"Smack!"
A firm flick to the head snapped the ancient snake out of his daydream. The Master, still mid-lecture, frowned in annoyance.
Ian shrank back, lowering his head as his tongue lightly flicked against Ereshkigal's hand in a gesture of sincere apology.
Alright, that troublemaker can wait—this isn't the time to worry about him. Focus on the lesson.
Seeing how quickly the little guy fell back in line, Ereshkigal let it slide and smoothly returned to the topic. Ian, now listening with renewed focus, nodded often and scribbled down notes with a soft scratch of his stylus.
"As I said before, the older the Mystery, the more powerful it is."
"In truth, the process of species evolving and growing stronger is essentially a return to the origin of life."
"According to the prophecy on Marduk's Tablet of Destinies, after the gods were born, the Mesopotamian world would pass through four ages: the Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age…"
"Each transition diluted and suppressed the bloodline strength of various species."
"For example, with humans, their physical capabilities gradually weakened over time. Their control over Mana diminished, and their connection to the gods was steadily severed."
"Eventually, most of the Mystery within humanity would be stripped away, and they'd become ordinary, mundane beings."
Ian rolled his stone stylus and scribbled a quick note.
"Most?"
Ereshkigal gave a slight nod, her gaze drifting upward toward the skies above the Underworld, her expression thoughtful.
"While the overall trend in species' Mystery is one of decline, there are always a few exceptional individuals who can swim against the current."
"In theory, Ether levels drop, bloodlines dilute, and perception is limited."
"Yet those defying the current are able to distill techniques for growth through inheritance, learning, trial, and experience."
"To simplify, if an ordinary adult human in the Golden Age had a base power level of 1000, then in the Silver Age it would be 500, Bronze Age 100, and Iron Age just 10."
"Humans born in the Iron Age are typically confined to this low threshold of power."
"But a rare few, by awakening latent potential, reviving ancient bloodlines, or mastering exceptional wisdom, can push beyond."
"Surpassing 100 moves them to the Bronze tier. Reaching 500 is the Silver tier. Hitting 1000 brings them back to the Golden tier."
Ian tilted his head, lifting his writing board with a drifting thought.
"If a Golden-tier player exists in a world full of Iron-tier rookies, wouldn't that just be free kills?"
Ereshkigal nodded without hesitation, her expression serious.
"Of course. If someone in the Iron Age manages to refine their bloodline and master their abilities enough to rise to the Golden tier..."
"Their power would far exceed the standards of the age! A single person could be a match for an entire army!"
"Such people among humanity are often called heroes, saints, or war gods."
The ancient snake couldn't help but think of the post-divine age of hidden gods—of Moses parting the Red Sea, Paladin Roland cleaving mountains with Durandal, and Sigurd slaying dragons. He pondered quietly.
Truth be told, such disparities have always existed. The gods of Babylon must've seemed just as unreachable to the people of their time.
The older the being, the higher their starting point and achievements. With each successive generation, bloodlines decayed and Mystery faded, widening the gap into something absurd.
To the point that the difference could be as vast as aliens compared to cavemen.
Ian let the information settle, then glanced at his slender, coiled body and scribbled another question onto his tablet.
"What about us?"
Ereshkigal gently stroked his head, smiling in a way meant to reassure.
"It's a similar principle."
"For you, the tier progression goes from Beast to Magical Beast, Phantasmal Beast, and finally, Divine Beast." (This roughly matches the original setting in Fate.)
"But because beasts are diverse and massive, with much faster reproduction and generational turnover than humans, their bloodline deterioration is even more severe."
"So all four types have existed since the Golden Age, but their population sizes fluctuate depending on the era and environment."
"And Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven, has always stood at the peak of Divine Beasts!"
A glimmer of playful mockery surfaced in Ereshkigal's blood-red eyes as she smiled faintly.
"Of course, different species have different strengths—some excel in battle, others in creation, some in stealth. Rank alone doesn't determine strength or outcome."
