《I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm》 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Prologue I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Prologue Please read thements for an Author''s Note! :D ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The white, frosty coastline of Antarctica finally revealed itself on the horizon after 49 hours of sailing. It was a rough journey- the small fishing boat I was being smuggled on was clearly not suited for this harsh climate, but it was all someone with thirty-thousand dors in student debt could afford to spare on such a frivolous trip. It was winter break in my Connecticut state college, leaving me with an entire month without the worry of sses of any sort. Before I''m sent back to that horrible ce, why shouldn''t I use this time to cross something off my bucket list? With this thought in mind, I scraped together the few remaining funds I had and took a trip to the town of Ushuaia on the southern tip of Argentina. Though it was a beautiful city sandwiched between gorgeous snowy mountains and the giant blue sea, it was merely a stepping stone to my final destination- the world''s coldest desert, Antarctica. Not only would such a trip give me a ton of bragging rights, but it would also let me aplish my dream of ying with penguins. Using the little Spanish I remembered from high school, I manage to find a guy who would take me for rtively cheap on his fishing boat, under the condition I make a delivery for him upon arrival. "Even though it''s technically Summer down here, not even the winters up north get this cold..." I muttered as freezing ocean spray sshed my face. If my bag wasn''t waterproof, I''d be screwed. Speaking of which, the water has gotten a bit rougher, hasn''t it? It was a bit odd seeing the water which had been so kind thus far behaving so unruly. Contrary to my worries of an iing storm, the sky was clear as far as my eye could see. Technically speaking, even if one were to approach we would reach the shore long before it arrived. That thought was quickly put into doubt when a strong icy gust sted the hood off my cold head. As if motivated by the feat, the waves gradually began to tumble more enthusiastically. "Ten cuidado, chico! Algo no esta bien!" a shout red from the bridge, warning of the unusual situation. Despite his call, there was not much I could do besides grab a nearby rope and keep myself steady on the intensifying waves. Ice cold water continuously sshed onto the deck, as the boat violently rocked on the sea. My god, that''s cold! Come on, we''re so close to the shore. We only have to make it through about another twenty minutes of whatever this is and we''ll be fine. A chill suddenly went down my spine. Reflexively, I dove away from where I was standing, sshing onto a cold puddle on the deck. A skinny bright green light shot down directly where I was standing a moment before. The heck was that!? Am I seeing things? I must really be pathetic if a bit of rough water is making me hallucinate. I took a deep breath and stood back up, steadying myself on the wet boards. The warmth of the bright green sun seemed tofort my freezing face. Wait... "Oh sh- !" I leaped into the middle of the deck before I could finish speaking, barely avoiding another glowing beam. Okay, I guess I''m not going crazy after all, but what the heck are those things!? Nowpletely on guard, I ignored the freezing water sshing my sides and carefully looked above me. A moment passed with nothing suspicious in my sight. Aside from the sound of the waves bashing the boat, it seemed peaceful. That moment turned into two, but I refused to let my guard down. I had full confidence I would not hallucinate the same thing twice, nor was I stupid enough to believe whatever was targeting me would give up so easily. Unlike whoever is attacking me, I''m not on a time limit. Once I get to shore, I should be able to escape whatever these things are. I just need to keep my guard up and- "There!" With that shout, I hopped to the left andfortably avoided the beam, only to slip on the wet flooring while another beam flew over my head from behind. They shot two at once! That''s cheating- fight like a man, you coward! "Hay m¨¢s luces sobre tu, chico!" Shoot! There''s more of them!? There wasn''t even time to respond as I put all of my energy into flopping around and dodging the falling beams. Unlike earlier when they fell down one by one, lines of beams followed me resembling machine-gun fire. My back eventually hit the mast of the boat after a few minutes of desperate iling, which I quickly used to regain my standing. It was obvious theck of traction would not allow this stability tost, however. A ring of beamsunched towards me from all directions leaving no room to dodge, but just before they were about to reach, the boat suddenly turned and crashed directly into a wave. Not missing the lucky opportunity, I pushed off the ground with all of my strength. Inbination with the force from the impact, this jump flung me double the usual height and my foot barely managed to escape the highest beam. "Gracias para ayuda!" I called out to the captain, who gave me a thumbs-up as Inded. With the help of the captain swerving the boat erratically, my desperate fight continued for several minutes longer. The freezing water that was now flooding the deck kept me frigid despite the intensive exercise, but my exhaustion was steadily growing. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the snowy shore was quickly approaching. Come on! We''re almost there, I need to push through this! "Viva para los ping¨¹inos!" I screamed to give myself motivation. With a rejuvenating burst of energy, I continuously side-stepped the iing green beams, but as their numbers continued to grow, the margins of error steadily decreased. Even the rough motion of the boat that previously came to my aid was beginning to be a hindrance on the still intensifying waves. By now the water on the deck had gotten to the point where my entire ankles were below the ice-cold water and it was increasingly difficult to move. Suddenly, a massive wave crashed into the opposite end of the boat sending a burst of water directly at me. With a m, I was flung into the wooden railingpletely drenched. By the time I got my senses back, it was toote. The beams were zooming towards my fallen and soaked body. It''s such a shame... only a few more minutes and we would have made it. There was no other option left. With a smile, I looked at the captain who had a look of pity stered on his face. "Lo siento, gracias por el viaje!" I yelled before throwing myself over the railing just before the beams crashed into the deck. The moment my body hit the water, only one word appeared in my mind: cold. Not even the sshing on the boat was anywhere near this level of freezing. Though my muscles instantly began contrasting, it would still not surprise me if I froze before I drowned. That being said, my heavy winter gear gradually began to pull me further into the sea. Through the dark waves, I could see the bright green beams beginning to gather above the water, forming what resembled arge cone. As I stared helplessly, I felt something brush against my arm. Exposing my eyes to the frigid water, I noticed a ck and white acquaintance had decided to keep mepany. ...I guess my effort wasn''t for nothing after all. You''re even cuter than I could''ve imagined. The adorably tiny penguin swam around me curiously, immediately thawing my frozen heart. I slowly reached out and pulled the small creature into a hug, just as the point of the cone shot through the water. Thanks for giving me this happiness in my final moments. With that thought, my vision was turned bright green. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 1 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 1 Author''s Note inments like usual :D ------------------------------------------------------------------- What felt like several heated impacts barraged my body. I heard that getting shot feels like a burning sensation, but the bright green beams delivered no pain- rather the heat was a wee addition to my frozen limbs. The energy from these unexpectedlyforting spots soon began to spread, enveloping the cold numbness and masking it with toasty warmth. The exhaustion I faced from the relentless dodging moments prior was gradually eased away. This is what it feels like to die, huh? It''s a lot more peaceful than I thought. But that tranquilitysted only a moment. In a rush, my senses returned. The floating feeling I had grown ustomed to had been reced by a different kind of weightlessness, one of exhration and freefall. Light found its way into my presumed dead eyes, taking advantage of the opening caused by the sheer force of the wind. There was no sign of the endless ocean that had previously engulfed me and what seemed like a fancy audience hall of the highest caliber filled my view instead. Even my small glimpse at the heavily detailed architecture deduced the room was at a level of beauty even a fairy tale couldn''t dream to im. I spent a second processing the gorgeous sight before a loud squawk in my arms brought me back to attention. Oh right... I was in free fall with a floor of colors rapidly approaching me. With only seconds until impact, I quickly twisted my body midair to protect the cute creature still within my grasp, immediatelynding on a giant purple blob with an obnoxious and somewhat squishy thud. Despite the loud noise, I felt no pain from thending- the purple goo did an amazing job absorbing the impact, but that was not my main concern when my small friend''s safety was on the line. "Are you alright!? How are you still here?" I asked the tiny penguin in my arms, only for a quiet squawk to be given in return. With a sigh of relief, I sat up and finally looked around, only to notice hundreds of odd creatures surrounding me in every direction. They varied wildly in color, shape, and size; some even resembling weird hybrids of animals I was already familiar with. Despite the startling situation, I strangely felt no fear- the creatures around me seemed equally as confused regarding my appearance. A moment of awkward silence passed before being interrupted by a jiggling noise beneath me. "Oh shoot, sorry about that!" I reflexively apologized while rolling off of the purple jelly-like creature that I unintentionally sttered upon my entrance. It made a few gurgling noises as it reformed itself into the blob shape it must have originated in, while I stood there awkwardly looking around. Most of the surrounding creatures seemed to be bipedal or at least standing upright, though they varied massively in appearance with some having scales and ws and others with fangs or spiked tails. Even the amount of clothes each creature had was different- I was wearing by far the most with my soaked winter gear and bag, but there were some creatures with heavy clothes too. My time of examination was short-lived, however. A familiar tingling sensation interrupted my observations and I immediately adjusted my body to the left just as a fast red light shed by my side, hitting the wall far behind me. I turned my attention past the crowd in the direction of its origin, bringing arge stage at the front of the room with massive violet curtains hanging gorgeously on its sides into my line of sight. At first nce, nothing seemed to be a threat; the only thing present on the stage was a red-petaled flower in a brown pot, which sat on a stool at the stage''s center. "You can''t fool me,ser-flower thing! I''m not-" With what seemed like a bullet''s pace, another red light shed toward me. Despite rapidly twisting my body, I was not fully able to avoid to beam, which ended up striking the flipper of my preciouspanion. He immediately began thrashing around in my arms in a panic and sshing the unfortunate creatures in the area with the cold Antarctic water that remained on his tiny body. "Calm down Mr. Flippers," I pleaded to my newly named friend, "You''re fine, see? There''s not a scratch on you!" My struggle to calm him down, however, rendered me utterly vulnerable and the flower did not hesitate to take that opening. Unlike my earlier encounter with a beam of light, I was neither teleported nor given a warm sensation upon collision. It actually felt odd in the fact that nothing seemed different in the slightest on the shoulder which it struck. My curiosity regarding its effect was soon answered when a nearby creature resembling a humanoid smander angrily approached me. "Hey, you wet coward! You just got me soaked!" He shouted while reaching towards the penguin from my arms, who with a fearful squawk squirmed free from my grasp and waddled away rapidly into the crowd. "No,e back Mr. Flippers! Don''t leave me!" I called out to no avail, before turning to the furious creature to my side. The bipedal smander-looking thing was roughly my height (5''9) with dull red scales covering its lizardy body. It was pretty clear without a weapon he could easily beat me in a fight with his ws, but I pushed aside those thoughts to stand up for my feathered friend. "Look at what you did! You scared the heck out of Mr. Flippers; how am I going to find him in this weird ce!?" I snapped. "What do you mean ''look at what I did''? Your thing covered me in freezing water!" "The heck is your problem? He barely even sshed you; are you so weak that a few drops of cold water are enough to drive you insane!? Scratch that, it was a stupid question- anyone willing the hurt such an adorable penguin must be crazy to begin with!" "You dare call me crazy, you scaleless bas-" "Settle down, you two. Though your quarrel is appreciated, we must get back to the task at hand," interrupted a voice on the stage. The flower that I suspected of shooting the beams was now glowing with a faint golden hue. Despite having no eyes or even a face to speak of, I could without a doubt feel its gaze directly on me. "I have never witnessed a candidate arriving sote... and to think I had just ended my introduction," the flower paused before continuing, "Unfortunately, I must attend to other matters, but I am sure your fellow Seedlings will enlighten you on the situation. You all have unique minds and bodies- every one of you has the potential to reach the top, so I look forward to seeing your progress and any surprises you may experience along the way. The universe''s surprises are always wee, after all." With those words, the golden glow around the flower glowed brighter, engulfing it in light and leaving behind an empty stool on stage. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 2 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 2 A creature resembling a bipedal sheep withrge silver wings came out from behind the stage immediately following the flower''s disappearance. She gracefully approached the front of the stage emitting an aura of professionalism before beginning her speech. "Wee Seedlings, I will be your instructor leading up to thepetition. As you all have heard from the founder, every one of you has been selected to be a ruler. The basics of what this entails will be exined in part now, but as there is a lot of information to cover, the more in-depth details will be exined throughout the 360 heavenly days leading up to thepetition. Some of you may be wondering why you were chosen for such an asion, and while I would like to give you all the false sense of pride that you were the best to represent your individual species- that would not necessarily be true. I''ll spare you all from the specifics, but while some measures were taken to narrow down the selection to those who were without any unnatural impairments, you were mainly chosen by pure chance from what I believe. Though you may not have much pride in who you were prior to your arrival, there is plenty of dignity in what you all are now. You were all given divinity upon being transferred here- in other words, every one of you is now immortal." Murmur and mumbles rose from the crowd after hearing thatstment. Suddenly being told such a thing would normally be heard with ears of skepticism. but this is nowhere near a normal setting. Even I felt my heart drop at such a statement- there was too much going on for me to process and the situation seemed to only grow moreplicated by the minute. What the heck did I get myself into? "Yes, it is a lot to take in, nevertheless it is the truth. Your lives as mortals have ended- I''m sure some of you all have noticed theck of memories once arriving here. This is should serve as a prevention from any mental anguish about losing your previous lives, while also assuring you will all be in top condition for thepetitions down the line." What the sheep girl said seemed to be true. Though I could remember details about Earth perfectly, I couldn''t seem to figure out any personal details about myself prior to what was on my mind at the moment when those beams began aiming for me. In fact... I can''t even seem to remember my own name. I didn''t even have time toment over such a depressing fact before she resumed her lecture. "In just a moment we will be leaving this hall and moving to the ce where you will all be gathering during these 360 days leading up to the start of thepetition. This space is not really fit for such a lecture, after all." Directly ensuing this deration, the speaker''s silver wings shot up, and the goat-like individual glided over therge crowd,nding in front of two giant and borately decorated doors in the rear. She swung open the massive wooden doors seemingly with less effort than it would take to pick up a piece of paper, before beckoning the crowd to follow her. Left with no other option, the crowd began to do as instructed and began to funnel through the doorway. Of course, I did not follow suit; there was absolutely no way I would leave without Mr. Flippers. While I pushed through the crowd, arge shove was directed toward my side, where a familiar lizard stood with a smug expression on his face. Pretending to pay no mind to the idiot, I casually pushed past him, identally stepping extra hard on a certain red tail that was resting on the floor. "Gah! You little - " Before the lizard guy could retaliate, he was forcibly caught up in the surge of creatures attempting to leave the room and could only manage to send some menacing res my way. I blew him a kiss in return, which for some reason the creature did not seem to appreciate much, as he sent an unfortunate bystander flying in an attempt to push back towards me. This attempt was futile, however, and he soon disappeared among the avnche-like crowd. The room was nearly empty after the few moments following this exchange, but even with the increased visibility, there was no sign of Mr. Flippers. A slightly high-pitched voice called out from behind me just as I was beginning to worry whether someone had stolen - or possibly ate- him. "Umm, excuse me. I think you might have been looking for this little guy," the voice called out. Upon turning around, I was greeted by what looked like a ssic elf girl. She was a bit shorter than me- probably around 5''5. Her blonde hair had streaks of green scattered throughout it, which matched very nicely with her green eyes. Aside from that, it appeared she had small brown shorts and a white top, both of which seemed to be pretty revealing. What appeared to be brown high-top sandals climbed up the first half of her leg and in her arms in front of her average-sized chest was an adorable ck and white creature who was resting its head back on the girl behind him. Though the back of my mind had a few suspicions about the clich¨¦ development, seeing an elf that would normally be known only in works of fiction caused my brain to freeze for a moment. "... Oh my god you are so cute" I muttered aloud. "Wha-!?" the elf girl yelled out in surprise at such a sudden statement. "I want to hold you in my arms and give you the biggest hug in the world right now" I continued, paying no attention to the other creature present. "Wait wait wait! We haven''t even spoken to each other! Isn''t this way too soon to be saying stuff like that!?" she rapidly blurted out in apletely flustered manner. Unable to bear the temptation anymore, I slowly reached my hand out and snatched Mr. Flippers out of her arms, immediately pulling him in for a massive hug. "Mr. Flippers! I was so worried, I can''t believe you ran off on your own like that!" I eximed, while rapidly cuddling with the tiny penguin in my arms, "Please don''t run away like that again. There''s no telling what those creature things would do with you." The happy reunion was cut short by an annoyed squawking from the little penguin. "What? Oh right, Ipletely forgot!" I said while turning back to the elf girl who seemed to be frozen in ce with numerous conflicting expressions on her face, "thank you for watching Mr. Flippers for me. He was a bit scared back then." "... It was no problem. Happy to help..." she managed to force out. "I''m sure being rescued by a cute girl like you calmed him down, so we both really appreciate it" I added on. "So you really were directing it towards me!" she shouted in response. "Huh, what are you saying? Anyway, there''s no time to talk. We should really catch up to the group before we get lost in whatever this ce is," I replied, changing the topic. "So you''re really just... never mind. I saw them turn towards the right a little up the hall," she stated with a sigh. "Welp, we better go after them, Elfy" "... Please don''t call me that" With an energetic squawk from Mr. Flippers, the three of us dashed out of the borate audience hall, hopeful that the group didn''t move too far away. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 3 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 3 Luckily, it appeared that the group did not travel far. The halls followed a simr theme to the audience hall; avish red carpet covered the mahogany-wood floor upon which rested the borately garnished walls. Various stone statues of mysterious creatures were either carved into the halls'' pirs or were used to hold up small ledges where blooming flowers in small pots made their home. After a short bit of navigating this fancy environment, the creatures were spotted through an open door not far from where we began. We were greeted by a room heavily resembling a college lecture hall upon entering the area. The entryway was at the top of the room, which sloped downwards leading to where the instructor stood on the lower floor with arge ckboard behind her. Of course, numerous rows of seats were connected to each step of the staircase for the creatures to sit. As most of these seats were already filled in by the time the mysterious elf girl and I arrived, we were forced to sit on the top row, with our seats just to the left of the door. I volunteered to sit next to a familiar goo-like creature, so the elf got the chair that was directly next to the door. Mr. Flippers excitedly hopped back and forth across ourps while we waited for the instructor to begin her exnation. "Now then, Seedlings, I am sure you are all waiting with both curiosity and anxiety to hear more about this situation. To ease your immediate concerns, I will go over the very basics of what you can expect going forward. As I exined earlier, we have 360 heavenly days to go into more depth. Once again, you will all be fighting against one another. Though I say that, you will not be fighting directly; rather your lifeforms will be fighting in your ce. These lifeforms will be made in the image of the ruler governing over them, so they will naturally be guided towards your own figures. In addition to them, every ruler can choose a total of 7 organisms from your home world to form the base of your domain''s environment. Ah- I apologize I''m getting ahead of myself." The sheep instructor continued on as I pulled out a spare notebook and pencil to write down what I considered to be most important. I was smart enough to bring a water-proof backpack on the voyage, so it appeared that the paper was dry despite the plunge. Ms. Elf-girl nced over at me curiously when I began, but I paid it no mind. If thispetition is going to be as big as she''s making it seem, every bit of information wille in handy. Anything she identally slips could give me a massive head start. "Your first task will be to design your realm. Each one of you will be provided with a realm temte of nearly equal materials that will have a radius of around 2,100 miles. Your first task will be to design and mold this realm into what you think will help your lifeforms seed the most. The Flower Box will be providing a lot of Resource Points for this task, but everything not used within the next 3 heavenly days will be returned to them. Obviously, there will be some restrictions regarding this, which I will go over now" The sheep instructor began listing the conditions required by this homework of which there were many. Most were obvious (not making the entire realm out of molten material for example) but others seemed to serve to ensure battles could be somewhat possible between the many different creatures present. As questions from the new Seedlings were asked and answered, the worn-out expressions in the crowd gradually became too numerous to ignore, so the sheep instructor finally dismissed us several hours after the lecture began. "Oh don''t forget! By saying the phrase "return to domain" you can instantly travel back to your domain. You will all be called back here at 7am heavenly time, but you cane back earlier by saying "transport to the academy"! " I nced at my notebook just before packing it back in my bag. Leaving out most of the specific regtions, the key information of this first lesson could be considered to be: "So, can these domains be considered to be our own rooms?" the elf girl asked me as we exited the lecture hall. "Uhh, I guess? It sounded a bit moreplicated than that. Half the lecture sounded like she was reading a freaking housing ordinance with all those rules, but she just nced over the whole domain thing. Speaking of which, do you think that chant can really teleport us there?" I questioned while carrying Mr. Flippers in my arms. "I wouldn''t be too surprised. Teleportation magic was extremely rare where I came from, but I wouldn''t doubt it for a second that a ce like this has that feature. That being said, it is odd how we don''t need any kind of rune..." she said trailing off. So magic is officially a thing too! Well, I guess I shouldn''t be too surprised considering an elf exists here. Wait- if everyone here can use magic except for me, wouldn''t I get obliterated once the fighting starts!? Dangit, I might have to ask the instructor about this tomorrow. Maybe magic exists but it''s not easy to use it? "So, I''m guessing you''re pretty good at magic then, Elfy?" I tested. "I told you to stop calling me that!" she pouted before continuing, "But yes, I had already mastered most intermediate spells, though I only know the basics of some expert-level ones. What about you? No offense, but you don''t really seem to be much of a mage." "You have good eyes; magic is not really my strong suit. Anyway, I was thinking that we should reallye up with names for ourselves since we basically lost ours, unless you want me to keep calling you Elfy," I said to change the subject. "Oh yeah-" The elf girl stopped walking and put her hand on her chin to make a thinking pose. She thought for a while but ultimately gave up with a sigh, iming that she couldn''t think of anything. "How about wee up with names for each other then? It might be better thaning up with it on our own" I suggested. "Hmm... okay! I''ll super seriously punch you if youe up with anything weird though!" Despite the risk of getting a super-serious punch, I was really tempted to mess with her; however, after a bit of thinking, I decided to be nice and actually try toe up with a good name for her. She did rescue Mr. Flippers earlier, after all. She really is beautiful. If she was wearing a dress, I don''t think there would be anyone on Earth who wouldn''t think she was some sort of princess. I began thinking of various princess names inspired by that thought, but as my apparentck of knowledge in that area left me with nothing, I switched to characters in fairy tales and fiction. Eventually, I thought of Juliet from the famous Shakespeare y. Obviously, she won''t know what that namees from, but I still would find it a bit cringe-worthy to call her Juliet. Maybe Julia works? "Okay, how does Julia sound?" I hesitantly announced. "Wow! I thought for sure you woulde up with something stupid! I was warming up my fists and everything," shemented with a contradicting expression of both disappointment and sparkly eyes, "Julia does sound like a good name though." "Then it''s settled- your name will officially be Julia! I''m d to be spared from your super-serious punches," I teased, "So, did youe up with a name for me?" "Ugh, no not yet. I''m sorry, I''m terrible at thinking of names," she apologized with a sullen expression. "Just think of the hottest name you can think of. Something that makes everyone know how cool I am from a single word!" "... Even if I could think of one like that, it definitely wouldn''t fit you," she said with a sharp re. "Fine, then pick a name that starts with a ''J'' then so we can kind of match," I suggested,pletely ignoring herment. "Uhh Jimmy? No never mind, that feels a bit toomon..." she thought aloud, "Maybe Jacob?" "Sure, I''ll go with Jacob then." "Ah- are you sure? I was just throwing names out there," she checked with a sparkle in her eyes. "Yeah sure, it works for me. But you could always just call me Da-" A heavy impact on my side interrupted myment. "Jacob it is then!" I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 4 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 4 Julia and I decided to explore the academy before checking out our domains, however, we soon found that not a single door was left unlocked. Despite the disappointment, we used the opportunity to get to know each other more. "It''s impossible to control mana in here and it''s a really ufortable feeling. Do you think they set up some sort of barrier or is it something else?" Julia questioned while standing in an odd pose. She stood with her legs slightly apart, holding her right arm out in front of her. Julia''s right wrist was grasped by her left hand, just below her open palm. "... Is that how people usually use magic on Julia?" I asked holding a penguin who was also tilting its head in confusion. "Well yes, but there''s normally actual magic that happens," she sighed, "Did your world not use stances? It''s possible to cast spells without one if you''re willing to deal with its power and speed being only a fraction of what it should be." "Yeah... I guess they weren''t as popr where I''m from. What was your world like anyway?" I attempted to dodge the subject as I yed with Mr. Flippers. "My world..." Julia stopped walking and ced her hand on her chin while she thought, "To be honest, I don''t think I had the chance to see most of it before I was brought here. I''m going to assume I lived in the giant forest in the center of the continent since most of my knowledge is from there. People in that forest used magic to slightly alter the massive trees and were able to livefortably inside of them. I have no idea who I might have lived with though..." Mr. Flippers waddled over and did a soft squawk as if to console her. It seemed to work as Julia''s frown lightened when she picked him up. "I''m not too sure about other parts of the continent, but magic was a huge part of our life in the forest. Being able to use spells helped a ton with things like getting food since we could do things like controlling vines to prevent the beasts from getting away," she continued. "Oh, so you guys hunted? I assumed eating things killed with magic could get tough," I interjected imagining scattered meat after explosion magic. "I must have spent most of the time simply learning magic, since I was practicing when I was sent here, so I don''t think that I hunted frequently or anything. Oh, also magic isn''t used for actual hunting; it''s just used to support it. Using wind magic to guide arrows, tripping beasts, and so on. Anyway, that''s enough about me for now, what was your home like, Jacob?" "I don''t even know where to begin, to be honest. We definitely didn''t have any massive forests near where I lived... actually I don''t think any trees big enough for multiple people to live inside of existed on my. Back to the question, I think I was close to an ocean judging by the memories I have left." Julia''s eyes lit up when she heard me mention the sea. "There was an ocean in my world too!" She eximed excitedly, "I heard that they have so much water that you can swim for weeks and not see anynd!" "Well yeah that does sound like one, but the oceans in my world are a bit too rough to swim far out in. Well... that''s if you''re a human at least," I stop to point at the penguin being held by Julia, "The little guy you''re holding is one of the best swimmers out there." Mr. Flippers let out a proud squawk and Julia looked at him with sparkling eyes. "That''s amazing, Mr. Flippers! You''ll have to teach me how to swim sometime soon. I always wanted to see the ocean, but I guess I''ll just have to settle with making my own," she said with a sigh. If I heard someone say that just yesterday, I would''ve thought they were insane. It must feel so weird being in a forest your whole life and never going outside to explore. "I''m sorry, Julia. This whole situation is a bit annoying; There''s probably so much you would''ve loved to see before getting sent here. If only I had a picture of the ocean that I could-" I suddenly stopped talking and slowly started turning my head towards Julia. The sound of a loud creaking noise seemed to y in the process. "Eh? W-why are you looking at me like that?" It can''t be. There''s no way I still have it right? Without replying, I immediately tossed my backpack onto the ground and rapidly dug through it. A stic item eventually brushed my hands as I pushed various things out of the way. After grabbing this stic item, I yanked it out of my backpack revealing a ziplock bag with a ck rectangle inside of it. It''s still here! I had a feeling after my bag stayed with me, but I still can''t believe it wasn''t confiscated or something! This is too overpowered for me to have. "Uhh, Jacob? What is that thing?" Julia asked cautiously as I pulled the item out of the bag. A ck rectangle the size of my palm came into her view. "Why, this thingis just the pinnacle of thousands of years of engineering! Humans started as primitive monkeys who arrogantly unted mere wooden sticks, but then we grew to be modern men brandishing gadgets we only deemed the gods capable of yielding! This device right here is a symbol, Julia. It is a symbol that the only thing holding humans back from enlightenment is time. Need a ship? Give those early monkeys a stick! Need some fruit? Well, those monkeys got you covered! Need to get to the freaking moon? Just wait a few thousand years- those monkeys already have their freaking stick!" "... What?" "Can''t you see, Julia!? Just moments ago I was one of those early monkeys holding a fallen branch, yet I was just sent thousands of years ahead in only a moment! You guys may have magic or ws or even weird twirling hair capable of strangling me in a second, but I have something none of you canpare with; I got a sticky stick of my own!" "Seriously, Jacob. Are you feeling okay? I can go run back and get the instructor-" "A STICKY STICK I SAY!" Completely disregarding her expression of confusion and worry, I nced down at the password screen. Despite having no memory of what it could be, my fingers moved on their own and I made a mental note of the numbers I pressed. It looks like even with our brains being dug into, they weren''t fully able to erase our muscle memory. I was slightly thankful for mortal-me''s apparent over-usage of this device, though I had a few mixed feelings regarding my muscle memory being strong enough to withstand the mind-wiping. Pushing those thoughts aside, I turned the camera towards the elf girl in front of me. "Now, taste the power of my stick and say ''cheese''!" "... Oh high heavens, he''s lost it." *Click!* Not missing the chance, I also zoomed in on the equally confused penguin still in her arms and took a second picture. "Anyway, check this out," I calmly stated as I disyed the photo to the two of them. "Is that me!? I''ve never seen a magic tool that can create paintings so fast!" Julia eximed. Mr. Flippers stayed silent but clearly stared at himself on the screen. I almost forgot that this penguin has never seen a phone either. That being said, he is weirdly smart. I didn''t think he would be able to recognize himself so easily. Actually, he seems to understand us fairly well now that I think about it... Leaving those thoughts for ater date, I scrolled through the old pictures until I found a ce I was looking for. Just as I expected, there was obviously no signal here; however, the camera as well as a few basic apps still worked perfectly fine without one. Earlier, I mentioned my theory that I used to live near a beach byparing myrge knowledge regarding the ocean as opposed to otherndscapes and the album seemed to verify that. There are also a lot of pictures of people on here. Maybe they were my family? I''ll look through these moreter; right now there''s an elf I gotta cheer up. Perhaps due to the mind-erasing, I did not seem to really be interested in finding out more about my past. Even if I could, my family would be long gone given the time conversion here. I pulled up a picture of the beach I took over the summer and showed it to Julia. "Huh, what''s this? What''s with all the water?" she asked while tilting her head. "It''s an old picture of the ocean I took." "That''s what an ocean looks like!?" Julia screamed with her eyes sparkling to a degree I had never seen before. "Hey be careful! Your eyes are too bright- I think Mr. Flippers is going to go blind!" "Squawk~" the penguin cried out in pain, hiding his eyes behind his flippers. "Did this magic tool make any other paintings of the sea!?" she turned that beaming gaze towards me and asked. "It looks like I took a few while I was searching for Mr. Flippers." We spent the next hour or so looking at the different pictures I had saved. Though her reactions to the ocean were adorable, Julia nearly lost her mind when I opened a photo of New York City that I must have taken on a trip. Sadly, I was not able to answer all of her questions about what magic was used to make buildings so high, but it was a fun time nheless. With our brains both being pretty fried from everything that happened today, we soon had to say goodbye and decided to check out our domains. Julia wanted to try it first, and just like the instructor exined, she instantly vanished after saying the phrase. "Guess it''s our turn now. It was a fun break," I said to Mr. Flippers who she returned prior to her departure, " [return to domain]!" The bright hall immediately disappeared from my view, leaving only darkness in my sight. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check thements for an Author''s Note! :D I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 5 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 5 I stood in a nearly empty room the color of the night sky. Though it was extremely difficult to make out, the area seemed to be roughly 100ft by 100ft. Although the room was dark, it was not pitch-ck and I could still easily see Mr. Flippers who was in my arms. The only objects present in thisrge void-like space were to the left of us where a desk with four monitors, a keyboard, a mouse, and a chair sat facing the ck wall. On this wall hung a massive screen roughly 30ft long and 20ft high. I guess this must be what the teacher was talking about. It didn''t take too much brain power to realize that this setup would be what I used to interact with the, though I was initially surprised to seeputers in the room. The teacher briefly mentioned that the interface would take the shape of something we were familiar with using, so it was likely that I would be the only person with such a setup. All of the monitors instantly turned on the moment I sat in the green chair, causing both Mr. Flippers and me to recoil from the sudden light. The monitor slightly to the left of me was the only one that had something disyed, with the others idly emitting a soft blue light. On this left screen was what looked like a yellow-gray sphere with a ton of tables and 2D dials surrounding it. I tried turning one of the dials out of curiosity causing the sphere''s tilt to change as it was turned. Oh wow, this thing is pretty thorough isn''t it? Couldn''t this break the bnce a bit? I mean if someone were to make the''s axis 90 degrees, it couldpletely make almost all of it uninhabitable. Well, the instructor might get involved if that were the case... I sat there for a while experimenting with all of the various options, and although I seeded in discovering what most did, I was extremely hesitant to immediately start utilizing them. It seemed that every action I took drained something from my body, which I assumed to be the Resource Points we were all supplied with. Obviously, the small test actions I did hardly made a dent in the gifted stockpile (it seemed simr to removing a grain of sand from a desert), but in a situation like this, I did not want to put any to waste with unnecessarilyrge experiments. During one of my attempts to zoom in closer to the to examine its surface, the massive screen above me turned on and scared Mr. Flippers who had been waddling around aimlessly with a squawk. On the disy was the now-familiar yellow-gray sphere. The actual visual seemed clearer than even the most advanced screens I had seen on Earth, but the impressive sight soon lost its luster from my inability to interact with the scene. With no mouse or keyboard attached to therge screen, I had no choice but to temporarily treat it as a glorified picture. Alright, I think I got the basics down. I should probably n out how I want to design this ce. With that thought in mind, I took out my notebook and began a few rough outlines for the continent''s shape. My main goal in this design was for the to be both fitting for natural life and alsopletely stockpiled with natural defenses for the numerous battles my lifeforms would need to endure. Throughout human history, those who utilized the terrain to their advantage have always had a vast advantage over those who blindly ventured through it. Having the power to physically manipte the terrain where battles would take ce was such an overwhelming ability that it could make up for even a massive difference in personnel. For those who realized this fact, defensive sess would be a near certainty. One of the requirements was to have an area 500mi in diameter shaped like an octagon for the invasions to start. Of course, this made designing an appealing continent extremely difficult, however, it was really a blessing in disguise. Being able to know exactly where the invaders woulde from would make fortifications much easier to prepare and could prevent them from being utilized against my own lifeforms if designed intelligently. Defenses are not universal, however. A pitfall could y a mammoth, but a pigeon would be unscathed. To design countermeasures, you need to know what you are trying to counter. I thought back to the different creatures I was exposed to and attempted to think of what could hinder the majority of them. Obviously, it is impossible for a defense to perfectly halt every one of those hundreds of odd creatures, but there were definitely some patterns that I distinctly remembered: one of them being that a decent chunk of them appeared to have reptile-like traits. The creature who was most hostile to me was clearly within that category as well. I sketched the octagon region near the top left of my notebook and noted to make the axis around 30 degrees away from the sun with a wobble roughly the same as Earth''s. Since reptiles are known for being cold-blooded, having them start in the equivalent of the Arctic might be a bit underhanded, but it was an opportunity that would be stupid to pass on. Even for the warm-blooded invaders, starting in such a brutal environment would be difficult to ovee, and as I did not notice many creatures well-adapted to the extreme cold, it would be unlikely to work in any invader''s favor. To make defending the initial invaders'' advance simpler, this octagon would be arge penins only connected to the main continent by a rtively narrow and longnd bridge from one of its 8 sides. Though the tundra this path connected to would be rtively empty, it would be closed off from the rest of the continent by a mountain range both to the south and to the north. The northern passage would have the extra benefit of beingpletely covered in ciers caused by the natural tilt of the. No matter which path is chosen, however, the invaders would actually need to cross two sets of mountains due to the X-shape design of the main range, along with a small curved area to the south. In this range would be a massiveke supplied by melting snow from the mountain peaks. Although it would be very deep, the extreme elevation of the mountains surrounding it would still leave its lowest point roughly 1,000ft above sea level. A few openings caused by valleys between the range would allow for some of the water to continuously drain and fuel rivers which would spread throughout the rest of the continent. To make sure that the invaders could not simply conquer theke and effortlessly sail across the continent, the water would exit the mountain via a massive waterfall that would make Niagara Falls seem like a stream. This mountain range would continue west into the ocean to form a massive underwater ridge south of the octagon that would make the water in the region shallow enough to prevent warm water from flowing north and also act as a major hindrance to any invading force sailing from the octagon. To get around the restriction of having only onend mass, I created a few underwater volcanoes in the southern portion of the ridge in hopes that they would eventually form a few inds simr to Hawaii. Of course, it would be far in the future, but I hoped they could form a role simr to the Gal¨¢pagos Inds and be a breeding ground for evolution. The east of the continent was shaped as a massive gulf to hopefully be a hub for trade and coastal development. Simr to the ocean ridge off the west coast, a shallow region would prevent most of this warming water from flowing to the octagon from around the globe. As to not interfere too greatly in the future trade, there would be decent-sized gaps in these shallow parts to the south to allow the easy transport of potential goods if a bit of navigational work was done. I was at a loss for the design of the southern portion of the continent. Putting major defenses here would be meaningless as the world would have already been conquered if invaders reached this far, so I just went with a random and natural-feeling design for the coast, as well as added ake to the south-east. Just in case the invaders found a way to sail past the ridges, I added arge shallow region on the south coast that resembled a massive reef, but I deliberately made a few passageways through the area for lifeforms to eventually discover and utilize. Most of these defenses would be ineffective if my lifeforms decided to settle in a weird spot, so I formed a massive teau in the southeast shaped as a star. There would be natural-looking steps leading to the top from the north and south. I hoped that some would discover this area and choose to settle at the top where eventually a major poption hub would form. This spot would be ideal as it would benefit from nearly all of the natural defenses, be extremely far from the invaders, and ording to my roughly predicted climate, be somewhat warm all year round to max out productivity. With this rough sketch finished, I did a bit more polishing and detailing, including noting down resource distribution before turning to the monitor. "All right, Mr. Flippers. It''s construction time!" After spending the entire night tranting my sketch into reality, there was one thing on my mind. ...There are way too many Resource Points left over. