quick to dismiss her desire to become a warrior, none of this would've happened. Sophie was right. I couldn't protect her forever, and someday she would need to grow up and look after herself.
Finally, news came.
A demon who had come from the outskirts of the continent let loose the information. It said that there was a human noble currently housing a black cat beastman and that he was looking for her family.
We had all but lost hope at this point, so even if it truly were a black cat Beastman and not my daughter, I still had to make sure.
Thankfully it seemed like the heavens had not forsaken us.
When I arrived there and told the noble that I was looking for her, he was wary at first, though once I showed him my ears he relaxed and asked his maid to bring the child here.
As soon as I saw her, I knew it was my Alex.
Seeing how much she'd grown, how much of her life that I'd missed, I couldn't hold myself back from tearing up as I held her in my arms. I just wanted to keep her as close as possible and never let go of her again. Eventually she passed out from crying and I stayed with her in her room to look after her.
When she awoke, she told me what had happened.
Hearing her story, all I could think was that I was a failure of a father. Seeing how much she had changed, no longer showing her emotions on her face, no longer as outspoken and cheeky, forced to mature beyond her years, and knowing all of it was my fault led me to think this way.
Even so, she forgave me.
I couldn't let her think that it was her fault, so I told her that I would change. Even if she had a terrible affinity for mana and could barely cultivate, I would still do my best to help her awaken, along with any other child in the clan.
That was when she came out with some surprising news.
She had actually already awakened.
And it was even earlier than her mother and I.
I couldn't believe it. Not until she proved it to me. It was then that I made my mind up. I would take her back to our village and personally train her to become a warrior.
When I announced the news to the Dubois family the next day, I was immediately refuted. Not by them, but by my own daughter.
Seeing her scream, I saw a slimmer of how she was in the past.
Apparently she didn't want to leave her new friend, the son of that noble, a boy named Cain.
No matter how much I tried to persuade her, she wouldn't listen.
Thankfully I was rescued by the boy in question. He asked whether it was okay to speak to her privately, and they both left the living room.
According to the noble, they had been practically inseparable since her rescue, and that they should have faith in their son.
Could my little girl have fallen for him?
Eventually they returned, and I was made to promise several things by Alex.
The first was that she would be able to come and visit them, and the second was that she would only leave after a week. She truly was smitten with the boy.
I had already been waiting for three years. What was one more week compared to that?
Not to mention, this will give me a chance to thoroughly assess whether he will be a match for my cute Alex.
And so, I agreed.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone