……

Since he had been living in a wooden hut outside the city and had people visiting him from time to time, Matthew simply set Monday and Tuesday of the week as his day off.

In the next two days, he will return to his home and take care of some of the things related to him in the town.

But he didn't expect it.

On his first day off, more than five fingers of visitors came to his door.

Fortunately, the living room is quite big enough.

After the initial reception, Matthew went over one by one to ask about the intention-

Seve is here to listen to the class, and the value of a super version of the magic bag is obviously not offset by a hasty history lesson, in fact, Matthew is also mentally prepared to open a small stove for her alone for half a year, there is no way, the staff is short.

And Rhaeggar's arrival is more interesting.

Matthew estimated that the father and daughter were not making a lot of trouble at home, and the end result was that Rhaegar promised Seve that he could come to Matthew's place every Monday to make up for the lessons, but only if he had to follow the class.

Matthew doesn't have a problem with this, anyway, lectures are such things, one person listens to listen, and two people listen to listen.

As long as Rhaegar doesn't get in the way, there is no problem.

And among other visitors.

Brad made a special trip to ask Matthew if he needed the help of the garrison - he knew that Matthew had been staying in the oak woods lately, and it happened that he had been ordered to step up the patrol, so he came to ask Matthew if he needed the support of the garrison;

Zeller and Richard's intentions are clearly related to the "ritual of plunder" that Matthew recalled earlier;

As for Samantha.

She should have brought the compiled information of the Soviet State as agreed.

in the living room.

Matthew's brain spun fast.

He was preparing to sort the reception according to the priority of the matter.

At this time.

Seve obediently stood up:

"Matthew, since you still have so many guests, I'll go to the kitchen with Peggy first."

said.

She was going to take the confused Rhaegar to the kitchen.

But at this time.

Zeller, who had been smiling, spoke:

"Wait, I've just been out there, and there's nothing in the hurry to find Matthew, right? I heard Seve say that she was here to make up for the lesson, and I had been interested in Mr. Matthew's history class for a long time, and if you didn't mind, you could give Sif a lesson while we sat on the sidelines, wouldn't it be a very novel experience? ”

I don't know if it's due to the super high charm.

Zeller's words were unanimously agreed by others.

"Yes, yes, I've heard that Matthew's class is very popular, but unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity to listen to it."

Brad scratched his beard, his face full of interest.

Richard, on the other hand, gracefully put his cane aside:

"Yes, I don't have a problem."

Rhaegar was originally here to listen, so naturally he didn't talk much.

In the end, Samantha was the only one left.

Matthew looked at her with an inquiring gaze.

The latter smiled:

"I have almost zero knowledge of history, and if you don't mind, I'd certainly like to sit down and listen to it."

So the living room, which had been a little disturbed just now, quickly quieted down.

Everyone looked at Matthew with curious eyes.

Matthew is also not stage frightened.

He used the living room as a school, and the adults in front of him as children.

He pulled out the heavy history book he had prepared for Siv.

I was about to open the lecture and start the lecture.

Right now.

A faint voice came out of the kitchen:

"Matthew, remember to talk about it better, the first class can be free, but the rest of the class will have to be paid per capita."

Matthew smiled helplessly.

He cleared his throat:

"Last time, I told Sif about the historical event of 'Hundred Cities Divided', which is actually familiar to everyone, and it means that the influence of the Seven Holy Alliances on the city-states across the continent has reached an unprecedented peak.

Its role is objective.

After the separation, every major city on the continent that can be counted has at least one mage from the Seven Holy Alliance, and these mages have made indelible contributions to the development and construction of their respective city-states.

Even today, a hundred years later, people will not forget the contributions of those original mages.

Of course, the follow-up of the Hundred Cities Split did not completely develop according to the idea of the Seven Saints Alliance, and in the actual implementation of the plan, it made many mistakes, so much so that several disputes broke out within the alliance over whether to continue to firmly implement the strategy.

In hindsight, the plan was a failure.

In the hundreds of years since the gods left, Aindor's largest human organization is still the extremely loose "Seven Holy Alliance", which is essentially a mage organization!

"Human Kingdom" is just a fictitious name that the Seven Holy Alliances have tried their best to organize, and in fact, we all know that there are no human forces on this continent that are qualified to be called "kingdoms".