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 6 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 6 The program that I was using for the construction came with a lot of pre-made resources such as salt, water, gold and iron ore, and even simple types of rocks and soil, but I was not content with just those basic forms of environment. I pulled up a periodic table that I had saved on my phone and looked at all the elements that were missing from the provided temte. "Is it even possible to develop as much as Earth without some of these? I mean there''s still a bit of some rare metals in the crust, but the amount is just absurdly small and hard to get to," I mumbled to myself. A new icon popped up on the monitor shortly after cing my phone on the desk. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New Layout Avable. Open Now? Yes / No ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Putting away my surprise, I unhesitatingly clicked ''Yes'', only for the periodic table to appear on the adjacent screen. Whenever I selected a particr element on the table, a list of naturalpounds and ores containing those elements would appear which I could then select and add to the. That''s a big relief, but what about the other creature things? Unless this change happened to everyone''s program, wouldn''t they becking some of these elements? A look of pity shed on my face for those poor souls who would never know the joys of dysprosium, while I scattered the newpounds around and into the. I particrly added a bit of extra silver and gold in ces with the most extreme climates to hopefully encourage trade and settlement. In addition, I also added a bit of excess flint on the surface to hopefully expedite early fire discovery. Even with all these added resources, I still had an absurdlyrge amount of Resource Points remaining. I nced at the clock in the bottom right of the screen and noticed that it was almost time for the next ss to start. "Well, there''s still two days to use the rest, so I guess I''ll think of something in the meantime. Sorry for not giving you much attention tonight, Mr. Flippers, this is a lot of work," I apologized to the penguin who had been waddling in circles for the past few hours. The tiny creature gave me a nod of understanding and hopped over to me. Oh my god, I missed this feeling. I picked up the adorable animal and held him close to me. "You''re probably even more confused than I am about this whole situation; I haven''t even seen an ice cube let alone a fish you could eat," I paused before continuing, "Actually, I''m not even hungry or tired even though I just pulled an all-nighter. Are you hungry at all, Mr. Flippers?" The penguin gave me an un-enthusiastic squawk which I assumed to be a ''not really'', so I let out a sigh of relief. I''ll have to take better care of this guy. Bing immortal clearly changed something about my body, but I don''t know if he got affected too. "Let''s go meet up with Julia. She might be having the same problem as me," I said thinking back to the leftover Resource Points, "We should also ask the instructor about the food issue just in case you get hungry. [Transport to the academy]!" A blinding light assaulted my eyes and the scenery instantly changed. Instead of the dark room that I had grown ustomed to, the brightly lit audience hall filled my view instead. "God dangit!" "Squawkkk!" The sudden light felt like someone shined aser in my eyes and it seemed Mr. Flippers felt the pain too. "We gotta close our eyes or something next time, dude. It''s way too freaking bright," I muttered only to get a quiet squawk back in agreement. Luckily, instead of appearing on the ceiling like the first time, we were transported directly onto the floor which I presumed was the intended method of entry. I looked around the room once my eyes were adjusted and although there were a few creatures wandering around and talking to each other, there was no sign of Julia. That''s weird; I know I''m a bit early, but I thought she''d be here already. I exited the hall through therge mahogany doors and ventured down the path to the lecture area thinking that she may be waiting in the lecture area. Sure enough, I saw a cute elf girl pacing back and forth in a thinking pose directly outside the ss entrance. I let out a cough to get her attention causing the girl to pause and nce over. "Jacob!" Julia immediately dashed over and before I had time to respond, she grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me. "Are you having the same problem!?" she asked, though it was more of a scream. "Is it about the Resource Poi-" "YES IT''S ABOUT THE RESOURCE POINTS!" she interrupted, shaking me again. "P-please stop with the shaking, Mr. Flippers is going get a concussion," I begged while the penguin whined in my arms, "but yeah, I was going to ask you about it too. There''s too-" "little!" "-much..." We both paused before locking eyes again. "Hold on," I began, "you managed to use all of it?" I hesitantly asked. "Of course I did! What do you mean you have too much!? Even if they gave me double I wouldn''t have had enough!" she screamed. "What the heck did you do with all of it!? How on Earth did you manage to blow through it all so fast?" "The freaking mana obviously! I used up almost all of what we were given purely on mana and its density is a joke! Seriously, even an expert-level mage could probably only do one intermediate spell a day with that concentration- it''s absurd!" she ranted. "... Is mana really that expensive?" "Yes! Did you really not try to add any yet? I know we still technically have another two days, but I figured you would''ve rushed to finish everything the first night," she exined while finally releasing her grip from my shoulders with a sigh. Mr. Flippers looked up at me with that statement, but I brushed away his judgmental gaze. "Well, you''re kind of right. I finished everything I was originally nning to add..." "I assumed that was why the little one was looking starved for attention," Julia said teasingly. Clearly embarrassed and angry for being treated like a kid, Mr. Flippers immediately wiggled out of my arms and let out a grumpy squawk once on the ground. He waddled into the lecture hall while continuing toin with a series of quiet squawks before disappearing behind the doorway. Oh my god, that''s so cute... I can still see his flipper peaking out. "Anyway," Julia began taking my attention away from the pouting penguin, "you said you added everything you nned- did you just forget about mana or something? I mean seriously, that''s almost as bad as forgetting to add water" I paused for a minute before answering. Should I tell her that there wasn''t any mana on Earth? I know it was a big deal on her, but can it really bepared to water? It didn''t sound like she''d die without it... anyway, I guess it doesn''t hurt to tell her the truth; I doubt she''ll leak it and even if she does, it''s not like it could get in trouble for not using it. With that reasoning in mind, I revealed the secret I hid from her for the long 24ish hours that we knew each other. Her response was not one of ridicule, rather it was one of doubt and disbelief. "You''re actually serious?" she asked in a whisper so no one would overhear, "How is it possible you never used it? You showed me the painting of that city! There is no way something like that could be built without mana!" "I can''t prove it, but I''m telling the truth. There really wasn''t any mana where I came from. New York City was just built by a bunch of manualbor and machinery," I said with a sigh. "Okay fine. Let''s say you really didn''t have any mana. You apparently have a ton of Resource Points left over, so will you use it to get some? Even if it''s a thinyer, it would be infinitely better than nothing. Mana seriously is useful, especially in whateverbat we''re going to be forced to do," she argued. "Would my lifeforms even be able to use it though? Won''t they need some sort of special organ or something?" "Even some nts in my world can use it! Some animals have special body parts that store it, but as long as it''s in the air, anything can technically use it," she exined. Sweet! Maybe I should just dump the rest of my points into mana then. If I could get a decent amount of mana, wouldn''t defending be a lot easier? Even if it''s just a bit, maybe some weak spells could be used until actual weapons are created? "I''ll think about it. I already did spend a lot of the points, so I doubt think the mana density would be too great if I added some. Is the density really that important?" "Yes, it is extremely important!" she shouted before quickly quieting back down upon getting some stares, "the denser the mana is, the more powerful animals can get, higher tier spells can be used, and mana stones and ores can form way faster." "So, what would happen if a creature tried to use magic in a ce that had no mana?" I asked. "Hmm... I guess if they could use whatever was stored in their body- if they even have the ability to store it. After that''s gone, they wouldn''t be able to use any." Yep, it''s settled then. "Alright thank you. We should probably join Mr. Flippers inside though before the instructor shows up," I stated ncing over at the impatient penguin who now had half his body sticking out of the doorway. With Julia''s nod, we made our way to the entrance and the clearly hungry-for-attention penguin hopped in circles until he was picked up. There was only one thing in my mind: Having no mana will be an infinitely better defense than whatever those weak spells could do. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 7 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 7 The three of us sat down and waited another few minutes for the instructor to arrive. As I had already removed a fewyers as well as my heavy jacket back in my domain the previous night, sitting in the chair was a lot morefortable than before. It would be a lot better if my clothes weren''t still soaked, though. Possibly because of a dislike of my damp clothing, or maybe due to the fact that I wasn''t wearing my fluffy jacket anymore, Mr. Flippers sat on Julia''sp this time. Though I felt a bit jealous, I could not pinpoint whether it was aimed at Julia for getting to hold the cute penguin or at the tiny creature himself for getting such afortable seat. My thoughts were cut short with the entry of the sheep instructor who promptly set up some materials and spoke to the ss. "On my way here, I was stopped no less than 6 times regarding the cost of mana. If this was a concern for you, please raise your hand." Every single creature raised their hand, or whatever was their closest equivalent, except for the penguin and me. Blending in was not a big concern for me, as I sat in the top row. I had a hunch based on what Julia said, but is mana really thismon? I mean what the heck does that blob thing need mana for? "Although I apologize for the disappointment, the toll of creating mana can not be lessened by me. Not even the Founder can change how many Resource Points are required to form mana or any other resource for that manner. You may be relieved to know that even though your mana densities may be unsatisfactory in their current state, you will have plenty of opportunities to gain more Resource Points through positive performances during thepetitions. Since mana makes up roughly 70% of the universe, it may feel unfair for it to be so difficult to create, but I can assure you that arge quantity of a material does not necessarily corrte to the ease of its formation. It even takes the death of stars to form the seats we sit in," she exined. "Excuse me, instructor," Julia stood and spoke, "would it be possible for lifeforms to exist that don''t use mana?" "There are plenty of species that do not utilize mana, though most are primary and basic lifeforms. There are certainly a few moderate lifeforms that are notplex enough to use it either, but once they be an advanced lifeform like you all here, it would be extremely improbable, but theoretically, it''s not impossible. Like I said before, mana makes up a ratherrge portion of the universe, so unless an advanced lifeform is isted in one of the few regions with little, or for some reason it was never exposed to it, mana would be too great of a resource to pass on utilizing," the sheep instructor answered. Julia thanked the teacher and sat down again. Mr. Flippers hopped back onto herp when she whispered to me. "I wanted to double-check check you weren''t using mana without realizing it. I would''ve kept pushing you to use your Resource Points on mana if she said it was impossible to not use it," She clearly asked that question out of concern for me, so I was not really concerned about her reasoning. Of course, it would be a lie to say there wasn''t a bit of cold sweat on my back when she first spoke. The instructor continued her lessons, which this ss was focused on the process of terrain design and its uses both environmentally and strategically. It was actually a very interesting lesson, but as I already knew most of it, I didn''t take many notes and instead spent the ss ying with Mr. Flippers and thinking of how to spend my points. Julia and I talked for a bit about our designs for ours after the ss ended before saying goodbye and heading back to our domains for the night. Once greeted by a familiar dark room, I took off my wet shirt and began doing some pushups. I ignored Mr. Flipper''s look of confusion, while I sorted my thoughts out loud. "If I go the no mana route, everyone will be fighting with purely their physical abilities alone on my. Until my humans get decent weapons, they''d be at a major disadvantage, since some of these other creatures have natural weapons like ws or spikes or whatever. We''d probably be fighting with sticks and stones for a bit, which would require pure muscle to do damage." Mr. Flippers hopped onto my back as I continued my workout, clearly having fun moving up and down. "The sheep instructor girl thing said that the main lifeforms will take after us, so wouldn''t getting a bit stronger naturally give them a boost? I mean the more muscle they have the-" "Squawk!" m! I immediately shot up, sending the poor penguin zooming across the room and crashing into a distant wall. My biggest mistake dawned on me. I had overlooked something so obvious that I couldn''t believe I spent my time even thinking of mana when something so much more important needed my attention. I dashed over to theputer, and after pulling out my phone and starting a timer, I dropped a stone exactly 10 meters off of the ground. It took about 2.32 seconds to hit thend. Even before plugging it into any equation, it was already easy to tell it wasn''t a good result. "Come on, physics! Don''t fail me now!" I quickly grabbed my notebook and opened a calctor app on my phone. It started at rest, so I can use the simplified equation of x=(1/2)(a)(t^2). With ''x'' being 10 meters, ''t'' being 2.32 seconds, and ''a'' representing the stone''s eleration... that would mean the gravity of this is roughly 3.72 m/s^2. It could be a bitrger since I wasn''t exact with the timer, but that''s still really bad. To put it into perspective, Earth''s gravity is roughly 9.8 m/s^2. Human anatomy wasn''t designed for such low pull. I had no idea what the result would be if left like this and although the instructor said some modifications will be made to the lifeforms to guarantee they could survive in the environment, I did not want to take such a risk. Luckily I still have over 2/3 of my points remaining. Seriously, how could mana be expensive enough to spend all of this on? The gravity problem made me think of some other rted issues, so I double-checked the maic field. It seemed to be operational, but I nned to add some more iron and nickel to the outer core just in case. Pulling out my notes on the materialposition of the inside of the, I brainstormed ways to increase the gravity. Obviously, gravity corrtes to mass, so would adding denser materials be the best way to increase it? I got to make sure it doesn''t mess with the''s stability- if the whole thing implodes, I''ll bepletely out of luck. What material should I use though? If I use something that''ll be crazy reactive with other stuff inside the, that might not end well. After spending some time debating what element to use, I settled on lead. Not only was it extremely massive and heavy, but it also shouldn''t cause too many problems deep inside the. I gradually added more and more lead inside of the. Although I was as careful as possible, the sheer amount of resources I was adding was wreaking havoc on the surface. Massive earthquakes and tsunamis werepletely decimating the continent that I had built, but as there was no life present on it, the damage was nothing I could not fix. Getting bored of lead, I also added some denser elements, but as their cost per gram was higher than lead and most would just decay back into lead anyway, I did not add too much before switching back. My Resource Points drained like crazy as the crust began to split apart and swell with massiveva plums spewing out from the oceans and volcanic dust clogging the atmosphere. Paying it no mind, I continued to add heavy material to the until roughly 5% of my total points remained. Using these remaining points, I closed up all of the fissures caused by my actions, removed the metals and toxins from the atmosphere, repaired the mountain range which suffered massive damage from the earthquakes, adjusted and expanded the underwater ridges, and finally filled the now shallow ocean with some water again. As a lot of the water had turned into vapor during the event, I did not add too much since most would rain back down in the future. After everything was done, only about 0.1% of the Resource Points I was given remained, but the was once again stable. Although I repaired the coastline, the actualndscape of the continent was now a lot more varied with hills, valleys, and odd rock formations resulting from the earthquakes andva. Before I even began to test the gravity again, I could already see that the was very noticeablyrger, which gave me hope. This added surface area just went towards expanding the ocean- I connected the torn apart continent back together which kept it roughly the same shape porportional to its greater size. I repeated the same experiment as before, this time getting a time of 1.64 seconds. That meant the gravitational pull was now roughly 7.43 m/s^2, which is a bit over double what it was previously! It was still noticeably less than Earth''s pull, but it was iparably better than the previous situation. Man, that was a lot of work. Still, I am so d I realized the gravity situation before thepetition started. I let out a sigh of relief followed by a smirk once I pictured the invaders who would have to fight in an environment with twice the gravity they were used to. Turning away from theputer, I looked back to see a tiny penguin ring at me with a small bump on its head. "Eh- what happened to you, Mr. Flippers? Did you try to fly or something?" I spent the next few hours running from an enraged penguin, whose anger stemmed from a source unknown to me. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 8 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 8 The second night passed quickly with the majority of the time taken up by adding lead to the and running from Mr. Flippers. I noticed that it was almost time for the next ss to start, so I forced myself to put on my still-soggy shirt and teleported with the penguin back into the audience hall. Near the doorway stood a tired and depressed-looking Julia with her hair reminiscent of a wild animal. "Hey, Julia!'' I called out as I approached her, "You look gorgeous as always." "Be quiet," she grumbled despite a slight blush showing on her cheeks, "It''s been three days since I''ve bathed or even changed clothes. If I looked in a mirror, I''d probably mistake myself for a wild boar and shoot the reflection." "If the boars on Julia all looked like you, I''d love to take a trip there after this whole thing is over," I teased. "Save that kind of talk for when I''m not able to smell myself from across the room," she sighed. "Yeah, you have a point about the whole bath thing. Mr. Flippers is getting pretty smelly- ow!" My sentence was unfairly cut short by a peck on my arm from the used penguin. "... Well I''m sure that they won''t keep us in this condition for much longer; pretty soon there will be a whole herd of wild boars sitting in the ss- ow!" I was unjustly attacked with a punch on my shoulder from an angry elven girl. With a reluctance to sustain any more injuries, I stayed fairly quiet as we made our way to the lecture hall. Although it wasn''t bad when the creatures were spread out in the audience hall, having hundreds of creatures cramped into the ssroom produced an unbearable stench that not even the most poorly maintained zoos couldpete with. It seemed that most of this odor was caused by the creatures with fur, so despite Julia making such a big fuss about not bathing, I couldn''t smell anything off despite her sitting right next to me. I was a bit jealous of the blob creature next to me who didn''t have a nose. It seemed to look around at the audience curiously, probably wondering why everyone looked so ufortable. It didn''t take long for the sheep instructor to walk in and then immediately walk back out. Eventually, she forced herself to enter again and weakly made her way to the front of the ss. "Wee to ss Seedlings. I know it may be difficult to focus in this environment, but today''s information is extremely important, so please make sure you all pay attention," she began, "Tonight will be thest night you all have to spend the Resource Points allocated to you. I know the majority of you have either already finished preparing your realms or are nearlypleted with the task, but please keep this in mind regardless. The next stage of preparations for thepetition will begin tomorrow: the introduction of life. After all, now that the realm ispleted, it would be a waste for there to be nothing to enjoy it." There were a few murmurs in the seats with thatst reveal and I hurriedly grabbed my notebook to make sure I didn''t miss anything. The grumpy elf and penguin next to me gave a quick nce before Julia turned her attention back to the instructor with Mr. Flippers following her lead. He really is like a kid. "In preparations for your lifeforms to settle into the realms, you must establish an environment for them to reside in. To do this, you will all be selecting organisms that made up the environment you all inhabited prior to being selected for thispetition. In total, you will be choosing three primary, two basic, and two moderate lifeforms to bring into your realm. Of course, the environment each of you came from is vastly different from one another, so the definition of these categories will fluctuate a bit, but I will go over what each of these is considered to be. Primary lifeforms are very simple organisms that convert inorganic materials such as sunlight or minerals into energy. We also consider some simple dposers and various nts in this category. Primary lifeforms must be extraordinarily simplistic in nature; they can not produce any notable fruits or have anyplex qualities. Basic lifeforms, as you can probably guess, are basic organisms that get their energy through the consumption of the primary lifeforms, though they must be very simple in nature to be considered in this category. Moderate lifeforms are a step above basic lifeforms and are a great deal moreplex in nature. Though some may be on the top of their food chains, they have yet to seed in stepping outside of it and entering the realm of advanced lifeforms which is where all of you Seedlings used to fall into prior to being chosen for thispetition." The sheep instructor spent nearly the rest of the ss going into immense detail about the roles each of these categories have both on each other and on the environment and stressed the importance of choosing the right primary lifeforms to use as building blocks for the rest of the food chain. Even though she''s talking about these primary lifeforms, I doubt most of these creatures know about the most basic ones like phytonkton. I mean, if they try to add fish without anything fueling their oceans, they''ll all immediately starve. Hold on... do theirs even have oceans? Julia never saw one, so it''s not that far-fetched to think that at least some of these guys would not know about them or even consider making one. For the first time, the harsh reality of invading an unknown world seemed to hit me. Even simple geography that I considered to be guaranteed could be anything but that. The lecture continued while I now racked my brain trying to think of potential battle ns for different environment types. As I paid attention in middle school, I was already well informed about this topic, so after snapping out of my battle-oriented thoughts, I spent this time trying to think of various species from Earth that would be most helpful for humans to survive. "You will all have a total of 7 heavenly days to choose your lifeforms and get them approved by me. If for some reason you can not think of any or simply can not get yours approved on time, I have a list of some from past cycles that you may choose from. We are giving you all this much time because of how important this step is; it is not a stretch to say that your sess in thepetition is highly dependent on your choices now. Please take this very seriously. Clearly, you will not be sitting around thinking of lifeforms during the entire seven heavenly days, so we will be opening the training facility today, along with the bathhouse connected to it. Please... please use the bathhouse. I know that many of you will rush there after ss, but any roughhousing or disorderly conduct will be severely punished. That also applies to the training facility; do not try anything you will regret. With that out of the way, I will see you all next ss!" A massive stampede of creatures bolted out of the door immediately after her speech had concluded, sweeping Julia, Mr. Flippers, and me out with them. We were finally able to get out of their way once pushed into the fancy corridor outside the ssroom. "Out of the way!" "I can finally take a bath!" "Go away you stinky things- I get to go first!" "Water water water~" The three of us stared in silence at the group dashing down the hall. Although not every creature present was included in that stampede, a group of a few hundred different crazed creatures running past us was an interesting sight to see. ... It''s only been 3 days; why is everyone going so insane over this? I mean I can''t remember properly, but I''m pretty confident that I''ve gone way longer than this without taking one. Deciding not to risk angering the elf closer to me by voicing those thoughts, I instead checked to see if we would follow the herd. "So," I broke the silence as their figures turned the corner, "are you two ready to finally take that bath you were looking forward to?" "... On second thought, I think I can deal with smelling myself for just a little bit longer," Julia muttered still looking at the corner where the creatures vanished behind. Not even three days of being bathless would be enough to convince her to squeeze into a bathhouse with that many creatures. While her eyes still held hints of impatience, Mr. Flippers let out a squawk and looked away as if saying he didn''t want to take one anyway. "It''ll probably be packed for a bit. Should we meet back here around 1 pm? We can think of what lifeforms to add to ours until things calm down. Wait... do you even have a clock in your domain?" I asked. "Well, there is a magic tool that shows the time in my room if that''s what you''re referring to. Thank the high heavens one was put in there, or I''d have no idea when toe back for these sses," she began trailing off before snapping back to focus, "Ah- yes I''m fine with meeting back upter, though!" "Byter you mean at 1, right?" I double-checked. "Of course! Or maybe 12:30..." she muttered with an embarrassed look on her face still clearly not wanting to wait so long. After a few more parting words, we ultimately decided on 1 pm before departing back to our domains to pass the time until the crowd died down. I made a mental note toe back here earlier, however. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 9 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 9 I tried to think of which lifeforms to add to my once back at my domain with Mr. Flippers. Sadly, the only ones I could decide on as a definite were phytonkton as a primary lifeform and a small fish that feeds on it as a basic lifeform. The exact species of fish was still up for debate, however. As for my second primary lifeform, I was leaning towards grass, but arge part of me thought it would be way too boring of a choice. "I am designing my own world, Mr. Flippers; should I really have it dominated by something so boring? Don''t get me wrong, I love grass as much as the next guy, but I just don''t have the heart to add it." Aside from simply being boring, grass on its own does not really y a major role in the ecosystem. Even though it may be a major food source for some animals, I can only choose a maximum of two that could beplex enough to eat it. There was also my lingering feeling of wanting to do something different from the other Seedlings that hindered my decision. Grass was something so simple that I was fairly confident many others would either choose it or have something that''s closely equivalent in their realms. Yeah, screw grass. I''m too cool for that. Maybe I should go with algae instead then? I already have two of my choices locked in for the ocean, though. Obviously, I need to add something or the entire continent will just slowly erode away if I just leave it purely rock and soil. My scale must be too big. Instead of thinking of it as a continent, should I just treat it as a new ind? Volcanic inds such as Hawaii sprout up randomly sometimes hundreds of miles away from othernds. Despite this istion, many of these ces are known for their lush and exotic life. Clearly, the nts didn''t just magically appear. Even in the case that some birds dropped seeds as they migrated, the volcanic rock would have needed to be softened and broken down before most could take root. I thought back to how these inds developed and quickly thought of one thing: lichens. These weird fusions of algae and fungus have pioneered almost every one of these ces far before other simple nt life and broke down the hard volcanic rock to make their settlement much easier. Lichens are extremely useful to the pioneering settlement... but there is no way I''m choosing them. Although they are very beneficial to the initial upation of these inds, lichens do not serve much use once the ind bes able to support moreplex forms of nt life. There was no need to choose this simple fusion of an organism since I had already covered the continent in broken-down rock and soil when I first created it. Though much of it got covered up byva flows caused by the whole lead incident, theyer was rtively thin and should be broken up fairly quickly by natural erosion. Even the areas that got the most drastically affected and had entire hills form would eventually be covered up by sediment from the nearby loose rock. The thought of lichen did make me think of something simr, but far more useful: moss. Moss is very simr to grass in its ability to produce oxygen, prevent erosion, and provide some food, but it also could do something far more important than grass can: it can dpose organisms. One thing that the sheep instructor never mentioned was the inclusion of microorganisms. In the case that there are no bacteria present, dposers are a must-have unless you''re willing to deal with thousands of animal corpses filling thendscape. This was one of the few cons I had in my attempted journey to Antarctica; since it is too cold for the bacteria to be active, there are countless penguin corpses dotting the icy ins. I guess I should be thankful I was sent here before I needed to see any of those dead penguins... I don''t think my heart could''ve taken it. Actually, screw it. There''s still a week left to think about this. While turning to Mr. Flippers, I decided to put a hold on the realm talk and give the adorable creature in front of me some attention. He probably feels like one of those corpses; he has pretty much been stuck waddling around doing nothing for the past few days while I work. It''s no wonder he seems to prefer Julia. There''s still a bit of time before we meet up, thankfully. I got off of the chair and sat down on the floor next to the confused penguin. Mr. Flippers stared silently as I grabbed my backpack and pulled out a deck of cards I used to y with the captain during my trip. "Hello, tiny one," I spoke as I began shuffling the cards in my hand, "I will now introduce you to a little game I like to call ckjack." I proceeded to deal both of us a card and used the chair next to me as a stand-in for a sort of dealer. This probably was not the best choice with only two real yers. He''s a penguin though, so he probably won''t understand what''s going on anyway. I summed up the main rules and the whole premise of getting as close to 21 without going over as I gave each of us a second card. A King of spades and 3 of hearts. "Hit," I said as I gave myself a third card. It happened to be a 5 of clubs, making my total 18, so I decided to stay and not risk going over. "Squawk" the penguin shouted after watching what I did. I handed him a card, which he proceeded to peek at before squawking again. "Huh? You want another?" I asked, only for the penguin to nod his head. "... well alright. Remember, you can''t go over 21 though," I reminded him as I handed over his third card. Mr. Flippers peaked at the card again before cing it back down and staring at me silently. Does that mean he''s staying? Did he not go over? Deciding to ignore it, I switched to ying as the dealer. Iid the cards face up as I drew them. As the chair started with a 4 of spades, I hit two times giving it an Ace of diamonds and Queen of spades. "Alright, the dealer stays at 19. I lost this one, what about you, Mr. Flippers?" The penguin flipped over his cards revealing a 3 of diamonds, an 8 of clubs, and a Jack of hearts. It was a perfect ckjack, exactly 21 points. "How the heck did you do that!?" I eximed, "Okay, you''re not just a cute penguin, but also a lucky one. Beginner''s luck doesn''tst forever, though. We''re ying another round!" I re-shuffled the cards and dealt them out again, only to be mercilessly crushed another 16 times in a row by the tiny penguin. At the end of the gauntlet and with my pride in shambles, Iid t on the floor with a smug penguin looking down on me. "How... it''s not possible," I muttered while the penguin began building a card castle on my stomach, "Even when I was controlling the dealer I still couldn''t win." Was I always this bad at card games? If I was, then why the heck would I bring a deck of the freaking things on the boat with me? It wasn''t as though my hands were bad. There were even a decent number of times where I got 20 points, but the tiny penguin would somehow get 21 almost half of the time and have the dealer bust when he got barely below it. "Screw it!" I shouted as I shot up, sending cards flying off of me, "New game- it''s War time, baby!" I exined the rules of the game as the two of us gathered the scattered cards. Since this game was much simpler than ckjack, I figured that no matter what my natural talent was at the game, we would be on equal footing. We finally finished picking up and shuffling the cards, so I dealt them out equally between the two of us. Sorry, chair. You''re not needed in this one. I can defeat this smug feathery boy by myself. "3, 2, 1, war! Yes!" My first card was a 5, while his was a 3. It was a petty victory, but a victory nheless. We continued ying however and I noticed that the cards he collected gradually began to outnumber mine. There was one key reason for this: "How... how did you get all four Aces!?" The game quickly ended in my defeat. I realized my mistake soon afterward; I challenged the king of luck to a match involving purely that. Iid back down on the floor and surrendered to my fate as Mr. Flippers built another castle on top of me. Please tell me this game of war isn''t a sign of anything. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 10 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 10 It was a bit earlier than we originally nned (roughly 12pm), but Mr. Flippers and I left the domain to go check out the training area before we met up with Julia. That was purely the only reason why we left early, losing back-to-back card games against a penguin had no impact on my decision to leave. Not even a little bit. My pride waspletely intact and not at all damaged in the slightest. Anyway. Finding the training grounds was not a problem since Julia and I found its entrance when we explored the area on our first day. Despite the door being locked at that time, the sign with a giant picture of a sword and thebel of "training grounds" made it fairly clear what was behind it. Mr. Flippers and I entered that door and were greeted by a small lobby-like area that split off into four rooms. A bit of exploring revealed that each room was for a different type of training. There was a section for practicing melee weapons with training dummies set up, a simr section but for ranged projectiles, a weird section with constantly flying objects, and a massive arena for dueling. This ce actually looks pretty well-designed. It feels like some sort of weird magic dojo. I was certain that this ce would be popr during this long week despite how few creatures were currently training. Much like the halls, there were not many other Seedlings here. Is everyone still in the bathhouse? It''s already been 2 hours, so maybe they just went back to their domains? I guess they must be using up the rest of their Resource Points before the day ends or something. I was not going toin about the open space, so I decided to push away those thoughts and go practice in the melee area. There were a ton of different training dummies set up with varying shapes; some had humanoid torsos while others resembled punching bags, specific shapes, or were simply unidentifiable. Off to the side of the room sat a few barrels filled with blunt weapons including a wooden sword and spear, an odd mace-like weapon, a soft whip, and a few others that I couldn''t recognize. To keep things simple on myself, I grabbed one of the swords to practice with. "Sorry, Mr. Flippers. I''m gonna need to put you down for a bit, I don''t want to identally hit you with this thing," I apologized to the penguin as I carried him over to an empty barrel. I plopped the small penguin into the barrel ignoring his protests. Oh my god, his tiny head is peaking out the top... that''s so freaking cute. "Listen, I don''t want you to get hurt so I have to keep you in there, but will you be a bit happier if I move you closer to me?" I asked as I sneakily took a picture of the penguin. Mr. Flippers looked away from me and let out a quiet squawk as if saying he didn''t care what I did. This penguin can never be honest, can he? I hid my smirk as I lifted the penguin-filled barrel and ced it around 7 feet away from where I would be swinging. It was still a bit away, but it was a third of the distancepared to the wall where he sat before and hisining died down a bit. I started with a few light swings to get used to the sword''s weight before soon switching over to basic hits on the dummy with the humanoid torso. Though my initial hits were sporadic, I was quickly able to find some sort of rhythm with my swings and my sword began to steadily collide in the spots I aimed for. Alright, I''m getting the basics down fine. Working on my aim can wait a bit- I want to put some power into this. Gradually, I increased the weight behind my swings with the volume of their impacts increasing proportionally. The torso shook a bit with every strike, but the sword nor the dummy showed any signs of wear. I was by no means weak either; I found that I had some decent muscles upon removing my wet clothes in my domain, so there was some considerable force behind myter strikes. I continued to swing at this level for a bit and my sword began to hit what I would consider vital spots more frequently. What the heck are these made of!? I know the sword is wooden, but I can''t even make a scratch on this dummy! Still, something doesn''t feel right. Although I was swinging with what I thought was my full strength, I felt like I could do more. There was no sense of fatigue caused by my strikes despite my intense slicing, so I knew I could push myself further. It''s like I have so much more strength that I just can''t use for some reason. What am I doing wrong here? I lowered my sword and stepped away from the training dummy slightly frustrated and confused. "That''s enough swordy today, Mr. Flippers. How about we check out the other sections?" I spoke as I put back the sword and barrel. "Squawk." ''Oi- don''t be acting bored. I just spent two hours getting destroyed by you in ckjack. Besides, this is important so we gotta train a bit." "Squawk squawk squawk." "The heck do you mean ''that was boring too''!? I was actually trying to win! Did I pose that little of a threat to make you that disinterested!?" "Squawk squawk." "Hush, I saw your penguin smile while we were ying so stop lying. I am super fun- you don''t have to deny it. Actually... I know what myst primary lifeform will be! I''m gonna choose some sort of mushroom." "Squawk?" "Oh yeah, you don''t know what those are. It''s a type of fungi, just like me- ow! Don''t peck at me, it was a good joke! Besides, it''s actually not a bad choice in all seriousness. They''re a good dposer which I need and they''re also a decent food source." It would also be pretty sick to see how a mushroom environment turns out. The two of us began walking to the section with the flying objects. This area had several private rooms with a giant reinforced-ss window showing the interior and a door to get inside. We entered the first of these rooms. It was roughly 30ft x 30ft with a marble floor and odd metallic walls with circr holes ced in a grid-like pattern. The holes themselves were roughly 6 inches in diameter and they shot out golden spheres with a diameter half of that from the left wall whichnded perfectly into the holes on the right wall. This looks pretty cool, but I thought this might be for practicing dodging... aren''t the balls going way too fast for that? The golden color of the spheres made me a bit hesitant to step into the fire, so I stuck my hand in the closest ball''s path and sessfully caught it. "It feels like actual gold, but it''s not as malleable," I muttered as I examined the sphere in my hand, "Even though it''s technically metal, it didn''t hurt at all when it hit me... what the heck happened to my body?" I had a feeling something was off during my practice swings, but this confirms it. Something clearly changed with my body after bing a Seedling. "I guess I''ll just need to keep experimenting," I sighed while rolling the ball over to Mr. Flippers, "Here, you can y with this while I train so you don''t get too bored." The penguin happily began rolling the ball around as I brought my attention back to the projectiles in front of me. They''re so freaking fast... welp here goes nothing. I jumped into the line of fire, barely getting over the first few spheres that flew under me. Despite there being no contact, they had enough weight to push the air around me and the wind strongly blew my hair. With minimal effort, I easily side-stepped the iing projectiles and gradually began moving deeper into the area. I was forced to navigate in a two-steps forward, one-step back type of manner due to the sporadic nature of the firing, but my progress was rapid. Since the balls were onlying from one direction, it was like child''s ypared to the green beams I avoided on my way to Antarctica. This is actually kind of fun! I haven''t even been hit once... do I have some sort of weird talent for dodging? I slowly got morefortable and the tension soon faded to the point where I had enough mental power to nce over at Mr. Flippers while still focusing on the golden spheres beingunched at my face. That penguin might have some god-like luck and Julia might be able to use magic, but I guess I also have a talent! Wait... speaking of Julia, how long have I been- As if she heard my thought, the door to the room creaked open and an elf girl with a towel on her head walked in. Although she was wearing the same clothes as thest time I saw her, it was easy to tell that she had already used the bathhouse. "Uhhh... hey Julia-" "I waited an hour for you!" sheined, "I was so excited to finally have a bath after 3 days and you just left me there!" "I''m sorry! I guess I just lost track of time," I apologized as I made my way out of the projectile area. Even with my now increased speed, it would still take me a bit to navigate out, "What time is it anyway?" "...it''s 1pm" she muttered. "What!? I''m not evente! How were you waiting an hour if we''re just supposed to be meeting now!?" "Well... I didn''t feel like going back to my domain, so I just waited outside the bathhouse," she blushed before continuing, "but then I realized it was co-ed so I decided to clean myself before you joined..." The bathhouse is co-ed!? Dangit, I really missed out. "H-hey! Don''t look at me like that!" she grabbed the ball from Mr. Flippers and chucked it at me. Of course, I effortlessly avoided it. "Don''t dodge it either!" sheined. "Sorry, I''m just too cool to get hit. I really don''t get why you''re mad though. Obviously, you wouldn''t want to take a bath while I was there, so wasn''t it better that I didn''te early?" "... You still should''vee," she pouted, "I had a towel on, but you should''ve been there to look out for me anyway." Ah- I get it now. "Okay, I get it now, I''m sorry," I apologized with a sigh, "Next time wait for me, I''ll go in with you from now on." A slight smile appeared on the elf''s face as she nodded with her face still a bit red. Seriously, girls are confusing. I understand the penguin more than her sometimes... "I thought we made up- why are you still throwing stuff at me!?" I shouted ducking under another sphere she tossed over. "... I just think it''s fun," sheughed while handing one to Mr. Flippers. She has the face of an angel, but she must be a devil. I spent an hour dodging golden spheres from two different directions. