Chapter 266: Seventy-First Floor, The Crimson Wilderness (4)
[Complete a contract. Time remaining: 89 hours 11 minutes.]
Unlike before, the arrow was now aimed squarely at me. However, despite the tension in the air, the native didn’t seem intent on releasing it just yet.
Planting my axe firmly into the ground, I raised both hands in the air to signal that I meant no harm. “Calm down. I’m not here to fight.”
Unfortunately, my words seemed to have the opposite effect. Rather than easing his wariness, the young man’s caution only deepened.
His sharp gaze bore down on me as he scrutinized my every move. “Who are you? A sympathizer? You don’t look like one. Then, are you a hunter?”
It wasn’t difficult to guess what had put him so on edge—I could speak his language.
To be honest, I couldn’t blame him. Even if two languages differed significantly, it wasn’t necessary to learn both for basic communication.
This isn’t Earth, though.
In a world like this, there were typically three primary ways one could become fluent in another language.
The first was through sheer determination, either by rigorous study or through prolonged interaction with native speakers. The second and third were far more deliberate. Someone learned the language either to align themself with the natives or to exploit them.
Of course, this was just my personal categorization, so it wouldn’t be a hundred percent accurate. Applying that reasoning perfectly explained why the young man remained so distrustful, however.
Sympathizers likely referred to pioneers who had allied with the natives, whereas the term hunter probably meant more than just a bounty hunter. It was likely shorthand for those who actively hunted his people.