Chapter 57: The Village

As I glanced at her, I realized she would be responsible for the village's oblivion.

Looking at the village, I can see many people roaming in there, and it is a mix of all races. As they were busy doing their work, and they were not concerned about anyone else.

I did not know why, but I felt at ease when I arrived in the village as if I had returned home.

When I followed her into the village, the villagers all stared at me. They all had a curious look in their eyes and a smile on their faces.

Then she met an old woman sitting outside a house. She appeared to be blind at first glance.

A face filled with wrinkles, a presence reflecting life's vicissitudes. She seemed at peace.

She smiled and said to that woman, "You came back"

She knelt and held the hand of the old woman. "Yes, I'm back, and I have something interesting for you."

Suddenly, the old woman turned her head toward me.

When that old woman stared at me, as if she is peering into my life, I felt like I was naked before her.

Although I did not mind being naked in front of a woman, I felt very awkward before that old lady.

A smile spread across the face of that old lady as she said to me, "Come here".

She looked at me as I crawled toward her.

She sighed slowly, saying, "You came from the outside world, but you don't seem to belong there"

"Yes, I used to be a monkey, but I just transformed", I thought to myself, but I didn't tell her that.

"Hmmm", I nodded and looked at the other woman, signaling her to at least introduce me to her.

The old lady interrupted and emphasized, "Don't look at her, you are here by your fate, you can call me granny and make yourself at home."

It makes no sense to me, but I feel like I am in the middle of my own family when I see her smiling at me.

"Amelia, show him around the village," that granny told this woman.

Amelia stood up, and looked at me amusingly, and said "Come, I will show you around here,"

It was amazing to see the diversity of races in the village, but they are completely isolated from the outside world. The people looked primitive, but they looked happy.

I quickly caught up to her and asked, "I am quite surprised to see a village in the middle of the jungle, and I wonder if people here are familiar with the outside world?"

Without even looking at me, she replied, "Yes, we have lived here for a long time, but it is not like we don't know about the outside world. From time to time, people like you visit the jungle."

Anyway, I didn't ask her anymore and kept following her. I can't do anything but follow her.

A short time later, after I'd toured the entire village, she stopped and turned around to face me.

Because of her short stature, her head only reached my shoulder, so I was looking down at her.

"Isn't it quite surprising that a village popped up out of nowhere in the jungle?"

As I nodded at her, I stared at her intently, trying to figure out what her purpose was in bringing me here.

She smiled slightly and asked, "Do you think it was just a coincidence that we met?"

Shaking my head, I answered, "Isn't that so?"

"I was just wondering, you seem to have evolved recently, didn't you?" She inquired while raising her eyebrow.

As I nodded at her, her conclusion quite took aback me.

She mocked: "You are quite weak for an evolved being and they are one of the most frightening figures in this world."

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"Nothing to be ashamed of, since you just got evolved, you will get powerful in the future." She paused and then continued.

"As a newly evolved being, you know little about this world, or you would not have been told about it."

"Leave that aside for a minute, can you just tell me, since you are weak, why have you been sent to this dangerous place?" she continued.

"To choose the very best," I replied without hesitation.

Her face was as if she was looking at a fool. It would have been better for me to keep quiet. I was embarrassed.

"Anyway, don't you think, there are many ways to select, why do they send you here?"

I nodded in agreement with her response. She made a good point.

"Let's get to the point - do you know why this place even exists?" She asked.

After shaking my head, I said, "I don't know. You did not tell me yet."

Once again, I should have kept my mouth shut when I saw her face change.

As she breathed out and looked around the people, as she said, "This village has a very long history, so long that it has been forgotten by the annals of time."