Mythology: Ragnarok

Chapter 324 Soul

Upon hearing that Agreed could control billions of clones, Xuan Yuan Muze instantly spat out the hot tea he had just drunk. Then, coughing, he exclaimed in surprise, "One mind, a billion uses? How is that possible? Are you kidding me?"

“I never joke about my own strength. Your surprise is simply because your homeland has not yet come into contact with things at the level of the soul. This is normal. You cannot understand how an existence with a powerful soul would use its vast mental capacity. The so-called multitasking is actually a very normal operation. I can tell you without any reservations that the computational power my soul can achieve is a level that your civilization will find difficult to reach in the next three thousand years.”

In fact, Agreed was being modest here. Having absorbed the Soul Sea, his current soul computing power is at least comparable to five hundred cosmic-level computers. More importantly, since the existence of the multiverse, apart from the Kingdom of Myriad Races, no civilization has yet appeared with cosmic-level computing power. (Note: Cosmic-level computers specifically refer to a civilization that has transformed the entire universe into a tool to provide computing power and rule-making power. Whether or not a civilization possesses cosmic-level computers is a basic requirement for judging whether it has reached the level of a technological god.)

Then, Xuan Yuan Muze asked with some concern, "Won't this kind of operation cause you to develop a split personality or some kind of mental illness?"

Upon hearing this question, Agreed immediately replied confidently, "Of course not. It seems that your hometown has never even touched the realm of the soul, and seems to regard damage to the soul as a disease. In fact, this idea is not entirely correct. Soul splitting and mental confusion actually stem from the fact that the soul is too fragile."

I guess most of the people with these illnesses you mentioned are ordinary people, and the cause is that they suffered a major blow to their spirit before their souls developed problems. Because their will is not firm and their brains have not been developed, problems are bound to occur. It's like a computer crashing when a large amount of data that it cannot process is suddenly flooded in. This principle also applies to the soul. Once the soul is damaged, it must be restarted or repaired by external means. Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that hardware damage has caused the soul to fall into a deep sleep, because in the Kingdom of Myriad Races, there are actually many cases of patients with brain damage who have experienced similar soul problems.

To be honest, these kinds of illnesses are really child's play for us. They're less troublesome than a common cold. Not only can my necromancers and psionicists easily handle these problems, but you seriously underestimate me. These kinds of problems stem from a weak soul. The stronger the soul, the less likely it is to encounter such issues, because my current level of soul power is far from my limit. Even if it were, I would have plenty of ways to solve these problems. Remember the saying, "All tragedy and suffering originate from weakness," and you will soon understand. The stronger life force, the fewer problems it faces; this is the nature of all things in the world.

Xuan Yuan Mu Ze looked embarrassed but still forced himself to continue asking, "Then do you know how a civilization would deal with mental illnesses if... it hasn't reached the realm of the soul?"

Agreed thought for a moment and said helplessly, "I'm sorry, it's simply impossible. If your technology and brain development cannot support your access to the realm of the soul, the only thing you can do is wait for these patients to self-reboot or for their souls to autonomously repair their damage and recover. To be honest, the possibility of this is extremely slim. Even if the hardware is damaged, it won't work because even if you replace the hardware, it still needs to 'reboot.' But you don't even have the most basic ability to press the reboot button, let alone repair the abnormal state of the human brain and soul."

So… I'm sorry, but this is like solving a math problem: if it doesn't work, it doesn't work; if it does, it does. It tests your hard skills; there's no room for luck.

Xuan Yuan Mu Ze nodded in disappointment. He didn't continue the topic because he knew that continuing would only make him look foolish or even humiliate himself. The other person had already made it very clear: there was no way out because you were not good enough. Even if I pointed out the way for you, you still couldn't get there.

So Xuanyuan Muze immediately changed the subject and asked, "What are these children doing now?"

Agreed explained, “They are now taking moral education classes. They will use virtual reality technology to go to the virtual world we have built, live another life there, and thus subtly build their own moral concepts and life experiences. To be honest, the inspiration for this technology actually comes from you foreigners. Your video games have given me a lot of inspiration. Since this thing is so attractive, I can use it to develop some more advanced educational methods.”

Xuanyuan Muze shook his head after hearing this and said, "I think this kind of education method is probably inappropriate. What if the game is too captivating and they become addicted to it?"

Argrede retorted, "There's never such a thing as addiction in this kind of thing. The problem with those so-called addictive games is never the players, but the game's mechanics. Many of your games have a lot of tasks and tedious but worthless processes, which, with the encouragement of additional rewards, guide players to spend a lot of time on the game. There are also many psychological tricks involved, which I won't go into too much detail about. In short, the reason why games become a scourge is never the fault of this form of entertainment itself, but the business model behind it. But that's understandable, after all, games are a business in your world, and making them as addictive as candy is in their interest, so it's normal."

However, my philosophy on this kind of thing has always been "prevention is worse than cure." Don't try to ban it. Believe me, my friend, the more you ban something, the more they will try to oppose you. For example, a couple of years ago on a planet I was in charge of, I was planning to extend the holidays for the sake of the people's well-being. But the workers were dissatisfied with the four-month-long holidays every year and demanded to work overtime. I was so angry at the time. If you were in my position for a couple of days, you would know that at least 99 out of every 100 pounds of those scoundrels are rebellious. In the end, I had no choice but to give in to their wishes. So, to be honest, unless it's a matter of principle, we are more about finding a balance. You can't think about eliminating anything. The only thing you can do is utilize these things.

The educational game 'Life' that I'm currently using is a concrete example of how I've transformed gaming into an educational tool and method. And you don't need to worry about addiction at all, because VR games have absolutely no tasks or guidance; it's all about personal exploration. The day you finish the game is the day your character in the game dies naturally. However, if you die unexpectedly in the game, you can be revived by time rewinding, which is arguably the only "cheat" and protection measure for the player's gaming experience in VR games. Overall, I'm using games quite well right now.