The Nebula's Civilization

Chapter 5: How to Acquire Knowledge

Lakrak and his clan successfully hunted 5 water buffaloes. Some argued that all the sacrifices should be offered to the altar, but Lakrak said there was no need to go that far. Sung-Woon thought the same; there was going to be more hunting anyway, and feeding the clan was also important. Lakrak wondered how the Nameless Beetle God had moved the buffalo herd, but he focused first on sharing the lean meat in front of him with his clan.

Sung-Woon smiled as he saw Lakrak’s Clan move the hunted buffaloes. He wasn’t the god of animals or livestock, and the only Small Area he occupied was Insects. In other words, he could be called the ‘God of Insects,’ and therefore had no power to directly control the herd of buffaloes.

‘But if I use Miracles well, nothing is impossible.’

Having used a similar method already in the game, Sung-Woon assumed he would be able to move the herd of buffaloes without much trouble, and that turned out to be true. Just like in the game, everything in this world was also organically connected. Buffalo herds moved while grazing, so it was possible to lead the buffaloes by determining where the grass was.

‘However, that doesn’t mean I’m the God of Wild Grass.’

But Sung-Woon was the God of Insects. Using his increased Divinity, he summoned a swarm of locust to feed on the grass. He wasn’t able to create grass that didn’t exist, but he was able to eliminate the grass that was already there. As the buffaloes grazed in the direction they were already heading, Sung-Woon would slowly narrow the range of directions they could go by using the locust, and eventually, it would be possible to direct the buffaloes to his desired destination.

‘The system support is a bit insufficient compared to the game.’

He actually began moving the herd of buffaloes long before Lakrak was appointed a priest. To be more exact, Lakrak became an oracle the day before the herd of buffaloes arrived at the hill.

‘Let’s see how they make an altar and give their offerings…’

***

The first altar was shabby. One live buffalo and four untouched buffalo heads were placed on top of the altar made up of buffalo bones poorly stacked together. Lakrak of course had never held a ‘ceremony’, so he didn’t have that clear an idea about the concept of ‘sacrifice’. Fortunately, the process wouldn’t really pose a problem. The important part was the idea of sacrifice. Lakrak’s offering was sloppy and clumsy, but after several trials and errors, he hung the buffalo upside down and successfully drew blood, which trickled down between the buffalo bones and heads. Lakrak and the rest of the clan bowed to the altar where blood was gushing out. For Lizardmen, this was the only act of showing respect to a higher being than oneself, and it was enough.

‘The only thing that matters in the offering ceremony is sincerity.’

Bugs gathered between the heads and bones, and everything slowly began to rot.

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[Faith is acquired from the altar]

[Faith has leveled up]

[3/50 → 162/50]

‘It exceeded the limit. I should use it up quickly.’

One by one, Sung-Woon blessed the Lizardmen who followed Lakrak and actively participated in hunting, and the Blessings were the same as the one Lakrak had received. It was a no-brainer for him which two Blessings he should pick first.

The first Blessing was ‘Hard Shell,’ and for those who were granted this Blessing, their skin changed into a hard outer shell similar to the exoskeleton of an insect. The second Blessing was ‘Power of Beetles,’ which made those who received it grow stronger so that they would, like some insects, possess strength much greater than what their sizes would suggest. If there was something good about the area of ‘Insects’, it was that one could create good Blessings about physical traits that would allow the tribes to better maintain their numbers in battles or extreme environments. Therefore, Blessings that enhanced physical build were imperative.

Sung-Woon had to give the third blessing some thought, but he ultimately went with 'Toxic Resistance’. Generally, Lizardmen were able to eat anything, but outside of bacteria and germs, their ability to resist chemical poison was poor. And so, to allow them to eat everything without worry, it was better to strengthen their existing strength.

‘Because…over time, the food resources around here will run out.’

Creatures that travel in herds consumed a great deal of resources. Fortunately, Lakrak’s Clan knew the rudimentary basics of smoking meat so they had stored quite a bit of buffalo meat. Since there was no need to collect food for a while, they were able to build a house and focus on taking care of their home.

‘Then the herd numbers will increase.’

But that wouldn’t last forever. Lakrak’s Clan was located on a small hill in the middle of the wilderness, so they would only be able to last a few years at most.

‘These guys won’t know how to farm.’

They knew how to dig up root plants, but didn’t know it was better to leave some and bury the good seeds together to crossbreed them, or to keep the buffalo calves alive to mate and breed livestock.

‘I’d like to tell them through a Miracle or divine message, but…’

Again, this part worked just like The Lost World. It wasn’t possible to pass that type of ‘knowledge’ on to the Lizardmen given his current amount of Faith. That would be a ‘causality violation’ in the game’s setting, and while it hadn’t been confirmed, the same seemed to be true of this planet. In order to directly transfer that type of knowledge, thus violating causality, it was necessary to acquire an amount of Faith that was practically impossible.

