Alright. Time to make an entrance.
I didn't hold back. Not one bit. Why would I? Let the world feel me. Let everything out there—the monsters, the trees, the very air—know that something new had just been born. And it wasn't something to be trifled with.
I walked out of the cathedral ruins, and I let my aura flare. It wasn't a conscious effort; it was just me existing at full power. A terrifying, divine pressure exploded outwards from me, silent and invisible but heavier than a mountain. The ground at my feet didn't crack; it just sank down an inch, compressed under the sheer weight of my presence. My long coat whipped around me as if caught in a hurricane, though the air itself was dead still.
I didn't care what this energy was doing to the surroundings. Not my problem. If anything sensed it and wanted to come investigate, let them. It would save me the trouble of finding them later.
I decided to dial it back. Not my power, but my perception. Using [Panoptēs] to see everything everywhere was like reading a million books at once. For now, I just wanted to see. With my own new eyes.
I looked around. And… huh.
It was kinda boring.
Barren land stretched out in front of me. Rocky soil, a few stubborn, withered shrubs. Not much to look at. I glanced back over my shoulder at the cathedral I'd just left. Still a crumbling ruin.
Wait a second.
I distinctly remembered one of my wishes. The big one. The city. Aethelgard. The giant plateau, the impenetrable fortress city. I'd pictured it perfectly in my head when I made the deal with God.
So… where was it?
'Did it not work? Did that cheap skate God rip me off?'
The thought flashed through my mind. But in that same instant, a deeper part of my awareness, the part connected to [Arkhē], whispered the answer. It had worked. The city was here. It was all around me.
It was just… invisible.
Not camouflaged. Not hidden. It was in a state of pure potential, waiting for my command. The [Genesis Forge] had created its essence, its structure and incredible power, but its final form was paused. It was like the world was holding its breath, waiting for me to tell it what my kingdom was supposed to look like.
'Oh. Okay. So it's not broken. It's just in customization mode. Cool.'
But this was annoying. I had a question, and I had to dig around in my own soul for the answer. I needed a better way. I needed… a helper.
I immediately knew what I wanted. I wanted that skill. The one that made everything easy. The one that could answer any question, manage any process. I wanted Great Sage.
But… condition. I promised I wouldn't take anything that was meant for someone else. And that amazing skill was definitely meant for a certain slime. Taking it would be a dick move, and it would probably piss off God enough to void our whole contract.
But I didn't need to take it.
I had the ultimate cheat code. I had [Arkhē]. I had admin access.
'Fine. I'll just make my own.'
With a thought, I accessed the Divine Registry. The infinite library of every skill in existence. I found what I was looking for right away: Unique Skill [Great Sage].
I couldn't just copy-paste it. That would probably still count as stealing its destined future. So I didn't copy it. I read it. I studied its source code, its fundamental principles—the unparalleled computation power, the analytical engine, the ability to communicate with the user.
And then, I created a new file. A new skill. I built it from the ground up, using the same core principles but making it my own. I stripped out the parts that felt too much like its future personality and kept the pure, glorious utility. It took a bit of focus—my mind working in parallel streams of thought to get it just right—but in the real world, it was barely a second.
A new window appeared in my vision, its text crisp and clear.
<< Confirmed. Unique Skill [Scholar] has been acquired. >>
Perfect. No fuss, no big announcement. Just a new tool in the toolbox.
'Alright, [Scholar]. First question. Is my assessment about the city's state correct?'
The answer came instantly, not in a voice, but as a stream of pure understanding directly into my mind.
<< Affirmative. The foundational structure of the fortress-city Aethelgard has been established utilizing the [Genesis Forge] sub-skill of [Khaos]. Its spatial coordinates are fixed to this location. Its defensive and operational matrices are active and awaiting final aesthetic and architectural definition. The current "invisible" state is a default setting to prevent uncontrolled environmental alteration until the user's will is applied. >>
Yeah. Just as I thought. It was all here, waiting for me. I just had to design it.
I grinned. This was better. Now I had someone—well, something—to talk to.
"Good," I said out loud, my voice cutting through the silent, oppressive aura still radiating from me. "Now we're getting somewhere."
I finally took a proper look at the barren land in front of me, my new eyes sharp and focused.
"Now... let's see who else is home."