“...... As you can see, today's topic is on the nature and will of high-dimensional aggregates of pan-conceptual consciousness. www.biquge.info Well, first of all, I would like to point out that even in the Imperial Age, this was an area that had not yet had time to be perfected. For reasons that we all know, the amount of information that can be left behind is very limited, so we can only start with the most basic ...... What questions does that student have?"

"Professor, what is a 'pan-concept high-dimensional aggregate'?"

"This student, and others who have the same question, it seems that you will have to retake Professor Wilder's 'Arcane Nomenology' and Professor Avra's 'Imperial Arcane History'. Although this is a relatively obscure term in the current context of arcane learning, you should not know that this is an academic term for the aggregate of high-dimensional orders...... Well, to use your easier parlance, this is the academic term for a god in the arcane arts......"

It is a huge lecture hall with a radius of 100 meters, and the crystal roof with adjustable transparency allows all the sunlight outside to let in during the day, and at night, the countless luminous crystals inlaid between the frames and on the surrounding walls emit bright light, which also ensures that there will be no shadow in the hall that affects the view. In the center of the lecture hall is a lectern comparable to the stage of a theater, and lines of text are emerging from the light curtain maintained by the illusionary arcane behind it, and on the lower side of the light curtain is a lectern, next to an old woman in a long skirt is gently moving her fingers to control the content on the light curtain, while talking to the students in front of her.

The old woman has short silver hair, a pair of gold wire crystal glasses on the bridge of her nose, even if her face is full of wrinkles, but it can still be said to be delicate, her posture is slender and slender, her eyes are smart and focused, and her voice is still full of air and crisp and loud, as if the years have not stripped her of the slightest youth and vitality except for the wrinkles carved on her face, and her demeanor is more elegant and calm that young people must not have.

“...... Before discussing the essence of 'pan-conceptual high-dimensional aggregates', let me ask you a question: what do you think of 'pan-conceptual high-dimensional aggregates'... Well, let's put it in layman's terms... Do you think the gods themselves have a will, and where is it? The long-haired brown... Andrew's classmates. ”

"Of course there is. Otherwise, what happened to the war fifty years ago? Didn't the gods start it directly?"

"Oh, is it? Your reason is simple and straightforward... But there seem to be people who have a different opinion. Howard, you don't have to raise your hands so high, your custom tile pinch outfit is very elegant and great, but too much body movement will ruin that temperament and feeling. Well, tell me what you think. ”

"Thank you, Professor Jefferson. I don't quite agree with Andrew, oh, I'm not targeting you, Phil. It's just a little bit of my own. So far, at least, there has been no direct evidence that any of the gods had their will. Of course, the various legends in those church texts cannot be regarded as evidence, and the personified gods in the songs of those plays and songs made up by poets for entertainment, such as joys, sorrows, sorrows, loves, hatreds, and hatreds, and having time to fall in love with people, have children, etc., are just nonsense. Now the strongest evidence is indeed what Phil just said, that fifty years ago, in the war, no matter which temple church claimed to have received the oracle of its own god. You must know that for hundreds of years, the major temples have claimed to have received only a handful of oracles. ”

"But I personally think that this can be used as evidence for the conspiracy theories of the temple. The reality of the empire at that time was that the social classes were so divided that they were so divided that the contradictions had almost accumulated to the limit. The royal family's magic net upgrade plan not only consumes huge resources, once successful, arcane and alchemy will be more powerful and easier to use, which will undoubtedly directly lead to the further expansion of the division and contradictions of the imperial class - this is obvious, the mages have more powerful power, and need more resources, which will naturally strengthen the plundering of low-level people and alien races, and the living space and voice of the temple and church will be reduced. So at this time, the contradictions between the classes were detonated in advance, and with the secret help of the temple, the alien races jointly captured the imperial capital, destroyed three floating cities, and sacked Oroyosta. The end result was the collapse of the upper echelons of the empire and the system, but the grassroots were not most traumatized, and the temple and the church had a much greater voice. The aliens suffered heavy losses, but at least they were willing to see the result of temporarily freeing themselves from the slavery of the Empire...... So I think that the war was actually an outbreak of contradictions in the empire itself, and the oracles of those gods and sticks were just an excuse for the outside world. In fact, some people have long questioned the authenticity of the oracle, and the scandal that broke out in the Temple of Radiance in 243 years of the Imperial calendar was not that the high priest tried to forge the oracle, and was debunked by several other chief priests. In fact, we can venture to assume that this so-called oracle was always just a lie to cover up some ulterior purpose, so I say that the war may be a means of propaganda for the temple......"

