Chapter: 201
What is the most essential thing for life?
Continuing one’s lineage, creating a stable living environment to survive, those are important, too.
But surely, the most important thing is… well, eating, isn’t it?
Lineage? It’s essential for maintaining a species, but a life won’t immediately die without it.
Maintaining a living space? That helps in living stably, sure, but it’s not essential. There are creatures that move and don’t settle in one place.
Compared to that… food. That’s directly related to sustaining life.
Even if everything is chaos, as long as there’s food… life can continue.
Thus…
“First, the first contest is…”
“The first contest? Then… does that mean there’s a second contest as well?”
Goma’s question. Hmm, I guess I need to explain that.
“I plan to hold three contests, and the side that wins two first will be the victor. If it ends at one, the losing side might not easily accept it.”
Hearing this, Goma and Hwan nodded as if they agreed.
“Alright then, let’s revert the conversation back to food procurement.”
“Food procurement?”
At my words, Goma, Hwan, and even the chieftains of each tribe they brought along all asked in unison.
“Right. Food procurement. Considering your skills, it shouldn’t be too difficult, right? Oh, if you think you can’t do it, just say so. I’ll change it to something else.”
Of course, I need to think of another contest, which is a bit of a hassle. I haven’t decided on the last one yet, either.
“Y-Yes! Food procurement is our specialty!”
“I can hunt, too.”
Goma and Hwan took a step forward, glaring at each other as if they couldn’t afford to lose.
The chieftains of both tribes looked deeply contemplative at their display, but…
“I can’t lose to this foolish bear!”
“I don’t want to lose to someone more beast than human!”
Seeing them fired up like this, I didn’t want to intervene.
“Then let’s make the rules simple. Let’s see…”
I looked around before creating a clean cloth and spreading it beside the rock I’m sitting on.
“With this rock as the benchmark, Goma collects food on the left cloth, and Hwan uses the right cloth. The collected food should be piled here directly… But remember, you must gather food using only your own strength without assistance from others. And…”
I took out a watch from my pocket to check the current time.
“It’s about 6 PM now. You have until this time tomorrow to gather food, and we’ll weigh it to determine who collected more. However, if you mix in anything that’s inedible, that counts as a foul loss.”
“6 PM?”
Oh, right. It seems they’re not very good at guessing the current time. Most people estimate it vaguely.
I formed a small fireball with my fingertips and shot it high into the sky, where it burst like fireworks.
With the sky now dimming, the bright explosion will surely be visible from a distance.
“When the firework goes off, return immediately. Anything you bring back after it explodes will not be counted, so remember that.”
If they get greedy and try to gather more just before returning… well, they’ll miss out on what they have.
Rules are rules, after all.
At this, Goma cautiously raised a hand and asked,
“Is anything edible considered acceptable?”
“Hmm, aside from poisonous or harmful types, everything else is fine. That should make things simple enough, right?”
I aimed for the simplest rules possible.
“Is it alright to use any means necessary to procure food?”
“Sure. Hunting, gathering, fishing… but no raiding.”
I didn’t want them stealing from others and taking what someone else collected under the pretense of raiding.
“Now, then… Let’s begin!”
At my shout, Goma and Hwan dashed off as quickly as possible to gather food.
Now, let’s…
“Chieftains of both tribes, it’s time to talk.”
I smiled at the chieftains.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Hwan, the Tiger Beastman, utilized his abilities to the fullest and hunted down plenty of game.
He would return with large and heavy hunts such as deer with broken necks or squashed wild boars.
As he piled up his hunts, he glanced at what Goma had placed.
“Most of it seems to be fish…”
“Your skill in slapping fish right out of the water is rather impressive.”
He looked like a grizzly bear hunting salmon, which was truly amazing.
Plus, he also caught quite a number of small animals.
However…
“If it continues like this, I’ll win.”
“Right. That’s true.”
While Goma had many fish, the weight of the deer and wild boars was heavier.
If it stayed like this, Goma would be the one to lose.
“But I won’t let my guard down.”
After declaring this, Hwan set off again to hunt somewhere.
Hmm. Given the difference, letting one’s guard down seems understandable.
As for me, I can only watch until the results are determined.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Thus, the competition for food procurement proceeded.
“Alright, stop here! Anything not placed here won’t count!”
A large fire burst into the darkening sky, and the mood shifted between the two competitors.
Goma was busily gathering fish and small animals while Hwan was repeatedly bringing in big game.
“Gah…! I-I’m late!”
“That was close. Phew.”
Only after I set the timer did we know their victory or defeat.
Just before the last fire lit up the sky, Goma piled up a mountain of grass, while Hwan, who was carrying an enormous cow, ran out of time.
Had that cow made it to Hwan’s pile, his victory would have been assured… but now the situation was rather ambiguous.
Let’s weigh it, first.
I carefully tied up the cloth laid on the ground and fashioned a long rod.
Constructed from steel, I attached an unbreakable chain to the middle and set it against the weights on the side.
Then, I hung both competitors’ food bundles on either end and began to compare the weight.
“By a narrow margin, Goma takes the win.”
The rod tilted ever so slightly toward Goma’s bundle.
“I did it! I won!”
“Ugh… I lost…!”
The moment of victory and defeat arrived.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“Next, the contest will be about eating a lot. To be active, one must eat plenty!”
Eating a lot implies that the person possesses an abundance, making it a measure of wealth.
“Now that you both brought back so much food, let’s cook a feast and have a big eating competition.”
“Eating a lot?! I won’t lose!”
“Eating is my specialty!”
“Oh, and I plan to share whatever leftovers you can’t finish with others as well.”
In other words, I was planning to hold a grand feast.
“Others? Even though we didn’t gather too little food, I still worry it won’t be enough for everyone.”
“If it’s not enough, I’ll fill in the difference, so don’t worry.”
“Should I help as well?”
Asterios, who had been quietly following me, spoke up, but I gently shook my head.
“I’m fine by myself, so don’t mind it.”
I was planning to cook enough that it wouldn’t matter how much was consumed.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Thus, the eating competition began.
“I can’t eat anymore…”
“I won!”
Like a bear preparing for hibernation, Goma’s gluttony resulted in his victory.
But seriously, how can anyone gain that much weight in a single day? No matter how much a bear prepares for winter, they wouldn’t balloon up this fast! Even if he is a bear beastman!!
The mysteries of the human (or beastman) body… are astounding.
“I did make a bit too much… but that’s alright.”
“Since the tribe could eat their fill, it’s all the better!”
There was plenty of meat, plenty of fish, and plenty of dishes made from them.
All the leftover food was devoured by the tribe members, so there were no issues whatsoever.
“With this, it’s 1 win, 1 loss. Therefore… we must go to the final contest.”
The last contest will be… well, there’s nothing else I can do about it. I’ve contemplated and contemplated, but nothing else has come to mind.
It might be a tad unfair, but…
“For the last one… let’s determine the victor through endurance.”
Let’s see, do I have enough mugwort and garlic? Oh, wait, has garlic reached here yet?
Well, if it hasn’t, that doesn’t matter; I can always make it.
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