Some consider it an infectious disease designed to destroy intelligent beings, while others believe it to be a terrible curse born of moonlight and wilderness.
For countless years, its origins have been hotly debated.
A twisted creation of a whimsical, mad mage from ancient times, an evil plot devised by the Divine to spread faith and cultivate offspring...
It is undeniable that to this day,
"Beastification" has become one of the most terrifying and fearsome terms on the Aifala Continent.
It can transform a normal, healthy intelligent being into a bloodthirsty beast devoid of reason.
And the method of infection does not require any complex rituals or lengthy prayers.
As long as you are harmed by a beastman, this invisible and intangible horrifying curse silently invades your bloodstream, gradually eroding your body and mind over time.
Eyes emitting an unusual glow in the darkness, increasingly sharp canine teeth, suddenly sprouting thick beast-like fur...
Under the moonlight, it won’t be long before you become a wild, upright beastman with savage animal traits, as if uncivilized.
Of course, there may be some individuals who can, through their own will or the specific traits of a curse variant, resist the erosion of their sanity by the curse.
And even after becoming a beastman, they retain the reason and cognition they had before the transformation.
But they still need to be cautious of those bright moonlit nights.
Having lingered at the White Sparrow for so long, Xia Nan would sit in the tavern every day listening to the adventurers around bragging and chatting.
He had some understanding of this curse.
Knew roughly how it affected ordinary people and had heard several related incidents of uncertain truth.
It was about a few unlucky adventurers who got infected during a mission, fell ill upon returning, and went on a rampage in their village, or so the stories went.
He originally regarded it as a casual topic of conversation among drinkers and hadn’t paid it much attention.
Now, with Harriet’s mention of it, the clues in his mind began to faintly come together.
"Adventurers returning halfway through Hunting Day," "bandages wrapped around them," "the smell of herbs all over," "beast howls in the dead of night," "the missing Buck"...
The sheriff’s deduction seemed correct.
All the signs indicated that Buck had gotten infected with Beastification during his adventure in the Mist Forest, lost his sanity when the curse took hold, and attacked his family.
Now, for Xia Nan, the next steps were simple.
Find him, and kill him.
If Buck hasn’t left Neum yet...
Once the mission target was roughly confirmed to be Buck, who had contracted Beastification.
What Xia Nan naturally had to do first was to track down his whereabouts.
According to Harriet’s description of that night, Buck had broken through the glass of the back window and escaped before the guards arrived.
And with Neum being so large, if he was determined to hide, finding a place to hole up among the countless small paths, alleys, and ruin shack houses in the Lower City District, Xia Nan feared he might not catch a glimpse of him even after wandering the city for two years.
Therefore, he could only approach from other angles to see if there were any clues worth investigating.
Fortunately, the girl named Harriet by his side, though she usually stayed home living a life overturned like a modern young person of the prior world, thanks to her parents’ inheritance, as neighbors, she also often interacted with Buck’s family.
Typically, during the afternoon when she woke up to look for food, she would have a chat with Buck and others who had just finished their afternoon snacks and were out for a walk.
Over many years, she more or less knew several places this part-time adventurer frequently visited.
——The "Iron Bucket Toad" tavern was one of them.
Standing on the street, Xia Nan cast his gaze around.
Not exactly a wealthy area, the surrounding environment was even worse than Grey Tree Lane where Harriet resided.
The scattered litter exuded a faint stench, and unknown sewage formed puddles of various sizes on the uneven road.
Every so often, in the shadows of the alleyways on the street, Xia Nan could spot a few disheveled and desolate figures.
The overall environment was nearly indistinguishable from the slums of the Lower City District.
However, since entering Neum with the caravan, this was the first time Xia Nan saw more than three people dressed as adventurers at once.
Although far less prosperous and lively than River Valley Town, the "Iron Bucket Toad" managed to attract a large number of adventurers from Neum City relying on the reputation it had accumulated over the years.
Watching the adventurers coming and going in front of the tavern, clad in various armors and bearing weapons, Xia Nan suddenly felt a sense of returning to River Valley Town.
As the tavern’s name suggested, its sign bore a simple illustration of a sneaky toad poking its head out of an upturned iron bucket.
He pushed the door open.
The soft clatter enveloped him in a warm flow tinged with the rich aroma of alcohol and food.
Xia Nan could clearly feel, as he entered the tavern, numerous gazes, some concealed, some not, falling upon him from all directions.
After a brief pause on his youthful face, the gazes quickly retracted when they noticed the longsword behind him and the fine chain armor he wore.
Long accustomed to it, he maintained a cold and expressionless demeanor on his face.