Rosen stared blankly at the long-overdue "golden finger" that had finally appeared after sixteen years.
What in the world was this?
All those years of experiments—none of them worked? And it only activated when he was literally seconds away from death? Who could possibly handle that kind of stress?
Even if he'd somehow guessed the trigger, there was no way he'd ever dare test it on himself.
Still, Rosen noticed something had changed—the world around him looked subtly different now.
Time, which had frozen moments ago, began to flow again.
The malevolent spirit's grotesquely distended jaws snapped shut with sudden force!
But the expected scene—his head being devoured whole—never came.
Instead, light appeared.
Unprecedented, all-encompassing light.
It erupted from Rosen's body like a shattered fountain, flooding outward in every direction. The instant the light touched the spirit, its form disintegrated into nothingness—no ash, no trace left behind.
The brilliant radiance illuminated a corner of the sky outside his window.
An invisible shockwave radiated from Rosen as its epicenter, dissipating only after reaching a full kilometer in every direction.
Every evil spirit within that radius vanished instantly—erased without a single speck of dust remaining.
Pedestrians on the sidewalk seemed to sense something odd. They glanced up at the sky—but aside from the evening sunlight appearing unusually intense and bright, everything seemed normal.
Life in the neighborhood carried on as usual.
Only Rosen stood there, panting heavily, staring in disbelief at his own hands.
At that moment, a warm current surged through his entire body—his limbs and mind tingled with a cozy, invigorating sensation, triggering a cascade of extraordinary changes.
Every muscle, bone, vein, and nerve—inside and out—was being rapidly enhanced, far surpassing the physical limits any ordinary human could ever achieve through training.
Simultaneously, his consciousness seemed to detach from his physical form, soaring upward—through the ceiling, through the clouds, piercing the atmosphere—until a pale blue, watery planet came into view.
Before he could examine the softly glowing celestial body more closely, his awareness plummeted back down, re-entering the atmosphere and finally reuniting with his body.
The transformation ended there.
But Rosen knew—he had been utterly reborn.
He casually raised a hand, and a golden radiance burst from his fingertips, flooding his bedroom with light.
A strange, indescribable power coursed through him—a sensation unlike anything he'd ever felt, yet overwhelmingly euphoric.
"Is this… magic? No… divine power?!"
His voice trembled with excitement.
Sixteen years!
Golden Finger, do you even know what I've been through these past sixteen years?!
His earlier resolve to quietly "make money in another world" instantly crumbled.
This wasn't an ordinary slice-of-life world—the attacking spirit was undeniable proof of that!
He did have a cheat ability—it had just arrived fashionably late.
Forcing down his surging joy and adrenaline, Rosen turned his focus to the newly awakened "Tree of Life."
Only then did he realize that his personal transformation was merely one small facet of what the Tree of Life offered.
It possessed several other distinct abilities:
Fantasy Manifestation Lv. 1: Consume divine power to temporarily manifest imagined objects into reality. The higher the object's mystic potency, the more divine power required—and the shorter its duration.
Life Pact: Form a master-servant contract with a target, turning them into a Divine Follower.
Grace of the Spirit Foundation: Bestow miracles upon Divine Followers, elevating their spiritual rank.
Divine Realm Construction: Once a sufficient number of Divine Followers is gathered, construct and upgrade a personal divine realm.
Sacred Words: Infuse spoken language with divine power at the cost of divine energy.
These were the Tree of Life's current capabilities—but this was only a general overview.
For instance, once a Divine Follower's rank was elevated through the Life Pact, Rosen himself would receive a synchronized boost—greater and faster than the follower's own enhancement.
He suspected this mechanism existed precisely to prevent followers from ever surpassing their master.
"Tree of Life… Life Pact… Divine Followers…"
Rosen took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm.
Then it hit him—why these terms felt so familiar.
Wasn't the Tree of Life the very same "Kabbalistic Tree of Life" from biblical mythology?
And weren't "Divine Followers" essentially a form of… angels?
All these abilities aligned perfectly with descriptions of the Abrahamic God—though compared to the omnipotent deity of scripture, Rosen was still incredibly weak.
"So… if I want to grow stronger, I'll need to recruit followers."
He mulled it over silently.
Given that malevolent spirits existed in this world, his chances of successfully forming pacts would be significantly higher.
Just then—another voice abruptly echoed in his ear.
A translucent panel materialized before his eyes:
[Invitation to join the Multiversal Chat Group]
[Yes / No]