Smack!
The sharp knock on the ancient snake's head jolted him out of his wandering thoughts. His owner, who was in the middle of teaching, wrinkled her delicate nose in displeasure.
Lin Xian shrank his neck and lowered his head, gently licking the back of Ereshkigal's hand with his forked tongue as he sincerely apologized to his teacher.
Well, he could think about that troublemaking maniac later. It was not his concern yet. He should focus on the lesson.
Seeing the little guy behave so sensibly, Ereshkigal could not bring herself to get angry. She continued from where she had left off, while Lin Xian, now even more attentive, nodded repeatedly and scribbled notes nonstop.
"I told you before that the rule of mystery is that the older something is, the stronger it becomes."
"In truth, the evolution and strengthening of species is a process of tracing life back toward its origins."
"According to the prophecy on Marduk's Fate Tablet, after the gods were born, the Mesopotamian world would pass through the Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age, and Black Iron Age..."
"Each transition diluted and suppressed the bloodline power of different species."
"Take humans as an example. During this process, their constitutions would gradually weaken, their control over magical power would continuously decline, and their connection to the gods would be severed bit by bit."
"Until, in the end, most of the mystery within humanity would be stripped away, reducing them to ordinary beings."
Lin Xian curled his stone stylus around and scratched down a question.
"Most?"
Ereshkigal nodded slightly. Her gaze drifted toward the sky above the underworld, carrying a deeper meaning.
"The overall trend in the evolution of a species' mystery is indeed constant decline, but there will always be extraordinary individuals who can rise against the tide of their age."
"In theory, ether levels decrease, bloodlines become diluted, and perception is restricted."
"Yet those who defy the trend can use inheritance, learning, experimentation, and accumulated experience to develop all kinds of methods to grow stronger."
"Put simply, if the Base Stats of an ordinary adult human in the Golden Age were 1,000, then they would be 500 in the Silver Age, 100 in the Bronze Age, and 10 in the Black Iron Age."
"For humans normally born in the Black Iron Age, most of their mysterious abilities can only be confined within that narrow range."
"But a small number of beings can raise that value of 10 by drawing out their potential, awakening ancient bloodlines, or mastering extraordinary wisdom."
"Breaking past 100 makes one Bronze rank. Reaching 500 makes one Silver rank. Reaching 1,000 makes one Gold rank."
Lin Xian tilted his head and raised his writing slate, though his thoughts had clearly gone off on a tangent.
"A Gold-ranked player in an age full of Black Iron... wouldn't that be stomping low-rank matches?"
Ereshkigal nodded as if it were only natural, her expression solemn.
"Of course. If a human could refine their bloodline, master techniques, and ascend to the Gold rank under the conditions of the Black Iron Age—"
"Then his power would vastly exceed that of his era! One person could become an army!"
"Among humans, such people are often called heroes, saints, or war gods."
The ancient snake could not help thinking of the era in the future after the gods had vanished: Moses parting the Red Sea, the paladin Roland splitting mountains with Durandal, and Sigurd's legend of slaying a dragon. He fell into thought.
Put bluntly, that kind of gap had always existed. To people of this era, were the Gods of Babylon not the same?
Moreover, the older they were, the higher their starting point and achievements. As generations of living creatures saw their bloodlines deteriorate and their mystery fade, the difference between them only became more outrageous.
The disparity could even reach the level of aliens compared to cavemen.
After digesting that for a while, Lin Xian lowered his head to look at his slender body and wrote his question on the clay tablet.
"What about us?"
Ereshkigal reached out and rubbed the little guy's head, smiling reassuringly.
"The principle is roughly the same."
"Your ranks, from low to high, are approximately beasts, demon beasts, phantasmal beasts, and divine beasts."
"However, beasts come in countless varieties and enormous numbers. They also reproduce and turn over faster than humans, so the deterioration of their bloodlines is even more severe."
"Therefore, beasts of these four ranks have existed together since the Golden Age. It is only that their numbers rise and fall with changes in environment and time."
"And the Bull of Heaven Gurra has always been one of the most powerful divine beasts!"
A faint smile spilled from her blinking crimson eyes. She was clearly teasing him.
