Changes in the Tribe and Prospects After Success

With the general direction settled, Blade Tusk knew full well this was not a workload he could complete alone, so he decisively sought the aid of the three Witch Doctors.

After he gave them a broad introduction to the relevant ideas, a new round of intensive research began. Aside from a few indispensable daily tasks, all four Witch Doctors entered a state of "seclusion."

Perhaps because this problem was simply too difficult, the Witch Doctors' seclusion gradually became the norm.

Meanwhile, the education of the young Trolls was slowly handed over to others.

After personally teaching for a time, the Witch Doctors used examinations to select a group of "outstanding individuals" in each subject.

Then, after giving these outstanding Trolls a period of high-intensity instruction, they tossed them the textbooks and lesson plans, telling them to study on their own while "letting those who got rich first lead the rest to prosperity," taking responsibility for teaching the remaining young Trolls as well.

The tribe's literacy campaign also kicked off in full swing after the Chieftain was buffed with more than ten spells and put on a public performance of "tearing a Blade-Tusk Beast apart with his bare hands."

The yearning for strength was the most simple and honest sentiment of Troll warriors. Coupled with the tongue-dropping temptation of roasted meat at the bonfire gatherings, their attitude toward learning became more proactive as well.

And the tribe's changes went far beyond that. All manner of strange and ordinary transformations began appearing one after another.

For instance, the "Flame Bathhouse" was one such new custom that was both bizarre and perfectly logical.

A Witch Doctor had once casually mentioned that flames might have the effects of sterilizing and purifying.

What were "germs"? The warriors had no idea. They seemed to be some kind of dirty thing?

If so, didn't "sterilizing" and "purifying" mean becoming clean?

So, once the warriors heard that flames could make the body clean, they immediately thought of a new use for them.

Going to the water source to bathe every time was both dangerous and troublesome. Since flames could achieve the same effect, why not just take flame baths?

Thus, they specially built a "Flame Bathhouse," allowing themselves to bathe peacefully within the tribe from then on.

It was worth mentioning that Troll warriors seemed quite fond of the tingling numbness brought by the searing flames.

Apparently, soaking inside could greatly relieve the fatigue accumulated over an entire day.

What about the relatively delicate skin of young Trolls?

That was no problem either. Once young Trolls grew to a certain stage, they could shower without injury—it might hurt a little, that was all.

But that was no issue.

"That is a tempering of willpower, nourishment for a warrior's growth."

With that excuse, the warriors briskly did away with the troublesome chore of occasionally organizing group baths for the young Trolls.

What? What about even younger Trolls, who could not endure even a shower?

"To hell with it. They weren't taken to bathe before anyway, so doesn't that mean nothing has changed now? Don't go looking for trouble when there isn't any—we're busy 'soaking in the bath.'"

The most obvious changes brought about by this trend, aside from the much-improved smell within the tribe, were the ever-increasingly massive consumption of fuel.

But the warriors did not care about that. They were not responsible for gathering firewood or making charcoal, so they had no concept of such matters at all.

The result was that the young Trolls' remaining playtime each day, such as noon, was quickly filled with work like gathering firewood.

In addition, research into animal husbandry began showing initial results.

Among the various target animals gathered earlier, the warriors successfully kept two kinds alive under centralized breeding conditions, one large and one small.

The large one weighed roughly half as much as an adult Troll; the small one was even lighter than a Troll infant.

They could not yet be called fully domesticated, and due to limitations in feed, sexual maturity rate, gestation period, and other factors, they were still far from being able to replace hunting.

But it was indeed a direction worth pursuing. Given time, it would surely transform the Trolls' way of survival from the roots up.

There was one more change that had to be mentioned.

During this period, several more young Trolls successively gained the most rudimentary spellcasting ability through "meditation." They then switched to the Visualization Meditation Method and began condensing their "meditation spaces."

This was nearly the number of Witch Doctor apprentices that several generations of Trolls would have needed to accumulate in the past. From this, it was clear that the Geometry Meditation Method had truly succeeded.

Furthermore, it was worth noting that these newly promoted apprentices were almost all among the previous "outstanding individuals."

Unlike the other teachers who were likewise responsible for instruction, they were not merely "memorizing lesson plans and key points."

They were genuinely trying to understand knowledge.

Perhaps this explained why, though they were equally capable of teaching and had equally tried the meditation method, the other "teachers" transformed from adult warriors had failed to become Witch Doctor apprentices.

Of course, taking this line of thought any deeper might turn it into an argument like whether the chicken or the egg came first.

But one thing was undoubtedly certain: within a certain age range, meditation methods could indeed be used to train mental power, thereby increasing the success rate of becoming a Witch Doctor.

Time rushed past. When Blade Tusk was no longer much shorter than the warriors, had crossed into adulthood, and was about to enter the longest and most powerful stage of a Troll's life—the prime of life—the research finally achieved a decisive breakthrough.

The four Witch Doctors gathered once more. Behind them followed the new apprentices who had accumulated during this period.

At this moment, both the Witch Doctors and the apprentices had their attention fixed on a strange "tree" before them.

Its gnarled, dense roots had thrust up large swathes of soil as they rapidly took shape, piling it around the trunk;

Its crown spread out at the top like a dandelion, its palm-sized leaves concentrated as much as possible along the outer layer to increase the area exposed to sunlight;

Its trunk was short and thick, and one side faintly displayed a structure resembling a "door."

Blade Tusk stepped forward, grasped the ring handle of the "door," and pulled outward. The "door" actually opened. Pale white, icy mist spilled out in an instant.

Through the haze, they could still make out the interior—the 'grid-like' structure on the walls, where the mist was coming from.

Blade Tusk's face could not contain his excitement. He reached out and carefully stroked the faint, almost imperceptible frost on the 'grid.'

At that moment, he understood with perfect clarity that the hard work of himself and the other Trolls had finally been rewarded.

The excitement swelled ever stronger, surging into his throat and stinging his eyes. In the end, it gathered into a shout, gathered into tears, and burst forth in a torrent.

"Oh!!!!! We did it!!!"

Hearing this, the other Witch Doctors finally let out a breath of relief as well.

They had not fully grasped what the 'refrigerator' itself—or the problems they had overcome during the course of their research—truly meant.

Though they were happy as well, their feelings stemmed more from relief and from seeing their efforts bear fruit. Their excitement was far less intense than Blade Tusk's.

Thus, all the participants wanted now was to take a fire bath and get some proper rest.

Compared to a Troll's lifespan, this period of research might not have seemed overly long. Yet the intense mental labor had still left them utterly exhausted. It was time to relax for a while.

Blade Tusk, however, was different. He had thought of much more.

Better weapons, better production setups, better methods of storage.

Before the next critical point arrived, population would no longer be a burden, and food would be put to more efficient use.

This meant plunder would become profitable; war was about to become the fertile soil in which the tribe grew.

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