---Third POV---
Luminaris quickly replied, "Of course not, it's only a hundred undead… Wait! That's not the point!"
He bounced angrily on Viktor's shoulder, clicking noisily against his bones.
"Do you know how much of an impact these hundred undead have on me?"
All new players before level 10 had to receive three skills from it. A hundred newbies meant 300 face-to-face divine bestowals. He was about to die of exhaustion in the church!
"Of course I know. Why else would I give you this job? Because you sleep a lot every day?"
Viktor calmly looked at the file in his hands.
"Didn't most of the players from the Goblin War batch already graduate? Perfect timing to replace them with a fresh batch of believers."
Luminaris turned red all over with rage. "They're not believers at all!"
After spending so much time with them, he fully understood the players' true nature. They were just a bunch of slick-tongued, cold-blooded monsters. Every time he tried to preach behind Viktor's back, these undead would just clap and laugh out loud. Not serious in the slightest. Completely unlike real believers facing the god they serve.
"I demand you send them all back, or I'll go on strike and you can enlighten them yourself."
He shut his eyes and lay down on the spot, playing dead.
Viktor was amazed that a glowing orb could actually make a "resigned to death" expression. His hands didn't stop moving as he finished the final notes on the document.
"Only a hundred players and you're already breaking down. How will you ever escape my clutches?"
"Do as you wish, kill me if you must! A god shall never be manipulated!"
Luminaris flipped over and sprawled out in a star shape.
"I should've known, you're just enjoying my rebellion for fun! I will never again stoop beneath an undead just to cling to life!"
Viktor sighed and put down his pen. "Again?"
He was already used to the frequent breakdowns and strikes. Who knows what ideas the players had implanted in him? His strike frequency had definitely been increasing lately. He grabbed the orb off his shoulder.
Luminaris struggled violently. "What are you doing? I will never submit! I am the God of Creativity!"
Ignoring his resistance, Viktor pinned him to the table and pondered for a moment.
"Have you ever heard the story of King David of Israel?"
Luminaris froze momentarily, then thrashed even more violently.
"Don't think you can trick me! Someone already told me that story, I won't do something meaningless! As a god, I will never allow myself to become a laughingstock for some undead!"
"No no no…" Viktor shook his head. "I meant what happened after he conquered Jerusalem."
"After that?" Luminaris stopped struggling, his thoughts momentarily distracted. "Wasn't the story over when he became king?"
"Of course not. That was just the start of a golden age, King David was only one of many rulers in the ancient world."
Seeing the orb no longer resisting, Viktor let go. He paused, then took out a blank sheet of paper, dipped his brush in ink, and began sketching a map from memory.
"The one who held true authority was the Babylonian Empire, but their power had waned, they were barely more than a regional power at that point…"
He had discovered by chance that Luminaris really liked listening to stories. Maybe the memory inheritance he had received was too fragmented to form a coherent worldview. And trapped in the Divine Realm with his power constantly draining, he didn't have time to interact with anyone else. As a result, he sometimes acted like the arrogant and hypocritical God of Light he looked up to, and other times just like an unenlightened child.
Viktor continued sketching on the paper, stroke by stroke.
"Generally speaking, we refer to that era as the Age of Empires and the Classical Period. The figures and kingdoms I'm going to talk about can be summed up as: the great empires of antiquity, and the rise of Alexander's Macedonia…"
Since the last time he attended a history class was 684 years ago, he shamelessly pulled up his Earth Network connection and lectured based on what he could remember and access. Fortunately, it didn't stop Luminaris from being completely captivated. He lay quietly at the edge of the paper like a little desk ornament.
"And so, Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire, Egypt, and reached the borders of India, creating the largest empire the world had ever seen. He believed his achievements surpassed all previous conquerors and that he was divine, so he took the title 'Great King of Kings,' thus ending the age of city-states once and for all."
With Viktor's precise strokes, the ink gradually formed into a complete region. That was the full territory of Alexander's Empire.
Luminaris remained silent for a long while, then suddenly had a realization. "So the title of Great King is a level above ordinary King, and only someone who unites vast territories can call themselves that?"
"Uh… you could put it that way."
"Then what about the Roman Emperors who came later?"
"That's not part of today's story. If you don't go on strike again, I can tell you next time."
