Phase One Success (Minor Revision, Dialogue Changed)

Blade Tusk only froze for a moment before he sensed the changes within himself. It was not merely "fatigue," but the faint "vitality" within his body, perceived by some invisible force.

He was ecstatic. Without bothering to clean up the mess, he clutched the Magic Crystal tightly and hopped outside, shouting.

"Old Witch Doctor! Old Witch Doctor! I did it! Come look!"

The Witch Doctors lived in the same courtyard to begin with. Hearing him, they all stopped what they were doing and emerged from their rooms, looking at him in confusion.

"Look!"

As he spoke, Blade Tusk tried to recreate what had just happened. He was too excited, and only found that sensation again after several attempts. A surge of power poured into the Magic Crystal. A fist-sized fireball formed and shot into the ground before the three stunned Witch Doctors, blasting out a shallow pit half a meter wide and half a palm deep.

"Ha!"

"Cha!"

"Hoo!"

Three clearly enunciated cries, apparently expressing something along the lines of "what the hell," came from three different directions.

Immediately afterward, the three Witch Doctors hurried over and surrounded Blade Tusk. One swiftly snatched away the Magic Crystal, afraid he would continue wasting his "vitality," while the other two scolded him even as they stared him up and down in amazement.

"Genius!"

How could they not be astonished? Even the most gifted among the three had waited two full prime-year cycles before gaining such an ability. The other two Trolls had taken even longer. But how old was this little Troll before them? He did not even reach the chest of an adult warrior. In other words, not even one prime-year cycle had passed!

"Blade Tusk! You... this... how did you do it?!"

The Old Witch Doctor asked with a slight stutter born of shock. Instinctively, he sensed that this speed could not be explained away with a simple word like "genius." Thinking of Blade Tusk's "research," which had been going on for quite some time, he could not help linking the two together.

His question was therefore filled with deep expectation.

The tribe had long existed in a social structure of "communal association." Whether it was tangible material wealth or intangible products of wisdom such as "trap-making," all means of production were habitually considered jointly owned by everyone. Thus, the Old Witch Doctor did not realize that in another social setting, his question might have been considered offensive.

Of course, Blade Tusk did not see it that way.

During his research, the tribe fed and clothed him. Beyond that, anyone capable of fulfilling any of his needs did so unconditionally. Whether it was providing materials, making tools, or improving anesthetics, none of it could have been done without the tribe's help. Therefore, he was not displeased by the Old Witch Doctor's question. From the start, he had intended to share the results.

Naturally, that sharing was limited to within the tribe.

"Witch Doctors, I have found a way to speed up Awakening. I can share it with the tribe, but you must promise me to keep it secret from other tribes. Can you do that?"

He had to emphasize it. These primitive fellows could never suppress their urge to show off, especially those muscle-brained warriors. If the tribe had even the slightest thing better than another tribe's, they wanted to announce it to the entire world. That would not do. This was the stage of quietly getting rich. Good things had to be hidden away until they were strong enough.

"Yes, yes. Top secret. Rest easy."

Only after receiving their assurance did Blade Tusk feel safe sharing his ideas about "training," the specific steps, and the current results. As for the "cultivation" portion, it was not yet complete, and there were too many unknown factors—whether it would work, whether it was dangerous, and so on. He chose to keep that part under wraps for now. He only mentioned that he had further ideas for improvement and was still researching them.

Yet even his explanation of the "training" portion alone made the Witch Doctors' eyes shine. They repeatedly exclaimed, "So it can be done like this!" before each going off to test it for themselves.

Left behind, Blade Tusk merely curled his lip, showing his disdain for the Witch Doctors' habit of tossing him aside once they had what they wanted. Then he suppressed his excitement and returned to the "laboratory," ready to continue his unfinished research.

He understood that Awakening could only be considered a preliminary success. The door to "magic" had merely shyly opened its "trial mode" to him. More fundamental matters, such as its principles, still hid away and refused to show themselves.

Why did he say that? Because he had casually tried it earlier, and the inside of the Magic Crystal was still in an "unknowable, unreachable" state. In other words, the reason and process behind "spellcasting" remained a black-box operation to him. For Blade Tusk, who aspired to become a "mage," that was utterly unacceptable.

The results I have now neither help reduce the cost of spellcasting nor allow me to understand its principles. It is far too early to become complacent. Comrade, you must keep working hard.

After giving himself such a warning and admonition, he finally suppressed his pride and other emotions, then resumed his usual research.

Over the following days, news gradually came from the Witch Doctors.

It was not that they had achieved any major breakthroughs, but that each had made progress in applying the Meditation Method.

The three Witch Doctors had not simply copied Blade Tusk's conclusions. Based on his ideas, each chose a direction suited to themselves and began exploring it.

For instance, the Head Witch Doctor who had previously helped Blade Tusk improve the "anesthetic" chose "plant growth" as the focus of his meditation, something more suited to him. He wanted to create his own meditation system by following the process of plants taking root, sprouting, and gradually growing stronger.

The Old Witch Doctor's approach was different. His envisioned Meditation Method went from a point to a plane, from a plane to a solid, then continuously added new planes to that solid, allowing his "target" to constantly approach a sphere without ever becoming one.

The Middle Witch Doctor, who had previously served as an "experimental assistant," had gradually become interested in the "body" after Blade Tusk's coaxing. His Meditation Method also seemed set to begin from the angle of "Troll growth."

Blade Tusk, the "little Witch Doctor," did not interfere too much with the choices of the three Witch Doctors. More attempts were generally a good thing. However, in the short term, he favored the Old Witch Doctor's direction more. It was simple and feasible.

As for the other two, the directions they had chosen were overly complicated, so they were bound to face countless difficulties in refining them. Their final success might be far beyond reach, but the training they gained along the way would be real.

Therefore, Blade Tusk was not particularly worried. On the contrary, he held some expectations.