Ch.388Starlight-Soaked Past. Meteor Crater (5)

For a full month, Viktor had to remain at the Meteor Crater… no, Meteor Hill, to deal with the aftermath.

He needed to maintain, repair, and improve the ancient Earth facilities hanging on the mountainside, open passages connecting the mountain to the city, and deal with scholars rushing in from around the world with their eyes rolled back in excitement.

Thinking about it, one month might have actually been a short time.

After all, the Meteor Hill housed all the ancient technologies that humanity had desperately sought to understand but couldn’t until now. Furthermore, it contained social and cultural historical materials.

All of it alive within the Eternal Intelligence who would not die as long as it lived.

Scholars flocked to Meteor Hill in such numbers that Viktor wondered if there had always been this many academics in the world. He personally selected scholars to be sent directly to the old man.

He primarily chose those with teaching experience, so they could spread the acquired knowledge to others and reduce the burden on the Eternal Intelligence.

Of course, the first to reach the Eternal Intelligence was Simon, Iron Walker’s aide. Only after he and the Eternal Intelligence spent a week in dialogue were other scholars permitted entry.

Unfortunately, too much time had passed and the technological foundation had changed so drastically that the data in the Eternal Intelligence’s storage couldn’t be transferred elsewhere. “It would be like hanging an ant colony on a tree branch or burying a beehive underground. The risk of data corruption was simply too great.”

The Sun God deeply regretted being unable to spread the ancient knowledge throughout the world, but he could at least take comfort in knowing that this knowledge would never be lost again.

No one knew how much longer the Eternal Intelligence could live, but with modern technology continuously regenerating his body, immortality seemed quite achievable.

After a million years, despite natural evolution, humans still shared the fundamental premise of being fragile creatures whose spines could slip from just a cough—excluding supernatural elements like aura or magic that Homo sapiens couldn’t use.

Even apart from that, the Eternal Intelligence was overjoyed to be able to interact with people again. In fact, “overjoyed” was putting it mildly—upon seeing Simon and the other scholars, he trembled his mechanical parts and went into a frenzy.

Unlike his conversation with Viktor, which was more like a one-sided notification, dialogues between scholars of equal intellectual capacity were certainly difficult for a born meathead like Viktor to fully comprehend.

Above all, the Eternal Intelligence shed tears of emotion while enjoying the alcohol, meat, and rice balls that scholars brought in their pockets. He had been in a state where even his basic needs weren’t properly met.

Originally, as one of humanity’s greatest scholars, he wouldn’t have been in such a state, but over a million years, all food that could satisfy his taste buds had run out or rotted, all clothes had decomposed, and facilities were gradually crushed under tremendous pressure, forcing him to abandon many of them.

But when the crater rose to become a hill, the abandoned facilities were revived and repaired. With clothes made of good fabric covering the hideous connection points between his body and machinery as well as his private parts, and being able to enjoy alcohol for the first time in a million years, he had nothing more to wish for.

*

“Urrrgh…”

Is this what it feels like to have your energy drained?

Though being a god meant no physical fatigue, even gods couldn’t escape the logic that the mind controls the body. Being accosted by tens of thousands of scholars daily requesting to meet the Eternal Intelligence, the monotonous requests made him feel like his brain was being smoothed out.

The only thing that made it bearable was knowing he wouldn’t have to continue this life forever. Most matters were already being handled by scholars who had completed their audiences, educating others in a top-down format. The Sun’s forces also maintained strict order with armored vehicles, tanks, and armed shuttles. Despite having more scholars than the city’s entire population, Meteor maintained order surprisingly well.

Of course, there were problems like skyrocketing prices of necessities and housing shortages due to the massive influx of people, but these issues were somehow managed with the help of CEO Karl and emergency supplies from orbital production facilities.

“If I become Emperor of the Empire, I’ll have to grant and execute thousands of such requests every day… Should I be glad for this practice?”

Viktor muttered with his face buried in Raisha’s mountain-like bosom, and she silently embraced his head tightly to her chest.

Buried between two mounds with perfectly marbled protein and fat, Viktor’s face instantly relaxed.

Whether god or human, the truth that the phallus must ultimately yield to the breast was proven once again.

“It’s about time we left. Food and housing have stabilized somewhat, so the rest is up to the local officials.”

For Meteor, it was fortunate amid misfortune that this population bomb consisted entirely of well-educated scholars.

It was regrettable that most were archaeologists or historians rather than practical experts like sociologists or statisticians, but don’t archaeologists study sociology and historians study statistics?

After all, archaeologists constantly publish papers on ancient social structures based on ruins, and historians regularly produce papers on GDP growth rates during imperial eras based on historical records. As the saying goes, the learned will always find their use.

By employing them and bringing them into administration, maintaining Meteor’s population that had grown by millions, perhaps someday Meteor would gain fame as an academic city.

With these thoughts, Viktor lifted his wife into his arms to soothe his fatigue.

*

October 3, 1204.

After the long schedule at Meteor finally ended, the Sun’s forces returned to the Sky Warden, and the Iron Walker party was having their final conversation with the mayor of Meteor.

“You’ll need to govern differently from how you’ve done until now. Since you can no longer hire adventurers, recover the artifacts I gave to the citizens, sell them to raise emergency funds, and then build infrastructure suitable for the increased population. While food and lodging aren’t issues, facilities like restaurants, transportation, movie theaters, libraries, bars, and internet cafes are still severely lacking.”

“I will do as you say. Thank you for your advice until the very end, Your Majesty.”

“Are you not my subjects? That is why you are called subjects. Looking after one’s subjects is the duty of every sovereign.”

Although he still had no fief or territory of his own, Viktor was, in name and in reality, the master of all humanity.

He was not merely the administrator of their secular society but also a spiritual sovereign who bound their souls.

As such, treating his subjects well was a natural conclusion for all humanity and also a minimal defense mechanism to prevent human destruction.

At least since learning from the Eternal Intelligence why the ancients perished.

“Now we will depart for our next destination. Farewell, citizens of Meteor. No evil being shall harm you in a place where the sun has dwelled. You may sleep soundly without posting sentries.”

With those words, Viktor proclaimed that he had blessed this land.

In truth, it was hardly a blessing—just as it’s common sense that sunlight brings warmth during morning and day, it was natural that residual heat would remain where the sun had stayed. But the ignorant citizens of Meteor rejoiced like children, saying their land had become holy ground blessed by the god.

And so the Sky Warden rose once again, and watching the receding land and citizens, Viktor couldn’t help but remind himself of his duty once more.

The moment he harbored evil thoughts, the souls of those pure ones would be corrupted.

While the corruption of humanity might be unstoppable, one’s own corruption could be prevented.

And Viktor was someone who would pay any price to prevent his own corruption.

While human corruption might be tragic, divine corruption would bring catastrophe.