We have towns and villages, we have cities, we have lords of manors, we have lords, but we have no kingdoms and no kings.

And all this is still due to the gods. ”

Speaking of which.

Matthew paused, took a sip of water, and watched the crowd's reactions.

There were six listeners.

Half of them reacted with a blank response: Siv, Brad, and Samantha.

The other three looked thoughtful.

Apparently.

This is the gap in experience.

"Isn't that how it should be?"

Encouraged by Matthew's eyes, Samantha boldly asked:

"Whether it's humans, elves, or druids, we're doing pretty well right now, I mean, the form of the city-state is also very good, and people can keep not disturbing each other, so why do we have to form kingdoms?"

Matthew didn't answer immediately.

He looked at Rhaeggar.

The latter's expression was also very serious, and he actually took the initiative to speak:

"In terms of the form of social organization, a kingdom that can control more city-state resources at the same time must be a more advanced, more risk-resistant, and more powerful existence than an independent city-state. I've traveled to otherworldly lands, and many of them are more developed than we are. The simplest and most crude example is that if a kingdom consisting of plurality of city-states declares war on an independent city-state, the latter is almost certain to be defeated. ”

Matthew nodded approvingly:

"We all know that there is power in numbers.

As a social creature, the organizational form that allows more humans to smoothly huddle together must be no worse than the mode of going it alone.

In fact, the transition from a single city-state to a union of several city-states is the inevitability of historical development -

This can be confirmed by the development of other planes or worlds, although there is not much information in this regard, but the Seven Holy Alliances have actually collected a lot. ”

Hearing this, Seve wondered:

"Then why hasn't there been a kingdom on the continent yet? Haven't the gods been banished long ago? ”

Matthew said in a deep voice:

"What I'm going to say next, you may forget after listening to it today, but that's okay, forgetting doesn't mean the truth doesn't exist."

"We all know that four hundred and seventy years ago, the founder of the Seven Holy Alliance, the great being whose name is still unknown to people - we usually call her the first and only "Scourge Mage" in human history, who, out of anger and the gods' reluctance to make progress and enslavement to all beings, personally planned and executed the most wonderful spellcaster performance in history - "Tianlun Palace Ascension".

Before the ascension of Tianlun Palace.

Our world has been stuck in what the gods call the "Age of Enlightenment" for 2,000 years.

In the past two thousand years, human society has not progressed in any sense.

Two thousand years ago, the ancestors of mankind fished in the river and cultivated the land; Two thousand years later, their descendants still use the same fishing tools and farming methods.

The world was dead at that time, and you could not feel the progress of the world in the passage of time, because at the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment, the gods who divided the divine power and faith weaved the rules for everything in the world.

They divide the territory with the priesthood and bind everything with concepts.

They treat this world as their pasture, they just want to harvest the faith of all beings day after day, and they don't want to see any progress in their followers at all.

Time then was meaningless to this world, it was just a counter of the gods' reaping faith.

Under the oppressive rule of the gods.

Sentient beings cannot help themselves – they cannot even develop the consciousness of self-help.

Until the advent of the "Scourge Mage".

This pattern has finally been broken.

That day.

All the idols on the continent collapsed.

Countless shrines or shrines rose out of thin air, and the Tianlun Palace, which symbolized the former glory of the gods, also soared into the sky, carrying and binding the will of the gods, and flew to the highest point of the astral realm with a scream.

People knelt around the temple in fear, they didn't know what was happening.

To this day, we don't know what happened that day.

All we know is that after that day, most of the beings in this world who are tainted with divinity have been permanently banished by the Scourge Mage by himself.

This.

It is the "Tianlun Palace Ascension". ”

Matthew's narration was calm.

However, history itself is amazing enough to shock all listeners.

Even Rhaegar and Zeller.

They may have heard a little about the ascension of Tianlun Palace.

But he only vaguely knew that it was the time for the gods to leave.

They didn't know that the gods were banished!

I can't even imagine that the banished gods are just a human mage!

"Is this a myth?"

Rhaegar muttered:

"I thought it was the Seven Saints who teamed up to make a deal with the gods in the first place."

Matthew smiled and shook his head:

"The Seven Saints were strong in the beginning, but they weren't enough to bargain with the gods, and in history, they were all disciples of that Calamity Mage."

