With this announcement, most of them left only some people with gills remained. One man in his thirties with gills and fish scales asked Elder Henry curiously "Elder is it possible for me also undergo this ceremony and grow a tail?"

Hearing this question, a fleeting smile appeared on Elder Henry's face as he explained in detail "Yes, you can undergo the ceremony and awaken the tail ability. But the probability of awakening the ability is the same as normal people. If you don't have a parent with tail ability."

All the people with gills listened attentively to this explanation. Some of them showed disappointment and some of them showed an expectation in their faces. Seeing this, Elder Henry smiled and waved his hands at them while saying "Okay, you all can go now. If you wish to participate in the ceremony. Leave your name on the list."

Some of the people left directly and some of them left after writing down their names in the list. The elders all looked happy with the number of people participating in the ceremony. John also looked intently at the gathering hall as he sensed something important was about to happen. So he began to divert most of his attention to the people in the settlement for the next few days.

Days passed and most of the people who wanted to participate wrote down their names in the list. The venue for the ceremony was also selected outside the settlement a flat open space with no trees or plants present. John looked at all of this and followed everyone's moment attentively to not miss anything.

The elders all gathered in the hall and looked at the small crowd of people with no mutations and people with gills. There's no one with tails present other than the elders with tails. Elder Henry looked at all the people and said with emotion "It's good you all decided to participate in the ceremony. But there's still a round of elimination before finalizing the list. James, you carry on the remaining."

After saying that, he signals to an elder with a body full of black-colored fish scales with gills and a slender fish tail with barbs. James coughed slightly looked at the crowd and said in a majestic tone "All of you, stand in line and come forward one by one."

The people started to form a line as James said. In the meantime, James took out a small cat-like animal with its eyes closed. Then one by one people came forward and tried to interact with the animal. But the animal didn't react to everyone, the animal only reacted to a few of them. The people who all made the animal react were noted down in a separate list.

Then Elder Henry said to the people who can't make the animal react "The people who can't make the animal react are disqualified to participate in this ceremony. So, you all can leave."

The disqualified people all left the hall with sad expressions. The remaining people who were selected to participate in the ceremony looked at the elder and waited for his order. Elder Henery looked at them and said in an unquestionable tone "You all come tomorrow here in the early morning alone. Okay, that's all, you all can return to your home and don't do any work and be in the best condition till the ceremony."

After everyone else left, James asked Henry with a doubt "Is it necessary to fool them? We could have just told the truth and let them choose who wanted to participate in the ceremony and who didn't. There's no need to create a lie like this."

Hearing his friend's inquiry Henry looked at him and said in a slow tone "Who would have known the potions required for ceremony become less suddenly? And we can't use all of the potions in one ceremony alone. We have to leave some for future emergencies and ceremonies. We don't have any potionists nor can we purchase any potion from our current location."

"So, it's better to let them think as they don't qualify than to let them think that they didn't get chosen because there's no potion left for them and we choose everyone with their parents as a tailed people. There's no better choice than this. Stop fumbling over this and concentrate on the things on the hand."

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Then the elders also left from there after discussing something, with only John looking at the empty hall with countless questions. But he decides to wait it out as it seems that the people will slowly answer all his questions within a few days. He submerged in the river to let the water cool his body down with its coldness. The people who are selected for the ceremony are spending quality time with their families.

George's POV

One of such is twenty-year-old George with gills. He's born of a man with a gill and a woman with a tail. He's the only child in the family. He's envious of his mother's ability to communicate with other animals and command them.

When he's informed about the ceremony. He successfully listed his name in the hall new very happy. But when he is invited to the hall and informed there's still a round of disqualification. He got a little excited, but to his luck he got chosen to undergo the ceremony.

He's very happy with the current situation. So he walked towards his home on the east side of the settlement with excitement. But when he got near his house he controlled his emotions and became silent. Because his parents are against his decision to participate in the ceremony.

When he entered the house, his mother with a tail along with her animal partner green venomous snake that was only the length of an arm. George looked at the snake and tried to take it away from his mother. But his mother slapped his hands and said with a frustrated expression "How many times do I have to tell you, not to touch Lily? She's a venomous snake and she isn't your pet. Did you forget a time when you got bitten by her?"

Seeing her son's blackening face, she stopped what she's gonna say with a sigh and changed the topic "Did you inform the Elder that you didn't want to take part in the ceremony?"

Hearing his mother's question, George replied coldly "It's my choice to participate in the ceremony and I know right from wrong. I don't need your advice, Mom. I am more than twenty after all."

Hearing her son's reply, his mother got sad. George also realized that he let his tongue slip. So just when he decided to say sorry. His father came out of the house with a burly body and said in an angry tone "George is that how you speak with your mom? And only now do you realize that you are over twenty. Why don't you go to work and earn something for the family other than whimpering around like a dog."

George looked at his father with an angry expression but he didn't say anything. He walked out of there and entered his house because seeing his father reminded him of what he lacked. That is a strong body which is essential to becoming a successful fisherman in the village. Even if there's no discrimination against him. He can't partner with a strong fisherman resulting in fewer fish every time he goes fishing in a nearby river with his friends.

With a lifespan of an absolute hundred years with no disease and fewer deaths, people from the settlement were given more time for newborns to adapt to the environment. This resulted in treating him as a kid and not letting him take on important responsibilities. Along with his insecurities and overthinking, George began to feel inferior.

George locked himself in his room on the second floor and looked at the river in a daze. Suddenly his eyes widened as he found a huge silhouette moving. So he wiped his eyes to take a second look, but he found nothing. So he blamed what he had seen as his imagination and began to sleep thinking about his big day.

All the people who are selected to undergo the ceremony are nervous, excited, and in fear. Because there's still a chance of death in the ceremony. Meanwhile, the family members and close friends also worried about their friends. John looked at the people who were all behaving opposite to their daily routine and found it interesting.

So John concentrated more on the settlement of what causes these people to be under these types of pressures. As the sun rose in the sky, in the early morning a small number of people woke up and wore the best dresses they had and walked towards the gathering hall.

George also woke up and looked at the best food his mother prepared for him and white colored animal skin with no damage and smelling good with red eyes. He knows that both of these things that his parents prepared are best in the village. Even though his parents aren't very rich.

He hugged his mother ate the food quickly and left saying "Thank you, Father."

His father just smiled while looking at his disappearing son's shadow. His mother looked at her husband and said with a nagging expression "If you said something nice yesterday, we could have convinced him to stay."

For this, the father replied with a light smile "Sure we could have done something more and stopped him from participating in the ceremony. But this is what he wants, he would have hated us for his lifetime if we stopped him, and I believe my son won't be a failure."