Core of Knowledge

“The Will? Is that the Heavens of this world?”

“Oh yes, you are from a cultivation world!” Gressian shook her head with a laugh. “The Heavens are what they are sometimes called on cultivation worlds, and they are usually a little different from the Wills.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Jemma suddenly shouted, waving her tiny arms in quick motions. “You two lost me there. What ‘Will of the World’? What ‘Heavens’? What are you two talking about?”

Xu Han had forgotten about the dungeon fairy, and quickly apologized. “Sorry Jemma, I should probably explain. Each world is different, operating on their own set of rules. In my former world, the Crimson Lands, we called this set of rules ‘The Heavens’. Here, it is called the Will of the World.”

“The Divine Laws, the Will of the World, the Permanence, the Words of Gaia, the Heavens; the gods of different worlds give different names to it, but they all mean the same thing. They are the rules you must follow to survive and thrive on that world. And the Will of this world requires the gods to protect its children. So, the gods invented the Systems to do just that.” Gressian added.

“But who set the rules? And why would Gods need to follow them?” Jemma asked incredulously, the Goddess and her dungeon core had just broken her world view.

“That is a secret of the gods, my little dungeon fairy.” Gressian replied with an enigmatic smile.

An act that almost caused Xu Han to chuckle. It seems to him that the Goddess of Warmth had a sense of the dramatic. As a former Soul Emperor, Xu Han knows the answers to the first of Jemma’s questions, but it was not his place to divert the secret if the goddess refused to. He briefly wondered if he could tell his dungeon fairy after the goddess had left but thought better of it. According to Gressian, the eyes of the gods were on him. It is better for him to act ignorant.

“Goddess, I can understand the Will trying to protect the mortals, but why would the gods assist the Will? Why not just leave for other worlds?”

“There is a prize.” Xu Han and Jemma turned their attention to the goddess who answered with a shake of her head. “Do not ask what it is. I cannot tell you, and it is safer if you do not know.”

Xu Han mentally frowned but kept quiet. If the goddess did not want to talk about it, he will not ask. He still needed her help.

“I understand.”

The goddess smiled at his response. “Smart and careful. Now where was I… oh yes! When the gods meet, we can discuss and adjust the Systems. A good example is the [Rogue] starting Class. Originally, the Systems of War and Magic only had two starting Class, the [Warrior] and the [Mage]. However, as the natives grew more civilized and began to build cities, we introduced the [Rogue] to help them survive and fight in the cities.

A moment of silence descends on the dungeon as Xu Han and Jemma take in the goddess’ words. They just heard a secret of the gods. Not a big secret, Xu Han doubt Gressian would be willing to share those, but a secret nevertheless.

“Then why did Winskull create a class on his own? Why didn’t he go through The Pantheon?” Xu Han finally asked.

“Going through The Pantheon was his first choice, and he failed.” Gressian said. “The Pantheon is jointly created by all the gods, and a majority need to approve any changes made to it. Getting most of the gods to agree to anything can be challenging.”

“Winskull was unable to get a majority.”

“Yes, but he was convinced the Class he created would be popular and useful. So, he decided to offer the Class himself. That is why the natives could only get the Class at his temples at first. Only later, after the [Bards] proved their usefulness, did the Pantheon integrated it into the Systems.”

Interesting.

Xu Han could not help but think that when the goddess finished speaking. Gressian make it sound like the Pantheon runs the Systems on its own, without too much input from the gods. The Pantheon may be their creation, but it sounded like the Pantheon has a life of its own.

Are the Gods only there to provide Power?

Xu Han filed that question for later. He concentrated on another matter with the Systems.

“Thank you goddess for that piece of information. I have another question. How do the gods decide if someone deserve a Class?”

“We don’t.”

A shock silence descended on the dungeon as Jemma’s mouth open wide in shock. After some time, Xu Han finally asked the question.

“I’m sorry, but I was informed the ultimate decision of whether a mortal can get a Class belongs to the Gods. That any mortal beyond their twelve birthday could approach one of the temples of the gods and request for a Class. They can do this once a year. The Gods will look into the soul of the mortal, see his talent, and decide if he is worthy. Most mortals fail to get a Class.”

“That is true,” Gressian admitted, “but the Pantheon is the one that decide based on the criteria we input into it. Can you imagine us, the Gods, meeting to decide on each and every mortal who tried get to a Class. That would be an incredible waste of our time. But on your question on how it decides if a mortal deserve a Class, that has a simple answer. If a mortal was not talented in the matters of War and Magic, then they would not get a Class.”

If Xu Han had a head, he would have nodded. He understood the need to have talent. In the Crimson Lands, cultivators need to have talent. Without the talent to sense and gather Qi, a mortal cannot be a cultivator. It is just not possible. In this world, talent is also needed, but for war and magic. In many ways, there are more ways for a mortal to ascend beyond the mortal coil here than in the Crimson Lands, but the focus was narrower.

According to Jemma, the mortals of this world can train even if they fail to get a Class. It is not unknown for mortals to train for years and get a Class after years of rejection. It also helps that the Gods of this world are not arrogant.

They know they are not all-knowing, and they are willing to change the Systems of War and Magic through their meetings. If a god fails to convince his follow gods to change the Systems, there was another way. The god may introduce a Class on his own, and let the Pantheon decide if the Class has proved its worth. Xu Han could use that.

“Goddess, have you tried to introduce a Class to the Systems before?”

“Of course. Almost all the gods has. Like me, almost all of them do not work out. Winskull was an exception.”

“What class did you create?”

“Storyteller.”