For example, they already possessed sophisticated long-distance communication technology, yet somehow didn't even have something as fundamentally basic as newspapers like in his previous life. They had rudimentary magical projection devices and imaging equipment capable of capturing visual information, yet there was absolutely nothing resembling the film and television entertainment industry that had dominated his former world.
The disconnect between capability and application was frankly baffling.
"Isn't this position a bit too sudden? I'm still just a junior designer with barely any experience," Alto said modestly, trying to process the unexpected offer.
"No, this was a decision reached after extremely careful discussion and deliberation among the council," Christer assured him firmly. "The impact your works have caused is far greater than you could possibly imagine. Nothing remotely comparable has happened in the Dreamscape for thousands of years. Your contributions cannot be understated."
"Then what exactly would my responsibilities entail?" Alto asked carefully.
He wasn't someone who enjoyed being constrained by bureaucratic obligations. If becoming an advisor meant being constantly bothered with endless administrative responsibilities and tedious meetings every single day, he would honestly rather decline the position entirely, prestigious though it might be.
"You don't need to worry about that at all," Kane interjected reassuringly. "It's primarily an honorary title within the temple hierarchy. Unless something genuinely important requires your specific input or expertise, you won't be required to attend functions or report for duty."
Christer nodded in agreement. "Besides receiving a basic advisor's salary, corresponding administrative permissions within the Dreamscape's main network infrastructure will also be granted to you. You'll understand the full scope of those privileges soon enough once the access is granted."
"And in addition," Kane continued somewhat hesitantly, "we were hoping Mr. Alto might consider giving a formal lecture to the temple's design community."
"A lecture?" Alto repeated, surprised by the request.
"That's right. We have carefully and thoroughly analyzed both your published works from multiple angles," Christer explained earnestly. "Elder Gorin, Elder Kane, and I all think extraordinarily highly of your revolutionary design philosophy and methodology. Your approach represents something genuinely unprecedented."
Kane added quickly, "Of course, if you have concerns or reservations about public speaking, we absolutely won't force you. This is merely a request, not a requirement of the position."
The main underlying reason was that Alto's design thinking completely overturned their traditional concepts and established frameworks, even showing clear signs of forming an entirely independent school of thought. This made these veteran designers, who had spent centuries perfecting their craft, extremely curious and eager to learn. It was, in a sense, them shamelessly seeking guidance from someone who could be their great-great-grandson.
"I only have a few small ideas and observations, really. I'm still nowhere near the same level as you masters. I truly don't deserve such extravagant praise," Alto demurred, genuinely uncomfortable with the reverence.
Giving a formal lecture was indeed somewhat challenging for him. It wasn't that he was unwilling to share his knowledge or methodology. He actually hoped the industry would flourish with diverse perspectives and approaches. As for worrying that others might eventually surpass him through learning his techniques, that was practically impossible given his vast repository of knowledge from an entire world's gaming history.
The main issue was that his only real public speaking experience consisted of giving nervous classroom presentations back in school. Standing before a room full of ancient, accomplished elders was considerably more intimidating.
"You're being far too modest, young friend," Christer said warmly. "Your design philosophy makes us old relics feel genuinely ashamed of our stagnation. This is absolutely no small contribution to our field."
After thinking carefully for a moment, weighing the pros and cons, Alto ultimately agreed to their request. The lecture date was tentatively set for three days later, which would give him some desperately needed time to prepare proper material and organize his thoughts coherently.
Before departing from the meeting, Alto decided to share some of his other revolutionary ideas with the assembled elders while he had their attention and goodwill.
He wanted to gauge whether it might be possible to leverage the Dream Network's existing infrastructure to build something functionally similar to internet forums or bulletin board systems from his previous life.
"A forum? What practical purpose would that serve?" Kane asked with polite skepticism.
"Mr. Alto, our Elven Empire already possesses a dedicated magical communication network," Christer pointed out reasonably. "One-to-one communication is extremely easy and efficient through personal communicators. Why go through all this additional trouble and complexity?"
Initially, neither Christer nor Kane seemed particularly impressed by the concept. Wasn't this just creating another shared communication platform? Didn't that fundamentally overlap with the existing function of magical communicators that everyone already owned?
"This forum concept wouldn't be limited to simple direct communication between individuals," Alto explained patiently. "You should think of it as a centralized platform where people can publicly post topics, information, or questions they're interested in, then discuss them openly with anyone who wishes to participate."
He continued enthusiastically, "More importantly, it would allow users to broadcast their viewpoints, expertise, and knowledge to vastly larger audiences than current one-to-one communication permits."
Alto began explaining the fundamental concept of internet connectivity and information networks from his previous life to the two elderly scholars in increasingly detailed terms.
At first, they listened with polite but lukewarm interest. However, the more he elaborated on the possibilities and applications, the brighter their eyes became with genuine fascination and understanding.
"The primary advantage of a forum system lies in its incredibly strong interactivity combined with deep, permanent content accumulation," Alto explained, gesturing expressively. "High-quality informational posts can be preserved indefinitely and their value continuously reused by countless future users seeking the same knowledge."
"For a concrete example," he continued, "imagine I have a specific technical question but don't personally know anyone in the relevant specialized field. I could post that question publicly on the forum for anyone to see."
"Once a knowledgeable professional answers it thoroughly, that exchange doesn't simply disappear. That post remains accessible and can later be discovered and referenced by many other people encountering the exact same problem or question. The knowledge compounds and spreads organically."
