Uncle Fred removed the leather saddle from the Thunder Rhino and instructed me on the areas that required special attention before humming a tune from his hometown and walking away unsteadily. Before leaving, he also requested that I save some of the pork soup for him. With every step, his leather boots crushed the grass and raised the moist, fertile black soil, while the shattered debris of the tender grass carried a unique fragrance that could be smelled from afar.

Each Thunder Rhino was assigned to a team of three people, one rider and two assistants. Fred was the assistant responsible for pulling and loading the Thunder Rhino for Old Kulu, Kuz, and me. He was usually in charge of vigilance and monitoring, providing water for the Thunder Rhino, and cleaning the saddle. The other assistant was responsible for feeding the Thunder Rhino. The rider only needed to control the Thunder Rhino during the journey and pay attention to its health. Uncle Fred was very enthusiastic, and during the time when I was lying motionless on the back of the Thunder Rhino, he always helped Old Kulu fetch water and sometimes even secretly gave me a small piece of beef jerky.

He always maintained an optimistic attitude, but had a bad habit of drinking. Since the dance troupe arrived in the caravan, Uncle Fred would always go to the magic carriage for some small entertainment. Kuz told me in secret, "This time we're running the caravan, Uncle Fred probably won't have a penny left. Any copper coins he gets, he'll stuff them into the bosom of that little dancer. Why do you always help him with the work?"

I stood bare-backed in the shallow water, wearing only a loose pair of leather shorts, holding a small brown brush and working hard to clean the stained saddle. Before I could speak, Old Kulu sat on the grass by the lake shore and suddenly grinned at us, "What is the specialty of the Pai plateau?"

"The Gray Dwarf Bandit Gang!" Kuz's answer made Old Kulu cough repeatedly, and he fiercely hit Kuz's head with his rotten wooden stick, giving off an aura of "hate iron for not becoming steel."

"Is it an herb, teacher?" I guessed.

"That is one type, although there are no high-level herbs on the Pai plateau, only some low-level herbs such as silverleaf, thorngrass, and demon emperor flower. These herbs can be found anywhere on the mainland, and are not particularly rare."

"What truly sets the Pai plateau apart is the magic roe deer. The plateau's climate is ideal for the growth of the magic roe deer, and the fertile soil produces the deer's favorite grass, the deer moss. The cool plateau climate makes summer very brief, and there are no packs of hyenas here." Old Kururu's gaze wandered over the vast grasslands in the distance, revealing a strong sense of longing.

"Magic roe deer!" Kuz and I exclaimed, mouths agape. Our caravan was stationed west of the lake, and we could see groups of magic roe deer drinking on the east side of the lake, completely unafraid of humans. "What can we do with these deer? Make them into leather jackets and boots? Or dry them into jerky to sell?"

"Magic roe deer hide is the lowest-level material that can bear magical arrays. Many mages need them to make basic magic scrolls, and skilled runemasters also use these magic roe deer hides to make basic runic constructs."

"Many adventurer groups and monster hunters enjoy coming here to hunt magic roe deer, and over 800,000 magic roe deer hides are shipped from the plateau to all parts of the mainland every year. They bring tremendous wealth to the entire Pai plateau."

From his bosom, Lao Kulu took out a parchment scroll. The scroll, with its pale yellow hue, emitted a magical aura that I could keenly sense. It was imbued with a potent fire element, evoking a profound and mystical feeling within me.

Although the magical elements were not visible to the naked eye, I could clearly feel their presence, flowing and adhering to the delicate parchment in accordance with some rules. However, the spell diagram was not perfect, and there were faint traces of the fire element dissipating.

"This is a magic scroll?" I exclaimed in astonishment, staring at the parchment in awe. It was truly amazing that magic existed in this world. I remembered asking Kuz if there were dragons in this continent a few days ago, and he answered with utmost seriousness that there were, and one needed to obtain the title of dragon slayer before becoming a hero among the beastmen.