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 11 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 11 "Please don''t be sad, Mr. Flippers. You can y with the ball again next time we go train," I tried to cheer up the penguin who waddled slowly behind me while looking down at the floor. Escaping the dodging arena took way longer than it should have thanks to the two pranksters throwing balls at me as I tried to navigate out. Despite their best efforts and possibly to their disappointment, I somehow got out unscathed. Afterward, the penguin attempted to bring one of those golden spheres out with him to y withter, however, it somehow teleported back inside the room every time he passed through the door. "I''m sure we''ll go back there together soon, little one. There might even be something for you to y with in the bath," Julia added. "... I''m not sure I want to know what you''re referring to," I muttered taking a step away from the elf girl. "It sounds like someone super seriously needs a punch, doesn''t he?" the elf girl asked rhetorically with an innocent smile on her face. "If you keep smiling like that I might let you throw one." "Ew..." it was the elf''s turn to take a step away from me. "Hey- that was a joke! I''m not into that kind of stuff I swear," I defended myself as I rescinded the step I used to move away earlier, "Besides, you can''t punch me even if you tried- you saw those sick dodges yourself," "Oh really~" the elf girl grinned and quickly threw a weak punch toward my head to test me. It was both predictable and purposely inurate, so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity. I effortlessly turned my body, caught her wrist, and pulled her close to me in one smooth motion. The elf girl''s face immediately turned red and she looked away in a pitiful attempt to hide it. "If you wanted a hug, you could''ve just asked," I teased. We stood there in silence for a moment as Mr. Flippers looked up at us nkly. "... You smell," she mumbled. "Ah-" I let go of the embarrassed elf who took a step away, but a smile appeared on my face as I couldn''t help but notice her distance to me stayed a lot closer than it was prior to the punch. "Well we are going to the showers for a reason," I finished. Indeed, I worked up a bit of sweat after that training. The penguin and I originally nned to meet Julia at the bathhouse after using the training facility, so I didn''t reserve my energy and went all out with my swinging. Technically speaking, even if I held back in the sword practice, these two would''ve exhausted me anyway with their antics in the dodging area. The bathhouse was right next door to the training facility, so it may seem weird that we were able to have such a long conversation on the way. There were two reasons for this: the penguin and the sheer size of the training facility. Mr. Flippers was waddling while pulling a massive bag of sadness behind him due to losing the sphere, which made him follow us at a snail''s pace. Eventually, I was forced to pick up the sulking penguin and carry the tiny creature the rest of the way. Thanks to the dueling arena in the training facility, there had to be a massive gap between the two entrances. It was roughly the length of a football field between them. Of course, we quickly closed this gap after I began carrying the penguin. We finally stepped into the entrance and were greeted by a stunning room in the shape of a giant octagon. It seemed to have some sort of white-tile flooring that waspletely spotless despite the massive herd of creatures that came through earlier. In the center of this massive room was a giant fountain covered in lush and beautiful nts that seemed to bask peacefully in the warm water. Sunlight came through a ss-like window on the roof above this fountain which illuminated the entire area in warm natural light. "Wow..." I couldn''t stop that word from leaking through my lips. Julia smiled at my reaction before saying, "I know, it''s beautiful, isn''t it? Seeing this actually made me a bit thankful for being brought here." "Yeah, I can see why. I think this is the first time I''ve seen sunlight since we got here" "Now that you mention it, I think you''re right! We explored the academy together that first day and I don''t remember seeing a single window..." Is that intentional? Is whoever brought us here worried about us escaping or something? If they were, then why the heck would they risk putting a ss ceiling in here? I guess it doesn''t matter... there''s no way for me to get up there anyway. During my pondering, I noticed that Mr. Flippers'' gaze waspletely locked on the sunlight shining from the roof. Although he stayed silent, the expression on his face needed no words to portray his thoughts. "... I''m sorry," I muttered, holding the penguin a bit tighter. "Huh? Did you say something?" Julia turned and asked. "No, it''s nothing. I can definitely see why you couldn''t wait for Mr. Flippers and me," I said changing the subject, "Would you mind giving us a tour of this ce?" "I was going to do that anyway, but sure. Just follow me!" If we chose the entrance of the bathhouse to be the southern face of its octagon shape, its northern face opposite to us would house the actual baths, the eastern face would be where the showers are located, and the western face would be where the sauna sits. Each of these rooms were connected to the main area through a very small entryway with a silver sign hanging above it that clearly stated what each path lead to. Julia led us counter-clockwise starting with the showers. Unlike the baths which were both open and co-ed, all of the showers were located inside their own individual stalls for total privacy. Inside, there were a ton of different tools -many of which I waspletely unfamiliar with- as well as soap, shampoo, and a few towels of different sizes provided. What surprised me more than the stockpile of supplies was the size of each stall itself; each one was practically its own small bathroom. While we were already here, Mr. Flippers and I took a quick shower. I was a bit reluctant to do so in the middle of the tour, but Julia insisted so that we could all use the sauna together at the end. I brought the penguin into the stall with me and washed him first,pletely covering him in bubbles to the point where I couldn''t even see his flippers under the pile. My failure to contain myughter at the sight made him mad and caused him to chase me around the stall until I finally calmed him down. I then quickly rinsed him off before sending the clean penguin to wait with Julia while I washed myself. Even this quick shower made me feel a world of difference as thest of the cold saltwater that remained on my body was washed away. When I came out a few minutester, I saw Julia standing there wearing a giant towel and Mr. Flippers with a tiny one next to her. She must have taken a towel meant for a much bigger creature because it was practically like she was wearing a dress. After a bit of discussion, I was forced to also change into a towel while we were here to avoid needing to change for the saunater on. Doing as I was told, I came back with a towel covering from my hips to a bit below my knees. I was greeted by a gaze directed towards my stomach once I stepped out. "Julia, my eyes are up here," I teased. "W-what? You just have a bit more muscle than I thought you would," Julia mumbled as she adverted her eyes. "To be honest, I was surprised when I saw it too," I smiled looking at her flushed expression. Though Julia did her best to look away, Mr. Flippers stared boldly at me without a hint of embarrassment. "Squawk." "Don''t be jealous, Mr. Flippers. For all we know, you might have a six-pack hiding under all those feathers." I joked. This somehow seemed to cheer up the little creature who straightened his posture with a smug look on his face. I somehow managed to hold back myughter as we began making our way toward the baths. We quickly reached our destination and to my surprise, instead of one giant bath, there were actually three different baths all next to one another. This area seemed to fit the natural theme hinted at by the fountain with giant rockspletely covered in nt life being used to separate each individual pool of water. The shape of each bath was slightly different from one another but they all seemed to mimic the look of a natural spring and were supplied water through a stream in the back. ording to Julia, each bath was a different temperature: the leftmost one was cold, the middle one was a bit warm, and the right one was hot. Steam was very clearly rising from the right bath and a quick dip of my hand let me estimate it was a bit above 100 degrees Fahrenheit andparable to a hot tub. Though a few creatures rxed in the middle and right baths, the left one waspletely open so we let Mr. Flippers swim around for a bit. "You weren''t lying- the little guy is a crazy swimmer!" Julia couldn''t hold back her astonishment seeing how fast he didps under the water. "I told you! Penguins can actually swim much faster than this, but the bath is a bit too small for that. We''re definitely going to need to bring him back here often." Although he fought us a bit when we eventually tried to get him out, Mr. Flippers looked insanely happy and refreshed after finally getting to swim again. Any remaining thoughts about losing the sphere seemed to vanish from his penguin brain and he was in a good mood as we made our way to our final destination: the sauna. "Here it is!" Julia announced to the closed wooden door in front of us, "I was super curious about what''s in here, but I wanted to wait for you two before I looked inside." "You''ve never seen a sauna before? How''d you know we had to wear towels in there?" "Well, everyone I saw go in there was wearing one so I just assumed it was some sort of rule..." she muttered. "I guess that makes sense," I paused and looked down at the small penguin at my side, "Saunas are pretty hot though, so I don''t think Mr. Flippers can stay in there too long." "That''s okay. We don''t need to be there for long, I mainly just wanted to check it out with you guys since I kinda did the rest alone. Let''s go in!" With that settled, Julia opened the door and a flow of white steam flowed out of the entrance. Yeah, this really might not be the best for the penguin. It''s too- My thoughts were cut short by a pair of flippers holding onto the back of my leg. "Hey, what''s wrong Mr. Flippers? Are you hiding from the steam?" I asked the slightly shaking penguin. There was no answer. I peeked into the sauna through the open door and quickly locked eyes with a red scaley figure sitting on a wooden bench in front of us. "God dangit." I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 12 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 12 Announcement This Chapter was released early to celebrate reaching over 1.000 chapter views :D ! Please make sure you did not miss Chapter 11 that was released on Friday! Thank you all for the support :D Aside from the red smander-looking guy, there were two others near him on the wooden bench across from the sauna''s entrance. This first of these two resembled amia, a mythological creature with an upper body of a human and the lower half of a snake. Although it was difficult to judge her height due to her sitting down, her posture put her slightly taller than Julia at about 5''6. She did have another five feet worth of tail though, so this number was probably not very urate. Her tail was a mix of golden and ck coloring that contrasted nicely with her red hair and pale skin. The creature on the other side of the smander stood out the most: a giant ogre with an absolutely massive frame and light brown skin. He was definitely more chubbier than muscr, but it was clear that enormous strength was hiding under hisyers of fat. It was immediately obvious that this ogre was the strongest creature I had seen so far in this academy at least in terms of raw power. It looks like that idiot made a strong friend. What is he like 6''8? That guy is built like a freaking refrigerator... that would fit pretty well actually. You are what you eat, and clearly he''s eaten a few- "Hello! Would you guys minding inside? You are letting the steam out keeping the door open like that..." themia girl spoke interrupting my thoughts. "Ah- right. Sorry about that," I apologized before picking up the still-trembling penguin and walking inside along with Julia. Maybe it was due to the door being opened, but the sauna did not feel nearly as hot as I expected it to be. I probably wouldn''t need to worry about Mr. Flippers too badly, but either way, I did not want to keep him in here longer than a few minutes. Rather than the heat, I was more concerned about the red idiot a few feet in front of me. Our eyes had been locked since the moment the door opened; the tension in the room could be cut by a knife and probably then eaten by the ogre on his right. "Hey, isn''t that-" Julia whispered to me upon following my gaze. "Yep it''s him," I spoke purposely louder than needed to ensure the lizard heard me, "that''s the idiot who threw a tantrum over a drop of water on the first day. I wasn''t expecting to see him here, but with howvish this ce is, it''s pretty refreshing seeing something so pathetic" My provocation seemed to work as the lizard dude immediately clenched his fist and his re deepened tenfold meanwhile Julia simply looked at me in awe. "It sounds like this scaleless twerp needs to learn his ce," he spat as he stood up and brandished his ws, "Since you''re so desperate to bleed, I''ll give you a cut." "I''ve never met a guy who shows off his nails more than you do," I mocked. I handed Mr. Flippers to Julia and took a step towards the smander. "You don''t scare me, lizard boy," I continued, "Go for the slice, I won''t even flinch." The lizard approached me and raised his arm, but just as the smander began his swing, a deep voice behind him spoke out. "Stop it, Levon. We can not attack each other. He is trying to get you punished." His w paused an inch away from my neck before he clicked his tongue and backed away. Whether it was due to the fact that he could not fight or because I did not flinch at his feint, the frustration in his eyes grew stronger. "You''re a sly one," themia now spoke, "but if you''re going to interrupt our time in here, shouldn''t you at least introduce yourself first?" Her voice was calm, yet it had a hint of curiosity and mild annoyance mixed in. A small sigh escaped my lips and I rxed my posture a bit. I guess that''s good enough for now. "I go by Jacob. The elf next to me is Julia and the adorable penguin in her arms is Mr. Flippers," I announced. "My name is Alishia," themia introduced following my lead, "The guy you were just bickering with is Levon and the big guy over there is Ferguson." Ferguson? That seems a bit weird. I can kind of see where the other two got their name from, but I can''t see how this one fits. I nced over to the ogre deciding to voice my thoughts, "That''s an interesting name. How''d youe up with that?" "I did not choose it. My race has their names engraved on their skin," He spoke while pointing at a tattoo on his upper left arm. Wow, that''s a cheat. I guess the academy was even more lenient than I thought. Now that he mentions it, I wouldn''t be too surprised if my actual name was somewhere in my phone. If they couldn''t even bother to remove a tattoo, there''s no way it would be taken out of it. "Did you two also have your old names?" Julia finally spoke out. "No, Levon and I came up with our own. Ferguson keeping his was a bit unfair." "That was a coincidence," the ogre argued, "two elves being picked is unfair." ""Eh?"" A small noise of confusion blurted out of both Julia''s and my mouth. Did he just say ''two elves''? "Oi, I''m not an elf." "Oh? Was Ferguson wrong?" Alishia asked, "Aside from the gender differences, I don''t see anything much different between you two." "Well... our ears are different," Julia answered quietly. "... Anything else?" "Uhhh..." she turned to me and seemed to search for anything else she could say, "No... it''s mainly just the ears..." ""..."" No one said a word and the room was enveloped in an awkward silence. "That''splete bull-" "Okay, if you''re not an elf than what are you?" Alishia spoke as she interrupted Levon. "I''m the coolest dude to ever-" "He''s a human," Julia answered. Come on, you could at least try to let me show off... I looked over towards Julia dejectedly trying to convey my disappointment, but was sadly met with herplete apathy. She can be so grumpy sometimes. "Who cares what this pipsqueak is?" Levon spat again, "He''ll be dead day one." "Yeah right. You could send a whole army and I bet you wouldn''t be able to kill a single one of my guys." "Sounds like this wimp is hiding behind his pawns. Too scared to fight me head-on?" "I''ll put you in a freaking terrarium before you could even-" "Enough!" the ogre stood up and shouted, "All you do is fight. I came to rx, not to hear screams. I am leaving." With that, he returned to his domain. His towel dropped to the floor now with nothing to be attached to. There was a another moment of silence as everyone looked at the towel on the ground. "Tsk, why am I even wasting time talking to this twerp," Levon muttered before also vanishing and giving the towel somepany. I nced towards themia who was thest remaining of the three. Rather than immediately joining them and returning to her domain, she instead went over to the door. "We were in here for a while, so I guess I should take my leave as well. Unlike those two, I would like to get my clothes first. I am sure we will see each other again soon," she spoke as she left. Now only Julia, Mr. Flippers, and I remained inside the sauna. We stayed quiet for a moment in an attempt to process the whole interaction that just happened. Eventually, a sigh left the mouth of the elf next to me. "So, are you going to tell me why you did that?" she asked. "I have no idea what you''re talking about..." I pleaded ignorance and looked away. "Don''t y dumb, why did you provoke them so much? I understand that you hate the red one, but you could''ve gotten yourself killed!" "... I knew they couldn''t actually attack me," I said with a wry smile, "Besides, it was an opportunity I couldn''t pass on." Julia looked at me even more confused. "An opportunity?" "Mhm," I exined, "the defenders in thepetition will have a huge advantage; I just guaranteed myself homefield advantage over three people." While most of the creatures have things like ws or fangs to fight, my humans won''t really have any of that. At least for the start of thepetition, my lifeforms would be extremely weak until they can develop basic weaponry, so invading other realms would bepletely off-the-table for me. If I wanted to get wins early, they would have toe to me where the cold could wipe them out. Given their reptile nature, there was no chance lizardmen ormias would be able to survive. Ogres would be more of a threat, but I doubted that they would be able to traverse the mountain ranges inrge numbers. "... You really are crazy sometimes, you know that?" Julia muttered. I simply smiled at her reply. "I personally think ''amazing'' is a better word. Anyway, we''ve been in here way longer than we should have; Mr. Flippers is starting to melt. Let''s go let him swim again in the cold bath." The toasty bird was immediately revitalized and jumped out of Julia''s arms with an excited squawk before waddling over to the door. Julia and I continued to talk as we followed behind the tiny creature. Although there were a few creatures when we walked around before, the bathhouse waspletely empty aside from the three of us. I took another look at the giant fountain covered in nts as we walked past it. "By the way, did you think about what primary lifeforms you are going to choose?" I asked Julia. "Yeah, it was pretty easy for me. I just chose moss, grass, and seagrass" I let out a cough. Grass AND seagrass? Could she not think of anything else? I know she never went outside of the forest, but there has to be better choices than that... "What''s wrong?" she asked me innocently. "N-nothing. I also picked moss so I was a bit surprised." "You picked it too!?" Julia''s eyes sparkled a bit, "I knew I made good picks!" "Y-yeah! You did great, Julia." Me trash-talking grass? Pfff Never happened. It''s not a boring choice at all- not even a little bit! The sound of a penguin diving into the water ahead of us filled the room and we continued to talk about our choices as he swam. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 13 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 13 I let Mr. Flippers swim around for a while to cool him down from the sauna, so it was alreadyte by the time we returned to my domain. My goal for the night was to finish deciding on my basic lifeforms, as although I already chose the general types, I did not yet pick a specific species of each. The phytonkton did not need any more boration, but there were thousands of different types of mushrooms and moss to pick from. Before starting, I took out my notebook and wrote down every type of moss and mushroom that I knew along with the notable qualities of each. I decided to start with the mushrooms and immediately crossed out any that were poisonous. This narrowed down my list quite a lot; it appeared as though the majority of the mushrooms that I was familiar with were some of the most deadly ones. Apparently, it''s much easier to remember what to avoid than what''s safe. My list isn''t too bad... I doubt many people could even name more than three types of mushrooms yet I have about 20 here. With only a few healthy species left from the ones I knew, I decided on fairy ring mushrooms. Fairy ring mushrooms (specifically the Marasmius oreades species) are small brown mushrooms that like to spread out in a ring shape. These are easily edible, act as great dposers, taste pretty good, and grow extremely well in wet environments yet they are still somewhat resistant to drought. Fairy ring mushrooms usually like to grow in grassy environments, but I figured having moss instead shouldn''t make too much of a difference considering they could even grow on tree roots. Dposing any fallen trees shouldn''t be difficult with these fungi on the ground. In terms of moss, I was pretty much at a loss. There were barely any types that I remembered, let alone that I knew much about. My first thought went to java moss which was one that I had known a lot about, but I quickly eliminated that option due to its need for an aquatic environment. I eventually settled on the hypnum imponens species which is a type of sheet moss that I remembered being a pretty popr grass substitute onwns. Since it could handle sun exposure decently well, grow over a wide area, withstand some foot traffic, and is overall an effective moss, it was a pretty easy choice. Alright, that''s the primary lifeforms out of the way! I nced over to check the time and noticed that there was still plenty of time left before the next ss. They won''t be due for a while, but I might as well pick out my basic lifeforms since I have the time. Putting them down earlier would be better anyway. Despite the fact that we were given an entire week in heavenly time to pick our lifeforms, we could begin cing them once we got approval if we chose early. With one day in heavenly time being equivalent to 1,000 years outside of the academy, the sooner they are ced, the longer the species would have to evolve and diversify. I turned my attention back to the. "We can only choose two basic lifeforms, unlike the three primary ones I could pick," I muttered out loud. One of those choices was already decided on. Simrly to how I handled the mushrooms, I began to make a list of all of the types of fish I knew about. There was absolutely no way that I would leave the water barren after investing one of my primary lifeforms into phytonkton. Fish were easily worth the two selections; they serve as an amazing food source for those close to water and give the oceans some much-needed life. After writing down nearly a hundred different fish species, I quickly realized that there was a problem. Most of these fish use other small fish as their food source... I have to choose one that can actually eat the phytonkton. Not only would most of the ones I wrote down immediately starve, but the majority of the fish would probably be considered tooplex to be a basic lifeform. Based on the qualifications described by the instructor, basic lifeforms needed to be very simple in nature and also get their energy through the consumption of primary lifeforms. It seemed that theplexity of the lifeforms had the biggest impact on the category they belonged in based on her lectures following that statement, so I figured that the second part was mainly a guideline rather than a requirement, however. My list thinned considerably after that realization, leaving only a few types remaining. Out of those options, I eventually settled on the Antic menhaden- a small, silver fish that uses phytonkton as its main food source. It is both extremely basic in nature as required by the instructor, but it also has a ton of other great qualities. The Antic menhaden is extremely versatile and can survive in waters of different salinities and temperatures, which fits perfectly with the role it would be required to y in this ecosystem. Menhaden are also extremely rich in omega-3 acids that can help provide great nutrients to whoever eats them. "Hey, Mr. Flippers!" I called out to the penguin who making another castle out of my deck of cards, "It looks like you''ll have some yummy fish to eat if you ever decide to visit our realm." The penguin did not react too much to my statement because he was so focused on the castle, but I didn''t fail to notice his tiny penguin eyes lighting up at my words. He''s so adorable. I slipped back into thought while I watched the penguin build. I''m only able to pick one more basic lifeform... but what should I choose? I don''t think there''s anything major that I''m missing. So far I have moss for ground cover, phytonkton for life in the oceans, fungi and moss to act as dposers, and fish for future food. Going over what I had chosen so far, food options for the future humans were prettycking, but I was nning to fix that with my two moderate lifeform choices. If I picked a type of fruit tree and a livestock-type animal for those two options as I nned, there would be no need to use this basic pick in that category. While I could have easily chosen some sort of crop such as potatoes or wheat, I was extremely worried that they would get overrun by the moss and mushrooms during the roughly 350,000 years they would be left alone for. There was also the chance for some unfavorable evolution to ur that would drastically change the crop or make it less valuable for humans during that time. I sat for a few hours thinking about all of the various possibilities. There were thousands of different species I could choose from and so many different routes that I could take. The crop option could be useful, but based on my nning, the humans should already have five different food sources. Choosing a crop would be both risky and not exactly needed. As I thought more about it, I couldn''t help but feel I was forgetting something. What am I missing? I know that the humans should have enough food. It''s not too nutrient-bnced, but it should be okay. Screw it, I have no idea. Maybe I should use this choice to support the nts that I have? A certain lifeform was in the back of my mind, but it was so simple that it could probably be considered a primary lifeform. These tiny creatures have been thriving for hundreds of millions of years feasting on decaying organic matter. They create small gaps in the ground as they crawl which drastically improve the structure, drainage, and nutrient avability of the soil. Even if it wouldn''t be a very shy pick, earthworms would have an enormouslypositive effect on the continent. It was impossible to overstate just how many amazing contributions these tiny earthworms would make to the health of the realm''s ecosystem and it quickly became obvious to me that no other lifeform would be more worthy of this pick. "Alright! It''s settled then!" I announced while stretching in my chair. My current list was as follows: Primary: Moss, Mushroom, Phytonkton Basic: Antic Menhaden, Earthworm Moderate: Livestock (undecided), Tree (undecided) There were now three different dposers upon the addition of the earthworms to the party previously of just moss and mushrooms. Given the multiple different uses asides from only this role, I didn''t feel there were any major bncing issues despite this. The more dposers the better in my opinion. It felt amazing to have a break after spending so much time debating species. There were still the moderate lifeforms to worry about, but there was no way that I would have enough time to properly choose in the little remaining time before ss starts. "You ready to go to ss?" I called out to Mr. Flippers as I turned around. The penguin stopped his routine of waddling in circles around his nowpleted card castle and nodded his penguin head. "You did a pretty good job on that! How about we take a picture so Julia can see what you built?" I pulled out my phone and took a picture of the proud penguin next to his creation. "It looks like we both worked hard- I''m sure she''ll love it," I smiled as I picked up the feathery creature, "Let''s get to ss- transport to the academy!" As usual, the two of us appeared inside the audience hall and quickly made our way to ss. Julia and most of the other creatures were already in their seats as we arrived a bitter than usual. "Good morning, Seedlings! I know that some of you may be anxious to verify your lifeforms, but we will get to it at the end of the ss- we have a very interesting topic to cover today, so I am sure you will not mind the wait," The sheep instructor began. A new topic? I was pretty sure she was going to talk more about the food chain... "Today I will be introducing you all ess to domain creation. To put it simply, you can all create things such as objects, and food inside your domains using your divinity. It may take a bit of practice, but as long as you have a detailed image of what you are creating and in-depth knowledge on how it functions, you should perfect it quite quickly." Numerous excited whispers wereing from the creatures. I was hardly an exception and my mind was racing thinking about all the possible things I could now do with this ability. My thoughts did notst long, as I was quickly distracted by the overwhelming sparkle in Julia''s eyes. "Please be responsible, everyone. I highly encourage you all to finish choosing your lifeforms prior to utilizing this function. I mainly decided to introduce this ability to give entertainment to Seedlings who finished early," the sheep instructor continued, "The other function that I will mention today is the ability to change the passage of time inside your domains. To ensure a somewhat fair environment, this ability will be locked until the start of the advance lifeform introductory period. As I have gone over before, 1 heavenly day is equivalent to 1,000 mortal years. The time in your domains can move at the same rate as mortal time at its slowest, but it can not be faster than heavenly time. I will reiterate that the time will be locked into heavenly time until closer to thepetition''s beginning. Some of you may notice much more rapid changes in your realmspared to before; the academy switched to mortal time for the first few days of your introduction for monitoring purposes, but we are now once again using heavenly time." Her lecture continued for a while as she went into details on performing domain creation before the sheep instructor eventually dismissed the ss and a small line formed to get the lifeforms checked. Sadly, my position at the back of the lecture hall guaranteed my spot at the end of the line. Julia volunteered to keep an eye on Mr. Flippers since she did not want to submit anything yet. I felt a bit bad for holding her up- Julia''s eyes were still sparkling and it was obvious she desperately wanted to go back to her domain to try out domain creation. Luckily, the line appeared to be moving quickly and I soon found myself face-to-face with the instructor. "It seems you are thest one today," the sheep instructor said as she handed me a few nk white cards, "All you need to do is think about the details of the lifeforms you are choosing. The cards should use that to gather all the needed information from your memory." I nodded my head and held up one of the cards while thinking about the mushroom. I thought about its growth, how it gets nutrients, its spores, and every otherponent that I could think of. A golden glow quickly enveloped the card revealing a sketch of the mushroom and a ton of information about the lifeform once the light faded. I repeated this action for the remainder of the primary and basic lifeforms all of which were stamped off by the sheep instructor without any problems. "Now that you have my approval, you should be able to begin cing these lifeforms once you return to your domain. Remember to be patient and careful- you only have a limited amount that you can add." "Thank you, instructor, I''ll do my best," I turned to leave before I was immediately stopped. "Hold on. Before you can go, I need to verify that your realm followed the criteria Iid out in our first lesson," the sheep instructor ced a small orb on the table, "the Flower Box has carefully inspected everyone''s realm ahead of time and marked who vited the rules- this is just to verify that you passed the inspection." Wow- I guess I was underestimating the academy after the whole tattoo incident... they actually are paying attention to us. "Shouldn''t be a problem," I lightheartedly stated while reaching for the orb, "Just out of curiosity, what were to happen if someone did break the rules?" The sheep''s usually gentle expression turned serious at my question and a chill quickly went down my spine. "...They would be punished." A small gulp sounded in my throat as my hand made contact with the orb. It was soon dyed a dark yellow color. Yellow? Does that mean I passed? I turned my attention back to the sheep instructor only to be met with a re from two horizontal pupils. Enormous pressure bore down on me. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter H.1 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter H.1 Two figures sat at a table, seemingly enjoying a break from work. As they sat drinking coffee, a female news anchor greeted the camera on the television hanging from the corner of the room. "Good evening, everyone. It has been four days since the storm off the coast of Antarctica was spotted by researchers at Maldonado Base. Storms are not an umon urrence in that area, so those of you who have not been tuning in recently may be wondering why we are reporting such a thing." A video feed disying extremely choppy waves in icy water reced the anchor on the screen. Dark clouds covered the sky. "To put it simply, this was not a typical storm. It looks like nothing out of the ordinary at first; just strong wind and rough water. Undoubtedly, no one would have bothered to record such an event, and if it were not for the fact that a security camera happened to be pointed in its direction, we would not even have this footage. As you can see, nothing seemed out of the ordinary for a while, but that soon changed once a strange phenomenon was spotted a few minutester." The video began to fastword, making it easy to see the storm increasing in intensity. A green sh was shown reflecting off of the dark clouds. It was so quick that one would likely attribute it to a video error. After a few minutes, however, more and more of these green shes could be seening from inside the storm,pletely discrediting such a theory. "Some of the researchers at Maldonado Base began to take notice of the storm at this point," the anchor continued as the video cut to a new perspective seemingly recorded on a shakey phone. "It was in this video taken by one of the researchers that a small boat could be seen inside of the storm, leading people to suspect that whoever was on board was the cause of the strange phenomenon. The Argentine Coast Gaurdter found the vessel and the lone captain was brought back for questioning. This would normally be the end of a story like this, but what the investigators thought would give them the answer to the green lights only served to spiral into a giant mystery." A picture of the boat was then disyed. "It started upon the realization that the captain''s boat was not registered. The coast guard quickly raided the ship suspecting it was being used in drug trafficking, and a secretpartment was indeed discovered. Instead of substances, thepartment was hiding a few boxes filled with what looked to be odd artifacts and rare materials. The captain refused to answer both where they were from and where he was smuggling them to. Luckily for the investigators, he didment on the storm itself and outright denied being the source of the green lights. Contrary to what many figured, he imed to not have lit any fireworks nor shined anysers into the clouds. His denial was supported by the raid which found no evidence of such things. When asked to borate on what he witnessed in the storm, the captain imed that light-green beams ''rained down on the ship from above''. Although he stated that the ship was struck multiple times, no punctures nor unusual damage could be seen on the deck. He also imed that the beams were targeting a person on board and did not cease until that person fell overboard. His description of the person held a striking resemnce to an 18-year-old from Connecticut who had recently gone missing after leaving on a trip to Argentina. A joint search was conducted in the area between the US and Argentine Coast Guard, but no body was recovered." The video cut back to the anchor talking directly at the camera. "There are many theories about what these green beams could be, ranging from secret military equipment to aliens. When asked forments, the Press Secretary imed that the captain was intentionally being misleading to distract from whatever smuggling operation he was conducting. She went on to assert that the source of the green lights was the aurora australis- sometimes referred to as the ''southern lights''. Herments have been met with heavy skepticism considering both the time of day and the part of the year- *Click The television was turned off. A man in a green general uniform let out a sigh as he buried his head in his hands. "The media is having a field day with this," he muttered. A man dressed in ab coat put down his coffee and spoke from across the table. "Can you me them? This is the kind of stuff we only hear about in fiction- I''m sure they are going to milk this dry. I still think it was the right call to let that guy meet with the press. Even though it brought a lot of unneeded attention, if it wasn''t for him mentioning that he had a US citizen on board, we would not have had the justification to inspect the area." "I guess that''s true... we were able to get all of the samples we needed," his demeanor instantly became more serious, "Has there been any progress on the analysis?" It was the other man''s turn to sigh. "Nothing major yet- our team is stillpletely lost on what could be causing those readings. We haven''t had ess to the samples for long, but I''m sure that we''ll make a breakthrough eventually." "Speaking of samples," the general leaked a smirk, "I could understand taking sections of the boat''s deck and even some ocean water near the storm... but wasting the area really necessary? It sounds to me like you guys are scared the fish will figure out the aliensers before us." The man in theb coat adjusted his sses to cover his annoyance. "Yes, theting was needed and no, we are not scared of the fish. There''s not even any reason to suspect that the lights were a resort of alien technology-" "Oh, you don''t think it was from aliens? So you''re saying that the fish were the ones shooting at the boat?" the general mocked. "... Is your sole purpose in life just to annoy me?" The man in theb coat sighed andid back in his chair, "I think you''re underestimating just how big this whole discovery is." "Well I think you''re underestimating just how big my-" "I swear to Newton I will leave if you finish that sentence." The general cracked a smile and put his hands up to show his surrender. "Alright, clearly I don''t get this stuff- that''s why we brought you in. So exin to me why the Department of Defense is going crazy over green lights that can''t even put a hole through a small fishing boat." "The government is probably just worried that it''s some secret weapon from Russia or China, but this is a huge deal in the scientificmunity. We don''t have the ''beams'' themselves to study, but we did get some readings from the equipment at Maldonado and now we have the samples from things they impacted. From what we''re seeing, whatever these beams were made of... it''s not a particle or wave; it''s somehow between the two of them. It constantly switches between the two yet can be either one depending on the stimulus. This is somethingpletely unheard of! There isn''t even a single scientific theory predicting the existence of such a thing!" The scientist nced over to the general only to be met with a face of pure confusion. "Okay... maybe you''ll understand better if I put it like this." He paused as he thought of what to say, "Light acts as a wave for the most part. When it makes contact with an object, it might transfer some energy to it and make it warm up, but it does not add mass to it. If you leave a chocte bar in the sun, it might melt but it won''t get heavier. What we are looking at is different. Based on the readings from Maldonado, it exists in a state of energy and has no mass in its beam form. The second it makes contact with an object, instead of transferring this energy, it infuses into the object and adds some mass while potentially altering its properties!" The general nced at the scientist with eyes full of skepticism. "I think I get what you''re saying, but what do you mean by ''altering its properties''? I didn''t notice anything different about the ship even after it apparently got sted by those beams." "What you say is true- nothing seemed different on the surface." A grin appeared on the face of the scientist. "But when we took a portion of the ship''s hull into theb, we noticed something unusual: it was nearly three times more durable than what should be possible for the material!" The general nearly leaped out of his seat when he heard this. "Three times!? Could you imagine if we shot some of those beams at our tanks... it''s no wonder the Department of Defence is so obsessed with this stuff," the general paused, seemingly pondering such a possibility, "What would happen if a person were to get hit though? Would their skin just be tougher?" "...I don''t know. I was able to iste some of the fish in the area that got hit using this contraption I made with parts from the fishing boat. My team will be studying them to try to figure out the beams'' effects on living things, but it might take us some time to see if anything changes with them." He pulled out a small metal device and ced it on the table. The general looked at it with curiosity. "... And that stick can tell you which fish got hit by the beams?" A smug grin was stered on the scientist''s face. "This is just a prototype that I threw together. Even though we still don''t know what that energy particle mixture is, I never said I couldn''t find a way to detect it. Once we can find the source of this energy, we will have the potential to enter a new age... and I''ll be the one to get us there." I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 14 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 14 Announcement This chapter was released early as a Christmas present to you all! Thank you all for the continuous and amazing support! Please make sure you did not miss Ch H.1! Merry Christmas, everyone :D ! An invisible force squeezed me from every direction. "W-what does yellow mean, instructor?" I managed to stutter out despite the pressure. The force from the sheep instructor lessened a bit, yet she continued to look at me with a strong re. "A yellow color means that the Flower Box found a minor vition of the rules," a strained smile appeared on the sheep''s face, "You have some nerve, Seedling. You showed upte to our first ss, you constantly bring your pet to my lessons... and now you disrespected the Founder by breaking the rules of thepetition." "Mr. Flippers is not my pet. He''s a friend- gah!" "Quiet! I don''t want to hear it. If I remember correctly, you did not even bother attending his weing ceremony either-" The pressureing from the teacher red to its highest level. An image of a soda can being crushed appeared in my mind as I struggled with all of my power to stay standing. "After everything the Founder has done for us... all the effort, the pain, the time... even knowing just a fragment of the burden he bares, I will not tolerate anyone who dares to undermine his will!" "I-I d-didn''t-" I tried to speak, but could barely get any breath out of my mouth. My lungs felt like they were being squeezed, and with all of my energy being exerted to keep standing, there was no way for me to defend myself. "Every detail of thispetition was organized by the Founder. Going against the rules is the very same as going against him." The sheep instructor''s re deepened. "You are lucky Seedling. Your result was still a yellow- not a vition directly, but rather one by a technicality. Had this been red..." My knees suddenly buckled and a small stream of blood flowed from my lip. "...Not even the flora of obitus would feast upon your ashes." The sheep instructor then closed her eyes and all of the overwhelming pressure was suddenly released. I immediately took a heavy breath and air filled my now-free lungs. "Haaa... Haaa.." The sheep began to walk past me towards the exit but paused at my side. "Go down the hall and take a left. The Flower Box will give you instructions on what to do next," she stated before climbing the stairs and leaving the room- not sparing a single nce towards the other two creatures present. ""..."" No one said a word. Only the sound of my staggered breaths filled the empty lecture hall. My body began to slightly sway as a feeling of extreme lightheadedness washed over me. It was only through pure stubbornness that I was somehow able to keep myself standing upright. "What in Alghelme just happened?" a female voice muttered from behind me breaking the silence. I was a bit too exhausted to reply, but I soon felt an arm wrap around my side. I turned my head to see Julia there helping to support me. "Jacob... are you okay?" she asked quietly with a worried look on her face. I struggled to nod my head. That... was a lot tougher than I thought. "Your lip... it''s bleeding..." she whispered. Confused, I lifted my hand to my mouth, revealing dark red stains on my fingertips when pulled away. Shoot. I didn''t even realize I was biting my lip so hard. I rxed my jaw and freed my lip from between my teeth. Although my body was in pretty rough shape, it didn''t take long for the bleeding to stop. Julia helped lower me down into a nearby seat while I recovered. Mr. Flippers soon appeared from behind her and promptlyyed on myp. We sat there for a few minutes as strength gradually returned to my body and eventually I could fully stand on my own again. I guess being a ruler also boosts my recovery speed. That felt like I was standing inside a ck hole... there''s no way I would have been able to stand again in a normal body, at least not so soon. Then again, I doubt a normal human could even survive that... "Hey Julia, would you mind watching Mr. Flippers for a bit? I have to figure out what the heck caused this whole mess." "I don''t mind. I was gonna go to the bathhouse now anyway, so I''ll bring him with me. Are you sure you''re okay though?" she asked worriedly. "Yeah, I''m pretty much fine now. I''ll meet you guys there when I''m back!" "Please be careful!" "Squawk!" I headed out of the lecture hall with their goodbyes. Following the sheep instructor''s instructions, I went down the hallway to the intersection that has the bathhouse and training ground. Rather than taking a right turn towards them, I made a left. Julia and I explored all of this during the first day. There''s a lot more doors in this direction, but I have no idea what''s behind them. Speaking of which, how do I know which room I''m supposed to go through? My question was quickly answered as I soon stumbled upon a slightly cracked open door. Guess this is it. Hopefully not all of the instructors have anger issues... I really don''t feel like getting almost squished to death again. *Knock Knock "Come in!" I entered the room and was greeted by what looked like an old-fashioned office. The room itself was fairly small and the piles of documents and folders scattered around made it feel even more cramped. A robed figure sat at a wooden desk in the middle of the room illuminated by a flickering me inside a ssmp. "Please take a seat." The man in the purple robe continued to write something on a piece of parchment as I sat down in a chair across from him. His focus was solely on the paper in front of him, only ncing up to look at a projection of a realm that appeared on an orb on his desk. A strange ck fog covered a section of it. He continued to jot down something for a few minutes longer. Although he paid no mind to me, I was not upset nor stressed. Oddly, it was the opposite. The soft sound of his pen aided by the dim light of themp''s orange me created a calming atmosphere in the room. The distinct smell of paper and ink seemed to wash away all thoughts of the events that happened a few moments prior. Eventually, the scribbling stopped and the robed figure gently ced his feathered pen down on his desk. "I apologize for the wait- there was something that I needed to finish. My name is Tatton," he introduced, "I assume you are ''Jacob'', correct?" I did my best to hide my shock. "Yes, that''s right. Would you mind if I asked how you knew my name?" "Not at all. Every inch of the academy is being monitored in some way- I just so happened to be the one tasked with monitoring everything while you had a conversation with that elf. You could imagine my surprise when I heard that you came from a ce with no mana... and my stagger upon seeing your realm." "Was that the reason I was called here? Because I didn''t have mana in my realm?" "No. That is not an issue at all." The orb changed to now disy a map of my realm. It was a cross-sectional view showing the inneryers of the. "It was an extremely bold strategy to invest in gravity instead of mana... this was the first instance of such a decision that I have witnessed in all my time in the Flower Box. Unfortunately, your method of achieving this increased gravitational force was very crude and left your realm in an extremely unstable state... to the point where it would have likely copsed before thepetition could even begin." "... Was it actually that bad?" I asked with a slight pain in my heart. The figure nodded his head, "Luckily for you, I noticed this and was able to get approval for emergency aid from the Flower Box, which I used to bnce out your realm''s mantle." I let out a sigh of relief. I didn''t even know I was in such a dangerous situation. "Thank you, Tatton, I really appreciate it. Is this emergency fund something I need to pay back? I don''t really think that I have anything to give right now." "I covered it for you." "You paid them back for me!? Thank you, but why would you do that? I didn''t even know you yet..." Although I could not see his face under the robe, I had a feeling that he had a small grin. "There is no need to be suspicious. I meerly helped out for the sake of my research. Not only is your realm the first that I will get to see with no mana, but it is also the first instance of a major gravitational difference between members of thepetition! It is a scenario that I can not miss out on witnessing. Also, the loan from the Flower Box was not expensive. I only needed to re-arrange elements in your mantle, so nothing new was created." "...Well thank you again. I will try not to disappoint your expectations. Was that everything you needed to tell me?" "Do not be in such a rush. That was not even the reason that you were gged with a yellow marker." "... My realm nearly copsing was not the reason for the g?" "It was not." The robed figure zoomed into the north-left of my realm where the octagon connected with the main continent. "One of the rules of thepetition is that the invader buffer zone needs to be connected with the main continent to a reasonable degree. Having two sets of mountain ranges without a passage through them can not be considered ''reasonable''." "Shoot. I thought ''connected'' just meant sharing and border... am I able to fix it?" "The Flower Box will give you a small amount of Resource Points- just what they considered adequate to make a wide path through the mountain range. Please do so after you leave here or you will risk facing punishment." I immediately thought back to the sheep instructor''s brutality. "... I really could''ve used that warning earlier," I muttered. "Earlier? Ah- right, Sky is in charge of your cycle isn''t she..." Sky? I mean I guess the name kind of fits considering her wings, but it doesn''t really sound like a teacher''s name. "She gets a bit defensive over the Founder. I apologize on her behalf." Tatton said as he leaned back on his chair. "Don''t apologize, it''s not your fault or anything. Anyway, I should go make that path now- thank you again for all of your help!" "Good luck, Jacob. I expect to see great things from you." After nodding my head, I got out of my seat and exited the room. A small sigh escaped my lips when the door closed behind me. That was... something. How did I not notice that my realm was about to implode? Maybe I was too focused on keeping the continent''s shape that I didn''t even realize how unstable it was. I buried my face in my hands before quickly pulling them away and clenching my fist instead. ... I need to be smarter. If I tried to do something like that while people were on the and it ended up copsing, there''s no telling how many people would die. I turned my attention back to the hallway. There''s no time to think about it right now. Julia and Mr. Flippers are waiting for me. