The next morning, Yuri, Athena, and Fram walked along the coastline through the pale morning light.
“Kwaaaaah... I’m sleepy...” Athena yawned, stretching out her back and tail.
“You can’t fall asleep, Athena. You’re going to help out Yuri.”
“But Fram, you slept on my back for most of the way here...” Yuri chimed in.
They restlessly trudged down the coast until the light of a bonfire caught their eyes.
“There ya are. Good on ya, let’s get right into training.”
“Sir yes sir! I’m counting on you!”
“Oh, not bad. I like your spirit. Are you really that happy to be tutored by the strongest?”
“I hate you, Mr. Velt, but I’ll put up with it to get stronger!”
“Haha... hah...you’re just as damn ungrateful as your master, I see...!!”
Noticing the heartfelt displeasure on Yuri’s face, Velt violently patted him on the head a few times.
“Yesterday, you told me there was a way for a mix-blood to fight... I’m going to be quite angry if that was a lie,” Yuri said as he brushed away his hand.
“Don’t worry. I looked into it as the Administrator of the Human Tribe. Don’t even compare it to what you can find out on your own. Your parents also certified the possibility.”
“Well, if my parents said so, there shouldn’t be any problems...”
“Hmm? Yuri, are your mom and dad knowledgeable about mix-bloods?”
Athena’s question received a sour look.
“Well... Err, how should I describe them...”
“Out with it, no need to put on airs. We won’t be surprised, no matter what you say at this point.”
“Yeah, yeah! No secrets from Big Sis!”
Broken down by their stares, Yuri let out a reluctant, resigned breath. “My house runs a marriage consultancy.”
“...A what?”
“To be more precise, a marriage consultancy specializing in mix-bloods.”
“Oi, brat, what was your family motto again?”
“Err, it was, ahem, ‘Fluffy ears, dragon tails, elf ears, pointed tails, fluffy feathers, compact dwarves, loli-shota spirits, what else could you ask for? Join us in lovey-dovey inter-tribal marriage!’”
“One more time, would ya?”
“Mr. Velt, I really will punch you.”
The sight of Yuri’s clenched fist made Velt clear his throat. “Well, the brat’s family... The Eniastar House was the first lineage of duelists to attempt inter-tribal breeding. If a Human Tribe member could use other Tribe Skills...they thought they could create the strongest duelist.”
But that old dream never came to fruition. Whatever was gained from the other tribe was incredibly weakened, and the child could not even use the Human Tribe’s Armament. All that resulted in was the feeblest existence.
“But the Eniastar House continued their inter-tribal marriages, continuing their research on mix-bloods. It’s only as a result of their research that mix-bloods have avoided persecution.”
Mix-bloods were limited in a duel, but they were skilled in everyday life and normal work. While their tribal abilities were weak, they were abilities the Human Tribe did not have, and by using them in everyday life, mix-bloods had earned a level of status in Human Tribe society.
This was the result of the Eniastar House’s unending research, their attempts to approach the problem from various angles. Their achievements were still the subject of great praise in the modern era.
“Well, the long and short of it is that they’re a clan with a few screws loose.”
“...Why do you look at me when you say that?”
As she looked to Yuri, Athena seemed to come to a sudden realization.
“Hey, if Yuri’s house kept being mix-blood for multiple generations, that means he has the blood of multiple races, doesn’t it? Specifically how many does he have?”
“Err, the Eniastar House has taken in all of the eight races.”
“Hmm... So a mix of all eight races is possible?”
“Yes. As long as a mix-blood marries out of the Human Tribe, the blood of other tribes will be preserved, so the Eniastar House has carefully selected a marriage partner for each generation to preserve their traits.”
“Then that means you’ve got loads of abilities to use!”
“Right. Even if Armament won’t work, if you have seven Tribe Skills, there should be something salvageable.”
With a sigh and a scratch of the head, Velt cut the girls’ remarks short. “If it was that simple, mix-bloods wouldn’t be the weakest.”
“Eeh... But seven of them sounds really strong,” Athena protested.
“Aight, that’s a good starting point. Foxy and Icy, let me give you a lesson on mix-bloods,” Velt said, before asking Athena, “First, Foxy, what makes a mix-blood the weakest?”
“Umm, they can’t use Armament?”
“Right. By using gemstones that only react to a human’s mana, Armament can draw out various powers. As a mix-blood has other blood flowing through their veins, they cannot extract any of them. That is why they can’t use Armament.”
Velt hoisted up his own armament, a rather large sword.
“The weapon used for Armament not only amplifies the skill from the gemstone, it also takes on the burden in place of the body. It’s bloody dangerous if you send that power straight into a Human Tribe body.”
After finishing his explanation to Athena, he turned to Fram. “Next, Icy. What is the other reason a mix-blood is considered weak?”
