"The learning machines of ancient civilizations imparted knowledge, this knowledge inherently contains a pure way of thinking. Otherwise, people who can get confused by simple addition and subtraction would never be able to learn mathematics through a learning machine, and such learning would not reduce people to mere Echoes."

"This technology has profound implications, and I also feel it is riddled with errors." Ian stood up as he spoke, moving to the window of the castle where he now resided, and said calmly, "In fact, it probably shouldn’t even exist, this world should have fools, have ignorant idiots, have those who don’t know the proper path and insist on letting their emotions dictate their choices."

"If there were no bias, no assumptions, and no people who rely on instinct and reactionary rebuttals, much of the world’s order wouldn’t be established."

"But I think we still need to research it, at least create a ’learning machine without side effects’, otherwise, with the technology of the Thousand Stars Fire Seed, plus the technology of ancient civilizations, and possibly future-recovered Star God legacy technologies, our scholars shouldn’t even dream of the future. Just understanding what we already have would take them until they’re seventy or eighty."

"I’m not against it..." Yisen Gard always supported Ian. Though he also felt studies on cognitive models might be ’too early’ for Humans, he understood the necessity: "Can you tell me why you’re always so eager to explore this technology?"

The blonde researcher raised his eyebrows, rather curious: "Could it really be misophobia? Do you truly despise speaking with fools that much?"

Ian was taken aback by the question, then laughed: "How could it be? True stupidity doesn’t bother me. What I detest are those who pretend to know when they don’t or those who pretend not to understand when they do, trying to play word games and create illusions."

"The reason I persistently focus on this research..." Ian turned his head and looked at the bustling crowd outside the window: "is because of ’ordinary people’."

"I detest the word ’ordinary’."

"Look at this family."

Ian raised his hand and casually pointed outside the window: "If I didn’t rule Fiery Flame Land, chances are two out of this family of four would die in a car accident."

"The alchemical vehicles of the Nobles rampage the streets, and while the girl plays with her toys at home, her mother and brother could be run over by a local noble’s carriage. Her father would resort to alcohol, fall into despair, and eventually abandon her without a word, leaving her to struggle and grow up to become either a singing girl, a peddler of trinkets, or, at worst, sell herself to the biological laboratory in Fiery Flame Land to become a test subject."

"Every possibility leads to tragedy. She would not have a happy ending, and the cause of it all..."

"Is that they are all ordinary people."

Nobody challenged the truth of Ian’s claim, and discussing such matters with a Prophet, one who has witnessed two hundred million years of Reincarnation, is pointless. Ian calmly said: "Such tragedies in Fiery Flame Land used to occur dozens if not hundreds of times a day. Families shattered, lives that were once peaceful ruined, thrown into hell."

"Adalbert, Yisen Gard, the tragedies of this world are far more numerous than we imagine."

"In this world, the elderly have no pensions, and without children to provide for them, they will have to sell their labor even in old age, sweeping streets, picking up garbage, living day by day, scavenging for food in trash heaps."

"Nobody cares about the disabled, whether they served the nation or were injured fighting Magical Beasts, their ultimate fate is losing their ability to work, becoming beggars on the street or a pile of decaying flesh somewhere."

"Disease constantly spreads. What it takes to completely ruin a peaceful family might not be a disaster but a mere disease. Parents are unprepared for losing children, children are unprepared for losing parents. Everything is cut off, and fate is sharper than any blade."

"We possess talent and power, wisdom and courage; what they endure never befalls us, and if it does, it is swiftly resolved."

Saying this, Ian turned his head and looked at his two friends: "So, do you understand what I intend to do?"

"You want to resolve these tragedies." "You want to make everyone become like you."

Adalbert and Yisen Gard answered in unison, and indeed, Yisen Gard understood Ian better. The Prophet smiled: "Yes. This I owe to Axel, whose actions profoundly shook me—perhaps all the Terra People. But I can’t do what he did, so I take a more stable and gentle approach."

"I wish to pass the power and talent of people like us to all ’ordinary’ people. I abhor the word ordinary, despise all ’mundane accidents’. If everyone possessed the wisdom and talent of me, you, the Ashen King, and Inega II, diseases, car accidents, trivial disabilities, and retirement issues wouldn’t be problems."

"If everyone had wisdom and strength, simple tragedies wouldn’t occur—this is the meaning of the Arcane Pathway, to give everyone strength and a certain level of wisdom at the same time."