Zheng Qing did not try to determine whether the one-eyed crow was telling the truth.
It was not that he believed everything the old crow said. In fact, the school had clearly allowed these surviving tribes of magical creatures to settle in the Black Prison World so it could observe how changes in the world affected living things.
A world that had once been on the verge of becoming the Ruins of the Great Void was coming back to life. What effects would the newly rising Magic Tide have on its inhabitants? Even a moment's thought showed that this was an enormous research project, one whose costs could make the wizard in charge of the school's funding pull out every last hair.
There was no reason not to use free test subjects, especially when that saved the expense of buying live ones from outside. It was also hard to deny that saving money had played a part in the school's decision to hold the second-years' opening trial here.
What the one-eyed crow said next confirmed some of Zheng Qing's suspicions:
"When the war ended, nearly a hundred Ogres remained in the tribe. But no one expected things to change so quickly..."
As it spoke, it looked up at the dim sky. A trace of bewilderment appeared in the single eye on its forehead.
"Magic Power gradually grew abundant. Groundwater rose, and food became plentiful. Everything seemed to be getting better... But for some reason, many fine young warriors grew weaker and weaker. They coughed up blood, lost their teeth, and the Magic Power they absorbed leaked away like air from a punctured balloon. And can you imagine an Ogre being poisoned?"
Zheng Qing really could not.
Ogres were said to be impervious to poison. Fresh food or food that had