"After the gods left, our world finally began to change, farmers invented farming tools and discovered more productive crops;

Fishing boats floated on the seas and rivers, and we had nets, harpoons, and all sorts of the latest fishing gear;

Tailors discovered better materials for garments than cotton, linen and hides;

The craftsmen improved the craftsmanship and production process;

City-states have sprung up, and human beings have become more interconnected.

If according to the normal development.

It is long overdue for us to usher in the first true human kingdom.

However, the departed gods were not willing to be left alone, and they imposed three curses on the land after the Scourge mage left, in an attempt to slow down the changes in the world and ensure that the "concept" they defined continued as much as possible. ”

Hear here.

Everyone's expressions were serious.

They were all amazed by this magical and bold narrative, and at the same time extremely curious about the curse of the gods in Matthew's mouth.

Matthew doesn't sell off either.

He took a sip of water and continued:

"I only know two of the three curses, and the last one is not even mentioned in the books that Archmage Ronan gave me. And the two curses I know of are called "Intelligence Mystery Lock" and "Civilization Mystery Lock" respectively. ”

said.

He first explained the contents of the puzzle.

Then he mentioned the Mystery Lock of Civilization:

"Similar to the puzzle of intelligence, the curse of the gods actually invisibly robs us of a part of our integrity as human beings - the puzzle of intelligence takes away the ability of all humans with intelligence below 15 points to remember history and knowledge, and the mystery lock of civilization blocks the possibility of the evolution of human civilization."

said.

Matthew looked at Rhaeggar:

"Mr. Rhaeggar, you are the lord of Rolling Stone, and you have a large territory including sixteen villages and two trading posts in the north and south, but have you ever thought about expanding the size of Rolling Stone? Have you ever thought about annexing the surrounding cities? Do you want to be more empowered? ”

Rhaegar frowned and thought for a moment, then shook his head vigorously:

"Reason tells me that might be fine, but somehow I'm not at all interested in the concept of 'expanding territory'—that's where the Mystery of Civilization comes in?"

Matthew nodded:

"If you're the only one who hates expanding your territory, then it might be a coincidence, but almost all city lords have no ambition to annex the world, which is obviously a cursed power."

Samantha suddenly spoke:

"But isn't it a good thing that there is no war? At least there won't be so many people displaced, lives and deaths. ”

Matthew responded earnestly:

"This is true from an individual point of view, but the objective law cannot be ignored, if our civilization remains stagnant, then one day we may die suddenly, perhaps due to an accident, perhaps because of an invasion by a foreign enemy—this is not alarmist, but the words of the Scourge Mage within the Alliance.

I think she came from outside the sky to witness the ups and downs of some civilization, and the decision to banish the gods may have not been due to anger, but something else. ”

Samantha was stunned for a moment.

Although her thinking is old, her mind is quite smart, and she instantly understood the meaning of Matthew's words:

"You're saying that in the future, our world may be invaded by foreign enemies? In the face of such an enemy, it is possible to resist only humans and other races organized in the form of kingdoms? ”

Matthew blinked:

"There is indeed such a possibility, and there have been many speculations within the Seven Holy Alliance, but at present, they are only at the level of speculation, after all, the existence of purgatory and abyss has been confirmed, if one day, demons or demons invade our world, without the protection of the gods, it will be difficult to rely on our own strength.

All in all, the time of the gods is gone, and even if there is a curse, their power will become weaker and weaker.

According to Archmage Ronan's prediction, our world is on the eve of rapid change, and maybe in the next second, the world will be turned upside down, and I think it is our luck to be born in this era.

At the very least, compared to our forefathers, we will have the opportunity to use our own power to change the world, even ...... to redefine some new concepts. ”

Samantha looked at Matthew thoughtfully:

"Nature, for example?"

Matthew smiled and closed the book:

"That's for a later lesson."

Peggy, who came out of nowhere, interjected:

"Yes, yes, that's the charge!"

One lesson is over.

There was silence in the living room.

Everyone is silently digesting the cognitive impact that Matthew brings.

Matthew himself is using this to strengthen his memory.

His intelligence is enough to avoid the puzzle of intelligence, but there is also a certain chance of forgetting, and teaching is a good way to strengthen mnestics, which is the core reason why he does not refuse to teach everyone a lesson tonight.