As soon as Viktor finished speaking, the filaments of light on Luminaris stood on end. He leapt back cautiously.
"As expected, dark races are always good at manipulating hearts! You said all that just to get me to work harder! 'Roman Emperors'? Hah! I won't fall for that!"
That said, his backward steps became hesitant. Then he resolutely took a step forward.
"However, your story wasn't part of our original bargain, so whether I strike or not, you must finish telling it!"
"Sure."
"Even if you, huh?" Luminaris, who was prepared to be refused, froze mid-sentence.
Viktor confirmed again.
"This story is free. Do you still want to hear it?"
After a moment of inner struggle, Luminaris followed his heart and plopped back down. Viktor promptly scooped him up.
The softly glowing orb emitted a faint warmth, actually perfect as a hand warmer. If it weren't summer right now, it would have been nicer...
"I can keep telling the story, but how did you notice I hadn't finished yet?"
Enduring Viktor's poking and squeezing, Luminaris snorted haughtily.
"If becoming king wasn't the end of the story, then becoming Great King obviously isn't either. Let me guess, afterward Alexander used a spell to resurrect Aristotle?"
"It's Alexander the Great," Viktor corrected. "But why do you think he'd bring Aristotle back to life?"
Luminaris gave Viktor a look of disdain.
"Aristotle's teachings shaped Alexander into the greatest conqueror in history, and yet he died before seeing his student's ultimate triumph. Shouldn't he be brought back?"
Viktor couldn't help laughing at his naive logic.
"Dying of natural causes in his seventies is what you call an unjust death?"
"That was because of political enemies!" Luminaris said indignantly. "He did good things, he should've been appreciated by the people! He would have become a god through the faith of the masses and protected the entire empire!"
If Viktor still had a physical body, he would've been laughing until tears came out.
"Hahaha! You inherited Aeceus' memories, yet you still see everything as black or white?"
Viktor looked at the map on the table with a faint smile.
"Forward-thinking ideas and philosophies are often met with ridicule and doubt in their time, even being deeply loathed."
"How do you know that by the time of Alexander's empire, the people weren't full of praise and gratitude for him?" Luminaris asked in confusion. "Why wouldn't they be?"
"Because Alexander's empire only lasted 13 years after his death."
"Only 13 years?!"
Luminaris jolted in shock, clearly taken aback.
"With the strength to conquer the known world, how could it have lasted only 13 years?"
He scoured his inherited memories but still couldn't find a single clue or detail about this.
Viktor pondered for a moment. "Well, we have to start with the death of Aristotle. First, you must understand, this is a world without elves, dwarves, gods, or monsters. Only ordinary humans with no magical talent."
Luminaris protested in disbelief, "How is that possible? Without magic, humans wouldn't even be able to fight off stronger cattle or sheep!"
"Just listen to me first."
Viktor pushed him back down.
"Anyway, these people lived peacefully for tens of thousands of years and developed civilization on their own."
Ignoring the agitated and whimpering Luminaris, he continued, "Since there was no individual supernatural power, collective strength in this world became immense. Aristotle knew how to teach and philosophize, but not how to play politics. His influence over Alexander stirred deep resentment among the Macedonian nobles. The philosophy didn't favor traditional warriors either, which earned their hatred. Unpopular with both the nobles and generals, once the only person supporting him, Alexander, died, he was naturally overthrown. His death was inevitable, and as long as those foreign ideas existed, he would never be appreciated by the people."
Luminaris wanted to argue against the naive idea that humans could develop civilization without divine enlightenment. But without realizing it, he got drawn into the story. He couldn't help but urge, "And then? Clearly, Alexander supported Aristotle's teachings, didn't that mean he understood Aristotle's intentions? Shouldn't he have paved the way before his death to ensure the philosophy would continue?"
Before Aristotle died, the teachings hadn't fully taken root. If he had lived out his life and continued spreading wisdom... With his advanced thinking and long-term vision, maybe Alexander's empire wouldn't have collapsed after only 13 years.
"Protect him?" Viktor laughed dryly.
"Rather than protect him, Aristotle's death may have been orchestrated by Alexander himself."