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 15 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 15 It didn''t take long for me to reach the bathhouse and I quickly found the two that I was looking for. Just what I thought... my god they are adorable. As expected, Julia and Mr. Flippers were right at the cold bath. The penguin was clearly having a st swimming in circles and Julia was watching him with a small smile on her face. Although she was not swimming with him- probably because of how cold the water was- she still sat on the side and dipped her feet in the water. "You two having fun?" Julia turned her head at the sound and her eyes lit up once they met my gaze. "Jaco- ah!" The elf immediately shot up and slipped while attempting to run over to me. Luckily I was close enough to catch her so she did not get hurt. Julia made no effort to pull herself off of me, yet she was unable to hide the slight red blush on her face. "Jacob! Are you okay!? What did they call you for?" she asked. Really? You''re just gonna pretend that you didn''t almost fall on your face... "Apparently my design was so good that I have to change some things to make it more fair," I said with a wry smile. "...Right," Julia finally pulled herself off of me, "Well, I''m just d you''re not in too much trouble. You had me worried after what happened in the ssroom..." "I''m fine, don''t worry. Based on what I just saw, I should be the one worrying about you if anything- " "Squawk!" Julia and I turned back to the bath to see Mr. Flippers jumping out of the water. "Finally noticed I was here, huh?" I teased the tiny creature who waddled over to me. "Squawk!" "I''m okay, don''t worry." I smiled and picked up the tiny, wet penguin, "I''m d you were able to swim again, but we should get back to the domain soon. There''s some work I need to do." "You have to go already? Are you sure you can''t stay for a bit longer... I was about to take a bath..." the elf shyly mentioned. I really should go back now, but honestly, I doubt that Tatton would mind a tiny dy. Besides, I did promise Julia that I''d stay with her the next time she took a bath. Also... I could use one myself. Although it was a bit embarrassing to admit, I gotpletely drenched with sweat during whatever happened with the sheep instructor. "Alright, I''ll join you, but I''ll have to be quick." "Okay!" Julia''s face lit up and she quickly dashed to the changing area to get into a towel. "Be careful! I don''t want you slipping again!" I called out to her jokingly. "I won''t slip!" With a smile on my face, I followed behind her and got changed too. The bath itself did notst long and I stepped out squeaky clean within 30 minutes. "You know... it kind of defeats the purpose of showering when we put on the same dirty clothes after," Julia said with a sigh. "It is a bit annoying," I replied, looking down at the usual clothes on my body, "I feel weird about it, but we might have no choice but to wash them in the bath. There''s no washing machine or anything here from what I''ve seen." "Washing machine?" Julia asked curiously. "Oh right- it''s a thing from my world that washes clothes. Pretty self-exnatory." I exined, "I would try to make one in my domain with domain creation, but sadly I doubt I know enough to urately make one." "Domain creation! I almost forgot!" Julia''s eyes lit up again, "That''s exactly what I need!" I tried and failed to hide my smile at her shout. "Looks like someone''s excited. You should go test it out- it''s time for Mr. Flippers and me to head back anyway. I''ll see you in the morning like usual?" "Definitely- I''ll see youter! Return to Domain!" With that, the adorable elf disappeared quickly followed by Mr. Flippers and me. A familiar dark space greeted the two of us and I made my way over to my desk. The massive screen on the wall in front of me immediately brightened upon my approach- an enormous brown and blue sphere was disyed on its surface. I still can''t believe something so beautiful was so close to imploding. After a few minutes of staring, I let out a sigh and zoomed into the mountain range. It might be a bit conceitful, but the sight was beyond magnificent. Giant stone mounds were spread out far beyond the eye could see. Topped with snowy peaks, these absolute behemoths of earth engulfed the horizon and towered over the surroundingnd. The mountains themselves vaguely resemble the Rocky Mountains. Well not exactly- it''s more like the Rocky Mountains had a baby with the Andes Mountains... and then those babies grew up to be the size of their parents. Still, it is kind of weird how there''s barely any snow on the ground here. I know that it is roughly November on the, but I expected there to be more. The area that I was looking at was in between the two mountain ranges to the North-West of the continent. Thetitude at this point was roughly equivalent to mid-to-upper Canada. Curious, I zoomed out and watched my realm for a bit. Since the time in my domain had now been sped up to heavenly time, one day in here was about 1,000 years in the realm. That would mean that for every second that I spent in the academy or my domain, roughly four days would pass in mortal time. After a few minutes of observing, I could figure out what was the cause of theck of snow: the mountains to the south were so high that they directly interfered with clouds from the warmer parts of the continent that carried an abundance of moisture. As the clouds drifted north, the mountains would practically squeeze them dry leaving massive amounts of snow and rain on the southern mountain face, but drought-like conditions on the northern face where I was looking. The first set of mountains north of the ne pretty much did the same thing- any water that had managed to evaporate in the cold conditions to the north would get squeezed dry as they attempted to move south. A quick nce at the northern face of the upper mountain range revealed the massive build-up of snow there. Most of the rain that fell within the mountain ranges flowed toward the giantke, rather than thend between them. With these two mountain ranges blocking the moisture, the area between the two was left as an icy tundra. Although it did make my natural defenses a bit weaker in this section, having this space so far to the north with calm conditions was not exactly a bad thing. In the far future, it could act as a really strong line of defense for my lifeforms to set up in, or even as a rallying point if I were tounch an invasion into other realms. There''s nothing that I could do to change it even if I had a problem with the area- the only resource points that I have are the ones loaned by the Flower Box to create a passage through the two mountain ranges. Based on my estimates, they wanted to passages to be about 1 mile wide given how much they provided. Well... I guess it''s time to make it. A smirk appeared on my face as I looked at the sphere. If they''re going to force me to create a path, I might as well have it work in my favor. I quickly made a path through the northern mountain range far to the right, followed by a passage through the southern mountain range all the way to the left to ensure that invaders would need to travel the farthest possible distance before reaching the main continent. In the wintertime, invaders would practically be pinned between ciers and mountains on their way to the northern passage. Although this massive dy through Arctic conditions would serve to greatly weaken attackers and heavily deplete their supplies, it was not enough to be worthy of defacing the gorgeous mountains in my eyes. One benefit of the passageways that I had yet to mention is the fact that they would be a bottleneck to invading forces. Sadly, since they were both a mile wide, the force would not be overly cramped, but I thought of a way to increase its lethality. High on the mountains on both sides of the passages, I createdrge t tforms that could easily support a small force. Anyone stationed on these cliffs could inflict massive damage on those walking through the pathway below using arrows or even by simply dropping rocks. The only way to reach these tforms was through stone ramps that I made using leftover material from the destroyed mountains. Because the entrance to these ramps were to the south, there would be no way for invading forces to reach them without first making their way through the passageways. Since I made these ramps on both passages through the mountain ranges, this left a golden opportunity for two nearly impregnable lines of defense. "That was close... but I think it looks pretty good," I muttered to myself looking at the passages, "I used up nearly all of the Resource Points destroying the mountains, so I had to re-use some of the material to make the ramps." There was still plenty of time before ss as making the passage only took me about an hour, so I turned around to see what Mr. Flippers was up to. Simrly tost time, he was ying with my deck of cards, but he had a slightly bored expression on his face. Maybe this would be a good time to test out Domain Creation? I flipped my palm up and spread out my fingers. In my mind, I pictured a certain cold, white, and arguably fluffy substance. I felt a very small amount of power being drained from my body and a perfect snowball soon formed in my hand. Wow- that was a lot easier than I thought. "Hey, Mr. Flippers!" "Squawk?" he looked over to me and was immediately hit by a snowball on his penguin body. The penguin let out another annoyed squawk as he grumpily began waddling towards me, before quickly stopping and looking back at the white snow on the floor. "Squawk!?" Mr. Flippers instantly waddled back to the snow and began hopping on it. "It''s been a while since you''ve got to see any of that, right? How about I give you some more to y in," I said with a smile. I quickly made a small wooden tub and filled it with a giant pile of snow which Mr. Flippers happily jumped into. He yed in the snow pile for a long time as I watched with a warm heart. "Alright- I''ming in too!" I announced as I eventually joined him in the pile of snow. The penguin jokingly kicked snow onto me the second I hopped inside the tub and I did not hesitate to return the favor. Time passed quickly as a snowball fight ensued. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 16 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 16 I made my way back to my chair- a small pile of snow fell from my body as I sat. Mr. Flippers and I ended up ying in the snow for a few hours, but there was still an abundance of time left before I needed to go back to the academy. The actual time system in the academy operated on a 24-hour clock simr to Earth''s. Since ss onlysted from 7 am to 10 am, we were left with 21 hours a day to train, work on our realms, or do whatever else we needed. I assumed that our schedule would be busier once thepetition started, but it was very open for now. With this in mind, despite ying with Mr. Flippers, taking a bath with Julia, adding the pathways through the mountains, and dealing with the whole meeting with Tatton, I still had a lot of time to do the thing I was most looking forward to: introducing my first lifeforms to my realm. I ced a few white cards onto my desk with various lifeforms pictured on them. I''m so d I got these approved before I got gged. A cold sweat dripped down my back as I pictured all of my lifeforms being denied by the sheep instructor out of no reason other than spite. Well, I''m sure there are some rules in ce to prevent bias... right? There has to be... My eyes made their way back to the cards on my desk. At this point I had gotten all of my primary and basic lifeforms approved: phytonkton, moss, fungi, earthworms, and fish. The only things I was missing were the moderate lifeforms that I had yet to decide upon. Although I wanted some type of fruit tree and livestock animal, the specifics were not chosen yet. Hopefully she calms down by the time I verify my moderate choices. There''s no point in worrying about it now though, I should get started on adding these babies. One by one, I touched the cards while they were on the desk and theputer instantly began scanning them after verifying their signatures. Icons disying the lifeforms soon appeared on the screen in front of me- small gauges were disyed next to them which I presumed would signify how many I could add. I took another look at the realm that had only three colors making up its surface- the blue of the seas, the brown of the barrennd, and the white from the ciers in the north. Within a few days, one of those colors was bound to disappear. With the mouse in my hand, I clicked on one of the lifeforms. "Hypnum imponens moss. You will be the first life in my domain," I muttered. My heart began to beat fast. Although it had only been about 5 days, it felt like it had been at least 5 months since I became a ruler. All the effort, thought, and preparation led to this moment. I was confident that I made the right choices. "Dye the ground green, my mossy boys! Spread your spores across the barren and destend. You have no predators, no worries, nopetition. You have no limits- do not falter from the sun, the heat, or the cold. Adapt and improve and spread even further- you are moss, my creation, so there is nothing that you can''t conquer!" "Squawk?" "Let me have my moment, Mr. Flippers." "... squawk." Settling back down in my chair, I began dotting the continent with small batches of moss. Judging by how fast the gauge was decreasing, there was absolutely no way that I would have been able to outright cover the entire realm, so I had to resort to this strategy to make sure there was moss in every area. With time, I expected them to fill in the gaps. In spite of the fact that 4.2 days passed in the realm for every second in my domain, it would still take some time for the moss the spread. While I waited, I decided to add the phytonkton. There were mainly 5 ces where I focused on adding it; the giant This might not be the best strategy. One of my main worries about choosing moss instead of grass dealt with the possible conflict between the moss and the mushrooms. Fairy ring mushrooms usually liked to grow in the grass as they naturally left gaps between their des. Moss did not do this and formed in clumps instead. Finding spaces where the mushrooms could grow in the dense areas of moss was not an easy task. Luckily I noticed this before it was toote... There was one area that had moss present but also had a ton of gaps- the area directly on the edge of the moss cover. As the moss was still spreading in this section, there were plenty of ces to add the mushrooms. With this new strategy in mind, I focused on nting the mushrooms alongside the moss as it spread throughout the continent. After finishing with the mushrooms, the only lifeforms remaining were the two basics: earthworms and Antic Menhaden fish. The earthworms were extremely easy to add- all that I needed to do were put them on the dirt near the moss and they immediately began wiggling into the ground. The fish on the other hand were a bit more difficult. Since the fish needed phytonkton to eat, I had to make sure they were introduced to areas full of it. The main problem with this was that I had no idea how far the phytonkton spread or even how dense its concentrations were. To y it safe, I decided to only add small amounts of fish in areas that I knew I directly added phytonkton to. After waiting until tomorrow night heavenly time, I nned to see where the Menhaden poptions were and use it as a guide for where to add the rest of them. I leaned back in my chair, watching the disy above me. It was almost mesmerizing to see the light brown of the realm being engulfed by the green hues of the moss. Although I was a bit curious to see whether the moss would be able to survive in the cold of the north or the heat at the southern tip of the continent, the only thing that I could do was wait and watch its spread. The next few hours I spent doing just that. The realm was still far from being dominated by the cover of moss when it was time for us to leave for ss, but there were no problems of note during the time that I spent observing which gave me confidence in what I had created. It''s a bit early, but I''d rather get to ss now before I lose track of time watching this. "Are you ready to head out, Mr. Flippers?" I asked the penguin. "Squawk!" The tiny creature waddled over holding a snowball in his flippers- an evil expression was stered on his face. "Hm? You wanna show Julia the snow?" "... Squawk." "Well... okay," I picked up the penguin whose feathers felt like ice after sleeping in the pile of snow, "Let''s go see her then- transport to the academy!" The two of us closed our eyes as we vanished from the dark room. After traveling between the two ces so many times, we quickly learned that this was the easiest way to spare us from the change in light levels. We kept our eyes shut for a few seconds as our pupils adjusted but were then greeted by the beautifully adorned yet eerily empty audience hall that we grew so used to seeing. "Squawk!" "Oi- what''s wrong!?" The penguin immediately started freaking out and wiggled out of my arms. Mr. Flippers immediately started running around in circles as if looking for something. "...Your snowball disappeared?" "Squawk!" Can we not bring things we make with domain creation into the academy? I mean, it does make sense considering it''s called ''domain creation'', but it still seems weird. I definitely used divinity to make the snow... maybe it''s like the golden orbs from the training ground that get teleported back? "It''s alright, Mr. Flippers. You can y with the snow when we get back after ss," I said trying to calm him down. The penguin only squawked at my statement and pouted while hopping around. "Maybe the snowball ran away because you were trying to be mean." "Squawk!?" "Yes, I know what you were nning to do with that snowball- I''m not stupid." Me revealing his n to hit Julia with the snowball only seemed to make him angrier and Mr. Flippers once again resumed his mad search. Getting this upset because his prank was ruined... he really is a baby. I pulled out my phone to take a picture of the tiny penguin''s temper tantrum, but the second my finger touched the screen, a figure appeared between us. Mr. Flippers'' fussing immediately stopped as we both stared at the girl. "Oh- you guys are already here?" The newly-appeared Julia asked as she looked at us. Neither of us said a word. "What''s that look for?" she asked again, ¡°Is it because of my new outfit? I know it¡¯s different, but I didn¡¯t think it¡¯s that¡­¡± Julia''s eyes followed my line of sight and she looked down to realize that there was no outfit to speak of. ¡°Kyaaaaaaaa! R-return to domain!¡± The elf girl disappeared just as fast as she arrived, leaving the penguin and me still standing there in awe. There is absolutely no way that just happened... Although I was having trouble believing the scene before me was real, one look at my phone proved otherwise. "...I think I¡¯ll go with a cherry tree." Mr. Flippers and I began to make our way to ss still stunned over what happened. Although the room was empty upon our arrival, creatures eventually started trickling in. Just as ss was about to start, Julia slowly trudged inside wearing her usual outfit. She tried to hide her beat-red face by looking away but failed miserably. So her ears get red when she''s embarrassed... that''s adorable. She sat down next to me, still looking away. "Kyaaaa?" I teased. "S-shut up! Don''t talk about it." "If that''s what you want... but you really are beautiful, Julia." Just as those words leaked from my mouth, the sheep instructor finally entered the lecture hall. Despite looking in the teacher''s direction, I could still see Julia in the corner of my eye. Her face was three shades redder than it had been when she sat down. Upon reaching her desk, the sheep instructor finally spoke to the ss. "Good morning, Seedlings. It appears that I was a bit unclear about domain creation. There have been many reports of Seedlings attempting to bring what they made into the academy. For those of you who have not realized it yet, objects made using domain creation can not be brought out; the power of what you can currently make is far too weak to exist in the academy." Bang! "Squawk!?" A loud bang was heard next to me as Julia mmed her head into the desk. A few creatures looked back at us but quickly lost interest. The professor paid no attention to it and continued to speak. "For those of you upset at me, it may please you to know that I was scolded by the Flower Garden for this... among some other matters," the teacher nced in my direction, "but I will make sure to be more clear in the future. I apologize for the confusion." With thatst statement, the sheep instructor began her lesson which was about geography today, but I ignored it and slipped into thought. I was half-joking when I said it before, but a cherry tree isn''t that bad of an option. The wood itself is very strong and durable and it could probably thrive in most parts of the continent. The cherries themselves would be a good food option, too. I reaffirmed my decision on choosing a cherry tree after a bit more thinking and decided to decide on my livestock animal while I was at it. Oh my god, how did I forget about that? There was a ring issue that I immediately realized once I started thinking. I knew I was forgetting something. I was so focused on making sure that there was food to support humans, but I didn''t even think about food to support livestock. Since I had not chosen to use grass, most of the major livestock animals like cows, goats, and even horses would not have a good food source. That being said, it was not as though there were no options- in fact, there was one really good one that could thrive in the environment that I had built. Chickens would definitely be the right choice. As chickens could eat moss, mushrooms, and even earthworms, there would be no issues with their sustainability. In terms of humans, these creatures would be an amazing source of protein through their meat and eggs. Their feathers being useful for clothing and arrows were an added bonus. My mind was made up and I walked out of the lecture hall with two new cards after the ss ended. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 17 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 17 Smack! Smack! Smack! "Come on, Jacob. You can go harder than that!" Smack! Smack! "I know I can, Julia, but shouldn''t I focus more on my technique than my strength?" Smack! Smack! Smack! "You can do both. It doesn''t matter how fast you''re going if you''re barely making an impact." I paused for a second and took a deep breath before plunging forward again. Smack! Smack! Smack! "That''s a bit better... but it''s still not strong enough. Go harder!" Smack! Smack! Sweat dripped down my back. "Now go faster- faster, Jacob!" Smack! Smack! Smack! "You''re almost there! Just a bit more!" Smack! Smack! Smack! m! Completely satisfied with thatst impact, I stopped and focused on my breathing. "There you go! That was pretty good!" The elf girl to my side happily cheered, "Look- you even managed to make a small dent in the training dummy!" I leaned in closer to where Julia''s finger was pointing and sure enough, a tiny dent was made on the surface of the dummy. Despite it being half the size of my fingernail, the edge of my mouth perked up and a small smile appeared on my face. Wow- I guess I really did get stronger! The durability of these training dummies was no joke- I had been swinging at them with all of my strength since I started practicing, yet this was the first time that I had ever made a mark on one. Of course, it immediately vanished as the dummy regenerated, but it was still an impressive feat nheless. "Squawk..." "Oi- you really have a dirty penguin brain, Mr. Flippers," "What''d he say?" "... Something that a penguin his age should not know about," I turned to the penguin sitting in a barrel behind me, "Maybe if you could behave yourself, you wouldn''t be stuck in barrel jail." It had already been a few weeks since the two of us had begun training in earnest. With all of my primary, basic, and moderate lifeforms being introduced long ago, there was little for us to do aside from getting ready for thepetition. In apletely objective manner, I waspletely ripped at this point. Although I already had decent tone upon my introduction to the academy, I was able to put on a lot more muscle mass since then. While I was under the assumption that I would need to eat a ton of meat and protein to get the gains, I tried creating stuff such as grilled chicken for me to eat, only to realize that I could not really create organic material with domain creation. Somehow, I was able to get around this in a weird way. After looking through my phone, I was able to find some notes from an organic chemistry ss that showed the forms of the mostmon amino acids. Once I had a good grasp of the actual structure of the proteins, I was able to create them in their basic forms. Of course, I had been eating the utterly disgusting pile of powder I created, but I had no idea whether it was making a difference or not. I still figured it was worth the attempt, though. I nced over at Julia. She looks about the same, so maybe it is working after all. Her eyes quickly met mine and they closed into a slight squint. ¡°I feel like you¡¯re thinking something rude.¡± My eyes slowly shifted away from her. ¡°You really were!?¡± "I''m just joking," I said with a grin, "I was just wondering what you ended up choosing for your lifeforms." "... Is it okay for me to tell you? What if you get matched against me in thepetition?" Julia muttered hesitantly. "You think we''ll have to fight each other?" "I hope not," Julia sighed, "The instructor said she''d tell us more about thepetition today, so maybe we''ll find out." "Well, how about we both say what we picked, so that way neither of us has an advantage in case we do need to fight?" I proposed to her. "...Fine. As you know, I chose grass, seagrass, and moss for my primary lifeforms. I ended up picking a small fish and a tratter vine for my two basics and I went with a boar and the Alternia Tree as my moderate options." "Those sound like good picks!" I praised with a forced grin, hiding the pain of being reminded about her two grass choices. I have no idea what a ''tratter vine'' even is. Julia mentioned that the elves from her home lived in giant trees, so there''s a good chance she was talking about the Alternia Tree. "Thank you!" Julia picked up one of the wooden swords and began taking some practice swings at the dummy. "Well, I told you what I chose, so what about you?" "Ah-" I briefly told her about all the lifeforms I settled on, but as it seemed like she was unfamiliar with most of my selections, I went into more detail regarding what they all did. When I was done exining, I noticed a look of dissatisfaction on her face. "What''s wrong? You don''t like my picks?" I asked. "No- it''s not that," Julia stopped swinging and let out a sigh, "After hearing what you went with, I think I probably should''ve chosen more things for people to eat. My elves can still eat boars, fish, and Alterna fruits, but that''s pretty much it." "To be fair, I only have one more food option than you in my realm. Besides, the sheep instructor told us that we could add moreter, so as long as you don¡¯t pick another type of grass, you should be fine.¡± Julia¡¯s swinging came to a halt and she looked at me with a re in her eyes. ¡°What''s that supposed to mean?" "... Shoot." "You told me it was a good pick!" Juliained while pouting. "It is a good choice! Grass is great, I just think it''s just a bit boring..." "Boring?" Julia tightened her grip on the sword and forced a wry smile, "You know... I also think hitting this training dummy is getting boring. How about I make this more exciting by practicing on you instead?" "C-calm down, Julia. We aren''t in the arena, so we can''t attack-" "You sure talk a lot for a training dummy" Julia stated as she slowly advanced towards me. I took a step back. She took a step forward. I took a step back. She took a step forward. I took a step ba- Bang! "Squawk!?" I felt an impact on the back of my heel at the same time as Mr. Flippers'' shout rang out. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a certain barrel rolling out of the training grounds. "Mr. Flipperse back!" I called out as I immediately started chasing after him. "Look at what you did!" Julia shouted following behind me. "What do you mean ''what I did''!? If you weren''t distracting me, this is clearly your fault!" Despite our bantering, we were able to catch the dizzy penguin and head to ss soon after. Just as expected, the sheep instructor finally borated on what thepetition would be like. "Alright, ss. As promised, I will give you all a bit more information about what to expect during thepetition. To begin with, the battles themselves willst from 1pm-7pm heavenly time, which will be 250 years in mortal time. Battle preparation wille before this starting after ss at 10am. Seedlings will be able to choose who they are attacking during this time on a firste first serve basis. While there is no punishment for not being involved during a round ofpetition, it leaves you open to being on defense, and if no one targets you, no points or rewards can be achieved either. If you can not decide who to attack, there is an option to be matched with someone random," the instructor began. "At the start of the battle period, Seedlings can select one advanced lifeform to be an ''Oracle''. This lifeform will gain a small amount of divinity from the ruler who appointed them and they can bemunicated with freely. I want to make something clear: rulers are not permitted to teach Oracles unknown technologies or provide excess information that is not directly involved in an ongoing battle or regarding battle preparations. Interfering with the natural development of the lifeforms through the use of an Oracle is strictly prohibited and rulers who vite this rule will be faced with extreme punishment. The academy does not take this lightly and allmunication with Oracles will be monitored extensively." "Now, we still have well over 300 heavenly days before your first battle will start, so I will end this discussion here. For those of you still anxious about thepetition, direct that energy towards improving your skills and monitoring your realms." -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- At the same time as I was sitting in ss, a small chicken was clucking around on the southeast of the continent. After thest spring, the number of his chicken friends had increased exponentially. Although he liked thepany at first, he quickly realized that there had been less and less food avable. While even just a few months back he could find a fallen cherry or mushroom, any that were easily avable had long since been eaten by the younger ones. Nowadays, he was lucky to find a stray worm peaking its head out of the ground between batches of moss. Although the moss was plentiful and could be used to fill his belly between meals, it did not offer much nutrient-wise. The mushrooms seemed to be taking inspiration from the cherries high above, as they begain to slowly migrate from the ground to the trunks of the trees out of the chickens'' reach. Despite most of the smaller mushrooms disappearing from the soil, there were some that remained- those that were toorge for the chickens to eat. It appeared that in the east of the continent a shift had began to appear in the mushrooms: only those that were extremelyrge or that were out of reach from the hungry chickens would survive. Chickens were not limited to the east of the continent, however, and arge poption had sprung up west of the massive river that divided the continent in two. The mushrooms here did not fair much better and were almost wiped out entirely by the waves of hungry chickens, as to their disappointment, few mushrooms wererge enough or high enough on the cherry trees to survive. It was not until the mushrooms were down to just one small region of survivors that an incident took ce. While wandering through the marshyndscape in the southwest of the continent, one of the chickens wandered across a small mushroom. Happy to find a snack, the chicken took a nibble and kept walking. Gradually, his proud and straight stride developed a slight wobble. Not paying it any mind, the creature continued with a slight pain developing in his stomach. With each step, this pain worsened and his feet grew more unsteady until the chicken finally cosped with a thud. The first victim of the mushrooms'' retaliation had been imed. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 18 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 18 Nom Nom Nom I shoveled another spoonful of amino acids into my mouth. It had been 61 days since I had be a ruler, yet my routine had not changed much- in between sses and training I usually passed the time by watching over my realm. Today was no different as I looked up at the screen eating the bowl of white powder as if it were cereal. "You know... this actually isn''t as bad as it sounds." That was a lie. Every bite made me want to throw up, but I kept going for the off-chance that it was actually helping my muscles. I tried to feed some to Mr. Flippers, but it didn''t seem to fit his tastes. After one bite, the bowl went flying across the room. Apparently, that was not enough punishment for souring his tastebuds and I had the misfortune of witnessing the penguin jumping angrily on top of it for an hour straight after that. Such innocent proteins were being mercilessly abused... all they wanted were to make him healthy and strong. Despite the pain in my chest, I still made half-hearted attempts to get the penguin to give it another shot. Mr. Flippers hasn''t had anything to eat since I brought him here. I want to feed him, but it''s not like I could make fish with domain creation. Speaking of the tiny penguin, he started working on making a tiny igloo in the corner of the room. I tried to help him several times, but he continued to reject my help. It seemed he had a vision for what he wanted it to look like, so I simply epted my role as his personal snowmaker. Plus, I figured that since I made the entire realm on my own, he deserved to have his own project too. As for my realm, there had been a lot of changes over the half-centum millennium that had passed there. Although some evolution was expected, I did not anticipate just how fast it was already urring. Putting evolution aside, the first and most obvious change was with thendscape itself- specifically with the major river that separated the east and west sides of the continent. It had grown much curvier since I first created it and a small canyon had begun to form as it eroded thend. I was already a bit concerned about how my humans would be able to cross the river given how wide it is, but this canyon only heightened my fears. My future humans would be limited to half of the continent with this barrier in ce. Keeping the humans close together might be beneficial in the beginning, but the major problem was that the area where the invaders woulde from was on the other side of the river. This would mean that whatever force my oracle is leading would need to cross this river to deal with them. Until they invented semi-reliable boats, I had no idea if they would be able to cross it. Yes, it would be as big of a hassle for invaders as it would be for my lifeforms, but I still didn''t want them to just roam free on half of my realm. Well... I guess it''s toote now to do anything about it. Given that I waspletely out of Resource Points, there was nothing that I could do to make a path. Then again, even if I could do something, the fact that there were still roughly 300,000 years in mortal time before thepetition meant that there was still a ton of time for more changes to ur. Evolution really is unpredictable. The fastest change in terms of my lifeforms took ce with the sweetheart cherry trees which normally grow to a height of 35 feet and produce typical small cherries. I had no idea whether it was due to the lower gravity or some other factor, but the cherry trees I nted quickly grew way passed that. Each generation seemed to reach higher heights; most of the trees now averaged around 55 feet in height and their trunks became as thick as an oak''s. On top of that, the cherries themselves grew too, now resembling something closer to a plum in terms of size. It was mainly on the east side of the continent, but many of these trees had small brown mushrooms growing on their outer bark. Including these, there were now four main types of mushrooms growing in the realm. The first of these was a group of the original fairy ring mushrooms that did not seem to change much since their introduction. At some point, a portion of these mushrooms began to grow up the side of the cherry trees and they eventually began to specialize in that niche and yielding the second species. I could not tell whether they were harming the trees or not, but there did not seem to be any notable difference in their lifespan. It appeared that thest two mushroom species evolved to avoid the army of chickens running around the continent. In the east, they took the route of bing too big for the chickens to eat. These giant mushrooms were close to 2 feet tall and had a hardened stems that proved difficult for the chickens to peck through. Unlike their fairy ring ancestors, they usually grew alone scattered throughout the cherry tree forests. The mushrooms in the southwest of the continent took a different approach. On the screen, I watched as a chicken pranced over to a mushroom with a yellowish top and took a few pecks out of its cap. Eventually, the chicken began to wobble away before plopping onto the moss-covered ground a few momentster with white foam dripping out of its mouth. Through pure chance, it seemed the mushrooms in this area developed a poisonous adaptation. Luckily these mushrooms are fairly contained. I was originally extremely worried when I first noticed the creation of these poisonous shrooms. If they were to outpete their fairy ring brothers, my humans would lose an extremely valuable food source. Fortunately, two factors prevented my fears froming true: their location and their fitness. Unlike the fairy ring mushrooms that were slowly able to build up a tolerance to the colder north of the continent, these poisonous mushrooms only seemed to thrive in the warmer south. Since the massive river prevented their expansion to the east, they were extremely limited on where they could expand to. Despite their small territory and poisonous body, the chickens were still relentless in their hunger and continued to try to eat these mushrooms. Another chicken slightlyrger than thest showed up on the screen and took a bite out of a simr yellowish mushroom. It staggered, yet it happily trotted away with a full belly after a few moments passed paying no mind to its fallenrade. It appeared that an evolutionary arms race had begun between the chickens and the mushrooms. Nothing from the outside was much different between these new poison-resistant chickens other than their slightlyrger size, so I was not sure whether to count them as a new species at this point, rather I characterized them as a variant. The same could not be said for a different type of chicken back in the East. The heavypetition for food mixed with the massive overpoption of chickens quickly triggered a change in some of the feathery creatures. A group of chickens began hunting their brethren for nutrients during a particrly bad famine a while back. Gradually, their beaks began to recede and were reced with what resembled something closer to a snout containing jagged teeth that excelled in ripping flesh. These predator chickens were noticeablyrger than the others and had much thicker legs and smaller wings. From what I could tell, they hunted in small packs as they grew up before hunting solo when they reached maturity. They would stay solo until they found a mate and at that point, the partners would hunt together with their newly born predator chicks and restart the cycle. Thanks to these predators, the overwhelming chicken poption finally started to get regted and the moss in the area could once again gain its foothold. The fish developed in a simr way to the chickens with both new predator and prey species being developed in the now phytonkton-rich waters. There were already well over five distinct species that I could see and I only expected this number to grow. Sadly, none of these were really worth mentioning- they were simply fish of different colors and sizes. This was inplete opposition to the earthworms which pretty much stayed the same throughout all of these years. The only slight change was that the earthworms in the west were a few inches longer than their eastern counterparts. I think that they are actually helping... I haven''t seen anything rotting on the ground and the trees all look extremely healthy. Still, they could definitely use a stick. With a sigh, I looked back towards the igloo Mr. Flippers was building. 