Alto progressed from basic internet theory to information dissemination principles, then from information dissemination to professional community structures and specialized knowledge sharing. Although he employed numerous technical terms that didn't exist in this world yet, such as vertical communities, information aggregation, diversified development, and user-generated content, the two elders gradually grasped the revolutionary implications.
Their combined ages exceeded that of Alto's hypothetical great-great-grandfather by centuries, yet at this moment, these venerable masters sat quietly like eager students, listening with rapt attention as this young upstart enthusiastically explained concepts that could fundamentally reshape their entire society.
Could this young man genuinely be some kind of transcendent genius blessed by the goddess herself?
"So that's the general conceptual framework and basic functionality," Alto concluded after his lengthy explanation. "What do you think? Is something like this feasible with our current magical infrastructure?"
Christer and Elder Kane exchanged a long, meaningful glance.
Then they both nodded heavily, their expressions deadly serious.
Of course, it was feasible! More than feasible, it was brilliant!
At this moment, they found themselves completely unable to adequately describe Alto's revolutionary concept with conventional words. "Genius" was truly the only remotely fitting term that came close to capturing the magnitude of what he'd proposed.
"However," Christer said carefully, his tone shifting to cautious pragmatism, "this matter is far too important and carries too many implications to approve of it immediately. We'll need to convene the full council and discuss the specifics in extensive detail."
Kane agreed solemnly. "This involves numerous complex issues, including granting unprecedented permissions within the Dreamscape's main world infrastructure. Although we personally believe the concept is absolutely excellent and transformative, we cannot authorize something of this magnitude on the spot without proper deliberation."
They could only temporarily suppress their obvious excitement and enthusiasm until the proper channels were followed.
With everything important already discussed and nothing left requiring immediate decision, Alto stood up to take his leave.
Elder Gorin walked over, accompanied by Helena, who looked considerably more subdued than usual.
"Mr. Alto," Gorin began with grandfatherly warmth, "Helena has undoubtedly caused you quite a bit of trouble and headache these past weeks."
"No, absolutely not at all!" Alto protested immediately, waving his hands in emphatic denial.
"Helena has genuinely helped me tremendously with countless tasks. How could managing the shop and coordinating business possibly be considered trouble?"
Gorin sighed deeply, a complex mixture of pride and melancholy crossing his weathered features. Girls really did grow up far too quickly, didn't they?
Still, he possessed tremendous confidence in Alto's exceptional talent and character. Perhaps following this young prodigy would actually help his beloved granddaughter grow and develop even more thann sheltering her at home ever could.
"I'll have to trouble you to continue taking care of her going forward," Gorin said with genuine sincerity. "I hope you'll be patient with her occasional stubbornness and spirited nature."
"Oh come on, Grandpa!" Helena interjected with exasperation. "I'm not a child anymore! Stop worrying and fussing over me so much!"
The atmosphere instantly became more cheerful and relaxed, except for Elder Gorin, whose expression suggested he was internally reconsidering his life choices in raising such a headstrong granddaughter.
It was entirely his fault for spoiling her so thoroughly from childhood. This child bore absolutely no resemblance to her respectful, obedient parents, always being so brazenly cheeky around him without the slightest fear.
Helena didn't bother dwelling on any of that uncomfortable family dynamic. She simply grabbed Alto's arm and prepared to make their escape before her grandfather could start another embarrassing lecture.
Alto could only smile helplessly at the awkward situation. The entire scene felt disturbingly like formally meeting a girlfriend's family elders for approval, leaving him feeling slightly embarrassed despite the professional context.
On the journey back to the shop, the atmosphere inside the carriage was somewhat subdued and contemplative. Even the usually lively and talkative Helena remained uncharacteristically quiet, lost in her own thoughts.
Alto had truly witnessed something extraordinary today. He'd known Helena wasn't from an ordinary background based on her mannerisms and education, but he genuinely hadn't expected her family connections to be quite so monumentally impressive.
"Miss Helena," Alto finally said, breaking the silence, "you really gave me one hell of a surprise back there."
"Hmph. Now that you know exactly who I am, are you finally a bit scared?" Helena challenged with false bravado.
"Not particularly, no."
"Hmph. Then I demand a raise immediately!" she declared.
The instant the word "raise" left her mouth, Alto was suddenly wide awake and alert.
"Young people shouldn't focus obsessively on money and material compensation," he said with exaggerated solemnity and wisdom. "First, ask yourself whether you've truly worked hard enough and demonstrated sufficient value. We should concentrate on doing excellent work and building real skills first. One's abilities and expertise are their most valuable wealth in the long run, not temporary salary..."
Alto continued pontificating seriously.
In short, two words summed up his actual answer: "Absolutely not."
"You damned stingy cheapskate of a boss! I'll bite ya to death!" Helena lunged at him with mock fury.
Back at the shop, Alto quickly immersed himself in intensive preparation work. Over the next three days, he needed to organize a coherent lecture covering his design philosophy without revealing too much about his transmigrator origins. He also needed to draft a comprehensive framework proposal for the forum system, complete with technical specifications and user interface mockups.
That part wasn't overly complicated, fortunately. He only needed to design a simple but functional operational template that the temple's technical specialists could actually implement.
Using successful platforms from his previous life as direct reference models, he would strategically modify and combine features, essentially merging the strengths of Reddit-style communities with traditional bulletin board forums into a unified hybrid system optimized for this world's unique magical infrastructure.
That technical design work wasn't particularly difficult for someone with his knowledge and experience.
The real challenge, however, was that implementing actual network connectivity between users would require relying entirely on the Dreamscape's existing magical framework, which operated on fundamentally different principles than electronic infrastructure. Translating his vision into terms magical engineers could understand and execute would require considerable effort and careful explanation.