Monster Girl Knowledge - Monster Girl Hierarchy:
Monster Girls have a strict hierarchical structure that is based on strength and race. While strength is generally varied, race has a clear promotion path:
Common -> Elite -> Noble -> Royal -> Ancestor.
This hierarchy directly corresponds with the Class rarity hierarchy, which is Common, Uncommon, Rare, Ultra Rare, and Heroic.
Specifically, being an Elite is enough to lead a small group of Common Monster Girls. To be a Noble means you can rule a tribe. To be a Royal means you can rule an entire race of Monster Girls.
And then there are the Ancestors, Monster Girls who lived for a very long time or were born with tremendous power and talent, having accumulated immeasurable strength, and can rule an entire species of Monster Girls.
Each of the six continents ruled by Monster Girls has several Ancestors watching over it, leaving the rulership to the Royalty as their direct subordinates. Fortunately, there are no Ancestors in Dressal, however.
And, of course, all Monster Girls, including the Ancestors, are subordinate to the reigning Monster Lord on the Island of Genesis, who, in turn, is subordinate to the Great Monster Lord herself.
Higher-ranking Monster Girls can command lesser Monster Girls of their branch of authority to do their bidding, as the law of the strong demands. Of course, those who are dissatisfied with their position and are ambitious are free to usurp their superiors through official challenge... usually resulting in the death of either party.
Randall and Arari sat in Arari's home, peacefully drinking hot tea, with the hearth radiating warmth.
"What would you like to speak about, Arari?" Randall asked.
Arari briefly pulled back her pink bangs, revealing her black eyepatch, her golden horn glistening softly as she spoke.
"Do you feel comfortable here, Randall?" Arari asked, not directly answering the inquiry.
"Yes. I honestly never felt as comfortable as I do now." Randall earnestly replied.
"Well, the girls are certainly more lively with you here, and the village would see a wave of new blood." Arari lightly smiled and replied.
"But why do you ask this?" Randall curiously asked.
"Is it wrong to ask how a guest is feeling and drink a bit of tea with them?" Arari gently asked.
Randall raised an eyebrow but nodded.
"Naturally, it is fine. But I doubt you would call me just for this."
Arari's smile widened. She took a sip of her tea and looked out of the window at the cloudy sky. Light snowflakes drifted from the sky, dancing along the wind.
She then looked at Randall again, her right eye giving him a gentle look.
"I sense confusion in your heart. Tell me, what is it? Perhaps I can provide my humble opinion."
Randall fell silent, looked down at his tea, and sighed.
"I... am unsure if I want to progress anymore."
Arari didn't change her expression, as if she knew it from the start.
"And why is that?" She asked.
Randall closed his eyes and recalled.
"In the beginning... I had a strange class that prevented me from leveling up through Monster Cores, requiring me to train every day. Moreover, my attributes came from training myself, not from my weird class. Even now, I barely have the attribute points of a lvl 100 Commoner."
Taking a deep breath, he continued.
"I wanted to grow stronger, to be someone normal, so I trained every day. And then, my brother started to bully me, likely since he feared I would take his inheritance rights away. When that happened, my desire to grow stronger turned into not wanting to get bullied."
And then, Randall thought about the incident in the Bat Cave.
"Finally, I encountered a terrifying situation. Wanting to grow stronger to protect my life, I decided to grow stronger using an ability of mine that helps me grow through... having sex with different women." Randall said with a wary smile.
"So you then faced Hahori and nearly lost?" Arari knowingly asked.
Randall sighed and nodded.
"Yes... I then realized that I was lacking, especially my resistance to seduction. Moreover, it was beneficial to my growth... so I decided to stay here as a Guest Stud. And now... the benefits of staying here are dwindling. By all rights, I should want to leave to grow stronger and progress further. And yet..." Randall frowned, struggling.
"Yet you don't want to leave due to the bonds you forged here... due to the comfort." Arari completed his sentence.
Randall nodded.
"Indeed... Here, I have a home, food, friends, women... and soon, family. There is no danger here, and I can peacefully train and live out my life." Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
"Yet you know that you need to leave if you want to grow stronger, which is where the problem lies," Arari added.
"... Yes." Randall nodded.
"So the root of the problem is... you lost your reason to progress, is that right?" Arari asked.
"That is correct..." Randall bitterly acknowledged this.
"Well, aren't you a complacent one?" Arari mockingly said.
"Hah? What do you mean, complacent?" Randall frowned, not understanding.
"That you assume that you are safe... that everyone you care about is safe and sound, and nothing bad will happen." Arari sneered.
"Aren't we safe?" Randall's frown deepened, now mixed with worry.
"You live under the illusion of safety and certainty, that everything is fair... yet, is the world certain and fair?" Arari asked.
"... No." Randall shook his head.
He learned the hard way that the world wasn't fair, safe, or certain.
He obtained a weird class that made him the village idiot.
In his own house, his family allowed him to get bullied.
A group of D-rank adventurers, who were much stronger than him at the time, sacrificed themselves so he could escape.
He almost lost to some random Monster Girl despite being confident in himself.
So, no, the world wasn't fair, safe, or certain. To believe it is so is nothing short of complacency.
This, Randall, understood.
Arari sighed, then looked out again. Seeing the kids playing in the snow, her right eye reminisced on the past.
"Once upon a time, there was an ordinary girl in an ordinary village, Common as can be. She thought her world was safe... that her village and life would stay the way it was. All she wanted was to graze grass, farm, work hard to contribute, find a husband, have kids, watch them grow with her husband, raise her grandkids, and one day, die of old age.
