Surviving The Fourth Calamity

36: Chapter 36 Space-Time Cathedral 36: Chapter 36 Space-Time Cathedral Hill stood quietly in front of the Lord’s Mansion, observing the notice board that he hadn’t paid attention to yesterday.

This board, originally intended for posting notices, had now become a three-meter-tall, two-meter-wide crystal screen.

Hill studied it carefully:

On the right side of the screen were rows of scrolling tasks issued by the Space-Time Cathedral, a feature present in all cities, allowing members of the Undead Tribe to accept missions across regions.

The upper half of the left side displayed announcements from the lord, while the lower half listed local tasks.

Currently, both were blank.

Hill thought for a moment and then pulled out that crystal ball from the central underground.

Sure enough, as soon as he took it over, two small tablets floated out above the large crystal screen and landed in Hill’s hands.

The projection from the crystal ball indicated that this was the task notice board, and it could be written on directly with a fingertip.

Hill could hand these two tablets over to a government official or a village chief.

Tasks they posted would appear on the crystal ball, which served as the terminal.

If there were objections, they could be deleted directly with it.

The last line was bolded as a warning: Please do not allow ordinary people to use the registration crystal book of the notice board—do so at your own risk.

Hill could only silently observe.

Too many things from the past had arrived at once, and it was somewhat overwhelming for him.

Hill had read many stories of how deities each traveled the earth before their deification, performing various miracles to benefit the people, warmly treating every person who offered loyalty, gentle and loving, presiding over justice, and spreading their love throughout the mortal world.

Could it be that His Majesty had a background as a programmer?

Apart from William, there seemed to be no intention to interact directly with people, leaving everything to be managed by intelligences.

The intelligent processing of problems by His Majesty of Time and Space was indeed orderly, but the humans who worshiped Him still didn’t know what He looked like.

The deities roamed the earth so that during the deification ceremony, the statues shaped by the concentrated faith would resemble their true selves.

People always sculpt their deities in their minds to be more perfect, aligning closer to the image they promote.

This statue would be enshrined in the deities’ Main Temple, accessible only to the most devout of believers.

And the statues in other temples and cathedrals, no matter how they were crafted before, would later be transformed by Divine Power into a uniform shape.

Upon reflection, Hill realized that when he thought of the God of Time and Space, his first impression was now that of a tablet.

Only a programmer would wish to incarnate as a computer, right?

But the Scales in the temples do have a human form, don’t they?

Hill wasn’t sure how this deity planned to handle the Deification Ceremony.

After thinking it over for a long time, he guessed it was to delay the ascension to the Divine Throne, slow down the transmission of faith from the world’s consciousness after being expelled from the Main World.

But with such an unusual approach, Hill hoped that the God of Time and Space could manage it well.

If the statues in temples and cathedrals all ended up turning into tablet computers, Hill felt he certainly wouldn’t be able to control his emotions.

If one day he couldn’t help but take delight in the disaster in front of a statue, the consequences, if discovered, would be dire.

Adrian arrived flying with Olivia.

Hill scrutinized the future Priest: She was a typical Saral Noblewoman, with blonde hair and blue eyes, delicate features, and a tall figure.

She wore a finely made shirt, a long silk skirt of light green, and a white gold-trimmed robe.

Aside from a pair of pearl earrings, she wore no other jewelry, interpreting nobility’s simplicity in a way that suited a deity’s potential requirements for female clergy.

Hill, looking into her steadfast and resolute green eyes, nodded with satisfaction:

“Welcome to my domain, Miss Olivia.

I hope we can have a pleasant collaboration.”

“I’m profoundly grateful for this opportunity.

Under the will of my deity, I shall submit to your wishes,” Olivia curtsied softly.

Hill nodded, and guided her to the empty space on the left side of the Lord’s Mansion, which he had already filled with construction materials.

He summoned the locals, instructing them to stand on the outer perimeter.

Knowing that Hill was preparing to build a Space-Time Cathedral, the locals kneeled down, trembling: they might have their own gods to worship, but in the presence of any deity, they didn’t dare show the slightest disrespect.

At times like this, Hill was extremely grateful to be a Mage.

Even the headstrong Melanie, when teaching Hill, told him to respect but not fear the deities.

In a mage’s world, the most important thing was personal choice.

Mages could worship deities, but it must come from a genuine personal decision.

Whether it was for gain or a true alignment with the deity’s philosophy, as long as the choice was authentic, there would be no consequences.

Otherwise, one could never become a Legendary Mage.

This was a philosophy passed down among mages, one that even deities couldn’t oppose—a result of the struggles of Legendary Mages over tens of thousands of years.

There are no selfless deities.

The absence of a War God on this continent is evidence enough of the bloody struggles between the gods.

Before activating the option to build the Space-Time Cathedral within the floating crystal ball, Hill, moved by an impulse, took out some gold, silver, gemstones, and Pearl Coral, and then instructed Olivia, holding these, to stand before the construction site and he solemnly pressed “Yes.”

