The Wisdom of the Mages

Cavens Rat Farm.

Gnoll leader Huozi and Psionics Garvin, after being severely reprimanded by Remlu, were nervously conducting their second breeding trial.

This time, they had learned their lesson and no longer judged the Cavens Rats' gender by their appearance.

Instead, they adhered to the principle of "seeing is believing" and "seeking truth from facts," lifting each Cavens Rat by its tail to determine its sex based on its physical structure.

However, the un-domesticated Cavens Rats were extremely agitated in this regard. When Garvin tried to lift their tails, they repeatedly attempted to bite his hand.

If not for Huozi's quick reflexes, Garvin would have likely been mauled by the rats long ago.

"General Manager Huo, may I offer a small suggestion?"

After overcoming his initial shock, Garvin clearly recognized and adapted to his role quickly. The newly coined term "General Manager" still felt a bit unfamiliar to him.

Huozi waved his hand and laughed heartily, "You don't need to be so formal with me. As long as it can help Hogg Mining and the Cavens Rat Farm develop better, any reliable suggestion is worth respecting and discussing. These are the Master's exact words, and I'm passing them on to you."

After saying this, the Gnoll leader couldn't help but chuckle inwardly, wondering if he had been acting a bit too pretentious these past two days.

He recalled that just a few days before meeting the Master, their lives were like wild beasts in the desolate night, hunting or plundering other territories under the Black Dragon's command.

Day after day, year after year.

Comparing that to the present, he seemed to gradually understand that when one's stomach could barely be filled, a primitive small tribe simply couldn't bear anything beyond 'foraging.'

For example, intelligence, the creation and inheritance of knowledge.

After a long silence, Garvin's carefully considered voice finally came:

"You see, many of these Cavens Rats have bite marks and bloodstains on them. I don't know if they had a habit of attacking their own kind before being captured, but from my observation, these rats that are tearing at each other are basically all males. If this continues unchecked, I believe it could lead to infections or even a plague."

Huozi was initially unconcerned, but upon hearing the words "infection" and "plague," his expression turned serious.

Having lived in the Gloomy Wasteland, he knew firsthand the horrors of such epidemics. His gaze towards Garvin became solemn and respectful.

He considered himself an uncultured illiterate and therefore yearned for knowledge. Those who possessed knowledge were beings he admired and respected.

"You mean to separate them? But with this many..."

"Precisely. I suggest separating all the male rats for individual breeding."

Garvin stated decisively. His gaze swept across the empty Mine Plain, finally settling on the pitted ground. "There's a simple method, but it will require a lot of manpower."

"Roar! We have no shortage of manpower right now," Huozi laughed freely. "Joking aside, with the Didi Miner reward policy in place, it's foreseeable that more people will come to Zelandia to work every day."

"We can directly excavate the ground rock layer, digging out grid-like enclosures half a foot square for these Cavens Rats' nests. Their claws might be good at digging through soil, but it will take some time to penetrate the rock layer. As for the females, they can be raised collectively. Then, through observation and breeding, we can regularly select the strongest, non-fighting, low-eating, disease-resistant, depression-resistant, non-manic, and most beautifully furred males to introduce to the female groups for breeding. In the long run, this will surely allow us to efficiently domesticate and breed a group of easy-to-raise Cavens Rats."

As he spoke, Garvin didn't notice a somewhat sinister and wicked smile creeping onto his lips. Perhaps it was due to the hardships he had endured, wanting these Cavens Rats to experience them firsthand as well.

Huozi bared his fangs, his slap nearly driving Garvin into the ground. "This idea is brilliant! Let's do it! If it works well, I'll report it to the Master."

As he spoke, he turned to the gnoll subordinates behind him and commanded, "Go! Summon a hundred tribesmen. By the end of today, I want every male rat to have their own villa!"

Just as the gnoll took his orders and left, Remlu, who had transformed into a merman, bustled over again. "Gua! Huozi, the Master wants you to find him some mages, preferably those who have also studied arcane arts. He's researching a Big Iron Box and wants to gather the wisdom of the citizens."

"Mages? Preferably those who have also studied arcane arts? Mages? Arcane psionics? These magic system users are too troublesome!"

Huozi chewed on the words, seemingly confused about the difference between arcane arts and psionics. He suddenly turned to look at the bewildered and helpless Garvin. Wasn't there a ready-made mage right in front of him!

"Livestock Officer Garvin! Put aside your research on Cavens Rat reproduction for now and come with me! The wise Master might need your intellect."

"Livestock Officer Garvin."

In Zelandia, former mages could easily form a Spellcasting Team, but not many had studied arcane arts.

After the glory of Netheril turned to ashes in that world-destroying explosion, and the new Goddess of Magic Mystra completely banned access to spells of the 9th ring and above in the Weave, the number of Arcanists studying arcane arts across Coriel began to plummet.

This was the tragedy of the great knowledge gap.

Any knowledge was a systematic and three-dimensional entity. Without a solid foundation, it was almost impossible to research the superstructure independently.

Thus, this selection process was a bit longer. Just as the dome's fluorescence was about to dim, Huozi finally arrived, bringing two other burly mages.

Garvin, whom he had left there first, was already fiddling with the strange Big Iron Box and talking enthusiastically and excitedly with the Master:

"This concept is truly excellent. Aha, converting the energy of steam expansion into mechanical energy to drive other machinery. I doubt even the Arcanists of Netheril back then would have thought of this."

Garvin was clearly not a simpleton who only knew how to study and mine. Knowing clearly that the more robust gnoll before him was the mastermind behind Hogg Mining, Garvin did not hold back his praise.

And the object before him was indeed worthy of praise. It emitted no magical fluctuations whatsoever, yet it could obtain mechanical energy solely from the steam generated by boiling water!

This was practically approaching the truth of the matter!

But Li Wei, of course, didn't buy this kind of flattery. Crossing his arms, he smiled calmly and stated with certainty, "No, some of those Grand Arcanists of Netheril must have discovered this phenomenon. However, having already invented the Mythallar, they simply disdained this meager mechanical energy."

Thanks to student [DK Qin Ge] for the 500 reward, and student [xiaotang246] for the 100 reward.