"Hehe, they say that wizards are very wealthy. By the way, making magic scrolls is a mandatory course for novice mages who can awaken their magic pool. It is also the most convenient way to make money. This primary magic scroll contains three fireballs, and although its power is not impressive, it is still a valuable asset for travelers to the north. Nobody wants to travel in the harsh winter and be turned into an ice sculpture overnight by a blizzard. Haha!"

Old Kulu made a rare joke, but it was a bit dry. Kuz looked towards the grassland in the distance, his gaze searching for the tracks of the guinea pigs, obviously preoccupied.

However, I am very interested in magic, which for me is an unknown and fascinating mystery. Just the thought of Harry Potter flying on a broomstick in the sky is really cool. I suddenly understood what Old Kururu meant.

Immediately, I said, "Are you saying that a large amount of magical antelope skins will be made into magic scrolls? Is this a unique wealth of the Pai Plateau? Won't too many people hunt magical antelopes and cause them to become extinct?"

I also thought about the endangered animals that were hunted in large numbers in the previous world, expressing my concerns.

Old Kururu paused for a moment and, after thinking for a while, looked up and said, "These magical antelopes have very few natural enemies on the Pai Plateau. They are born athletes, running at speeds faster than wild horses.

Even the swift grassland lions do not like to hunt them. Moreover, their reproductive ability is strong, giving birth to offspring three times every two years.

Their numbers are too many, even with such hunting, the population of magical antelopes continues to increase. They compete with us orcs for grazing land.

We need large grasslands for cattle grazing, so the vast majority of orc tribes still welcome foreign adventurers to enter the Pai Plateau to hunt magical antelopes."

The parchment used for beginner magic scrolls is made mostly of magic parchment, which accounts for almost a third of the total. In addition, there is a large amount of night light paper made from leaf sequence grasses from the Evernight Forest, and a kind of primary magic paper made from reeds that grow in the Great Wasteland Swamp, which makes the profit margin for magic parchment quite thin. Only the most basic adventurer teams come back to the Pago Plateau to hunt magic antelopes, as this job doesn't bring in much money."

Suddenly changing the topic, Old Kurru continued, "But it's a different story when accompanying a merchant caravan. A caravan has strong transport capabilities and can even directly purchase some leather. That's why we have two adventurer teams following us. Although Fred's hunting skills are a bit lacking, he's got a great leatherworking technique. Jijia, I'm asking you to help him brush the leather saddle, also hoping you can learn leatherworking from this guy. Unfortunately, Kuz has no patience."

Seeing the doting look Old Kurru gave Kuz, I suddenly understood why Old Kurru went to such lengths to save me and let me grow up with Kuz. Perhaps there were many areas where we complemented each other, as Kuz hates studying and even dislikes it, preferring his bone hunting knife.

As if he could see through my heart, Old Kurru said to me lightly, "You are the most special human child I have ever met. You are smart, have great magical talent, and are a natural affinity for the element of fire. You awakened your blood talent without going through the magical awakening ceremony, and your life is destined to be extraordinary. But these are not the main reasons why I chose you. I value your heart more."

"Can you see my heart?" I was a little confused, but I knew Old Kurru would tell me next.

"Yes, because I am a shaman of the Beast Clan. My full name is Kurru. Shaman. Wind's Blessing. Earth Walker. Spirit Walker...Nimand."

This old orc's name is way too long, and it turns out that he is the most mysterious and rare spiritual leader shaman in a certain tribe of the orc race.

I glanced at Old Kulu in shock and almost threw my leather saddle cover into the lake. Over the past few days, I have learned a lot about this world, whether it is humans, orcs, dwarves, elves, demons, or other powerful beings, they all have long full names because their names contain the true name of their awakened bloodline. Among the orc tribe, the strong have many titles, such as man-eating warlock, tyrant, and overlord.

But the shamans are the most mysterious. They hold the heritage of the ancient ancestral spirit power of the orc tribe. They are more like the Archbishop in the human world, or the Druid who can communicate with the World Tree in the elf world. They are powerful beings with a transcendent status and abilities.

