Shepherding Humanity

On this day, the Emperor of Alchemy passed away. He spent his final moments before the Temple of Wisdom and met the God of Wisdom, Mercury. This news quickly spread throughout the entire Magic World.

"No way!"

"That’s impossible!"

"This is a baseless rumor!"

"We’ve just had an audience with the emperor of Alchemy during his 500th birthday celebration. He was full of energy then and showed no signs of old age at all!"

At first, the Magic Academies, great magic schools, and secret societies reacted with skepticism.

They had believed that the great Emperor of Alchemy was a living god and would watch over his subjects for all of eternity.

His historic achievements have surpassed even mythic heroes such as Gilgamesh and the Three Witches.

The era that they lived in, the era of the Emperor of Alchemy was the greatest mythical era!

The Emperor of Alchemy has lived a truly storied life.

He had ended the chaotic era when evil witches ruled and ushered in the glorious Age of Alchemy. He was the architect of the two great Wonders of the World, seeker of the heavenly gods, and the man who had conquered old age to return as a youth…

Many people counted themselves fortunate to be living under his glorious rule, and felt honored to witness the birth of a legend. Others bemoaned their fate: They were born in the wrong era, and no matter how amazing or brilliant they were, they would forever be overshadowed by the Emperor of Alchemy’s matchless glory.

And now, they were supposed to believe that this living legend suddenly died of old age one day?

Everyone believed that the Emperor of Alchemy’s glory would be eternal.

After all, he had already conquered old age and returned as a youth once upon a time! !

It was not until more than ten days have passed—after countless people had born witness to the Emperor being entombed within the grand tomb of Tartarus, and Ermin had ascended the throne as the next Ruling Empress—did the people bring themselves to accept this unbelievable truth.

The Emperor of Alchemy has passed away!

With the confirmation of the Emperor’s death, countless people bitterly wept while others gleefully laughed out loud.

That night, a certain leader of an evil magic sect sat alone in his lair and drank himself under the table. While he was relieved that the shadow of death that had constantly hung over his head was now gone, he also felt a profound sense of loss. The back that he had been chasing after all this time was gone, and he felt as if his burning ambition has been doused with cold water.

"I grew up listening to his stories and have always wanted to surpass him, but now, I’ll never get the chance." He murmured pensively. The Sixth Level Legendary dark wizard radiated a frightening aura as he sat in the shadows.

Right then, a disciple of the Righteous Sect walked in and anxiously spoke: "Teacher, it’s time for our sect to rise up now that the Emperor of Alchemy is dead. You alone are worthy of becoming the next Emperor of Babylon, how dare that lowly Ermin take your rightful place? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon have been entombed under the earth, and there’s no World-Class Wonder suppressing us. This is our chance…"

"Even if we were to make a scene, we should at least wait until the 100 days of mourning had passed."

Almost all the conspirators within Babylon had reached an unspoken agreement. Though the entire nation was in chaos because of the Emperor’s death, and his funeral would be the golden opportunity for them to attack, they chose not do so.

Be they friend or foe, none could deny the Emperor of Alchemy’s brilliance. All would pay homage to the greatest Magic Emperor in history. His virtuous and inspired rule has paved the way for the entire world, and a glorious future awaited them.

"—Mages are seekers of truth, adherents of knowledge! With enough knowledge, I can move the entire world!!!"

They could remember this declaration as if it was yesterday. With that single proclamation, the Magic Emperor had set the tone for their entire civilization.

Those who lamented, those who drank themselves silly, and those who conspired all looked in the direction of the great tomb of Tartarus as one. They silently lifted their wine glasses up high, then sprinkled the wine onto the ground in honor of the great Emperor of Alchemy.

Even the Emperor of Alchemy's enemies could not help but admire the way he had lived.

….

In the dark land on the other side of Oceanos, the Island of Alchemy, Gorgon.

An invisible black crow silently landed onto the ground, losing substance and sinking into the earth.

"He's finally dead!"

Medusa's heart was beating wildly as fear slowly gave way to relief.

"It turns out that his vigor was only a front. He was determined to outlast me to pave the way for his successor, Empress Ermin… That was way too close! Just a little bit more and he would have outlasted me!"

"As expected of Grantham."

As her terror faded, Medusa felt relief such as she has never felt before, along with a myriad of complicated emotions.

"Emperor of Alchemy, you’re merely a Legendary Wizard, yet you have managed to suppress me, an Epic Witch, and came this close to outlasting me. Even I have to stand in awe of your accomplishments." Medusa stood up.

She walked to a table and lowered her eyes while casting a minor cantrip. A clear stream of water poured into the wine cup that she held up high. "Emperor Grantham, I offer this toast to you. Godspeed on your journey!"

Putting the cup back down, her figure disappeared into the shadows.

"I offer this cup of wine in honor of your life. You were selfless, just, and righteous. You fought not for power and territory but for the sake of the people, ushering in the Age of Alchemy. You prioritized saving your lover over becoming a god…

In the days to come, even though I've mastered Death, I will never summon your lingering spirit and dominate your will. Never would I disrespect you so… I will quietly wait until your 100 days of mourning have passed before breaking out of my seal to rule the world once again. "

…….

