The Second Experiment - Chieftain Olgoldugolro (1)
Behind the Harrington family’s grand estate stood a rocky mountain. Dozens of armed men stared at the dark cave halfway up its slope.
“So that’s the trolls’ den?”
“…It is, sir.”
The knight captain who had guided Tellorian wore a troubled expression. He had been ordered by the count to bring the court mage back safely.
“You truly intend to enter the trolls’ lair alone?”
“I do.”
“…”
The knight captain was a battle-hardened veteran in his middle years. He understood the strengths and weaknesses of mages all too clearly.
“Will you truly be all right?”
The question carried many layers. Did he have any means of protecting himself while casting spells? What would he do once his mana ran dry after a few spells?
“I will.”
“If that is your judgment, sir…”
Yet the knight captain was also the count’s trusted confidant, privy to his lord’s secrets. He knew that Tellorian was the one who had healed Lady Belladia when even the Tower Masters had given up.
“We shall wait here.”
“No. Return to the castle and stand by.”
“That is not the order I received.”
“Tell him it was my instruction. The count will understand. Now, stop interfering.”
With his magic staff held before him, Tellorian stepped into the gray cave. Stalactites jutted from the ceiling like fangs, and the walls were worn smooth.
The floor is slippery. This is a limestone cave formed by groundwater cutting through sediment. Exactly the kind of environment rock trolls prefer.
Acquired Lore of Nature!
Lore Points +1
Experience +10
50/100 until Level 12
Lore Points: 6
Tellorian planned to spend his Lore Points on Lore Master’s Enlightenment later. For now, he would focus on acquiring new lores. The more spells he could use, the better.
Once I master the lores of all four major elements, the advanced class Elementalist will unlock. Since it doesn’t overlap with Lore Master, I can run both in parallel.
While pondering new builds, he followed the winding passage. As he reached the lower levels, beasts emerged from the darkness—the cave’s original residents.
“Chirp chirp!”
“Grrrr…”
He lacked the ability to see through darkness, but his past-life experience let him guess their identities. Blood-red vampire bats would be clinging to the ceiling, while bear-sized tarantulas lurked on the ground.
“Ignis!”
Flash!
The ruby embedded at the top of his staff erupted in flame, and the beasts shrank back. Creatures that lived in darkness instinctively feared both the light and heat of fire.
And fire lore is my specialty.
His master had been a Pyromancer specialized in fire magic. Thanks to that, Tellorian had trained fire magic so rigorously that he possessed the Specialization trait at the third stage.
…I don’t miss him, Master.
Whenever his disciples failed to cast a spell, Master would sear their bare skin with fire. Even as an adult, Tellorian still couldn’t decide whether it had been upbringing or abuse.
Still… a benefactor is a benefactor.
In any case, the magical flames roared upward like the heart of a furnace. Faced with heat far beyond anything found in nature, the beasts cowered and retreated.
“Out of my way, you beasts.”
He slammed his staff into the ground. A shockwave burst forward. It was a first-circle spell, Shockwave. Its damage was negligible, but it carried Knockdown and Stun effects. It was also useful for destroying objects.
“Kyeeeeek!”
“KyaAAAAH!”
The enemies fled. The beasts crowded into the narrow passage to escape the heat. He wondered how much experience a Fireball tossed into that spot would yield.
…Belladia must feel like this when she sees a pretty boy. I can understand why she struggles to hold back her urge to slaughter.
Still, he wouldn’t waste mana on a Fireball. Mages were not a class that gained experience through slaughter and destruction.
Mages are researchers who explore the mysteries of the multiverse. Therefore, intellectual enlightenment is required to raise experience. If burning and exploding things deepened one’s learning, every mage would be a barbarian swinging a staff.
…His very first character in Sinear RPG had been a barbarian warrior. After reaching max level, he had slain a dragon and stolen its draconic words. He remembered finishing the game by killing the Dragon of the Apocalypse and triggering the self-ending.
Sometimes I do miss that barbarian’s refreshing boldness.
A modern man.
A mage.
Neither trait has anything to do with boldness. Thanks to that, I’m far more skilled at rational and intellectual thinking than most…
…Yet living shut away in a room, constantly calculating and weighing options, sometimes brought an intense urge to surrender to primal instinct.
“Stop right there, human.”
Now, for example, was one of those moments. Had he been a barbarian, he would have hurled a hand axe the instant the trolls revealed themselves from the darkness.
“You. Entered. Our. Lair.”
“You can speak the common tongue. Impressive.”
“Must give. Tribute.”
“You want tribute?”
The troll leader nodded. Its back was hunched, and its face was as hideous as a sculpture the gods had abandoned halfway through creation. Yet its skin was as hard as stone, and its knotted, muscular body radiated terrifying strength. Even a light jab would shatter a human body to pieces.
“If you want it, I’ll give it.”
“Human! Smart!”
“But there’s something I need to confirm first.”