I was a bit confused, looking at this orc who claimed to have hidden his identity. I couldn't feel any power emanating from him, and I couldn't believe that this old orc could be a great shaman or witch doctor who once dominated the world.

I thought maybe it was Old Kulu's dream when he was young. This old guy always likes to boast about his adventurous experiences. I think Old Kulu was an orc witch doctor when he was young. But now that Old Kulu says he is a shaman, I can't help but believe him. So I asked, "Are you a shaman?"

"Yes, your heart is pure. I could feel it the moment you opened your eyes and looked at me. There is no discrimination between races in your heart, and you don't see orcs or dwarves with a different eye. Maybe only a human child like you who was born in the northern region can be like this. Perhaps you will become Kuz's lifelong friend."

"And what I need to do now is to teach you and Kuz what I have learned in my life."

"Kuz prefers fighting and hunting, but this is merely an instinct shared by every orc child. Perhaps he will become a protector of the earth or a hunter of beasts in the future."

"Since you can address me as 'teacher' and we can meet at the edge of the burnt forest, it is fate bestowed upon us by the Beast God King."

"I will slowly reveal what I know to you, but magic in the eyes of orcs is vastly different from that of humans. We do not call it magic, but rather totemic power. I look forward to seeing you grow."

When Old Kuru spoke these words, his voice rang clearly in my ears, but I noticed that the others around me seemed oblivious to his presence, as if he wasn't sitting on the grass talking to me at all.

This was his favorite trick, a magic called 'whispering of the soul'. I believe it to be magic, but Old Kuru always emphasized it as the ability of a spirit walker.

The assistants responsible for washing the saddle equipment for the Thunder Rhinos by the lake were still scrubbing the leather saddle covers and joking with each other, treating Old Kuru as if he were just air. Someone jokingly asked me with a friendly smile, "Hey, little Jia, can't handle it anymore? Do you need me to help you? You seem to be talking to yourself and getting a bit tired."

I smiled and declined, expressing my gratitude.

"Child, you have a natural talent for magic. Even in the human kingdoms on this continent, there are not many children with such a talent. Even in cities with millions of people, less than a thousand can awaken and practice magic. This includes some of the most powerful families and royal families. If one day you can become a mage, you will understand that what you are learning now will be a great treasure."

I felt a bit dizzy, wondering to myself, "What is this orcish charlatan trying to say?"

"Many wizards are more concerned with herbology and potion-making, which may have become regular courses in human dark magic academies. I have visited some magic academies and have seen more comprehensive and detailed explanations of the value and function of herbs in the human world."

"However, few wizards dabble in leatherworking. I once tried to search for 'The Relationship between Animal Skin Texture and Magic Circles' in the most extensive Slote Ivory Tower magic academy library, but unfortunately, I couldn't find it. Leatherworking is..."

Old Kururu said a lot, but only the sentence "Child, you have great magical talent" lingered in my ears.

My goodness! Perhaps one day, I could become a mysterious wizard?

This is so cool to think about! Imagine holding a crystal wand in my hand, flashing into a group of monsters, shouting, "Break! Break! Break!" and creating a ring of ice that freezes all the creatures into ice debris. That would be so awesome!

This is definitely more promising than squatting in a big hotel cutting potato shreds and carving radish flowers.

I decided to follow Old Kururu's advice and first learn leatherworking from Fred the Great Mathematician. This skill is very useful and versatile.

After cleaning the leather saddle and harness, I thoroughly washed and scrubbed my leather coat inside and out, hung it on the hemp rope tied to the tent pole, and as long as I coat the outside of the coat with a layer of lanolin after drying, this coat will be as good as new, both warm and moisture-resistant.

Then I took out the spice packets I had collected and placed seasonings such as Sichuan peppercorns, dried chilies, star anise, cumin, and other spices on the tent to dry.

I busied myself preparing the tent where I would stay for the night, and getting cooking utensils and seasonings ready for the wild boars that Kuz will catch. When I began to light dried cow dung to boil medicine soup for the sick in the caravan, Old Kururu and Leipas the steward were sitting on a weathered, fragmented piece of limestone on the hillside, discussing me.