Hellbents
Chapter 47: The Village of the Cheetah Tribe

It takes high persuasion skills if one has to convince that whatever is on the mattress is a "red sweat", fortunately Ava has long been an accomplished fraudster. Everyone decided to believe. So did Dom, even though he was still grumbling, but his frustration was more to Ava occupying her sister's bed than how ridiculous Ava's excuse was.

Ava's reputation as a "boat fighter" made it easier for the girl to change mattresses, if she was a regular passenger, she was sure the ship's staff would have pummeled her with a rogue look.

But now River has a new topic. "Boans that are not necessarily successful must first be tested by experimental animals. Follow the safety procedures established by the Alchemist Tower. How can you take a potion that is still not clear of its effect?" Ava immediately transformed into a car dashboard doll, just nodding at every word River uttered.

"What do you want to make potions for?" Ib asked after he drank his black coffee for breakfast.

Ava had several days of trying dozens of recipes in Eve's journal, a third of which were successful, but she instead turned up a bottle of EXP multiplier potion, all promoting her store in [System]. "It just worked, a potion to make it easier for us to level up, twice as fast, guaranteed!"

River shook his head, feeling like he had seen the bottle. The faces of Ib and Dom are riddled with skepticism. While Lorah widened in astonishment, his eyes widened and sparkled, in his shadow even the potion was highlighted by light.

***

"Because you are our family looked down upon by the villagers!" A tall slender man bellowed beaveringly, the yellow-haired little girl with a black tootle who was his target just fell silent, rumbling under the table with a trembling body.

"Hey, watch your talk!" Although almost identical, another man who is easier instinctively chooses to protect his sister.

"You must speak politely to an older person!"

Lorah sunk her face to her knees, curled up tightly, making her originally small body even smaller. He wants to disappear. He wants to run.

"That boy should have changed completely! Why is it still like that?!"

"Lorah! Name's Lorah! And my sister is perfectly normal!"

"He's a cripple!"

Dom immediately lunged at the man before him, his nails coming out to claw, but his opponent attacked back. The two men were struggling on the floor, one second Dom was above, the other second he was crushed. Each other scratching, growling, and biting.

Smelling the smell of blood, Lorah's breathing grew increasingly irregular.

He knew very well that he was strange.

Children his age had managed to transform between humans and cheetahs as they pleased, only Lorah was left behind. He is human, but he still has a tail, yellow feathers, and black dots.

There was no day he did not practice, every second he was sweating, but the results were still the same. It cannot transform.

Maybe his uncle was right.

He's disabled.

Is useless.

... A mutant.

The ice needle felt piercing one corner of his chest, cold, empty.

Dom, who was in his cheetah form, was covered in claw wounds, but he won, his muzzle filled with red liquid grinning. Still breathless, yet he was satisfied. The jerk who knew nothing about his sister made a casual comment. What uncle, he was just a useless man who followed along famous for their dead parents.

Their father and mother were the proud warriors of the village, the strongest and fastest reliable couple. Unfortunately, in the outbreak that occurred two years ago, an "accident" occurred, claiming the lives of both.

As the village soldiers fought the 5-meter-tall minotaur monster, a herd of people from the bear tribe suddenly attacked. The bear tribe from the past weeks often searched for trouble, but they attacked just as the soldiers were already overwhelmed busy defending themselves. And the only person who survived the incident was their uncle.

Any luck? It's nonsense. Dom still believes that this bastard must be hiding in the forest when everyone is fighting, or worse working with the bear tribe to attack his own tribe.

Of course the man felt unsafe.

Every cheetah upholds their honor.

Obviously he had a strong motivation to get rid of his older brother.

But his uncle was ingenious, right after the funeral was held, with crocodile tears flowing, he said he would take care of the two children the couple left in front of the villagers who sobbed to hear it.

But living with his uncle feels to live with a demon in one roof. There was a complaint issued by his uncle with a loud snatch. The two of them, especially Lorah, were treated like slaves, told this that, they were forbidden to refuse. To argue means a lash.

Just remembering that it made Dom's chest hot, he wanted to scream.

He and Lorah must get out of this hell. Fortunately, over the years, Dom has raised little by little money to equip them to escape.

After that no more uncles like to bully them when bored.

And no more villagers would say, "Thank you to your uncle, it's good that someone would take mutants like your brother."

Fuck'em. What mutant?! Lorah was a sweet, obedient, and loving sister. And he's normal!

After drowning in anger, Dom now calms down, his heart beating regularly, his form returning to being human. However, his heart slipped while looking. His sister lay unconscious under the kitchen table.

"Dark!" Dom immediately greeted, almost tripping over the fucking carpet. "Dark!" His sister's eyes were closed, her breathing short and messy, with a chest thump that was too fast. Dom's hands were also wet from sweat.

The darkest corner in his mind whispered, his sister is going to die. "No! You can't leave me either!"

Dom clutched Lorah's small body as tightly as he could, swaying back and forth, just like a cradle.

This is the place that hurt his sister.

They should escape. Nowow.

At that time Dom took the origin of the clothes in their closet, filling his inventory with food. After that out of the village as fast as his human form ran, with Lorah's hot body in an embrace.

Unfortunately, the outside world is no better than life in the village.

Every chatty person fussed over their different race of humans.

The path of a beastman is not easy.

They are often regarded as lowly creatures by humans.

Dom and Lorah only knew one beastman who was publicly praised.

It was because of their status as rankers.

Someone with a high level.

If the rest of the world is telling you, you just need to be strong to make them shut themselves up.

So if what Ava said was true, their path to becoming a ranker would be made easier.