300,000 years to go... there''s no telling what will happen in that time. I slipped into thought as another block of snow was stacked upon the icy wall. Updated Map I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 19 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 19 Announcement THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR 100 READERS!!!! To celebrate, I released this chapter early! You will also be getting the usual chapter on Friday~ The sound of running water filled my ears. Although the air was almost sticky with humidity, it was not ufortable in the slightest- rather it was wee in its warmth. Light trails of steam glided along the lush fauna that hugged the edge of the water. Reflections of soft sunlight entering from the ss ceiling at the center of the octagonal room scattered across their leaves. That''s right. I was in the bathhouse. A ck blur zoomed through the water in front of me. There he goes. Mr. Flippers was swimmingps in the cold bath like usual. I did make him his own bath in our domain a while back, but honestly, it could not evene close topeting with the quality of the bathhouse, so we kepting here. While we''re on the topic, I also tried making my own soap using domain creation. Soap itself has a fairly simple structure; it''s just a carboxte ion with an alkyl group and a salt keeping thempany. Sadly, since I didn''t know what else to mix this soap with, it was not very pleasant to use. Well, my failure gives me an excuse toe here more often, so I''m notining. I doubt Mr. Flippers mindsing here so frequently either. A familiar ck and white bird sped under my feet as I thought that. He is going way too fast for a bath this size. Although I asked him to slow down, he only stuck his head out of the water and squawked before he immediately went back to swimming. "Fine, keep going then. Just don''t say I didn''t warn you when you bang your beak on the side of the bath," I said with a strained smile. "Huh? Jacob, is that you?" A voice called out to me from my right- in the direction of the warmer baths. That voice... "I''ll be right back, Mr. Flippers. Please be careful while I''m gone, okay?" Given how it was the middle of the night and the bathhouse was nearly empty, there was no real reason to worry about leaving him alone- other than whatever he does to himself, that is. I stood up and made my way towards the hot bath; a golden and red figure peeked through the steam as I neared. Alishia... isn''t it? I first met thismia on my fourth day at the academy when Julia, Mr. Flippers, and I visited the sauna for the first time. She was chilling... or should I say warming, in there with that lizard and ogre. We''ve met a few times since then, but none of our greetings were anything noteworthy, so I was a bit surprised that she called out to me. "Hey, Alishia. What''s up?" "Jacob! So it is you!" What brings you here sote?" "You know, just doing normal bath stuff. How about you?" "Same for me. It''s a good time toe here if you want to avoid the crowd and the stares thate with it." I could only nod my head in response. Her wanting to avoid too much attention was not surprising; it would be pointless to deny that Alishia was an attractive girl- at least from the waist up. I''ve never been the kind of guy to be attracted to snakes. Yes, I lost most of my memory, but I was pretty confident in that. I prefer my girls to be tail-less. It didn''t matter anyway- I had Julia to direct my attraction towards. "Care to join me, Jacob? I''d hate to keep you standing there while we talk," themia offered while scooching over. She''s the only one in there... the heck is she moving over for? "No thanks. I think I''ll pass for today." "That''s too bad. Would you at least keep mepany for a bit? As much as I dislike the crowd, it does get a bit lonely staying here all alone." Even though I was a bit wary of her intentions, I ultimately decided that it wouldn''t hurt to entertain her request. Besides, it would give me a chance to learn more about her. Like Sun Tzu said, knowing your enemy is the first step to figuring out how to destroy their lifeforms in a weird, semi-magical battle-royale typepetition. "Alright... but I''ll only join you for a little while," I said while sitting down on the edge of the bath and dipping my feet in the steaming water. Man, this really is hot. I nced over to themia''s toweled figure. "How long have you been in here anyway?" I questioned. Alishia''s face was flushed red despite her being a creature that should be suited for the heat. "Maybe an hour?" she guessed, "I usually stay until either it starts getting busy or Levones to get me." "Is that lizard gonna be meeting you here today?" "Levon? I don''t think so, at least he didn''t mention it..." "Alright, good," A sigh of relief escaped my lips. "... You really don''t like him, do you?" "You could tell?" I said sarcastically with a smirk on my face, "Honestly, I''m surprised you and Ferguson are friends with that jerk." A small smile appeared on Alishia''s face. "Levon is a good guy. He''s actually really nice once you get to know him," she defended. An expression that was a mix of concern and disbelief appeared on my face. "... Now I know you''ve been in there too long." Alishia let out a smallugh but added, "I''m being serious though. He is a good friend even with his short temper." "... Are you sure? I can''t even think of a time that I haven''t seen him mad." It was Alishia''s turn to be surprised. "Really? He''s usually very tame when he''s with Ferguson and me." A tame Levon... now that''s something I never thought I''d hear. "He''s probably just angry when I''m here because he''s constantly thinking about how I''ll destroy him in thepetition," I joked. Alishiaughed but then cautioned, "I think you are underestimating him a bit too much." I stopped to think for a second. Am I underestimating him? We were pretty even in terms of strength on our first day, but I''m sure that I''ve made a giant gap between us after all of my training. That being said, he does have those sharp ws and tough scales... in a battle with no weapons, he would have a fairly strong advantage. But that''s only without weapons. In regards to thepetition, I was sure that the Arctic conditions where the invaders would arrive in my realm would buy enough time for my humans to develop tools to defend themselves. That''s not even mentioning the addition of elements and resources in my realm that most of the other creatures probably don''t have ess to. Having ess to the periodic table really opened up my options for the future. "Maybe I am underestimating him, but honestly, I like my chances against anyone that I''ve seen here... except maybe Ferguson. That guy is basically a meatball of muscle," I truthfully admitted. For the first time in this conversation, Alishia''s carefree and tempting expression was reced by one ofplete seriousness. "What makes you so confident?" "A mix of my training, nning, and a certain sticky stick that gives me an advantage." "Oh? And could I see this special stick of yours?" ... What? It felt like the gears in my brain came to a grinding halt at her words. I slowly nced over to themia who had uttered such seductive words in an equally as seductive tone. Why would she...? My eyes unconsciously drifted lower to the two mounds peaking out of the water. p! An impact on the side of my face dealt by my own hand snapped me back to my senses. "Well, it was nice talking to you, but it''s time for me to get going. Have a good one, Alishia," I shot up and turned around. "Oh, sure. I''ll see you-" I was already gone before she could finish her line, sprinting away at full speed. Ssh! "Squawk!?" My body was engulfed by cold water as I dove into the leftmost bath. A confused Mr. Flippers swam up to me as I surfaced. Any fog present in my mind quickly dissipated from the chilly water and I was soon left standing awkwardly with the penguin in the bath. This is nostalgic, isn''t it? "Don''t worry about it," I muttered while avoiding his curious penguin eyes. Disregarding the faintughinging from the hot bath, I spent some time swimming with the penguin since I was already soaked. I intentionally did not mention the tantly obvious mark on his beak that was not present before I left him alone. Let''s just keep today''s mistakes to ourselves. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- We find ourselves back on the continent where a lot has changed in such little time. Predator chickens have quickly exploded in poption and have taken over most of the eastern continent. With harshpetition and dwindling prey, these predators have developed into killing machines now with longer bodies and sporting sharp talons that could rip through flesh. The ferocity of these creatures has caused some problems. Normal chickens were steadily pushed out of the cherry tree forests leaving them struggling to find food and shelter. One group of them in particr was chased so far out of the forest that they ended up on the shores of the eastern gulf. It was an unfamiliarndscape- the moss that was usually abundant wherever they stepped was now nowhere to be seen along these sandy shores. No trees grew here either to provide shade from the warm sun nor were there fallen cherries to snack on. There was nothing but sand and water in sight. Sadly, they were stuck. Any attempts to go back into the forest were quickly met with predator attacks, and so, the newly beached chickens trotted along the sand searching for anything of use. Eventually, one made its way over to the water and took a sip before quickly shaking its head in disgust. Salty, isn''t it? Although it could not drink the water, it was still helpful in cooling him off from the summer heat. And so, with his feet in the water, the chicken stood until a small fish eventually swam up to hide in the shade of his shadow. Seeing the movement, the chicken pecked at the small creature before lifting its head and revealing the tiny fish in its beak. Gulp! Such a yummy treat! The chicken fascinated by the new and delicious source of food spent the rest of the day catching and eating the fish. It was not long before his friends took notice and joined the fun as well. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 20 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 20 Announcement Chapter 19 was released early to celebrate 100 readers! Please make sure that you did not miss it! It had been 215 days since I was beamed to the academy. Every day was the same routine: ss, training, bathhouse, domain, and back again. Sometimes I would spice things up by training before ss, but for the most part, this is what I stuck to. Julia would also asionally join me... well a bit more than asionally. Of course, I enjoyed spending time with her, but after doing the same limited activities for over 200 days straight, there was not much for us to talk about. A conversation starter was lost with every memory that was taken from us. And we had no memories left. I''m talking about before we came here, obviously- we weren''t hit with any more beams since the first day of ss and our brains were probably in good condition. That being said, I was extremely bored. Like really bored. It wasn''t like I was cking on my training or anything- it was far from it actually. With nothing better to do, I only devoted more time to working out and swinging swords leading to both my body and my physique improving considerably. My body was so toned that I looked like something out of fiction. At this point, I was almost certain that the homemade protein that I was eating was somehow working. Still... I think a transformation this drastic is a bit unrealistic in just 215 days. There was absolutely no way that my body would have gotten to this level of muscle on that powder alone. I could only really attribute it to my newly immortal body, although I had no clue how it worked. It is worth noting that none of the other creatures achieved a body transformation even remotelyparable to mine. That isn''t to say that they weren''t working hard. ces like the training grounds were actually fairly crowded recently, yet for some reason I was the only one to undergo such a substantial physical change. We were all hit with the same beam... so why is it just me who''s turning out so differently? In an attempt to pinpoint the cause, I tried to think of factors that were unique to me. To my surprise, there actually were a few; mainly that I was the only one who did not use mana, along with probably the only one eating that protein powder. It wouldn''t really make sense for theck of mana to be the cause. From what we were learning, mana makes things stronger. Why would not using it give me massive muscles? That only left me with the protein powder as the most likely cause, yet I struggled to believe that. There had to have been something else contributing to my growth that I was overlooking. Speaking of protein powder, I did try to teach Julia how to make it, but I was unsessful. Teaching the concept of organic chemistry to someone from a world with no knowledge of science was close to impossible. Since I can''t bring things made with domain creation into the academy, there was no way to give her the amino acids that I made. She is such a cute and tiny girl. She''ll never know the joys of having gains. Working out had been my major source of entertainment for a while. Things had gone into a semi-stalement in my realm so there was not much to look over. As for Mr. Flippers... there were only so many times that I could lose to him in cards before I gave up. This entire time, I never won a single match against him. In any game. Ever. Even right now, I was heading to the training grounds to lift away the pain of losing over a thousand games straight. Mr. Flippers himself decided to stay behind to work on his ice pce. Yes, an ice pce. Halfway through finishing his igloo, the tiny penguin decided it was not grand enough to house someone as noble as himself, so he started over from scratch with this new design in mind. He might as well just build his own ice casino with his luck. "A thousand freaking games in a row..." I muttered as I entered the training grounds. Whether it was due to boredom or anticipation of the approachingpetition, the training grounds have be a lot more crowded as ofte and today was no different. There was one creature that stood out to me from the herd. Through the entryway of the melee section, I spotted a recognizable light brown meatball of an ogre. This wasn''t the first time that I''ve seen Ferguson in the training grounds. He actually came to work out pretty frequently, but usually, it was at different times of the day than me. It was the asions when I tried to spice up my schedule when we would run into one another. I approached the melee area entrance and watched him swing a massive club at a training dummy. Bang! Bang! Bang! The floor shook slightly every time his club connected with the dummy. Noticeable dents formed from the impacts that even I could see from afar. His power is no joke. That guy hasn''t been king. Ever since I first met this ogre in the sauna, it was clear to me that he was the strongest Seedling in the academy- at least physically. His sheer size alone both horizontally and vertically made him a force to be reckoned with and he easily towered over the others with his 6''8 stature. Although he was fairly chubby when we first met, his training showed and strong muscles could be seen forcing their way through theyer of fat. That dude could be an entire offensive line by himself. Well... maybe not. No matter how strong he is, I doubt he could protect a quarterback from five people charging in all directions. My thoughts were interrupted when the ogre nced over to me, seemingly noticing my gaze. "Do you need something?" he asked in a slightly annoyed tone. "No not really. I was just watching you practice... You got a good swing." I spoke honestly. Ferguson only nodded in response and went back to his training. Bang! Bang! Bang! If it weren''t for the regeneration, that dummy would be a pile of scraps by now. I grabbed a wooden sword from a nearby barrel and approached the free training dummy to his left. With quick swings, the sword connected in rapid session. m! m! m! m! You weren''t the only one who got stronger, mister ogre. Simr to Ferguson, small dents appeared on the dummy with every hit. They were a bit smaller than the ones he made; however, considering the different weapons and how my speed was a bit faster, things were pretty even between us. It seemed that the ogre quickly noticed this, too. "You are also strong. Can we spar?" Spar? He wants to duel? I nced over to the massive wall of muscles to my right. No thank you, I''d like to live... is what I would have said 200 days ago. Maybe it''s the boredom talking, but honestly, it''s not a bad idea. It would help me finally get some insight into how ogres fight and let me gauge my strength. Plus, I doubt he would go overboard with the academy watching us. "You know what... sure. Let''s do it." I have a better chance of winning against this guy in a fight than I would against Mr. Flippers in a card game. We made our way to the arena after putting our weapons away. Despite some creatures looking at the two of us curiously, I was surprised to see that no one followed us inside. The arena was the one ce where Seedlings were allowed to fight, although self-restraint was a requirement. If someone did anything that could be considered excessive or unnecessary to the training, there was a huge risk of punishment. For that reason, the arena usually stayed vacant as no one wanted to take that risk. After turning right and exiting the corridor, we were greeted by the view of the massive arena. The arena itself was shaped as a giant oval with massive stone tiles making up its floor. Hundreds of seats lined the stadium for spectators to look down upon whatever match was going on. Of course, these seats were all vacant right now. It is a bit weird howrge-scale this arena is considering it''s part of the training ground. Do the instructors also use this to fight against each other? I doubt they would have built this an arena this big if it was just for practice matches. Even if all of us Seedlings were to sit in those seats, we''d only fill roughly a fifth of them. With a sigh, I picked out a wooden sword from a barrel ced against the arena wall. Ferguson followed my lead and picked out a club simr to the one he was practicing with earlier. The two of us slowly made our way to the center of the arena without speaking a word. Upon reaching the center, we each took 10 steps back to give each other space. "... Are you ready?" I asked. "I am." "Then let''s-" Before I could finish speaking, the massive ogre rushed towards me. It only took a moment before his club was swinging towards my left side. I quickly braced my knees and moved my sword to intercept it. With a thud, the two weapons met leaving my arms tingling from the impact. "I came to fight. Enough talking," Ferguson spat. Shoot... I may have made a mistake. It was clear that we were not nearly as close in strength as I thought we were. Even though I had gained a ton of muscle, I was still just barely able to block that hit. With our weapons connected, I gradually shifted my weight downwards until his club slipped past me. Not missing this chance, I quickly backed away to give myself time to think. He''s still stronger than me, but I definitely have the edge in speed. I need to find a way to use that to my advantage. That was the extent of my thinking before Ferguson''s club once again appeared in front of me. Thud! It was the same swing as before. The first rally made it clear that I would lose in any direct contest of strength, so instead of hitting the club head-on, I instead met it at an angle and deflected the club while shifting my body. Ferguson quickly transitioned to a backhanded swing toward my right which I was able to dodge by simply stepping backwards. Now''s my chance! This was a perfect chance to retreat, yet instead of running away, I charged directly toward the ogre. Yes, I could''ve simply run away the whole match, but what kind of training would that be? I made a quick swing of my own which Ferguson swatted away. There was no time to make a second attack before I needed to step back from his club. A strong wind blew past me as his club skimmed the tip of my nose. That was a bit too close forfort. Cold sweat dripped down my neck, but the ogre did not miss out on my hesitation and stepped forward with another swing this time from above. Reflexively, I threw myself to the side just before his club mmed into the floor where I was just standing. Oi- is he actually trying to kill me!? If I didn''t move, I''d be squashed right now! My eyes met his, though it felt as though he was looking right through me. Bloodlust oozed from his expression as if he wanted nothing more than to leave me as a mangled corpse on the stone floor. Hesitating will only lead to that oue. If I want to survive this, my only chance is to face him head-on! I swallowed my apprehension and dashed toward the ogre once again- dodging his attack and countering with one of my own. I continued to jab at him with my sword as I circled him, using my speed to step backward whenever he attempted to swing. Although I was able to continue this strategy for a bit and connected with him several times, the damage I inflicted was minimal at best. Not only was Ferguson strong, but he was tanky as well. Ferguson stepped toward me and let out another predictable swing, which I naturally moved to parry. What? A faint- Bang! "Gah-" A strong impact on my stomach sent me flying backward as my breath escaped my lungs. It took two bounces on the stone floor before I skidded to a stop. My body red in pain, but I forced myself to get to my feet. I was able to twist my body a bit before the impact yet I still took this strong of a hit. Despite being full of openings, Ferguson did not move towards me. "I am getting bored, human. What is the point in sparing if you are not fighting with all you have?" Oi- I am trying you know! Do you think I just let myself get kicked for no reason!? I slowly got to my feet and looked down at the sword in my hand. His words resonated in my head. ''Everything that I have''. I am limiting myself to just the sword and the basics of using it at that. I still don''t really know any proper technique, though. I could try to punch and kick like he just did but... My eyes shifted over to the ogre. What the heck would a kick from me even do to a guy 9 weight sses above me? "I don''t have the body of a jacked hippo, unlike someone here," I muttered, shaking off thest of the pain. Ferguson smirked apparently hearing my remark. "You have the body of a twig." A forced smile was stered on my face. A twig!? A freaking twig!? Do you have any idea how much I worked out since I got here!? I''ll show you what kind of ''twig'' I am! With fire in my eyes, I sprinted towards the meatball. Ferguson matched my movements and took steps to close the distance between us. Once in range, he did a typical sideways swing which I easily ducked under. With my knees still bent, I pushed off of the ground,unching myself toward the ogre. Sadly, Ferguson was able to throw a punch forcing me to abort my attack and block his fist with my sword. The sheer weight behind the punch was enough to fling me back a few feet, yet this time I remained standing. "I thought I had you there." With a sigh, I removed my shirt that was drenched in sweat from our fighting and tossed it on the ground revealing my pronounced abs and toned muscles, which proved just how much effort I put into training during the past two hundred days. It was Ferguson''s turn to take the initiative and he rushed towards me, swinging directly down as if trying to squish me. Instead of dodging like before, I swung my sword in an arc above me with enough force to redirect the club to my side. Thisbined with turning my body was enough to cause the club to miss me and smash into the stone floor. I quickly whacked the ogre''s leg with my full strength to take advantage of this clear opening before backing off to not give him time to retaliate. I continued to back up, locking eyes with Ferguson who matched my steps to keep the distance constant. After the fifth step, I changed my tune and rushed toward him once again. Now on the defensive, Ferguson held his club sideways to block my blow, but just as I was about to connect with his club, I changed my stance and thrusted my sword in a stabbing motion right toward the ogre''s chest. Reflexively, the ogre stepped back, only for his feet to fly out from under him. "Wha- ugh!" Thud! Before the ogre could figure out why he was on the ground my wooden sword was pointed at his neck. "I did as you said- I used what I had on me." Confused, Ferguson lifted his head and noticed my shirt right where he had been standing. "... Well yed, human. It is my loss." I pulled my sword away from his neck with a smile on my face. Thankfully he didn''t want to continue or I actually would''ve been screwed. After trying and failing to help the ogre up, I picked up my shirt and nced over to the exit only to see an elf staring at me. I leisurely made my way over to her. "Fancy seeing you here, Julia. It''s like you magically appear whenever I take my shirt off," I teased. "S-shut up! Do you know how worried I was when I heard you went in here to fight that guy!?" sheined. "Aww, you were worried about me?" "Of course I was!" Julia sighed cing her head in her palms, "Out of everyone here, you chose to fight that guy. Are you okay?" "Yeah, I''m pretty much fine, but thanks for worrying." I leaned in and spoke in a quiet voice. "You saw me beat him, right?" I excitedly asked. "... Yes I did. It was honestly pretty cool," Julia hesitated but eventually admitted with a genuine smile on her face. "I freaking did it, Julia! I actually beat him!" I pulled the elf in for a quick hug before calling out to the ogre who was leaving the arena. "Hey, Ferguson! Since I won, at least upgrade me to a stick." "... You confuse me, human," He stated before vanishing into the corridor. "What''s with you and sticks?" Julia looked at me and muttered. "It''s nothing. Anyway, should we head to the bathhouse?" "Sure!" As we made our way out of the arena, only one thought was in my mind. Beating an ogre is so much easier than winning against that penguin. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 21 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 21 "Alright ss, that was it for today. I know that you may be getting tired, but please continue to be on time for ss tomorrow," the sheep instructor announced to the ss. It was day 235 of being in the academy and ss was just wrapping up. Since we had finished all of the main battling-based material a few weeks prior, we had shifted focus onto learning about different organisms. The ones that we were going over were apparently a mix of lifeforms chosen by previous and current Seedlings to ensure that we all had at least a cursory understanding of what to expect without giving away everything. The organism that we just finished talking about was the Torch Tree. These start out resembling typical small trees but have branches that would turn into a charcoal-like material as they matured which would inevitably burn or crumble. When it burns, tiny seeds contained in the branches would be carried by the smoke and spread out. In the case that the branches simply crumble, the charcoal would act as a great fertilizer to help the seeds inside grow. It was a pretty cool tree based on what she said. That must have been crazy for the Seedling who chose it. There must have been forest fires almost every day. I closed my notebook that I had been using to write down notes on the lifeforms and was putting it into my bag when I noticed a red figure approaching me out of the corner of my eye. "So, I heard you fought against Ferguson," a familiar voice began. Mr. Flippers immediately hid behind me and I could not hide the sigh that inevitably escaped my lips. I really don''t feel like dealing with this guy right now, but I guess this is an opportunity I can''t really pass up on considering how thepetition will start in about four months. Ferguson already left, right? In a voice louder than necessary, I replied: "Oh, that ogre? Yeah, I destroyed that guy. You honestly thought that someone so weak could put up a fight against me?" Levon''s expression quickly shifted to one of disbelief, yet I continued. "I mean, it took me less than a second to have him on the ground with a sword to his neck. You should be shedding tears of joy that it wasn''t you in the arena with me. I could''ve been asleep and still won if I was up against you," I said smugly. It appeared my attitude riled up Mr. Flippers who popped out from behind me and let out a squawk in provocation- only to be met with Levon''s firey re and immediately cower out of his sight. "You are calling me weak?" Levon spouted while he put his w up to my face, "I might as well slice off that tongue of yours if it''s only good for spouting- what are you doing?" Completely ignoring his threat, I stood up in my seat in the middle of his speech and shouted to the rest of the ss. "That goes to all of you! You''re all so weak that it makes me cry with pity!" Stares followed byplete silence descended onto the ssroom. That did notst long, however. "What did he say!?" "Did he just call us weak!?" "I am very attracted to the instructor!" "What''s his problem!?" "Does this guy think he''s better than us!?" "... Did no one else hear that?" Comints and one oddly timed confession were thrown at me in response to my deration. "Oh? Did I upset you all? I was just trying to motivate you all to do better," I said feigning ignorance. I nced down and noticed Levon still standing therepletely baffled by my actions while Julia sat with her head in her palms muttering to herself. "Oh high heavens why do I put up with this..." Sorry, Julia, but the embarrassment will be worth it! I tried my best to hide my smile and continued, ¡°Well, if any of you are dissatisfied with what I said, prove it to me when the battling-¡± "Enough!" a loud voice shouted from the front of the lecture hall. A certain bipedal sheep stood there forcing a smile- clearly struggling to stay professional. "Jacob, that''s what you go by, correct?" the instructor continued, "Even though the ss was dismissed, I will not allow this kind of behavior in my ssroom. Do I make myself clear?¡± Her words were apparently not enough to get the message across and an intense pressure washed over me. I could see Julia shoot up next to me, but I put my hand out to stop her from moving. "I-I''m alright, don''t worry," I whispered to her. The elf sent me a concerned nce but ultimately stayed put. How did I forget to check if Sky was here? Luckily, this isn''t nearly as bad as I remember it being. Whether it was due to the instructor holding back or due to my body getting considerably stronger since thest time I was hit by this move, the constraint was not nearly as tight on me and I could still breathe fairly well. Even with that... I should probably back off. There''s no real reason to risk a fight with her. Besides, just because the pressure was tolerable, it was far fromfortable. "Yes, I understand!" I responded with cold sweat dripping down my back. "... Good," The teacher''s gaze shifted towards the rest of the ss, "Now the same goes for the rest of you. Do not make me give this warning again." Instantly, all of their bodies went stiff- a handful copsed and I even noticed one puke. "Do you all understand?" ""Y-Yes!" The teacher released the pressure and soon exited the ssroom, making sure to give me onest re on her way out. Save for Julia and Mr. Flippers, the rest of the creatures in the room looked at me in a simr way. Getting yelled at by the teacher on top of my mockery seemed to push everyone over the edge. "Guess you¡¯re not just annoying¡­ you¡¯re spineless too,¡± Levon mocked. "Shut up. I didn''t see you fairing much better against that." "I am hearing a lot of excusesing from someone who ims to be so strong," he continued. "..." I could only click my tongue in response. After getting shunned by the teacher, there was no room to argue, so I just ignored the lizard who seemed to take it as his win and left with a smug look on his face. The lecture hall slowly emptied with everyone staring daggers at me as they left. "Screw you." "Getting us in trouble for no reason..." "I''ll remember you." "Her re~ oh it was so good~" "Watch your back, kid." The room eventually quieted down and I put my arm around Julia who still hid behind her hands. "I''m sorry, Julia. I didn''t expect her to do that to the rest of you... Are you okay?" "Physically yes... mentally no," she sighed, "I know what you¡¯re trying to do, but did you really need to do something so stupid?" "Well it worked, didn''t it?" Julia let out a light groan sigh. ¡°Just because it worked, it doesn¡¯t mean that you had to do it. You made an enemy of almost the entire ss! I understand taunting that guy''s group, but was it necessary to provoke the rest of them?¡± "... Yes." Julia''s eyes narrowed. "Probably?" I tried again. Her cheeks puffed out in a slight pout. "Alright, alright," I put my hands up in surrender, "I honestly have no idea, but, I think it was a good move considering my strategy." "It was still a dangerous move..." she mumbled. "Aww are you worried about me?" Jacob teased. Julia''s face got a bit red and she looked away. "I''m just saying it was a stupid thing to do..." My god, she''s adorable. Unable to hide my smile, I reached out my hand which she gently grabbed onto while still averting her eyes. "I''ll be fine- I''m strong, remember?" I lightly joked, "Speaking of strong, you didn''t even flinch when the instructor did that pressure thing!" "... It was a lot weaker than the one she hit you with," Julia exined. "Yet it still made one guy puke! Don''t deny it- you got really strong, Julia," I refuted. "Well... I do train with you, after all," she stated as she looked at me with an embarrassed smile. And there goes my heart, exploded into a million pieces from a grenade of cuteness. "Come on, let''s go train for a bit. It''s time to start practicing archery!" I announced while pulling her up. Julia''s eyes lit up and she nodded her head. After putting the still-stiff penguin under my arm, the three of us left the ssroom. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- While Julia and I were shooting our first arrows, the continent in my realm was on the brink of a revolution. A chicken was wandering through the eastern cherry tree forest. Now sporting green feathers for camouge, such a task was possible to do despite the predators that filled the area. His trip made a sudden stop once he spotted something something. Tucked at the base of a cherry tree was a small nest made of sticks and leaves that housedrge brown eggs roughly 8 inches in height. Surprisingly, it was a sight that this chicken had seen before. Thest time he found this sort of egg, he went over to investigate only for a predator chicken toe charging not long after. His camouge and quick speed helped him escape, but the memory stayed in his chicken brain. Those predators took everything from him. They were the reason why he had to hide. They were the reason why he had to live his life in constant fear and caution. They were the reason why he wandered alone in this never-ending forest. With burning rage, the chicken sprinted over to the nest and pecked at the eggs. One peck. Two pecks. Three pecks. Four- Crack! The shell of the egg cracked, and a yellowish-white goo oozed out of its side. A sense of aplishment washed over the chicken. He had finally gotten revenge on the ones who wronged him. It was euphoric. But it wasn''t enough. The chicken cracked open the remaining two eggs and quickly scattered after sensing the approach of arge creature. He had done it. He had won! On his way back home, he spotted another nest withrge brown eggs. They were quickly destroyed. Eventually, another chicken friend saw what he was doing and decided to join. One by one, predator nests were wiped out in the eastern part of the continent and a few yearster, the number of predators wandering around noticeably decreased. Less predators in turn meant less risk for the normal chickens in their plot. With their nests increasingly at risk, the predator chickens were slowly forced to retreat further and further north until they reached the mountains. This mountainous terrain was impossible for the normal chickens to traverse, making it prime real estate for their nests. Eventually, most predator chickens were either set up in the mountains or skillfully hiding their nests further south. Their new home in the expansive mountain range gave these deadly creatures a new name that would be feared throughout the chicken world. It was the introduction of mountain chickens onto the continent. And mountain chickens would make sure they got vengeance for their banishment. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 22 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 22 There were only 18 days left until the battle. I sat looking at my domain disyed on the screen. My realm had developed considerably over thest three hundred and forty-two thousand mortal years. It was to the point where my realm was nearly unrecognizablepared to how it looked on myst in-depth examination. To start with, the continent itself had undergone some major changes. The most obvious of these had to do with the massive river that separated the two halves of the continent. Instead of being practically a straight split to the ocean, it now took a much more curved path through the western section. A small delta formed where the river met the sea and the frequent overflows from the river created a mudt in the southwest of the continent. The river also split not far from the mountain range taking a horizontal path to the eastern gulf. While this was not anything too crazy, it would have a major impact on how my early humans would be able to travel. With the west and north sections of the continent blocked off by rivers, their expansion would be drastically slowed. Surprisingly, my small experiment of forming inds through volcanic activity had actuallye to fruition! Of course, the fact that these inds existed was a major risk, as one of the requirements when we first made our realms was for there to only be one connectednd mass. The inds had been slowly emerging from the sea over the course of the year, but I had not heard anything from the sheep instructor nor Tatton, so either I made it through their screening phase or they were not alerted to it yet. Maybe it might be a problem if my humans settle on them, but there''s nothing I can really do about it now. This was a gamble I made when I was first building my realm and before I knew about the severity of the academy''s punishments. Even if I wanted to cancel on it, I had no resource points to destory the inds. The volcanic activity formed three inds off the southern coast, but none had yet to be inhabited by any creatures probably due to their remoteness. This included even the basic lifeforms such as moss. Speaking of moss, even after all of this time, the moss that covered the continent was unable to spread past the northern mountain range due to the cold conditions. Since thest time examination, the moss had actually lostnd due to the desert expanding in the southeast. I was honestly a bit disappointed in theck of drive for what should have been my pioneering creatures... or I was until I noticed that a subspecies had managed to begin spreading in shallow waters. It seemed that the small fish would have a new source of nutrition other than phytonkton to munch on. Putting this aside, the cherry trees were a bit more daring in their growth which now leveled off roughly seventy feet in height throughout most of the continent. There were two exceptions to this, however: those in the mudt and those in the north. The trees in these two areas seemed to split into distinct species. For the ones inhabiting the mudts, they sported much deeper roots, wider trunks, and lower heights. They closely resembled mangrove trees from Earth, except with the signature cherries that one would expect from their lineage. It seemed that the trees in the cold north quickly became a bit different than the ones further south. Their cherries were extremely small, their bark was extremely thick, and after observing a fallen tree, it seemed that there was a decent amount of sap inside. These were all adaptations that one would expect from a tree in a cold environment. Of course, such small changes are nowhere near enough for the trees to survive in the arctic conditions over the mountain range. Any invader would need to pass all through ciers and two mountain ranges before they ever even caught a glimpse of a tree trunk, so honestly, this was a great development for my defensive n. I turned my attention to the mushrooms. There had not been any new speciation since thest in-depth examination. Rather, it seemed the mushrooms continued down their evolutionary development for their respective niches. One example of this was with the giant mushrooms that easily doubled from two feet to four feet tall. The fairy ring mushrooms on the ground pretty much remained unchanged from a visual standpoint, but those on the trees became much tter for some reason. In the mushroom world, the biggest changes took ce with the poisonous mushrooms on the west side of the continent. These mushrooms became much deadlier and it was even made clear from a visual standpoint. Their slight yellowish coloring on their caps had since be a mixture of bright yellow and purple giving off a warning of "don''t you dare try to eat me". Despite this, the chickens were apparently not too keen on heeding their warning and continued to evolve to eat these spicy fungi. It was clear that the chickens in this region had undergone some major changes internally to deal with the toxins, but it was not something that I could observe from my position in the domain, so I was stuck looking at physical changes. In this regard, they had be noticeably bigger reaching upwards of 4 feet. A sharper and thinner beak helped them pick apart the mushrooms while avoiding areas overly crowded with spores. They also now had w-like features on their feet to help them dig in the mud to find buried cherries and worms that could help support their size. On the opposite side of the continent, a group of chickens had decided to make use of the untapped breadbasket that was the ocean and started hunting fish. These chickens quickly spread along the coast and developed to the point where they were more duck than chicken. The quasi-ducks had much slimmer feathers, webbed feet, and a widened and tter beak. They could easily dive down to thirty feet under the water to hunt for fish, which was not difficult in the slightest due to their abundance. When not hunting for food, these quasi-ducks hung out mostly around the shores rxing on the beaches and forest entrances. While the quasi-ducks were by far the greatest change in lifeforms since thest examination, there was another group that was not too far behind: the mountain chickens. These creatures evolved from the predator chickens that once dominated the continent. In fact, they had be much more deadly and specialized over thest three hundred thousand years, now reaching over five feet in height. Yet despite this, their territory shrunk immensely after a chicken rebellion targetting their eggs forced most of the creatures to nest in the mountains up north. It seemed that a social structure had formed between the mountain chickens in a way that resembled different tribes or gangs inhabiting various sections of mountains. The species became extremely territorial and frequent fights would break out between different families. The mountain chickens operated on both a daily and a yearly cycle. Throughout most of the year, the mountain chickens would actually be running around the main continent to eat prey in a manner that was reminiscent of their period of dominance tens of thousands of years prior. Although the chickens that they hunted did develop green and brown-colored feathers to help evade their predators, it was not nearly enough to spare thempletely. Their main method of retaliation against the predatorsy in their destruction of eggs, but this was useless once they hatched. Winter being their mating season meant that the mountain chickens would return to the mountains and nest in various caves throughout the range. During the nesting period, the males would run down from the mountains to hunt, while the females would watch over the nests. In order for them to return by nightfall, their hunting ground was restricted to areas near the mountains, which let most of the normal chickens have time to also mate during this same period. Of course, there were still a few predator chickens roaming around who found spots to hide their eggs, as well as mountain chickens who did not find a mate, but their numbers were rtively smallpared to the summer. Mountain chickens would normally hunt in groups of 3-5 members during non-mating periods, but it was not umon to see random solo mountain chickens wandering around further from the mountains. A good portion of these were those who got exiled from their chickenmunity. Unlike the mountain chickens which evolved both socially and physically, the fish only seemed to do thetter. A variety of species dotted thekes, rivers, and oceans, with an extremely healthy and thriving ecosystem being established. A few types of giant fish acted at the top of the food chain- the most notable of which resembled a porbeagle shark in terms of both appearance and niche. These were only present in the warm ocean to the south and rarely got close to the shore, however. The oceans seemed to thrive the most near the shallow reefs that I constructed to reduce the warm water flowing north. These reefs, now covered in underwater moss, acted as perfect ces for millions of tiny fish to scatter their eggs. Therge amount of reef area that covered a decent portion of the ocean allowed for fish cities to blossom. If only I could move some of those fish to other parts of the realm... I was referring to thekes. Somekes had popped up randomly throughout the continent. Although I tried to make my own watersheds, the uneven terrain caused by the massive destruction when I first added mass to the realm pretty much ruined my efforts and caused these anomalies. Sadly, since they gradually developed after thousands of years of rainfall, they were not noticeable until well after I finished adding phytonkton and fish. They were essentially giant empty puddles with no life inside. Not all of the newkes were empty though. Those that formed as a result of the river shifting or overflowing naturally exchanged life during the process and boasted plenty of fish in their waters. I was honestly thankful for thesekes- they brought a valuable source of food to areas that might never have had ess to it. A smile slowly appeared on my face as I looked over my realm. It really has developed well, hasn''t it? It was beautiful; from towering mountains to deep blue seas. Chickens pranced through the cherry tree forests, fish swam peacefully in the calm seas, and mushrooms spread their spoors across the green moss-coveredndscape. It was a massive and thriving realm built by my hands. I made this... I really freaking made something this gorgeous. I could not suppress the feeling of pride and aplishment that washed over me whenever I gazed upon my realm. ... Hopefully my future humans will treat it well. *Updated map! I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 23 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 23 Before I knew it, the time hade to introduce my first humans. The sheep instructor had been speaking extensively about this moment, especially in the past week, but ultimately, the process was roughly the same as when we added the other lifeforms almost one heavenly year ago. Each Seedling would be able to ce 10,000 advanced lifeforms- humans in my case. They could be ced anywhere on the continent. It was pretty obvious that this would be the case, so I had spent most of the past year heavily debating on whether I should split the humans up into multiple smaller groups or simply ce them all together at the temple on the teau. That''s right- the temple. During the previous ss, the sheep instructor mentioned something about adding a temple. Although she refused to go into detail about what it was for, she made it clear that we needed to ce it immediately. There was no way that I was dense enough to miss the implications such a thing would imply. If thispetition turned out to be a sort of tower-defense situation, I needed to make sure I was prepared. I quickly thought of where to ce it, and of course, the best spot would be on the teau that I prepared; its natural defenses and location made it ideal for that type of situation. So, now a white marble temple with a style reminiscent of ancient Greece sat peacefully in said area. Back to the topic, the introduction of this temple kind of decided the route that I needed to take with my human cement. Although I thought that splitting them up could eventually causepetition between the groups and allow them to grow stronger, I ultimately decided to go with thetter of the two options mentioned before. With the temple now present, the development of this area needed to be prioritized above everything else. The more humans that started in the area, the faster their local poption would grow. There were also some other added benefits to this like how any technological advances being able to be spread rapidly through the connected poption. Not to mention, the temple itself might inspire the new humans to build their own shelters. The risks associated with splitting up the humans were also fairly significant. Having two different areas, although would spurpetition, could also cause dyed development and destruction if a war were to break out between them. Given the sheer size of the continent and the abundance of resources, such a war was unlikely, but I did not want to risk a devastating fight killing most of my lifeforms before thepetition even started. Splitting the poption would also mean limiting the gene pool, and despite the tendency for the advanced lifeforms to resemble their ruler possibly countering it, I did not want to risk gic defects from inbreeding running rampant. In the end, my decision did not matter much. ording to the schedule described by the sheep instructor, there would be 10 heavenly days between the cement of the advanced lifeforms and the start of the battles. With this in mind, there would be plenty of time for them to develop a bit and spread throughout the continent. 