Wizard: My career panel has no upper limit

Chapter 530 The Cave and the "Aleph"

In the dead of night, Cuihuan No. 2 was as quiet as a sleeping giant.

The three stars have completely sunk, and only the faint light emitted by the crystal tree brings a final touch of warmth to this alien world.

Ron sat alone in his dorm room, with "The Complete Guide to the Extraordinary" spread out in front of him.

Tonight, he will continue his "knowledge exchange," which interests him.

"I want to understand the nature of the indigenous gods."

Ron gently stroked the pages of the book and made his request to this "absurd mentor":
"How exactly did they come into being? Why do they possess the power to influence reality? And how should we deal with them?"

The pages began to turn automatically, eventually stopping on a blank page.

Familiar words slowly emerged:
Knowledge is never free, my dear students.

What are you prepared to offer in exchange for these secrets that could change your destiny?

Ron was prepared.

He cleared his throat and began to tell an ancient story from a past life:
"In the era of a city-state in a foreign land, there was a philosopher named Plato who once told a parable about the 'cave'."

His voice flowed softly through the quiet room:

"Imagine a group of people who have been chained to the depths of a cave since birth, and can only face the cave walls."

Behind them was a fire, and between the fire and the prisoners, people walked by carrying various items.

"These prisoners could only see the shadows cast by objects on the cave walls, so they believed that these shadows were the whole of reality."

"Until one day, one of them broke free of his chains, turned around and saw the firelight and the real objects."

Finally, they emerged from the cave and saw the real world under the sunlight.

Ron continued recounting this philosophical parable:

"When he returned to the cave and tried to tell the others the truth, he was treated like a madman."

For those who are still bound, the shadow is the only reality.

What Plato wanted to express was:

What we perceive as 'reality' may simply be a shadow projected from a higher-dimensional truth.

Those who claim to have seen the truth are often seen as heretics by the majority, who remain trapped in the shadows.

Ron looked at "The Complete Guide to the Extraordinary" and waited for a response.

The words on the pages began to flicker slightly, as if they were pondering something.

"An interesting fable, but not enough." The words reappeared:
"I need more specific and imaginative concepts."

"In your world, don't you have even more...strange imaginations?"

Ron smiled; he knew what The Complete Guide to the Extraordinary was trying to achieve.

"Then let me tell you another story, which comes from a writer named Borges."

"In his work, he put forward a concept about the 'Aleph'."

It was a tiny rainbow ball, no longer than the length of a little finger.

But within this small sphere, one can simultaneously see all the imagined scenes, without distortion or overlap.

"A person standing in front of Aleph can see every corner of the planet at the same time:"
All the oceans, deserts, snowflakes, everything everyone is doing right now, every moment of the past and future.

"This experience of omniscience is almost impossible to describe in words because our language itself is linear and limited."

Trying to describe the Aleph is like trying to draw an entire three-dimensional world with a single line.

This time, the reaction on the pages was completely different.

The text began to flicker wildly, and the entire book trembled slightly, as if overwhelmed by some intense excitement.

"Fantastic! Absolutely fantastic!"

Golden words flowed out like water:
"A finite point containing infinity, a descriptive paradox that transcends description... Such imagination is indeed very rare in our world!"

"The 'language limitations' you mentioned also touch upon a fundamental issue: the perpetual gap between reality and expression."

The pages began to turn rapidly, eventually revealing a multi-dimensional image.

"The deal is done! Moreover, your two stories provide the perfect framework for understanding the nature of the indigenous gods."

The voice in "The Complete Guide to the Extraordinary" became unusually excited:

"'The Cave Fable' explains the relationship between the indigenous gods and believers—the 'miracles' seen by the believers are actually just shadows projected by a higher dimension."

“The ‘Aleph’ reveals the source of the power of the indigenous gods—they are the convergence point of concepts, where all related beliefs, emotions and expectations converge into concrete realities.”

The scene begins to show the complete process of the birth of the indigenous god:
[Phase One: The Dance of Shadows]

Like prisoners in a cave, primitive intelligent beings faced natural phenomena they could not comprehend.

They can only see the "shadows"—the appearance of lightning, the results of a bountiful harvest, and the symptoms of disease.

