Free Web NovelChapter 9: Chapter 9: Emergence of the first Intelligent species.
The Universal Chat had become something of a living document.
Roman had noticed this early—the way certain gods posted constantly, performing their progress for an audience, while others vanished for long stretches only to return when they had something worth saying. Over time, the chat had developed its own rhythm, its own social hierarchy, entirely separate from the divine one.
He scrolled through it now from his normal consciousness, letting the familiar patterns wash over him.
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Volcano: Guys. GUYS. Here’s something eye-soothing for you—click the attached images and see for yourselves.
Volcano has attached four images.
Curiosity quickly got the better of many gods.
The images revealed four distinct zones, each teeming with thriving creatures—beings that, by Earth logic, would have undoubtedly been classified as Monsters.
Kyubbiii: What happened? What are those things crawling around the lava?
Volcano: My species. All of them. They’re not microbes anymore. Not even early multicellular life. I just merged my consciousness and... it seems they’ve evolved and diversified to the point of becoming many different creatures. And that thing near the lava ridge? Those are fins—or, well, not fins as we know them. They’re just built different haha.
Axitro: What an enviable view you have there, Volcano... I’m still stuck at the multicellular stage.
Volcano: Keep it up, dude. Maybe then you’ll reach me.
Tripido: Quite the boasting you’re doing there, little Vol. Care to take a look at mine?
Tripido has attached several world images.
Roman clicked on them.
What surfaced before him was a group of humans—male and female—moving together with unmistakable coordination. They hunted with clear purpose, surrounding prey far larger and fiercer than themselves. The very fact that they intended to bring it down bare-handed was the kind of spectacle capable of stoking anticipation even in a god.
Guardian: Holy fuck, mate. You’re raising actual humans?? That’s so dope!
Axitro: The game is so freaking unfair...
Volcano: Damn. There’s always someone better, huh?
Tripido: Huhuhu... this is only the beginning. Soon, I’ll be receiving tribute from them.
Strategic: Hello, Mr. Tripido. If you’re willing to share more information about your world and the kinds of resources it can offer, perhaps we could join forces and establish a company dealing in magical tools? I already know how to process such resources, and I believe your world has real potential. GM me if you’re interested—we can figure out how to make your world great together.
Kyubbiii: Sounds like a scammer lol. Anyway guys—where’s Nox? He’s been quiet for a while now.
Volcano: RIGHT?? I bet he’s busy actually managing his world unlike us mediocre gods.
Kyubbiii: I hope he replies to my GM. I need to ask him something important.
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As the chat gradually drifted back toward the topic of Nox, Roman shifted his attention away and back toward Volcano’s lava-filled world.
His thoughts, however, lingered elsewhere.
Humans.
Roman frowned slightly.
That’s bold of Tripido to reveal.
Does he not know about the future Civilization Wars? The planetary occupations?
Among the countless mortal species in Godcraft, humans were naturally among the weakest—if not outright the weakest. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Physically fragile. Slow to adapt. Mediocre in nearly every natural category.
Yet it was precisely because of that weakness that humans had become one of the most coveted species to invade, conquer, or manipulate. Civilizations built around them rarely survived untouched.
So what exactly is he playing at? Revealing humans this early?
Is he that arrogant? That proud?
Or worse... just stupid?
In any case, it didn’t matter to Roman.
Not yet.
He quietly filed the information away at the back of his mind before merging his divine consciousness with the world.
He had not visited in what felt—to him, within the stretched subjective time of the void—like a very long while.
And the world that greeted his awareness was no longer the same one he had left behind.
It was still the same planet. Lava seas burned at its core while basalt shelves stretched across darkened plains, and highland depressions continued cradling their mineral pools. Yet the geography had transformed dramatically. What had once been a single precarious landmass surrounded by molten seas had expanded into three distinct geological formations.
Continents, by any Earth standard.
And life had filled every corner of them.
From solitary microbes to creatures so enormous their silhouettes seemed capable of touching the sky, Volcan teemed with life. Within the molten depths, creatures of all varieties moved through glowing rivers of magma—from smaller, fish-like Magnari to colossal predatory species ruling the lava seas.
Across the continents, cooler mineral regions, and scorched heat belts alike, something was always moving.
Always hunting.
Always surviving. freēwebnovel.com
"It’s almost time," Roman murmured quietly into the void. "The billions of years of accelerated evolution are nearly over."
Refocusing his divine gaze upon Volcan, he began searching.
Patiently.
Methodically.
He scanned for any anomaly, any spark—the kind of behavioral deviation that preceded intelligence.
It took centuries of planetary time before two distinct leads finally emerged.
Ironically, both had developed from opposite directions: one among the Silicari, Volcano’s creation, and the other from the Magnari—Roman’s own.
Among certain predatory Silicari, something had subtly shifted.
Before, they hunted, ate their fill, and discarded the remains without thought.
Now they preserved meat.
When prey became scarce, they rationed food across future days as though they had already calculated the odds before acting. Wastefulness slowly disappeared, replaced instead by something deliberate.
Measured.
They had also begun displaying their kills before their peers rather than consuming them immediately, almost as if pride itself had entered the equation.
As though being seen mattered.
The Magnari, meanwhile, had changed in quieter but equally striking ways.
A branching species—underpowered by Volcan’s standards and prey-type by nature—had begun adapting beyond simple instinct. Though weaker than most of their kin, they compensated through speed and sharpness, which by human standards would still make them devastating predators.
Yet it wasn’t their physicality that captured Roman’s attention.
Across several generational cycles, these Magnari had begun deliberately scavenging the leftovers of larger predators rather than competing directly. They hunted only prey reliably weaker than themselves and avoided unnecessary confrontations.
Every decision felt strangely considered.
Deliberate.
As though awareness had begun replacing instinct.
And then came the detail that struck Roman most of all.
They had begun using the broad, heat-hardened leaves of molten trees to cover themselves—specifically their genitals.
As though they had become conscious of being seen.
As though something akin to shame—or perhaps self-awareness—had quietly taken root.
"Any moment now," Roman whispered.
Withdrawing his divine consciousness, he observed the world from afar.
One minute passed.
Then two.
Then five.
Roman remained motionless, his gaze fixed upon the red-glowing world of Volcan.
Unblinking.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[The first intelligent species has appeared in the world: Volcan.]
