Playing with a snake?

"Hmm! She possesses the authority of heaven, and Lord Ereshkigal can command the earth!"

"She controls harvest and life, and Lord Ereshkigal represents decay and death!"

"She enjoys sacrifices in the most prosperous city, Uruk, and Lord Ereshkigal is the ruler of the entire Underworld!"

"Besides, you personally taught her a lesson. It was a complete crush in a one-on-one battle!"

The Ancient Snake perked up, raising its head and hissing excitedly.

These words, filled with implicit worship and praise, made Ereshkigal, who had been feeling inferior when facing Ishtar, feel delighted. She found her pet more and more pleasing to the eye.

However, in an instant, the little guy who had been indignant seemed to have thought of something, its head drooping listlessly, its voice lowering.

"But her only flaw is that she can command the strongest divine beast, the Bull of Heaven, Gugulanna, while I am just a useless snake..."

"I am the only living creature in the Underworld, yet I am so incompetent. I've embarrassed you..."

Immediately after, the Ancient Snake cheered up, its vertical pupils sparkling brightly, its eyes filled with longing and aspiration.

"But perhaps I am weak now, but in the future, I will definitely become as powerful as the Bull of Heaven, Gugulanna, and become the strongest divine beast in the Underworld!"

"Lord Ereshkigal is perfect! I cannot let you be slandered because of my existence!"

This resolute cry, erupting from a state of low spirits, stunned Ereshkigal for a moment. A smile bloomed on her pretty face as she gently rubbed the little guy's head with her bare hand.

So, it yearns to become stronger simply because it wants to protect me?

This tiny creature actually dares to compare itself to the strongest celestial divine beast.

It's adorably foolish.

However, speaking of which, what if we meet in the future.

That hateful rival Ishtar, riding the Bull of Heaven, Gugulanna, majestically soaring through the sky.

And she... is playing with a snake?

Absolutely not! The contrast is too stark, too embarrassing!

With her imagination running wild, Ereshkigal, upon picturing the scene of a certain wicked goddess standing on the back of the Bull of Heaven, laughing arrogantly at her, felt a surge of indignation*.

Hmm! It's decided then!

Even if I don't train Samael to be comparable to Gugulanna, at least I must make it a qualified guardian beast of the Underworld!

"Learning magic and combat techniques is very difficult. Can you persevere?"

The goddess, having made up her mind, propped her spear and asked sternly.

"For Lord Ereshkigal! I'll defeat that bull!"

The Ancient Snake excitedly raised its triangular head, hissing and baring its fangs, its heart filled with joy.

Her master couldn't help but cough dryly, blushing slightly, but she didn't stop him directly, clearly quite pleased.

Very good, the persuasion was successful!

With this grand goal, the master Ereshkigal will likely push herself and train me with all her might.

And, if during this process I awaken the powers bestowed by the primordial mother goddess Tiamat and display extraordinary strength, then I'll have a good scapegoat.

After all, if I want to seize territory from the Babylonian gods in the future, play mind games, shake their rule, and bring back Tiamat.

He must first learn to hide and carefully conceal his abnormality that makes him easily targeted.

If you can endure, you can live long.

"Alright, from now on, I will set aside time every evening to specifically train your combat abilities!"

The diligent and conscientious Underworld goddess's expression turned serious as she solemnly announced her decision.

Immediately after, the master's gaze swept into the depths of the mountains, towards the floating soul fires, causing her to cough dryly, her expression somewhat subtle.

"However, before that, you need to learn a very important skill!"

"What is it?"

The Ancient Snake's coiled tail brushed against its head, as if scratching its head, its expression full of anticipation.

"Using magic to refine metal, solidify barriers, and create spear cages!"

Ereshkigal solemnly patted the Ancient Snake's head, speaking with righteous indignation.

Lin Xian's expression froze for a moment, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.

You dare to teach me this, isn't it just to be lazy and reduce your workload?

How can you bear to exploit such a cute and loyal pet to death?

