Parallel (A Virtual Gamer's Story) [Vol.1 - Vol.4 Complete]

Chapter 109: Serisis (1)

The country, Serisis, was a peculiar land, even for a continent filled with dragons and magic. Some claimed the country was cursed; others said a god was slain on the land, and its blood destroyed the earth. Others said its current state resulted from a punishment from the gods for a sin long forgotten.

Whatever the reason, despite the country's poverty, no one had bothered trying to conquer it.

The reason for this peculiarity lay in the soil.

The lands of Serisis could not bear fruit. That's right, not even the most tenacious of weeds could grow on the earth. In return, the region's mana density was much thicker than other countries, even slightly higher than the concentration in Jatakem, which was rumored to be blessed by gods.

Perhaps as a direct consequence of this, the beasts in the land evolved such that they lived off of the abundant mana, only choosing to kill and feed when they felt peckish, or they sensed a territorial threat. These beasts, which freely roamed the land, gained the ability to use magic and were henceforth known as mana beasts (mabeasts for short).

Over time, some mabeasts migrated to other countries, which led to the spread of mabeasts all over the continent. Still, everyone knew the birthplace and best location to hunt mabeasts remained the lands of Serisis, which were later nicknamed 'Badlands' by adventurers since there was no foliage in sight for miles.

The land of Serisis was also famous for one other thing. It was the hypothetical birthplace of Beastmen. Some theorized that the mabeasts, after reaching a certain level, gained the ability to switch to human form, a theory strongly supported by the Elder Dragons' ability to achieve a human form.

This theory was further strengthened by the density of beast men in this country, which easily surpassed other countries by over ten times. Furthermore, the number of races that possessed intelligence dwarfed the other countries by at least five times.

Unfortunately, there were very few pure-blooded races of the Chetah and feline classes left. Most of the races belonged to the canine class and a few other races which had beaten the evolution race like the capricious hares, raccoons, and tenacious mouse. Of course, these races preferred to be called hares, Rakus (raki), and Midus (midi).

These smaller races were far fewer in number compared to the canine races, so they tended not to leave the borders of the country.

Oh. There was also the lomu (mole) race that lived underground. But you could go two lifetimes without ever encountering one, so they do not matter.

Without plants, this country of Beastmen and humans were forced to learn how to hunt mabeasts to fill their stomachs. Luckily the density of the mana strengthened those born in the country, and hunting low-level mana beasts did not prove too difficult.

To ensure the country of meat-eaters did not starve, the Crown created a system to regulate the number of beasts slain daily Commoner families hunted low-level mabeasts while soldiers and nobles hunted higher level mabeasts. The higher-level mabeasts' usually larger sizes and more filling portions offset their lesser numbers.

This system prevented nobles and soldiers from killing off the lower-leveled beasts that the commoners depended on for survival. All in all, it was a sustainable system, one that held even when adventurers from other countries visited to expand their horizons or hunt specific beasts for a quest or reward.

Or, at least it should have been.

Nearly a year back now, the Summoned returned to Dreiza, and with them came destruction, especially to Serisis. The Summoned, who followed no code of conduct nor obeyed any rules laid out by countries, obliterated the low-leveled mabeast population to near-extinct levels as they rewarded bonus EXP and better materials compared to the ordinary beasts found in other beginner areas.