Seminars and the Witch Doctors' Individual Growth (Revised, Dialogue Modified)

First, he broke down the planned material into more subtopics, intending to explain them separately.

Afterward, Blade Tusk finished organizing and summarizing several of those subtopics, then handed them to the other three witch doctors in the form of "papers" for thought and study.

Later, after giving the witch doctors ample time to study, he organized several "seminars."

The seminars proceeded with exceptional difficulty. He had to exert tremendous effort just to make himself understood.

"Contemplation has a threshold. Only after building a foundation through meditation can contemplation proceed smoothly."

"First, use meditation to mechanically train one's thinking ability, then use contemplation to grant the meditation target an 'attribute concept.'"

"'Meditation space' is a collection of 'attributes.' On the level of knowledge, one must distinguish between 'reality' and 'illusion'; on the practical level, one must blur the boundary between them."

"Through contemplation, materialize 'vitality (cellular energy + cellular consciousness)' with a sense of touch. Differentiate the renewable parts of 'vitality' into 'physical strength' and 'mental strength,' then construct 'magic power' through the concept that 'physical strength + mental strength = magic power.'"

"The advantages of introducing the rune concept? Standardization and visualization."

"Casting without Magic Crystals."

"In this system, the keys to successful casting are the two variables of 'mental focus' and 'medium accuracy.' The former refers to reproducing 'runes' within the meditation space; the latter refers to the incantations and gestures that affect reality."

"Moreover, their relative importance is inversely proportional."

"When we are focused enough, the required accuracy of the medium correspondingly decreases, up to a certain limit. When we are not focused enough, the meaningful incantations and gestures take on more of the burden of constructing the Arcane Arts, likewise up to a certain limit."

"This 'limit' exists because neither 'mind' nor 'medium' can independently produce the effects of Arcane Arts. Therefore, no matter how much one reduces the involvement of either part, its presence must still be ensured."

That was roughly what he meant. It was easy enough for him to understand it himself, but expressing all of it in Troll Language, which was still far from complete, was what truly drained his energy.

More than half the time was spent discussing word choices with the Trolls.

Whenever he got a headache, he deeply regretted not simply gritting his teeth and importing modern Chinese back then.

But things had come this far. He could hardly deny the conclusions he had struggled so long to reach, could he? He could only keep pressing onward.

Naturally, those seminars became occasions for him to answer the witch doctors' questions unilaterally. They were not entirely useless, but at most, they helped identify shortcomings in summarization, revision, and presentation.

To be honest, a single seminar did more to advance Troll Language than it did to advance "scientific research."

Perhaps it was a little sad, perhaps it consumed too much energy, but Blade Tusk had no intention of giving up like this.

He wanted seminars to become routine and continue as a platform for promoting mutual progress.

Even if that progress first showed itself in language, that was fine. He could treat it as sharpening the axe before chopping wood.

But the witch doctors did not seem to agree. They believed this was wasting Blade Tusk's time. Rather than "feeding" them material paper by paper, he should spend that precious time on his own research.

Blade Tusk naturally disagreed, but he vaguely realized the witch doctors' concerns and seriously explained his thoughts.

In short, filling out the new system required everyone's wisdom and effort. Therefore, training the tribe's witch doctors was urgent, understandable "textbooks" had become an immediate necessity, and the old witch doctors' assistance was indispensable.

After a thorough discussion, he finally persuaded the witch doctors, and the format of the "seminar" would continue.

In the days that followed, as more seminars were held and the witch doctors gained much broader knowledge, the unhealthy format of the early meetings gradually began to change.

At first, the witch doctors tried imitating him. In the relatively crude format of papers plus presentations, they reflected upon and restated Blade Tusk's research.

Later, based on their own research, they also began producing "midterm reports," "stage summaries," and similar work.

The Old Witch Doctor in particular distributed a paper titled "Meditation Research Based on Geometric Structures Formed by Points, Lines, and Planes" during this stage, then gave a presentation and defense at the following seminar.

Systematic summaries and extensive exchanges greatly advanced the Old Witch Doctor's research and restored his confidence.

