Shepherding Humanity

Although Xu Zhi scornfully scoffed at Future Skywhale, he was also smiling. "There may have been some deviations, but things still progressed as planned. The Magic World is now developing in the right direction."

He understood that it was usually the cowards who have the last word, and only the most cautious and cunning individuals live the longest.

As a gamer, Future Skywhale was addicted to casual farming games; level grinding was not the right fit for him. Developing advanced technology, climbing the tech tree, and researching his favorite subjects were the things that he enjoyed.

Science and technology greatly boosted productivity.

Xu Zhi bit down on his juicy apple and frowned a little.

"So Circe left behind such an arrangement before she died? She conscripted her apprentice Medusa to help her perfect “Resurrection” magic, and was planning on being revived?"

Circe had such great ambitions!

To be honest, had Future Skywhale not appeared and forced Medusa’s hand, Xu Zhi would still be in the dark about Circe’s posthumous scheme.

He wasn’t actually an omnipotent, all-knowing Creator, and was just a "farmer." Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been unaware of Gilgamesh's murderous intentions towards him a few days prior.

One day in the sandbox was equivalent to one hundred years.

Even if he paid careful attention to the progress inside every day, he would still have a hard time. After all, the time dilation was too much; everyone moved around so quickly, they were little more than afterimages, and he could not see what they were doing.

His mighty powers were all a bluff. He was merely a farmer living a leisurely life in the countryside.

"That magic just now was Soul Magic." Xu Zhi murmured thoughtfully.

"This Magic World does not actually have an afterlife. Powerful souls like Gilgamesh’s would linger on in the world after death as mindless phantoms. This is the reason why it’s possible to communicate with dead souls. But the civilization of this world is still too primitive, and lacks development in this particular field of study."

"Should I restrict their development of Soul Magic?" Xu Zhi thought for a moment, and decided that it was better to leave them to their own devices.

After all, diversity was the key to prosperity.

If they were successful in implementing their theory, and legendary heroes from history such as Gilgamesh and the Three Witches could be reincarnated, Xu Zhi felt that it would only make the Magic World a more enjoyable place.

Moreover, if this taboo spell could be developed, Xu Zhi would love to master it once he became a Sixth Level Legendary Wizard.

At the very least, he wanted to be able to resurrect the people close to him if they died.

Xu Zhi finished his apple, then started on his lunch, as leisurely as can be.

A strange development awaited him once he got back. "Huh. After uniting the world, Future Skywhale has logged out? What’s more, he’s started posting in the forums and is bragging like crazy?"

Xu Zhi was speechless.

Due to the time dilation, one hour in the outside world was more than four years in the sandbox!

He was willing to waste all that time just to brag?

…..

The Kingdom of Babylon, year 412.

The Emperor of Alchemy Grantham ruled the world.

He abolished slavery, struck down tyrannical laws, and reigned over the Three Great Kingdoms: the matriarchal Kingdom of Roses located on the mountain peak, the magic Kingdom of Babylon in the plains, and the Beastmen Kingdom of Nefertis in the desert.

The knowledge of Alchemy began to spread throughout the world.

Magic patterns, alchemical formations, mechanical structures, gears, wrenches, artificial life-forms… These terms began to appear frequently in the magic world.

Previously, the progress of orthodox witches were much too slow compared to the evil witches, leaving them in a weak position. However, with the advent of alchemy, orthodox witches have regained their dominance.

Because only an orthodox witch with stable and refined spiritual power could become an alchemist.

The Rose Witches may progress extremely quickly thanks to their evil practices, but their violent spiritual power was only suitable for combat. They could not draw complex alchemical formations that required great precision.

This was a bright new era for orthodox witches and alchemists. Along with magic staves, they created all sorts of magic tools, ushering in the golden age of alchemy. Magical technology advanced on a daily basis; alchemical airships and alchemical boats became a common sight.

Evil witches who could not wield the power of alchemy slowly vanished from the worldstage.

In the same year, the Emperor of Alchemy once again tried to persuade Medusa to give up her evil ways and join him in practicing alchemy.

Medusa refused.

Left with no choice, the Emperor of Alchemy sealed Medusa away in the dark land beyond the shores of Oceanus—Gorgon Island.

He spent over three years to set up a grand alchemical formation and populated the island with countless Slimes; they acted as the formation’s power source to seal away the mighty Empress of Death.

"I have no choice but to seal her away! Although I can defeat her with ‘Grantham', I’m not a true Level Seven, and lack the power to kill her once and for all. Furthermore, she’s also a master of Soul Magic and can manipulate Death."