10,000 years is a lot of time. Honestly, I''d be a bit disappointed if some groups didn''t want to explore the world that I worked so hard making. I wonder what their reactions will be when I first ce them. Will they know what to do? There''s no one to teach them things like hunting- they''ll need to somehow rely on natural instinct. Wait... they won''t be starting out as babies, will they? A cold sweat dripped down my back. No... there''s no way that would happen... hopefully. The excitement I had been building over the past year was quickly turning into nervousness as I pondered the risk of such a scenario. "Well... worrying won''t change anything. I''ll see in a second anyway. Are you ready, Mr. Flippers?" An enthusiastic squawk shouted out from the penguin on myp. "Good. Let''s do this!" I dered with a grin on my face. Before adding any humans, I lowered the time passage of my domain to match that in the realm. Now that the advanced lifeforms were being added, this function was finally made avable to us. Nothing felt different- the only thing signaling that the adjustment was sessful was theck of changes on the usually chaotic projection of the on the screen above me. Since every second in my domain was about 4.2 days in the realm, I was used to seeing constant movement. It was actually a bit unnerving seeing it so still. I took a deep breath and clicked on the new human-shaped icon before zooming into the teau where the temple sat. With my fingers trembling a bit, I ced down my first human in front of the temple. "Phew." A sigh of relief escaped my lips upon seeing the young adult looking around curiously. With a new piece of mind, I continued cing a few more humans. The sheep instructor wasn''t wrong... they do sort of look like me. Their skin colors varied slightly but they all stayed within a margin of my own and although they were nowhere near as muscr as I was now, they still seemed to have some natural tone, which made me smile seeing that my efforts had paid off. Even the girls seemed to have an athletic build. "..." "Squawk!" "N-nothing! I was just making sure they were alright... or something." I let out a cough and forced myself to look away from the screen. It was evident that whatever system I was using to create these humans did not provide them with clothing. I quickly got Mr. Flippers off of myp before any idents urred and gradually ced more humans on the massive teau. Despite 10,000 humans spawning, there was still plenty of room since the star-shaped teau was roughly the area of Rhode Ind. When I created it to be the capital of my continent, I made it earnestly. Upon reviewing everything, I found that there was actually a perfect 50/50 male-to-female ratio. For the humans themselves, most of their skin tones ranged between white and tan, their hair colors were all shades of brown (some extremely light and others nearing ck), and their heights were 5''4 at the shortest and 6''3 at the tallest. It looks like their appearances really didn''t vary too much from my own. I sat back and watched the humans wander around while I took notes. It was mid-spring, so they did not seem too bothered by the temperature despite being nude. They also did not appear to be overly hungry or thirsty yet, but a few did wander over to a smallke and take a few sips. Given how there were no other immediate needs, it did not take long for the humans to start trying to ''expand their poption¡¯ and for Mr. Flippers¡¯ sake, I turned the view on the screen away. The sun quickly began to set and the humansid down upon the soft moss and fell asleep. Given the cool night sky, most were huddled together. Those lucky enough to get a spot in the temple seemed to sleep the most soundly. I sped up the time in the domain and set it back to match mortal time again once the night had passed. Some of the humans started to stir at the first peak of the sun rising. Now the real test starts. I focused my attention on the group that had set up near the temple. With a night gone by, hunger had begun to set in. Although unfamiliar with the feeling, the humans seemed to know what to do and began searching for something to eat. They first tried what was closest- the moss beneath their feet. Most spit it out quickly finding that it would not bring them nourishment... while a few others stubbornly continued to shovel handfuls of the green nt into their mouths. "T-they really do take after me," I muttered holding back tears. "... Squawk?" The ones not trying to strip thend of its fluffy green carpet moved to the next thing in sight- the cherry trees. Although they figured out that the trees themselves were not something that they could eat, the things attached to them were still up for debate. I watched one put a fallen leaf into her mouth before immediately spitting it out. "Bitter, isn''t it?" I said with a smile. After shaking her head to get rid of the taste, she soon spotted a fallen red oval near the base of the tree and the girl shyly picked it up. Despite initially hesitating after remembering the bitter taste just moments before, her hunger clearly motivated her to take her first bite. "Ooo~!" The girl cried out in excitement and the sweet taste of the cherry... before immediately cowering after hearing her voice for the first time. Oh my god, that was so cute. I had been looking forward to finally adding my humans for a long time, but I had no idea watching them would be so fun. They were adorable- it was like watching babies ying. They had so much energy and even more curiosity and a proud smile naturally formed on my face just from watching them learn. I mean... in a way, they are my babies. They were created by me, took after me, and were watched over by me. Sadly, there was no way for me to actually be a dad to them, at least for now. With no method of interacting with my realm at least for the next 10 heavenly days. I was stuck purely watching. I desperately wanted to reach out to tell them I was there and teach them how to survive in this new world, but there was nothing that I could do. "Ha... It hasn''t even been a day and I''m already like this. What the heck am I gonna do once thepetition starts?" It was pretty inevitable that I would feel such a strong connection to them, yet no matter how much I prepared for it, the fact that I was attached did not change. ...Do I really need to see them fight? Can''t they all just live peacefully like this exploring my world forever? Such a thought was obviously stupid. The future endeavors of my tiny humans had already been set. I could only take sce in the fact that they had another 10,000 years before they would need to confront such hardships. For now, they would only need to worry about the little things; like finding food, inventing and making shelter, starting the roots of civilization, and developing and figuring out the basics ofnguage from scratch- all the easy things. Seriously, what the heck am I doing worrying about thepetition now? I pped the sides of my face and brought myself back to reality. There''s no point in wasting time thinking about it when I don''t even know the details yet. For now, I just have to watch over my humans. What they do during the next 10,000 years will decide their fate. With my eyes back on the screen, I noticed the girl walk over to another human on the screen who had no luck in finding anything to eat. The girl curiously watched the sulking human sit down in defeat with his head buried in his knees. The girl paused for a few seconds then put out her hand- a cherry resting on her palm. The man lifted his head and looked at the girl before shifting his focus to the unfamiliar red object she was presenting. He slowly reached out and took the cherry, biting into it. Yum! His eyes previously filled with nothing but defeat lit up at the introduction of the tasty fruit. The girl watched him with a smile on her face as he shot up. The man soon came to his senses and nced back at the girl who had shown him such kindness and then desperately looked around for anything he could give her back. His eyes soon locked onto a small brown nt growing from the ground in a sunny section between some nearby trees. He dashed over and picked one up before hurriedly returning and handing it to the girl. Surprised, she gently epted the present and took a bite. Simr to the man''s, her eyes sparkled upon tasting the new food. A smile appeared on both of their faces marking the start of the first friendship in the realm. As I watched the scene, a new sense of confidence and pride washed over me. My realm will be in good hands, after all. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 24 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 24 "Good morning, Seedlings!" The sheep instructor started as she gazed upon the ss, "Thank you all for cing your temples yesterday. I know that you may have questions regarding its purpose, but rest assured that they will all be answered. Starting today, after a year of waiting, I will finally be able to tell you all the details regarding thepetition!" A round of cheers erupted from the lecture hall. We had all been left in the dark for so long. No matter how nervous some might be, there was no way it could triumph over the excitement of finally getting some more information. "To reiterate what has already been revealed, during the battle preparation phase, Seedlings can attack another ruler. Those who choose not to attack risk leaving themselves open for an invasion by apetitor. Each Seedling can only invade or be invaded by one ruler per battle phase and in the case that multiple rulers try to attack the same Seedling, the ruler who sent in the request first will get priority. As you can imagine, if someone is attacked prior to putting in a request to invade another Seedling, they will be stuck on the defensive for that said battle phase. There is the option to attack a random Seedling and those who find themselves without a partner will not be punished. Your schedule during this time will be as follows: from 7 am to 10 am you will be here in ss. After that is your battle preparation phasesting until 1 pm which marks the beginning of the battling phase. The battling phase will conclude at 7 pm, giving you six hours of heavenly time, or 250 years in mortal time, to earn as many points as possible. The remainder of the day, 7 pm to 7 am will be your free time. At 12 p.m., you will be permitted to choose an Oracle to lead your advanced lifeforms. Rulers canmunicate with their lifeforms freely, although there are serious restrictions on what can be said along with extreme punishments if a Seedling vites these regtions. I will review the details regarding these rules during tomorrow''s ss for those who do not remember. Oracles themselves will be key pieces to a sessful attack or defense. Since they are given a portion of their ruler''s divinity, they have strength many times stronger than their counterparts and a heightened lifespan capable ofsting them throughout the entirety of the battle phase." A few murmurs began to spread around the ss. This was mainly all old information. After waiting for so long, the creatures in the lecture hall were starting to grow impatient with the recap. Clearly, the sheep instructor was able to sense this. "I can tell that you are all anxiously waiting for something new, so I will take a break from the Oracle talk and skip to something a bit newer. Points will be awarded to Seedlings depending on how they perform in thepetitions. Of course, the criteria to earn these points vary on whether you are attacking or defending. A Seedling can earn a maximum of three points during a single battle phase, and after its conclusion, they will get a Tier I, II, or III reward upon sess, each corresponding to their respective points. Sadly, I will need to keep what these points are used for a secret. Now, if a Seedling were to be defeated, a punishment would be assigned to them also varying between Tier I, II, and III, along with a reduction of their respective points. I would highly rmend avoiding these punishments." The instructor paused letting this information sink in. I was expecting some sort of reward system- it wouldn''t really be apetition without one. A punishment system on the other hand... A cold sweat dripped down my back as I thought of the possibilities. Yeah... I might need to be a bit more cautious from now on. I didn''t even need her warning to know that they should be avoided- I was certain that the punishments wouldn''t be directed solely at me, but rather my humans would be the victims. The sheep instructor began talking again after a few moments had passed. "As you all know, you have just ced a temple on your realm. The most important thing for you to do if you are defending is to protect it; the loss of a temple is an automatic Tier I punishment at a minimum. It does not need to be said that those attacking will prioritize its destruction." Another round of groans andints came from some of the creatures, presumably those who were uncautious and ced the temple down in a precarious position. It looked like my guess was right. I was thankful to my past self for making such a perfect spot to put it. Separated by two mountain ranges, a huge river, and ced upon a massive teau on the exact opposite side of the continent from where creatures would invade, it would be an understatement to say its cement was ideal. Yet again, the instructor ignored theirints and continued her speech. "Now, I am sure many of you are wondering how to get the Tier II and Tier III rewards. It is simple," She paused, an eerie grin emerging on her face, "You will need to kill as many advanced lifeforms as possible." Silence descended onto the ssroom. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- The ss wrapped up after the sheep instructor went into more detail regarding the importance of Oracles as well as the exact percentages needed to reach the various reward criteria- those being 33%, 50%, and 66% killed for Tier I, II, and III respectively. Julia was quite a bit shaken up after hearing how murderous thepetition would be and although I held her shaking hand tofort her during the lecture, it would be a lie to say I was perfectly fine myself. I prepared myself for such a reveal, yet I was really hoping this scenario would not be the case. It had only been a day since I added my first humans and I was already extremely attached to them. The same went for Julia who quickly left ss to go check on them, leaving me sitting in the lecture hall alone. I asked Mr. Flippers to keep an eye on my realm while I was here, so he stayed behind. Apparently the little guy also enjoyed watching my babies run around on the screen. Unlike the other creatures who immediately went back to their domains, I was less in a rush to get back since I knew the penguin was looking after everything. I took advantage of the peace to think about my n. I''ve been aplete menace to the other creatures over the past year to bait them into attacking me... now I''m starting to regret it. I was putting my humans at a much greater risk than needed. Despite being fairly confident regarding the natural defenses I created, I was still terrified at the thought of an army plowing through the continent before my humans had any time to properly develop weapons to counter them. The red wy boy will definitely attack first which should spare them an extra thousand years... but will that be enough? Unlike the lizardmen who would pretty much be powerless against my arctic invader buffer zone, I could not be so confident about other creatures that may invade. Though small in number, there definitely were a few more geared towards colder climates that could give me trouble early on. With a sigh, I stood up getting ready to head back to my domain. There was no point regretting my past actions- the damage was already done. It''s been 3 hours, so that''s... 125 years that passed since I checked my domain. Hopefully they made at least some sort of progress. Just as I was about to return to my domain, I heard a voice call out to me from the hall. "Look at you. Thepetition has not even started yet and you are already shaking in fear. How pathetic." I turned around at the provocation and was unfortunately greeted by a smug-looking Levon standing in the doorway. "Oh... it''s w boy," "What did you just call me!?" "It''s nothing," I stood up disregarding him, "I''m sure you miss me and would love to talk, but I have other stuff I need to be doing. I don''t have time to y with you right now." "You dare-" The smander caught his tongue and held hisposure. "Trying to run away so soon, are you? It seems you already know your fate. The second thispetition starts, your whole realm will be cut by my hands," Levon taunted while brandishing his w. "... w boy threatens with his w- how original. Look, it''s been a year, isn''t it time you get another trope? I''m getting tired of this," I rubbed my eyes and let out a fake yawn to mock him further. He was practically fuming at this point. "I. Will. Kill. Every. Last. One. Of. Your. Lifeforms," He growled. Before the lizard could react, my fist stopped an inch away from his face leaving a gust of air brushing past him. "... You won''t do jack. You''d be nothing more than a stain on the wall if I was allowed to kill you," I spat. The lizard stared nkly for a moment, but quickly covered his shock with a smirk- my fist still hovering in front of his face. "Truly pathetic," Levon looked at me with an expression full of mockery, "Look forward to the Tier III punishment... if there is even a single human left to receive it, that is." I could only re in return and pulled away my first. No matter how much I wanted to punch him, there was no way I''d be able to get away with it- not to mention I had way too much to lose at the moment. It was close, but the satisfaction of knocking his teeth out wouldn''t outweigh the punishment that came with it. "I''ll see you day one, you freaking lizard. [Return to domain]." The lecture hall vanished from my sight and I was left standing in a familiar ck space. "... I can''t believe I actually got worked up over his stupid taunts," I muttered in disbelief. Now that I had my tiny humans to watch over, I couldn''t do anything stupid. If I had actually punched Levon, I was confident something terrible would have happened to them. Then again, I would have never gotten so angry at the lizard if it wasn''t for their existence. It''s only been a day, yet these people are my greatest pride and my biggest weakness. Arge sigh escaped my lips as I calmed myself down. Seriously, I''m starting to wonder what the point of getting so strong was when I can''t even use my strength. Maybe I should somehow get him into the arena... My thoughts about squishing the reptile were eventually cut short by the squawk from a penguin. I nced up and saw Mr. Flippers looking down on me from the balcony of his massive ice pce. "Hey, Mr. Flippers! How''s the weather up there?" "Squawk?" "... Yeah I kind of assumed so." It was honestly very impressive how his project turned out; the pce took up over half of the domain and its spires hugged the 100ft high ceiling. Even considering how he had nothing else to do the past year, it still seemed like he built the thing in a record amount of time. Of course, Mr. Flippers wanted to do the thing himself, but after realizing how difficult it was, he eventually waddled over and had me help with the detailing and with the tougher areas that he could not reach. As for why the tiny penguin needed a pce fifty times his size... I had absolutely no idea, but he seemed to enjoy it and it gave him something to do during the past year. "So, did I miss anything while I was in ss?" The penguin pointed his flipper at the screen. My eyes followed his motion and I spotted what looked like a weird bundle of branches at the side of the temple. What the heck are my babies doing? I made my way over to my desk and zoomed in on the branches. Underneath, I spotted a few small humans huddling together. "Yes!" I jumped out of my seat in excitement, "They finally started!" "Squawk?" "What do you mean ''what''? Can''t you see- they finally built their first house!" Perhaps it was due to my caution in the teau''s cement, but it had taken a bit longer than I expected for them to finally start construction. Shelter was not a super vital need there with the mild winter. Although it was much morefortable not being exposed to the elements, the temperatures rarely got to the point where it would be dangerous to stay outdoors. It was clearly a small start, but it was a start nheless. It would only be a matter of time before they discovered more effective ways to build. "Squawk squawk..." "... Don''t be mean to them, they''re learning." "Squawk squawk squawk." "You can''t expect them to build a pce already! That''s just unrealistic." "Squawk!" "What does you being a penguin have to do with anything?" "..." I ignored his jealous res and began scouting my realm. Their poption is roughly 16,000 now... so that''s just over a 0.04% annual growth rate. Frankly speaking, it wasn''t bad at all; if the growth held constant there would be around 650,000 people by the time thepetition started. The humans were bound to spread outside the teau long before that happened. Considering the size of the teau and the extremely inefficient resource management of the early humans, they would start running low on food once their poption reached roughly 50,000. The humans were already starting to get a bit strained in the densely popted area around the temple with mushrooms bing rare and cherries being eaten the moment they fell. Those closer to the bigke on the right side of the teau were still eating well. Some even started fishing! After throwing a small piece of a cherry into the water, they would wait until a fish swam up and then jump into the water to catch it with their hands. Although impressive how fast they discovered this skill, the fish poption would most likely not be enough to support the now thousands of humans in the area. It won''t be much longer... The introduction of humans to the rest of the continent was imminent. Hello :D ! I''m so happy, I''ve finally had a bit of spare time, so I am writing again!! I just wanted to give a huge ''thank you'' to you all for all of the support every week- you guys have no idea how much it means to me T.T ! Next chapter starts my absolute favorite arc of the series so far~ hopefully you guys enjoy it as much as I do :D . Enjoy~ /author] I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 25 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 25 The day of thepetition had quickly arrived. After this ss, we would be pinned against one another in a battle of life or death. "Three hundred and seventy thousand years... it feels so long, but looking back, it went by so fast," I turned to the elf girl sitting next to me, "Are you ready, Julia?" "... Yes, I am," she responded; her voice was soft yet full of resolve, "I know we''ll win!" Julia and I had spent thest ten days talking extensively about our strategies for thispetition. She ultimately decided to stay on the defensive for the first few days after listening to my development breakdown. Despite her realm being full of mana, her elves were still very unfamiliar with it. As of now, they could really only use what they had picked through sheer instinct. Her elves were practically equivalent to my humans if they had exchanged a portion of their strength for simple magic. It would bepletely reckless to go on the offensive with how they were now- defense would be key until they developed more. "I know you''ll be okay. Mana aside, I can''t even imagine anyone getting through your continent- you seriously did an amazing job!" "It is pretty good, isn''t it?" Julia wore a smug expression but sported a faint blush from thepliment. The praise wasn''t unwarranted- her realm was seriously built perfectly to defend. It was vaguely shaped like a bow notched with an arrow- the invader buffer zone being at the tip of the arrow. Her realm had fournd masses making up the bow all connected throughnd bridges. Of course, her temple was at the handle of the bow- the region furthest from where she would be attacked. Since there was only one pathway from the invader buffer zone to her main continent, invaders would be forced to go through the middlend mass where they could be ambushed from all sides. It was simple, but ifmunication was good throughout her continent and the elves could work together, her realm could be impregnable. Sadly, thismunication, or any real cities tomunicate with for that matter, had yet to develop. A pincher n could not exist without the forces to execute one. It would be a dog fight, one group at a time, in this first battle phase for her people. Julia knew this well, and no matter how confident she was pretending to be, it was inevitable that this first battle phase would be bloody. I really hope it all works out. Leaning in closer, I whispered to Julia. "You remember the n, right?" She nodded her head, "Get the Oracle, hint at magic, build a force, and set traps." "Good! Just remember, no matter how bad it gets, you can''t do more than give hints to the Oracle." "I know, don''t worry." The regtions on what we could say to the Oracles we chose were extremely tight. While we could do things such as give orders or missions, we could not teach them technology or provide information that would ruin the integrity of thepetition. If I were to teach my oracle how to build a steam engine, or if Julia taught her''s how to use magic spells unknown to her realm, it was certain that the punishment would be many times worse than anything losing to an invader would do. Julia did have a bit of leeway, which is why we mentioned ''hints''. While she couldn''t outright teach the Oracle spells, she could give advice such as "concentrate" or "focus". If these simple and non-specific orders happened to result in improved skills, it would be a happy ident. We had all of the specifics about the rules drilled into our heads during this past week, so we were well aware of the limits on what we could say. If someone were to break the rules, it was assumed to be intentional. Restrictions were a bit looser while actively engaging in battle. Rulers are free to give any information about the battlefield and act as a sort ofmander for their Oracle. This was another benefit to staying on the defensive; defending rulers could see everything going on in their realm, while the invading ruler could only see from their Oracle''s line of sight. "Maybe you''ll get lucky and not get invaded? I mean, if others have the same strategy as us, there might not be too many people attacking," I said optimistically. "... There''s a chance, but honestly, I doubt I''ll be that lucky," Julia sighed and turned toward me, "What about you? Do you think you''ll be fine against Levon?" "Oh, yeah definitely. Honestly, I''d be surprised if he even manages to get through the buffer zone just given the climate. If it was anyone else, I''d feel bad about handing them a Tier III punishment, but he deserves it. Really deserves it. Really really-" "Yes, yes, I know," Julia interrupted me and rolled her eyes jokingly, "You''ve been talking about how much you hate him all week." "... Gross. Was I really?" "Mhm." "I''m so sorry for tainting your adorable elf ears with talk about him. After today, you''ll be the only one on my tongue!" "... Did you have to word it like that?" Julia muttered- hiding her face behind her hands. "I have no idea what you''re talking about," I feigned ignorance, "By the way, your ears are red-" "N-no they''re not! Stop looking!" As I struggled not tough at her flustered expression, the sheep instructor walked in. "Good morning, Seedlings! As you all know, the battle preparation phase will begin following the conclusion of this ss. If you are attacking, make sure to select your opponent as soon as possible or you may risk someone else stealing your target. I know that you are all anxious about thepetition, but we still have a ss to do, so please be patient." Her lecture went by in the blink of an eye as she started a new unit focusing on battle strategies. I wrote down a few things, but ultimately, it was nothing ground-breaking. "That just about wraps it up. Remember, Seedlings- no matter what happens during thepetition, I expect you all to behave in this ss tomorrow. Make the Founder proud- ss dismissed!" The moment those words left her mouth, a loud "Return to domain!" was shouted from nearly all of the creatures. It took less than a second for most of the lecture hall to be empty. Well... there goes the hope about not many people attacking. "Julia-" "I know," she cut me off with a look of sadness on her face. "...I''ll be rooting for you. No matter what happens, I know you''ll be okay- I know they''ll be okay. They do take after you, after all." I put out my arms and Julia quickly grabbed me into a hug; her slender arms lightly squeezed my sides. Gently, I rubbed her back as we sat there. This girl waspletely beating me up in training yesterday. How can someone be so tough yet so fragile at the same time? I pulled her a bit closer, her body was fully in my arms now. There''s nothing I want to do more than protect her... but there''s nothing more I can do now. "It''s in your hands now. We worked so hard for this moment- all of the training, the strategies, the lectures... you did your best through all of it. Now you just need to put it together." I felt her head slightly nod on my chest. "Whether you win or lose, I''ll be waiting here after the battle to give you another hug just like this. Everything will be okay," I finished. Julia slowly released her grip and separated herself. "...Thank you, Jacob. Really," she said while raising her head to meet my eyes. A faint smile was stered on her adorable face, along with a light blush spreading from her cheeks to her ears. "You know you don''t need to thank me, I''m just doing what I want. Good luck, Julia. I believe in you!" Her smile deepened slightly- her face which was filled with despair at the end of the ss was almost back to its usual glory. "You too, Jacob. Go crush that lizard!" My god she is so cute. "I''ll do my best!" I said with augh. With onest quick hug, we both went back to our domains. What the heck is this? Instead of the darkness that usually greeted me when I went back to my domain, the room was illuminated by a red hue. On the screen that normally disyed my realm was a projection of a certain red smander. The words "Invasion Imminent" were stered beneath the picture in red writing. "Ew... please tell me I can get rid of that," I muttered while walking over to my desk, "This dude couldn''t even wait a minute before sending that thing." Luckily, it only took me a few minutes of messing around before I was able to sessfully clear the warning. The shing red warning lights soon halted and the room receded into the darkness that I had grown so used to. That''s a bit better... but something''s not right. Wait a second- "Oi! Mister Flippers? Where did you go?" I called out for the missing penguin. No answer. Where the heck is he? I know he didn''t fly away... My eyes shifted to the massive ice pce behind me. Right- I opened the pce doors and walked inside. "Mr. Flippers? You here?" I made my way through his living room, kitchen, and private pool, but he was nowhere to be seen. I continued up the staircase, checking every room on every floor as I went by until I eventually reached his bedroom on the top floor. Knock! Knock! Knock! "Mr. Flippers? Are you in there?" After waiting for a few moments, I decided to open the door. His room was absolutely massive and filled with various decorations including paintings, stacked stones, and even a few ice sculptures of penguins. Although I originally thought the room was empty, my focus shifted to the giant bed tucked against the wall. Squatting down, I checked under it. Sure enough, a tiny ck and white creature was curled up shaking. "... What are you doing, Mr. Flippers?" "Squawk!" The penguin immediately turned around with eyes full of fear. After realizing it was me, he slid out from under his bed and jumped into my arms. Man, I really am getting a lot of hugs today. "Squawk! Squawk!" "It''s okay, I''m here- don''t worry." I said gently, holding the tiny creature, "You really are scared of that guy, aren''t you?" "Squawk!" "Mhm. You being under the bed is just a coincidence then. I totally believe that," I responded to his denial with a sigh and made my way over to his balcony. Seeing that the warning lights and Levon projection were gone seemed to calm down the tiny penguin and he soon wiggled out of my arms. "It''s about time we get ready to fight that guy. Wannae help me get ready?" "Squawk!" With a small bundle of enthusiasm by my side, I returned to my desk and began scouting my realm. A lot had changed in terms of development over thest week. For starters, the humans finally advanced enough to start building somewhat adequate shelters. They sort of resembled tipis- their cone-like shapes dotted the teau. Probably becauserge animal hyde was practically nonexistent, the walls between the sticks were covered by a mixture of leaves and sheets of bark. These homes extended past the teau. As I predicted, the exploration of the continent had begun roughly 5,000 years ago in mortal time. A few small settlements now dotted thend- some had even managed to cross the big river splitting the continent thanks to andslide creating a pathway. The mysteries of fire were not yet understood by the young humans, and although they settled both in the east and west, they did not venture far north due to the colder winter climates. That''s not to say that fire was not made asionally- I witnessed a few identally whack some of the flint I scattered around leading to some unfortunate events. It was figuring out how to utilize this fire and how to make it reliably that they had yet to grasp so far. Due to the majority of the humans being concentrated around the teau which was warm year round, it was very difficult for them to find a use for the mes. Fire was simply not essential to their survival. If any human were to realize the importance of such a resource, it would be one from an adventurous group that journeyed far away. In fact, the most advanced humans in general on the continent would not be found near the temple. There were no real threats the people in that area had to face- the weather was perfect, the food outside of the teau was plentiful, and there were no predators to speak of. It was sort of like a small Garden of Eden where the humans could live their lives without worry. Did this help my poption grow? Yes. Did I enjoy seeing them happy and thriving? Also yes. Did this also severely limit their development speed and stress me out? Bingo! Without a sort of motivation to improve, people naturally seemed to keep to the status quo. The only major developments made on the teau were the creation of tipis to protect the humans from rain and the invention of some small tools for hunting to solve their need for food. Had I made some sort of bigger threat, sure they would have struggled, but there was a great chance they would have been much further along than they were now. And so, my search for an Oracle led me to one location. It was the spot on the continent with the greatest threat: the mountain range up north. It was currently early summer on the continent which meant the mountain chickens were in full hunting mode. Both the males and females hade down from the mountain range and the young hatchlings were learning how to hunt. I had watched this scene thousands of times- the mountain chicken families which had spent the entirety of the winter fighting each other all unitedly descended the mountains in one giant herd. If one were to see it for the first time, they might mistake the scene with a massive avnche with all of the stampeding chickens. This giant herd would usually stay together until they all crossed the northern river which ran eastward to the gulf. Unlike the massive river that split the continent in half, this one was rtively shallow and could be crossed at many different points. The stampede is terrifying but oddly beautiful. It''s a bit annoying too, though. I have no idea how my humans will ever be able to settle north of the river with that happening every year. Knowing that the river was the furthest point where I could find a human, I decided to start my search there and work my way south. This might take a bit... "Keep an eye out in case I miss anything, Mr. Flippers," I said as I slowed down my domain time to match the realm. "Squawk!" The penguin stared at the screen with an intense focus looking for any signs of humans. He''s so cute. I moved the screen around the continent in rows going left to right then going slightly south if nothing was found. Hours quickly passed, then days, then weeks. I was not too worried about the time with the hour I had left before I could choose an oracle being equivalent to almost 42 years in the domain. Of course, Mr. Flippers and I took breaks, so we weren''t staring at the screen nonstop. Eventually, I sped up the domain time a bit to motivate myself to hurry up and witnessed the chickens'' cycle repeat many times. We continued to scout the wilderness despite this. The size of the continent could not be underestimated and I was being very cautious- if I wanted to spot a lone human, I needed to be extremely zoomed in. "Squawk!" "Good eye, Mr. Flippers!" Finally, after years had passed in the realm, we caught our first sight of humans. It was a group of about 6 people and they were stealthily moving through the cherry tree forest with clubs and rocks in their hands. Judging by a carcass one of them held, it appeared that they were hunting chickens. It''s a bit further south than I thought. No wonder it took so long to find these guys. Their location was roughly 500mi to the north and slightly to the east of the star-shaped teau. Since all of the people hunting were male, I figured that they had a settlement nearby. I watched them hunt for a while, and sure enough, they made their way back to a small group of tipis before nightfall. It was a pretty sweet sight- the women and children weed the hunters with open arms and cheered when they held up the in chickens. Using the mouse, I clicked on a certain icon on my monitor allowing me to hear their cheers. I had found this function a while back and had actually been learning theirnguage as they developed it. Although I was able to understand their speech instinctively just like I could with the other creatures in the academy, I felt that since they were trying so hard tomunicate, I should at least take part in their efforts. Theirnguage was rusty to put it lightly- the vocabry was extremely limited and the grammar was fairly inconsistent and convoluted. It was entirely expected though;nguage itself had only been invented 10,000 years ago in the realm and optimizing theirmunication would take far longer than that. Still, what they had put together was enough to get the general idea of what they wanted to say across. The smallmunity of roughly thirty people gathered around a bundle of sticks and leaves as one hunter lit it aze with a few smacks of flint. This group knows how to use fire? I guess it makes sense considering how far north they are, but how didn''t I see this earlier? When I was looking for humans, the first thing I looked for was signs of smoke. It didn''t even need to be said that the search came out empty-handed. It must''ve been an extremely recent development in the realm. I listened to their conversations while basking in the pleasant surprise, as they sat around the fire eating the chickens. It appeared the women gathered some mushrooms and cherries to go along with it. "Kungu uun lun opu kon du" "Huga can uun fignis! Raa~" "Urgu urgu! Uunga cag? Sun Uunga cag?" Themunity was interrupted by one woman frantically calling out. She''s looking for someone. "Uunga? Ah. Kun kow..." "Uunga no." "Uunga uun tine kon ru!" Contrary to her desperation, the men dismissed her- some even seemed to be annoyed at the mention of this person. Dejectedly, the woman sat back down and slowly picked on her piece of chicken as a nearby woman ced her hand on her back. The dinner continued as night fell upon the settlement. Just as they began to finish their food, a small figure approached the fire with its hand behind its back. The kid looked to be no older than seven, yet scrapes and bruises covered his body. "Uunga!" The woman shot up and ran towards the boy. She pulled him in for a hug as themunity looked over with varying expressions. This must be amon thing... she really needs to keep better track of her kid. Ignoring the embrace, the kid revealed his hand from behind his back- the corpse of a chickening into the view of those around the fire. Themunity that was flooded with chatter just moments before fell silent. "Uunga!" "Ra~" "Cok kun tine Uunga!" Cheers quickly echoed through the night. I pulled my attention away from the screen and my eyes immediately met Mr. Flippers'' who sat on myp. We found our Oracle. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 26 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 26 It may seem a bit odd to select someone so young as an Oracle, but there was a good reason for this. There was still a bit of time left before we could actually select an Oracle- roughly 15 years would pass in the realm prior to him being given a portion of my divinity and he would be in his early twenties by that time. Even if this wasn''t the case, choosing a young Oracle wouldn''t really be such an issue. It would be at least another hour before rulers would be able to invade, which was around 42 years in the domain. Oracles would age extremely slowly due to them having some divinity, but this was likely enough time to get even a toddler to an adult figure. There was still a risk with this strategy- and by that, I am referring to waiting 15 years to select the Oracle that we had scouted. The kid had to actually survive until then. In most cases, this would not be such a crazy risk, but this was a primitive world with none of the safeguards of modern life. A child making it to adulthood, especially in an area historically shared with mountain chickens during parts of the year, was not an easy task. And even more than that- What the heck is he doing!? The ''kid'' that I had wanted to choose was currently in a standoff with one of those creatures. I had been keeping an eye on him pretty much constantly since the original scouting yet he never failed to both impress and stress me out. He joined the men in their hunting group after that night with the chicken, but as time passed, he seemed to grow bored with it and started hunting on his own. It came easy for him- he was quick enough to outrun even the fastest chicken and agile enough to keep track of its turns. Their camouge seemed to be useless against his keen eyes- once he found a target, it was game over. This ease in hunting left the then-teenager with a lot of free time before he needed to return to the settlement and it appeared he used this time experimenting with tools. As a kid, he only used a fist-sized stone to hunt. Since then, he had forged his own club out of a cherry tree branch and met the pinnacle of weaponry for this time. ... And then he went further. Somehow, he had not only picked up the uses of fire but also its effect on objects. The teenage hunter carefully heated his club and then carved thin slits into its sides that were just barely big enough to insert small stones that he had found. Once the wood cooled, it contracted around these stones holding them into ce. He now had a weapon more advanced and deadly than anything else ever created in this primitive world. Apparently, this just made the teen bored. Hunting wasn''t a challenge for him and he did not know what else he could make. And so, he decided to hunt something worth his skill. Uunga had heard tales of massive animals to the north that were many timesrger than the chickens he had hunted. Not only that, he listened to stories of the creatures'' ferocity and deadly prowess from those who were unfortunate enough to encounter them. It seemed like the perfect opponent in his eyes. He left the settlement and parted ways with hismunity to embark on this quest around the time he reached adulthood by Earth''s standards and it was only a monthter when he caught his first glimpse of pack. They were evenrger than he thought- reaching just over 5ft in height. Their sharp talons and teeth were unlike anything he had ever seen before. Even more important than that, unlike the chickens he was familiar with, these creatures would not run from a fight; they would face it head-on. The young adult instinctively knew that he was unable to take on this group of creatures alone and continued to stalk them from a distance. He followed them during the day and hunted for food at night. If they ever caught sight of him, he would hide in the cherry trees where they could not reach him until they went away. Uunga followed this routine for a few months, studying everything about the creatures. How they hunted, how they attacked, how they worked together in teams, their maximum speed, their eyesight, and everything else that could prove useful. As winter came and the predators returned to the mountains up north, Uunga stayed behind and set up a small camp for himself in the area next to a stream. To myplete surprise, the hunter did not simply spend the winterzing around waiting for the mountain chickens to return- he actually trained. It was difficult to call the training anything other than primitive or crude, but that was to be expected. Nheless, he spent the winter running through the forest and swinging his spiked club to prepare for his eventual confrontation with the beasts in the spring. The winter quickly passed and that encounter was being yed out directly on my screen. Uunga was squatting on a tree branch looking down on a lone mountain chicken. The creature almost resembled snow with its white feathers when looked at from above, but the white darkened to a stone-gray the closer they got to the mountain chicken''s underbody. It was difficult to even consider them to be feathers given their sheer stiffness; the predators were practically wearing light armor. I had no idea if his club would be able to deliver any meaningful damage to the creature. Listen man, I know you''re cool and all, but can you please not just kill yourself for no reason? Can you just wait in that tree for... three more years? It''s not too much to ask, right? Sadly, he had no way of hearing my desperate pleas and continued to stare at the deadly creature while clutching a stone in his hand. I eventually resigned myself to the inevitable and simply braced for the fight. "A lone mountain chicken... must have been exiled during the winter," I muttered to myself, "If he wants to fight one of those guys, there''s no better chance than this." While I wasmenting on the situation, Uunga slowly raised his hand holding the stone. Squish! "Caa!" The stone urately smashed into the unsuspecting eye of the chicken! "He hit its eye from up there!? Mr. Flippers, are you seeing this!?" "Squawk!" Uunga cared not for our awe and hopped off the branch to greet the rampaging beast. The mountain chicken stared at the unfamiliar creature for a moment before immediately rushing towards him with one eye closed shut. 20 feet, 10 feet, 5 feet- Uunga made no moves as the predator barreled toward him- then immediately swung his spiked club with his full force the moment it stepped within range. Smack! "Caaaw!" Uunga lunged out of the way as the mountain chicken stumbled to where he previously stood when he delivered the blow to its head. Blood dripped from his club, yet the predator staggered back onto its feet with an intense re on its face. It wanted nothing more than to tear him to pieces. Blinded by rage, it rushed toward Uunga again. The hunter swung at the body of the beast, but its feathers were sessfully able to absorb most of the impact. The mountain chicken mmed into Uunga sending him tumbling to the ground a few feet away. "Ugh-" Before he could even get up, the mountain chicken was on top of him- its sharp talons scratched at his chest leaving a bloody wound over his heart. "Argh!" The predator bit at Uunga''s face, but he blocked its bite with his club. Its razor-sharp teeth sank into the wooden weapon. Despite the terrible wound and situation, the hunter did not give up; he pushed its head away with his club and rolled out from under the beast, managing to whack its leg with a hard blow before retreating to the tree. Crack! The creature tried to chase him but faltered the moment it tried to push off of that leg giving Uunga enough time to retreat. Oh my god. He''s lucky he got away... that wound is bad but it''s nothing fatal. A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I watched him climb up to safety. At least now he learned his lesson. He won''t be- oh no. My wishful thoughts were disintegrated the moment I saw his eyes. Those weren''t eyes of fear or resignation, rather they were filled with an intense fire of determination and grit. Uunga threw another stone at the injured beast, ignoring the bleeding injury of his own, and taunted it to get closer. Sure enough, the mountain chicken was at the base of the tree within seconds- repeatedly mming its body against it to try to knock the hunter down. Bang! Bang! Bang! The branch heavily shook with every impact yet Uunga kept his bnce- before purposelyunching himself down onto the mountain chicken with his spiked club raised above his head. "Raaaaaa!" Thud! Uunga mmed his club down onto the head of the beast with both of his hands as hended on its back. Blood sprayed out from the creature''s wound as it thrashed around. "Ca!" He held on to the creature''s neck with his left arm and repeatedly continued to bash its head using the club in his right hand. Thud! Thud! Thud! The mountain chicken tried desperately to fling the hunter off of its back, but his grip was far too tight. "C-caw~" Its intense movements slowed due to either theck of air or the head trauma and the predator copsed onto the mossy ground momentster. Uunga pulled himself off of the ground covered in sweat and breathing deeply before looking down upon the fallen beast. The hunter stared at his unconscious prey and raised his club above his head with both of his hands. Thud! There was no longer a mountain chicken- only a corpse rested beneath his feet. