NOVEL NEXT Chapter 104. Grandpa Lacius's First Contact With Technology
By rewinding what happened in Lacius's underground base through Past Observation, Cedric soon saw Lacius leaving the temple after giving some commands to the current high priest.
Once he left the temple, Lacius spent the faith he had collected to fly northeast at high speed.
Seeing the direction Lacius went, Cedric somehow got a bad feeling.
Cedric watched silently as Lacius passed by several kingdoms before arriving at the mountain range separating the southern and western part of the continent, where humans resided. From the eastern and northern parts, where dwarves and elves lived.
Because he could fly, the mountain range didn't affect Lacius's travel.
He only halted midway when dozens of dragons flew toward him.
Based on the size, those dragons mainly consisted of young dragons with seven Level 1 dragons and two Early Level 2 dragons.
'Hmm? Is this the same creatures often found at the islands in the south' Lacius thought as he slowly descended to a random mountain peak to hide.
'I'd better hide for now and try to preserve my energy. Even if they somehow followed me, fighting on the ground is much more advantageous for me than in the air.'
He silently hid at the peak while watching seventeen dragons of varying size slowly descend and surround him.
'Sigh, they're actually following me.' Lacius sighed as he watched one of the smaller dragons walk toward him while opening its maw.
In the Divine Space, Cedric saw that the dragon had no intention of attacking Lacius. It was merely curious about him, trying to bite him just like how human babies love putting things into their mouths.
Of course, whether they have the intention to attack or not, being bitten by a dragon is guaranteed to cause a normal human a heavy injury or even instant death.
But Lacius didn't know all those. He only saw a dragon that had opened its mouth to bite him. As a response, he controlled the ground to create a wall that blocked the dragon's advance.
Upon seeing the ground that suddenly rose, the surrounding dragons became interested. They moved toward the ground that Lacius raised, which is located near Lacius.
Lacius thought the dragons were going to attack him once again.
This time, he combined his blessed power with some faith power to enhance the effect of his ability. With his enhanced blessed power, Lacius controlled the surrounding ground to eject reinforced stone spikes toward each dragon's belly.
Most of the dragons either got heavily wounded or instantly died. While some of the dragons successfully evaded Lacius's attack.
Even though those few successfully evaded, they're still injured to a varying degree from Lacius's attacks. The heaviest have their wings torn, while the lightest have their body scratched as blood oozes out of the wound.
'I'd better not waste my energy fighting them.' When he saw that most of the dragons could no longer move, Lacius left behind those dragons who cried in agony and continued to fly to the Northeast.
Soon, he passed the mountain range and entered a wilderness.
This time, he finally descended a short hill while looking around. "This place doesn't seem much different from where I came from. So, why did the creator raise that mountain range that blocked the north of the human race's territory?"
Then, he shook his head while continuing to move northeast. "I just hope whatever existed here can help me reach a higher level."
While he muttered so, Lacius opened the Basic System Panel that Cedric gave him a few centuries ago.
[Life Level: Peak Level 3
Potential: Peak Level 1]
This time, he went beyond the mountain range to see what lies beyond and whether a creature at Level 4 existed.
If he wanted to create a suitable training method, it would be necessary to find a sample that's already at Level 4. Otherwise, the development of a new training method will definitely take much longer.
While walking, Lacius ruminated, 'If I didn't find anything on this journey, perhaps I should artificially create a demon at Level 4 as experiment material? Through some experiments, I already knew that just like how humans could raise their level up to a certain degree by killing demons, demons could also raise their level by killing other creatures. Furthermore, unlike humans, demons don't seem to have any limit to the level they could reach by killing. So, I might be able to create a Level 4 demon by sacrificing every human in a kingdom or two.'
'But I'd rather not do it if possible. I still don't have any data regarding the strength difference between Level 3 and Level 4. If I couldn't handle the demon created through that method, then it'll be a massive disaster.' Lacius thought while controlling the ground below him to move, and sped up his movement.
Luckily, Cedric couldn't read minds. Otherwise, he would have had a heart attack after listening to Lacius's idea.
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After traveling by moving the ground like a travelator and walking whenever his energy ran out, Lacius soon saw traces of civilization deep inside a forest.
He followed the path and soon came across an elven village.
Watching the long-eared elves from afar, Lacius widened his eyes. 'Those are the other races I've seen when I met the creator for the first time! So, what lies beyond the mountain range are creatures from other races? Then, do the stout race I once saw next to these long-eared ones also live nearby? Or are they also separated from each other by a mountain range?'
Lacius's mind is in chaos as he contemplates his next moves.
Seeing as the main difference between them and himself is mainly their long ears, Lacius decided to stay in the village for a few months and learn their language.
From his earlier observation, Lacius realized that those elves actually spoke different languages.
To make sure they won't suspect him, Lacius prepared a suitable identity before slowly walking toward the village.
When he came close to the village, one of the elves caught sight of him and slowly approached.
"Hello there, are you someone from another village?" When the female elf who looked like a human in her twenties talked with Lacius, he pointed at his ears while speaking gibberish.
The female elf looks a bit confused as she continues asking, "Pardon? I don't think I understand what you're saying."
