48. Death is the Enemy of Knowledge

Seeing Gurt's complicated expression, Ian added:

"During my decades of wandering, I have seen other human settlements as well, but they were all extremely small, no larger than the village I came from."

"Likewise, they do not understand magic."

"Threatened by monsters like goblins, kobolds, and gnolls, these small human settlements can barely struggle to survive, making it practically impossible to develop on any large scale."

"Eldorun, on the other hand, is truly magnificent, with hundreds of villages, towns, and minor cities, this majestic floating city, and schools spreading knowledge and arcane magic everywhere. Mages and magic apprentices can be seen at every turn."

"I am so envious of you all."

"Your kingdom is the only beacon of light for human civilization."

Ian's story was, of course, fabricated.

However, the descriptions of human settlements matched the facts—information the Goddess of Knowledge had obtained in advance through her divine authority.

Hearing this, Gurt felt a surge of secret delight, completely immersed in the praise from this outsider!

Just then, Elian chimed in from the side:

"Presently, the state of other human settlements described by Lady Iannya also aligns with our expectations."

"As a race lacking innate transcendent power and the protection of racial deities, humanity's starting point on this continent is very low."

"Under current circumstances, those human settlements can hardly develop true civilization."

"If, in the future, Eldorun grows stronger and its influence extends further across the continent—rather than remaining confined to this small river valley in the east—we might consider incorporating and absorbing those human settlements."

"Or, dispatch suitable envoys to those human settlements to act as spreaders of knowledge and teach them arcane magic, making these human communities a part of Eldorun."

Hearing Elian's grand plan, Gurt felt a stir in his heart, finding it quite feasible.

As expected of Your Majesty Elian, coming up with such a long-term plan in an instant. I would never have thought in this direction...

In fact, the scenario Elian described was very close to what would happen in the original history of the future.

Only then, it would be because the floating city of Eldorun was destroyed by demons during the Abyss Incursion, and high-level mages teleported to all corners of the continent, using human settlements everywhere as foundations to establish small nations and city-states.

Many of those small nations even claimed to be the orthodox continuation of "Eldorun"!

"In short, Eldorun's achievements as the spark of human civilization and knowledge are there for all to see."

Steering the conversation back, Ian looked at Elian:

"Respected Your Majesty, I wonder if Eldorun has encountered any difficulties in the dissemination of knowledge?"

What does our difficulty have to do with you? You are not even a citizen of Eldorun... Wait, since this lady is here and so envious of our country, she will definitely settle down in Eldorun in the future...

Gurt's thoughts drifted wildly.

As for Elian, he perceived the hidden intent behind the Goddess of Knowledge's words:

If Eldorun truly encountered any difficulties in spreading knowledge,

Then Ian would not mind offering some covert assistance!

As the Goddess of Knowledge, Ian supported all actions conducive to the dissemination and inheritance of knowledge!

"Oh, it seems my rhetoric has taken effect."

"This Goddess of Knowledge has already developed a preliminary favorable impression of the human race and Eldorun as a whole, and intends to provide a limited degree of help..."

Having dealt extensively with this Goddess of Knowledge in his past life, Elian understood her personality quite well.

Based merely on these few words, he could roughly estimate the extent of the help Ian was willing to offer—

A divine blessing.

Or another gift of equivalent value.

Building favorability had been very successful...

However, it was still not enough!

A true deity of intermediate divine power was visiting Eldorun in person.

Such an opportunity did not come often.

Elian resolved to make full use of this opportunity to further elevate Ian's favorability,

And make this Goddess of Knowledge willing to bestow an even greater gift upon Eldorun!

"Difficulties in the dissemination of humanity's knowledge, you say?"

Elian raised his chin slightly, gazing at the white, drifting clouds outside the railing of the floating city, as if lost in thought.

"Ah, I have thought of one!" Elian turned his head suddenly and said:

"Death."

"Death?" Ian asked, perplexed.

"Indeed. Death is the greatest enemy of knowledge."

Like a philosopher, Elian gently stroked the railing of the floating city and slowly paced back and forth.

"Whenever a human reaches the end of their lifespan and meets their destined death, the knowledge held within their memories dissipates along with them."

"Although knowledge can be passed down through education, during the process of inheritance, a certain loss of knowledge is inevitable."

"In Eldorun today, even a Ninth-Ring Archmage, relying on esoteric magic to delay aging, can only live for a little over two hundred years—far inferior to ordinary elven commoners."

"If one day humanity conquers death, or at least a portion of the top-tier mages conquer it, then knowledge will be passed down in a much more efficient manner—directly through individual memories, continuously accumulating over an endless, boundless life."

Hearing this unprecedented perspective, Ian was stunned for a moment, overtaken by a trace of astonishment.

She even felt that her own comprehension of the Knowledge domain had achieved a minuscule enhancement!

"An individual who conquers death, continuously accumulating knowledge across endless years..."

"This can also be considered a form of knowledge inheritance, no less inferior to education and conventional methods of transmission..."

Ian savored Elian's perspective carefully.

As a divine schoolmistress among the gods, she had indeed been somewhat boundlessly fixated on knowledge transmission through conventional educational methods in the past, neglecting the loss of knowledge caused by individual mortality.

"So, Your Majesty Elian intends to conquer death in the future?" Ian asked.

She could provide assistance for this!

"In fact, this is not difficult. I know in which direction to proceed in order to attain a long, or even endless, lifespan," Elian said quite casually.

Ian showed no particular reaction to these words, but Gurt, standing beside them, suddenly widened his eyes.

Has Your Majesty Elian already conquered death?

In these ancient times, there were no methods of eternal life; even the "Lich Transformation Ritual" with its severe side effects had yet to appear.

—The very first lich, "Vecna," had not even been born in this era!

Noticing Gurt's astonishment, Elian remarked:

"You are not ready yet. Once you become a legendary mage in the future, I will teach you the method to attain a long life."

Sensing Elian's confidence, Ian felt a tiny trace of disappointment:

It seemed that Elian did not need her help when it came to prolonging life.

Of course, what the Goddess of Knowledge did not know was this:

Elian indeed had no intention of prematurely cashing in a deity's help.

To put it in gaming terms, the favorability meter was not yet maxed out; there was no need to convert it into tangible rewards right now!

He had intentionally brought up the topic of conquering death merely to subtly influence Ian's mindset, hoping that in the future, when he led Eldorun's most elite mages to step into eternal life through taboo arts—should they be judged by the elves or the mechanus-bound enforcers on grounds of "profaning life" and "violating natural laws"—this deity might stand on Eldorun's side.

Elian knew very well:

To extract something more valuable from this former old friend, rather than a few scraps of charity, he had to produce something that could truly touch the heart of this deity.

What could possibly move the Goddess of Knowledge?

Knowledge, of course.

And as it happened, Elian possessed secrets that he needed to share with the gods of this era.

"By the way, Lady Iannya, I happen to have some recent research results that are very suitable to share with a traveler who has traversed the continent."

Elian smiled at Ian:

"Concerning the secrets of the starry sky..."

Secrets involving the realms beyond the world, the mysteries of another universe—the Far Realm!