But one day, without rhyme or reason, the Rabbit Girl's village was destroyed, everyone gone... except for her, who survived with only an eye injury. As it turned out, two powerhouses were fighting, and in the aftermath of their battle, they killed everyone without even intending to. Like how humans would accidentally crush an anthill underfoot."
As she said that, she placed her hand on her eyepatch-covered left eye, as if it ached.
"Furious, the girl swore to herself to grow stronger, get revenge, and have enough strength to prevent such a thing from happening again. And so, she trained... trained... and trained. Against all odds, from a regular Rabbit Girl, she became a Royal, someone who could rule her whole race as queen... yet, she continued training, more and more, risking her life every day, until one day, she felt confident enough, challenging the one who set her upon that path.
After a fierce battle... after all the hardships and tribulations she had undergone, the girl lost. She might have won if she were more patient and trained for another decade or two, but what was done was done. Perhaps out of respect, mercy, or to mock her, the winner amputated the girl's legs with a cursed blade instead of killing her, letting her crawl back in defeat and live another day."
She said, rubbing her pair of stumps.
"Crippled, the girl left everything, traveling afar to a peaceful land, settling down in a remote village for a hundred years, staying as its silent guardian."
She then looked at Randall, who looked at her with pity.
"Don't give me that look... I was asking for a beating. I should have never sought revenge... it isn't the way. Besides, I came to terms with my fate." Arari calmly said, her right eye serene.
And then, she spoke to Randall again.
"Now, do you think you have a reason to progress?"
Randall fell silent for a moment before he asked.
"Why are you helping me like this? Wouldn't it be in your best interest for me to stay?"
"Young man... You are a heroic talent, whether you realize it or not. In a short span of time, your strength grew tremendously. If you feel that our village cannot help you grow anymore, then spread your wings and fly where the wind takes you. Go out, see the world, and when the day comes, and you wish to rest your wings, our village would still welcome you." Arari genuinely smiled.
Randall looked deeply at her, sighed, and spoke.
"You are a good person, Arari."
Arari shook her head.
"Peaceful? Yes. Good? Hardly. In my heyday, I killed innocents, raped men, and did exactly what the one I chased after did, all to gain power. In my quest to slay an evil dragon, I became an evil dragon... That is the truth."
And then she narrowed her right eye at Randall and evilly smirked.
"In fact, I might have even drained you dry for the heck of it."
"... You're a bad liar." Randall bemusedly smiled.
"Hmhm~ A granny has to have fun scaring young children sometimes."
"Why do you call yourself a granny anyway? You're not their biological ancestor, are you?" Randall curiously asked.
"I called myself an old woman, and the women of the village were willing to accept me as their grandmother, so I became a granny. What is wrong with that?" Arari asked back.
"That sounds nice, actually," Randall replied before looking outside.
Arari smiled and also looked at the drifting snow.
"I won't intervene with what you decide, young man. But remember... the road of Progress is harsh and cruel. Always tread carefully, or a misstep would end you in an early grave or like me... or as some lucky Monster Girl's husband." Arari said with a smirk.
Randall chuckled.
"Hmhm... Then I'll progress one step at a time and hope for the best."
After a while, they finished their tea, and Randall stood up.
"I should be going now. Thank you for everything."
"Ah, wait a moment. There is something I would like to give you." Arari suddenly spoke.
Randall paused and saw Arari standing up, heading to her nightstand, and taking out a silver ring covered in blue runes.
"Catch," Arari said, throwing it at Randall.
Instinctively, Randall caught it before looking at what it was.
"That's..." Randall looked at the ring, frowning.
"A spatial ring. It is a shabby one, with only 1 cubic meter inside, but it should be useful to you." Arari lightly smiled.
"E-Eh? Eh?! Isn't that really expensive?!" Randall was taken aback.
"Eh... I guess for you it is. I mean, it should cost about 10,000 gold coins? Or was it 20,000?" Arari rubbed her chin.
Randall felt constipated.
"That is worth more than my father's entire property!"
"Is it really okay to give me something this expensive...?" Randall warily smiled.
"You will find that it isn't as precious as you think it is once you become strong. Also..."
Arari then took out a pair of flat, grey shoes with red runes on them.
"Take them as well." She said, tossing the shoes to Randall.
"Mana Absorption Shoes?" Randall blinked.
"What? Don't tell me you were planning on kicking with those ridiculously powerful legs of yours. What would you do if you accidentally kicked one of the girls to death?" Arari pursed her lips.
"... Point taken. But will they fit?" Randall warily asked.
"They will automatically fit. Try them." Arari said, going back to her seat.
Randall did, in fact, try the new shoes... and they indeed fit like a glove. He tried jumping and walking with them, and they felt natural to walk in.
"Will I be fine, though? Wouldn't they drain my mana?" Randall warily asked.
"Only if they end up transferring damage to you... But with your leg strength and toughness, that would be the least of your concerns for the foreseeable future. Rather, normal shoes would likely burn if you run at full speed with them. I say that from experience." Arari said, reminiscing on the old days.
Randall fell silent for a moment before he asked a final question.
"What would it take to heal you?"
Arari gave Randall a deep, long look and spoke.
"Reach S-rank and have S-rank anti-curse magic, and then you might be able to help me."
"... Understood." Randall nodded heavily.
"This debt, I will remember."