“…”
Intense flames blazed from Tellorian’s staff. It was the reason the rock trolls couldn’t simply charge at him.
“You have invaded our human territory.”
“…Never. Did no such thing.”
A lie.
Proof of their meager intellect.
“Is that so?”
Whoosh!
The magical flames burned far brighter and grew larger. The giants, each over three meters tall, shrank back in fear and slowly retreated.
“Think again.”
“…Invaded. Sorry.”
Successfully intimidated them using fire!
Experience +10!
60/100 until Level 12
Lore Points: 6
“What did you steal at that time?”
“Will return. Follow.”
The troll leader descended deeper into the cave with a cowed attitude. Tellorian followed, never lowering his guard. The trolls trailing behind him, staring at the back of his head, were threatening, but his fairly high agility meant he could react even if they suddenly attacked.
“There.”
At the deepest level of the cave lay piles of bones of all shapes and sizes. Scraps of uneaten flesh and writhing maggots clung to them.
“Let me check.”
He illuminated the bones one by one with his flames. From the skeletal shapes, he determined there were no primates among them. They had not eaten humans.
Acquired Lore of Knowledge (Human Anatomy)!
Lore Points +1
Experience +10
70/100 until Level 12
Lore Points: 7
“You haven’t harmed any people.”
“…”
“That gives me a reason to study you.”
“…Study?”
There had been a question he had carried since childhood. What exactly separated humans from beasts? On Earth, it had been simple. Homo sapiens were people; everything else was a beast.
But in a fantasy land, the story is different.
In Sinear, the word “person” encompassed both humans and demi-humans. Demi-humans possessed civilizations equal to humans, and some could even produce mixed offspring with them.
Yet lately, the prevailing discourse is that personhood should be judged by intellect rather than outward similarity. Among us mages, at least…
Tellorian agreed with the recent discourse. A wise gold dragon was far more beneficial as a conversation partner than a stupid orc. And yet, one could hardly say a dragon wasn’t a person.
Which brings me to another question.
If a creature previously classified as a monster acquires intelligence, does it become a person?
“I will grant you intelligence.”
“…Intelligence?”
“Intelligence is a word your troll mind cannot yet comprehend. But if the experiment succeeds, you will possess the intellect necessary to understand it.”
The troll leader showed no interest in academic rhetoric. However, it clearly feared the flaming orb burning atop the magic staff.
“I will cast a spell on you now.”
“…No. Sorcery.”
“Sorcery or flames. Choose.”
The blatant threat made the troll leader bare its displeasure. But that was its problem. Tellorian had a question that needed answering.
Beast and person.
What separated the two?
“…”
“I’ll count to three.”
The troll leader instinctively weighed the power gap between them. The opponent was nothing but a scrawny human, yet he was a sorcerer who could create terrifying flames. If he unleashed that fire, the entire tribe—including itself—would burn to death.
“One.”
“…”
“Two.”
Would it accept it?
An unknown sorcery?
“Thre──”
“Sorcery! Sorcery!”
The troll leader cried out desperately and flopped onto its back—a troll gesture of surrender.
“Flames! Scary! Sorcery better!”
“A wise choice. Do not resist the spell.”
“…Understood.”
“This spell will benefit you.”
While maintaining the Fireball spell in his right hand, he wove a new spell using only his left. This was the Double Casting perk granted to those with Magic Talent at the fifth stage. It allowed two spells to be cast simultaneously.
Unique Spell: Lore of the Mind
Mind Manipulation: Socialization
Intelligence to Beast
“!”
“Now we should be able to converse properly.”
Socialization stimulated development of the frontal lobe. When used on an intelligent being, it merely activated dormant areas, but when cast on a beast, it caused observable expansion of the frontal lobe.
That’s why forcing socialization on beasts raises their intelligence. Of course, ordinary monsters start with such low baseline intelligence that it’s usually meaningless…
Trolls, however, were semi-intelligent creatures capable of living in groups and using tools even in their original state. It would be fascinating to observe what kind of communication became possible once their intelligence rose.
“…”
The troll leader, now under the mind manipulation, stared at him intently. The rapid twitching of its facial muscles suggested its emotions were in turmoil.
“I am…”
The troll leader’s pronunciation of the common tongue had become remarkably clear. It still carried the characteristic phlegmy accent, but communication was no longer an issue.
“I am Olgoldugolro, chieftess of the Rootwood Tribe. What is the name of the great sorcerer who has bestowed intelligence upon me?”
Research Log has been updated.
New Specimen: Chieftess Olgoldugolro
…Her intelligence jumped to 20?
An intelligence of 20 was on par with the greatest scholars in Earth’s history. Considering that the average intelligence of people in this medieval land was only 10…
This…
It might be a far greater discovery than he had anticipated.
New Research: Turning Beasts into People
📍 Research Clues: 0/5
🎁 Reward: Lore of the Mind