Chapter 81: The Hint

Chapter 81: The Hint

This was the trouble that Fairy Whisper wanted dealt with: a huge brown bear, a bear that loved to eat honey, but when Bran saw it, he lost interest.

The bear was just an adult, and Bran only saw immaturity in it. Any experienced beast wouldn’t stay here permanently. This place seemed calm and safe because the children participating in the Trial would casually clean up this woodland. Even if there were some beasts too strong to fight head-on, the bratty kids would show these creatures the treacherous side of the Northlanders—traps and poison. It was lucky to have met Bran. Right now, Bran had no interest in such an unchallenging fellow, and he wasn’t hungry either.

This bear could stand three meters tall, and this was just after reaching adulthood, having just been driven away from its mother’s side. Given the chance, it would surely grow into a truly massive creature. Its somewhat immature behavior reminded Bran of the bears in a circus, so he decided to take in this little guy.

Bran got a sturdy large wooden club, hefted it, and walked towards the little bear. This inexperienced little guy gave a threatening roar at Bran, and then its snout met with a heavy blow, turning its roar into a whimper. When it stood up holding its nose, trying to avoid further attacks, it exposed an even more fragile area; its family jewels got a light tap, and the unlucky little guy instantly collapsed back to the ground. Bran swung his club with great satisfaction for a while, enjoying the pleasure a senior feels when spanking a child’s bottom.

Now the little bear behaved obediently, following the guidance of the club in Bran’s hand, leaving the fairies’ territory with him. Bran felt very satisfied with his action of saving both sides simultaneously. As for the tears now hanging in the corners of the little bear’s eyes, it showed it was also very satisfied.

Two days later, Bran realized he had found himself a problem: this little bear was a total glutton. Ever since entering the Fertile Plains Grassland, Bran had developed a habit of wasting food. He liked hunting big creatures, and most of the time, he only ate the two strips of meat along the spine. Now this little bear constantly reminded Bran that waste was shameful! It packed away all of Bran’s leftover food and always looked like it hadn’t eaten enough. Whenever Bran put something in his mouth, it would stare intently…

…

Over the next few days, Bran felt something was off about himself. Ever since the little fairies followed him, his sense of hunger had gradually disappeared, and the call of the Wasteland had become fainter. His strength began to slowly fill up. This was no illusion; Bran was now rarely fooled by his own senses; it was a real increase.

He should have noticed something when he lost interest in the little bear. At the time, he was too overconfident; facing the little bear, he didn’t even think about the difference in strength and size. Subsequent hunts were just done whenever he felt like eating, and his travel route was closer to a straight line. He never thought about avoiding other beasts. Because he didn’t sense any danger, he simply followed his intuition all the way.

Several little fairies were playing around the black cat Huahua, with one even sitting right on its head. At this moment, Huahua was also leisurely and lazily following beside Bran, without any tension or vigilance, as if strolling in its own manor.

Bran stopped. He needed to take a break and find the reason for the change.

…

Bran began carefully checking his body, and then he discovered his body was rapidly absorbing Mana. It wasn’t his ability or core restoring Mana; it was his body itself—skin, hair, muscles, bones, and so on.

He picked up Huahua, turned its body over, and examined it closely. He noticed the black cat Huahua was showing the same phenomenon. He even pressed on Huahua’s paw pads, checking the strength of its extended claws. That’s right, Huahua’s body was also strengthening, and very noticeably at that.

The Northlanders’ Trial, ha!

Bran let out a breath, sat on the ground, and laughed. His Trial was complete; he was now Bran of the Northlands, content to go home. The Old Fairies didn’t want him to risk going to the Wasteland again. When activating Mana, there must have been many sacrifices Bran was unaware of, which was why his strength increased so noticeably. The fairies weren’t really trying to deal with the little bear; they were just reminding him in this roundabout way.

Bran looked up at the little fairies above him, some resting, some playing. The Old Fairies probably thought Bran wouldn’t goadventure again because he had already obtained what he needed—power—so they entrusted so many little fairies to him.

Bran hesitated a little. He really wanted to go see the Wasteland. Since he had the assurance of strength now, the danger shouldn’t be too high. Bran found a not-very-reliable reason and convinced himself.

…

Bran sorted out some thoughts. From birth, Northlanders slowly absorbed Mana to strengthen themselves. This was also why Northlander children were comparatively stronger from a young age. When their spirit and body gradually matured, the protective mechanism in their Bloodline was released, and their bodies began to absorb Mana faster, further stimulating and promoting their physical growth and development.

Ha! Fairies and Northlanders.

Long cohabitation made them overlook each other’s importance and start seeing the other as a burden. The Fairies and Northlanders forgot why they originally lived together. When they grew tired of each other, as the Old Fairy Whisper said, back then, it was impossible for a Northlander to even beg for a Fairy.

The destruction of the ancestral land and the death of the older generation left the migrating young people lacking the mediation of their elders. They made the mistakes that young people inevitably make—hot-bloodedness and impulsiveness. Some small conflicts were ultimately magnified infinitely.

The Fairies monopolized the homeland. After the initial smugness, they began to face a crisis of racial survival. The Northlanders weren’t much better off; perhaps their situation at the time was even worse than the Fairies’. At least the Fairies had been smug for a while, while the Northlanders immediately faced great risks. So they returned to the Wasteland to find a solution, and indeed they found one, though the risk was high. Bran believed there must be more stories hidden within, but the details were no longer important.

“We’re friends. We should support each other; why make things hard?” Bran reached his arm out towards the little fairies, watching them land on it.

…

Having sorted out the threads, Bran quickened his pace. He now only wanted to go see the Wasteland, to see what was there.

Late at night, Bran, who was hurrying on his way, noticed a faint campfire flickering ahead. After several days and nights of continuous travel, Bran was also somewhat tired, so he walked towards the campfire. Then he sensed a familiar scent.

Dia and the others were sleeping soundly by the campfire. The White Wolf’s warning woke them. As they felt tense, the White Wolves relaxed their alert stance and let out cheerful barks.

Soon, a person and a cat appeared by the campfire, impolitely rummaged through their food, and started eating heartily.

“Are you crazy? You dare travel at night.” After recognizing Bran, Dia could hardly believe it.

“Half-crazy. Go back to sleep; no need to worry tonight.”

“You’ve stirred us up; we can’t sleep now.” Lia spoke up.

Just as they were about to ask more questions, they noticed the White Wolves becoming alert again. Bran signaled for the White Wolves to relax and explained, “A little bear is following me. It’s fine; it doesn’t hurt people.”

Dia asked, “What happened? You’re wandering around in the middle of the night.”

“I discovered some interesting things and want to verify them in the Wasteland as soon as possible.”

Suddenly Dia pointed behind Bran and shouted, “Bear!”

Seeing his cousins start picking up their weapons, Bran quickly stopped them: “Don’t hurt it! It’s domesticated, domesticated!”

“This is the little bear you mentioned?”

“Yes. Although it’s a bit bulky, this kid was born big. You’ll get used to it.”

His cousins gave this silly cousin of theirs a collective glare and then started sizing up the little bear. The little bear had already run to Bran’s side, found a spot where it could conveniently watch Bran eat, lay down, and then stared fixedly at the food being devoured bite by bite. This expression instantly stirred sympathy in the cousins’ hearts…