"Of course, because species differ, some excel at combat, some at creation, and some at concealment. Rank does not completely determine strength or victory."
"Even if you are rather weak right now, merely a demon beast that has just learned to manipulate magical power—"
"If you can crawl into Gurra's stomach, bite its heart, and inject venom, you might have a slim chance of winning."
After offering a few small words of comfort, the goddess stroked the ancient snake's cool scales, petting her companion as she continued teaching.
"Now then, it's time for questions."
"Little guy, if you have any doubts, just ask."
Lin Xian let his owner's fingers make mischief atop his head. His thoughts raced as he seriously treated this break as a question-and-answer session.
"What age is Uruk in right now?"
"Well, roughly the late Silver Age."
"By this time, the Mesopotamian world has already stabilized. Under powerful restrictions, gods cannot freely descend upon the surface where humans live."
"We can only appear through spirit descent or avatars, and we have gradually severed our ties with humanity."
"When gods can only give simple responses and faint revelations, unable to effectively interfere with the surface world, that will be the time for heroes to rise and saints to guide humanity into the future."
"That is the so-called Bronze Age. Humanity will no longer rely solely on the gods, but will forge civilization with sword and fire."
"Eventually, the gods will vanish, mystery will exist only within fixed bloodlines, and most people will return to mediocrity. Then the darkest Black Iron Age will arrive."
Hmm, wasn't that exactly what the modern world was like?
That was precisely why the magi of the future had ingeniously developed a method of constantly refining bloodline power through intermarriage within their own families, in order to prevent mystery from being completely cut off.
That result seemed to be called a Magic Crest.
"I thought this was the Golden Age. After all, that Heroic King's taste is a little too retro."
Thinking of that guy glittering from head to toe in gold, Lin Xian scratched down a sarcastic remark. To his surprise, Ereshkigal nodded lightly.
"Don't let his youth fool you. That guy has lived for a very long time. He was born as early as the Golden Age."
"Then just how old is he?"
Lin Xian was extremely curious. The flames of gossip burned brightly within him.
"That guy has ruled Uruk for over five hundred years. He has lived longer than some phantasmal beasts!"
"I even suspect that unless he kills himself, I will not see him truly dead even on the day the underworld is cut off from the surface."
Ereshkigal rolled her eyes as she complained as well. Unable to vent her desire for revenge, she gloomily propped her cheek on one hand.
"Alright, then are people of the Silver Age very strong?"
Lin Xian was curious. Aside from Gilgamesh that freak and the ghosts in the underworld, he had not yet encountered any real Sumerians.
Since he would have to deal with those people in the future, he naturally needed to figure out their level first.
Ereshkigal thought for a moment before answering casually.
"Hmm, how should I put it? They're average, I suppose..."
"Soldiers can probably use combat techniques and resonate with their bloodlines and ether."
"Priestesses or priests can cast magic, perform spirit descent, or communicate with the gods."
At that moment, the goddess glanced at the ancient snake lost in thought. She frowned slightly, flicked his forehead with a bent finger, and sternly threatened him.
"What are you thinking about? It depends on who you compare them to!"
"Do you know Sumer has a tradition? Ordinary people often choose to enter the Fir Forest and hunt a demon beast as their coming-of-age ceremony!"
"Little things like you are basically soup ingredients!"
Lin Xian's eyelids twitched as he vaguely recalled something.
In the future, after the Absolute Demonic Beast Front Babylonia had been completed, Uruk's soldiers had repelled wave after wave of beast hordes and killed enemies several times their own number.
The city walls had certainly played a role, but those creatures created using the Eleven Demon Beasts of Creation as templates were not ordinary demon beasts like those in the Fir Forest.
This showed just how powerful the constitutions of Sumerian warriors in the Silver Age truly were!
And those were only normally grown Silver-ranked adult humans. If he encountered someone capable of awakening their bloodline power and wielding magic or divine arts—
Then the current him might really just be delivering himself on a platter.
So he should train honestly. At the very least, until he mastered that trace of Beast's Authority, he should not wander outside.
If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you do not lose it next time.
Before you continue