"Very good, very good. The old woman smiled and applauded first. "This is the vision and vision of a mature politician, and I am very happy to see that the Howard family will have an excellent consul and heir in the future. ”

There was also a burst of applause and applause from the student group, and the students who spoke saluted slightly, although they tried their best to suppress it, but there was still a smug look on their young faces.

"Although purely political and sociological judgments, it illustrates your point very well. So you think that the gods themselves have no will?"

"It's... Yes. Although their existence is true, sincere worship of them can indeed be reciprocated, using divine magic...... But I don't think that means they have their own will and judgment. Just like the literal meaning of 'aggregate of high-dimensional order', it is just a whirlpool formed by the entanglement of some similar laws at the high-dimensional level. Isn't it based on this theoretical basis that the use of arcane arts to create the 'God of Forging' and other secondary gods in the Age of Empires is the same as the use of arcane magic by meditation to perceive the magic net and use of arcane arts, in a narrow sense. ”

"Oh, what a surprise to me, it looks like you've done your homework beforehand. Could it be that my lesson plan was leaked beforehand?"

"Not like that, Professor Jefferson. It's just that I've just read some books on this topic recently, and I'm just impressed. The young man shrugged gracefully.

The old woman on the podium reached out to hold her glasses, smiled and asked, "Okay, then in your point of view, the so-called gods are like some unconscious but traceable behemoths, or very large and precise high-dimensional machines, just things that operate on their own according to certain objective laws. So of course there is no such thing as a will, is there?"

"This... That's right. ”

"Well, I remember that ideas like yours were very popular in the Age of Empires. Of course, the major temples and churches were the most disgusting, saying that it was the standard unbeliever's mind, full of self-righteous pride and arrogance. ”

"But I think that's the pride of a mage. The young man's head was slightly raised, and he felt as if he had become the protagonist of the lecture hall.

"Hehe, okay, you sit down first. Everyone also heard Howard's story, and his views were very representative. This is a good starting point for our topic. ”

"First of all, I want to say that my view of this is somewhat different from that of Howard, although I cannot say that yours, or the view that was popular in the Empire era, is wrong, and in fact they are not wrong in the description of things themselves. It's just that I think the angle is a bit biased, so it's the difference in perspective. The old woman reached out and picked up a crystal pen from the lectern next to her, and as soon as she took it in front of her, she let go of it, and the prop used to control the arcane screen fell to the ground. "Now tell me, classmates, what do you see in this phenomenon?"

For a while, the class was silent, and no one spoke. Everyone saw the pen fall to the ground, which was a common phenomenon, but the questions asked in the lecture hall of the continent's top arcane academy certainly wouldn't be as simple as testing people's eyesight and common sense. All the students were looking down and thinking, or at least pretending to think, and some were quietly using the Detective Arcane and similar Arcane props to see if there was some hidden Arcane going on behind this seemingly simple scenario, but they apparently didn't see anything.

The old woman stood quietly in the lecture hall, smiling and looking around at the students, but as time passed quietly, the smile on her face slowly turned into a helpless wry smile.

After a few minutes of silence, a hesitant voice rang out from the top rows: "What do you mean...... Gravity is... The will of the Earth Elemental God?"

