The Beastman Tribe used the fur, blood, bones, or sharp fangs and claws of the magical beasts they hunted to trade with merchant caravans, receiving only a few necessities in return. But when the merchants took these items back outside, they were said to be goods that every noble fought over.
Underground to the west of the Illusory Dream Continent lived a tribe of Dwarves. Their iron products were incredibly exquisite, a level of craftsmanship unattainable by humans. A weapon made by a dwarf commanded a sky-high price, and there was never enough supply.
In the eyes of the people from the two Eastern and Western continents, the races of the Illusory Dream Continent were both fierce and barbaric, but how was it not also a pristine golden land waiting to be developed?
It was a pity that such immense power lived in such misery. Especially the Snow Wolf Tribe, who neither raised livestock nor cultivated crops, relying solely on hunting to live. The entire tribe's method of survival was still quite primitive.
It seemed that, let alone restoring the standard of living from the modern world, even just achieving a comfortable life would be a very long road ahead.
Eric thought helplessly. First, he had to find a way to fill his and Leo's stomachs. He really wasn't good at hunting; at most, he had fired a few shots in a game of PUBG.
He led Leo towards a forest he remembered.
Along the way, they met a few beastmen. Because the original owner, aside from clinging to Max, rarely interacted with others in the tribe, these beastmen, though very surprised to see him out with Leo, did not strike up a conversation with him.
Eric pretended to be calm and nodded at these people as a greeting, while his heart was utterly shocked. These Snow Wolf people, regardless of gender, were all over 1.9 meters tall. Furthermore, because each person basically only wore a single animal hide—with women just wrapping an extra one on top—everyone's abdominal muscles were exposed, even the women's.
The women had abs too!
And they were huge, an eight-pack!
And those rippling biceps. He finally understood why beastmen didn't discriminate against homosexuals. What was the difference, anyway?
He held Leo's hand, still a little scared. Only now did he truly understand that he and Leo were indeed still young.
Looking at this height difference, it was truly too vast. It was one thing for him to be congenitally weak, but Leo was still small; he couldn't let the little one fail to grow tall as well. After all, in the Snow Wolf Tribe, 1.8 meters was considered short.
His Leo would one day become a prince and a king; he couldn't lose out on presence due to his height.
But then again, the appearance of the Snow Wolf beastmen was quite superior. Their hair was all silver-white, their features were well-defined, and combined with their exceptional height, every one of them looked like a supermodel.
Actually, in the Snow Wolf Tribe, he was still a cub. After all, he was only ten years older than Leo, at most just a slightly bigger cub. So, his height could definitely still increase.
In the forest next to the tribe, there were no dangerous prey. The instincts of wild beasts did not allow them to come near. It was just that while the two of them were bent over gathering firewood, an animal resembling a pheasant ran out, only it was three sizes larger than a pheasant.
When the pheasant appeared, Eric felt something in his bloodline awaken. He silently transformed into his beast form, lowered his body, shot out like an arrow, and bit into the pheasant's neck.
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey." Eric used his claws to scrape at his tongue. The smell of blood was too strong, especially now that his sense of smell seemed particularly sharp.
He happily held up the pheasant in his hand and said to Leo, "We have fresh meat to eat tonight!"
Leo's eyes sparkled. Remembering the dried meat he had just eaten, he nodded his head vigorously in delight.
Without any rope, Eric found a sturdy vine, tied up the firewood the two had gathered, and carried it on his back. With a large pheasant in his left hand and leading Leo with his right, he walked back imposingly.
In the original owner's memory, his body was congenitally weak, lacking the strength of his tribesmen. But as Eric saw it, this body was truly much stronger than his old one.
Although this forest was said to be not far from the tribe, it was still several miles away. He and Leo had walked such a long distance at a brisk pace without feeling tired, and he even felt incredibly strong.
This large bundle of firewood weighed over ten kilograms, but he carried it effortlessly, even feeling that it was light. He thought with a bit of pride that it seemed supporting himself and Leo wouldn't be a problem.
Alright, he shouldn't speak too soon. The tribe was located on a plain, and once out of the forest, one could see the tribe from a distance.
From afar, the two saw a dozen or so giant wild beasts being carried into the tribe by large, silver-white snow wolves, followed by the faint sound of cheering.
"The hunting party is back," Leo said. "That biggest magical beast must have been hunted by Max."
Eric froze in the wind. You people call this mountain of meat prey? And also, are the beast forms of adult snow wolves really that big?
So far, he had only seen his own and Leo's beast forms, and he felt that the two of them combined weren't even as big as one of their paws.
If he and Leo also grew up to be that big in the future, how much would they have to eat in one meal?