The Shepherd Alone on the Hill is a Genius Wizard

Chapter 66 Having a Lifespan is Absurd (2)

This was one of the simple tricks Turan had learned while spending time in Kalamaf.

Glancing back, the knight was still watching forward without noticing anything.

Though he had keen senses, if not quite as sharp as a noble's, he should have heard the sound just now.

The power to make people unable to recognize natural reactions occurring from specific actions by the caster.

This was why Zahar's concealment ability was special.

Just as one unconsciously overlooks clear footprints appearing in the desert, even though the lock made a sound, they couldn't connect it to someone's presence.

They probably wouldn't notice until they were directly contacted or recognized an attack coming toward them.

Turan entered the library, closed the door, and looked back.

The first things catching his eye were the round walls and spiral staircase he had become quite familiar with after entering several times before.

In front of that was a middle-aged man, the Librarian, sitting at a desk.

"Elder?"

He called out just in case, but the Librarian seemed unable to detect him.

Perhaps even a spirit created by a god couldn't see through Zahar's concealment.

Since his mana was rapidly decreasing due to the bright magical lamps on the ceiling, Turan dropped his concealment and approached him.

"It's been a while, Librarian Elder."

But for some reason, the Librarian sat blankly at his desk without responding to Turan.

His appearance, not even blinking, was like a well-made doll.

"...Elder?"

Turan poked the Librarian's shoulder but his finger passed through as if nothing was there.

Come to think of it, hadn't he already experienced that direct contact was impossible last time?

In his surprise, he hadn't thought that far for a moment.

'Could it be because I didn't come with proper entry permission?'

Since the head of House Baltas was both the city's owner and the library's owner, perhaps entry would only be recognized with his permission.

As Turan's expression grew serious, suddenly the Librarian turned his head and spoke.

"Well, was that convincing?"

"...Yes."

Turan burst into a helpless laugh, and the Librarian also smiled mischievously.

He had known this person, or rather spirit, was like this since their first meeting, but to think he would play another trick.

"You really surprised me."

"Seeing your face made it worth trying. So, you've returned quite quickly? Given how confidently you set out, I thought it would take at least ten years."

"I thought so too. But I saw and heard too many things for just a brief visit."

From the secret of his birth to secrets about gods and bloodlines, and mysterious conspiracies—there were so many things he wanted to ask about.

Turan decided to start with what seemed simplest to confirm.

[I thought of a way to exterminate those steampunk rat bastards without Otas's help.

We'll modify the ones we capture.

Make it so their offspring will definitely manifest low intelligence, superior physical abilities, and excessive violence.

It would be good to make them maintain constant heat and enhance their pheromone tracking abilities.

If we release and let such specimens breed in mass in what's essentially an apocalyptic situation, probably after dozens of generations the entire race will become idiots.

Their proud defense systems won't work against breeding-capable fellow beings either.

At least our descendants won't be hunted by rat bastards in steam airships in the distant future.]

The passages treating an entire race like his toys were chilling even considering the targets weren't human.

Turan asked the Librarian beside him about an unfamiliar word he didn't understand.

"Do you know what 'steampunk' means?"

"Well."

The Librarian answered only that with an ambiguous attitude that made it unclear whether he knew or not.

After quietly scanning the two diary entries, Turan realized those "steampunk rat bastards" referred to the dwarves.

Degrading intelligence and maximizing physical abilities—wasn't that exactly what happened to them?

Moreover, the fact that ancient dwarven relics used steam power also connected with the mention of steam airships.

'...As I suspected, this god had the ability to manipulate life.'

But among the Prea god-folk he knew and the bloodline abilities passed down to their descendants, there was no such power.

Perhaps it was a god from the south or east he hadn't visited, or if not, a forgotten god who left no descendants and thus wasn't recorded in scripture.

Turning the page further, completely different content appeared this time.

[The humans here are fundamentally flawed.

Not simply because they've lived as other races' slaves for so long, but because they completely lack the ability to explore new phenomena.

That's why they haven't progressed a single step in hundreds of years and only use what we provide.

Should this be considered a problem of brain structure?

Is it possible to artificially inject "creativity" into humans?

And can we continue to control them during that process?]

Though he had seemed concerned about his descendants before, in this entry he showed an attitude of wanting to modify and control humans at will.

Had something changed in his mind during the time that passed between the previous entries and this one?

Feeling strangely chilled, Turan turned to the next page only to realize it was the last.

[Having a lifespan is absurd

There must be some way

What could it be???

The class change experiment from before

If I use that as a vessel and transfer the body first]