Chapter 199

“Well, all sorts of things happened, but Tia and Asterios didn’t stop walking.”

“Descending from the rugged mountains, passing through the dense jungle, and even when Asterios got stuck in the swamp and was having trouble, I couldn’t help but smile a little. We kept moving forward.”

“To Asterios, who had been trapped in the dark maze, everything seemed wondrous, and the smile at the corner of his mouth never faded.”

“I didn’t know the world was this vast.”

“Seems like coming out of the maze was a good decision, huh?”

“Yeah. Really, thank you, Tia.”

“Asterios, with a gentle smile that belied his massive size—it was as if his eyes held starlight.”

“Our children were once this innocent too… it’s kind of nostalgic.”

“Hmm. Anyway, reminiscing about the past is enough. First of all, we need to keep moving forward.”

“I didn’t expect the sky to look this close.”

“Hmm. With clouds beneath our feet, it’s true. Though it’s lower than Sagarmatha.”

“The place we are now… hmm, no, since another continent has appeared, calling it the world feels insufficient.”

“At the center of this continent, a bit further east, lies a large mountain range. We’re on the highest peak of that range.”

“We’ve crossed several mountains since arriving here, but this one’s pretty high too.”

“Not as high as Sagarmatha though!”

“It feels like the stars are right above my head, shining so vividly.”

“Hmm. The starlight dazzles.”

“The new moon, hiding its face. In the night sky without the brightest moon, countless stars shine brightly.”

“This sea of stars surpasses the night sky I remember.”

“The constellations differ from those of the other world, but the starlight here is beautiful nonetheless.”

“Hmm… So, are this world and the other world completely separate? Or do they feel like different planets? Or maybe something else is at play, making it an altered Earth?”

“Well, it doesn’t really matter, but sometimes I wonder.”

“Why do the stars shine?”

“You mean the stars?”

“Yeah. I’m curious what lies beyond their light.”

“Hmm. While pulling out astronomical knowledge is a bit troublesome, I’ll give you a brief explanation.”

“Each of these starlights represents the light of another world.”

“Another world’s light?”

“Yes. Like this world, like this planet, there are other worlds’ lights. Some worlds emit their own light, while others reflect the light of another sun.”

“Another world’s light…”

“Among this dazzling sea of stars, could there be Earth’s light?”

“I don’t know. It would be nice if there was.”

“If it exists… Hmm. Maybe I should visit someday.”

“While I occasionally soothe some nostalgia by peeking at the internet from over there, it still feels lacking compared to going there directly.”

“Besides, the flow of time seems quite different between here and there. Hmm.”

“Other worlds… do they exist?”

“Yeah, they do. They exist.”

“Since I am human from that other world, I can’t deny it.”

“Hmm. But if Earth is somewhere out there in the universe… Could I find it?”

“Though I have a body that doesn’t require breathing, can it withstand space? Hmm… Hmm.”

“Still, I think I could endure it. Even though I haven’t tried yet.”

“Other worlds… Just exploring this world makes my heart race. How incredible must other worlds be?”

“They will surely look completely different from this one.”

“I smiled lightly as I watched Asterios, whose eyes sparkled.”

“It’d be nice if I could show him, but it’s a bit disappointing that I can’t.”

“Considering how much joy Asterios gets just from the scenery of this world, he’d probably be thrilled to see another one.”

“Hmm. Maybe I should try creating a way to observe or travel to other dimensions.”

“Even if not me, someone might come up with it eventually. Another world would need thorough management, after all.”

“With that thought, Asterios and I continued our journey.”

“By the way, is there a decent tiger around here?”

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

An old saying goes:

“In ancient times, children feared calamities like Ho Hwan Mama and war… Hmm, this isn’t an old saying, is it?”

“Anyway, the term ‘Ho Hwan’ existed because countless tigers in the Korean Peninsula caused many people harm back then.”

“That means there were countless tigers in the Korean Peninsula at the time.”

“There were similar terrains in this world too, located at the eastern end of the world.”

“The city-states where I met Yama, located in the eastern part of the world—there might be some good tigers there, which is why I came here.”

“By the way, there were no islands like Japan. For some reason. Will they rise someday? Or will other islands drift here?”

“Anyway, during the journey to the eastern edge of the world…”

KWAH-AANG!!!

“With a loud roar, a giant tree falling in the distance caught our eyes.”

“Hmm. What’s happening? Is a powerful monster causing chaos?”

