Isekai Lizardman Survival Log

The ceremony proceeded smoothly.

From dawn, they dragged Kart away, saying he needed to bathe and purify himself, scrubbing him until his skin was about to burst, then painting him with all sorts of pigments.

Then, under the guidance of the shamans, the orcs of the Red Claw tribe performed a strange dance and conducted the ceremony.

As the main ceremony progressed, the pigments painted on Kart’s body began to glow, and something hazy enveloped Kart’s surroundings.

From the moment Kart suddenly shouted as if surprised while communicating with the ancestors in a reverent posture, I realized something had gone wrong.

But we couldn’t stop the ceremony that had already begun, as Kart would have to bear all the consequences, so we had no choice but to continue.

“…A bear?”
“Hmm…”

He heard the ridiculous request to hunt a bear.

What’s a bear? Isn’t it a large beast at the top of the food chain that likes vodka and tears people apart?

Bears are the fiercest of beasts, not easily killed even when shot with guns, and even in this world where rabbits are as big as large dogs and deer eat meat, their status remained solid.

First of all, they were huge. When standing on two legs, they were about twice my size, with six legs, using their front and middle legs like arms.

Moreover, their sense of smell was so good that they could track prey from unseen distances, and they were so persistent that once they targeted prey, they wouldn’t let it go.

Even worse, like the grizzly bears of the previous life, they picked fights with anything they saw, making them such fierce beasts that people were told to sacrifice themselves for the village if they encountered one.

And they’re telling Kart, who has just come of age, to hunt a bear that almost no one in the Red Claw tribe or even our village could catch alone?

“Karakt, is this right?”
“…Wait a moment.”

Karakt went to the shaman who conducted the ceremony, but seeing that even the shaman looked surprised, it seems there was no problem with the ceremony itself.

If so, then the problem was with Kart… Was it because he was the child of Kruta, the tribe’s enemy?

“…Is it not possible―?”
“Cheer up∼.”

Kart wore a gloomy expression as if he had lost everything in the world, but it was essentially a roundabout way of saying he wasn’t accepted, so it couldn’t be helped.

Lulu tried to comfort the depressed Kart, but was it my imagination that her usually cheerful voice seemed to have dropped?

“…But what happens to the Red Claw tribe if Kart can’t become the successor?”
“Well… They’ll probably disband, I think?”

After hearing the details from Karakt, it turns out that the position of chief in the Red Claw tribe has a magical symbol.

And only those of the first chief’s bloodline can bear this symbol.

If there were any of the bloodline who had married into other tribes, they would have brought them back regardless of the cost, but Kart was the first case of the chief’s bloodline leaving the tribe.

Since Karakt is seedless, there are no successors other than Kart, so they would likely collapse.

‘This is troublesome.’

Oh my… I was happy thinking we had gained a strong ally, but it seems they’ll collapse if left alone.

As I was rubbing my chin thinking about this, Karakt came trudging back with the shaman.

“…Sigh.”
“How did it go?”
“Korba, explain.”
“Ahem, yes, I’ll explain from the beginning.”

Korba, the shaman who conducted the ceremony, cleared his throat and explained what happened with the ceremony.

“First of all, there was no problem with the ceremony itself.”
“…No problem?”
“Yes… However, um… it seems the ancestors don’t look favorably upon Kart.”

I had roughly expected this, but hearing it directly from the ceremony’s conductor made my heart heavy.

“The reason?”
“Well… As you know, Kart is…”

Korba trailed off, but I didn’t need to hear the rest. It was because he was of Kruta’s bloodline, wasn’t it?

“I’m asking just in case, but is it not possible to designate Kart as the successor while ignoring the ceremony?”
“Ignore the ceremony…! The ancestors will be angered!”

It might be better to ignore those old-fashioned spirits who throw tantrums over irrelevant things while leaving the tribe to collapse.

The shaman was aghast, frantically rolling his eyes as if worried the ancestors might have heard.

“Sigh―. Brother, unfortunately, that’s not possible.”
“Because of the magical symbol?”
“Yes, most of our tribe’s magic involves borrowing the power of our ancestors. It’s impossible to ignore the ancestors’ opinions.”

-The reason Kruta was the tribe’s strongest warrior, and the reason we could defeat Kruta, was all thanks to the ancestors.

Karakt said this and sighed deeply. I wondered if these ancestors who supposedly care so much about the tribe were being stubborn even in a situation where the tribe was about to collapse.

“So, what’s the alternative? Is there any way?”
“Well…, the best option is for Kart to hunt the bear alone…”
“Don’t say such nonsense, explain a proper method.”

Ahem.

Korba cleared his throat and looked around, averting his eyes. He seemed worried that someone, or more precisely, the ancestors, might be eavesdropping.

“Chik-chik.”
“Yes.”

Chik-chik’s white fur scattered in the air. The fur floating in the air formed a circle around us.

“Now no one can eavesdrop, even if they’re incorporeal spirits.”

