#919 Those Who Responded to the Exam Part 3

The name’s Corey.

I look human, but... not quite human.

I’m what you’d call a therianthrope.

There’s been a long-standing debate about whether therianthropes are human or not.

Therianthropes started a long, long time ago.

Hundreds of years ago, humans had this spell to fuse humans and beasts.

And that’s how therianthropes were born—folks with human smarts but with beastly features.

Thanks to their animalistic abilities, therianthropes had an edge in battles.

So, they got drafted into wars against demons, and many were churned out for the front lines.

Mostly, the ones who were turned into therianthropes were criminals.

It was a deal of sorts – get turned into a therianthrope, survive the fight, and all’s forgiven.

Many therianthropes did survive, and their descendants are still kicking around today.

That brings us to us, the current generation of therianthropes.

The spell for making new therianthropes is lost to time, so our numbers are dwindling.

All the therianthropes around now are descendants of those first-gen hybrids.

With each generation, the beastly blood dilutes a bit more.

 Some of us barely show signs of our beastly heritage, while others hit the genetic jackpot and look more beast than man.

As someone with diluted blood, I was born a wolf therianthrope, yet my appearance hardly differs from that of a human.

At most, I sport dog-like ears and a tail, but aside from that, I’m indistinguishable from any regular human.

Still, my birth caused quite a stir in the family.

Both my parents were human through and through. Dad suspected Mom of cheating, but Mom denied it, and a huge fight ensued.

It was the village elder who calmed things down, saying that therianthrope genes could pop up in anyone, hidden in their lineage.

I only heard about all this later, though.

Nevertheless, the air was tense at home as I grew up. I could feel it, even as a kid.

Then my siblings came along with no ears and no tail, and my parents couldn’t have been more relieved.

They doted on my brother and sister, practically acting like I didn’t exist.

Times have changed, and discrimination against therianthropes has lessened.

But deep down, it’s still there.

Let’s start with the essence of being “part beast” – to the pure-blooded humans, it’s seen as a blemish. And given the historical aspect where humans fused with beasts were either criminals or slaves, it’s no wonder that a bit of beastly bias has stubbornly stuck around in people’s hearts.

Eventually, I couldn’t stand it anymore and left my village after hitting my teens.

Then again, I had no real plan in mind.

Back then, I thought therianthropes were looked down upon everywhere.

However, I discovered a world that flipped everything I knew.

The world of adventurers.

In this world, your birth and race don’t matter.

As long as you have the skill and achievements to back it up, you will be respected. Sure, it’s a life filled with danger, but the rewards are worth it.

In truth, when I discovered who occupied the pinnacle of adventurer society—the S-rank elites—I was stunned. Every bit of conventional wisdom I had assembled throughout my life shattered into a million pieces.

S-rank adventurer Silver Wolf.

S-rank adventurer Golden Bat.

S-rank adventurer Black Cat.

They were all therianthropes. Every single one of them.

Weren’t therianthropes always the outcasts, crawling below the very bottom of the social ladder?

Yet here we have them at the pinnacle, commanding sheer awe and respect.

Is this what the adventurer’s life is all about?

Learning this, I vowed to live my life as an adventurer.

With these ears and tail, a “normal” life was never in the cards for me.

If I could rise to the top based solely on merit as an adventurer, then that’s where I’d stake my all.

This was the path for me, no doubt about it.

But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried.

After all, my beastly gene is much fainter than those S-rank adventurers.

Both Lord Silver Wolf and Black Cat were paragons of beasts, their bodies sheathed in dense fur and faces the very image of wolves and tigers.

It goes without saying that they came equipped with rigid jaws and sharp fangs, tools of the trade that served them well in battle.

Compared to those powerhouses, my own beastly essence is rather weak.

My only nods to the animal kingdom are a pair of ears and a tail. These hardly contribute to my combat capabilities, leaving my physical prowess on par with the average humanoid.

Oh, how many times have I lamented my existence, stuck in this limbo.

In terms of utility, my furry ears and tail are absolutely useless.

Yet, even just that much is enough to mark me as a different breed, earning me a cold shoulder wherever I go.

Ultimately, I found myself in a perpetual state of mediocrity, with no redeeming qualities to speak of.

Despite also being a wolf therianthrope, I couldn’t help but curse my luck for not being born a perfect specimen like Lord Silver Wolf.

Even so, I made peace that there were no other paths in life for me and with a burning admiration for Lord Silver Wolf, a fellow wolf therianthrope who had reached the pinnacle of S-rank status.

With these two pillars of support, I navigated the world of adventurers and somehow clawed my way up to the rank of an A-class adventurer.

But the whisperings of my reaching any higher were quickly stifled by talks of my supposed potential drying up.

Being a therianthrope of lesser pedigree, it was deemed impossible for me to challenge and survive the more difficult dungeons that S-rank demanded.

It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but they were right.

Although my back teeth are nearly shattered from gritting, recognizing the boundaries of my abilities and impossibilities is what allows an adventurer to navigate perilous quests and live to tell the tale.

An adventurer who forgets the thrill of adventure is no adventurer at all.

Standing atop the A-rank summit and eyeing the S-rank peak, could striving for it be equivalent to a death wish for someone like me?

Amidst my inner turmoil and a simmering impatience, a shocking piece of news came my way, shaking me to the core.

*

“Lord Silver Wolf...is retiring?!”

Was there ever news more unsettling?

The very beacon of my aspirations, no longer an adventurer...?!

Despite being an S-rank adventurer and even serving as a guild master—a feat unheard of—the praises heaped upon Silver Wolf suggested no one could ever surpass him. And now this...?!

Why?

Digging deeper, it turns out the cause was precisely his dual role as guild master.

By retiring, he intended to focus solely on his guild master duties.

But could this really be the end?!

Wasn’t it his very nature as an adventurer that defined Lord Silver Wolf?!

He who would leap into danger without a second thought, who, despite any injury, would always return, ready to face any challenge, no matter how undignified.

It was this indomitable spirit of his that I had admired and chased after all this time.

Without him...what goal would I chase from here on out?

Just as despair was about to take hold, a glimmer of hope in the form of new information barely saved me.

“...An S-rank promotion exam...?!”

It seems they intend to fill the vacancy left by Lord Silver Wolf’s retirement.

His seat, now empty.

Someone else to sit in it, to act as his successor...?

To declare his era over?

To boast that Silver Wolf is a relic of the past and that they’ll prove it?

...Unacceptable.

The greatness of Lord Silver Wolf and his monumental achievements cannot simply be inherited by someone oblivious to his legacy!!!

Excuses about lacking beast factors or potential are irrelevant!!!

I will be the one to follow in his footsteps!

As a fellow wolf therianthrope, it was only after learning of Lord Silver Wolf that I could take pride in my heritage.

For the sake of repaying this debt, I must become an S-rank adventurer and carry on his spirit!!!