Grantham silently opened his eyes.

He gently sighed after taking off his VR glasses. He could barely recognize his room, everything about it felt so unfamiliar.

Although only five days have passed in reality, his way of thinking was still stuck inside the Magic World. He felt that he was the Emperor of Alchemy, Grantham, who had transmigrated into a modern day civilization built on science and technology.

His gaze was tired and somber.

His mind has matured over his 500 years of life within the game, and his way of thinking was that of an ancient sage who had seen all there is to see in this world.

"I do not know how it was with the ancients. What was Qin Shihuang thinking when pursuing immortality? Did the legendary Peng Zu truly live for 800 years? But it is a fact that I have lived for over 500 years, a frighteningly long period of time."

"After this, I need to take it easy and adapt myself once again to the modern world. My current state of mind is no good. I’ll have to stay away from the “Spore Evolution” forums for now, at least until I’ve recollected myself."

Except for the occasional breaks to take care of his body’s basic needs, Grantham has been logged in for 5 days straight and hasn’t even taken a single bath in all that time. His hair was disheveled, his hygiene a mess, and he was absolutely exhausted. "Before I do anything else, I should take a bath first."

Strangely enough, though his body was exhausted, his mind remained sharp and clear, and he was full of spirit.

Taking off his clothes, he entered the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. His eyes in the mirror were brighter than ever and filled with mysterious energy. "What happened to me? Why do I look so refreshed? Because of my business, I’ve always been super busy all year round. My hair should be all withered and my face pale and lifeless. But why do I look like this now?"

…..

Xu Zhi had noticed Grantham logging out from the game.

While lamenting the Emperor of Alchemy's death, he was also silently observing him and was well aware of his current state.

"He has gained a small part of the Emperor of Alchemy’s spiritual strength."

Although the Emperor of Alchemy was an ant-sized Slime, his strength was far too great. The energy contained in his tiny body was comparable to that of several adult human beings, and he could easily kill multiple grown men.

Even though he’s only gained a small part of the Emperor’s power, it was more than enough to improve his health.

"He’s in peak physical condition, on the level of an ordinary athlete who exercises all year round. But that's all, he will never be able to gain super powers." Xu Zhi shook his head, sipping on his glass of water before continuing: "The genes of people in the real world are simply too lacking. Ordinary life-forms who haven’t taken in the genes of the Evil Eye will never qualify to become wizards and will never be able to practice magic."

However, now that the Emperor of Alchemy has died, a glorious era had come to an end, and there were various things he had to take care of.

In the Magic World, there were many who wanted to rebel.

Now that the Emperor of Alchemy was dead, they planned to depose Ermin. After all, Ermin has yet to prove herself, and they believed her to be easy prey.

"You think that Grantham did not see this coming?"

Xu Zhi shook his head. "Easy prey? That’s hilarious. Ermin’s already a Sixth-Level Witch. Although she’s not much of an alchemist and could only inherit a small portion of the Emperor’s abilities, she has developed her own unique school of magic. Once she puts on her alchemical bio-armor, she’s equal to a Seventh-Level Epic, albeit a relatively weak one. She may not be a match for Grantham, but subduing these people shouldn’t be a problem for her."

Their rebellion was doomed from the very start.

In fact, all of this was part of Grantham’s plan.

First, show weakness to tempt them into rebelling. Then, once Ermin ascends the throne, crush the rebelling magical sects in a show of strength and establish herself as a force to be reckoned with.

"I do not need to worry about these idiots. They’re all doomed. But Medusa on the other hand…"

Xu Zhi frowned. "Medusa is very close to becoming a demigod. She’s reached the absolute limits achievable by mortals and has already started to search for a method of ascension. Ermin is still too young and inexperienced and won’t be able to deal with her once Medusa breaks out of her seal."

"Besides, Grantham had to rely on a potion to gain his third gene. This is the wrong path to take because it is the path of science and technology… I'm looking forward to Medusa ascending to the level of a demigod after gaining a third gene and igniting her divine spark. Hopefully, she’ll be able to create a proper method of ascension."

After another moment of thought, Xu Zhi turned to the evolutionary sandbox. "Since the Emperor of Alchemy has died, it’s time to let these guys in."

Medusa needed to be pressured into developing a proper method of ascension and reaching the level of a demigod.

"The threat of death should be a good motivator. It’s time for the Evil God from another world to invade! And with this, the level of the Magic World should rise once again."

Xu Zhi smirked.

What will happen when the Evil God composed of countless players arrives in the other world? What kind of chaos will they cause? He was looking forward to it.

"Furthermore, now that the Evil God is about to descend from another dimension, ushering in the Apocalypse… I should take this opportunity to expand on the Magic World’s background settings." Xu Zhi started his preparations. "It’s time for another cinematic cutscene."