"At this stage, 'God' was merely an assumption they used to explain the shadow."

The Complete Explanation of the Extraordinary explains:

"Just as prisoners in caves name their shadows and make up stories, primitive intelligent beings also create myths about natural phenomena."

[Phase Two: The Collective Gaze]

As the number of believers increased, a strange phenomenon occurred.

When enough people simultaneously “gaze” at the shadow of a concept, this collective attention begins to create a focusing effect in higher-dimensional space.

"It's like countless people staring at the same shadow on the cave wall at the same time; the power of this collective gaze begins to make the shadow more 'real'."

Ron saw that the originally blurry shadows in the image began to become clearer and even began to move on their own.

[Phase Three: The Birth of the Aleph]

The most crucial turning point has arrived.

When the intensity and scale of faith reach a critical value, a "conceptual Aleph" begins to form.

"This is a convergence point that contains all related beliefs, emotions, expectations, and fears."

"The Complete Explanation of Extraordinary Things" tries to explain things in plain language:

"At this point, mythology transforms from a conceptual imagination into reality itself."

The indigenous god also transformed from a shadow into a physical entity that projects shadows.

The image shows a stunning scene:

Amidst the prayers of countless believers, a tiny point of light began to twinkle.

But this point of light contains a complete world.

All the stories about this deity, all the memories of believers, all the related emotional experiences.

Phase Four: The Reversal of the Shadow

Finally, a phenomenon that completely overturned conventional wisdom occurred.

The indigenous god was no longer content with passively accepting faith; He began to actively "project" new shadows onto the believers.

"At this point, the allegory of the cave takes a turn."

The Complete Explanation of the Extraordinary explains:

"The gods became 'people who came out of the cave,' while the believers remained 'prisoners bound in chains.'"

The gods see the 'truth' (or the truth as they define it), and then project this truth onto the believers in the form of 'miracles'.

"But the problem is that the 'reality' of the gods is itself constructed by the faith of believers."

This creates a cycle: faith creates deities, and deities strengthen faith.

Next, "The Complete Guide to Extraordinary Things" explains the coping strategies in detail:

Strategy 1: Question the Shadow

"The most direct method is to get believers to question the 'shadows' they see."

The footage shows missionaries explaining different worldviews to the natives.

"Like the man who broke free of his chains in the allegory of the cave, it makes believers realize that their 'reality' may only be part of a larger truth."

Strategy Two: Reconstruct the Aleph

This was exactly the solution Ron had proposed.

"Instead of destroying the original conceptual convergence points, we inject new elements into them and gradually change their content."

In the visuals, the conquerors cleverly integrate new stories and new values ​​into the existing mythological system.

"Ultimately, the same 'Aleph' began to cast completely different 'shadows'."

Strategy 3: Create New Caves

The most radical approach is to establish a completely independent belief system.

"Let believers 'leave' their original cave and enter a new cave to face new shadows."

"But this method is extremely risky, because losing the followers who are familiar with the shadows could lead to complete mental confusion."

Closing "The Extraordinary Explained," Ron felt he had gained a completely new perspective on the issue.

The indigenous gods are neither enemies nor allies.

They are the "conceptual mapping" of this world, the "Alephs" where reality and faith intersect.

To conquer such a being requires more than just force; it also requires rewriting the "story" of the world.

And the first chapter of this story awaits his writing.

Just as he was immersed in the ocean of knowledge, a tiny, almost forgotten rune on the inside of his robe suddenly heated up.

It was an extremely subtle temperature change, like a snake's tongue gently caressing the skin.

If it weren't for the Chaos Bloodline's keen perception of abnormal energy, he would have had almost no chance of noticing this change.

Ron's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately recognized the origin of the rune.

That was a communication tool that Cassandra gave him before he left the main world, under the guise of "emergency contact".

Normally, this rune is in a completely dormant state.

The energy fluctuations are so weak as to be almost zero that even the most sophisticated detection equipment cannot detect their existence.

However, once activated, it releases a special "spatial anchor," creating a temporary encrypted communication environment.

He quickly put away "The Complete Guide to Extraordinary Things" and set up basic soundproofing talismans in the room.

