Cthulhu Gonfalon

After the tabulation of results, it was found that the Republic of Northwest’s citizens had chosen 760 surnames in the first round, of which many were special. However, the repetition in counts was very serious. It was ascertained that a second round was needed, and this time, those who re-decided their surname was about 150,000. Furthermore, these had already been recorded, and there were about 624 surnames that could not be repeated by other families.

Within the surnames which had been used about two hundred times, most commonly found would be place names and careers, such as “East,””West,””North,””South,””Wood,””Carpenter,””Muller,””Blacksmith,” and so on. It was clear that if one wanted to use these names but weren’t able to be the first two hundred, they would have to rack their brains for another surname.

“Ah? I’m not one of the first two hundred? Why is the surname “Soder” so popular? This doesn’t make any sense!” Ruby was shocked when he received the notification.

“There are many retired explorers who would probably want to use this surname. For example, names like Lance, Brad, Bao would all be used,” Hopes said.

“Damn it! What should I use, then? What are you all using?” Ruby frowned and looked at the rest of the elite group.

“After my father received the notification, he immediately used magic to get himself to city hall and snatched the surname of ‘Booker.’ So from now onwards, I’m Sid Booker,” Sid said as he read a book.

“Booker… This surname must be common as well,” Hopes commented.

“Yes, my father said that names such as Mana, Ether, Magic, Booker and Hai Wen are all in extreme demand.”

“This situation is still the best for those who already have surnames. That would save these people so much trouble!” Ruby sighed and gazed wistfully at Hopes and Dudu.

“Well, having the surname ‘Wilder’ isn’t something great either. Not everyone who you share a surname with is worth being associated with!” Thinking back on his childhood, Hopes smiled bitterly.

He thought carefully and realized that the good Wilders that he knew were far and few in between. For himself, his upbringing prevented him from becoming a villain. Those brothers who were young were similarly too innocent to turn bad. However, this was not the case for the seniors.

In the Wilder tribe, the main career was being an officer, and they were the Orc Empire’s famous advising tribe. The Wilders were known for being ingenious and were good at coming up with plans and schemes. However, their genius was all used in bad plans and war. The name Wilder carried with it a history of blood and death. It was definitely not a title worth being jealous of. Furthermore, as Hopes was of mixed blood, he had been met with prejudice since young. If not for the protection of his father, his relatives would have used him as a human sacrifice or killed him. As he grew older, it became harder for his father to take care of him. This was especially true as Hopes’ family tribe had many Isis members of high ranks and were the brains behind terrorist attacks.

One might ask why Hopes left his tribe and family and would rather follow the western wilderness tribe. That was because he no longer felt like he could survive life in the Orc Empire. He felt he was bound to die eventually. The more Hopes considered the situation, the more he felt that the surname only carried bad connotations and bad memories.

“Maybe I should change my surname… What should I change it to? Hopes as well? No, that would be too boring. How about Lebit? I could take on that as well, by right… But it would be strange for a man to have that surname…” Hopes muttered to himself.

“Why would you change your surname for no reason? Is it not good to belong to a family legacy? I quite like my surname ‘Hill.’”

“You’re a dwarf. Even if you wanted to change your surname, would your grandfather allow you to do so?” Sid asked.

Dudu rubbed his nose and laughed dryly.

His grandfather was the current king of the Kingdom of Dwarves. He was a smart, powerful and respectable elder who commandeered the respect of the whole kingdom. He managed to win over the younger tribesmen physically—he found a stick that was thick and hard and used it to hit the naughty children in their most vulnerable places. If once was not enough, he would repeat it ten times more. In any case, the dwarves’ skin was thick and had healing properties; a wooden stick would only hurt but not kill them.

The dwarves respected family traditions and honor. If Dudu were really to change his surname, he would have to face the physical wrath of his grandfather’s stick.

Of course, given Dudu’s nature, he was not to accept this without any complaint. Yet, he obviously was unable to fight against his own grandfather. He was not even a high level, while his grandfather was of the legendary level. Thus, he decided to accept his fate and not try anything foolish.

Hopes, on the other hand, had no issue as he had severed ties with his family once he had left home. His father had made it clear that no matter whether he became rich or poor, it would be no matter to the Wilders. If they met in battle, there would also be no ties mentioned. Of course, the chances of them meeting in battle were slim. Hopes had already decided to be a worker all his life, and it was near impossible for the Republic to need an explorer or mine worker to fight in battle. Nevertheless, his father’s attitude was clear. He would no longer recognize Hopes as his son and vice versa. The many years of the father-son relationship were destroyed just like that.

To be honest, it was actually rather strange for him to keep the surname of Wilder. Hopes sighed.

“Do you think it’d be better for me to have Lebit as my surname?”

Dudu froze and glanced at Hopes seriously. “There isn’t a problem here. I think it’d be fine.”

“This surname sounds familiar though, where have I heard it before…” Ruby said.

“Lebit is a Rabbitman tribe in the Orc Empire. Previously, there was a Rabbitman princess who married into the Foxman tribe Wilder family. Although this princess has passed away, it’s been said that she bore a child. However, the rabbit tribe has a rule that the surname can only be taken on by females, males take on the Wilder surname,” Sid said evenly, continuing to read his book.

Dudu received this news peacefully, but Ruby had on a forced expression. What if he found out that all his friends were daxies? This issue was urgent and on the line.