"Cornelius."
"Yes, boss."
"Grab this."
I handed Cornelius a pestle.
"Now, crush these leaves like this."
I took some leaves that aided in digestive processing. Despite having a strong digestive system compared to humans, I discovered that using these leaves helped with better digestion.
"Now, eat."
"Yes, boss."
"What do you think?"
"Normal, boss."
"Wait, and you'll see the difference."
"Now, all of you, come here."
At my command, all those assigned to the artisans' group, with Cornelius as the leader, gathered around me.
"Now, it's your turn."
"You will learn to create everything in front of you and learn to use them correctly."
Obviously, as usual, no one understood even 50% of what I said.
But this time, I noticed something different. Cornelius seemed to have understood what I meant.
This is truly interesting; it seems I've found the genius of this era.
First, I called Cornelius.
Unlike warriors, artisans will have to learn entirely new things, presenting a different challenge to me.
Warriors still have much to learn. Even if they were humans, teaching the art of combat in just one morning is impossible, especially for Australopithecus, who, despite being more intelligent than any primate except Homo, is still evolutionarily inferior.
I just hope to plant a seed that, over the generations, can develop and grow.
"Take these stones."
Hearing my command, Cornelius picked up some stones that I had already sharpened.
"Now, repeat what I do."
I took a stone and hit a branch to create an axe, then used some vines to secure it.
"Repeat."
Cornelius, though a bit awkward, managed to do it.
"Great, now the rest of you."
I handed a stone and a branch, along with some vines, to the others, and Cornelius helped teach them.
While most failed, some came close. Observing the best result, I can confidently say that Cornelius is a genius compared to them, despite a bit of difficulty at the beginning; he can now make a simple and functional axe.
"Now, use the hides."
I showed them a water-holding pouch.
"Look, you'll take the hide and cut it like this."
I took an animal hide and made a bowl. Then, using a wooden splinter as a needle, I managed to pierce the hide despite some resistance, sewing a pouch. It was nothing compared to a top-of-the-line canteen, but it served its purpose.
"Cornelius, hold this."
I gave the pouch to Cornelius for him to feel what he needed to do.
"Now, it's your turn."
I gave him a hide and a splinter tied with vines.
As before, he did as I instructed, facing some resistance in piercing the hide, but after some persistence, he succeeded.
Passing the vines one by one, he managed to tie and sew a pouch. Like before, it wasn't perfect, but it worked.
Then came the challenging part for the others. Despite being much more intelligent compared to others in the group, they were nothing compared to Cornelius.
Warriors, on average, have a mental age equivalent to a 7-year-old, artisans around 10 years, but Cornelius is like a 13 or 14-year-old teenager.
As for the artists, well, they're like 2 or 3 years old.
After demonstrating and being followed by Cornelius, it was the turn of the others.
As usual, very few succeeded, and those who did were marginally useful at best.
Also, since they were sewing for the first time, they experienced pricking their fingers. Usually, one would suck on the finger and continue, but this time, these beings didn't yet understand the meaning of something insignificant, leading to certain conflicts.
Some threw the hides on the ground in anger, others beat them to vent their frustration, and some even ran away.
I had to use force to make them continue, and after they realized it didn't really hurt, they calmed down.
"Even though you couldn't make it useful, some of you managed to solve this problem."
"Now follow me; I'll show you what this is for."
I started walking, and they followed me, while others who were watching me soon began to follow too.
"No, you stay here, only them."
After instructing the others to stay in the flock area, I continued walking.
"Stop, we've arrived."
I took them to the stream. First, I climbed a tree and had everyone else climb as well. Then, I threw some stones into the water to check for any reactions. When I saw it was safe, I descended and went to the stream.
I filled my pouch with water, then closed it with a cord.
"Look, water."
Everyone's eyes widened as I had put water in the pouch, and it didn't leak.
One by one, I showed what happened when they used their pouches. Except for Cornelius, the others always leaked a bit, and some couldn't hold any water.
"Now, let's go back."
I had only brought them here for them to understand why what they were doing was necessary. The idea of bringing water to the flock without having to come to the stream was great, as the danger of predators was reduced.
Back at the flock, the sun began to set.
"For today, that's it. We'll continue tomorrow."
With the end of the day, normally, they would go to sleep. However, today would be different; today, I would change their lives forever.