Chapter 217: The Lone Flame in the Ice (5)

Then, when he made eye contact with Koukan, Lock quickly waved his hands.

"Our tribe is called the Blue Wolf Tribe! Not that I am a blue wolf, just to clarify," he hesitated a bit.

Hong opened his mouth, "No, but, brother, you are a wolf and..."

On covered Hong's mouth.

When Hong, who had pursed his lips, looked at On with wide eyes. On, she, shook her head.

'Shh.'

And when she signaled for him to be quiet, Hong nodded and casually leaned his body against Cale's heel.

Cale gave Hong a rough pat on the back and then turned his gaze back to Koukan.

"What do you mean the transformation isn't going well?"

At this question, Koukan hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.

"Can I show you?"

When Cale nodded instead of responding, Koukan headed towards the center of the underground training ground and exhaled.

Thump~ Thump~

The heart was beating. Koukan's gaze turned towards the Beast People. Except for the imposing Gashan, Witira and Lock looked like ordinary humans. But he felt it instinctively. They were true Beast People.

'Opportunity.'

Koukan remembered his companions deep in the Erghe Mountain Range.

'I need to impress them somehow.'

First, Cale seemed to be an ally.

Of course, an ally with a clear power difference.

Therefore, they had to listen to his words as much as possible and impress him in order to gain his support.

Even if the process seems a bit embarrassing and servile.

'Damn it.'

Koukan didn't want to show his Berserk Transformation, as it was too despicable compared to the forms of his ancestors preserved in the records.

'Ugh.'

But I can't hide it, so I have to show it, right?

'Thump! Thump!'

Koukan felt his heart beating inside his body. He closed his eyes.

And the others watched.

'Hm?'

Cale's eyebrows raised slightly. Koukan's appearance was changing.

"Hu-"

Gashan sighed unintentionally. Witira stared at Koukan. And Lock just stared at Koukan without saying a word. After a while, Koukan opened his eyes.

"..."

He looked at the people around him. He met Gashan's gaze. More precisely, Gashan's pupils were white, so he wasn't sure if their gazes met, but somehow, he felt connected.

"Cough~"

Gashan coughed lightly before opening his mouth.

"Is the transformation over?"

Koukan smiled bitterly and nodded.

"Yes."

Originally, Koukan's stature was quite decent. Although not as robust as Gashan, being a hunter, he had a fairly considerable height and a good muscular build.

But when he entered the wolf form...

"Huh."

Gashan murmured as if impressed.

"Why is your constitution still the same?"

Gashan couldn't understand. Witira, she added as if stating it incomprehensibly.

"Other than the fur growing on his body and the nails on his hands and feet becoming a bit sharper, apart from that, it hasn't changed much. Sir Koukan, and his strength or any other ability?"

As she said, there was no significant change in Koukan's appearance except that his fur grew, and his face changed to that of a wolf. Of course, it could be considered a big change, but compared to other Beast People like Tigers and Lions, who could increase their strength tenfold or more during transformation, Koukan had only experienced an increase of about double.

"I can use about 1.5 to 2 times more strength than when I was human."

Koukan's statement made Gashan raise his head.

"...I don't know about other Beast People races, but for fiercely strong Beast People like Tigers, Wolves, or Lions, they can usually use more than ten times their strength during transformation. In some cases, it is even reported that they have increased their strength several dozen times. But only around double in your case, Sir Koukan? This is a significant blow for the Wolves."

As Gashan spoke, Koukan's head lowered more and more. While watching him, Lock unconsciously bit his lips.

"This is a disaster; the situation is too bad."

Lock.

Gashan's voice filled with regret was the last thing Lock didn't want to hear. Of course, Gashan sincerely expressed his regret, and Lock had no choice but to open his mouth to explain the situation to Cale. Although Lock knew this, as Gashan's words continued, Koukan's collapsing image was stamped into his vision like a seal.

It was then...

"Hmm. So, Lock."

When Gashan's voice continued, Lock, worried about what he would say, reacted a bit late.

"Yes."

"Show us."

Smile~

The Tiger Tribe shaman showed a fierce smile, though gentle to him, but apparently fierce to those like Koukan seeing him for the first time.

"The true form of the Berserk Transformation. Can you, do it?"

"Ah-"

Lock looked around unconsciously. Witira with her calm gaze, On and Hong flashing their eyes. And Cale, looking indifferent as if saying, "Handle it yourself." After looking at all that, Lock looked at someone else.

The hunter Koukan.

He was looking at him.

Their gazes collided.

Gulp~

Lock swallowed nervously. The moment he saw Koukan's defeated look, he inexplicably felt something stir in his chest. A gray color, similar to the dark gray of the overcast sky, filled the fur with no trace of light.

For Lock, accustomed to living with adult warriors of the Tiger Tribe, this figure of an adult Beast People felt strange to him. But why did it feel so familiar?

'Probably because he looks like me.'

That hunched figure, acknowledging his own misfortune but having to endure it in this situation, reminded Lock of himself. Moreover, Koukan. His age reminded him of someone.

'...Uncle.'

When 'Arm' attacked, his uncle lost his life facing them. A man praised as the future Wolf King.

'At that time, uncle was enormous.'

His back was like a mountain.

The only person whose back reminded him of such a stature was Cale.

But looking at Koukan now, in that instant, Lock remembered his uncle in a different way. If his uncle looked like this...

'...I couldn't have tolerated it.'

He couldn't even imagine.

Thump~ Thump~ Thump~

His heart was beating strongly. Lock looked inside himself.

He discovered, one by one, his own feelings.

