Chapter 22: Development of Civilization

"Grrr…."

"Ugh…"

A giant bear, about 4 meters tall, attacked.

The Elf group, which had dwindled to around 400 members after losing more than half of their number, trembled in fear, unable to think of a proper response.

They threw stones and swung branches like the other Elves, but the giant bear didn't budge.

While the giant tiger in a similar category was a formidable opponent due to its high agility, the bear was a type with high strength and defense.

Because it was sluggish, it could be hunted easily by wearing it down slowly over time. However, these Elves had been facing continuous hardships from the start, losing over 500 members in a short period.

They seemed to have no intention of fighting back seriously or even thinking of running away.

At this rate, this group would be the first to face extinction.

I had no choice.

Should I help them just this once?

But simply making the giant bear disappear wouldn't help them understand anything. If possible, I wanted to teach them how to catch fish rather than just giving them fish.

Should I possess one of the Elves and create weapons for them?

No… Suddenly advancing their civilization alone wouldn't be fair.

Perhaps striking the bear with lightning and turning it into a well-cooked meal might be better.

After all, giving them a fishing rod when they don't even know what fish are would be meaningless.

Rumble─

I created a massive cloud near them.

A lightning strike from a clear sky would be unnatural.

"Roar!"

"Aaah!"

"Ugh…!"

At the moment the giant bear charged at the Elves, a flash of lightning struck from the sky, hitting the bear directly.

Sizzle…

The bear collapsed, instantly turned into a well-cooked meal by the lightning.

"..."

"..."

Crackle, crackle─

Moreover, the trees around the spot where the lightning struck caught fire.

Well, I helped them, but at this rate, the whole forest might burn down.

Some groups had already discovered fire naturally through lightning strikes. The intention behind using lightning here was to introduce fire to them.

So, I decided to let it rain just enough to extinguish the spreading fire, leaving a small blaze to inform them of fire's existence.

"…Ugh."

"??"

The Elf group that discovered the fire didn't know what it was, but they seemed to understand that it originated from the lightning that had killed the giant bear in one strike.

They were very afraid to approach the fire.

Well… It is hot and dangerous.

It's better than them getting curious and touching it, risking burns.

Given their high intelligence, they quickly became accustomed to the presence of fire and started pondering how to utilize it.

Since the fire originated from the lightning strike, the Elves seemed to believe it held the same power as the lightning and intended to use it against beasts.

How to start a fire was something they would figure out later on their own.

Oh, it looks like they are digging a hole to store the precious embers.

They must have noticed that water extinguishes fire, so they are trying to protect it from getting wet.

They also saw how the fire spread to the trees, so they are feeding it with dry wood to keep it burning.

Wow… As expected of a highly intelligent species, they learn quickly from observation.

Sure, their spawn point was terrible, but these Elves have great potential for development.

…But that wasn't the end of their troubles.

Attacks from poisonous insects, other beasts, and diseases spreading from decaying corpses continued to plague this unfortunate Elf group.

Damn, I really gave them a horrible spawn point.

It's like the difficulty was set to make them go extinct.

As I kept helping them fend off all these threats, they seemed to notice something strange.

"Ooo…"

"Ooo…"

These guys suddenly started bowing down at the place where they stored the first embers, as if in worship!

They even placed the carcasses of the poisonous insects, the claws of the beasts, and the new plants that helped prevent disease next to the fire storage, almost like an altar.

…Could it be that they discovered the concept of worship before developing a language?

Did I help them too much?

Once I started helping, it became easier to keep doing it…

But if I hadn't, they would have all died!

Well, yes. I am indeed your creator god, and I did help you, but being worshipped as an actual deity feels quite strange.

Nevertheless, the 400—no, now reduced to about 300—Elves who had lost all will to live and even the desire to flee seemed to regain their will to live by starting to worship me.

Suddenly awakened, they began hunting beasts and diligently gathering edible fruits and plants.

