God Must Be Able to Lift Stones

Haman Mercenaries...

Kas searched through his mind, which remained untainted by knowledge, and recalled what he knew about the Haman people.

The world was filled with various barbarians—cannibals, sheep-shaggers, nomads... The Haman people were a typical nomadic tribe that eked out a living as mercenaries in the cracks between civilized nations.

Compared to the Rishiman people, who clung to their lands and only raided southward during the winter, the Hamans would rush toward chaotic wars like wild dogs, eager to tear fresh flesh from the bodies of civilized states.

The Haman reputation was abysmal; at the very least, the Rishiman people looked down on them, viewing them as stray dogs without a homeland or roots, ready to wag their tails for a scrap of bone.

"Is Stad a Haman?"

"No, he is Bashkui." Isidore fell silent, seemingly unwilling to recall a miserable past.

"Fine, fine, more miserable pasts. Truly, this godforsaken world is filled with tragic histories everywhere."

Kas pressed his hands against his knees and stood up, his massive shadow looming over Isidore like a monster about to devour the defenseless man.

He grinned hideously: "I need you to do some things..."

Isidore's pupils contracted sharply; he had a bad premonition.

Panting, Isidore sat on a bench, enduring the pain that felt as if his body were being torn apart, and focused intently on listening to Kas.

He did not know what this savage Rishiman actually wanted, making him move stones, run in frantic circles around the wooden cabin, and play a game of stabbing a knife between his fingers.

There were even floating skulls with ghost-fire flickering in their eye sockets appearing in the room, and a terrifying werewolf capable of biting off half a head in one snap.

Isidore considered himself well-traveled, yet he had never seen such bizarre forms of torture.

"Listen, can an omnipotent god create a stone that He cannot lift?"

The barbarian's mysterious smile made Isidore shudder. He frowned, pondering this question that bordered on blasphemy, his bloodied fingers tracing patterns on the tabletop.

Kas felt smug. He wasn't just wasting time by giving Isidore trouble; he was attempting a plan he had never had the conditions to explore before.

[Plan: I reckon I need a status panel, because that would be really cool.

Status: In progress

Inspiration: Referencing a standard adult human male, personalized custom attribute panel.

What is a system? I'm not familiar with that; I am my own cheat code.

As for why I'm not using the Rishiman as a reference, it's because I reckon those barbarians are all muscle monsters with zero reference value!]

[Name: Kas
Race: Human/Rishiman stock
Faction: Her Tribe/Zagwell Clan
Strength: 40
Tough, overbearing muscles; intimidates and threatens others.
Constitution: 45
Fearless of pain and trauma; faces the world's malice head-on.
Agility: 28
Coordination of mind, eye, hand, and foot; observes the details of all things.
Intelligence: ??
Uses logical reasoning; analyzes the world through knowledge.
Spirit: 22
Indulges in intuitive wandering; maintains a clear will.]

These were the approximate stats he had obtained by using Isidore's physical fitness as a reference. Southerners were generally leaner than barbarians, with an average of 10 across Strength, Constitution, and Agility.

A Strength of 40, Constitution of 45, and Agility of 28 were enough to prove that he was a muscle monster.

Strength was tested by lifting stones, Constitution by running, and Agility by the knife-stabbing game. As for whether these testing methods could accurately reflect his abilities?

Kas didn't care. As long as I reckon it works, it works.

The test for Spirit was more complex. He believed Spirit was a complicated ability—an extension of thought, the capacity to endure sudden events...

But these two things were actually in conflict. Evaluating Spirit based on Isidore's psychological resilience when facing the werewolf and the skulls failed to capture the perceptive nature of Spirit.

The simplest example was the ability to perceive "Spirits."

A Shaman's Spirit must be high because they could perceive "Spirits," but their psychological resilience might not be as strong as a battle-hardened warrior.

Ultimately, anything involving thought and consciousness was difficult to evaluate with data; a brain controlled by the intersection of emotion and reason was far more complex than one might imagine.

For the Intelligence test, he had set a logical inference problem for Isidore. The paradox of God lifting a stone seemed like an attack on religion.

But anyone with a basic understanding of logic knew it was a linguistic trap.

The absurdity of "omnipotence" and "a stone that cannot be lifted" existing in the same context was similar to asking if an ant could climb a cylinder located on a two-dimensional plane.

The limitations of human language led to the misuse of many concepts. "Omnipotent yet unable to lift" was, in essence, a hollow and meaningless combination of words.

Stripping away the theological context, the formulation of the Omnipotence Paradox should be: "Can an omnipotent being do what it cannot do?"

Judging solely by human reason, the concept of "omnipotence" is inexplicable. Wittgenstein has already put this question to death—whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.

Kas lifted his chin, waiting proudly for Isidore's incorrect answer. He would surely fall into the trap of divine omnipotence; though I am a barbarian, my intelligence is quite high.

"This is a linguistic trap. Regardless of whether I discuss the omnipotence of God or the stone that cannot be lifted, I will ultimately fall into a self-contradictory situation."

"Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent."

Isidore's cautious reply caused Kas's throat to bob with difficulty. He stared wide-eyed as the two question marks in his mind merged into one, his IQ plunging into a clear, bottomless abyss.

[Intelligence: 5
Utilize logical reasoning and knowledge to analyze the world.]

So I really am a damn barbarian?!

My IQ is only half that of a normal person?

Impossible, I am, I am...

He looked at his jarring physical stats, silently deleting the Intelligence column. As long as I can't see my intelligence, I am a genius.

Being a person, sometimes you just have to be a little muddled; being too sharp is a bad thing.

For instance, my right hand—why did it subconsciously clamp onto Isidore's neck?

"My lord..." Isidore's dust-covered face turned increasingly flushed under Kas's large hand.

He cursed this mountain range infested with devils in his heart; even a person who could pose such profound questions would kill at a moment's notice.

"Fine, I was just too excited." Kas released his grip, feeling as though he might have stumbled upon a treasure.

He was a corporate slave who had received a proper higher education; although his grades weren't great, he possessed some capacity for rational analysis.

The IQ was referenced against Isidore, with a standard value of 10. The 5 points on the panel indicated that the teacher was sufficiently clever, not that he himself was too stupid.

After all, Kas knew that the panel he had puzzled out could only serve as a reference.

Considering only logical analysis and reasoning ability, Isidore, who had deduced the solution to the Omnipotence Paradox in mere minutes, was indeed worthy of 10 points of intelligence.

In the absence of a large amount of reference data, the significance of the panel was limited to the fact that he now clearly understood one thing—he was a standard barbarian.