……

Ten minutes later.

Matthew took a bag of Sioux information from Samantha and sent her away.

Coming to the door.

Samantha suddenly looked back into Matthew's eyes:

"Eli is with you now?"

Matthew calmly explains:

"He was grateful for my inadvertent enlightenment, so he temporarily worked as a ranger with me."

Samantha nodded thoughtfully:

"The origin of your oak realm?"

Matthew nodded.

"I'm impressed by the fact that your realm enlightenment is very special, and so is that oak forest, and maybe I should find a time to go over and see it."

Samantha bit her lip.

Her eyes wandered and she dropped the words.

Then he turned into a leopard and jumped away.

……

The second to leave was Brad.

Matthew is thankful that the bearded man always remembers himself.

But the two discussed it for a while.

He eventually rejected Brad's suggestion to add more patrols near the oak grove.

This can be a surprise.

The alternative given by Matthew was to set up a dark post not far from the oak forest.

The outpost is manned most of the time.

In this way, if there is a battle in the oak forest, Brad will be the first to get the news and rush to help.

Matthew didn't feel invincible just because the bone dragon was in his hands.

It is safer to have the support of the garrison.

Brad agreed to the request.

He patted Matthew on his chest and promised that the dark whistle would be implemented by tomorrow night at the latest.

This reassured Matthew a lot.

……

Finally, there's Zeller and Richard.

"Matthew, as you said about the launch, we have selected three iconic buildings – the Giant Windsmill at the North Trading Post, the Black Vulture Inn at the South Trading Post, and the Seven Saints Square at Rolling Stone.

If there is a bloody tragedy in these three places, it will definitely shock the whole territory of Rolling Rock Town the next day, and we have secretly strengthened the reconnaissance and patrol of these three locations. ”

Zeller asked quickly:

"Besides, our operation must begin, are you ready?"

Matthew knew that Zeller's action was to play Ronan and create suspicion in order to slow down the pace of evil organization crime.

"I don't have a problem personally, but you have to talk about your plan first."

Matthew replied.

"The Spring Festival is coming soon, and we all know that every year, Archmage Ronan releases huge spell fireworks in the Seven Saints Square, the North and South Trade Posts, and some small villages to celebrate the peak of spring with the residents."

Zeller calmly recounted:

But in fact, Ronan was very busy, and he was not in Rolling Rock for several years, and those fireworks were set off with the help of his apprentices.

In order not to affect the atmosphere of the festival, he has already arranged for this, and there are still some devices for releasing spell fireworks in the warehouse of the city hall, so the release of fireworks itself is not a problem.

We couldn't get in touch with Ronan this year, and we haven't heard from him from his apprentice, so if we want to play him, the key difficulty is his image, it's hard to hide from the world with makeup alone, and we need the help of spells. ”

Matthew shook his head:

"I don't know anything about Transfiguration."

Zeller smiled gently:

"Coincidentally, so do I, but I have another way - since our purpose is to create suspicion, then there is no need to try to be realistic, we just need to keep them suspicious, and we don't need to make them believe that Ronan is here.

I'll try to dress you up as Ronan as I can, and then use mirroring to send your image to all parts of Rolling Stone, and then someone else will detonate the fireworks device.

And what you need to do is try to make your temperament look like an archmage.

After all, you're the only mage we can find in Rolling Stone. ”

Matthew folded his hands and thought for a moment, finally agreeing to Zeller's plan.

There was nothing risky to him.

If it can really play a role in deterring evil organizations, it will also be considered a merit.

Present.

The two discussed many more details.

Until late at night.

Zeller reluctantly leaves Matthew's house with a frantically yawning Richard.

Sif was brought home early by Rhaegar early.

After all the guests have left.

The lively atmosphere disappeared in an instant.

Matthew sat alone in the living room enjoying the sweet silence.

Sit, sit, sit.

His chest suddenly seemed to be pried open by something powerful.

The scene began to blur in front of me.

Matthew's heart moved.

Suddenly.

He saw the gray comma of the Tai Chi symbol, and he didn't know when it was full.

Now.

There are countless gray dots jumping out of it!

……

"Hint: You're visiting the "Undead" sub-realm of "Death"!"

……