The smile on the old woman's face brightened, and her eyes shone brightly, and she looked at the student who was sitting in the last corner: "That's exactly what I want to say." This classmate has a very keen sense of association and an eclectic imagination, which is very important for a good arcanist. If I remember correctly, this is the first time you have come to my class, and you can come more when you have the opportunity in the future. ”

"Eh... I'm just extrapolating from the context of your question..."Seeing that the eyes of the whole classroom were focused on him, the student seemed a little frightened and embarrassed, and shrank back. This is a handsome, but at first glance quite ordinary red-haired young man, wearing a slightly rustic dress in this hall, which is probably the reason why he has some inferiority complex and fear.

Before discussing whether the gods have will, we need to understand the scope and meaning of will. The old woman clapped her hands, diverting the attention and gaze of the students. "Many people tend to confuse will and emotion in common sense, but in reality they are far from the same. Of course, the will here is in a broad sense, not in a narrow sense. Compared with the will in the broad sense, our common sense of feelings is actually very low, but it is just a derivative change of animal instinct. If you have taken a topic about spiritual structure in the Department of Mind, and you have studied it deep enough, you will know that our likes, loves, hates, fears, angers, and other emotions that fascinate countless poets write drama poems to praise are actually the extended evolution of animal instincts, just as the three primary colors can be reconciled and expanded into countless beautiful pictures. Of course, there are a very small number of primitive impulses that are non-animalistic and that distinguish us humans from other beasts in nature, but that is another very big, very deep subject that we will not discuss here for the time being. ”

So it's absolutely true to say that gods have no feelings. Because as a law aggregate, they can't have animal instincts, even beast gods, but it can't be said that they don't have will. As for the will, I think the master Reggie Thomas explained very well in his book 'The Essence of the Soul and the Construction of the Magic Web': the root of the true will comes from its own essence. It is a tendency to radiate one's own essence outward, thereby influencing the objective world, and it is a manifestation of one's own position and own role in the operation of the universe of ten thousand stars......"

"That's enough, that's it. Students, this class is over. ”

An abrupt voice sounded, interrupting the old woman's narration. I don't know when the door of the lecture hall opened, and a young man in a robe stood in the doorway, scanning the old woman on the podium and the students around him with cold eyes.

"Mr. Add, don't you know that it's rude to interrupt someone's lecture in the middle of a lecture?" the old woman looked coldly at the sudden intruder.

"Of course I do. But Professor Jefferson, you should also know that your project has not been approved by the College Council, or that the College Council does not approve of your teaching of this subject here. The intruder looked to be in his early thirties, but he did not have the slightest respect for the old woman with the age difference, and his demeanor and tone were very cold. He turned to the students and continued to shout: "Students, you have all heard, this topic has not passed the review of the academy, and you will not get any credits for listening here, so let's leave." ”

Most of the students could only get up from their seats and turn away helplessly, but there were also those who sat motionless, and the student named Edward looked at the young man named Eddie coldly and said, "I'm not here to mix credits, but to learn real arcane knowledge." Professor Jefferson was very knowledgeable and very unique in his topic, and we were very interested. ”

The young man named Eddie snapped his fingers, and a small illusionary arcane appeared in front of his eyes, and he glanced at it quickly for a few moments, then looked at the Edward student, and said lightly, "Saratoga Edward, you should make up your credits before pursuing your interests that have not passed the academy's review." Last semester, you failed one compulsory course and two electives, I know your family is very rich, but if you have to pay tens of thousands of dollars in tuition fees every semester, you can't look up at home. ”

"...... you," Edward snapped up, his face flushed and glared at the young man in front of him. The young man named Eddie turned a blind eye to this anger, and then looked around at the few students in the seats who did not want to leave, and said loudly, "Also, since this subject has not been approved by the academy, then there is no right to use the facilities of the academy. I'm going to close this place for other purposes now, and if anyone else doesn't want to leave, I'm going to warn you about the illegal occupation of the academy facilities. ”

This time they were reluctant and unhappy, and the students had to get up and leave. Soon, the old woman and the young man were left in the huge podium, and in the silence, the large illusionary light curtain behind them was still flickering alone.

