World Keeper

When Jonas returned to his office, he looked curiously over the file that the Another World Research Group had sent him. Inside, it detailed the properties of the ‘Origin’ evolution, which was currently only available to those who only had a single divine domain. Despite being among the first mortal gods, Jonas had never been interested in aiming for a second domain. After all, he had everything he wanted with just one.

As for the matter of a Saint Energy, Jonas didn’t have one of those, but Chelsea offered to supply him with a suitable one if he agreed, so that wasn’t a problem. What it really came down to was what an Origin really was.

I’d be giving up my divine domain, in exchange for an entire universe where I could alter the world laws, and then manifest any effect related to those laws into the real world? He thought to himself, crossing his arms and thinking what he would do. This was, admittedly, a great offer. In the message, it was written that they were reaching out to any of the subordinate deities of the Greater Pantheon who had only a single domain.

Ultimately, Jonas sent his rejection. He could not think of any domain that would allow him to keep his current community alive after ascension, while letting him continue to grow it in the future. If he accepted the offer, either his current community would perish when his divinity was consumed, or he would lose the ability to bring more people into it as needed.

Strength had never been Jonas’s driving goal. Even when he was first researching divinity as a mortal elf, he had been doing so to benefit others. There was no way that he would accept such an upgrade if it meant sacrificing that.

Shaking his head, he stood up, turning to leave the office. He could sense the warp gate activating, so it would soon be time for Lily to appear.

While Jonas refused the evolution offer, the same could not be said for some of the others that received it. In total, there were four people that accepted the offer. The first was Blank, the artificial intelligence that Ashley had helped to turn into the God of Games. He expressed an interest in this evolution as soon as Chelsea made the offer, eager to see what options he would be able to explore as the Origin of Games.

The second was Philia, the Sylvan Goddess of Cities. Although Philia was not actually a subordinate deity in reality, she was considered one by the Greater Pantheon. This was because it had been Terra that had insisted on her cultivation into godhood, and guided her subtly along the way.

Finally, the last two were Pietra and Atraxi, the slimes that Jonas had once used for his divinity experiments. They had become the God of Evolution and the God of Slimes under Aurivy’s care, and had been protecting the slime planet that Aurivy created. Though, it was now planets, after the more recent invasion caused the original world to multiply.

Chelsea was ecstatic when she received these replies. There weren’t many subordinate deities of the Greater Pantheon to begin with, and many of them had already pursued a second domain. Others, like the High Mother of the Metong, had too much to worry about currently to consider an evolution. She managed an entire galactic empire, after all.

Of course, there were a few that surprised her with their rejection, such as Jonas. Still, this was ultimately a matter to leave to the individuals. Now, it was time for her to figure out who would be the first to receive the treatment.

Looking through the four candidates, Chelsea couldn’t help but pay more attention to Blank. Given the nature of the upcoming invasion, having an Origin of Games on their side would be a massive help. However, before they could take advantage of that, they needed to lay the proper groundwork.

Thus, Chelsea sent a message to Ashley, requesting her to have her team create two things. First, they would need a proper guide for game creation through system code. For this, Ashley’s team was far more capable than Chelsea was. Secondly, they needed to create a system that functioned as an admin console, allowing isolated areas to have independent game systems.

While the last request sounded more difficult, Chelsea believed that it was actually the easier of the two requests. After all, they already had items that could isolate a given area and override the local system. And she knew that Ashley had a command console in her testing world. All that she had to do was combine those two into one system, and that would be enough.

In the meantime, Blank would have to wait for his Origin advancement, as that would be a crucial system to put in his world. As for Atraxi and Pietra, while an Origin of Evolution would be great, it was a rather complex subject. She would have to think for a while longer on how to properly handle those two.

Finally, that left Philia. Of the four, her domain was the simplest to put into an Origin. At the same time, there were many uses for an Origin like herself both in battles and out of them. However, the most important aspect was that they already had all of the system resources that they would need for creating her inner world.

We’ll need the Schematic Creator for the DC system, and those construction drones to kick things off. Oh, I should probably confirm the specifics of exactly what she wants her Origin domain to be. Chelsea thought to herself, before closing her eyes. Philia, is now a good time to talk?

Philia wasn’t incredibly surprised when she received Chelsea’s message. She had only just replied to her that she would be willing to accept the upgrade, so it made sense. Presently, she was sitting within her city in Sanctum, atop a giant tree located at its heart. I’m free. What did you need?

