Chapter 138: Registering For The Competition

Sora’s earlier exhaustion vanished completely.

She immediately became alert.

"You’re saying the surprise gift package is related to Damien?"

[The reward will provide relevant information.]

Sora’s heart began beating faster.

Knowing whether Damien was one of her targets was extremely important.

She had been observing him for a long time, but she still hadn’t been able to confirm anything.

If the system could finally give her an answer, then the competition was worth entering.

Sora slowly clenched her fists.

"Fine."

Her eyes became determined.

"I’ll participate."

If she wanted to complete her mission, she couldn’t afford to miss an opportunity like this.

But then another problem appeared.

How could she possibly win?

The Most Beautiful Female Selection would involve all the beautiful females in the tribe.

And she currently had no cosmetics.

There was no makeup in this primitive society.

No foundation.

No lipstick.

No eye shadow.

No blush.

Nothing.

If she wanted to make a comeback in the shortest possible time, she had only one choice.

Make the cosmetics herself.

Sora’s eyes gradually brightened.

She had plenty of knowledge from the modern world.

If she could find the right plants, minerals, oils, and pigments, she should be able to create simple cosmetics.

She had already learned how to make many things in this primitive world.

Making makeup couldn’t possibly be more difficult than purifying salt or building an oven.

Sora stood up from the bed.

Her fatigue was completely gone.

She had just been given another challenge.

And this time, she wasn’t fighting for food, technology, or survival.

She was fighting for beauty.

More importantly, she was fighting for information about Damien.

Sora’s lips curved into a determined smile.

"Most Beautiful Female, huh?"

"Then let’s see who can stop me."

Sora suddenly remembered something important.

The last time she had successfully completed a strategy target involving Ace, her metal-type ability had been upgraded to Level Two.

At the time, she hadn’t thought much of it.

A metal-type ability that could detect metals and minerals sounded impressive, but in this primitive society, where there was no paper, cloth, glass, or modern manufacturing, what could she possibly do with it?

She had simply assumed that the ability would remain useless for a long time.

But now, Sora’s eyes gradually brightened.

Things were different.

She needed cosmetics.

And cosmetics required minerals.

One of the simplest ways to make foundation and eyeshadow involved fine powders. Talc and mica were especially useful ingredients, while finely ground pearls could also contribute to a smoother, lighter powder.

If she could find the right minerals, she could make a simple set of cosmetics herself.

And with her Level Two metal-type ability, finding those minerals would be much easier.

Sora’s lips curved upward.

This ability had finally found a purpose.

She also had another problem.

She had been using water as a mirror every day.

It was extremely inconvenient.

The surface of the water constantly moved, and even when it was still, the reflection wasn’t clear enough for precise makeup.

If she really wanted to transform her appearance for the Most Beautiful Female Selection, she needed a proper mirror.

That meant she had another thing to make.

A mirror.

Sora rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

The more she considered it, the more possibilities appeared in her mind.

If she could make simple cosmetics and a mirror, then even if her natural features were not particularly attractive, she could at least improve her appearance dramatically.

She had already survived in a primitive society.

She had already learned how to make food, pottery, salt, bread, and countless other things.

Making makeup should not be impossible.

The Moon God Festival lasted for three days.

On the first day, beastmen and females expressed their affection toward one another.

Because the beast world was predominantly male-dominated, courtship between beastmen was especially intense.

Usually, it was the beastmen who took the initiative to express their feelings toward females.

If a beastman wanted to form a totem with a female, he had to win her favor and distinguish himself from all the other beastmen pursuing her.

Therefore, before a totem was formed, giving gifts to a female was one of the most important ways for a beastman to express his affection.

Once a totem had already been formed, however, things became more complicated.

At that point, the final decision belonged to the female.

After learning all these customs, Sora couldn’t help feeling that the Moon God Festival was somewhat similar to Valentine’s Day from the end times.

Different worlds.

Different societies.

Different living conditions.

Yet some things were strangely similar.

People still wanted to be loved.

They still wanted to express affection.

They still wanted to be chosen.

Perhaps human and beastman emotions were not as different as she had once imagined.

The second day of the Moon God Festival was the day when the females competed.

Simply put, females could register for the Most Beautiful Female Selection.

The female who won the title would gain priority when choosing a mate.

This made sense within the beast world’s social structure.

Females were fewer in number and physically weaker than beastmen, so naturally, they wanted to choose the strongest and most capable beastmen as their husbands.

On the other hand, when beastmen saw a female they admired, they would do everything they could to pursue her.

A beautiful and desirable female could attract several beastmen at once.

As a result, the Most Beautiful Female Selection became the time of year when competition among beastmen was at its fiercest across the surrounding tribes.

Sora listened carefully to the explanation.

If a beastman successfully courted a female on the first day, they would naturally spend time together on the third day.

Officially, it was called a date.

But based on Sora’s understanding of the openness of the beast world, she suspected that the so-called date day was actually much more intimate than the name suggested.

She couldn’t help feeling awkward.

Fortunately, she didn’t need to think about that part yet.

The Most Beautiful Female Selection had no upper age limit.

As long as a female was of marriageable age, she could participate.

Older females generally didn’t participate because they had little interest in competing with younger females.

Since females were scarce, however, marital status wasn’t necessarily a restriction.

A female could already have several beast husbands and still participate.

Likewise, a female who had never formed a totem with anyone could also register.

After learning all of this, Sora immediately went to the tribe to register.

She wasn’t the only female there.

Quite a few females were already standing in line.

The elderly female responsible for registration looked up when she saw Sora.

Her eyes widened slightly.

"Kaelira, are you here to register?"

Sora nodded.

"I’m here to participate in the Most Beautiful Female Selection."

The moment she said this, the surrounding females fell silent.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Then—

Laughter erupted.