Even though they intended to offer these to me, their newfound motivation to survive was a relief.

Now that most of the major threats seemed to have disappeared, I didn't need to worry too much about this group anymore.

They might become a religious group that worships me, so occasionally providing them with help to affirm my existence could be a good idea.

The emergence of exceptionally talented Elves.

I helped them out of pity to prevent their downfall, and now they constantly worship me, forming a nascent religious group… This is getting interesting. The Elf tribes are growing in fascinating ways.

Watching the diverse development of the tribes will be enjoyable.

#

According to the Galactic Union's standard, about two years had passed.

On the Elf planet, it had been half a year.

Eugene was currently staying in the planet cluster of the Meias tribe, experiencing various events.

He had almost mastered advanced magic and had been summoned to mage tournaments and by the elders of the Meias tribe.

There were many events, but let's talk about those later.

For now, let's discuss the Elf planet.

Half a year on the Elf planet.

A lot had happened.

Though it was half a year, over 700 days had passed based on a 24-hour standard.

During that time, the Elves made tremendous progress.

With their inherently high intelligence and the abundance of various resources around them, they grew rapidly.

Among them, the tribes with exceptionally intelligent Elves had already established a language system.

They began to establish their own rules and started to properly manage their village.

"Here are the new rules. Please familiarize yourselves and follow them."

"Another set of rules."

"Hmm, but the rules set by the leader are important."

For the record, I could understand their self-made language systems perfectly.

Even though each tribe had different languages, I could interpret all of them.

I had acquired them all at a glance.

I needed to understand what they were saying, after all.

Anyway, the area now looked like a proper village, with a moat dug around it and a fence erected.

They had built numerous huts using wood, stone, and straw.

Since they were all created as 20-year-old adults, some had started engaging in reproductive activities, resulting in pregnancies.

In other words, they had established a stable village and were ready to begin increasing their population.

Although they hadn't started farming or raising livestock yet, there was plenty of food around, so their hunting lifestyle didn't hinder their daily lives.

Some focused on hunting, others on defending the village, and others on preparing meals and handling various chores.

They divided roles and rotated tasks.

To professionalize certain jobs, skilled individuals were assigned to perform specific tasks without rotation.

They even had names now.

The female Elf leader who had previously led the tribe to trap and kill the giant tiger with stone-throwing, her name was 'Lasi.'

In their language, it meant 'wisdom.'

A very fitting name.

She had beautiful golden hair that sparkled in the sunlight and emerald-green eyes.

She was exceptionally beautiful, even among Elves.

Her eyes had a depth that exuded the aura of a very wise person.

Around her, 900 Elf tribe members gathered and diligently built their village.

Lasi was exceptionally intelligent. She anticipated that concentrating all authority in herself could lead to dissatisfaction and accusations of dictatorship. To mitigate this, she established a council to decide on major village matters.

It was akin to a parliament.

It reminded me of the Galactic Union's Elder Council.

Anyway, they fairly elected a total of 10 elders through a voting system to handle the village's rules and major decisions.

To prevent dictatorship, they decided to re-elect these elders every 500 nights.

Although the concepts of time and dates were still a bit vague, that would eventually sort itself out.

So, they had language, a stable village, and a council.

They even had general elections where all tribe members participated.

Achieving all this in just over 700 days was an incredibly rapid pace of development.

…As for the nascent religious group that worshipped me:

"Ooo! Oh great deity, we offer this sacrifice to you!"

"Oh deity, save us."

"Oh deity, save us."

…They were performing rituals, offering animal sacrifices.

Sigh… Well, at least they developed a language.

To worship me, apparently.

They even crafted a well-carved idol, imagining me as an Elf with six arms.

…At least they used their imagination.

Since I never showed myself.

They built an altar around the idol, lit a fire, and offered a freshly killed boar.

While frantically shouting for salvation.

Damn, they looked like a crazed cult!

If they were going to form a religion, they could have made it a bit more refined!