"Even if you're still a bit weak, just a Magical Beast who's only recently learned to use Mana…"
"If you somehow crawl into Gugalanna's belly, take a bite out of its heart, and inject your venom, who knows—you might just stand a chance at victory."
She offered that with a small smile, then resumed gently stroking Ian's cool scales as she continued the lesson.
"Now, it's Q&A time."
"Little one, if you've got questions, go ahead and ask."
Ian let his Master ruffle his head scales as his mind spun into motion. He took the downtime seriously—this was his chance to ask questions and get answers.
"What era is Uruk currently in?"
"Hmm… probably the late Silver Age."
"By this time, the Mesopotamian world had already stabilized. Under heavy restrictions, gods could no longer descend freely to the surface where humans live."
"We can only appear through spirit possession or as avatars, and we've gradually severed ties with humanity."
"When gods can only respond faintly, offering weak revelations without truly interfering in the world, that's when heroes rise and saints begin guiding the future of mankind."
"That marks the beginning of the so-called Bronze Age—when humans stop relying solely on the divine and start forging civilization with sword and flame."
"Eventually, the gods vanish entirely, Mystery remains only within fixed bloodlines, and most people regress into mediocrity. That's when the darkest era arrives—the Iron Age."
Hmm. Isn't that basically how the modern world works?
Which explains why future Magi, in order to prevent the complete disappearance of Mystery, ingeniously developed systems of internal marriage to purify and preserve their bloodlines.
The result of that effort was apparently something called [Magic Crest].
"I thought this was still the Golden Age. I mean, with that Hero King's aesthetic—it's a bit too vintage, don't you think?"
Ian thought of a certain gold-clad showoff and scratched out a playful jab on his writing board. To his surprise, Ereshkigal nodded.
"He might look young, but that guy's been around a long time. He was already born in the Golden Age."
"So how old is he, exactly?"
Ian was genuinely curious now, his inner gossip fiend fully ignited.
"That guy has ruled Uruk for over 500 years—he's outlived more than a few Phantasmal Beasts!"
"Honestly, unless he kicks the bucket himself, I doubt I'll ever see the day he goes down—even if the Underworld completely cuts ties with the surface."
Ereshkigal rolled her eyes with a sigh, resting her chin in her hand, clearly frustrated at having no outlet for her lingering grudge.
"Okay, but are the people of the Silver Age actually strong?"
Ian was still curious. Besides Gilgamesh—that overpowered lunatic—and the ghosts in the Underworld, he hadn't met any real Sumerians yet.
Since he'd have to interact with them eventually, he needed to get a sense of what he was dealing with.
Ereshkigal gave it some thought before casually answering.
"Hmm… how do I put it. They're decent, I guess..."
"Your average soldier could use combat techniques and resonate with both bloodline and Ether."
"Priestesses and priests were capable of using Magecraft, summoning spirits, or communicating with the gods."
At that moment, she caught Ian deep in thought and frowned, flicking her finger sharply against his forehead.
"What are you thinking, huh? It depends on who you're comparing yourself to!"
"Did you know Sumerians had a tradition where ordinary folks would hunt a Magical Beast in the Cedar Forest as their coming-of-age ceremony?"
"A little thing like you? You'd be soup stock!"
Ian flinched, his eyelid twitching as he vaguely recalled—
In the future, once the Absolute Demonic Front of Babylonia had been established, Uruk's soldiers managed to repel wave after wave of rampaging beasts, defeating foes that vastly outnumbered them.
Even considering the protective advantage of the city walls, those enemies—created in the image of the Eleven Offspring—were leagues above the typical Magical Beasts from the Cedar Forest.
Which only highlighted how absurdly strong Sumer's Silver Age warriors were!
And those were just normal, fully grown Silver-tier humans. If he ended up running into someone who could awaken their bloodline or cast Magecraft or divine arts…
Well, in his current state, he'd basically be walking into a slaughter.
Yeah, better focus on training. At least until he got a handle on even a sliver of the Authority of the Beast, he'd do well to stay far away from the surface.