“That’s... Well, I guess because they can’t use the traits of other tribes either.”
“To be more precise, it’s not that they can’t use them. A mix-blood’s tribal traits are just unbelievably weak. Brat, show them what you can do.”
“Are you sure... Then here I go...”
Terribly reluctant, Yuri lightly lifted up Fram’s body.
“Tada, I’ve lifted up Fram.”
“Oh dear, I have been lifted up.”
“And that’s all there is to my tribal traits.”
“...Eeh?” Yuri’s words elicited the exact same response from the both of them.
“More specifically, I have a ‘little extra strength.’”
“No way! You really don’t have anything else?”
“Yes, well my other bonuses are ‘sturdy bones,’ ‘can see better at night,’ ‘good with hands,’ ‘easily liked,’ ‘wounds heal easier,’ and ‘sharp intuition.’”
“Oh... Well, I now understand why they’re called weak.” Troubled for words, Fram furrowed her brow and held her head.
Tribal traits were directly linked to a duelist’s strength. Traits suited for battle were all the more advantageous, and even the unsuitable ones could still be put to practical use depending on the user.
However, forget a trump card, the traits Yuri had were so limited it would be difficult to find any use for them whatsoever. The weakness of the inherited traits became the weakness of a mix-blood.
“But it’s not like a mix-blood don’t get any perks at all. While definitely weak compared to a pure-blood of the tribe, they undoubtedly still inherit some traits,” Velt said.
“But they’re barely usable,” Fram replied.
“Thought you’d say that... They’re not even at a noticeable level,” he conceded.
Precisely because Fram and Athena were well-versed in the traits of their own tribes, they could easily comprehend just how low these abilities were.
“Then let me ask you,” he went on, “how exactly do you use your tribe’s traits?”
“I’m not sure how to answer that...”
“Mnnn, mnn... Just kinda happens?”
Neither of them could give a definite reply. Having used them from the moment they were born, they never questioned the inner workings. Just as a baby learns to walk, they never held any misgivings about the abilities they picked up naturally.
However, there is always a principle and logic behind all things.
“Armament, Release, Dragonification, Secret Art, Hyper Dash, Divine Might, Familiar, Creation...the Tribe Skills are all invoked by some firm fundamental principle. If everyone possesses them equally, then it should be strange there’s no organ that regulates them.”
“But the tribes’ appearances and lifespans are all over the place.”
Not only did the eight tribes have individual traits, the construction of their very bodies vastly differed. There were members of the Beast Tribe with multiple stomachs, and it wasn’t strange for a member of the Dragon Tribe to have a second or third heart. Some Spirit Tribe members lacked any digestive organs at all. In both outer and inner appearance, being humanoid was the only common point they shared.
But Velt spoke with conviction. “No...this right here is one thing we all share.”
Tap, tap, he beat his fingertip against his head.
“Tribe Skills...have to be regulated and invoked by some part of the brain.”
The sole organ that all eight races held in common without any clear difference. This notion caused Fram to tilt her head.
“If that’s what’s doing it, then why does the Human Tribe alone have to use an intermediary?”
“That’s a simple one. All you other tribes have adapted bodies that don’t have any issues using your powerful Tribe Skills.”
From the point of view of the Human Tribe, the other races were superior on various fronts. Bewildering physical capabilities, absurdly sturdy bodies, sharply honed senses, a grasp of space and construction, inhuman wisdom, nearly endless mana, among many other things...and each tribe carried a body most suited to their gifts.
“A Human Tribe physique is feeble, no matter who you compare it to. We’re so weak our bodies will self-destruct if our brains don’t put a limiter on our abilities. That’s why we need an Armament to take on the burden for us, to allow us to use those gemstones as our Tribe Skill.”
Athena’s head remained blankly tilted, but Fram raised her face as if she had realized something.
“Don’t tell me...a mix-blood’s traits are...”
“That’s right. A mix-blood’s abysmal abilities are most likely a result of the limiters placed by the Human Tribe brain. Even if they aren’t pure-blood, there’s no reason their abilities should fall that far short.”
“Right... In my tribe, there are in rare cases those who inherit the abilities of both their parents, but I’ve never heard anything about their overall strength suffering for it.”
Fram’s mutter brought sparkles to Athena’s wide eyes.
“Then if those limiters are removed, even a mix-blood can start using Tribe Skills!?”
“That’s right. I checked with the brat’s parents, and they said it’s theoretically possible. But this ain’t no proper way to fight. It’s wrong, not just for a human, but for any living being.”
Velt’s grim expression posed a complete contrast to Athena’s optimism.
“Foxy, right here, right now. Can you break your own arm of your own volition?”
“M-My own arm?”
“It doesn’t have to be an arm. A leg, a finger, can you break it yourself?”