I glanced at Asterios, who was following behind me, and he nodded slightly.

“Curious, let’s go check it out.”

With a light gesture of my hand, both Asterios and I soared into the sky.

And upon arriving…

“HOOOAAAARRR!”

“ROAAARRR!”

Two beastmen were attacking each other, swinging their hands and feet.

“Hmm. One has round ears on his head and a robust physique, likely a bear beastman… and the other looks more tiger-like, walking on two legs, almost like a suspicious tiger beastman.”

“Now fall already!!”

“KYAAAAAHHH!”

The bear beastman, wielding immense power, swung his fists and destroyed the surroundings, while the tiger beastman darted around nimbly, slashing with sharp claws.

Their skills seem evenly matched, as the fierce battle showed no signs of ending.

Because of this, the surrounding terrain was being devastated.

“That’s…”

“Hmm. They’re having fun fighting, but we should stop them for now.”

“Yeah.”

I lightly descended between the two, catching the attacks they swung.

With my left hand, I gripped the bear beastman’s fist, and with my right, I locked hands with the tiger beastman, halting their assault.

“Enough. Stop.”

Then, with a slight squeeze of my hands, their bodies slammed into the ground. Hmm. As expected, this level of attack is trivial.

“GRRGH!”

“GGRRR…”

Hmm. Good. They’re subdued simply.

“I don’t know what the situation is, but stop fighting and let’s talk.”

“HIIEEEK!”

“GURKK…!”

The two strong beastmen were left gasping for breath at my sudden appearance.

“Bear and tiger. Instead of fighting here, why don’t you go inside a cave and eat mugwort and garlic?”

“Hmm? Mugwort? Garlic?”

“There’s such a thing.”

Asterios, who landed afterward, looked perplexed, but I brushed it off casually.

“GRRRRR. Preparing ambushes is cowardly!”

“Ambush?! Do you think I’m such a cowardly beastman?! On the contrary, your tribe prepared them!”

“Never!”

Leaving us aside, the bear and tiger continued bickering.

Hmm. Hmm. Hmm.

Alright.

“For whatever reason, stop fighting and sit down.”

With a flick of my index finger toward the ground, the bear and tiger beastmen collapsed as if pressed down by an invisible force.

“GRRUUUUGH…”

“Monst… Monster…!”

“Don’t call me a monster. Tch.”

You’re a suspicious tiger beastman talking, you know.

“Just a traveler passing by. Heard some noise and came to investigate, only to find quite the commotion.”

I calmly addressed the two sitting on the ground.

“Let’s hear your story.”

Upon realizing I posed no immediate threat, the expressions of fear on the bear and tiger softened somewhat.

Alright, let’s hear the tale behind this blood-soaked fight.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

The story of the bear and tiger was simple.

The bear tribe, descending from the northwest snowfields, and the tiger tribe, who had lived here long before.

Naturally, friction arose between the two tribes meeting, escalating into big and small fights, deepening emotional rifts until…

They believed continuing this way would lead to war, with one tribe eventually annihilating the other. Thus, the chieftains of both tribes decided to join hands.

That was good. That was fine, but…

“Our bear tribe is larger in number, so we should be the center of the integration!”

“No! Our tiger tribe has lived here originally, and our individuals are stronger! We should be the center!!”

This became the issue—arguing over which tribe should take precedence in the merger.

At least they stopped outright warfare, which could be considered a relief, but conflict remained.

Both tribes decided to settle it by pitting representatives against each other, with the victor’s tribe becoming the core of the integration.

“So, the two of you chosen as representatives were fighting?”

“Yes.”

The female bear beastman answered politely, while the tiger beastman silently nodded.

“But your strengths are nearly equal, aren’t they?”

Their fierce battle was so evenly matched that it was impossible to tell who would win, and as it stood, it could continue for decades without determining a winner.

“Yes. During the conflicts between the two tribes, we fought often enough to know each other’s skills and even minor habits thoroughly.”

The female tiger beastman merely nodded silently.

Hmm. If you know each other so well… wouldn’t that make deciding a winner impossible?

“So… will this fighting go on forever?”

“Actually, it’s been months. But neither of us is weaker than the other. Besides, only we can handle each other.”

“It’s getting tiresome…”

Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. So, this deadlock, huh.

Then… I wonder if it’s okay for an outsider to intervene in such a situation.

“In this case, how about settling the match in a slightly different manner?”

Shall I interject here?