Free Web NovelChapter 22: Chapter 22: Moving forward.
Universal Chat
Vikings Goon: Just tackled my first misfortune. How come the entire world got plunged into water right after I spent all that effort evaporating the oceans and revealing land to begin with?
Tripido: That’s an interesting kind of misfortune. So how exactly did you deal with it?
Vikings Goon: Nice one, Tripido. I’m not telling you that, haha. Everyone has their own gaming strategies. You should know that by now.
Tripido: Tsk... you caught on? Well, it’s not like I can’t think of a few possibilities. Maybe you had enough Faith Points to buy one of those premium safe zones for your species?
Vikings Goon: "..."
Axitro: What kind of a misfortune are you guys talking about? How come I haven’t faced any yet?
Volcano: It’ll come eventually. And believe me, you wouldn’t want that to happen. A piece of advice from me, brother—whatever happens, don’t rush into things. Play it cool and think strategically.
Axitro: I don’t know, man... my species is already a little strange as it is. Their complexion is... kind of odd. But yeah, I’ll try doing just that.
Tripido: So, little Vol, how are your two species holding up? Since you’ve got two races, did you end up facing two misfortunes? I’m a little curious how that works.
Volcano looked at the message for a moment before replying.
Volcano: I really shouldn’t be talking about this... but yeah. I had to deal with two different kinds of misfortunes.
Tripido: Damn... that’s got to be rough. It’s a shame there’s no reward for overcoming a misfortune. Well... maybe surviving it is the reward itself since at least we’re allowed to interfere... but still.
Volcano smiled bitterly.
Volcano: I know, right? But... I learned something valuable from it, so it’s alright.
Even though the price... was quite heavy.
Tripido: Is that so? Mind sharing what exactly happened?
Volcano stared at the question for a long while. As someone who loved boasting, there was nothing he wanted more than to tell everyone about the experience he had gone through. However, just as he was about to type, Void Null’s stern warning surfaced in his mind once again.
Never reveal your strategies.
After hesitating for a brief moment, Volcano finally typed his reply.
Volcano: Maybe another time.
Leaving behind his final message, he closed the Universal Chat.
His thoughts, however, refused to settle.
Logically speaking, there was no longer any reason to look.
Gre Ka Go had remained behind to face a predator that no Magnari should have been capable of defeating. There was simply no way he could still be alive after all this time.
And yet...
His curiosity kept whispering otherwise.
...What if Gre Ka Go somehow survived?
What if... he wasn’t actually arrogant?
What if I had misunderstood him from the very beginning?
Volcano sighed quietly before shaking his head.
"Let’s... just take one look."
"It won’t hurt."
With a faint trace of hope lingering inside his heart, he merged his divine consciousness with Volcan before immediately directing his senses toward the settlement where the Magnaris and the predator had once been.
The settlement was...
...empty.
There were no Magnaris.
No predator.
Nor were there any obvious traces that a fierce battle had once taken place there. Silence was all that remained.
Volcano stared quietly for a few moments before letting out a bitter laugh.
"What did I even expect?"
"It must have been days... maybe even months down there while I’ve only experienced a few minutes here inside the Void."
Slowly withdrawing his consciousness, he opened his interface and softly muttered,
"Status."
[GOD NAME: Volcano]
[BASE PLANET: Volcan] freёwebnovel.com
[BASE PLANET LIFEFORMS: 214,907]
[OCCUPIED PLANETS: 0]
[DIVINITY LEVEL: 4]
[TALENT: Meteor Smash — B Grade]
[FAITH POINTS: 195]
Volcano’s gaze lingered on the last line for a long moment.
One hundred and ninety-five Faith Points.
It wasn’t enough.
"If only I had a little more Faith Points..."
"I would’ve bought a Soul Shard."
His voice gradually became quieter as he looked toward the endless Void before him.
"I would’ve preserved your soul..."
"...and when Heaven finally unlocked..."
"...I would’ve given you a place there."
A bitter smile slowly appeared on his face before he quietly closed the interface.
The endless Void returned to its usual silence, yet Volcano remained standing there without moving.
For the first time since becoming a God, he found himself mourning the loss of one of his own creations.
***
-GRHKKKKHKKK!!
The cry of a mid-tier predator echoed throughout the forest as a stone spear pierced straight through its chest.
Gre Ka So, one of Roman’s generational brothers who had chosen to stay behind, slowly pulled his spear free before letting out a relieved huff, quietly wiping the sweat trailing down his cheek.
"Yoshh!! Atere gunoto itro!"
(Yes! I finally did it!)
