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Chapter 20: The Dawn of Human Life (2)
Chapter 20: The Dawn of Human Life (2)
Chapter 20: The Dawn of Human Life (2)
After becoming capable of bipedal walking, humans were able to acquire two types of weapons.
One was the two hands capable of holding tools.
Instead of having sharp teeth or claws, holding long tools allowed them to attack other animals from a safer distance.
Especially, throwing objects like stones as a form of long-distance attack enabled them to hunt much larger animals.
The other weapon was the endurance to run long distances continuously.
Humans, having acquired remarkable endurance instead of instantaneous speed, hunted other animals by following them until they were exhausted.
This also significantly expanded human territories by increasing their range of movement.
Thus, with these two weapons, the population of humans, as a species, exploded.
This might seem like a good situation, but unfortunately, reality is harsh.
The overcrowded population led to problems with limited food, living areas, and so on.To alleviate the unbearable population, some human groups began to expel members.
Well, it's only natural. They hadn't even started farming yet. Fruits from trees weren't always in season, and they weren't always successful in hunting.
Moreover, they could lose their prey or even their lives if they encountered dangerous predators during hunting.
Of course, if they were lucky, they could get a two-for-one deal on prey! But such cases were extremely rare. Usually, it ended with giving up on the prey.
Anyway, humans expelled from their groups began to scatter around the world.
Some couldn't survive the harsh environments outside their groups and lost their lives, but not all humans met such a fate.
After all, life is about adapting and changing.
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When I first created slimes, I made them prone to frequent mutations and evolutions.
And magic is a power that brings about change in response to will.
When those two combined, creatures that had just emerged from the sea, like lizards, could undergo astonishing transformations into giant dinosaurs.
"This change is a bit unexpected."
I discovered a group of humans settled in a very cold forest.
There were about fifteen of them. It was a considerable number for wandering humans, but fortunately, it seemed they had enough food thanks to the abundant prey in the cold but rich environment.
But that's not what was important.
Humans.
Giant humans.
Humans that had grown two to three times larger than other humans.
I really don't know if these creatures have a tendency to grow at any opportunity. Seriously.
Their significantly increased size meant they needed much more food, making it a bit difficult to sustain the group... But the environment was rich enough, except for the cold, so maybe it didn't matter much.
The sight of giants pulling out trees to use as clubs and hunting large animals looked more like human-shaped monsters than humans.
Actually, looking at their current behavior, it hardly feels like they possess intelligence.
Is it that if you have a huge and powerful body, you don't need intelligence? Or is it the result of focusing all the necessary elements for evolution and mutation on physical enhancement?
Well, either way, it doesn't really matter. Having such giants is a uniqueness in itself.
Oh, and perhaps influenced by these giants, the animals around here also started to increase in size.
It might be the judgment that having a giant body, like the giants, is more beneficial for survival than a small body that could be crushed with a single blow.
I was really surprised to see a deer as big as a giant. Of course, the deer's head was smashed by the giant's wooden club.
For wild animals living in the fierce wilderness, weight and size were sufficient strengths on their own, but the food needed to maintain that size was a problem, so it was fortunate that the population was small.
I wondered if releasing such large creatures would cause chaos, but surprisingly, they didn't spread far, seemingly heavily influenced by their environment.
What was it... Ah, search search. The thing about animals growing larger in colder environments... Bergmann's Rule? The tendency for animals to increase in size in cold environments? Anyway.
I'm not sure if the same principle applies in this world.
During the era of dinosaurs, there were no spirits, so the overall environment was warm. Perhaps it was thanks to the varied environments created by the spirits that I was able to witness such a scene.
Anyway, that's enough giant-watching for now. I need to look around other places, can't stay here forever.
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A giant is a sub-race that is three times the size of an average human.
Although slightly lower in intelligence, they are capable of communication to some extent and can be excellent workers if given proper compensation.
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However, one must be careful. Never anger a giant.
A giant throwing rocks and swinging trees is truly a force to be reckoned with. Even dozens of veteran adventurers would struggle to face a giant.
But a slightly civilized giant can become a good companion, physically destroying obstacles in an adventurer's path.
Many have coveted the powerful strength of giants, but unfortunately, all such attempts have failed.
The reasons are varied, including their reluctance to leave their homeland and their inability to use their full strength if the temperature rises slightly.
The biggest reason was their intelligence, not understanding long-term contracts.
It wouldn't be strange to say that an army led by giants would not exist unless the god of wisdom bestowed wisdom upon them.
- A Guide for Adventurers Exploring the World.
Chapter on sub-race. The Giants
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Humans scattered across the world in search of a way to live.
Primitive races that could be called human first appeared in three places, the north, east, and southwest of the continent.
The giants I saw earlier were humans who had split off from a group in the north.
"Kyaaooong!!!"
"Take it easy."
I grabbed and pressed down the back of the neck of a bipedal large cat that was trying to bite me.
Perhaps because I was wandering around in human form, wild animals kept attacking me. It's quite troublesome.
If I wandered around in my dragon form... it would definitely cause chaos.
Annoying, but unavoidable.
"Kyaaaang..."
"Looking at me with those eyes won't make me let you go."
A bipedal large cat. Moreover, its front paws were becoming like human hands.
A very suspicious cat.
Well, if monkeys living in trees could come down to the ground and become primitive humans and giants, there's no law saying other animals can't transform into humans.
Lizardmen were originally dinosaurs but transformed into human forms out of admiration for dragons.
It's not strange for other animals to be influenced by humans and change.
And the result was this furry bipedal large cat in my hand.
In other words, a cat beastman.
The term "furry" naturally comes to mind. Hmm. Suspicious, suspicious.
Of course, it's not just cats that are like this, which is quite a peculiar feeling.
There were werewolves, as commonly seen in fantasy, and creatures with the heads of cows or pigs scattered around the world.
I'm a bit worried that bipedal animals might push humans out and take over the land.
"Kyaaooong..."
The human-shaped cat began to look up with unnecessarily sparkling eyes.
I wouldn't be scratched or bitten by their claws or teeth, but I'm a bit worried about other humans.
Their intelligence is still at the level of beasts, but if they evolve to become as smart as humans, they might surely harm humans.
I sighed softly and threw the bipedal human-shaped cat far away.
If humans evolve a bit more, I should give them a little gift.
I wanted to avoid direct involvement, but I didn't want to see humans decline and be overtaken by other creatures.
After all, even in a world with dragons and lizardmen, humans should still be the main focus.
It would be quite nice to see a world where various sub-races harmonize with humans as the main axis.
Let's see. What would be a good first gift?
That decision was quickly made.
What humans need now is all too clear.
Alright. It's time to become the Prometheus of this world.
Let's gift fire to humans.