"Jenny... Can you—" The young man who called Eddie sighed, his expression no longer so cold, and turned to look at the old woman who was glaring at him behind him.

"Mr. Eddie, be careful with your words, I don't know you well. And I warn you, I'm angry right now. The old woman's voice and eyes showed that she was not lying.

"Well," the young man let out another long sigh. Professor Jefferson...... Can you not be so willful? You don't know why the chairman vetoed your project. It's only been a few months since the Carleton family's turmoil, and the chief priest of the Temple of the Sun and the Church of the Dead have just issued a statement at the same time that blasphemous people will not be allowed to exist, and you are actually preaching about the gods in the academy at such a sensitive time? Do you want the directors to force the chairman to forcibly dismiss you?"

"Then fire me. The old woman spread her hands indifferently and replied coldly. "I didn't mean to go against the temple and church guys, and I had a clear conscience about my choice of subject. In order to achieve real success in the arcane field, students must be taught the 'beginning' and 'end' of arcane at the basic theory stage. The chairman of the board of directors should understand this truth. ”

"Yes, of course the chairman understands this. The young man sighed and nodded, paused, and said, "I also understand this truth. But we can't think purely from an arcane perspective. Although this is the largest and highest arcane academy in the continent, this academy cannot be conjured out of thin air with arcane art. No member of the council would want to provoke a protest from the temple, a strike by the subordinates and miscellaneous servants, a threat to enrollment and operations, and possibly even other family properties and businesses. Without the investment and donations of the governing family, it was still a ruin full of bones and ashes. Why would you choose such a sharp topic that could easily cause conflict?"

"So it's time for young people to learn only simple and easy-to-understand tricks, so that they can be complacent with the ability to unleash the arcane magic of the three or four rings in different ways, and engage in a few spell-casting competitions or other gimmicks to make a splash. Or to guide them to devote more energy to those poetry and drama, and to be jealous? Yes, it will never cause displeasure in that temple or church, no instigated riots, no damage to any family's estate. Do you think that makes sense?"

“... Of course not, it's just ...... Times are different now. At least in this era, you can only compromise with the times... We are all —" The young man's voice gradually deepened, as if he had become a little uneasy. "Wake up, Professor Jefferson, it's been fifty years since the time when even gods could be created with arcane art......"

The old woman turned her head to look out the window and was silent. The anger on her face had gradually faded, but in the depths of that seemingly bland expression, there seemed to be some depth that others could not detect.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, she walked quickly to the window and looked northwest, but the night sky was only pitch black except for a few scattered stars.

"Huh? The concussions of this magic net are...... What's going on??, the laws of the world seem to be fluctuating at a deep level..."The young man named Eddie also looked up in astonishment, as if something invisible, huge change was taking place in the air of this empty lecture hall, and then he also turned his gaze to the northwest outside the window. "It's... It won't be... Ten Rings... No, it's the waves of the legendary arcane of the Eleventh Ring... Someone is really using arcane to shape a secondary god? How could it be? Who is who? Who actually unearthed the scroll of the eleventh ring of arcane to use?"

"It's a ray of arcane brilliance left over from the Imperial Age, let's see what it illuminates......," the old woman smiled and stared at the northwest night sky, her eyes full of meaning. “... It's a pity that I can't see it up close......"

"Finally ...... begun"

In a huge alchemy laboratory that was as wide and bright as the desert at noon, a middle-aged man who was obsessed with obesity stopped the experiment he was working on and looked up in the direction he felt, only to be on a wall full of experimental equipment and various human and biological specimens.

"Uh-huh........." the middle-aged man groaned. He has messy brown hair, small and godless hanging eyes, a short garlic nose, a thick mouth that looks like he is always pouting, and some oily acne scattered on a big fat round face, looking cowardly and demented, and those who have a little experience will think that this should be a stupid and stupid fat man who has been closed off in years of discrimination and bullying.

