Starting with the defeated female knight

— Haha, an ancient god has expressed his willingness to fully support her research, not only by sharing the results but also by providing additional subsidies.

If anyone dared to say that in the association, the mental health assessment team would be knocking on their door the next day.

But as it turned out, it wasn't a dream, nor was she delirious; it was reality.

"Um, do you have any other conditions, such as me serving you, or anything else...?"

You? Serve me?

Hearing her words, Tentacle was shocked and pointed to the pile of garbage around her and the messy room.

Look at this pigsty of yours! If I hadn't cleaned it up for you the other day, this place would be a cockroach greenhouse by now.

"I'd be content if you could just support yourself and stay alive, let alone serve me? How dare you say such a thing?"

Yes, although her research skills are quite good, Uli is actually not very good at personal life. She can't even cook, let alone tidy up her room.

But this isn't really a problem. After all, back in the capital, servants of lower bloodlines were plentiful. Especially as the vice president, although he couldn't compare to those academic cliques, it wasn't a problem to keep a few maids to help with daily life.

As for her usual behavior, when she's not focused on research, she behaves quite normally. Although she's not good at housework, she can manage to take care of things.

But once you get involved in research, especially research that interests you, then...

Green will never forget the first time he entered the room of this female mage, who looked like a human being from the outside, and the scene that resembled a junkyard.

And as the other party gesticulated wildly to explain the situation to him, the pair of underwear that fell from the sky, still damp when they landed on the tentacles, were also present.

Silence fell over the room for a moment.

After that, Green, unable to bear it any longer, decided to take her on a thorough cleaning.

Then, when I was halfway through cleaning, I told her to go to the side and stop making a mess, and then I finished the rest of the work myself.

It was a very strange scene.

It was so bizarre that Uli didn't know how to describe it, and she couldn't even complain about it, fearing that the mental evaluation team would come knocking on her door the next day.

"You mean, an ancient god is willing to unconditionally support your research, and even tidy up and clean your room because he thinks you're sloppy?"

"Vice President, have you been conducting any experiments involving mental pollution lately? No, let's do a moon sugar test first."

Let alone others, even if someone tells her this, she would doubt their mental state if she hadn't experienced it herself.

but now......

He's technically skilled, intelligent, wealthy, has excellent communication skills and a clear mind. He's physically capable, willing to support her research, and even cares for and looks after her privately...

Because of her increasingly close relationship with Grin, a rumor has recently spread among the investigation team that Uri is so deeply involved in the study of the ancient gods that she is being mentally corrupted and is about to become a member of the Familia.

Uli wants to clarify that this is indeed a rumor.

Because she has long been in the form of Lord Grim, not just about to become a familia, but already is.

As for the human race and the identity of the vice president of the Mage's Guild?

Uri could only wish them good luck.

In fact, it wasn't just Uli; other magicians were similar.

Although they didn't receive the same treatment as Uri, after spending some time in Dawn City, they all became somewhat corrupted.

Yes, the capital is very prosperous, especially the Mage's Association, where the living and research environment is top-notch.

The problem is that the highly academic Mage Guild is no longer the paradise for researchers it once was.

Selfish scheming, exchanging favors, factionalism, and mutual hostility...

Cliques determine one's future; resources and discourse power are monopolized; personal connections are more important than achievements; not only is the hierarchy rigid, but worst of all, in order to maintain the interests of the old school of thought, there is also the suppression and exclusion of all kinds of innovative ideas...

More than two hundred years ago, various schools of thought flourished within the association, resulting in countless research directions and achievements.

But now, not only are there a few mainstream schools of thought that have existed since then, but the resources within the association are also basically monopolized by them. Without entering that circle to pay homage, even the most basic research is difficult to conduct.

Those profound knowledge, those sophisticated instruments, even the best of living resources, are irrelevant to those outside that circle.

Coincidentally, those who take on missions to investigate the demonic tide and need to earn extra money to support their research are basically those who are excluded from the 'mainstream'.

What will this group of people feel after arriving in Dawn City, especially after choosing to trust Green and gaining his affirmation and support?

The answer is obvious, isn't it?

Therefore, although the church was the first to turn to Grimm, the members of the Mage Guild were actually faster at falling into evil.

Moreover, because they were all excluded from the mainstream circle, these mages did not have the bad temper or arrogance of the mages in the capital. Furthermore, since they had to acquire resources on their own, they had a lot of practical experience.

If you put this group of people in the capital, they would probably be poor, low-level mages.

But for Green, this group of people is exactly the kind of research talent he needs most.

Moreover, after siding with Green, this group of people experienced a feeling of being 'valued' that they had never had before in the capital.

This further accelerated their depravity and corruption. Because of their research, they had a lot of contact with the residents of Dawn City, and gradually they began to get used to the rules of Dawn City, unconsciously becoming some of the residents of Dawn City.

They themselves are even aware of this, but they don't mind.

After all, when it comes down to it, nobles have bloodlines, churches have faith, but mages have nothing. They can be said to be the force with the lowest sense of identity with the empire and humanity, so naturally they don't care much about those trivial matters.

But it doesn't really matter.

Although the mages fell quickly, the church didn't actually hold out much longer.

After all, from the very beginning, the two church leaders were already in a state of collapse, having already given away half of their resources.

And because of their faith, even if the church is corrupt, greedy, depraved, and has a whole host of other problems, the very nature of this power dictates that no matter how depraved they become, they must still uphold 'ideals' and 'beauty'.

Especially after the papal reforms, the Church's faith shifted from faith in God to faith in miracles themselves, further intensifying this "objective rather than personal" approach.

Now, although Green's status as an ancient god makes them somewhat resistant, the things he has done, if placed within the church, would definitely become legends. As time goes by, this city might even become an image of a 'great miracle'.