Mining during the day to create spear cages, learning combat skills at night, and also needing to sleep with her. Besides three meals a day, not even wages are given!

No, not even three meals a day! Besides me, there are almost no normal living creatures in the Underworld!

He hasn't starved to death; he's been subsisting on magic crystals every day, commonly known as eating dirt!

Ha, this treatment, even the exploitative factories of my previous life that worked 007 weren't this harsh!

More importantly, few Lancers in history have had a good end.

I should probably learn to make gun cages first. I really don't know if I'll be cursed with E-rank luck.

I'm already unlucky enough. Why don't you focus on hollowing out Uruk? Find trouble with Gilgamesh if you have time. Can you stop bothering the snake?

Protecting animals is everyone's responsibility!

Perhaps feeling a bit guilty under the snake's peculiar gaze, Ereshkigal's eyes flickered as she changed the subject.

"Well, we won't be practicing the practical application of magic today. That's a bit too early for you."

"I'll start by explaining basic common sense about the Mesopotamian world during the Age of Gods..."

Lin Xian lowered his eyes and coiled obediently in front of his owner, setting up his writing board and stylus, ready to listen.

Fine, I'll consider making gun cages as tuition.

This owner of mine has to protect human souls and is restricted by the contract with the Triple Goddess Alliance. It's not easy for her either.

Understanding is king.

Ereshkigal nodded with satisfaction at the Ancient Snake's serious attitude, organized her thoughts, and began to speak.

"First, mystery generally follows a rule: the older, the more mysterious; the more mysterious, the more powerful."

"This is because when the world was still in chaos, ancient beings called [Gods] were born from the purest primordial essence."

"Absorbing Aether Factors and controlling natural laws was as simple as breathing for Them; it was an innate authority."

"Therefore, that initial group of existences possessed the highest starting point and almost limitless room for growth."

"But as heaven and earth separated, the sun, moon, and stars gathered and set, and time and space were divided, the concepts of life and death, growth and decay took shape, and the framework of the world gradually stabilized."

"In this process, species on the earth underwent cycles of change and reproduction, batch after batch."

"Their bloodlines, which once allowed them to absorb Aether and connect to primordial essence, would be continuously degraded and diluted. Their growth ceiling would also be progressively lowered as the world's structure solidified."

Lin Xian listened intently, occasionally nodding his snake head. He felt deeply touched, combining it with his own understanding.

Different mythologies generally shared similar commonalities in their descriptions of the origin world.

In the beginning, the air was filled with high-concentration Aether Factors, food was readily available, the land flowed with milk and honey, and all things grew freely.

Moreover, pure energy gave birth to beings like gods; everything was as dreamlike and beautiful as colorful soap bubbles.

However, as the world took shape, this "soap bubble" floating in the Sea of Imaginary Numbers gradually squeezed out its fantastical and unreasonable components, settling onto the true surface of the earth.

As mystery gradually faded, the infinitely malleable Age of Gods withered and downgraded into the fixed and real human world.

Finally, world bubbles born from the Sea of Imaginary Numbers tore off their protective membranes and anchored themselves in different regions of the Earth, forming the origins of human civilization.

If, during this process, high-purity Magic Crystals were inserted, re-energizing the world bubble where mystery had faded and distorting its reality, thereby detonating the foundation of human civilization.

Then, restarting the entire era would become possible.

However, human civilization followed a multi-origin model; their greatest strength was rebirth from ruins.

Simply detonating one node could not guarantee the destruction of the miracles built by these tiny existences.

That's why Goetia, who wanted to cause trouble, planted Holy Grails in seven important civilization nodes for detonation, attempting to overturn the great structure of human history.

It's just that the large holes, similar to detonation points, have now been sealed, and the Holy Grails that were delivered have been swallowed by someone.

The troublemaker wandering outside the world bubble has truly lost a wife and the soldiers as well.

But what Lin Xian couldn't understand was, if even Tiamat, who had her Divinity stripped away, could resolve such minor disturbances, then what were the gods who were supposed to protect the Mesopotamian region doing?