‘Then…doing nothing is one way to go about it.’

The process of tribes gaining ‘knowledge’ was easy. One just had to wait. Then someone smart among the group would appear, or technology may be discovered by chance. And if that knowledge and technology were handed down to future generations, civilization would advance.

‘There’s no time for that though.’

It would take too long. Sung-Woon knew that a few Lizardmen in Lakrak’s Clan had bronze swords. The Lost World started between the end of the Neolithic Age and the beginning of the Bronze Age, so he knew technology had advanced enough to build a furnace to melt bronze. However, Lakrak’s Clan was a group that separated from a bigger tribe, so their knowledge likely wasn’t as accurate.

‘Knowledge and technology can vanish at any time, especially before a line of communication is established.’

The only way out of a decline was for different tribes to interact in some way, especially as Lizardmen were proficient in basic abilities but slower with technological development. Now that the existence of a god was clearly demonstrated, it was time to make his real name known.

‘Even though this method is a bit rough.’

Sung-Woon was already projecting a Miracle on a distant land from where Lakrak was. He could already move insects, which also enabled him to move the water buffaloes, and with enough time, motivation, and sufficient amount of Faith produced by Lakrak’s Clan, other things could be moved as well.

‘It’ll probably take some time.’

Time would fly by instantly in the game of The Lost World, but here, one was able to move things one by one. Sung-Woon could have done things half-heartedly with the help of the game system, but he didn’t plan on doing that. Interestingly enough, he didn’t find this task boring or difficult. The way he perceived time already seemed completely different from that of humans.

‘Alright, let’s do it.’

***

Years had passed.

Lakrak and his clan had survived the winter without much difficulty thanks to the spring water and the small ecosystem it sustained, and many more of the clan were blessed by the Nameless Beetle God. Even the young children had been blessed, making them strong and healthy, and those who were initially awkward with their black, glossy scales were now humbly grateful and proud of the blessing from God. But good times never lasted forever.

Lakrak sensed the slow decline of the hill. As the clan grew larger, the little spring could no longer support the clan. The fish disappeared, and only the root plants that had a strong taste were left.

He was in front of the altar made of bones. It was hard for him to even recall the first shabby altar they made years ago. The altar in front of him was about 8 meters long. The altar, densely stacked with bones that belonged to dozens of buffaloes and possibly more, consisted of three layers. The buffalo head decorating each platform was awe-inspiring.

“Lakrak, you’re up early.”

“I was looking at the altar. I had a bad dream last night.”

Lakrak answered and looked at the newcomer, Zaol. At first, Zaol hadn’t accepted or acknowledged Lakrak and the Nameless Beetle God, but that was no longer true. Now the whole clan was covered in black skin, believed in the Beetle God, and had such a strong body that couldn’t be explained without the existence of a divine power. Even the weakest warrior of the clan was able to cut a buffalo’s throat with bare hands. Just like the other Lizardmen, Zaol now treated Lakrak as the chief of the clan. After Lakrak became chief, twenty young Lizardmen were born healthy, and the clan population grew to almost 50 in total.

“Dream? Is it a divine message?”

“I’m not sure, it’s ambiguous.”

Lakrak talked about his dream.

.

“The altar was dangerously shaking in the distance, and looking around, I saw no more fish coming up from the pond of blessing. Moreover, no root plants could be found when I dug through the ground.”

“Things aren’t that bad yet.”

“That may be true at the moment, but our home is becoming barren. Wasn’t the rabbit we caught two months ago the last prey we got?”

Zaol nodded.

“But Lakrak, there’s still lots of time. The Nameless Beetle God is still sending us herds of water buffaloes. There’s nothing to worry about while God is taking care of us.

“I believe in God too. God won’t abandon us.”

Lakrak grabbed a spear and strode up the altar.

“But if there’s a lack of understanding of what God intends, then we’ll be betraying God’s will… Don’t you think so?”

“That’s right.”

“At dawn, I sent Yur and his friends to the West.”

“Oh, that’s why those noisy children are nowhere to be seen. Do you think it is a divine message?”

“Yes, perhaps.”

Sitting on the altar, Lakrak looked over to the horizon. Then he jumped to his feet as if he had found something.

“Of course. Now I see why the altar shook.”

As Zaol tilted her head, Lakrak pulled her arm. Once they got to the same eye level, Zaol was able to make out what was at the end of the horizon. It was a group of something. They were slow and there were too many of them to be water buffaloes, but there was nothing to be confused about as it was a very familiar sight to them. A long snout, walking upright on two legs, covered in scales, with a long tail hanging down—it was another Lizardman tribe. They had blue skin like Lakrak did in the past.