The happiness swelling inside him was too great to contain. He clenched his fists, pumping them into the air as he jumped excitedly, unable to suppress the joy of finally bringing down a predator by himself.
Roman watched the scene from a short distance away.
After the battle against Vardantooth, he had led the remaining Magnaris to another part of the forest where mostly mid-tier predators roamed. Ever since witnessing that grand performance atop the basalt rock, every Magnari who had remained behind wanted to know exactly how Gre Ka Go had fought something so overwhelmingly stronger than himself.
Thus, Roman naturally became their teacher.
Even the four elders who had stayed behind had willingly placed themselves under his guidance, determined to learn everything they could from the young Magnari.
It had already been a month since then.
Every day they trained relentlessly.
Spearmanship.
Flamebreath.
Hunting.
Movement.
Though none of them could ever hope to reach Roman’s level, each passing day brought visible improvement.
Gre Ka So twirled his spear once before grinning proudly.
"Gretono ree prento inko baine meteroine."
(Let’s see who’ll become my next prey.)
He shouted confidently, completely unaware that another predator had already crawled onto the branch directly above him, its jaws opening wide as it prepared to bite down upon his head.
Before it could move...
Sshhhk!
A stone arrow pierced cleanly through its neck.
The beast dropped lifelessly onto the forest floor.
Roman merely glanced toward the direction the arrow had come from.
It was a weapon he himself had designed.
One better suited for the female Magnaris.
[You have influenced the Female Magnaris by introducing the Bow and Arrow.]
[Reward: 100 Karma Points.]
"Pitzeroko, Gre Ka So!"
(Pathetic display, Gre Ka So!)
Gre Ka Chu called out confidently from atop a tree branch, another arrow already resting against her bowstring.
She released it almost effortlessly.
A second predator collapsed moments later.
Compared to the timid little Magnari she had once been, Gre Ka Chu now carried herself with remarkable confidence. Her posture had become steadier, her movements sharper, and even the way she spoke carried a quiet dignity that hadn’t existed before.
The change hadn’t happened overnight.
Roman had noticed it little by little.
At first it was barely noticeable.
Then, as the days passed, it became impossible to ignore.
About a week after Vardantooth’s defeat, she had approached Roman herself, asking him to make her stronger. She complained that the spear simply didn’t suit her fighting style, so after giving the matter some thought, Roman introduced the bow and arrow, believing it to be a far better weapon for the female Magnaris, whose smaller physiques were naturally better suited for precision than direct confrontation.
The results had exceeded even his expectations.
But that wasn’t the only thing that had changed.
Roman understood the real reason better than anyone.
After all...
He had already received the System notification.
Love.
That single emotion had quietly begun reshaping Gre Ka Chu.
Roman wasn’t dense enough to misunderstand what was happening, nor was he the type to blush or become flustered over something so ordinary.
He understood love far too well.
To some, it became the greatest source of strength.
To others...
It was simply poison.
For those consumed by ambition, it clouded judgment, dulled resolve, and slowly chained the heart to someone else’s existence.
For dreamers, however...
It became the very force that allowed them to surpass their own limits.
Sadly...
Roman belonged to the former.
His ambition had long since outweighed any desire for romance.
Besides...
He wasn’t truly Gre Ka Go.
Nor was he certain such feelings could ever exist between a Creator and his own creation.
Standing quietly beneath the trees, Roman calmly observed the Magnaris as they continued their training. Every so often his gaze drifted toward Gre Ka Chu, watching the maiden who unknowingly carried feelings for him.
She hunted tirelessly.
She trained harder than anyone else.
She pushed herself every single day, believing that if she became stronger, she might one day stand beside the incredible Gre Ka Go.
Never once realizing...
That the one watching over her wasn’t merely Gre Ka Go.
It was the God who had created her. ƒreewebɳovel.com
A rather sinister God at that.
"My heart is as cold as steel."
Roman whispered softly.
"Even if I wanted to use you as one of my pawns someday... you aren’t suited for that kind of role, my dear Chu."
A faint smile slowly curved across his lips.
"But I’m generous."
"So... I’ll play along."
"At least for as long as I’m wearing the mask of a creation."
As though sensing his gaze, Gre Ka Chu instinctively looked toward him.
The moment their eyes met, her face gradually flushed crimson.
She quickly turned away, pretending to focus on her archery.
Roman simply responded with the same gentle smile he always wore.
A smile that only deepened the determination already burning within her heart.
[You have successfully awakened Determination within the Magnari species.]
[Reward: 100 Karma Points.]