About your upcoming ascension. You don’t strictly need to keep the same domain as you have with your divinity. Though, it would make things a lot easier if it was at least related. Before we start planning the details of your inner world, I need to confirm whether you want to keep the Cities domain, or if you want to change to something else like Construction or Civilization.

Philia blinked at that. She had read that it was possible to choose a new domain in the file that Chelsea previously sent, but she had honestly not even considered doing so. From the moment she was born, she was Philia of Cities. That had been her identity throughout her life, and to change it at the final step felt… wrong.

I would like to maintain my current domain. She responded after her brief hesitation. I assume that there is no problem with that?

Nope! Are there any systems that you’d like us to prepare for you? Currently, I’ve got the Digital Conversion System ready, as well as a mod for it we made a while back, which allows for the creation of blueprints through visualization. You should be able to use those to create any form of city you want. As an added bonus, I have a few construction drones that are rather versatile.

Philia hesitated again when she heard Chelsea’s words. Why would I require the drones if I have that first system? She asked in confusion, feeling that the two were a bit redundant.

Partly a matter of preference. The drones themselves can link together to form different constructs, so it would allow a more variable design. For instance, you could use the system to construct a grand city in an instant, with towers set up to defend against invading monsters. Alternatively, if you get enough of these drones, you can have them link together to form the city. If anything is damaged, they will repair themselves, and they can change from buildings to giant cannons at a moment’s notice.

That did indeed make things a bit easier to understand. However, Philia still believed that she would get more use out of the system in the long run. I understand. As for other systems… would it be possible to integrate the modified Digital Conversion system into the old Kingdoms system? If you do so, you could make a kingdom management system with automated construction, couldn’t you?

There was a mental chuckle from Chelsea at that. Good thinking. If it wouldn’t put half of the labor force out of a job, we might have had to make that change in the main world. Are there any other systems that you would like to include? It will be easier to do so now than after your world is established.

Philia nodded her head, taking a moment to think it over. Is it possible to create a safety zone? For instance, a system that prevents monsters from being able to enter a city without meeting special conditions, and prevents those inside from attacking one another.

Hmm… That caused Chelsea to pause. We have the definitions for cities in the system thanks to the Kingdoms system. We could make a barrier that keeps monsters out. However, something that prevents any damage from being inflicted on people by other people would be a lot more challenging.

Philia let out a sigh, shaking her head. Just the monster barrier is fine, then. She thought, before hesitating again. Wait, never mind… that type of barrier would also keep out tamed monsters, wouldn’t it?

I can set it so that it only targets monsters that aren’t connected to a person’s system. However, there will be a limit on the barrier’s strength. Anything strong enough to damage a world barrier in the void would be able to break through the city barrier without too much trouble.

That was fine with Philia. If something was strong enough to destroy the barrier surrounding an entire universe, how could one city ever hope to withstand that level of power? With a nod, Philia finished the conversation after being invited by Chelsea to visit the lab, already thinking about what type of cities she would create in her personal universe.

Of course, most of her cities would need a population to reside in them. Although she could easily envision many automated cities functioning without oversight, the true heart of a city was its inhabitants. Should I get some of my sisters to come to this new universe? She thought to herself, before shaking her head.

Most of the cities that she would be constructing would be more modern than what Sylvans were typically used to. Though, with that said, she wasn’t sure how this evolution would influence her on a personal level. Would she still be able to give birth to trees of her own? Or would becoming an Origin override all of her original racial characteristics?

Philia didn’t have the answers to these questions, and knew that Chelsea wouldn’t either. After all, she was the first Sylvan that would undergo this procedure. However, it had been quite a while since she had created her own trees to begin with. Ever since Giles and Sprigga began spreading the solar seeds that Philia had given them, she had started to relax.

Admittedly, she still did her research in World Seed, and that wouldn’t change. Even as an Origin, she would continue to seek out new ways to help her kin to use their natural gifts. Though, if becoming an Origin removed those gifts from herself, she would have to find other ways to make up for it.

With a sigh, she stood, preparing to make her way towards Chelsea’s lab. If she was going to undergo this procedure, she would first need to obtain a suitable Saint Energy. She was quite curious what sort of energy Chelsea would prepare for her to match her desired domain.

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