A wild boar is not a wild boar, but a human??!
Darwin felt that no matter how much he racked his brains, he would never have guessed this reason!
For a moment, he suddenly had the illusion of a bolt from the blue, of mountains crumbling and seas surging.
"Uncle Precht, are you telling the truth?"
"Absolutely certain!"
Within Fairy Tail, Precht's magical knowledge was among the best. There were even a significant number of people who believed his ability in this field surpassed that of the Master, Weston!
The reason for this was simply that the two of them mastered magical knowledge in different ways.
Weston relied more on his magic—Super Archive could quickly find any knowledge he wanted to understand—whereas Precht spent actual time learning, remembering, and mastering it.
It could be said that he himself was a super-massive magical database!
Therefore, no one would ever question a judgment that came from his mouth, not even Weston.
Darwin naturally believed that Precht's judgment wouldn't be wrong. Thinking that this group of boars was actually transformed from humans, his heart instantly sank.
"Then what should we do? Can you help them release the curse?"
Precht nodded: "It's not a big problem, but it will take some time."
"First, go prepare some food... and I mean things that humans can eat!"
"We don't know how long these people have been turned into wild boars. Once the curse is released, their bodies will definitely be very weak and in need of nourishment!"
"Food? I understand!"
Darwin agreed immediately. Just as he was about to act, he suddenly stopped in his tracks: "Um... I have a question!"
"What is it?"
Darwin scratched his head and asked sheepishly: "They ate a lot of things while in their wild boar forms. After they return to being humans, won't their stomachs explode? Also, if they still have memories of their time as wild boars, won't they go crazy as soon as they wake up?"
"This kind of curse is a magic that completely transforms biology. After they become wild boars, their stomachs follow suit and become those of a wild boar, so the 'indigestion' you're worried about won't happen."
"As for the memory issue..."
"If they don't have memories of being a wild boar, then naturally there's nothing to worry about. If they do have those memories... it is indeed a bit troublesome; they might be left with psychological trauma. But in the end, a short sharp pain is better than a long dull one!"
"Are we supposed to just let them leave and do nothing after learning that the true identity of these boars is human?"
"Don't forget, one of the tenets of Fairy Tail is to help people in trouble!"
Precht's simple verbal education acted like a sudden enlightenment for Darwin. He felt instantly cleared of doubt and immediately set to work nimbly to cook.
Fortunately, the cave still stored the grain the boars had stolen from the village at the foot of the mountain;
Fortunately, when he took action earlier, he was thinking of 'helping the villagers recover as much grain as possible,' so he didn't drug all of the grain;
Fortunately, in order to train his life skills and improve his ability to survive in the wild, he had received 'Culinary Training' from Mavis and Zera since he was a child, learning simple fire-making and cooking techniques.
While Darwin was cooking, Precht also began his own actions.
Since the wild boars were too large and heavy to transport easily, he had to release the curse for them one by one, then carry the people to the clearing outside the cave to settle them together.
Two hours later...
Precht released the curse for the very last wild boar.
He picked the person up and came outside the cave.
In the clearing, Darwin had already prepared the food and was currently helping to look after the group of poor souls.
Although the curse had been released and these people had returned to their original human forms, they were still in a deep sleep, occasionally letting out strange mutterings from their mouths.
"Are there any more?"
"No more."
Darwin nodded and then began to count. When his finger landed on the last person, he suddenly let out an "Eh?" and looked at Precht in confusion: "I remember there were 25 wild boars inside? Why are there only 24 people here?"
Precht's mouth twitched: "The last one was a real wild boar, not a transformed one!"
Uh...
"Can you be sure?"
Darwin craned his neck to peer into the cave: "If we rescue everyone else but overlook just that one, how pitiful would that last one be!"
Precht said firmly: "I'm very sure!"
Darwin was still uneasy: "Maybe you saw it wrong. How about you use the curse-releasing magic on it once as well?"
"I've already used it three times!"
"...Alright then."
He had originally thought a few cursed humans had accidentally mixed into a boar pack, but it turned out a wild boar had accidentally mixed into a group of humans.
For some reason, Darwin felt the situation was a bit farcical, but on second thought, it seemed consistent with common sense, since mountain boars usually like to act alone.
"Was the real one the Wild Boar King?"
"No, just an ordinary wild boar. The Wild Boar King is him!"
As Precht spoke, he pointed toward a small boy lying on the ground.
Among these people cursed and transformed into wild boars, there were men, women, old, and young. The small boy was the youngest among them, looking only about ten years old.
"You're saying he was the Wild Boar King?"
Darwin widened his eyes in disbelief and exclaimed: "Why? He's just a kid..."
Precht glanced at Darwin and explained: "The appearance after being transformed by this kind of curse doesn't have much to do with age or physique. It mainly depends on the magical intensity of the curse endured. Furthermore, it has a certain relationship with the cursed person's own constitution."
"When I was releasing the curse for this boy just now, I discovered that besides the curse, there were traces of another kind of magic on him."
"According to my observations, it should be a type of 'Take Over Magic'."
"If my guess is correct, he might possess a magical talent for 'Beast Take Over'. Then, that talent unconsciously produced a 'resonance' with the curse on his body. That's why the wild boar he eventually turned into was so tall and strong, and could even command the other boars to act..."
Beast Take Over, Magical Resonance?
Such a thing could actually happen in this world?!
Darwin blinked, made a few "Hmm-mmm" sounds, and sighed: "Magic really is a wondrous thing!"
Although he couldn't quite understand the principles, since Precht said so, he would believe it for now.
"What do we do next?"
Darwin sat down on a nearby rock and scratched his hair in frustration.
"The situation of these people... seems to have exceeded the scope of this mission, hasn't it?"