It was not the type of weapon that had caught Elias's attention, it was the material. The spearhead wasn't made out of iron. It was made out of bronze.
*So people here did not even master iron metallurgy yet...*
It was important to note that bronze weapons were as deadly as iron ones. Of course two metals had different characteristics, and if you struck one against the other, iron would come out on top due to its higher hardness, but to flesh, it made almost no difference. Well, assuming we are talking about normal humans.
*Can a ferocious warrior take a strike of a bronze weapon? If they really can, what kind of weapons do they use to fight against each other then?*
Elias racked his head. His memories as Feron were coherent enough for him to know that he heard the answer for this question at some point in time, but vague enough for an answer itself to elude him.
*Wait. I remember tribespeople call the ore mined from the mountain as "black iron". That means iron itself is known to humans in this world.*
Elias was absorbed with his thoughts as he walked. The questions that appeared in his head were all valid, but he only knew just enough to ask these questions, not to deduce the answers.
From what he pieced together, iron was known to humanity in this world, but it seemed like it was a rather rare commodity. He could swear that Calak should have had an iron weapon, but he wasn't sure. All he got was a feeling.
Being deep in thought, he did not notice Nannar sneaking up on him.
"Elias!"
Nannar's ringing voice tore Elias's chain of thought.
"We should soon leave the mountain's area. Don't you want to swing by your village and say goodbye? Come to think of it, you agreed to come with us really fast, don't you have family here? Won't your parents become worried if you just disappear suddenly?"
The only thing his words managed to do is to bring a wry smile to Elias's face.
"It is simple, Nannar, I don't have anyone waiting for me there. In fact, I have already decided not to return there and live on the mountain before I met you guys."
An awkward expression arose on Nannar's face.
"I'm sorry, I did not want to upset you."
Nannar might be a pampered son that slacks on his martial exercise, but that gave way to something different. The thought that this little thought of Nannar made him the most considerate person that Elias met in this world so far, made Elias chuckle.
"Don't beat yourself up, Nannar, my situation is incredibly prosaic. I wasn't welcome there after my father died, so I left. It does not bother me much anymore, and I'm in no way offended. You were simply curious."
Nannar's face lightened up. It was not hard to guess that Nannar, despite his status, held some respect and gratefulness towards Elias. He saved his and his father's life after all. Souring a relationship with someone who has, in Nannar's eyes, way stronger than his father over a simple curiosity would be just disappointing.
"If it is like that, then what about your mother?"
A bout of realization struck Elias. No matter how hard he tried, he was not able to glean any hint of memory of his, or rather Feron's mother. That was strange since out of all the memories of these fifteen years he could recall, the ones regarding Calak were the clearest ones. Of course, this clarity did not amount to anything substantial, but the memories about his father were there. They existed. On the other hand, there was nothing at all about his mother. Not even a name.
*Calak possessed great talent when it came to warrior training. If I recall correctly, he was the third grade ferocious warrior, which should be pretty strong according to what I know. If genetics work the same in this world, which they should, I should have inherited at least some part of it, but instead, my body can't even process the energy contained in herbs at all. The only way for me to gain some was the system's assistance and even that was just a fraction of what could have been gained.*
In his mind a sense of mystery appeared. Calak had great talent, so great it allowed him to become the tribe's chief and claim the title of Fierce Tiger for himself. So was his father as well. In fact, it was Feron's grandfather that made the Fierce Tiger tribe a force in these places. While not being able to be classified as a big tribe, it was pretty much as strong as small tribes can be. Other tribes had to form an alliance just to contend with Calak. And he still made them retreat, that's how strong he was.
So if his lineage were all blessed with great potential when it came to being superhumanly strong warriors, why then he wasn't like that? Could it be linked to his mother?
"I don't know, Nannar, I have never met her. I know nothing about whether she is alive or dead. Her name or what she looks like are also unknown to me as well. And now that my father is dead, I'm afraid I may never get an answer for this question."
As they walked, Nannar kept asking questions, and Elias kept answering them. Usually the questions would be about the tribal ways of life and how they differ from the more civilized life Nannar is used to. The fact of how knowledgeable Elias apparently was, made Nannar doubt Elias's origins, but it was actually Elias's experience of life in a modern society talking for him.
Elias, on the other hand, was astounded by how many things he took for granted. Of course, his life here gave him kind of a shake up, but when he discovered that civilized societies exist in this world, his first thought was of his comfortable life back on Earth. But the more he listened to Nannar, the more he understood that it was just a pipedream. Cities here were actually just the territories of big tribes, simple like that. But no matter what they were talking about, a sense of importance and the thought of the matter of his mother kept hanging in the back of his mind.