***
"Remind me why we're out here again?" a tired man asked, tugging on the straps that held a bundle of logs in place.
"The plot demands it," replied a more energetic man, planting one foot on a jagged rock. He puffed out his chest and gazed dramatically at the horizon.
"Plot? What's a plot?"
"Ah! You see, my dearest friend, the plot is—"
Just as he began his grand explanation, the sky above them tore open. A rift split the air, and golden light poured down onto the two. For a moment, they genuinely believed they were being blessed by their god.
"You see! This is the plot! We are being chosen by the God Luminous! Hahaha!" the energetic man declared, laughing like a madman.
His friend gave him a tired, unimpressed look before sighing deeply. He was too old for this kind of nonsense.
While the two men were having... Whatever kind of interaction that was, a figure descended through the portal.
It was Felix.
"That took longer than expected," he muttered, brushing dust from his coat. He took in the sprawling landscape, eyes scanning the lush green surroundings.
"Different from the usual portals. I'm more used to fire and brimstone... but I'm not complaining."
Then, without warning, a voice echoed in his mind.
[Acquisition of ??? Skill – Genesis: Origin of All – Successful]
[Acquisition of ??? Skill – Mahoraga: Divine Gener&!# – Successful]
[Acquisition of Extra Skill – Space Manipulation – Successful]
[Acquisition of Extra Skill – God Speed – Successful]
[Acquisition of Extra Skill – Monstrous Strength – Successful]
[Acqui–...]
…
…
[Magicle…Error…Retrying…Converting all mana into magicles…successful]
[Magicle Amplification... Successful]
"What the hell?!" Felix just floated as the voice went on and on, the portal above him closed, as if it was never there to begin with.
[Your Existence has been strengthened]
The voice finally stopped, giving him a moment to breathe. Felix was left unaware as a ripple spread out from him, unnoticed by many, but certain individuals felt it.
Mildly confused, Felix tried to think, only to realize his thoughts were moving far faster than usual.
"What the hell is this??"
[Answer: You have entered the Cardinal World. Your existence has adapted accordingly.]
Felix's eyes narrowed. He hadn't expected a reply, certainly not from the same voice that had just blabbered off a dozen system messages.
Curious but cautious, he asked aloud, "Who, or what are you?"
[Answer: I am the 'Voice of the World.' An impartial entity created by the 'Star King Dragon, Veldanva' to manage the Cardinal World.]
"Just great. A dragon. A dragon king at that." Felix groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Don't tell me I'm going to end up fighting another one..."
His shoulders sagged. "Last time I fought one, the damn lizard nearly trapped me there. Good thing those portals stay open even if the planet gets vaporized."
He exhaled slowly. "Alright. What exactly did you do to me, and why are you, an impartial entity, talking wi–"
"Hey!"
The shout cut him off mid-sentence.
Felix paused, his eye twitching. 'Seriously? Can't you see I'm busy here…? Now I just look like some lunatic talking to himself.'
He sighed and facepalmed before slowly descending to the ground.
The energetic man stood tall and proud, while his older companion tried desperately to pull him back and apologize with frantic whispers.
"Don't worry, my friend," the delusional one declared, "they are a divine being sent by the gods to bless us!"
Felix touched down, arms behind his back. "And who might you two… people be?"
The dramatic one stepped forward and bowed with unnecessary flair. "We are honoured to be in the prese—khhhk!"
He was tackled mid-sentence by his companion, who began apologizing on loop like a broken record.
"Well, that was pointless." Felix turned on his heel and strolled off into the forest.
…
"What the hell, man?! We were this close to divine blessing!" The dramatic man gawked, jabbing a trembling finger at his friend. "Heretic! You heretic!"
His companion just stared at him, deadpan.
'Why am I even friends with this idiot?'
…
While Felix was wandering through the forest, he continued to try and as this "Voice Of The World" questions yet,
[...]
"Perfect. You stop answering me now, of all times? Hah... I'll deal with that later." He kicked a loose stone aside and shoved his hands into his coat pockets.
After walking for a while, the tree density thinned, and he emerged into a clearing by a cliff's edge. From here, he spotted a town down below, and even more forest, a lot more forest.
"A medieval one, at that..." he muttered. "So, no plumbing then."
***
"Why would you use tigers to pull carriages?" Felix was stumped, he then saw sparks appear around the tigers, 'Right, magic–les.'
Giving the passing carriages a side glance, he thought, 'I've got nothing better to do.' He decided to follow them. Thankfully, his abilities still work as normal, smoother even.
***
–BOOM–
–BAM–
"Well, at least it leads to something entertaining."
Sat atop a stopped carriage, Felix watched the battle unfold with mild interest.
"Do people keep slimes as pets now? And aren't ogres supposed to be ugly?"
His gaze shifted between the ogre clashing with beast-kin and the one cradling the slime. Then to another, calmly standing by protectively.
'They're weirdly good-looking. And not just the women, either.'
…
They might be holding back, he noted, but still… aren't they a little too weak?
Strangely, the slime seemed to contain the bulk of the magicles in the area.
'Maybe they absorb them? Like king slimes absorbing magic back on Earth.'
…
"And it talks," he murmured as the slime began speaking. A grin tugged at his lips. He rested his chin on his knee, amused.
"You learn something new every day. Haha."
…
"So it was just a test? Some political bullshit," he muttered, watching the slime that shifted into its human form.
"Gluttony, huh? Like the sin?"
***
"Not having a basic information ability is tiring. Is there—"
[Skill Recognition Complete]
[Acquisition of Unique Skill: Great Sage — Available]
[Confirm?]
Felix blinked.
"…Huh. So that's how it works here." He rubbed his chin with faint amusement.
'I didn't create anything… but pulled an already existing skill?'
"What does this 'Great Sage' do?"
[Answer: Great Sage is a Unique Skill that grants advanced cognitive analysis, parallel computation, magical insight, and—]
"Deny." He dismissed the offer with a flick of his fingers.
"No need. I can already do most of that myself."
His gaze sharpened slightly, thoughtful behind the smile.
'So that's what Genesis can do here huh.'
He leaned back against the roof, arms folded behind his head and closed his eyes.
"Still, a voice like that nagging me 24/7? I'll pass."
***
–Yawn–
Stretching his arms out, he sits up rubbing his eyes.
"..."
"I wasn't dreaming then." He looked down from the rooftop at the bustling street below.
"Goblins, and not the disgusting kind, a rarity." Standing he gazes all around, his eyes immediately dart to an immense concentration of magicles. Far surpassing the amount that slime had.
"A city hall?" He grinned. "Now this person might be strong."
Crouching, he leapt from rooftop to rooftop, utterly unnoticed by others, causing no sound or damage as he headed towards the city hall.
Along the way, he noticed a few dwarfs, and surprisingly, a couple of humans as well.
But after some minutes of roof hopping, he arrived at the city hall.
***