Seeing Luminaris' stunned expression, he went on, "In times of conquest, harsh discipline is necessary. For expansion to succeed, it must start strong, which inevitably breeds resentment. At the time, Alexander focused all the hatred on himself and his foreign advisors. But such a situation isn't sustainable. The next generation needed to be traditional rulers to win over the people. Aristotle was the perfect scapegoat left behind for his successors to solidify that image. Not only did Aristotle have to die, he had to die miserably! Tragically!"
Luminaris, who had never dealt with politics before, was dumbfounded.
"A world without the protection of gods is really this cruel and unfair?"
No wonder the various races were now in such a bleak state... Forced into retreat by monsters unable to travel far.
Viktor sneered, "Do you think there was no injustice in the era of gods? Those high-dimensional beings would rather watch three hundred years of cricket fights than care about the suffering of their believers."
Luminaris was left speechless.
Viktor continued, "The reasons for Alexander's empire's fall were similar. Aristotle's death did appease much public anger and eased tensions among the elite. But as time passed, as long as the foreign influences remained, new conflicts gradually emerged. Before, the coexistence of the Greek city-states created external conflicts that masked internal ones. Later, when Alexander unified the known world, he tried to bear the role of the tyrant himself. Unfortunately, the chosen successor meant to continue the empire, his son, died unexpectedly. So, when Alexander, who held the entire era together, died, the world plunged into chaos. The empire collapsed in its second generation!"
After Viktor finished speaking, Luminaris was silent for a long time.
"Is there no way to change it?"
"Of course there is," Viktor quickly replied. "Seemingly indestructible alliances often collapse from within. As long as external pressure is absent, internal conflict can be suppressed."
Suddenly enlightened, Luminaris eagerly followed Viktor's lead.
"So, the fundamental reason for the fall of Alexander's empire was that... there weren't enough external enemies!"
"Exactly."
Viktor nodded with satisfaction, a kind and approving smile on his face like a teacher seeing a promising student.
"You said I'm the only one in the world who could become a god. But if there's only one god in the world, could that god truly live forever?"
Luminaris reflexively nodded, then froze.
"Hmm... huh?"
Weren't they just talking about a world without gods?
Viktor continued, "As everyone knows, the undead are synonymous with evil, cruelty, and darkness, basically total lunatics. If I were the only one to become a god, what if I became mentally twisted, fell into depression, and committed suicide? I must find another being on my level, a worthy external threat. That way, I'd have the motivation to keep living."
Luminaris slowly nodded, dazed.
"That... actually makes sense."
He had spent less than a hundred years alone in the land of gods and had already been driven nearly mad by loneliness! He'd rather burn through a huge amount of divine power just to descend and search for a way to become a god. Even if it meant an earlier death, he had done it anyway.
Viktor spoke with gentle persuasion.
"You, as a divine essence born with awareness, are already the being closest to godhood. Aren't you the perfect candidate to serve as my external threat? I need an opponent who can match me, why would I ever stand in your way as you gather followers?"
Luminaris was suddenly enlightened.
"So that's it! No wonder you gave me a job that lets me interact with all the undead!"
"Exactly." Viktor answered without hesitation.
"Players may be stubborn in their beliefs, but that's exactly why, once they become your followers, they won't easily change their faith. Absolutely high-quality believers. If it were me, I'd be tempted too."
Luminaris was so hyped up by his words.
Yes! Every time he got rejected, it just proved how loyal the undead were to the undead faith. How could he be defeated by these temporary setbacks? He was someone recognized as a future rival!
Wait, would someone really let go of a power they already controlled?
That doubt only lingered for a moment before Luminaris tossed it out of his mind. The story just now felt too real, like it had actually happened. But a civilization without gods couldn't possibly exist in this world. Which meant... that story was a reflection of Viktor's true thoughts.
Luminaris stood up firmly, though whether he stood or not didn't change his height much. With a look of utmost seriousness, he faced the undead in front of him.
"I will definitely grow into a worthy opponent who can rival you!" As he spoke, he took off flying. "I'm heading back to check on the church!"
Viktor waved with a smile. "Bye now, good luck at work~"
He hoped this story would help Luminaris hang in there for a few more days. After all, he had handed out all 1,000 player slots. Today's 100 newbie players were only the beginning.
Luminaris' retreating figure carried an oddly heroic, tragic grandeur. He shouted, "Don't worry!"
And even politely pulled the door shut behind him as he left.
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