(Location: Echo Gorge)
"Ordo, I did it!!!"
A small child ran through the forest, his face lit up with joy, clutching in his hand a glass tube filled with a strange purple substance.
A few minutes of searching had been enough for him to find the man he was looking for, busy treating an injured fairy sitting on a fallen tree trunk.
"Nasiens!!"
Ordo's stern voice cut short the boy's euphoria as he approached him enthusiastically.
'Darn, I forgot Ordo told me not to run with test tubes...'
"Sorry... but look, I did it!" he exclaimed, trying to shake the test tube, before frowning, perplexed by the situation.
"Too bad. I won't be able to properly check its quality now that you've spilled it."
The old man sighed, unable to hide his frustration seeing the damaged test tube on the ground, the result of his adoptive grandson's enthusiasm.
'I'll need to make a trip to the city of Systina soon... but how did he already succeed with this one so quickly?!'
Despite Nasiens' reckless and frustrating behavior, the old man managed to discreetly assess the quality of the potion spilled on the ground.
It must be said that he had assigned him the task of creating an "antidote" to treat the venom of a fearsome local snake.
Not because he expected results, but simply to keep the boy occupied while he would go gather medicinal herbs and treat some inhabitants of the valley along the way.
He didn't expect anything from this overexcited little rascal, since the task required advanced skills in the medical field.
'He's progressing too fast.'
Ordo knew that Nasiens "loved" his books and his work as an apothecary, but his talent in this field clearly surpassed him.
He understood that at this rate, he would soon have nothing left to teach him, and this prospect worried him somewhat.
Not out of jealousy or desire to hold the child back, but because six years remained far too young to undertake a study journey.
Keeping him confined to the valley until he reached adulthood now seemed like a waste of time and talent.
'Should I consider finding a way to send him to Ishtar?'
This idea came naturally to his mind, before being quickly dismissed.
Despite the fact that Ishtar would be a conducive place for Nasiens' development thanks to its vast knowledge related to the druidic arts.
The journey would be too long to the holy land of druids, and he wasn't sure he had the means to take a child so far safely.
Finally, Ordo decided to postpone his reflections on Nasiens' future.
"Mr. Ordo, are you finished with my leg?" The injured fairy reminded him of her presence.
"Oh, excuse me! Where was my head?" After an embarrassed laugh, the old man applied a greenish mixture to the wound before carefully bandaging it.
The process was quick and delicately executed.
During it, the fairy showed no sign of discomfort.
'As expected from Ordo, he really knows what he's doing.' Nasiens mentally nodded in approval at Ordo's work.
"This should heal in a few days without pain, but avoid putting too much strain on this leg."
"No problem, I can always count on my wings!"
The fairy flew away after thanking her benefactor... and his unwanted little assistant.
"Since you're already here, Nasiens, come with me to gather more medicinal herbs."
'Anyway, he's partly responsible for their shortage.'
Ordo couldn't suppress a bitter smile as he walked, unaware that his little protégé had just subtly used another test tube from his laboratory.
'Great, blood from a real fairy!'
Nasiens sketched a satisfied smile.
This "borrowing" came at the perfect time for his future personal experiments.
A former medical student on Earth, he deeply appreciated Ordo's work and the unique resources of this world.
It was like being a child in a toy store filled with products unavailable elsewhere.
A new sensation for him, since basically, he wasn't really passionate about medicine on Earth.
He had just studied it for a respectable future career, but his view of things had changed in this universe.
The unique resources of this valley had awakened the scientist in him, and magic itself was even more intriguing in his perception.
He instinctively wanted to see how far he could go.
'I feel like I'm accomplishing miracles every day, it's wildly exciting!'
Despite his enthusiasm, a lingering aftertaste reminded him that the innate magic of his body had not yet awakened.
For now, he could only instinctively sense the properties of plants and minerals, with a slight ability related to empathy.
As for levitation, he could now maintain it for a few minutes on himself or on very light objects.
Thus, Nasiens had somewhat awakened most of his racial abilities.
….
"Hi, Dolores!!"
After helping Ordo collect medicinal herbs, Nasiens had been "kindly" asked to leave the laboratory.
'What do you mean staying in the laboratory all day is bad for my growth?'
*Tss*
He knew he would never be very tall because of his fairy blood, much stronger than in his brothers and sisters.
So, Nasiens hadn't really worried about such things.
"Hi Nasiens, have you finally come to pay homage to the Goddess clan?"
As usual, the young giantess's voice was filled with kindness, contrary to her imposing appearance.
"Nah, I'm not interested in worshipping weak... I mean, these divine creatures."
Nasiens almost expressed his true opinion about the Goddess clan to Dolores, who had recently started adopting their teachings.
'She even used her racial magic to build this thing.'
Nasiens frowned looking at the rock that represented Goddesses in front of Dolores.
As a future doctor on Earth or future man of science, Nasiens wasn't really a religious man.
Of course, he had no particular problem with religion.
His close circle was literally Catholic.
The thing is, he didn't like leaving his fate in the hands of a third party.
'Now that I think about it, my reincarnation is possibly due to a god... or even the God of my parents.'
Nasiens, without realizing it, began to show a slightly pained and melancholic expression while looking at the sculpture created by Dolores, which had involuntarily pushed him to remember his deceased parents.
"Are you sure you don't want to pray with me??"
"No."
His answer had been surprisingly quick, despite his recent thoughts.
"I'd rather know if you created the 'iron' sand, the one I asked you for," he said to change the subject and return to the reason for his presence.
"Of course, but I don't understand why you want scraps," she said, handing him a bag filled with 'iron'.
'Creation', the main magic of the Giant race.
It allows manipulation of soil and minerals like metals or crystals.
'I really need to find a way to further exploit my Giant blood, but...'
Outside of perceiving minerals and their peculiarities, he hadn't really made progress.
Nasiens is more of a fairy like King than a giant like Diane, despite his hybrid status.
'The only thing that could potentially further awaken my Giant nature is the dance of Drole, the former king of the Giants.'
The problem is that Nasiens doesn't know how to perform it.
The only person who could help him is probably Dolores, in front of him right now.
'It's just a shame she doesn't like discussing topics related to her tribe, but...'
Nasiens had decided to try to open his adoptive sister's heart more, to obtain her knowledge and attempt to acquire the magic of 'Creation'.
"Are you leaving already??" Dolores showed a slightly sad expression seeing Nasiens leave as quickly as he had arrived.
'Did I say something wrong??' The thoughts of the gentle giantess took a path of self-reproach in the face of Nasiens' slight silence.
"Sorry, I have to do some stuff in the forest."
"I'll come keep you company later."