The Red Dragon Lord is OP, but Insists on a Pop Culture Invasion!

Chapter 256: Chapter 214: Great Study Session for the Elderly

At the foot of the Holy Mountain lay the Holy City, the capital of the Pope’s Country.

The name itself was very characteristic of the Church—simply, the Holy City. The definite article was added for special emphasis, just like with the official name of the Church itself.

It gave off the impression of "*The* Holy City" and "*The* Church."

In fact, before the faith in the Magic Goddess became singularly dominant, the city was called Saint Sair City.

Back then, the Continent was littered with "holy cities." There was Saint This City and Saint That City; faiths of all sizes had their own holy cities.

There were even opposing sects whose Holy Lands were in the same city, like rival sports teams sharing a home stadium.

Later on, these cities all "voluntarily" changed their names.

Of course, there were some that didn’t want to change their names. They were all deemed heretics, and soon had the Judgement Army knocking at their gates.

The Holy City wasn’t the largest city on the Continent, nor was it the most populous or economically developed. But it was, without a doubt, the city with the most wonders.

There’s a saying that "wonder-spamming leads to ruin," but all the great nations of history loved to build wonders. The only difference was how many they built.

The Pope’s Country was particularly passionate about this.

In their minds, the more difficult a wonder was to construct, the more it demonstrated their devotion to the one true god.

Their logic went like this: although to a great god, mortal lives are no different from ants, and She wouldn’t much care about any specific group of them...

...if one colony of ants managed to build an anthill several stories high, anyone passing by would have to stop and take a second look.

And right now, the greatest wonder in the Pope’s Country had to be the Holy Magic Cathedral.

This cathedral, covering seventy thousand square meters, took nearly three hundred years to build, with countless famous artists contributing to its construction. It was a feat unlikely to be surpassed for a very long time.

Even with future advancements in productivity, it would be difficult to undertake such a grand project ever again.

The technology might permit it, but the cost would be prohibitive.

The grand cathedral was built without the use of a single slave.

The subjects of the Papal States considered it an incredibly sacred and glorious undertaking, so they fanatically participated. Those with money donated funds, and those with strength offered their labor.

It was even more convenient than using slaves. Slaves, after all, had to be fed. The faithful brought their own meals.

At this moment, the Bishops from every region had been recalled to gather in this sacred cathedral.

A gathering of all the Bishops was a sight typically reserved for the election of a new Pope.

But not today. Today, they were here in accordance with an oracle from the Magic Goddess to get to know, understand, and learn about the Network.

It was practically a continuing education course for the Church’s elderly.

Several hundred Bishops, with an average age of just under sixty and all powerful figures in their own right, were now gathered in a large, temporarily converted classroom to learn how to use the Network from scratch.

The training would last several weeks, after which the Bishops, once they understood the material, would return to their respective dioceses to spread the knowledge.

Fortunately, the network Zog had launched was a highly user-friendly version from the get-go. If the Divine Remains Network still required command-line inputs for every action, the old men and women in the classroom would have had a tough time mastering it in a few weeks.

In stark contrast to the elderly students seated below, the lecturer on the dais was a young man.

Priest Andrei.

He was the person in the entire Church most closely involved with the Network. He had even participated in game development, creating the first game to make Toto, the "King of Games," eat humble pie: *Holy Mountain Journey*.

The infamous torture game about climbing a mountain while being armless and legless.

This game successfully inspired a host of amateur developers, who then produced a slew of shoddy, poorly made games whose primary goal was to torture the player.

Toto was the biggest victim of this torture game bandwagon. Ever since "Let’s Play with Toto" became a regular show on Demon Vision, she had truly earned the title of Red Stone King.

On her show, the games she had to play were chosen by viewer requests.

All sorts of torture games, all sorts of familiar suffering...

Priest Andrei walked to the lectern. He wasn’t nervous facing so many Bishops who far outranked him; on the contrary, he was a little excited.

’I really am the one who understands the Magic Goddess’s true intentions,’ he thought. ’Games are also a channel for spreading the faith.’

Now, he would demonstrate his complete understanding of evangelism to this group of people who had once doubted him.

"Today, we’re going to discuss a very important part of online entertainment: gaming."

His tone was full of confidence.

When it came to games, he was the Church’s absolute authority.

His understanding of games was ahead of its time—or at least, that’s what he believed.

"Some of you might say, ’Aren’t games just a simple form of entertainment? Their only purpose is to make the player happy.’"

Priest Andrei sermonized.

The Bishops in the audience nodded. After receiving the oracle, they had all taken the initiative to experience the Network for themselves, including the games.

The Church was a competitive environment; when an order came down to attend a class, nobody was foolish enough to wait for the actual lesson to start studying.

Most of the Bishops who had tried the games, whether they personally enjoyed them or not, had to admit they were a relaxing and rather addictive pastime.

The addiction wasn’t as severe as that from an Alchemist’s wicked potions, but it could easily become a part of one’s life.

"No!" Priest Andrei declared loudly. "You are mistaken! The purpose of a game is not to make the player happy. It is far more complex than you realize. Open your minds. Tell me, what do you think is the most important aspect of a game made for the Church?"

"Is it... immersion?"

A white-haired old woman asked, her voice uncertain.