He wanted to tell Koukan that the Berserk Transformation wasn't originally like this. He wanted to show him how incredible and valuable the Berserk Transformation was. Above all...

'I don't want to see that.'

He didn't want to see that insecure form of Koukan.

Yes, Lock simply didn't want to. It would be great if Koukan could be more confident. Wasn't his current state also someone else's fault? He might be bold.

"Ha."

Lock barely managed to suppress the laughter, which was like a sigh about to come out. Koukan's appearance was his own, and it was ridiculous that he had feelings of rejection towards it. However, he could firmly say that he didn't like that appearance.

Thump.

The moment his heartbeat strongly, Lock felt a change in his body.

Berserk.

Now, it was something natural for him.

And looking at that natural appearance, Koukan's eyes widened.

He was tall but well-proportioned.

Lock, who was tall but slender, was changing. His size grew, and his body became robust. No, more than robust, he had turned into a gigantic body that clearly showed his wild side. And sharp claws grew on his hands and feet that were not afraid even of a sword.

Finally,

"Ah-"

Silver hair sprouted and covered his body.

And the silver fur had a bluish sheen.

Every strand was shiny and had a vibrant color.

Koukan couldn't take his eyes off Lock.

'Beautiful-'

Obviously, the appearance of the boy was different from his friendly childlike appearance a moment ago, and he looked fierce in a way that made him feel pressured.

However, the silver fur covering his entire body and the slightly glowing bluish color made the boy look like a noble warrior.

'I understand.'

Finally, he realized.

About two hundred years ago, why did the Dragons try to exterminate the Beast People? Koukan felt very clearly that those from the Holy Empire tried to annihilate his Wolf Tribe.

Beast People.

People on this continent call Beast People beasts, saying they have impure blood. They claim they have no intelligence. They call them savages and tell stories like that.

'How can they say such things after seeing this?'

Lock.

The appearance of that boy was clearly in the form of a beast.

Human and beast.

He was clearly showing the line between them. Still, it was beautiful.

'Yes, that's right.'

Are beasts wild?

Living in the Erghe Mountain Range, you see many animals and wild beasts.

Their lives are beautiful too.

They were, indeed, free. That's why Koukan, who had to live tied to the Erghe Mountain Range, envied that freedom and wild nature.

'Koukan, I must perform a proper transformation.'

He heard the voice of a girl in his head.

The girl who inherited the Wolf Tribe.

As the leader, she was striving to achieve a complete transformation.

"If we can find the true appearance of the Beast People according to the records. If we just achieve that, we can regain our name!"

Our name...

As one of the symbols of the Snow Family, known throughout the continent as the "Ice Wolf."

Koukan was remembering the past glory as he looked at the silver wolf.

It was at that moment...

"..."

The boy looked at him.

'Clear...'

His blue eyes were clear and transparent like the sky.

Koukan felt no threat.

How can someone who is entirely a Beast People have impure blood?

With confidence but a bit of immaturity.

Eyes that looked at him cautiously while remaining clear.

However, Lock's body did not shrink. Just with his posture, he seemed enormous.

'This is how Beast People of the Wolf Tribe are.'

Koukan observed Lock's appearance without saying a word.

And Lock, after performing the transformation with determination, looked at Koukan confidently.

"Umm."

Lock was at a loss for words as he met Koukan's astonished stare.

Should he say something first?

The silence was too long to say anything.

'Why is no one saying anything?'

Seeing that others were also silent, Lock felt uncomfortable in this atmosphere.

The shoulders that stood confidently seemed like they could shrink at any moment.

But he couldn't afford it. He didn't want to shrink in front of Koukan.

At that moment, Cale's voice resonated.

"I was worried that we might not be able to perform a proper transformation, but it seems like it doesn't matter much."

A small smile formed at the corner of Cale's lips as he met Lock's gaze.

"It seems you've grown a bit and become better. Have you been training hard?"

In Cale's calm yet indifferent voice, Lock immediately opened his mouth.

''Yes! I've trained a lot!''

Meanwhile, he cast a quick glance at Koukan.

"Ah!"

Lock's eyes widened.

"Uh, um-?"

Confusion took over his voice.

Drip~

A tear rolled down Koukan's eye.

The gray wolf approached the silver wolf.

Unlike Lock, who transformed completely, Koukan, of smaller stature in comparison, grabbed Lock's arm.

"Wait!"

Lock was bewildered.

Whether it was for some reason or not, Koukan desperately spoke.

"Young Lock, please save our Jessie, no, our Leader!"

"Eh?"

When Lock, confused, responded with surprise, Koukan spoke desperately once again.

"No, show us! Please show us how to transform correctly in front of our Young Leader! We beg you!"

"Uh, eh..."

Lock's bewildered gaze, unsure of what to do, wandered aimlessly before turning to Cale.

"Uh, what should we do?"

At that question, Cale let out a wry laugh.

Then, he turned to Koukan and asked.

"First, let's try to calm down."

And then he told Lock.

"Are you becoming a teacher too?"

Although it was an unexpected joke from Cale, Lock didn't understand and exclaimed in surprise.

"Eh? Teacher?"

Despite his imposing appearance, Lock pointed to himself with a trembling voice.

"Me, me? A teacher?"

And with a red tail waving, Hong also said excitedly.

"Wow, our big brother is now a teacher! I want to be a teacher too!"

"Shh."

Then, On, she, silently calmed Hong.

But it was in vain.

Bam!

The door of the underground training room slammed open, and a small Dragon, with wings flapping vigorously, appeared with a proud attitude.

"I did it, human! I've figured out how to use magic!"

Cale thought Raon's appearance was like that of a commander who had returned from a successful mission as he observed.

* * *

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]