Chapter 155. Crystal Cube World’s Field Manager, Mr. Lacius
After checking the Temple’s overall situation, Cedric checked on Lacius.
He used Past Observation to see what Lacius had been doing over the past few years and immediately felt his head throb from what he saw. Especially when he saw Lacius using an earthquake to destroy the Starry Sea Empire’s capital city.
“Why did he get a brain cramp and kill more than half of the Level 4 blessed?!”
‘The NE generated by a Level 4 blessed’s death is no joke. With how the Crystal Cube world is already having difficulty expelling NE from humans, every Level 4 blessed’s death, especially if they died unwillingly, will accumulate and will give birth to a demon king soon.’
Cedric fell into thought, ‘Right now, I have two important things to do. First, I need to find a way so humans won’t die in too much misery. Second, I need to stop Lacius from going crazy and killing high-level blessed every now and then.’
‘For the first problem, just raising their living standard might not work. Humans are full of desire, and with a rise in living standard, their desire will also increase. Without fulfilling their desire, they’ll still feel negative emotions and will still generate NE upon death.’
Cedric groaned, “Ahh, I miss those simple times before the internet spread across the Crystal Cube world. At that time, most people didn't have the means to obtain information and compare their living standard to others. So, they were much more easily satisfied.”
“Wait a minute, perhaps I can go to another extreme, and make the people become numb from their misery instead. But, this plan has an extremely high chance of failure, and a failure will definitely make the NE in Crystal Cube world reach the level to generate a demon king; an extremely powerful one at that.”
Cedric tapped the table and fell into contemplation for a whole day.
He even forced himself to sleep for a moment to have a fresh mind before finally deciding on an extremely important decision that might fix all of his problems in exchange for equally dangerous future problems.
“Let’s tell Lacius some secret about how the world operated,” Cedric muttered.
Of course, Cedric won’t tell the whole story and will mix it with some guesses and misleading information to confuse and make Lacius misunderstood, but it will be beneficial to Cedric himself.
Cedric thought, ‘If I don’t do that much, I am afraid Lacius might find a way to blackmail me with the information.’
Cedric might’ve lived for a long time, but he knew that the sheer length of solitude in the Divine Space doesn’t help raise his EQ and social skills.
Compared to a monster like Lacius, who has extensive experience dealing with people, Cedric feels his ability to concoct schemes and conspiracies is only equal to a child's.
After deciding to tell Lacius some information, Cedric prepared what he planned to say.
Once he was done, Cedric bought a Divine Intervention: Word and sent a message to Lacius.
[Long time no see.]
Upon seeing Cedric’s message, Lacius woke from his petrification and bowed gently, “Greeting, Creator.”
[I have witnessed your recent deeds and the events around the world, and come to offer you some advice.]
[The recent situation in the world, where many people are dissatisfied and filled with negative emotions, has caused dangers to the world and delayed its advancement. Your killing of Level 4 blessed has also further delayed the world’s advancement. This will…]
He sent a few messages he had prepared and saw that Lacius seemed focused on reading his message but wasn't too interested, so he added important information.
[... The world as it is right now can only hold creatures up to Level 6. Once it advances, it should be able to hold creatures of higher Level.]
Once Cedric saw that Lacius’s attention had entirely focused on his words, he finally threw the last bait.
[I know your ultimate goal is eternal life. Upon reaching Level 16, you’ll transcend the limitation of lifespan and have an endless lifespan.]
Inside the Crystal Cube world, Cedric slapped the table in front of him. “There! I’ve given you the most delicious bait possible. I don’t believe you’ll still dare to go crazy and damage the world.”
Cedric also decided to throw some praise to show how much he supports him and that he sees him as an equal to a certain extent.
[I’ve seen your potential to reach Level 16 and hope you can join the ranks of divinities as soon as possible. From now on, I hope you can maintain the world’s situation as its growth aligns with your goal.]
Finally, because he’s scared Lacius will go crazy, Cedric even especially reminded Lacius not to fight Catherina and Elisa unless he’s absolutely cornered.
[Refrain from fighting against Elisa and Catherina, especially to the death, unless absolutely necessary. Any of your deaths will cause severe setbacks to the world.]
Once he had finished saying anything he wanted, Cedric stopped placing his attention on the Crystal Cube world.
Instead, he looked at several octahedron crystals he had consumed while messaging Lacius.
“Even with the Basic System Screen, which reduced the energy consumption of the Divine Intervention series item, it still took me 4 [Divine Intervention: Word] to ensure Lacius wouldn't misunderstand my intention. I simply can’t imagine how expensive it’ll be to communicate once I reach a higher level,” Cedric commented while cleaning the empty shell from the [Level 5 Divine Intervention: Word].
After cleaning up the mess, Cedric continued to observe the situation in the Crystal Cube world while occasionally checking on Lacius.
***
Meanwhile, after Cedric left, Lacius was shaken.
Initially, when Cedric appeared out of nowhere to talk with him, Lacius felt a bit confused and suspicious.
He had many questions, such as why the Creator had suddenly spoken to him, why the Creator seemed dissatisfied with something, and how to handle it. But after Cedric mentioned that Lacius could obtain an endless lifespan upon reaching Level 16, that was all he could think about.