The crystal ball floated up, radiating a divine golden light.

The cathedral emerged inch by inch within the glow, and Olivia crossed her hands over her chest, kneeling within the golden light.

Hill and Adrian both bowed in a Mage’s salute, quietly watching the deities scatter their brilliance.

As the light faded, the two looked up at the cathedral standing tall before them.

Hill searched his mind, finding the structure eerily familiar.

After some thought, he was certain it was a replica of the new cathedral in Envalide, Paris.

The building featured a square Greek cross plan, with four circular chapels at the corners.

The spired crosses had been modified into Scales, with a stark appearance and a height of around 120 meters.

The forceful drum elevated the robust dome high above, the gilded relief displaying the Divinity of the God of Time and Space.

The square cathedral seemed a pedestal for the dome.

The main portico was double-decked, aptly reflecting the scale of the building.

The walls around were evenly divided by double pilasters, each bay and its windows designed uniformly, rendering the building exceptionally dignified and elegant, yet devoid of any mystical religious aura of devotion.

Facing the cathedral, Hill and Adrian exchanged a look, acknowledging that only a cathedral could best reflect a Deity’s pursuit.

No matter how beautiful the lip service, gazing upon those sanctified yet aloof, imposing cathedrals would always repel Mages in their pursuit of self.

The Temple of Knowledge was solemn and elegant, the Justice Temple grave and stern, with the least suppression of Divine Power.

Hence, the Mages held these two in higher regard.

As for the Goddess of Agriculture, She did not build temples or cathedrals, Her altars spread across every village, negating the need for proselytism.

The God of Time and Space would likely become the most favored among Mages in the future, a deity worthy of trust for not seeking the devotion of followers and abandoning even the sense of mystery.

Olivia came over, her robe now a silver-blue embedded with silver-black edges, draped by a white cloak bordered with silver fur.

Hill recalled that the players also had similar robes; probably standard issue, or maybe a sect uniform?

Olivia performed a Priest’s salute, “My lord, Lord Adrian, the divine edict of our Main God reads: The cathedral’s four chambers, the left-side Teleportation Array will open tomorrow, the right reserved for classes.”

Hill nodded, “The cathedral has just been built, and there’s much to be done.

I won’t keep you, go on with your duties!”

Olivia nodded, turned, and walked into the cathedral, showing no intention of spreading the faith among the kneeling commoners or acknowledging the Undead Tribe watching from a distance.

Adrian tugged at Hill, “Did you see those Undead onlookers?

There are even Priests among them!

Don’t they care about their own Main God’s cathedral being established?”

Hill shook his head, “If you can’t understand the Undead matters, don’t bother with them.

If their own deities don’t care, why should you?”

Adrian, at a loss for words, said, “The world is changing too fast, I feel like I need to seclude myself for a while.”

“Your grandfather won’t let you roam freely; keeping you around so the Undead young ladies visit a few more times might have its benefits!”

“Little Hill, your sarcasm is getting sharper.”

Hill sneered, knowing full well Adrian and Fran’s claim that Hill squatted in the Lord’s Mansion daily just to swindle the Undead young ladies.

Lately, Fran had not left the Magic Tower, annoyed by the Undead girls swarming him, calling him ‘uncle’.

Only Adrian, in order to determine the biggest demand for potions among the Undead Tribe, stood daily in the Potion Shop, surrounded by a group of Undead Female Mages calling him ‘brother’, beaming with joy, lighthearted and witty, and he had the nerve to criticize Hill!

Hill paid no mind to the ever-watchful Adrian.

Since leaving the court, the staid and dependable Adrian had become increasingly carefree.

Hill understood this was because Adrian had completed his elemental transformation and returned to the keen sensitivity of his youth.

Without the need to suppress emotions, a proper release would greatly benefit Adrian’s advance to Magister, meaning Fran wouldn’t intervene either.

If not for the issue with Melanie dealing a heavy blow to Fran, he would have ascended to Magister a decade ago.

Yet if Fran had presided over the Royal Family’s Great Magic Tower, intimately merging his spirit with the Tower Spirit for many years, he would not be able to disengage himself so effortlessly given the current situation.

Hill was merely an accident, yet William represented eternity.

The previous Magisters under Fran were now in a dilemma.

If the God War reached the Capital, they would have to fight to protect the Royal Family, which meant they’d stand opposed to the God of Nobility.

In contrast, Fran managed an easy disengagement, subject to much envy.

Hill was curious about what kind of game narrative the God of Time and Space was crafting.

William, seemingly solely focused on confronting the Great Nobility, diverted his entire Army to scrutinize mineral resources.

Even with a throng of Undead mercenaries behind him, his main force showed no intention of advancing to the borders.

Hill remembered playing games with foolish war narratives and worried about the current situation.

And entrusting the players with border defense – was there no fear of collapse?

While players were indeed fierce, having teammates like pigs was also a common occurrence.

Hill had a profoundly vivid memory of that ‘Two Lines of Bamboo’.