Then he carefully removed the heated rune from the inner layer of his robe.

The rune was shaped like a miniature six-pointed star, with a tiny, needle-like soul energy crystal embedded in each corner. When he infused it with magic, the rune immediately rose into the air and began to emit a distorted, water-like light.

Subtle folding phenomena began to appear in the space in the center of the room.

The density of the air changed, forming a spherical region with a diameter of about two meters.

Within this area, all sounds and magical fluctuations are shielded by a special resonance effect, ensuring that communications cannot be overheard by any external entity.

As the spatial ripples spread, a semi-transparent figure began to coalesce and take shape at the center of the anchor point.

Cassandra's projection slowly appeared, her purple eyes shimmering like jewels in the darkness.

"My little advisor."

The tower owner got straight to the point:
"You're doing well over there. Silas's little tricks were handled very well."

These words pierced Ron's heart like an ice pick.

His brain was working frantically at that moment, analyzing the deeper meaning of the sentence.

Did Cassandra know Silas's plans?

Did she know the inside story of the Jing Si Dome incident?

What's even more terrifying is that she was actually monitoring the interior of Cuihuan No. 2 in real time from such a distant location.
But Ron showed no sign of it.

He feigned a moderate expression of surprise, his tone tinged with confusion:

"Master Tower? How do you know what happened over there?"

"Furthermore, what is the meaning of Silas's trick? I don't quite understand."

Cassandra chuckled softly, but there was no warmth in her laughter:
"Stop pretending, Ron. A Moon-level enchanter trying to use technology to trap historians?"

"It's as ridiculous as trying to crack cryptography with an abacus."

She paced slowly in the projection space:
"What I want to know is—did you tell Vinard about those 'interesting ideas' we discussed earlier?"

The projection stopped in front of Ron, its purple eyes staring directly at him:
"For example, what about that three-step strategy for 'elegantly dealing' with foreign civilizations?"

This question struck Ron like a hammer blow.

He understood Cassandra's true intentions.

The questioning she is now asking suggests that she may have noticed a change in Vinard's strategy on Stoker's Star.

Ron quickly adjusted his strategy, feigning a slightly guilty expression:
"I did mention some theoretical possibilities."

His voice carried a hint of tension:
"But Vinard seems more interested in the traditional route of military conquest and not so much in those 'innovative ideas'."

He said that approach was too complicated, and that direct force suppression was more reliable.

"is it?"

Cassandra waved her hand dismissively, and a crystal ball image immediately appeared in the projection.

The image shows Ron and Vinard having a deep conversation on the observation deck.

Although there was no sound, their focused expressions and frequent hand gestures suggested that they were discussing some important plan.

“You two seem to be having a very pleasant conversation.” Cassandra’s tone became even more dangerous:

"And as far as I know, Vinard has indeed recently adjusted his strategy toward Stoker Star."

The planned large-scale military operation was postponed, and instead, a kind of 'infiltration' cultural influence was initiated.

She paused for a moment, letting the information ferment in the air:
"The timing of this transition, coinciding so perfectly with your arrival time, is truly thought-provoking."

Ron felt real pressure.

Cassandra's intelligence network was more powerful than he had imagined, and he might even have informants within Vinard's inner circle.

However, he also noticed a key piece of information in her words: she was still unaware of the specific details of his strategy.

Otherwise, there would be no need for such probing inquiries.

“Master, I admit that I did reveal some of the discussion to Vinard.”

Ron chose a strategy of partial confession:

"But my goal is to gain his trust so that I can gather more valuable intelligence for you."

He feigned a somewhat helpless expression:

"Your task for me is to 'observe, record, and report' on Vinard's actions."

"How could he possibly reveal core secrets to me if I didn't demonstrate sufficient value?"

"And," he continued, his train of thought opening up, as he added:
"I only mentioned the conceptual possibility, without revealing your specific plans for the Vital civilization or mentioning the technical details of the cognitive virus project."

This explanation was logically consistent, which eased Cassandra's expression somewhat.

She began pacing in the projection space again, seemingly weighing the veracity of Ron's words.