The mouse lineage might not be great for attacks, but they’re excellent at finding or hiding things. Korba seemed to realize this too, as he stopped rolling his eyes and opened his mouth.

“First, as a basic premise, Kart must hunt the bear alone. Otherwise, the ancestors will be angered.”
“So, how can we help in that process?”
“Well… Actually, I’ve thought of a few things, but it seems difficult to provide direct help.”

In other words, we can’t beat the bear to near death and have Kart ‘coincidentally’ find it, right?

Seeming to confirm this, Korba nodded and continued.

“And poison is not allowed either. Using external aids other than one’s own strength at a place to prove one’s qualification won’t be accepted.”
“They’re annoyingly strict.”
“Yes…, well. So the best we can do is…”

I couldn’t help but make an incredulous expression at what followed.

“…So, you’re saying to cover him in magic and elixirs and then fight the bear?”
“Yes, that’s the most certain method. If possible, we should also prepare some magical items for equipment.”

Is the conclusion to dope him up? It seemed ridiculous that they wouldn’t allow borrowing external power but would permit doping and equipment buffs.

“Is there nothing else?”
“No, this is the only way.”

I turned to meet Kart’s eyes, and he nodded with a complicated expression.

“…I’m okay with it―.”
“…Alright, if the person involved is okay with it. We have no choice.”

We’ll have to do our best within the limits of what we can do for Kart’s coming-of-age ceremony and successor appointment ceremony.

We decided to split up to gather materials.

Kart stayed in the village to fight with tribe members to improve his skills even a little. Lulu went with Chik-chik to gather materials for elixirs.

And I…

“Don’t you think it’s contradictory that we need a bear to prepare for hunting a bear?”

Went to hunt a bear.

“We have no choice, do we? To fight a bear on equal terms, we need magical items and elixirs made from bear materials.”

We needed a bear, or more precisely, its blood, skin, gallbladder, and bones.

The blood and bones would be materials for battle tattoos that last about three days. The skin would be material for magical items, and the gallbladder and blood would be the base for elixirs.

Among these, the elixirs and magical items would form a set that would temporarily transform Kart into a bear.

Yes, in the end, the best choice we could make was to [Turn Kart into a bear].

I’d like it if he could grow and climb the evolutionary ladder twice, but if it were that easy, we wouldn’t be agonizing over this.

Since magical items are ultimately objects made based on magic, they put a burden on the user, so our choices were limited.

Considering Kart’s abilities, we didn’t think he could catch a bear just by having slightly better equipment.

In the end, the fundamental difference in physical abilities was the problem, so this was the result of deciding to go in the direction of solving this.

The core of this plan is to ensure safety by slightly increasing physical abilities beyond that of a bear by drawing battle tattoos.

“Are these really your ancestors?”
“That’s a bit harsh.”

Karakt said this while smiling bitterly. He probably thought this was too much himself, but he couldn’t bring himself to curse his ancestors with his own mouth.

No matter how uncivilized this other world is, it’s not so uncivilized as to blame even a child.

Among those ancestors, there must have been the previous chief, that is, Kart’s grandfather, but how many old-fashioned people were there to advocate for guilt by association?

“So, is there a bear nearby?”
“We need to go a bit further.”

Grumbling like this won’t change the spilled milk. We just need to quietly catch a bear and make it into elixirs and magical items to make Kart’s coming-of-age ceremony successful.

“Is this area its hunting ground?”
“That’s right. We don’t even come near here unless there’s something special.”

Well, with that abnormal sense of smell, it would chase us, so if we don’t want to die, we shouldn’t approach.

“Is this one the oldest?”
“Hmm―. It’s the one that has lived the longest in this area.”

Whether it’s elixirs or magical items, making them from a long-lived creature increases their effectiveness, so it would be the best material. It will be that much harder to catch, but if we’re going to do it, we should do it with the best.

“Just in case, the ancestors won’t suddenly change the goal after we catch this one, right?”
“Even if the ancestors don’t approve of Kart, they won’t do something so dishonorable.”

Well, from what I see, there might be at least one who would make a fuss saying this is cheating…

‘If it comes to that, we’ll have to overturn the ceremony itself.’

As I was carefully calculating the backlash of interfering with the ceremony while advancing through the forest, a chilling sensation brushed my spine.

“…Karakt!”
“Whoa―!”

It’s not a distance visible to the eye. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my sense of smell.

Grass smell, grass smell, earth smell… rabbit droppings smell, and a faint beast’s stench.

“It’s coming.”

The smell came from the front, but nothing was visible except trees. The dense forest reflected in my deeply sunken eyes.

Thud… Crack…

The faint sound of something breaking brushed my ears.

Thud― Boom―

The sound of trees breaking was now clearly audible, and I could see something small falling.

Thud―! Thud―! Cra―ck―!

And then suddenly.

Grooar―!

A beast so large that I wondered how I hadn’t seen it until now appeared before us, completely destroying the trees blocking its path.