Anser browsed the Spirit Net. At first, listening to everyone heap praise on him was somewhat entertaining, but after a while, it started to get boring.
When it came to the art of language, the people of Faerûn were a little lacking in creativity.
'People from my previous life were much more talented at this.' He was starting to feel bored.
Compared to the internet, the Spirit Net's current features really weren't much to look at.
'It lacks entertainment features.' He was well aware of that.
If a phone could only be used for communication, then at best, it would just be a tool.
What truly kept users coming back was always entertainment.
Right now, the most active section of the Spirit Net was the forums. Sharing, arguing, flame wars, talking shit... The activity there was astonishing.
But plenty of people didn't like hanging around forums.
After thinking for a moment, Anser summoned Sakkors. "Sakkors, add two more entertainment features: novels and music."
Text and sound were basic applications of telepathy, so they wouldn't place much of a burden on Sakkors or the mythallar.
"Collect storybooks written by others and music they've performed, then make them available to everyone?" Sakkors quickly understood the distinction between novels, music, and knowledge.
"Right." Anser explained carefully, "News emphasizes timeliness and truthfulness, while knowledge is relatively rigorous. Novels are things like epic legends, love stories, biographies of famous people, and personal fantasies. Articles, short stories, novellas, and full-length works are all fine. Just categorize them properly."
"Anyone can write novels. They can be free or paid, but the price has to stay low. Use the same revenue split as knowledge—thirty-seventy."
"Music needs to be recorded first. Instrumental music, folk tunes, folk songs, hymns, court music, battle songs, poetry—they're all fine. But make sure there's some quality control. At the very least, it has to be listenable..."
Sakkors pondered for a few seconds. "What about bards' inspirational songs?"
"A recording can't preserve their magical effects, can it?" Anser asked in puzzlement.
Bards believed that the entire multiverse had been created through the "Words of Creation," and that this primordial power still echoed through the depths of the cosmos to this day.
Their music was a way of manipulating those echoes, using them to inspire their companions and evoke magic.
"If only the sound is preserved, it can still provide a tiny bit of inspiration. For it to have a genuine effect, the Spirit Net Mark would have to reproduce the magical effect, which would consume considerably more power."
"Then forget it. Music already has a unique power of its own. Recording the sound alone is enough."
Music was one of the most important parts of human cultural history. It could not only provide a pleasurable experience, but also influence people's emotions and minds.
But for ordinary people, music was a scarce resource.
The cheapest way to hear it was to go to a church and listen to hymns and prayers. Almost every church had a choir.
"I understand. This isn't difficult." Sakkors's tone remained calm.
Anser had complete confidence in him. Sakkors's limited experience meant he didn't understand how the internet had developed, but his intelligence and mental capacity were absurdly powerful.
No matter what the task was, Anser only had to give him a few pointers, and Sakkors could do an excellent job—usually even better than Anser expected.
At that moment, the moonlight holy symbol on Anser's chest suddenly lit up, followed by a telepathic message.
{Anser, you did very well.} Sehanine's voice was warm and gentle.
Anser froze for a moment. This was only the second time Sehanine had spoken to him of her own accord. The first time, she'd merely given a "hmph," and he'd thought she was angry with him.
{Do you mean the battle at Suzail? I only killed a mere two thousand cannon fodder. I've still got a long way to go,} he said modestly.
{The results themselves are secondary. You've made enough of an impact.} Sehanine sounded quite satisfied.
She had several Chosen, yet not a single one of them truly satisfied her.
Anser was much more straightforward in the way he handled things. Whenever he made a move, he went big, giving off an uninhibited, flamboyant air of someone who would throw down the moment he met an enemy, without a care in the world.
And yet, he rarely went out or showed himself. On any given day, he might casually cross thousands of kilometers, so even if someone wanted to assassinate him, they wouldn't know where to find him.
{As long as you're happy.} Anser tightened his grip on the holy symbol, the corners of his mouth lifting.
He'd gotten a Crystal Temple and an Artifact from her for free. Whether out of sentiment or obligation, he had to get something done for her, or he'd have a hard time justifying himself.
{Do what you think is right. Trust your own judgment,} Sehanine replied. {However, the orcs are merely Gruumsh's minions. Only by killing those Chosen can you truly clip his wings.}
{I'd like to, but as you know, I'm only a mortal.} Anser immediately left himself an escape route.
{You've already done very well.} As always, Sehanine provided him with all the emotional validation he could ask for.
Then she changed the subject. {I can push for the Holrewen Federation to join the Lords' Alliance. Are you interested?}
{I haven't thought that far ahead yet,} Anser answered honestly.
Waterdeep had previously invited him to discuss the matter as well, but he hadn't responded.
Joining the Lords' Alliance had both advantages and disadvantages. The Alliance had plenty of rules, but when a genuine catastrophe struck, the assistance it provided wasn't exactly impressive.
Wasn't Baldur's Gate a perfect example?
Retaking Baldur's Gate was certainly difficult, but for the various lords to provide nothing more than a little money and supplies felt far too perfunctory.
Still, all of them had perfectly legitimate reasons. Everyone had problems of their own and simply couldn't spare the attention to help others.
Sehanine heard the hesitation in Anser's voice. {Think about it some more. I've already notified the Silver Marches. They'll help you, and they'll also publicly recognize and promote the Spirit Net.}
{Thank you, my lady.} Anser understood that Sehanine was expressing both goodwill and approval.
Silverymoon was jointly governed by humans and elves, and Sehanine's influence there was extraordinary. One of her Chosen might even hold a high-ranking position.
If the Silver Marches actively embraced the Spirit Net, it would be enormously important for the Spirit Net's expansion across Toril. At the very least, ordinary people's acceptance of and trust in it would rise considerably.
The Spirit Net's northern coverage already encompassed most of the Silver Marches, while to the east it covered all of Sembia. The timing was perfect.
{Keep up the good work. If you can eliminate the Chosen of Gruumsh, Talos, and Lolth, I'll have another reward for you.} There was a hint of temptation in Sehanine's voice.
{I'm looking forward to it.} Anser gave her a half-sincere, half-perfunctory answer.
The moonlight holy symbol dimmed as Sehanine severed the connection.
"Can she sense my location?" Anser called out to Sakkors.
"Probably not." Sakkors wasn't entirely certain.
After all, he'd never been a god himself, so he had no idea what sort of divine powers deities possessed.
Anser rubbed his chin and fell into thought.
It seemed Sehanine had already recognized his value and was preparing to invest more heavily in him. What came next would depend on whether he could pull off something big.
Like killing a Chosen.
'I can use the moonlight holy symbol to secretly search for traces of Chosen first, then pick an easy target.' He quietly began making plans.
The d20 had undergone obvious changes after devouring divinity. If he fed it a few more wisps, perhaps it would give him a pleasant surprise.
Ding—
Two message notifications popped up on the Spirit Net.
One was a work report from Graham, stating that several groups of nobles from the former Claw city-states had approached them and requested to join the Federation.
The other was a private message from a stranger claiming to be Duke Stelmane, asking whether he was really Anser.
'Duke Stelmane? He's not dead?' Anser was somewhat puzzled.
After Baldur's Gate fell, there had been reports that all three Grand Dukes had perished.
Later, someone revealed that Grand Duke Ravengard was still alive, while the other two Grand Dukes had nearly had their entire families wiped out by the drow.
'My username is way too obvious. I should change it.'
He shook his head slightly.
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