In the Palace of Babylon, an adorable Slime was bouncing up and down on the golden throne. A shining golden crown rested on his head as he spoke: "In the end, she remains a potential source of danger. We can only seal her away until she dies of old age."

At this moment, Lilith has already stepped down from her position, and was silently standing beside the throne with her lover Garfield. After a brief silence, she spoke up: "Your majesty, I want to retire along with Garfield. I am more than two hundred years old; even with the Elixir of Longevity your majesty has created, it’s still almost time for me to die of old age."

For a moment, Grantham said nothing. He felt quite sentimental as he looked at the former ruler of Babylon, who was now nearing the end of her life, and sighed deeply. "Go then… You have pushed yourself too hard all these years. The future is safe in my hands. I will safeguard the glory of the Kingdom of Babylon."

After Lilith’s departure, Grantham held his silence as he sat on the throne. Then, he looked down at the courtiers below, and said: "From today, I will be in isolated training for four years. I will leave behind my alchemical fortress; you can use the Fourth Level Spell “Mental Domination” developed by Circe to control the 10,000 slimes within. This weapon will protect the Kingdom of Babylon and help you rule in my absence."

The beautiful witch ministers hurriedly replied: "Your majesty, please focus on your training. We will defend the kingdom to our very last breath!"

Grantham nodded and bounced out of the Royal Palace.

Behind him, the witches happily sighed:

"Wow! His majesty is too cute. He’s so adorable!"

"We are the only ones who know that the legendary Emperor of Alchemy who dominates this era is actually a super cute Slime."

….

As Grantham bounced along, the “ahoge” on top of his head kept swaying. He returned to his secret alchemical laboratory, and silently stared at the Seven Little Witches lying in their "Life Capsules."

"Despite all my efforts, they could only reach Level Three, while Elizabeth reached Level Four. Even with the Elixir of Longevity I’ve created, after more than 120 years, they’ve reached the end of their lifespan and could only enter hibernation to extend their life."

Grantham had a complicated expression on his face.

The lifespan of a normal person was thirty to forty years.

The lifespan of a Level Three or Level Four witch was only triple of that.

Even the Three Witches who were at the Legendary Sixth Level couldn’t live much longer than two hundred and fifty years.

"It's not just them, I'm also past the halfway point of my lifespan. I'm already over a hundred years old." Grantham was silent for a moment. He was not a true Level Seven; although his power has reached Level Seven, he was still a Level Six Wizard.

His life span wouldn’t be much longer than that of the Three Witches, and would end after about two hundred and fifty years.

"My life has only just started in this other world. It can’t end like this!" Similar to previous monarchs, once he has united the world, emperor Grantham began to long for immortality.

"I have to think of a way." After another moment of silence, Future Skywhale logged out.

He took off the VR glasses, and immediately felt the urge to urinate. His stomach groaned.

"I’ve heard that some people can spend more than 20 hours in an Internet cafe. I did not believe it back then, but I believe it now. I haven't eaten anything for over 20 hours, I'm so hungry! I’ll also have to go to the toilet…"

He has not dared to eat and drink, or even go to the toilet more than once, in the past 20 hours.

After all, a few minutes outside was equivalent to a few weeks inside. How could he logout before taking care of the problem that could end his nation? A few weeks was more than enough time for something unexpected to happen.

Now that he could finally rule unchallenged, he had enough peace of mind to logout.

"Such bliss! Being able to go to the toilet feels so good!" Future Skywhale exited the toilet and called the maid, who quickly began preparing his meal.

His secretary was waiting for him.

"Boss, Mr. Smith from the American power grid company wants to discuss a lucrative contract with us… Tomorrow night, our company has a meeting with the owner of Qian Du to discuss AI driven cars, this will affect our expansion into new markets…"

"Scram! Make the vice presidents go in my stead. I don’t have time for that right now!"

After swearing loudly, Future Skywhale was gone, leaving behind a stunned secretary.

What happened to their company's calm and even tempered CEO? The over-forty-years-old man has always been everyone’s idol and a domineering titan in the world of science and technology. He’s never acted like this before.

Only a short day has passed, what could have possibly happened? Hey! Someone tell me!

Future Skywhale returned to his room. He logged into the game forum while hurriedly eating his meal, and started a thread:

"Guys, save me! It’s urgent! Help me think of a solution! 😭"

"After over a hundred years of biding my time, I gained strength, built stuff, climbed the tech tree, and finally became the invincible Emperor of Alchemy who rules over the entire world. But the Seven Little Witches who are my wives are all about to die of old age, and are in frozen hibernation within my life capsules… I need help! Urgently waiting online! Thank you!"

With that, the entire forum exploded.