Moreover, it's better if they don't know anything; the deeper they go, the more they know and understand, the more shocked and awe-inspiring they become about the city and Green's actions.

This is a city of ancient gods, a city of humans, and a miracle created jointly by ancient gods and humans.

Perhaps there are hidden dangers behind this, perhaps this ancient god will one day go mad and destroy everything.

However, as a church that reveres miracles, they never condone malicious speculation about things that have not yet happened, much less falsely accuse others or God of sins.

This is their bottom line, and it is also the foundation of the church.

Green wasn't quite sure what they were thinking, but it was always a good thing that they were willing to cooperate.

But what happened next left Green somewhat confused.

Wait, what do you mean you've already been able to use my deeds to perform miracles?

Faced with Green's doubts, Edith did not offer much explanation, but instead took out the holy book and began chanting incantations.

Then, a tentacle formed from holy power slowly materialized, grinding across the ground in front of it and leaving a deep mark.

Just like how He had drawn water for the people in the camp long ago.

However, the appearance of the tentacles and their behavior seem somewhat different.

"As long as the faith is strong enough, the priests and knights of the church can bring miracles back to life through the guidance of holy power."

This is written in a church book.

Edith didn't know the specific principles behind them.

but......

"Watering is very important when growing flowers."

In the church garden, faced with the question of the tentacles, the old man picked up a watering can.

"But there is no river near the garden, so it is really difficult to get water."

"While the insects were still alive, faced with a garden that was about to dry up, they chose to cut open their own bodies and use their blood to continue the flower bed."

"But this is not a long-term solution, especially after they left, the garden lost its blood and became increasingly withered and dry."

"In an effort to save the garden, the gardeners tried many things, such as fetching water from afar, searching for soil, and even bleeding themselves, but all of them ultimately failed."

"Until the very end, when everyone was about to despair, someone discovered that water is not only found in distant rivers and blood."

"In fact, dew can condense on every flower in the garden, but the amount is very small and it will evaporate when the sun rises."

"But even the smallest dewdrop, if there are enough of them, can clump together and form a river."

"So we dug little pits to guide the dew to gather."

"Although individual dewdrops are easily evaporated or absorbed, once they gather in one place, neither high temperatures nor soil can affect them much."

"Then, as the dew gradually gathered and the pits gradually became larger."

“The water that was originally only used to irrigate the flowerbeds can, under the gardener’s guidance, become a torrent to wash away and crush anything that threatens the garden.”

The water in the shower head has run out.

The old man paused for a moment, then shook his head.

"In fact, from the very beginning, there was no miracle at all."

"It's just a small puddle formed by the gathering of dewdrops."

Volume 1: Chapter 53: The Tentacle Dungeon

After the teams from the Mage's Guild and the Church fell one after another, only the nobleman remained in the entire investigation team, struggling to hold on.

This is not only because they are the most resistant force to the ancient gods, but also because compared to the other two forces, they really don't have anything worth mentioning.

Although they are aristocratic families specializing in mysticism, they don't actually understand any mystical knowledge; their only mystery lies in their bloodline.

Putting aside bloodlines, they are not as intelligent as mages, nor as devout as the church, and even their combat skills are closely related to bloodlines. When it comes to teaching, they are not as good as proper warrior professionals. They are not only useless, but also utterly incompetent.

Although in reality, the nobles weren't entirely without anything of note.

Possessing the strongest power and enjoying the best resources, even without deliberate training, it's hard for them not to develop other strengths over time.

For example, Elise's management, her artistic endeavors, and certain strange and unusual things.

But nobles are nobles. As proper old emperors of the capital, who would want to talk about these things with a bunch of low-class peasants? Even Elise's management application, although they could understand it, didn't seem to have any meaning to it.

Inferior bloodlines are inferior bloodlines. Although these people in Dawn City seem strange and can pose a threat to some border nobles.

But that's not because of their inferior bloodlines, but because they were protected and influenced by the ancient gods, and thus became something like a clan.

At least, that's what the nobles thought.

But even this nobleman was assigned a job by Green not long after.

I created a tentacle dungeon, but I need people to test its strength.

[Since you guys have nothing else to do, why don't you give it a try?]

The Tentacle Dungeon was something Green had thought of before, but only recently came up with.

To put it simply, as Dawn City grew stronger, Green gradually realized that the training grounds he had previously invested a lot of effort in building were becoming increasingly inadequate.

It's not that the training ground is bad, but it's just a training ground. Although it's fully equipped and can allow other professionals to complete various basic training, that's all it is.

Beyond that, adaptability, situational awareness, and most importantly, practical combat experience...

These are things that cannot be cultivated in the training ground.

Moreover, it's not just the people in Dawn City; in fact, when it comes to practical experience and combat skills, Green is also quite outstanding.

The reason he hasn't suffered any setbacks so far is simply because his stats and mechanics are too overpowered. It's the kind of situation where others might struggle to even get a skin to shine, while he can easily crush them with a single slap. His strength lies in hard work and dedication.

With these two factors combined, Green came up with the idea of ​​creating a tentacle dungeon.

On the one hand, it can be used as a training ground for actual combat to increase the soldiers' combat experience; on the other hand, it also makes it convenient for him to test various tentacles and improve his combat skills.

The project has been shelved because his hand manipulation skills are not precise enough, and he has been too busy lately.

Recently, with Edith running the cathedral and Elise helping to manage Dawn City, he has finally been able to free up his hands to deal with this project.

As he said, the current progress has reached the stage where testing is required.

The nobles, who are out of place in the bustling Dawn City and possess considerable strength, are naturally the best test subjects at present.

"...Tentacle Dungeon?"