Lacius even murmured in a trance, “Level 16… Level 16…”
By the time he came to his senses, tears were falling from his eyes. “I never thought there’d be an end goal to my journey.”
Soon, Lacius stopped feeling emotional and began to sort through the massive amount of information he had obtained from Cedric.
As Cedric feared, Lacius sorted through the information and thought, ‘How can I use this to my greatest advantage?’
Thankfully, Cedric had prepared to ensure Lacius would reach the conclusion he wanted as much as possible.
‘For now, I’ll just follow what the Creator wanted and stop killing those Level 4 blessed. Actually, even if those people have reached the same level as me, I believe I can still handle them by consuming some faith energy. Furthermore, I am already on the verge of breaking through to Level 6 anyway. So, I’ll start letting people advance from now on.’
Then, Lacius fell into thought, ‘The main problem is the common people’s negative emotion that the Creator mentioned. This should have something to do with demons and demon kings.’
Lacius went to an internet plant placed at a corner of his secret room and messaged the current High Priestess, “Bring records about recent events, especially concerning people from the lower classes.”
Soon, the High Priestess arrived with records of recent events.
Lacius silently read them, a furrow on his brow.
Once he’d finished, Lacius asked, “I recall Catherina has made a Labor Law, right?”
The High Priestess nodded. “Yes.”
Lacius reread the Labor Law Catherina had written among the documents prepared by the High Priestess, and compared it with the situation among the lower-class citizens.
“So, did Catherina fail to implement this law thoroughly?” he commented.
“Yes.” At this point, the High Priestess had vaguely understood Lacius’s wish.
The High Priestess explained, “Lady Catherina’s influence across the kingdoms and empire, except in the Starry Sea Empire, is extremely low. Furthermore, following everything in the Labor Law would reduce the profits those factories receive by 20 to 50 percent, which makes those factory owners unwilling to follow it.”
Lacius nodded. “From now on, have the Temple implement the Labor Law to ensure workers’ basic rights. Also, tell those kingdoms and empires to temporarily lower taxes for factories that have followed the Labor Law thoroughly.”
The High Priestess didn’t nod immediately but looked a bit concerned.
Lacius noticed and asked with a smile, “What’s wrong?”
“My Lord, if we follow your wishes, the kingdoms and empires will become extremely dissatisfied with the loss and might revolt. Although the Temple can easily defeat them, it'll still result in massive loss for the human race.”
Lacius smiled. “Haven’t we planted some spies loyal to the Temple among the kingdoms and empires’ high-ranking officials and nobles? I feel it’s a suitable time to utilise some of them. After all, this isn’t just my will, but also the Creator’s will.”
The High Priestess feels surprised at the sudden mention of the Creator, but nods nonetheless.
Then, Lacius gives a few more orders like giving aid in exchange for volunteer work, lowering the hospital price, renting some clean housing for cheap, and so on.
“You should get the gist of what I want. There’s no need to worry about money. I’ll talk with the others about it. Just ensure the people’s faith while helping them improve their lives. You can go now.”
The High Priestess nodded and took her leave.
Meanwhile, Lacius left his secret room and went to visit Catherina.
Once he arrived at the Great Dragon Academy, Lacius felt a bit surprised. “It seems their size has increased.”
Lacius descended on the castle that had been Catherina’s residence for hundreds of years and barged in.
Inside, Catherina was munching on snacks while learning to prepare a magical spell.
Not long after Lacius barged in, she stopped and asked, “Who’s there? I don’t think I’m accepting any guests today.”
When she saw Lacius, every muscle in Catherina’s body tensed, and she prepared to flip her wing and fly away.
Although Lacius’ face and vibe matched the kind of men that Catherina liked, she always sensed massive danger in Lacius, which made her subconsciously tense.
Thankfully, Lacius didn’t make a sudden move and only greeted her, “Hello there, I am here to request your help to fulfil a mission the creator has set for me.”
“What request?” Catherina asked.
“I plan to implement the Labor Law you have created more thoroughly and provide subsidies to lower-class people. But doing so will require a lot of money and some political effort. The Temple can handle the political side, but our finances have been stretched thin.” Lacius said before explaining the plans in general.
Catherina listened to Lacius’s explanation and asked,
“So, you want a donation? What can I get from it, though?” Catherina narrowed her eyes.
Lacius fell into thought before deciding, “I can allow you to visit the Temple’s library for half a day. Not the public ones, but the ones only a select few can access.”
“Only half a day? You should know how much money I need to donate, right?” Catherina asked seriously.
Lacius nodded. “Of course. I estimate the few projects will require funds equal to at least half an empire’s coffers. But I believe the knowledge in my private library is worth it. After all, it contains some of my research papers and most of the important knowledge from before blessed power existed in the world.”
“It also serves as half a treasury, where I keep some divine items given by the creator that I can get my hands on. But you can’t take anything from within, and can only copy the books. Also, because of your size, I’ll let you bring a trusted servant to browse the library in your stead.”
Catherina asked in disbelief, “From before blessed power existed?”
Lacius just smiled in response.