Thus, he pressed on with results such as "Exploring the Direction of Geometry Meditation's Advancement on the Level of Contemplation," "Report on the Successful Combination of Geometry Meditation and Contemplation," and "A Meditation Space Established Through the Geometry Meditation Method," which came one after another in the days that followed.

Then, one day, when the Old Witch Doctor once again produced "Fireball Rune Construction and Standard Medium Design," it signified that another new "caster" had been born.

Blade Tusk was sincerely delighted by the Old Witch Doctor's progress and asked how he felt after his breakthrough.

The Old Witch Doctor answered frankly,

"I can feel it. This is the new world!"

The Old Witch Doctor's wording had somewhat departed from the style of Ancient Troll Language and taken on a hint of Modern Troll Language. This was another thing that greatly comforted Blade Tusk.

The other two witch doctors had also made remarkable progress. Though not as quickly as the Old Witch Doctor, they too made breakthroughs in their respective fields and in language.

The Head Witch Doctor, for example, published "Common Plants," "Selecting Plant-Type Meditation Targets," "The Dissection and Speculation of Black Tree Vine," "Research into a Meditation Approach Based on Black Tree Vine Growth," and "Stage Results Report on Black Tree Vine Meditation" during the early stages.

After the Old Witch Doctor achieved his breakthrough, the Head Witch Doctor drew on a wide range of references, absorbed the experience, and finally delivered several reports, including "Conceptual Elements of Black Tree Vine Contemplation," "Combining Black Tree Vine Meditation and Contemplation," and "A Meditation Space Constructed Through the Black Tree Vine Meditation Method." In the end, he used "Runic Structuring and Standard Medium Design for Vine Binding Art" as his stepping stone into the "new world."

The Middle Witch Doctor likewise produced gratifying results.

Several papers, such as "Beasts and Magical Beasts: A Study of the Similarities and Differences in the Anatomical Structures of Grass Rabbits and Wind Rabbits," were summaries of his previous research, written according to the format and content of Blade Tusk's papers after attending several early seminars.

After Blade Tusk and the Old Witch Doctor published their related papers, the Middle Witch Doctor broadened his horizons and acquired new knowledge. Driven by clearer ideas, he accelerated his own research.

Thereafter, he used a series of studies—such as "Speculations on Selecting Animal-Type Meditation Targets," "Analysis of the Possibility of Species Progression in Meditation Targets: Individually Powerful Magical Beasts and Lineage Magical Beasts," and "Wolf Meditation: Meditation Concepts for Low-Level Wind Wolves"—as the foundation for establishing his meditation.

Then, based on studies such as "Conceptual Use of Magic Crystal Slots in Wind Wolf Contemplation," "Preparatory Report on Combining Wind Wolf Meditation and Contemplation," and "A Meditation Space Constructed Through the Wind Wolf Meditation Method and Magic Crystal Slots," he established his own "meditation method system." With "Runic Structuring and Standard Medium Design for Wind Blade Art," he announced that the gates of the "new world" had opened once more.

Thus, relying on Blade Tusk's new achievements, the three witch doctors successively blossomed into flowers of their own and crossed that threshold. The seminars were finally no longer his solo performance, and the envisioned ideal of "mutual progress" was truly realized.

By then, Blade Tusk had grown almost as tall as a Troll warrior's shoulder, which meant he was about to come of age.

Although the Troll Tribe had no rule requiring one to be an adult before mating, young Trolls generally matured gradually during adolescence, when they reached abdomen height, and youth, when they reached chest height.

With chastity concepts practically nonexistent, "trying it out" usually came both quickly and early.

However, he held no particular expectations for it.

In his previous life, Blade Tusk had encountered a viewpoint like this: "Aesthetic standards are acquired after birth, and the ability to distinguish beauty from ugliness comes from the influence of one's later cultural environment."

Perhaps it was precisely because of this that Blade Tusk's aesthetic sense had already fully formed in his previous life. This Troll body also lacked the cross-species aesthetic ability of dragons.

Therefore, although he had grown accustomed to the Trolls of this life through living with them day and night and could not call them "ugly," he absolutely had no desire to "give them a try."

Fortunately, all three witch doctors were single as well, so no one would make things difficult for him in that regard.