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 27 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 27 "I still can''t believe this guy is real." Since his victory over the lone mountain chicken, Uunga had gone on to defeat nearly twenty more. He would separate one predator away from any groups he came across and pick them off one by one. The battles were hard-fought each time, however, the only signs of battle on his skin were the three massive scars on his chest from his first fight. Not only had his skills improved immensely, but so had his equipment. After seeing how sharp the creature''s talons were, he hafted one onto a small handle and made what resembled a curved dagger. Uunga also reced the stones on his club with the teeth of the beast and used its hide to make durable clothing. While on the topic, most of the humans in my realm had made simple clothing out of chicken skin and feathers. They provided a bit offort yet were terribly fragile. The mountain chicken skin on the other hand was both extremely durable and warm. Uunga saw this firsthand through his many encounters with the creatures. His clothing itself was a bit crude, though it more than served its purpose. He fashioned what appeared to be a long kilt and draped arge piece of hide over his shoulders which covered his chest, stomach, and back. It was tied to guarantee it did not restrict his arm movements. In addition to this, he also made a small pouch in which he stored things like flint and extra mountain chicken teeth for when those on his club needed to be reced. This guy isn''t just a bit more advanced than the other humans... he''s leagues ahead of them. We had managed to find a prodigy in this primitive world. Not only was that amazing, but we were lucky enough toe across him right when it was time to choose an oracle. I watched as the time in the domain changed to 1pm and nced over to Mr. Flippers. "It''s finally time- are you ready?" "Squawk!" A new icon appeared on the screen, which I immediately clicked on. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You Are Eligible To Select An Oracle Select Now? Yes / No ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I unhesitantly clicked yes and was then instructed to point out with lifeform I wanted to make into an oracle. After focusing the screen on Uunga, another confirmation window popped up. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lifeform - Human Eligibility - Confirmed Give Oracle Status? Yes / No *Warning: This choice is irreversible and the ruler will allocate divinity. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I clicked yes again and the window disappeared. "... Did it work? It doesn''t look like anything is- urghwgrlkgjlkr" "Squawk!?" A sudden and terrible feeling washed over me. It felt like someone shoved a straw in my back and was sucking the energy out of my body. I fell into the chair as my divinity was rapidly drained. Luckily, the whole process didn''tst long and the extremely unpleasant extraction soon came to a stop. My body was still tingling and felt heavier than before, but nothing else seemed too out of the ordinary afterward. "You''re okay, right Mr. Flippers?" I checked on the confused penguin next to me. "Squawk!" "Alright, good," I turned my attention back to the screen after making sure the tiny guy was fine, "Hey- do you see that?" "Squawk?" "Those clouds-" I pointed at the screen where dark clouds were suddenly forming over Uunga. Although their extent was much less severe than what the two of us were faced with back near Antarctica, the sight was extremely familiar. Even Uunga seemed to be uneasy at this irregr event and quickly began looking for cover as the wind rapidly intensified. Rain started to pour down onto the cherry tree forest and leaves were swept up in the gusts. Isn''t it a bit weird how these storms keep forming whenever someone''s about to get divinity? I never heard Julia mention it... then again, I don''t think I ever really brought it up either. The storm was still gradually intensifying and a small chicken was blown into Uunga''s face as he continued to dash through the forest. It would only be a matter of time until those beams starteding. Once he gets hit, I should be able to talk to him ording to the sheep instructor... ah- A sudden realization washed over me. Shoot! I didn''t even think about what to say! Okay, okay- there''s still time. Obviously, I need to give him the basics of the situation and exin the whole Oracle thing, but how should I talk? This dilemma might seem trivial, however, it could make a monumental difference in how I was viewed and treated by my lifeforms. If I was too nonchnt or rxed I might risk the Oracle not taking me seriously. On the other hand, if I was extremely demanding or condescending, I would quickly be hated. ''Condescending'' was not a term that I''d really think of when describing myself, but the point still stands. I needed to find some middle ground where I could be a strong leader, while still being respected and likable. As I was trying to figure this all out, I witnessed the first beam being shot out of the clouds. Yellow? Wasn''t the one that hit me more green-ish? It might even resemble lightning from a distance, but its altered color did not change its target. Just as the beam was about to hit Uunga, he reflexively jumped to the side leaving the beam to meekly disperse into the ground. Man... they really do take after me. A smile naturally formed on my face from the nostalgia. Uunga stared at the ground where the beam had vanished with a face of confusion before looking up at the clouds. Another beamunched towards him; he moved his club in front of his body to block it. Oof- bad move. The yellow beam went right through the club and hit Uunga directly in the chest. He touched his chest in confusion- there was no impact on his club nor was there pain on his body. A strange warmth seemed to flow through his blood instead. On my screen, a new notification was disyed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oracle Selection - Complete Establishing Link... Oracle Link - Complete ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A strange feeling, almost like a faint tingly sensation, welled up in my chest signifying that the oracle process had concluded. I guess I''ll just act like Sky? I mean, the sheep instructor vaguely has this whole authority thing down. Well, whatever- here goes nothing. "Hongo. Sun hus ru?" Uunga immediately flinched with my voice and got into a battle stance- steadily looking around for where my voice came from. "... Ru hus. Urgu cag sun?" I nodded to Mr. Flippers to signal the sess. There shouldn''t be a problem, but let me check anyway. "And can you understand my words when I speak like this?" Uunga hesitated for a moment seemingly processing what I had said. "... I can." Perfect! It looks like the system will trante everything between us automatically if we need it. ''Tranting'' wasn''t too urate of a description as to what was happening. It was more like we could understand the intent of our words, but the actual sounds did not change. Although I understood hisnguage pretty well since I was present during its creation, it was still extremely limited in the details that it could express. Giving orders in English would make things much easier for thepetition. "Greetings, Uunga. You may be confused about what is going on. You are at no risk, so please listen to what I say." His tension lessened a bit with my words, yet he still stood silent with his club gripped in his hand. Well, that''s to be expected. So far so good- "I am the creator of the world you reside. The air you breathe, the chickens you eat, and the ground on which you stand were all made by my hands. I have been watching over you for a long time- I have seen your knowledge, your bravery, and your might. You have made me proud, and so, I havee to you with a mission. This world is in danger. There are creatures set on the destruction of everything you see. Although I am using my power to thwart their advance, I will need you to be ready to protect this world if the need arises. Topensate you for following my orders, I have given you a portion of my power to assure that you have the strength needed to defend against any creature that you may encounter. Will you ept this mission and be my Oracle?" Uunga did not move nor speak at first as he processed everything that I had said. It was a lot to take in, and for someone with as great of a mind as him, his ''agreement'' would note without questions. "... You say that you have created this world. How do I know you are honest?" Just the question I was expecting. "I am telling the truth- I created everything that you see. Unfortunately, I have used up all of my power in the process of doing so. I am unable to touch the world, but I can still see it clearly. I saw your first sessful hunt, I witnessed your victory over the mountain chickens, and I watched over the settlement where you grew up. The proof of my creation is in my words, though I know someone like yourself may have some doubts." "I do have doubts. You know my past. I do not know yours. I can not trust a person who I can not see." While we were talking, a golden opportunity started to present itself to me on the screen. Although I was originally going to prove what I said by giving him information about the world, it seemed there was an easier way. "I understand your weariness, Uunga, so how about I prove my words another way? I have given you a portion of my power for my task- you might as well test it out." Uunga immediately tensed after hearing my statement and quickly looked around. "While we were talking, a few mountain chickens came to see what the noise was about," I continued as a group of four mountain chickens advanced through the trees, "If you really do not trust me, you have the ability to run away. However, with my power, you can easily defeat these beasts." The group of mountain chickens finally spotted the lone human who tightly gripped his spiked club. "Ca!" "Caww!" "Caw?" "Caw~!" "... I will ept this challenge," Uunga dered staring down the beast that sprinted toward him, "Let me see the power you have granted." As was routine for him, Uunga did a hard swing at the mountain chicken''s head before rolling out of the way- or that''s what he was nning to do. Crack! The moment his club connected with the mountain chicken''s head, its skullpletely shattered and its neck shot to the side with a loud crack. Uunga stared at his blood-covered club in shock as the huge beast copsed lifeless onto the ground in front of him. Before he could finish processing what happened, the remaining predators rushed towards him, enraged after seeing their fallenrade. Thud! His club collided with the body of the first of these three. Despite its tough skin and feathers, Uunga was positive that the hit broke a few of its ribs. "Caww~" The wounded mountain chicken backed off and its two brothers took its ce. Uunga moved to his left causing one of the chickens to get in the way of the other. He took a swing at the beast in front of him- the teeth on his club dug into the creature''s neck. "C-caww!" Blood gushed from its wound, but before he couldnd another blow, the second mountain chicken shoved it out of the way and lunged toward the human. Uunga leaped to the sidending way further than he expected. The mountain chickens paid no mind to the impressive feat and rushed towards him together. Rather than waiting for them, Uunga sprinted toward them and jumped off the ground with his club held above his head. m! He swung his club down onto the head of the middle beast- its head nearly exploding into a puddle of brain matter and blood as it mmed into the ground. With the two surviving chickens on both sides, he lunged towards the one to his left which had the blood leaking from its neck, and tackled it to the ground. Before it could push him off, the beast''s neck was shed open with the talon knife that hung on his waist. Uunga suddenly ducked to the ground onto the corpse as the huge body of the final beast barreled over him and brushed past his head. He rose to his feet and red at the final chicken that regained its bnce. It was now a one-on-one... Thud! ... And there was no way that a mountain chicken would be able to win that. The forest bursting with the sounds of battle moments before fell silent; the four attackersyed dead on the moss. I let Uunga catch his breath before speaking. "That was a good fight! I expected nothing less of you. I have only given you a drop of my power, yet you were able to conquer four of those beasts simultaneously. Once you get used to this new strength, that number will only rise." "I see," Uunga looked at his fist as he clenched it a few times, "The power you granted is strong. I do not know if you made the world, but I will follow you for now." Yes! I turned to Mr. Flippers and gave him a high five. "Thank you, Uunga. There are still forty winters until you will need to defend this world. Until then, I have an important task for you. You are as wise as you are strong. I would like you to travel around this world and teach others your knowledge. Spread the word of your clothes, your clubs, and your fire. Make them aware of my existence and train yourself for the fight. You may have my power, but I can not only watch you. There is a whole world that needs my attention. I will guide you when I feel it is needed, but until then, follow what I have said before to the best of your ability." As much as I''d like to have an increased role in his actions, it wasn''t very needed and would probably just annoy Uunga. I also would not be able tomunicate well once I sped up the domain time, and given how I did not want to spend 300 years waiting to see Julia again, I wanted to increase the speed when I could. "I understand," Uunga responded, "Where are the people?" I guess the easiest route would be for him to travel east until he reaches the gulf, then stop by the temple afterward in a loop. It was a good strategy given the numerous settlements on this path- Uunga would be able to get into contact with some of thergest groups this way. Depending on how much time is left after he reaches the temple, I could either have him cross the river or do some pit-stops at other scattered settlements more out of the way. "After you are done with those beasts, head in the direction of the rising sun. Do not spend too much time with the people until you reach a body of water that you can not see across." "... Does such a ce exist?" "It does. I created it." Uunga only nodded his head and began using his sharpened talon knife to harvest the hide from the fallen mountain chickens. The world would soon meet its first oracle. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 28 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 28 Uunga''s travels pretty much went as expected at the start. The first settlement he reached was the one where he grew up. It was a pretty wholesome sight; they weed him back with open arms and his mother shed tears of joy from seeing her baby again. He hosted a feast using the meat of the mountain chickens, and although he only stayed there for roughly a week, he taught them how to add spikes to their clubs, how to sew the hides of the predators in case they ever defeated one, and he also gave them more information about the geography close to their settlement. Before he left, he used some of the hide from his previous fight to make his mother some better clothing. From that point, I directed him a bit more south so that he would run into more settlements as he made his way to the gulf. Aside from his original settlement, it did not seem like any of the groups Uunga encountered reliably used fire. Some were hesitant at first, but eventually, the Oracle was able to show them the uses that came with it. Flint was plentiful in the area which made it easy to get the mes started. It was an extremely long distance that he needed to travel; the distance to the gulf from where he began was over 1,000 miles. Considering he was traveling through an unknown and dense forest, his traveling speed could not be too fast even with my sparse guidance. While on the topic, I found out about a cool function of one of my monitors. When my domain speed was faster than the realm''s, the monitor would show what Uunga was trying to say to me in a manner that resembled a chat log. If it was something that I needed to reply to, I could slow back down to mortal time to talk before speeding up again. It was a pretty convenient tool. Even with this option, I temporarily switched to mortal time once Uunga reached the gulf. Aside from the teau where the temple sat, this region was densest with people. Not only was there an overly abundant source of food swimming in the waters, but there were also quasi-ducks to hunt. The gulf itself was split in half by the eastward river''s spillway, which meant that my humans were not able to go too far north. This section of the shore was fairly consistent in climate; it was still fairly warm year-round. The region where most settled was within roughly 500mi of the equator, so this made sense. While on the topic of weather, I was baffled about the climate in my realm. I spent a long time trying to figure out what was happening as I watched a desert rapidly form in the southeastern part of the continent. If it was a tundra forming, I could understand since this was an area nearly as south as one could go... but this was a hot desertparable to that of the Australian outback. I eventually was able to figure out that this was due to a mixture of two main things: the exaggerated tilt of the''s axis that made this region get sunlight more directly whenpared to Earth and some insane weather patterns. There was a region of high pressure pretty much stuck right on this area of the continent that was trapping heat. The cooler air that would be expected from an area so close to the pole was for some reason directed away from this area through a jet stream off the southern coast. Another odd jetstream bringing warmer air down from the north bent down on this area instead, giving it a climate much warmer than it should have. The warm waters from the gulf contributed to this even more. As for the west side of this desert penins, it was much cooler than the side touching the gulf. While it still did not get much rain due to the high-pressure dome, the water temperature adjacent to this area was fairly expected for thetitude. The reason for the sand covering the west of the penins was simply due to it being blown over from the hotter areas. With the cooler waters to the east sitting right next to an area of massive warmth, one thing was inevitable: storms. It was nearly constant- storms would form in the region between the teau and the desert''s boundary. Most were not anything major; but for a primitive world with no real protection, they were still dangerous. Usually, they spread out as they passed over thend and unfortunately hit most of the settlements along the gulf. Many would intensify after reaching these warm waters turning the gulf into a hotbed of deadly storms. It was a bit umon, but it was entirely possible for some of these hurricanes to swing back and hit these shore settlements. Despite the enormous potential for resources along this coast, it could be an extremely dangerous area with strong storms shing from both directions. Anyway, there was a major reason why I went on such a tangent about this: "Un wina stron!" "Raaa! Kon kon wagu!" "No! Ru honga! Wina tac ru honga!" A category 2 hurricane was mming directly into the coast. "Take apart your homes! You can rebuild! Do not let the wind take them!" Of course, this happened to be at the exact time Uunga was staying at the coastal vige. The tipis that the inhabitants lived in were no match for the 100mph wind gusts smashing into them- let alone for the debris flying everywhere. Uunga urged the vigers to protect their homes- or rather the materials that made up their walls. These walls, which were a mix of shaved tree bark, leaves, and animal skins were pretty difficult to prepare considering the sheer amount of material that was needed. It just so happened that these materials were extremely light and easily blown away in strong wind. Copsing the tipis down and setting something heavy on top of them could save a ton of effort in rebuilding after the hurricane dissipated. This is what Uunga was trying to do; he was going around to all of the nearby tipis and breaking them down. Most people could not hear his calls through the gusting wind and pouring rain, but those whose tipis were still somewhat intact soon followed his lead. The people hiding inside were kicked out in the process, which was probably a good thing considering they could copse on top of them at any given moment in this storm. "Bawk~!" A quasi-duck blew past the Oracle''s soaked face as he worked. "Hey..." he spoke. Please don''t say it. "You said that you made everything I see..." My head fell into my hands as he continued. "So why would you make this?" the Oracle finally finished. "Tsk," I clicked my tongue at his question. I was sure that he would ask this from the moment when I first caught sight of the storm. Although it seemed like an innocent question, it was oneced with banter. It had already been roughly seven years since Uunga''s travels had begun and we had talked extensively during this time. He had seen through my authoritative persona a while back, and despite still following the mission that I set out for him, the Oracle developed a taste for banter. "... I did not purposely make this storm. It was an unintended side-effect from the formation of this world." I finally answered. Even though he had seen through my mask, I still yed my part out of sheer stubbornness. "If you have the power to make the world, use that power to stop this wind." "I told you that I gave my remaining power to you!" "The power of the wind is greater than the one who blows it?" "I did not blow anything! What are you using me of!?" I sat back on my chair with a groan. I should''ve just sent him to the teau the second I saw the storming. Sadly, it was far toote to send Uunga away by the time I noticed the hurricane. I sped up the domain to match heavenly time while he was going through the many small viges that sat along the gulf since he did not need my guidance after the first few encounters. With one second being equivalent to 4.2 days in the realm, I barely even had enough time to warn the Oracle once I noticed what was happening. From now on, I need to set a lower speed for the time when I''m not actively looking at the screen. Even with my obsession with watching my realm, it wasn''t something that I could do nonstop. I had asionally been doing other things such as ying with Mr. Flippers, experimenting with domain creation, and working out. Leaving my domain during the battle phases was a bit too risky, so I couldn''t meet up with Julia or use the training grounds, which was a bit sad. I was able to sessfully make my own mini gym between the penguin''s ice pce and my desk, however. While I was regretting my choices, chaos was still ensuing on the screen. Uunga and a few brave vigers were busy taking down tipis and covering the materials with fallen branches and rocks while beingpletely pelted by wind and rain. THUD! Arge cherry tree copsed not too far from where they were standing,pletely crushing an unfortunate quasi-duck in its path. This isn''t looking too good. Ipletely forgot how weak this species of tree is to the wind. Wind resistance was not something that I had considered while I was debating on what kind of tree to choose when first selecting my moderate lifeforms. The sweetheart cherry tree, Prunus avium, that I eventually settled on was fairly vulnerable to strong wind. For most of the continent, this was not a big issue, but for this region where storms were rampant, it was a pretty big problem. Since the storm patterns had started hundreds of thousands of years prior to this hurricane, the trees in the area had evolved and developed some defenses against the wind. They now sported much deeper roots, grew a thicker trunk, and their wood was a bit more flexible whenpared with those on the other side of the teau. Even with those adaptations, a hurricane was still a hurricane and it was bound to do some damage. THUD! Another tree copsed; this time not too far from where a mother holding her child stood. The child''s tears blended in with the rain dripping down its face. Okay, I can''t just sit here watching all of this. I need to figure something out. If I had resource points, dissipating the storm would be a breeze. Of course, I had none to use. These trees are starting to be a very big problem. If I could have Uunga guide the people to a ce without them, they would be a lot safer. The first ce that came to mind was the beach, since there were no trees on the sandy ground. Well, that wouldn''t work. The beach was the ce with the most intense wind and it was also somewhat underwater due to the storm surge. Given the intense and sporadic waves, it was not a viable option. I zoomed out on the screen and began looking for anything suitable areas- eventually spotting a clearing not too far from where the group stood. "Uunga, I need you to guide these people. There''s a safe spot ten minutes to your left." "... Okay." The Oracle stopped fidgeting with the blowing tipis and started running around to tell the vigers to follow him. Seeing as the only other option was to wait to be crushed by trees, most followed. Some slipped on the wet moss as they pushed their way through the intense wind, but they were helped up by those nearby, and they all sessfully made their way to a region devoid of standing trees. "... This was not what I expected," Uunga muttered. "Well, you can''t get smashed by a falling tree if all of the trees already fell." The vigers were greeted by arge area littered with copsed trees after their travel. Although there was no risk of getting crushed, there was absolutely no protection from the rain and wind. With most of the people hesitantly staying on the tree line, Uunga ventured out into the devastation and started working. He lifted, well more like dragged, some of the massive trees andid them on top of two nearly parallel trunks. Thud! I had no estimate of how heavy the trees he was dragging were, but they were far too heavy to be lifted by an ordinary human. A loud thump rang out when he dropped the logs into ce. Eventually, he had a small shelter set up; it was extremely simple and practically resembled a rectangr wooden tunnel. Still, it was enough for the vigers to crawl in and bepletely protected from the wind and rain. Its being so low to the ground was an unintended benefit that made it less exposed to the gusting wind. After waving the vigers over, they all huddled together. Hours passed and the winds that were once raging with intense fury were gradually withered down to a strong breeze. Seeing this, I called out to the Oracle. "It should be safe for you all toe out now. You did good, Uunga." The Oracle ventured out of the shelter once he received my clearance and lifted himself off of the soaked, mossy ground. The rain that had been relentlessly trying to drown thend had calmed to a drizzle with the sunlight peaking through the light clouds. Uunga looked around the area- his gaze eventually locking onto an area just over the tree line. "What is that?" he asked. Huh? What''s he talking about? I changed the angle shown on my screen revealing a colorful mirage in the sky above the Oracle. Hues of red, yellow, and green, arched between the white clouds. "Oh- it''s a rainbow," I exined to the bewildered Oracle, "They appear sometimes after it rains, but they onlyst for a bit. It''s pretty cool, isn''t it?" "... It is," Uunga nodded his head with his eyes still staring at sight. He continued to stare at the rainbow, wanting to savor every moment of its short visit. "...Why do theye after storms?" the Oracle eventually asked. "That''s... not something I can say." It wasn''t that I didn''t want to satiate his curiosity- it was that I was not allowed to. Exining how light reflected through raindrops to someone who''s practically a caveman would be well within punishment territory. "You can not say, because you can only make wind." Oi. "I do not only make wind- I literally created the ground you''re standing on," I corrected while grinding my teeth. "Only messes," he continued ignoring me, "You do not make beautiful things like this." My head fell onto my desk. Why? Why does the strongest man in my realm have the same attitude as a sassy teenager? Did I fail as a father... no. That''s impossible. I''m way too cool to be raising a kid wrong. Wait- I got it! It must be those video games causing his behavioral problems! I looked back at the screen as Uunga picked his club up off of the ground. ... It''s too bad I can''t make that excuse. "Hey, Mr. Flippers!" I called out to the penguin who was watching the screen from his pce balcony. "Squawk?" "Am I a bad father?" "..." A snowball hit my head a few secondster. ... No video games for him, either. I pulled out my phone with a sigh. I went a while without checking it, but doing so had be a moremon urrence recently. A picture of a certain elf soon found itself on my phone screen. Hopefully Julia is doing alright. The speed of my domain time increased a momentter. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 29 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 29 Uunga stayed near the gulf for a while to help rebuild the nearby coastal viges. The devastation from the hurricane could not be underestimated- the areas hit hardest were nearly devoid of all standing trees. It was hard to find a patch of moss not covered by broken branches or littered with hundreds of cherries. Considering the sheer amount of damage, I was actually a bit surprised how there were even trees to fall down in the first ce. Either hurricanes did not hit the coast as often as I thought, or the trees in this particr area had less wind-resistant adaptations than others. I was leaning toward thetter. Having all of these massive logs lying around was not all bad, however. It was extremely easy for the vigers to peel offrge sections of bark to repair the tipi walls, the wood itself could be chipped off to use for their nearly-discovered fires, and Uunga now had a lot of material to make more of his log tunnels. After seeing how sturdy the shelter that he made during the hurricane was, some of the vigers asked the Oracle to set up a few more of them. They were so shallow that one would need to crawl to fit under the logs, but their sturdiness was leagues ahead of the thin tipi walls that the vigers typically used. Uunga attempted to make at least one of these in every vige he scouted as an emergency shelter. Following the conclusion of the Oracle''s gulf tour, I decided to redirect him away from the south of the continent and instead sent him straight to the teau. There''s no way I''d have him go through a region of nearly constant storms after all of his trash-talk during the hurricane. Uunga set out for the teau after spending nearly a decade going down the eastern gulf. Considering the sheer size of the gulf and the density of the settlements around it, this could actually be viewed as a fairly fast pace. Despite now 17 years passing since Uunga had set out on his journey, he only seemed to age a few years at the most. He looked stronger, sure, but it would be difficult to find someone who would im him to be older than around 24. Any doubts I had regarding the lifespan of Oracles had mostly been put to rest, with the exception of whether or not their rate of aging was constant. While I pondered about this, a voice called out from my screen. "This is the path?" I nced up and quickly replied. "It is. You just need to climb up these stairs and you''ll reach the top. My temple is a bit of a walk from where it leads, though." The Oracle was standing at the base of the ''staircase'' on the southern side of the star-shaped teau. All things considered, it was a bit surprising how they were still somewhat functional even after hundreds of thousands of years, but it was difficult to really call it a staircase at this point. It was more like a bunch of moss-covered and weathered bs sticking out of the cliff face. Uunga began his ascent to the summit of the star with no knowledge of the history beneath his feet. "Are the people at the top as weak as the ones at the bottom?" he asked as he climbed. "... That''s a bit harsh, isn''t it?" "It is true, not harsh," he reiterated. Although his words were a bit ruthless, they were not unfounded. Uunga was the strongest person in my realm even before bing an Oracle. That''s not to say that everyone else was powerless- the Oracle hade across many tough individuals throughout his travels. The main reason why he was unsatisfiedid in the fact that these encounters had be drastically more umon the further south he went. He had just ventured through an extremelyrge vige at the base of the teau where easily over a few hundred tipis were set up, yet he did not find a single person that could be considered a match for anyone from the settlement where he grew up in. This ispletely my fault, too. "The people here don''t yet have a reason to be strong. There''s no mountain chickens, no storms... they can pretty much just live peacefully as they are now," I exined. Uunga continued his climb up the massive staircase and momentarily descended into silence. "...Do they have no desire?" He eventually asked. "I wouldn''t say that; I mean, you saw how many kids were running around down there." "That is not what I meant," Uunga denied with an annoyed expression. I felt the corners of my lips raise at his expression. "They definitely have desires- they''re humans, after all. It''s just that, in their eyes, they have already achieved all that there is to achieve. They all have plenty of food, a ce to live, a family... what else do they need?" "... The power to keep them," Uunga answered. He had witnessed firsthand how easily everything that people treasured could be taken away. My eyes sparkled a bit recounting his travels. "You''repletely right. But these people do not know that- they have never faced any real danger that could take away what they have." "... And when dangeres?" "That''s... exactly why I sent you here," I paused with a sigh, "I think you can imagine what fate would befall these people if they were to stay like this." The teau once again fell into silence with only the muffled sounds of the Oracle''s steps sounding through the screen as he climbed. It was a massive weight that I had dropped onto one man; the weight of the world literally rested on his shoulders. Despite the oue of this first invasion pretty much being decided- it was certain that there would be trouble the moment a creature breached my arctic walls if things were to continue as they had been. Uunga would not be around when that were to happen; the power of an Oracle is not enough for such a feat, yet the choices that he made now would be what determine the oue of that future fight. It was clear he understood. Despite not replying, a new re of determination and resolve shone through his eyes and out of the screen. He was leading a world of people who do not know the potential that each one of them holds. It was the Oracle''s mission, beyond everything else, to give them the spark they needed to unlock it. Uunga soon reached the top of the staircase and stepped onto the summit of the roughly 1,000ft tall teau. "The trees look different from above," he muttered as he looked down onto the world below him. "It''s interesting, isn''t it? The trees and people look so small, but the world seems so much bigger." The Oracle nodded his head and soon turned around to head deeper into the teau. Just like the area below, there was an extremelyrge settlement at the top of the stairs. Rather than stop to teach these people as he had done on the gulf, Uunga did not make contact and simply advanced through the tipi vige. It was decided that Uunga would stay near the teau until the time came for Levon''s troops to invade, so there was no need for him to teach them immediately. He had a ce he wanted to reach before he did anything: my temple. I guess it''s thest bit of proof he needs before he can fully trust what I say. He had already been putting inplete effort into fulfilling the mission that I gave him, so I assumed he already trusted me. Seeing my temple would just serve to reaffirm his faith. With this goal in mind, Uuunga passed by the hundreds of people while avoiding their curious gazes. Frankly speaking, he stood out like a sore thumb- not only was he one of the tallest and most muscr people in the realm, but he also wore clothing iparable to the rest of them. Mountain chickens were not even a creature known to this part of the world; the thick hide Uunga sported was on a level many times greater than the mix of tied feathers and chicken skin that the people here wore. Whether it was due to his imposing figure or his clothing, the oue was the same: the people seemed to keep their distance from the Oracle and simply watched as he disappeared into the forest on the other side of the vige. "It is this way?" Uunga asked me as he walked. "Yep. At this speed, you''ll get there in a bit under three days." "You said there are more people there?" "Yes- there''s a lot more. It''ll be hard for you to find a spot where a person isn''t standing in some areas." Food had already be a bit of a problem because of how dense the poption was near the temple. Cherries would only get them so far and all of the chickens in the area had long been wiped out. The southeastern branch of the star-shaped teau still had a thriving chicken poption, but it was a far distance from the temple. Many people had migrated to other parts of the continent because of this difort; however, there was still arge and stable poption that could be supported by the ever-replenishing mushrooms and cherries, along with some supplements of fish from theke. With this many people, it was inevitable that Uunga would wind up near a settlement by the time night descended. He decided to set up camp right on one of their outskirts; he grabbed some fallen branches and leaves before throwing them into a pile. The Oracle grabbed a piece of flint from his bag and it was not long before a fire red up in front of him. A few people wandered over to investigate after seeing the unusual light shining through the darkness. Whether warry of the fire, the figure sitting by it, or a mix of the two, the settlers did not get too close and simply watched from beyond the light''s reach. Despite clearly knowing their presence, Uunga paid no mind to the onlookers and continued to roast a piece of chicken that he had carried in his bag over the fire. Once he was done eating, Uunga threw a pile of leaves onto the fire, identally putting it out in the process. The Oracle nonchntly pulled out a piece of flint from his bag guided by the light of the stars above him and smacked it over some crumbled leaf shavings to restart the fire before falling asleep next to its warmth. Uunga continued to move after being woken by the light of the rising sun. His fire had long since gone out, yet the smell of smoke still traveled through the breeze. A quick nce toward the settlement behind him revealed a calm pir of smoke and sounds of celebration. With a satisfied look on his face, the Oracle disappeared between the cherry trees and continued on his journey. Less than two dayster, a stately marble structure appeared before him. "This..." he tried to find words to say as he stared at the temple. "Pretty cool, right?" I bragged. The temple itself resembled ancient Greek architecture. Chiseled pirs of marble lined its perimeter which rested above the rest of the teau on top of a few rows of thin stairs. Solid walls of the same material were columns directly behind these pirs leaving the only ess to its interior being through a wide entryway at its front. The tops of these columns were carved in a doric style and supported a sturdy triangr roof. "... This is your temple?" he asked again still in disbelief. "Yes. it is I told you that-" "You made this? But it is so beautiful..." he said cutting me off. Oi!? This freaking brat! "Why don''t you think I could make this!?" "It is not a storm." "I don''t only make storms!" I could feel my head starting to throb at his banter. The Oracle ignored my pain and walked up the steps before stopping at the nearest column. "It is made of rock?" Uunga asked as he ced his hand on the pir. "A type of rock, yes." The temple was a marvel that was tens of thousands of years ahead of their time. Aside from the small log tunnels Uunga built in the gulf, my humans had not yet even begun building with wood, let alone any sort of stone. Uunga seemed to realize this fact as he pushed his way inside. To say the temple was crowded would be an understatement. There were easily over two hundred people crammed into this 50ft x 100ft temple. There were a few gaps near the ceiling to let light in, so the temple was not too dark despite being enclosed. "This is the ce you''ll need to defend if the invaders were to breach my defenses," I started, "Honestly, I doubt it wille to that, so it will just serve as your home for now." "... How much time do I have?" "You still have roughly 25 winters at the absolute earliest. Until then, you will be in charge of my temple and my people. Make them strong, train yourself... and make my presence known." I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 30 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 30 While Uunga was busy teaching people in his realm, Levon was preparing for the uing invasion. Currently, his lizard-like Oracle was leading an army across arge savannah. "Keep moving, you wimps~! We s~till have four fields~ until we break!" In front of the red lizardman was a massive army easily sporting 50,000 men. The ground shook from the steps of such a gigantic horde and the dry grass covering the mostly barrenndscape was ttened as they advanced. By this point, they had been traveling for over a month with nothing but bags of food that were steadily turning shallow. Feeding such a massive army was no easy feat- if it weren''t for a few viges nearby that graciouslysupplied them with food, there would have been trouble long ago. Unfortunately for them, thest vige on their journey had been ransacked days ago and there was nowhere near enough wild okra to satiate the enormous quantity of men. The Oracle looked at the thin backs of the lizardmen in front of him with discontent. "How much further until we reach the ce?" the Oracle muttered. A deep yet sharp voice resounded in his head in response. "Quit your whining, Scar. You''ll get there in six days if you cut through the swamp- eight if you go around it. I do not care what you do- just be ready in time for the start." Levon stood in his domain watching over the march. He had a desk that waspletely full of maps and scrolls which disyed parts of his realm in real-time. Still, he preferred simply watching the giant screen hanging on his domain''s wall instead of sorting through all of them. Despite his harsh attitude, the lizard was extremely satisfied with what his Oracle had achieved- mobilizing an army of over 50,000 men before any proper towns could be developed was an absurdly impressive feat. In this primitive world, the lizardmen relied on their natural instincts. With the appearance of an incredibly strong figure in the form of an Oracle, the creatures naturally submitted after a few disys of strength. They had no idea where they were being forced to go after being ordered hundreds of miles away from their grasnd, but not a single lizard present dared to question the Oracle or voice their difort. Those who had no longer walked among them. As the Oracle wasmunicating with Levon, he spotted a smaller lizardman shift out of line and attempt to hide himself under some tall, dry grasses. "Everyone s~stop!" The army of 50,000 lizardmen immediately came to a halt with the shout from the Oracle. Crunch. Crunch. The dried grass crunched under the weight of the Scar''s steps as he made his way to the side of the army. Every soldier that he passed tensed up- none even dared to let out a breath while in his sight. The Oracle came to a halt once he towered over the cowering red figure lying in the brown grass. "What do we have here?" Crack! "Gahhh!" Scar stomped down onto the young lizard; its scales cracking under the weight of his foot. "It s~seems we picked up a coward on our way!" Thud! With a hard kick, the lizard was sent flying before bouncing off the ground and skidding to a stop. The Oracle slowly advanced on the copsed lizardman, who was desperately trying to breathe while sping its ribs with his mangled hand. A shadow soon covered this pained body as a familiar red lizard with a ck scar spanning from its mouth to its neck stood over him. The fallen lizard was immediately grabbed by its head and lifted off the ground, forced to face therge army. "P-please! I-" "Quiet!" "Argh!" The Oracle snaped one of the lizardman''s arms leaving it dangling at his side. "Let this be a warning to the rest of you!" the Oracle brandished one of his ws at the neck of the lizard, "Fall out of line, and your head will roll." "N-no! Do-" Slice! The body of the lizard fell to the ground with a thud, while the Oracle absently tossed the in head over his shoulder and into the grass behind him. Some lizards stared hopelessly at the scene, others looked away, and a few fought the urge to vomit at the sight. The sad reality is that this was a scene that had urred more than a few times on their journey, yet it did not be any less intolerable along the way. Scar made his way back behind the army- scanning the trembling creatures for any signs of disobedience. "Keep moving," the lizard spat as he flicked his wrist sending drops of flood flinging off, "Don''t s~slow me down." The lizard Oracle was easily the strongest figure in Levon''s realm, but he was still only one man and the journey so far had been filled with battles for control. What Levon just watched take ce was simply one of many of these. The ruler did not even flinch at the sight and simply sped up the passage of time instead. It may have been a barbaric disy by his Oracle, but it was a necessary cruelty in his quest for domination. There could be no unity without fear and the loss of a few men was a worthwhile sacrifice for such purpose. Besides, fewer mouths to feed would not be too problematic. Their food supply is getting dangerously thin... but it should be enough tost them until the gate opens. It wlll not be an issue once Scar can plunder those scaleless weaklings. Levon continued to think to himself as he watched the group march around the swamp and head toward the desert in the center of the invader buffer zone- where the gateway to Jacob''s realm would open. He expected them to be immediately met with arge force of humans upon crossing into the defending realm, yet there was not a hint of worry on his face. Those weaklings with no scales or ws to speak of will not stand a chance against my army of lizardmen. Of course, there was still the Oracle to worry about, but it was just a slightly stronger twerp in his eyes. It would be no match against Scar. Still, despite all of this confidence, he still could not shake off a feeling of uneasiness whenever he thought about the invasion. "That coward probably has something nned..." he muttered. In the week leading up to the start of thepetition, Levon, Ferguson, and Alishia had all met up to discuss strategies. It was a given that he would attack Jacob first, however when he brought up the topic, the ogre expressed words of caution. ''Do not underestimate that human,'' Ferguson had told him, ''I have fallen to his tricks myself'' Levon was well aware of the spar that happened between Jacob and the giant ogre many months ago. Even though Jacob dide out on top, it was only due to a petty trick in his eyes. Ferguson would have easily beaten him had it been a battle of purely physical abilities, and the lizard was confident that the same would hold true if he had been fighting the human instead. The problem was that wars are not settled by strength alone. Ferguson''s warning echoed again in his mind as Levon slowed the time back down to match his realm''s. ... What kind of trap did that guyy? It was far toote to even think of the possibilities- his army had already reached the requested spot and it would only be a few moments until the battle phase began. