As Sunny had the ingrained habit of keeping the God Chat open,
his divine gaze lingered on the stream of frantic messages,
immediately after the momentous announcement of the "Realm of Advancement."
A palpable tremor of curiosity and uncertainty rippled through the divine community.
"Realm of Advancement sounds good for the world, but what does it actually do?" one God typed,
their query appearing almost simultaneously with the System's global notification.
"Will it truly help our worlds to advance more rapidly?" another God questioned,
their words echoing the collective hope and confusion.
A veritable fury of questions, wild speculations, and anxious inquiries began to stir,
erupting across the vast, ethereal expanse of the God Chat.
The chatter was instantaneous, overwhelming, and filled with a divine urgency.
Then, a new message flashed, cutting through the cacophony.
"Guys, I found a portal in my world!" one God exclaimed,
sharing an accompanying image that instantly materialized in Sunny's divine perception.
It depicted a mesmerizing magical phenomenon:
a swirling vortex of space distortion,
a gateway shimmering with arcane energy.
It looked strikingly similar to the entrance of a profound dungeon or a vast, unexplored subspace.
Instantly, it clicked for Sunny,
and indeed, for all the other Gods in the chat:
this was unequivocally the door to the Realm of Advancement.
The questions quickly shifted from theoretical to practical.
"Do we need to send our lifeforms into this world?" one God inquired,
their digital voice tinged with hesitation.
"Upstairs, your IQ is that of a child and you call yourself a God?" Joker, ever the mischievous prankster, typed in response,
unable to resist making sport of another God's apparent bewilderment.
He was, as always, fond of making light of anyone's misery or perceived foolishness.
"Don't start with your bullshit, Joker, this is not the time to joke!" another God retorted sharply,
their frustration palpable at Joker's ill-timed mischief.
The gravity of the situation was too immense for petty squabbles.
"Guys, we can only try by sending our lifeforms some revelations," a more pragmatic God suggested,
their words seeking a path forward amidst the uncertainty.
Then came a lament, tinged with divine despair.
"But the portal in my world is millions of kilometers away!" one God typed,
their message conveying immense frustration.
"With vast mountain ranges, treacherous deserts, and impenetrable forests in between, how can my lifeforms possibly travel there?"
He lamented his misfortune, a cruel twist of fate placing such an insurmountable distance between his nascent civilization and the Realm of Advancement.
"You can ask for God Cosmos's help," a new voice chimed in, calm and authoritative.
It was Zir.
"He can easily manifest cars, trucks, ships, even helicopters with their fuel, and his fees are also surprisingly cheap."
Zir's message, and those that followed, served a very specific purpose.
The current, unspoken task for the rapidly expanding Cosmic Alliance was simply to promote Sunny's business,
to be his unofficial, yet highly effective, marketing arm.
They actively helped Sunny,
even though Sunny himself had not issued any direct commands or even subtle suggestions for them to do so.
They were clearly, and willingly, showing Sunny their unwavering loyalty,
working diligently as his devoted "lackies."
Nyx, Reflection, and other key alliance members also chimed in,
their messages echoing Zir's sentiment,
praising Sunny's efficiency and affordability.
The Cosmic Alliance had now swelled to an impressive 360 members,
a testament to the success of their previous collaborative ventures.
And all of them were keenly aware of Sunny's generosity.
The 10% market discount on his manifestations was certainly a good incentive,
but the main, truly invaluable benefit was the priority in business.
This meant their manifestation orders would be fulfilled first,
ahead of the potentially vast queues of other, non-alliance Gods.
Moreover, Sunny had consistently shared many of his unique insights within the private Alliance Group.
He had revealed profound truths he had gained directly from the System—
insights like the temporary 10x evolution boosts he could grant,
the staggering fact that 300,000 Gods existed within this specific universe (implying more in others),
and crucial details about the universal grading system for talents and items.
Each of these pieces of news was entirely new to them,
information they knew was not readily available even in the general God Chat.
This exclusivity made it abundantly clear to them that Sunny possessed a truly high-grade talent,
a source of knowledge far beyond their own.
Thus, they were more than happy to follow Sunny's lead,
recognizing his unique value and benevolent leadership.
Sunny noticed this fervent display of loyalty and chuckled softly to himself.
He quickly typed a message of thanks to these dedicated alliance members in his private Group Chat,
his gratitude genuine.
While everyone else was still focused on the raging discussions in the public God Chat,
speculating wildly about the Realm of Advancement,
Sunny bypassed the chatter.
He called out directly to his System: "System! What is Realm of Advancement?"
The System's reply was instantaneous, concise, and profoundly impactful:
[Realm of Advancement]
[Grade : S]
[Description : A gateway to the Universe of no Gods, where the authority of Gods can't reach. Only lifeforms are allowed to enter this realm and fight for the opportunity.]
Sunny's mind reeled slightly at the revelation. A universe where the authority of Gods held no sway? That was a concept both terrifying and exhilarating. His immediate follow-up question was equally pressing: "System, what opportunities?"
However, no System notification replied.
The silence was absolute, as usual, when he delved too deep into its cryptic workings.
Sunny sighed, a familiar gesture of mild frustration,
and shifted his divine gaze towards Veridia.
He searched for the newly revealed portal,
his perception sweeping across continents.
He found it, shimmering faintly,
situated prominently in the vast central continent of his world.
Sunny sighed again.
The distance was truly vast,
stretching millions of kilometers between the portal's location and the established territories of his human and elven tribes.
It presented a significant logistical challenge.
He then took a moment to observe the humans,
and found that their advancement was truly astonishing,
a direct consequence of the Innovation Buff he had bestowed.
They had developed rudimentary carts for transport,
simple yet effective boats for riverine travel and fishing,
and had even fashioned crossbows for more efficient hunting and defense.
Their settlements now featured sturdy stone huts,
signifying a transition from nomadic existence to permanent communities.
Farming techniques had become more sophisticated,
leading to greater food security,
and they were actively engaged in breeding animals for sustained resources.
The emergence of a coherent writing system was also evident,
a monumental step for knowledge transfer, history, and the development of rudimentary laws.
Their magical development was also progressing at an incredible pace.
They had already developed many basic wooden staffs,
each carefully etched with mana stones to significantly increase the effectiveness of their magical spells.
Apart from many newly developed spells,
the nascent development in alchemy and rudimentary array formation was also visibly progressing.
Simultaneously, Sunny shifted his focus to the elven lands,
observing their distinct path of accelerated evolution under the same Innovation Buff.
The elves, with their inherent grace and connection to nature,
were exhibiting advancements that uniquely blended magic with their environment.
Their settlements, nestled deep within ancient forests,
were now expanding with structures that seemed to grow organically from the trees themselves,
intricately woven and shaped by nascent earth and plant magic.
They had begun to discover new, more complex spells,
not just for combat, but for nurturing the land,
purifying water sources,
and even for subtle manipulations of the weather within their territories.
Their mastery over mana was deepening,
leading to improved mana conduits that channeled natural energy directly into their communities,
and the creation of small, stable mana lakes.
Enchanted items were becoming more common among them:
armor intricately reinforced with nature's magic,
tools that aided in magically cultivating rare herbs,
and delicate magical communication devices that allowed swift contact across their vast forest domains.
Early forms of arcane academies were also beginning to take shape,
where elven mages meticulously documented and shared their magical discoveries.
Their craftsmanship, already renowned for its beauty,
was now infused with subtle enchantments,
creating objects of both aesthetic and magical power.
Thus, clearly showing the widespread and diverse advancement of Veridia,
all due to the potent influence of the Innovation Buff.