"Speaking of Project Vital"

Cassandra's tone suddenly became lighter:
"Recently, there have actually been new developments."

She displayed a new crystal ball:

The collective consciousness network of the Vitals is experiencing an unprecedented split.

The once unified and stable spiritual connection now presents a fragmented structure as intricate as a spider web.

Each fragment represents an independent "group of ideas" that no longer fully shares information and even begins to show differences in values.

Ron was extremely confused.

When he left, Cedric's cognitive virus project had suffered a major setback due to the forced purge of the Vital collective consciousness.

The Vitals should have developed a strong resistance and coping mechanisms against such virtual experience attacks.

Why is there now an even more serious split in collective consciousness?

Or perhaps, during his absence, that madman Cedric invented some new mutated strain?
But Cassandra seemed to be deliberately keeping him in suspense.

She just mentioned this new development casually.

Then it stops going down, as if it were just an insignificant detail.

"Cedric may be a madman, but he is indeed a genius."

She commented casually.

"Alright, let's get back to the main topic."

“I need to know whether Vinard has actually adopted your strategy, and the specific progress of his implementation.”

She stopped in front of Ron, her purple eyes burning with an undeniable flame:
“This is not a suggestion, Ron. This is an order.”

You now have two choices:

Either prove you remain loyal to our cooperation by providing detailed intelligence on the Vinard project;
"Either come back now and focus on the 'peaceful evolution' project you proposed yourself."

"But if you choose to stay there, you must give me truly valuable information."

“I need to know what he did to the ‘native gods’ of the Stoker Star and how far he has progressed.”

Have the belief structures of those indigenous gods begun to loosen? Have new concepts of divinity been successfully implanted?

A dangerous glint appeared in Cassandra's eyes:
“My patience is limited, Ron. Especially with guys who try to have their cake and eat it too.”

At this tense and critical moment, the atmosphere in the room suddenly changed subtly.

An interfering force field from a higher dimension quietly appeared, like an invisible hand gently stroking the surface of the space anchor point.

Cassandra's projection began to show slight instability, with the edges becoming blurry and the sound becoming intermittent.

"What's going on?" She frowned, trying to stabilize the communication connection.

Just then, the light of another communication rune began to flicker at the edge of the projection space.

Cassandra frowned, conjuring a ball of purple magic in her hand, preparing to drive away this uninvited guest.

But when she sensed the characteristics of the signal, she stopped moving.

The next moment, a sweet and familiar voice rang out in the communication space:
"Mother? Are you busy? I'd like to report some important progress in my cultivation."

Eve's voice sounded like heavenly music to Ron's ears.

But the timing of this event made Cassandra's expression turn extremely ugly.

The timing was perfect.

It was so coincidental that one might wonder if it was truly just a chance occurrence.

Cassandra's gaze lingered on Ron for half a second, her eyes full of scrutiny.

"It seems we'll have to end our conversation early today."

Her voice turned cold: "Ron, you're lucky. But luck won't always be on your side."

Just before the communication was about to be cut off, Cassandra gave an ultimatum:

"At the beginning of next month, a caravan from the main world will arrive at the colony for regular trade. That will be your last chance to make a choice."

"Either come back with the caravan, or stay there."

Her projection began to become transparent:

"But if you try to have your cake and eat it too, you'll end up with no good outcome on either side."

With that threat, Cassandra's projection vanished completely, and the communication space collapsed as well.

The room returned to silence, with only the faint glow of the magic crystal lamp flickering on the desk.

Ron slowly exhaled, but the tension in his heart did not ease at all.

Cassandra has laid her cards on the table.

She was no longer satisfied with a vague partnership and demanded that he make a clear choice.

"The Appearance of Eve"

Ron recalled the details of what had just happened, and a strange feeling welled up inside him:

"The timing was too perfect, it was like..."

He recalled the wish he had made a week earlier when he used the Paradox Dice:
Let every scheme that is against me become an aid to my success.

Perhaps Eve's sudden contact is truly a manifestation of the dice effect?

While this idea may sound absurd, probability manipulation is indeed a real force in the wizarding world.

Regardless, Cassandra's coercion has become a reality.

He must make a final decision next month.

(End of this chapter)