Chapter 21: The Dawn of Humanity (3)

What is the biggest distinguishing factor between humans and other animals?

Tool use? That's a pass since some primates and animals like sea otters that crack shells with stones know how to use tools.

The presence of intelligence? In terms of intelligence, many animals are not far behind. Dolphins, crows, and in the case of dogs and horses, they have intelligence similar to young children.

In my opinion, the biggest difference between humans and animals is the ability to use fire.

Fire, with its hot heat and bright light, all having only advantages for humans, must have been extremely important for primitive humans.

Fire, which can provide heat to endure cold environments and safety from the threat of wild animals with its bright light, is a precious element that allows human civilization to take its biggest first step.

Well, there are cases like sun bears that aren't afraid of fire and rather show curiosity, but those are extremely rare cases so let's skip that.

Additionally, there were factors like learning to cook food with fire, making inedible food edible, or enabling long-term food storage by eliminating parasites and microorganisms using heat.

Nothing is as important as fire in taking humanity's first steps.

There were even cases of deifying fire, worshipping the goddess of the hearth as a household guardian deity, or creating religions that regarded fire itself as a sacred being. It must be an inseparable element for humanity.

Anyway, I, holding tools that can create such flames, looked at the largest group of humans in this world.

A bountiful environment. A fertile land with countless animals to hunt and tree fruits that can be easily gathered hanging abundantly everywhere.

A primitive village where over hundreds of primitive humans gather and live thanks to such an environment.

That place should be sufficient to pass on fire.

Ah, of course, I was planning to give fire to a few more places besides here. To give to the Lizardmen too.

I can't show favoritism to humans in just one place, can I? I should treat them as fairly as possible.

Well, passing on the technique of lighting fire depends on their skill. Although I can easily light a fire with just one magic spell.

I prepared methods like rubbing a thin wooden stick against a wooden board with a groove, or making a primitive rope by thinly tearing grass and making it like a bow to rub, or pushing a tree branch back and forth vigorously on a grooved wooden board to light a fire, but...

I wonder how many of these they can follow? I'm not sure.

Should I just put elemental power into a small flint to make it easy to light a fire? But then the gap between those who have flints and those who don't would become too large.

Well, let's teach them first. Yeah.

It'll work out somehow. Somehow.

Even if I don't teach them, they would have eventually learned some method of making fire. I'm just shortening that process a bit.

I started walking towards the group of primitive humans, holding bundles of wood to give as a gift.

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"Keek! Kik!"

Primitive humans who communicate with cries because they don't have language yet. These primitive humans started to make strange threats surrounding me.

Well, my appearance is quite different from the primitive humans. I'm not hairy. My face shape is different. My hair is silver.

Above all, I have horns on my head.

Primitive humans holding tree branches like weapons and being cautious. After briefly scanning such primitive humans, I spread a bit of magical power to dominate the surrounding space.

The primitive humans, not yet knowing about magical power, were just being cautious without knowing what I was doing.

I lightly clenched my fist and lowered it, pressing down on the shoulders of the primitive humans surrounding me.

"Kiyak!!"

Primitive humans screaming and falling to their knees from the sudden pressing force. Those guys probably don't understand what's happening right now.

Well, it's better that they don't understand. I don't intend to make them understand either.

"Your heads are too high."

"Kiieek... Kiik!"

"I wonder when they'll learn language. Even Lizardmen only learned it hundreds of years after their first birth."

Well, hundreds of years might not be enough.

Moreover, making humans scattered all over the world learn the same language... Wouldn't that be practically impossible?

No, no. What if I empower someone who's learning language to conquer the world? If that person spreads the language across the world?

It's a bit far-fetched, but! It would be fun if it's possible!

"Kiieek..."

"Ah, I'm sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment."

I released the force pressing down on the primitive humans, and they slowly raised their heads as if feeling relieved.

And my eyes met with the primitive human at the very front.

A primitive human with a bigger build than the others. A primitive human clumsily wrapping animal skin around its waist.

The one who looked like the leader of this group when I was observing from afar.

When the force pressing down on its shoulders disappeared, it prostrated on the ground and bowed to me.

Then the others surrounding us all bowed to me at once.

Did I scare them a bit? No. This much is necessary to make these guys listen.

The current humans are primitive humans infinitely close to animals.

I stacked some of the firewood I brought appropriately, then drew up magical power to create a flame.

"Kyaak!!! Kiyaaak!!"

Humans panicking at the raised flame. To panic at such a flame... Have they never seen a flame until now?

Well. They probably wouldn't have a chance to see fire unless they go to where Ifrit is.

I transferred the created flame to the pile of firewood and lightly dusted off my hands to brush off the fire. Good. It seems to have caught well.

Firewood burning hot. Humans unable to approach easily.

I lightly gestured to the human who seemed to be the leader.

"Kiik...?"

The leader human who didn't understand the meaning of my gesture just looked around, shaking its head this way and that.

Hmm. We really need language. Language.

I used magic to pull the leader towards the burning firewood.

"Kiik!! Kyaaak!!"

The leader panicking as if someone was trying to burn it to death. How can it be a leader being so timid?

It can't be helped. Sometimes you need to give carrots, not just sticks.

I picked up a stone rolling nearby. It was a stone slightly larger than my palm.

And I used one magic on this stone! Using magic to turn stone into meat, the hard stone changed into appetizing meat with a proper mix of fat.

When I first used it, it used to become dry, boneless meat, but after repeated improvements, now it creates meat that's not inferior to any decent meat.

Anyway, after grilling the created meat in the air over the fire using magic and taking it out when it smelled well-cooked, I examine it.

Hmm. Smells good. Should I cut it into bite-sized pieces first?

"Kiik? Sniff sniff..."

The leader human seems to be salivating at the mouth-watering smell, sniffing the meat's aroma.

I held out a cooled piece of meat in front of the leader human, and after pondering for a while, the leader human could no longer resist its instincts and put the meat in front of its eyes into its mouth.

Good. It took the bait.

"!?!?!"

The leader human unable to make a proper sound. It's understandable when you put well-cooked meat into a tongue used to eating raw meat or fruits.

The leader human with an expression as if melting. I can't let it eat such delicious food alone.

I used magic to cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and distributed one piece each to the humans surrounding us.

Although the humans were cautious at first, they couldn't resist the appetite-stimulating smell coming from the freshly grilled meat.

"Kiik...?"

"Kyaak!!!"

You guys really need to learn language. I can't understand what you're saying.

Anyway, with this they should understand the usefulness of fire... No wait! Why are you suddenly trying to put your hand in the fire?!

I stopped the leader's movement and shook my head to convey that it's not allowed, but the leader didn't understand my intention.

Sigh... It's this inconvenient without language.

I hurriedly extinguished the bonfire and handed over several tools for making fire to the leader.

The leader examined the things I handed over this way and that, then threw them away again. This beast-like guy really...

I slightly suppressed the rising anger and demonstrated how to make fire using each tool.

After rubbing a wooden stick hard against a wooden board with a small groove to make fire, making fire with a bow made of grass-woven string, and rubbing a wooden stick hard on a grooved wooden board to make fire...

"Wukiik!! Kiiiik!!"

The leader seemed to understand that fire could be made with these things.

Sigh... Can I. Guide these beast-like primitive humans in the right direction...?

Worries are piling up like mountains...