In a corner of Stormy Ridge, in Cannibal Valley, more than a dozen ogres were feasting on a charred wild boar, tearing the meat excitedly and making a mess everywhere.
"Mine, all mine!"
"You fool, you think you can snatch from me?"
The tallest and also the fattest ogre among them knocked out his companion with a club, seized the pig leg, and swallowed it whole, licking his fingers with satisfaction.
His name was Ramp, the leader of the ogre tribe.
Ramp found himself getting smarter, and his subordinates often said the same, though they didn't use such sophisticated terms. They just said he was "really good at finding food."
But the clever Ramp understood their meaning and felt very flattered by it.
In the ogres' dictionary, "good at finding food" was the highest praise, whether by using a stout club or a smart brain.
Besides gluttony, Ramp would often flip through the books he had seized from "Nibbles," enjoying them greatly, and he learned many useful things from them:
For example, from "Sean's Adventure Diary," he learned that placing a treasure chest or scattering some gold coins on the road and then digging a pit ahead, covering it with straw, could quickly snare more "little ones." The book called this behavior "trap." Ramp loved this elegant term.
What fascinated him the most was something called a "Spell" from the book "Fool's Guide to Fireball Spell." It allowed him to cast fireballs larger than a boar's head, easily turning a mammoth into roast meat.
Ramp used this method to gather a large amount of food and consolidated the commonly scattered two or three ogre groups into a tribe of over twenty ogres. Those who refused to join were turned into roast meat by Ramp and ended up in everyone's bellies.
This was an epoch-making achievement that could be recorded in the history of ogres—at least Ramp thought so. Hence, he named the tribe "New Era," a term learned from books.
Unfortunately, no one in the ogre tribe could understand this name, and a subordinate even asked why it wasn't called the "Big Meat Chunk" tribe. As a result, Ramp gave him a severe beating with a club.
Ramp always had a feeling of "hating iron for not being steel" towards his ogre subordinates.
Whenever he tried to line his subordinates up to ambush enemies, as described in the "Military Exercise Manual," the ogres would always shout "Meat! Meat!" and rush in a disorganized manner, wielding their big clubs.
He wanted to teach his subordinates the common language, hoping to extort more food from humans, but the ogres only knew the words "eat," "meat," and "food."
"Sigh..."
"There were still too few smart ones in the tribe."
While eating, Ramp often thought and sighed at the same time.
However, unlike Ramp, the other ogres, after eating, were already snoring loudly, in a deep sleep.
He'd recently been focusing on training an ogre named "Bighead." As the name suggested, this ogre had a very large head, twice the size of a normal head. Ramp thought that a big-headed fellow might be smarter.
"Chief, there's food over there!"
The "scout" arranged by Ramp shouted excitedly from the hilltop.
"Bighead, what kind of creature came by?"
Ramp happily spat out a bone and climbed up the slope since ogres were never full.
"It's a big lizard, plenty of meat!"
The ogre named Bighead waved his wolf fang club excitedly.
Was it a fire lizard?
Or a bipedal wyvern?
Several images flashed through Ramp's mind, but none were easy to deal with.
"Describe what it looks like."
"Let me see—it's the color of fresh meat, bright red, four legs, two wings, one tail..."
The more Ramp listened, the more off it sounded. He climbed up the hill and saw the "big lizard" for himself.
His expression changed dramatically, and he gave Bighead a hard clubbing, making his already large head swell even more.
"You fool!"
"That's a damn dragon! A True Dragon!"
After saying that, Ramp couldn't contain his anger and chased after the foolish ogre, beating him mercilessly, causing the latter to howl repeatedly.
Bighead said, aggrieved, "Chief, why are you hitting me? What did I say wrong?"
"Isn't it just a big lizard?"
Indeed, compared to most of his kind, he was already considered smart for recognizing it was a lizard and not shouting "meat" repeatedly. That was already an achievement.
"You just keep talking!"
"I'll teach you!"
"Stop hitting, Chief. The—uh—dragon is coming over."
Bighead cried out while holding his swollen head.
Ramp put down his club and looked up angrily.
He saw the red dragon already above him, with its wings spread wide, casting a shadow that enveloped him.
Ramp used his clever brain to organize his words, hesitated for a moment, and then said:
"Uh... Mighty, proud, and noble Red Dragon, Bighead is an ignorant fool who lacks manners, and I will discipline him well. I hope you won't stoop to his level."
Considering that the sky was occupied by an arrogant dragon, Ramp deliberately referred to the phrasing in the "Noble Etiquette Record."
Such a strong bardic tone almost made Cassius fall from the sky.
But the red dragon didn't reply, merely looking down at this seemingly "smarty" ogre.
Only a trace of undisguised surprise showed in its vertical pupils.
[Based on your own abilities, you can observe the following information]
[Ogre Mage]
Name: Ramp
Category: Large Giant, Neutral Evil
Race: Ogre
AC: 12 (Beastskin Armor)
Attributes:
Strength—18
Agility—8
Constitution—16
Intelligence—17
Perception—8
Charisma—12
Proficiencies: Arcane +3, Hunting +4, Traps +3, Reading +6, Military +2, Ruling +4, Herbology +2, Persuasion +2, Deception +2
Senses: Passive Perception 14 ft.
Languages: Common, Draconic, Giant
Actions: Slam, Bite, Pound
Combat Equipment:
[Ring of Wisdom's Study]: A headband handcrafted by an archmage for an inept noble student, it locks the user's intelligence at 17.
[Mithril Ring]: Arcane +1, Reading +4
[Albert's Mithril Bracelet]: Allows a daily save on a 4th-level spell.
Occupational Level: 5th Level Mage
Spellcaster Level: 5
Spells:
1st Level - None
2nd Level - None
3rd Level - Fireball
Challenge Level: 6 (2,100 XP)
Assessment: "This is a rare ogre mage. He is indeed very smart. Never underestimate him; otherwise, he will let you experience the consequences of scorning a mage with a fireball."
"Arcane, military, governance, herbology... A well-rounded individual who even knows magic. This guy is a talent..."
Cassius couldn't help but marvel in his heart.
With an intelligence of 17, he would be considered a sage in any human city and would probably be called a "prophet" in an orc tribe.
It's a pity that in an ogre tribe, which does nothing but eat and sleep, he would only become an overworked leader finding food for his subordinates.
The intelligence headband could be considered divine gear for the early stages.
If Cassius were a mage right now, he would do anything to get it. Unfortunately, he had chosen the path of a magician and did not plan to cross-class for the time being.
For now, it was better to recruit a mage follower.
The multiverse was vast and full of infinite possibilities.
If even an ogre could become a mage, what wasn't possible?
The air grew a bit tense.
The red dragon and the ogre faced each other, one high and one low, staring each other down.
Ramp, watching the seemingly contemplative red dragon, gripped his club tightly, sweat forming on his brow, and began preparing to construct a spell prototype in his mind.