Now in front of this fat man, there is a transparent invisible ball with a diameter of two or three meters, or a large lump of brown and yellow liquid as thick as asphalt is floating in front of him in a round circle, the liquid is boiling violently, four or five people's hands and feet are paddling wildly in the boiling, and from time to time a half-ground head struggles out of the surface of the liquid, desperately opens its mouth and makes a silent roar, and then is carried by the liquid and sinks. It's like boiling four or five people into a pot of thick broth, or even simply melting four or five people into a ball in an unknown way and still keeping each of them awake. But no matter how boiling the liquid was, how the human body struggled, or even the sound of the skulls opening their mouths, everything was confined to the sphere, and not a single thing was exposed. This was the experiment he had been working on.

"Hmm... Hmm—" The man's brow furrowed, as if there was some difficult choice to decide. Two or three heads kept popping out of the ball, and the mouth that seemed to lead to hell shook in front of him, and he looked a little impatient, and with a wave of his hand, the ball dried up and shrunk quickly. In the blink of an eye, both the liquid and the liquid human body were completely dehydrated and turned into a large pile of ashes.

Having destroyed the fruits of his previous labor, the man seemed to have made up his mind, turned to the other and asked, "Hammer, are you there?"

"At your command, Your Excellency, Vice President. A man not far away on a bench stood upright on a shelf.

The man had no hands or feet, only a torso and a head, propped up on a special shelf, and his body was filled with large and small hoses and strange organs on the sewing, the hairless head was still clean, but even the eyes were sewn up, although he breathed steadily, and occasionally could see the eyeballs under his eyelids rolling, but it looked more like an arcane prop made from a person than a person.

"The A2 program on the West Coast is up and running, keep an eye out for the records. The obsessive man's voice was small and gentle, with a timid aura that seemed to be afraid of being rejected by others.

"Of course, I also discovered the shock of the magic net here for the first time. I've turned on all the recording instruments I can use. The man with only the torso left had no expression, but his voice was a little excited.

The fat man's fat lips twitched slightly, and he hesitated for a while before speaking, his voice becoming more and more gentle and whispering: "That... Where's the president?"

"Because of the consumption and backlash of the last spell, Lord Gesidi is still asleep in deep meditation, and this concussion is not enough to wake him up, and I am just about to ask you if you need to wake him up. ”

"No need. The obsessive man said immediately, and then let out a soft sigh.

"Yes. ”

"So...... What about the current state of the Star Temple? The obsessive man asked again.

"Everything is working as usual. ”

"That...... Where's the Dimensional Partition Protection Circle?"

"There was no possibility of any danger, and of course it was not opened. The man on the stand paused, and then asked again: "Do you need to open it?"

"No need. The obese man's face twitched. “...... Save a little. ”

The man on the ...... bracket seemed to hesitate or think for a moment before replying, "Yes." What else is there to command?"

"No more. The obsessive man replied with a blank face. The man on the scaffold then fell completely silent.

The obsessive man didn't say anything more, and gestured not far away, and then a stool-like thing quickly crawled over and delivered it to his back.

Of course, it won't be a real stool that can crawl on its own. These are two young girls lying on the ground side by side with an unknown thing glued together, both young, beautiful and vibrant, their smiling faces are full of natural and lovely pink blood, and there seem to be beads of sweat on the thin fluff on their lips. The two girls were also dressed up in a luxurious and well-behaved manner, but like the man on the table, they showed no other signs of autonomy except that they could act according to orders, and the smiles on their faces remained the same.

The obese man sat on the bodies of the two girls, and the extraordinary weight of the huge body made the two girls bend down slightly, but they still held on. The man didn't pay attention to the two girls under him, just hunched his back slightly, looking at his toes and the ground in a daze, his sluggish and indifferent expression, his eyes were sloppy, and he looked like an introverted and cowardly dementia-obese child immersed in the world of his own thoughts, as if he was waiting for something that only he understood. (To be continued.) )