Chapter 448: Catfolk and

"Furry" and "Catgirl" are two completely different types of creatures.

The former is similar to an anthropomorphic animal; perhaps possessing human-like features in facial structure, limbs, and movement, but maintaining an animal appearance as its primary form.

The most obvious characteristic is the furry coat covering their entire body.

The latter, however, differs from a normal human only by having a tail, two animal ears, and occasionally slightly beast-like palms.

For Xia Nan, back in his youth in his previous life, he had once had unrealistic fantasies about these two creatures—which do not exist in the real world—due to characters in various entertainment media, imagining what the texture of that fur might feel like.

But as he truly stepped into the crucible of society, the high pressure from work left him no time to care about such things, and so he did not let those childhood interests develop further.

Now, having transmigrated to this fantasy continent that truly possesses supernatural powers.

At first, as a bottom-tier ordinary adventurer, the pressure of survival left him with no mind to think about such things.

But soon, as he gradually gained a foothold on the Aifala Continent, and as he saw more people and encountered more events, his physical fitness gradually strengthened to the point where he could easily break the human world records of his past life and truly slash out sword light with his blade, Xia Nan truly felt the reality of transmigrating to another world.

He truly realized that those fantasy species that only existed in entertainment media in his past life seemed to have... truly become reality.

Come to think of it, Xia Nan hadn't encountered a creature like a "catgirl" since transmigrating.

The character image closest to it would be the lycanthrope "Mint," whose head he had smashed in half with a punch; she usually looked thin and small, and her face wasn't ugly, but she had no beast-like features on the surface, only becoming a bear-like beast after transforming.

Strictly speaking, that shouldn't fit the definition of a "beast-girl."

He had heard that the offspring born from the union of cursed lycanthropes and normal humans would naturally possess some beast-like features.

But since Xia Nan hadn't seen one, there was nothing more to say.

As for the so-called "furry," strictly speaking, he really had experienced interacting with one.

Although not furry, from an appearance standpoint, the Dragonborn he met during the mission to obtain the 【Dream Weaving Corridor】 should have satisfied the characteristics of an anthropomorphic beast; of course, that one had also been dead for a long time.

However, because of the mission at the time and the Dragonborn's own personality, Xia Nan hadn't had the chance to interact with them much, so naturally, he didn't think too much about it.

And at this moment, the creature standing beside the Druid Haian perfectly fit every stereotype of a "furry"—furry, anthropomorphic beast... and the prototype even seemed to be a feline.

That was a "Catfolk," quite rare in Shoal Bay!

An adult male, about six feet tall; not short, but far from tall when placed on the docks, yet his body proportions were excellent. A pair of long, powerful legs paired with his lean physique gave him a capable and light-footed feeling.

He wore a set of quite refined light plate armor on his upper body. Perhaps because it was too hot, he didn't wear an inner lining, revealing his brown-yellow fur covered in irregular black spots. It was furry, and one could faintly see crisscrossing faint scars under the dense mane.

His tail was very long, also covered in a layer of brown-yellow fluff, though the spots on the surface were much sparser. At this moment, it was raised behind him, swaying slightly like a cat's, which to a certain extent helped stabilize his center of gravity, allowing him to maintain balance at high altitudes and on decks surging with sea waves.

It is worth mentioning that this Catfolk was not wearing boots.

He let his broad soles and thick, soft paw pads tread on the deck, and one could faintly see the claws retracted deep within the paw pads.

He didn't know if it was a racial habit or a personal preference, but judging rationally, being barefoot for a race with such obvious beast-like features should provide bonuses when sneaking or climbing.

"Hello, my name is Alton!"

"Xia Nan."

As the newly joined teammates, the two of them came to the deck and took the initiative to introduce themselves to the other.

"I, I am Sasha..."

Quite contrastingly, this Catfolk named "Sasha," who had a straight face and an aloof, elegant feline appearance when viewed from under the ship, actually appeared somewhat shy when interacting in person.

His gaze wandered, not daring to look the person greeting him in the eye, and when he stammered out his name, even the tail behind him wagged a bit faster.

"Don't mind him, this kid is a bit shy."

"He's been on the ship for so many years, and he's still the same as before."

Beside them, seeing the atmosphere on the scene cooling down, Haian spoke up to smooth things over.

"Rest assured, Sasha isn't a bad person; he's quite reliable during missions."

Hearing his teammate say this, the already introverted and shy Catfolk subconsciously lowered his head, his long tail curling inward in embarrassment, much like a human curling their toes.

Xia Nan, of course, wouldn't mind.

He was just a bit introverted, not harboring any hostility toward him; it was very normal.

And truthfully, Xia Nan himself was a professional; setting aside actual combat power, just from the perspective of professional level, lv3 wasn't low on the docks, and he had recently made a name for himself, earning the nickname "Sea Fang."

Joining the "Oath-Breaker" as a temporary member was personally invited by the ship captain, Luo Lin, and he would likely leave after three months.

Whether from the perspective of strength, fame, or threat level, it was of no harm to the adventurers on the ship.

Anyone with even a little bit of thinking ability wouldn't provoke him for no reason, let alone look down on him for no reason.

At most, they would just be a little cold because they weren't familiar with him.

Actually, that was also very easy to solve, especially when both parties were members of the same adventurer squad.

According to Xia Nan's understanding, no matter how distant or cold the relationship between them was, as long as there was no fundamental conflict... after experiencing a battle together, all problems would be solved.

Compared to the other's reaction, Xia Nan was more concerned about the Catfolk's physical characteristics.

A pair of pointed ears stood on top of his head, the inside of the ear flaps covered with a layer of beige fluff. There was a small v-shaped notch on the tip of his left ear, likely left over from some battle, and it would twitch alertly from time to time due to the cries of seagulls overhead.

His cat eyes were disproportionately large, occupying almost half of his furry face, and the irises were an amber color much more vibrant than his fur.

He wore a small copper ring on his left ear, and a shark tooth necklace hanging from a leather cord around his neck.

Xia Nan knew this!

The various knowledge he had been cramming daily, which had almost combined with his daily training since transmigrating, finally had a use.

He remembered reading in a bard's travelogue that Catfolk liked to wear ear ornaments and necklaces to highlight the lines of their ears and necks.

It was a piece of trivia that, if not observed carefully, one might not notice even after spending a long time together.

Besides that, Xia Nan also had some understanding of the Catfolk race.

Overall, they sounded a bit like Halflings like Alton, keen on objects and crafts, liking fresh things; compared to a bag of gold coins, a legendary story they had never heard of could attract the attention of these furry guys more. ===== CHAPTER 449 =====