In response, Lacius only waved his hands while trying his best to make a sign.
The commotion caused by the female elf and Lacius caught the attention of other elves.
As more and more elves gathered, an elderly male elf came forward and pointed at Lacius, then pointed at his own ears and mouth while shaking his head.
In response, Lacius quickly nodded his head.
The surrounding elves looked at the elderly elf in curiosity.
Seeing the others' curiosity, the elderly elf said, "He seems to be a mute and slightly deaf, so everyone, please be kind to him."
"How did the elder know?" One of the surrounding elves asked.
The elderly elf calmly responded, "From experience. I've met other disabled people while traveling before."
"As expected of elder Kaerim!' The female elf who first found Lacius praised the elderly elf. Then she looked at Lacius's short ears with pity before quickly retracting that look. "What a pitiful person. Not only is he a mute with hearing problems, but he's also disfigured."
The elves acted more kindly toward Lacius and asked whether he wanted to stay in their village. To which, Lacius responded with a nod.
***
In the Divine Space, Cedric laughed while watching the scene through his Past Observation. "As expected of Lacius, his brain is indeed wired differently. Which person would've thought of acting like a mute?"
After having the best laugh he has had in the past decade, Cedric fast-forwarded the scene in Past Observation. Thanks to his godhood, even after being fast-forwarded more than a hundred times, Cedric can see the scene normally.
At first, Cedric watched Lacius's life in the village as if he were watching a slice of life drama.
Most of the time, Lacius helped the villagers tend their fields with his blessed power. Occasionally, the female elf he first met will pay him a visit. Slowly, he learned the elven language through his daily contact with the elves in the village while still acting like a mute. He even learned most of the written language of the elves.
Cedric must say the learning ability of his world's oldest scientist is indeed no joke.
As time passed in the Past Observation, the timeline slowly approached that of the current time. At this point, Lacius has collected enough money to buy a PC plant.
After living for so long in the elven village, he has learned about the existence of the internet.
Once Lacius bought and finished installing the PC plant in his house, Cedric watched Lacius typing slowly with his index fingers. Somehow, it reminds Cedric of when his grandpa used the computer for the first time.
He also occasionally got surprised after grasping how to use the computer plant.
While watching Lacius's daily life, Cedric suddenly turned serious because he heard Lacius's next plan.
After a few days of browsing the internet, Lacius can be heard muttering. "So the strongest being in the elven race is a tree called Elder Elisa? Perhaps she has reached the fourth level. Should I fight her to gather some samples? I am not sure how strong she is, but I should be able to damage her enough to collect some samples. Furthermore, as a tree, it seems Elder Elisa is immobile, which allows me to escape anytime I want."
When Cedric heard it, he frowned. 'If both of them fought, I couldn't imagine the repercussions.'
Because he felt a sense of crisis, Cedric increased the fast-forward speed of the Past Observatio. By the time he finished, only two days had passed in real time since he first looked for Lacius.
Once he turned off Past Observation, Cedric immediately opened the store to look for an item.
[Level 4 Consumable Divine Item, Divine Intervention: Urge.
Cost: 10 GP
Details: Give an urge to do something to a creature. The complicatedness of the urge is limited. There is a certain chance for the target to ignore this urge. The higher the item's level, the more complicated the urge that can be set and the more irresistible it is.]
He thought for a moment and closed the screen before opening a new one.
[Level 5 Consumable Divine Item, Divine Intervention: Urge.
Cost: 20 GP
Details: Give an urge to do something to a creature. The complicatedness of the urge is limited. There is a certain chance for the target to ignore this urge. The higher the item's level, the more complicated the urge that can be set and the more irresistible it is.]
The Divine Intervention series, like [Divine Intervention: Urge], [Divine Intervention: Dream], and the others, are pretty similar to the Lifespan Fruits; they all have different levels with the same function but better effects at higher levels. The Divine Intervention series he usually purchased are the lowest level sold in the store.
Cedric purchased the Level 5 [Divine Intervention: Urge], and an octahedron crystal instantly appeared in his hand.
"This time, it's your turn to save the world!" Cedric said to the octahedron crystal in his hand.
He knew he could just use [Divine Intervention: Word] to make Lacius talk it out with Elisa. But Cedric thinks this is a perfect moment to make Lacius slightly change his nature.
Perhaps because he's from an old era where human civilization has just started, or because he's already used to causing chaos and disorder, or maybe because he's slightly wrong in the head. But Lacius actually seems to get used to getting what he wanted through brute force or scheme.
'I am certain that with her personality, Elisa would agree if Lacius asked for her training method. But if I told him to exchange what he needed with Elisa, there is a chance Lacius might think the smooth exchange happened because I am involved. That's why no matter how I consider it, using [Divine Intervention: Urge] to make Lacius have the idea to have an exchange on his own will be better.'
'If Lacius experienced that doing a simple exchange is possible and even granted him more benefit, he might have thought of doing an exchange instead of robbing what he needed. Furthermore, by fostering friendship between the strongest of humans and the elven race, the interracial war between humans and other races that I feared might not happen at all.'
Cedric knew what he had in mind might be too optimistic, but there's no disadvantage in trying.