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+ It had been less than a day since Scar''s army had reached the two stone pirs described by his ruler. Carved on their surfaces were strange symbols unknown to the world. The lizards sprawled out on the sandy ground in the pirs'' shadows and munched on thest of the okra rationed for their journey. "It is time," a voice called out in the Oracle''s head. With a subtle nod, Scar stood over the men. "Everyone line up!" The 50,000 lizards immediately shot up and stood at Scar''s orders. With only their ws as weapons, formations were pretty much useless. Still, he had the lizardmen stand in lines to keep addressing the soldiers practical and to make observing them easier. "The time has finallye for battle!" ""Huaaa!"" Forced battle cries rang out through the troops at the Oracle''s deration. "S~soon, our god will open a path to and of filthy creatures. Let us s~y them in his name!" Right as the Oracle finished his speech, the symbols carved into the two pirs glowed red and the ground subtly shook. Anxious cries came from the soldiers at the unknown sight- those who tried to flee were immediately caught by Scar and cut down by his ws. With death as their only other alternative, the remaining soldiers stood still despite the rumbling. A red haze soon developed between the two pirs which quickly deepened in color. It only took a few minutes before a vertical red rectangle connected the strange monuments. "The path has opened!" Scar announced, pointing at the swirling red boundary, "It is time for battle- conquer thisnd for our god!" ... No one moved. "Now!" Scar shouted while brandishing his ws. With hesitant steps, the army of 50,000 advanced toward the red abyss. The Oracle stood at their backs to make sure every single soldier entered. Once thest lizard went through, Scar nced up at the red portal in front of him. Thest nearly fifty years had all been leading up to this moment. "... I can finally repay your grace, my god." His figure disappeared into the red haze. The sand in the desert vanished beneath his feet as he crossed through the portal and a terrible chill soon brushed against his body. "What is-" It felt as though the world itself was pressing down on him. A sight of pure iprehension greeted the Oracle as he exited the red haze. He took a step- only for his foot to sink into a frigid white powder that reached up to his ankles. He looked upon his men- all shivering violently in a cold wastnd that stretched as far as the eye could see. An icy gust of wind bashed into the army causing many to cry out. It was an unbearable cold, unlike anything these cold-blooded lizards had ever experienced before. Reflexively, Scar attempted to breathe fire to create warmth, but it was immediately extinguished in the frosty air. None of his following attempts to make mes provided any effects. "N-no... this~ can''t be!" Scar cried out with fog forming from his breath, "What is this~!?" The army turned toward the Oracle with a mixture of expressions. Some showed fear, others showed anger, many showed pain, and the rest stared nkly in hopelessness. In this environment of pure wintery fury, it only took mere moments before the army of 50,000 strong began to break down. "You!" One lizard shouted toward the Oracle, "You dragged us from our homes and made us march for over a month just to trap us in this wastnd!?" "Quiet! You dare s~speak to me that way!?" "I dare!" the bold lizard trudged toward the Oracle with shivering steps, "B-bring us back home! Get us out of this ce!" The Oracle spat into the snow and threateningly disyed his ws-. "No one goes back! I do not care how cold it is- we must take thisnd for our god!" Scar dered while standing with the portal to his back. "Take it from who!? No one can survive in this ce! Do you see anyone here!?" The angry lizardman took another step toward the portal-pletely ignoring the intimidation brought by the Oracle. "Our godmanded us to-" "To what? Die!?" the lizardman interrupted the Oracle and screamed loudly for the rest of the troops to hear, "Whether it''s from you or from the cold we will die either way! I may as well leave a scratch on the moron who brought us here!" Whether it was due to them getting courage from this lizard''s words or because of the inevitability of the oue, the 50,000 soldiers all turned toward the Oracle. "Screw it!" "I won''t die lying down!" "He can''t stop all of us!" The giant crowd slowly advanced closer to the Oracle guarding the giant portal with fiery res that contrasted vividly against the freezing environment. "G-get back! All of you! We need to repay our-" Scar desperately called out while waving his ws. "Everyone charge!" "Make a run for it!" "Tear off his scales!" The snow around the portal was soon dyed red. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+ "THAT CHEAP COWARD!" Levon mmed his fists down onto his desk and threw his scrolls across his domain. "WHAT KIND OF BULL-" Levon''s rampagested several minutes with nonstop profanities and several punches. If the chair and desk hadn''t been indestructible, they would have been reduced to rubble by the end of it. While trembling with anger, the lizard red at the chaos being disyed on the screen. Since his Oracle was outside of his own domain, Levon was only able to see through Scar''s eyes rather than have a movable view like he usually had ess to. All of the work that he and his Oracle had done to gather an unstoppable force had been for nothing- it had been no match for the winter wastnd that greeted them on the other side of the portal. The 50,000-member strong army was being shredded apart by his own Oracle in front of his eyes. Ferguson''s words once again echoed through his mind. m! His fist hit the desk again. The lizardmen''s movements were extremely sluggish because of the cold; their body temperature was rapidly decreasing with no semnce of protection from the freezing environment. It was in part due to this that the army was in so easily by the Oracle whose body could withstand the cold to a reasonable degree thanks to his divinity. Despite the carnage, Levon did not bother to order Scar to stop the killing. He knew that even if Scar let them through the portal, they would almost certainly starve to death long before reaching any settlements. Fire burned in the lizard''s eyes- had the ruler been at the battlefield, the snow would have surely melted. That scaleless wimp did not even have the balls to fight me head-on! Levon clenched his fist with pure rage as his army rapidly shrank in size. "It does not matter. I only need one man to rip apart your weak lifeforms, anyway," he growled. After an hour passed, the only thing disyed on the screen were corpses. Half were torn apart while the rest had frozen before they had the chance to die at his hands. Steam filled the Oracle''s eyes from his heavy breathing. "...I am s~sorry, my god. I have failed you." Scar muttered while gazing at the carnage below his feet. "You have not failed me yet," the deep yet sharp voice he had grown so familiar with denied his apology. "...What do you mean? I have killed them all, my god!" "So what? Who cares if they are dead- 50,000 of thembined could barely even leave a wound on you! If the very beings made in my image could not defeat you- how could any of the weaklings in this pitiful world do so?" The voice paused before continuing, "I saved- I selected you for a reason. I picked one who could bring glory to my name. Unless you are saying that I made a mistake in who I chose?" "No- you are right. I apologize, I lost s~sight, my god- I will prove your choice correct!" "Good. Tear this wretched world apart just as you did yourrades! Dye thend in the blood of those who do not call my name!" While he was not destroying his domain, Levon had spent the past hour trying to figure out how to approach this. With a bit of hesitation, he decided to direct his Oracle to the north. I never thought that annoying sheep would say something so useful. During one of the geography lectures, the sheep instructor mentioned the cold phenomenon that urs around the poles of a realm. With this in mind, there could only be two options on how to escape this frozen wastnd; either by going north or by going south. Levon had no way of knowing which pole the portal was located near, however, so he had to take a gamble. Even if he guessed wrong, it would only dy the inevitable. His Oracle was strong enough to withstand the cold and he still had onest bag of okra that he hoarded to supply him on the journey. "Just you wait, human," Levon muttered as he watched his Oracle travel deeper into the white frost, "I will make you pay for this humiliation with your life!" I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 31 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 31 I stared at the screen with a cold sweat dripping down my back. A month had already passed in the realm since the start of the battle phase, yet I still couldn''t get the image of what I witnessed out of my head. I knew Levon would attack with arge force- but 50,000!? How did he even manage that!? Given how primitive all of our realms were at this point, I would have been shocked had he managed to put together a force of 5,000... yet he blew past those expectations ten-fold! "Squawk!" "I know, I know. Just give me a minute, I''m still trying to process all of this..." If it hadn''t been for my decision to put the invader buffer zone in the arctic, it was extremely likely that my time as a ruler would havee to an end right then and there. It was a terrifying realization that I couldn''t quite shake off. I told myself that I would take better care of my realm, yet I almost just destroyed it again. "Squawk~" "Fine, fine-" a sigh escaped my lips as I put down a card to soothe the squawking penguin. It was instantly beaten by his ace of clubs. "Tsk." I clicked my tongue and nced back toward the screen. Neglecting forming an army and instead having Uunga spend his time advancing our realm was a way riskier decision than I had thought. I was overly confident in the ability of the arctic to deal with his invasion and it almost cost me big time. Sure, I had Uunga stationed on the west of the continent ahead of the battle phase, but had they somehow managed to survive the snow, would he have been enough to defend against that enormous horde? I honestly had no idea. Luckily, it did not matter in the end- my gamble had more than paid off and the icy wastnd seeded as I predicted. The massive force ended uppletely imploding soon after entering my domain and now there was only one lone lizard slowly trudging through the snow. "Levon''s Oracle..." I muttered out loud as I scouted him on the screen. He had been walking through the invader buffer zone for over a month now and I was extremely surprised to see him still standing despite the brutal cold. I knew Oracles were tough, yet I clearly underestimated their limits. He may have been alive, but it would be difficult to say that he was doing well. The Oracle was visibly lost on how to get out of the icy wastnd- he first started off by heading north before reaching a point where the snow went up to its chest. The invader then turned around and went south where it was only a matter of time before he would reach the shoreline. Of course, he can''t escape that way either. The invader buffer zone was only connected to the main continent through a passage in the east. Unless a creature could swim or somehow brought a boat with them, it was pretty useless to go in a direction other than that. Still, if left alone, Levon''s Oracle would eventually find its way out- and that was a situation that I didn''t want to have happen. "Is this the passage you spoke of?" a voice asked through my screen. "Yep, that''s the one. Once you pass through the gap, turn right. I''ll let you know when you need to change direction." "...Alright." After witnessing the copse of Levon''s army, I was originally nning on having Uunga turn around and continue investing in the future of the realm. I was fine with ignoring the invader and letting him slowly freeze, but when I brought this up to Uunga, I was met with some resistance. ''I can not sit peacefully while beasts who threaten this world stand freely'' is what he said to me. He''s such a cool dude. I wiped a proud tear from my eyes as I thought of my amazing Oracle. Of course, I suggested that to Uunga long before I figured out that the lizard could actually survive the brutal cold of the arctic, so I would have needed to redeploy Uunga anyway, but I appreciated his sentiment. Having Levon''s Oracle wandering around was a potential disaster waiting to happen and I did not feel like rolling the dice twice in one battle phase. Uunga was just now going through the first mountain passageway, so it would likely only be another two months before he would meet the scar-sporting invader, which would be early summer in the northern hemisphere. It wasn''t like summer this far north was warm by any stretch of the imagination, although it would make things a bit easier for the cold-blooded invader. That being said, less snow would let Uunga reach him quicker. And once that happened, this battle phase pretty much would be concluded. Levon''s Oracle was undeniably no pushover- I bore witness to the utter massacre that urred upon his initial entry into my realm. Despite this, I was confident Uunga woulde out on top. The cold temperatures were gradually catching up to the lizard and restricting its movements to an enormous degree. Inparison, not only was Uunga able to withstand the cold, but he also sported a new winter outfit made from the warm hide of mountain chickens and packed with insting feathers. Combat gear aside, Uunga could easily match the disy that the invading Oracle put on. My Oracle was unbelievably strong before, yet he had gotten much stronger throughout the past few decades. He had been training diligently in between his teaching and baby-making sessions. That guy could probably fill an entire school with his offspring... I raised a freaking mini Genghis Khan. Purely consentual, of course~ "Squawk!" "You are very impatient," Iined. I put down another card, which was immediately taken by the penguin. "Wait a second- that was the ace of spades, wasn''t it!? How did you get all four aces again!?" "Squawk!" "I seriously don''t understand your luck," I whined, "Screw it, no more war- we''re switching back to ckjack!" "Squawk~" -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ "..." The lizard Oracle silently stared at the ocean in front of him. He had been trecking through the harsh snowy wilderness for well over a month now, yet there was no sign of a way out. His skin was mostly frozen and his blood had long since turned cold. In spite of this, the lizard''s motivation was not wounded in the slightest. "Follow the shoreline east," a sharp voice called out to him, "You are bound to stumble across a passage at some point." "Yes, my god." Levon red at the screen after giving these orders. The tricks of this weakling are only dying the inevitable. Based on the difference in climate between the north and south of what Scar had explored so far, it was clear that the invader buffer zone was located in the north of Jacob''s realm. While the north of the buffer zone was covered in chest-deep snow, the southern coast where Scar now stood hardly even had a dusting on the ground. Common sense would conclude that this would be where the invader buffer zone connected to the main continent, but of course, that was not the case. So, Levon was forced to take another guess- this time he chose the east. There was still the possibility that the connection was in the north, since Scar had to turn back after getting buried in snow, however, Levon was sure that the sheep instructor would have stepped in had that been the only way out of the area. Scar had nearly copsed multiple times on that particr journey into the far north and Levon was bing increasingly worried as the condition of his Oracle gradually continued to worsen. As badly as I want to tear his realm to shreds, it might not be smart to send Scar by himself. There are still well over 200 years until the end of the battle phase... After reflecting on the situation a bit more, Levon came up with a n. "Scar, once you find the passage, return to my realm," he ordered. "What!? I can s~still fight, my god! Why-" "Are you questioning my decision?" Levon spat. "N-no, my god. I was-" "Quiet. It will only be temporary; a single horned sheep could defeat you as you are now. I will not give that wimp the chance to im your head so easily." "Temporary? S~so I will have another chance?" "I will have you organize another army while you recover- make it half the size of thest one. There is no point in having arge army if they starve before they reach the battlefield," Levon paused for a second and then asked, "It seems your mes have not been working?" "Not s~since I came here," the Oracle answered. As he said that, Scar stood with his legs slightly apart and puffed out his chest. "Not even a s~spark," he reiterated. Levon sat silently for a moment to think. Is it just too cold for him to properly use magic? He had never even heard of any environment as frigid as the one his lifeforms had entered, so he could not be confident whether or not that hypothesis would hold true. In any case, Levon already had an alternative in mind for his redeployment. "Have the men you gather carry those branches next time," Levon directed. "Branches?" "You heard me. Have your men strip them off of any nearby trees on your next march." "Yes~, my god." Their fire will notst long, but it might be enough to get them out of this wretched buffer zone if they travel fast enough. Even if it can not, Scar would be well enough to handle this himself. A sly smile crept up on the lizard''s face as he watched his Oracle continue his journey on the screen. "That petty trick bought your realm some time, human," Levon muttered to himself, "It is a bit pathetic- the best you could do was dy the inevitable." -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Things had been going pretty smoothly; Uunga only needed rough directions so I was able to change the domain time and skip a good chunk of waiting. Those easy times immediately came to a halt once I noticed something odd happening on the screen. "His Oracle is retreating!?" I shouted in disbelief. This change in direction had urred right after Levon''s Oracle had finally encountered the strip ofnd connecting the invader buffer zone to the rest of my continent. Is he just giving up? I mean, he did already lose that whole army... I was not overly confused about why Levon was using his Oracle to scout my realm. Even if he did give up this time, the information would be extremely useful if he tried to attack again in the future. He could also pass the information on to other creatures. It was entirely warranted for him to simply cut his losses and use his Oracle to handle things in his own realm instead of just sending him on a suicide mission here. Is he actually just giving up? No- Levon would never do that! He''s clearly nning something... I had be extremely familiar with that arrogant and aggressive lizard over the past year in the academy. Julia turning into a mushroom would be less surprising than Levon epting defeat. "Is he trying to send another army?" I mumbled out loud, "It would be pretty pointless, but why else would he retreat? Hey, Mr. Flippers!" "Squawk?" The tiny penguin waddled up after hearing me call for him. I sat him on myp and pointed out the fleeing Oracle on my screen. "What do you think? Is he actually just giving up?" "... Squawk. Squawk?" "That''s what I''m thinking, too. Wouldn''t they all just freeze to death again, though? I can''t really see why he''d bother making another army unless-" My heart froze as a sudden realization hit me like a sledgehammer. I fumbled with my mouse as I switched back to realm time. "Uunga!" I desperately called out to my Oracle. "Hello. What happened?" he nonchntly replied as he munched on a cherry from his bag. "I need you to pick up the pace- things have changed. Your target is starting to flee, and if he gets away, this situation might turn into something you might not be able to handle alone. We can''t let him escape!" "... If I had gone back home-" "Yes, yes- you saved me with your decision. You''re so cool, et cetera, et cetera- now please cut the banter and get that guy!" "Alright~" I ignored the annoyingly smug expression on Uunga''s face andpared the distance between the two Oracles. Uunga just got through the second mountain passage and Levon''s guy is right at the eastern edge of the buffer zone... shoot. This is gonna be close. My Oracle was traveling way faster than the half-frozen lizard, but it was still a ton of ground that Uunga would need to make up. Even a full-on sprint might not be enough to close the distance. It would be a race against time. "Squawk?" the penguin looked up at me confused about my random panicking. "Ah- sorry, Mr. Flippers," I let out my held breath and patted him on the head, "I could be wrong, and I hope I am, but I think Levon found a way to get through the arctic." "Squawk!?" It was the penguin''s turn to panic. Seeing as there was nothing I could do but watch as the distance between Levon''s Oracle and the portal gradually decreased, I advanced the time. 500 miles. 400 miles. 100 miles. 25, 15, 10, 5, 3, 1- Just when the portal''s red hue appeared on the horizon, a bundled figure appeared through the blowing snow. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 32 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 32 "Yes! He made it!" I sighed in relief after seeing Uunga prepare to confront the invading Oracle. That was way too close... Less than one hundred feet of ground separated the two forces; it was a distance that could be covered in a mere minute. The portal''s tint reflected off the white snow and illuminated the area in its red hue. "... That is him?" a low voice asked through my screen. "Yep. Don''t take that guy lightly; even half frozen, he''s leagues above anything you''ve fought before." With a subtle nod, Uunga silently pulled a few objects out of his bag as he focused on the lizard like a predator hunting its prey. Ping! The Oracleunched a fist-sized stone at the still oblivious invader, which bounced off its hard scales without doing much damage. Still, it seeded in causing the retreating figure to stop in its tracks. "Who dares to... s~stop it!" "No." Another stone mmed into the lizard''s chest. "Wow, such inspiring first words, Uunga," I muttered to the screen. Just as I thought... the oracles canmunicate with each other. Those scales are no joke though- I''ve seen Uunga put holes through trees with those throws, yet the stones are just bouncing off of him. Realizing this, my Oracle threw onest stone and dashed toward the freezing lizard with his club in hand. Thud! The lizard put his arm out to block the attack and was pushed deeper into the snow by the enormous force from the impact. The mountain chicken teeth lining the club shallowly pierced through his scales. "Get off!" Uunga was pushed off bnce by the Oracle shoving the club. Using that chance, the lizard twisted its body and swung its heavy tail toward the hunter who effortlessly kicked off of the ground and jumped over it. Landing next to the lizard, Uunga swept his club horizontally, but it was blocked by one of the target''s arms. He bent his body to avoid a retaliatory punch by the invader''s other arm and kicked its body to create some distance. The two Oracles stared at each other in a false moment of stalemate. "... You have strong arms," Uunga noted while looking at a few chipped teeth on his club. "S~strong enough to crush a weakling like you with," the invader growled in response. Uunga nced back at the lizard''s arms. "No... not that strong." The invader shot a sharp re at my Oracle and lunged toward him again. "Slow..." While the lizard was in midair, Uunga rolled to the side causing the attacker tond defenseless in the snow. Not missing the chance, he mmed down his club before the lizard could get to its feet. Thud! The defending creature twisted its body and barely managed to catch the spiked cub with its two hands. As if imitating the teeth digging into its palms, the invader pierced the club with its own ws. Uunga grabbed one of the lizard''s wrists and pulled it off of the club before it could break the weapon; it responded by releasing the club with its other hand and slicing at the Oracle''s side with its ws. My Oracle retreated a few steps and nced down to where he was swiped. "... Sharp," he muttered. There was a clear cut in the hide he wore- the same hide that was able to withstand multiple attacks from the talons of a mountain chicken. The invader was already back on his feet and rushing toward him by the time Uunga had finished inspecting the damage. A menacing grin was disyed on its face while it repeatedly swiped at the Oracle who was gradually led backward as he continuously dodged the lizard''s attacks. Quickly getting tired of dodging, Uunga used his club to push away the lizard''s arm mid-swipe leaving its body exposed for a split second. The Oracle continued the momentum of the swing, rotating his body 360 degrees, and delivered a devastating hit on the lizard''s skull. m! The lizard stumbled from the hit and was sent copsing into the snow with another kick from the Oracle. Uunga did not miss this chance and lunged onto its fallen body and continuously punched the lizard''s face. His left hand was tightly wrapped around the lizard''s neck as his right fist mmed into its skull. Thud! Thud! Thud! Each hit was more violent than thest, and while fighting to retain consciousness, the invader dug into Uunga''s left arm with its ws. The Oracle immediately grabbed the talon knife hanging at his side and stabbed at the lizard''s neck. "S~skuah!" To block the weapon, the invader was forced to release Uunga''s arm. Blood dripped onto the lizard''s body as the foreign Oracle''s eyes trembled. Although sessful in protecting its neck, it came at a great cost. Arge, sharp talon was hovering mere inches away from its original target, piercedpletely through the lizard''s palm. The invader desperately pushed against the slowly approaching talon, but as Uunga had pinned down its other arm, the lizard could only use its already-pierced hand. Just as the tip of the talon touched the invader''s neck, the lizard twisted its body and mmed its tail against Uunga''s side. "Ugh!" It was a strong impact that was just enough to create a gap for the lizard to break free. Blood sprayed from the lizard''s palm as the talon was pulled out from its movements. The invader covered in a mixture of snow and blood red fiercely at Uunga, looking ready to lunge at the off-bnce Oracle. "You-" The lizard started to say something but suddenly stopped and became quiet. "..." "This~ is~n''t over!" Without warning, the foreign Oracle began a mad dash for the portal. "Don''t let him get away!" I yelled to the screen. Uunga was already on it- although the portal was less than a hundred feet away, my Oracle could easily outspeed the invader in this wintery environment. With plenty of room to spare, Uunga thrust his talon knife at the back of the lizard''s neck. Slice! "S~skaah!" Just as the knife was about to make contact, Uunga''s foot suddenly caught in the snow causing him to plunge into the white powder. The talon missed its target''s neck and instead stabbed deeply into the lizard''s tail, causing a deep gash as the invader rushed away. "... Kongi." "Shoot..." Uunga and I watched the red lizard disappear into the simrly colored portal before he could get to his feet. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Scar stumbled out of the portal. The brutal cold that had covered his body for thest few months was quickly thawed out by theforting desert sun in this familiar environment. His steps felt lighter and his strength was finally beginning toe back to him, but rather than a smile, a sharp frown was stered on his face. "Why did I need to retreat, my god!?" he finally questioned, "I could have-" "Quiet!" a furious voice shouted in his head, "Look at yourself! It is not confidence at this point, you would need to be an idiot to think you would win that fight in your condition!" The lizard Oracle finally had a chance to look over his body. There were shallow cuts on his palms from the teeth-covered club, his arms were badly bruised from repeated impacts from the human''s swings, there was a massive bleeding gash on the lizard''s tail, and his face and snout were throbbing and beginning to swell. Although not fatal, there would not be a single soul that would describe his condition as anything but terrible. "You should have returned the first time I told you to! Do you know what I would have had to deal with if you fell to that idiot''s hands!?" "...I am s~sorry, my god," Scar eventually apologized and clenched his bloody hands, "I lost myself in battle. I will do as you s~say next time." "You are my Oracle, you should always do what I say! Since you decided to leave your brain buried in the snow, I will have to dy the next attack even longer!" Scar hung his head in shame at the voice''s earned ridicule. "Go back to the temple and get started. Patch up that hole in your tail along the way." -+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Uunga soon freed his foot, but the two of us continued to stare at the portal in the distance. "He got away..." I muttered in disbelief, "You were so close." Frustrated, Uunga kicked the pile of snow that he tripped on. A red frozen body was revealed from underneath the shifted snow. The Oracle paused at the sight and slowly nced around, noticing thousands of simr snow piles dotting thendscape that he had been fighting on. "... How many-" "Fifty thousand," I interrupted, with a groan, "Only the one you fought against was able to withstand the cold." I watched as Uunga investigated the body, before nodding once confirming its deceased status. He turned his attention back to the portal. "...You told me something bad would happen if he got away." "Yes, maybe. If what I''m guessing is correct, then that guy you fought will be back with another army- only this time, I think they found a way to get passed the cold." The Oracle once again looked around at the seemingly endless snow piles surrounding him. "Fifty thousand..." It was a number almost iprehensible to him. He would need to count nearly every human on the teau to reach that amount. Uunga''s grip tightened on his club. "There''s a chance I''m wrong, but his final words didn''t seem like a surrender," I added. The Oracle slowly marched closer to the glowing red portal with my words. "... Can I go through that?" My mind froze for a second at his words. The intent behind his question was clear. "It''s possible, but -" "Let me follow him," The Oracle requested. I did not answer right away. ording to the guidelines of thepetition, it was entirely possible for rulers tounch a counterattack. There wouldn''t even be a punishment if it failed, so at least in regards to thepetition, there was no real reason to deny his request. That being said, I was still extremely hesitant about granting him permission to do so. He''ll be fighting on their home turf. If this portal spits him out in the middle of a lizard city, things might not end well. Sure the opposing Oracle was injured, and yes, Uunga was extremely strong, but there was still the possibility that if he entered that portal, he may not have the chance to return. "It''s risky, Uunga," I finally spoke, "We have no idea what''s on the other side of that portal. We''re not even sure that they found a method to get through the snow." Even if they did find a way to survive the arctic, I had a feeling that the lizards would be extremely weakened or hindered regardless of the method that was used. Given how overwhelming his disy was against Levon''s Oracle, Uunga might be able to take on a second army all by himself. "... It would be more risky to give them a chance," Uunga argued, "It takes time to gather so many people. I will kill him before he can." "You have a point-" Regardless of the environment on the other side of the portal, the fact that Levon''s Oracle was extremely weakened would not change. He could not have gotten far. Putting aside the prediction of a second invasion, the opportunity to get rid of Levon''s one line ofmunication with his realm was a chance that would be stupid to pass up on. Of course, I''d be risking that same thing to do so. I clenched my forehead with my hand. By the time I made up my mind, Uunga was already standing in front of the red portal. "Are you sure you want to do this?" "I am," his reply was resolute. He took another step toward the portal. "... You bettere back. I created you so there''s no way I''m letting that lizard take you from me." The edge of Uunga''s mouth curled up. "You created me?" "In a way technically." "... Then let me show those beasts a storm." With those parting words, Uunga''s body was enveloped in a red light. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 33 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 33 A dry and borderline searing heat bore down upon my Oracle the moment he appeared on the other side of the portal. The snow that covered his clothing rapidly began to melt under the scorching desert sun. Now that he was in a foreign realm, my screen disyed only what was in his line of sight. For better or for worse, there was no lizard city nearby. Only a barren desert filled his view in all directions. Although the first thing that the Oracle noticed was the heat, there was something else that quickly came to his attention. "I feel... light?" His words sent what felt like an electric shock coursing through my brain. That''s right! It''s been so long that Ipletely forgot about the gravity difference! "Hey, Uunga, can you try jumping for me please?" The Oracle kicked off the ground with a nod and effortlessly rose nearly seven feet vertically. Uponnding, Uunga looked at his legs with a mixture of awe and confusion. "Yes! This is perfect!" Assuming that Levon''s realm had roughly the same gravity as my initial realm temte, it would mean that Uunga would be about half the weight that he was used to. From the perspective of the lizards living in this realm, it would be as though Uunga had been training his whole life in a ce where his body was weighed down massively. I watched as Uunga picked up a stone off of the ground andunched it into the distance. Fling! A small cloud of dust appeared easily over a few hundred feet away. It was exactly the result that past me had hoped for! This is great! It might not make a difference against Levon''s Oracle, but Uunga would have a massive advantage against the normal lizards here. Simply put, Uunga''s strength would be unlike anything this realm had seen before. The tension I built up before my Oracle entered this foreign realm had greatly decreased. Still... Levon''s Oracle managed to somehow put up a fight against Uunga despite being half-frozen, starved, and also weighed down by my realm''s gravity. It was a bit of a frightening thought. Had the fight been less one-sided than it ended up being, their eventual rematch would be way more nerve-racking. Speaking of which- "By the way, Uunga, did you get injured at all from that fight?" I asked through the screen. "... Not much," he answered as he pulled up the hide acting as his left sleeve, "The beast had sharp nails." The sight was a bit bloody due to four small holes on the Oracle''s left forearm where the lizard''s talons had pierced him. "It looks like the hide kept them shallow," I muttered out loud, "It shouldn''t be anything crazy for you, but are you alright?" "I am fine. The beast had it worse." Uunga pointed at a spot on the ground with those words where a crimson puddle soaked into the sand. "Ouch- that guy must not be having much fun. He couldn''t have gotten very far when he''s that injured." Although I said that, there was no lizard anywhere in sight. We were only a few minutes behind him, right? Unless there''s something I''m missing, he must be hiding somewhere. There was the possibility that there was some sort of dy when traveling through the portals, but I had no idea whether or not that was the case. Given the sand dunes and the still present blood, it was much more likely that the lizard was simply out of sight. "Follow the blood for now. Stay cautious just in case that guy tries anything." "No." "... What? Why not?" Uunga brushed aside my confusion and began digging a small hole in the sand. "Did you miss the beach that much? I told you that you could visit the gulf again before-" "It is hot," the Oracle interrupted. With that in-depth exnation, he began removing the feathers that were packed inside his hide clothing and dropped them into the hole. After the hole was filled, Uunga covered it with sand and ced a small stone on top. "I will wear them again when I go back," he finished. "... You really make me proud sometimes." "What?" "Nothing. Anyway, start following the blood now." "No." This freaking- "Uunga, I am going to cry if you let him get away just so you can banter. Go get that lizard... please?" With a satisfied smile, the Uunga finally began following the scattered crimson stains through the sandy desert. The path was clear at first- the linear stains allowed us to look around at the scenery. Given the desert environment, there was not much to speak of in terms of life aside from nts vaguely resembling tumbleweeds and a few randomly scattered trees. Hang on... those trees seem weirdly familiar. They were much shorter than the evolved cherry trees that I had grown used to on my realm; none were able to reach much further than twenty feet off the ground. Their trunks were mostly bare with only small leafless branches jagging off. Seemingly making up for theck of them on the truck, the tree sported a massive cone-like leaf canopy at its peak. It was a cool pattern that vaguely resembled a me. Wait a second¡­ those leaves- that¡¯s it! "Mister Flippers! I figured it out!" "Squawk?" The penguin had already been watching the screen intensely ever since the two Oracles fought. I pointed at the trees in Uunga''s view. "You might not remember, but the sheep instructor actually told us about those things during one of our lessons a while back!" "Squawk?" "Those are torch trees!" The penguin still looked at me with a questioning gaze, clearly having no idea what I was referring to. Man, he really needs to pay attention in ss. I flipped through my notebook with a sigh before stopping at a certain page. "They''re actually really freaking cool," I muttered in admiration as I re-read my notes, "You see those smaller branches attached to the trunk? Well, as the tree matures, they slowly turn into a charcoal-like material that eventually ignites!" "Squawk..." Although the penguin evidently didn''t care, it was a super interesting adaptation that I had never heard of before. The branches themselves arepletely packed with tiny seeds that get spread in the smoke as the branch burns, and as a bonus, the ash and charcoal dust from the branch itself acts as a super good fertilizer when the seeds settle. It was all-around a really sweet organism. Man, having those on my realm probably would''ve spared Uunga that whole fire-teaching tour. I mean, they''re called ''torch trees'' for a reason. "Anyway," I pulled myself out of my thoughts and spoke to Mr. Flippers, "Levon probably nned to use those branches to keep his army warm." "Squawk! Squawk?" "Well, it is possible... they would need to bring a heck of a lot with them though, and even then, their journey wouldn''t be pleasant by any means." But it is one hundred percent possible. It was in part due to this that I couldn''t simply recall Uunga despite feeling fairly confident that I had figured out Levon''s strategy. While I was thinking this, a voice spoke through my screen. "... The blood is gone." "Shoot. Look around- see if there''s any sign of him," As Uunga had walked further, Levon''s Oracle was apparently making an increasingly greater effort to cover its tracks. Sand had been pushed over his fallen blood and his footprints were shallow enough to be easily covered up by the wind. With the blood now fully disappearing, Uunga had no direct path to follow. There''s no way that cut healed already- it was way too deep. As if answering my doubts, the Oracle quickly discovered a torn-apart tumbleweed. "Did the beast do this?" he asked. "I''m assuming so. He probably managed to make some sort of bandage out of the fibers," I groaned, "There won''t be any more traces for you to follow- that guy is being annoying and will probably hide for a while." Uunga began fiddling with the remnants of the tumbleweed as I thought of what to do. Ultimately, I decided to have Uunga keep heading southeast. It didn''t seem like Levon''s Oracle had any expectations of us following him back to his world. With that in mind and considering his injuries, he most likely would have gone straight to a nearby settlement to rest and heal up. As the first few bloodstains that would have been made prior to Uunga''s entrance were all linearly pointing to the southeast, it was extremely likely that there was something of note in that direction. And so, the Oracle continued his journey. Near nightfall, Uunga seemed to reach the edge of the desert where a swamp was spotted on the horizon. "Looks like it''s time for you to set up camp. Are you ready for your first night in this ce?" "... Not yet. I need fire," Uunga began to take off his bag before I stopped him. "Don''t waste thest of your wood. Do you see that tree over there? Go break off some of the darker branches and use those instead." With no real reason to refuse, the Oracle did as I said and soon returned to the spot with a handful of ckish sticks roughly two feet in length. Uunga threw them on the ground and pulled out his piece of flint, ready to smack it over some leaves like usual. "Wait!" "... What?" He stopped just as he was about to light the pile. "Skip the leaves, just try to ignite one of the branches you brought- only one please!" Click! The end of the branch immediately lit up in a bright and hot me; a thin stream of smoke rose up from the fire. "... That was very easy," he mumbled as he stared at the fire. "Pretty cool, right?" I said smugly, "Those branches- oi, Uunga! Watch your sleeve!" My chance to show off came to a firey stop as part of the Oracle''s sleeve caught fire. Luckily, we both noticed very quickly and Uunga immediately smothered it, but even that tiny me was enough to burn a small hole in his hide sleeve. "Man, it''s been a while since I''ve seen that happen. You might want to sleep a bit further than usual from the fire tonight; the hide must be extremely dry from the heat." After finishing setting up, my Oracle finally was able to get some much-needed rest, and upon waking in the morning, he set right back out toward the southeast. The surroundings were still fairly barren. Even as the desert transitioned into a swamp, the only signs of life were torch trees and some weird nt that was sticking out of the mud. It didn''t seem to be edible or anything, so I struggled to figure out what Levon must''ve chosen it for. It was as though its sole purpose was to get tangled with Uunga''s feet and make his journey ten times more tedious. I guess its fibers could be woven together into rope? That would be kind of useful, but probably not enough to waste a lifeform on. There was a chance that it was some evolution path of something else, but I took note of it anyway. My internal spections were eventually halted once a new nt caught our attention. Resting on a particrly dry area was a green stemming nt. "Hey, Uunga-" "I know." The nt had long green vegetables growing off of it which were quickly found to be edible. "Well, we finally found something that you can eat!" Uunga nodded with a satisfied expression and quickly tossed the rest of the vegetables into his bag. As his journey continued, he stumbled across many more of these nts allowing the Oracle topletely save the thinning rations that he had brought with him. That journey in and of itself took nearly two months toplete, and in that time, Uunga had crossed through the swamp, into what seemed to be a savannah, and had finally entered a grasnd. "... This world is empty." "It sure seems like it," I replied to the bored Oracle with a sigh. There had been pretty much nothing of note to happen since he had first discovered what resembled okra in the swamp. Although he had found a few abandoned settlements on the way, there was no sign of Levon''s Oracle nor any other lizards for that matter. "Do you want to turn back now?" "Not yet," the Oracle declined my proposition. It was something we had debated after the first month had passed. With nothing happening, the possibility that I was wrong about the direction was bing more and more likely. In addition to that, the literal zero lizard encounters was a ring warning sign that something was off. I know he really wants to kill that guy, but I think it''s time for me to put my foot down. "Listen, I really don''t like how this feels, Uunga. If you don''t find anything by nightfall, please start heading back in the morning. I''m not overly worried anymore about a second attack from these guys." "I do not need to wait for night." "Oh? Do you want to head back now?" I perked my head up at his reply, just in time to see him point out into the distance. Far off on the horizon were four tall ck spires peeking over the tops of the surrounding trees. "I found him." I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 34 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 34 As Uunga made his way closer toward what looked to be ck pirs, the sheer scale of the settlement at its base was gradually revealed. The poption density of the settlement was a few steps above even that of my teau, and based on what we were able to scout, this was likely due to the lizardmen having the ability to farm. Large grass-less sprawls ofnd surrounded the core of what could be argued to be an ancient city. What was being grown in this area was instantly recognized to be the same okra-like nt we had encountered early on in our travels. Of course, given the primitive nature of the world, the inefficiencies in their setup were clear, but it was still more than sufficient to feed the poption. I''m a bit jealous. There were no great farmable crops among the lifeforms I selected when forming my realm, so it was extremely tough forrge settlements to form. Agriculture is a pretty insane boost. The sheep instructor said we could choose more lifeformster on, so hopefully I won''t need to wait too long before my realm can get started on it. I pushed those thoughts aside and focused back on the view from my Oracle''s eyes. Across the farms were small wooden structures that marked the start of the massive settlement. Unlike the tipis that dominated my realm, these semi-circle structures were made out of the me-resistant upper branches of torch trees and had walls that seemed to be woven from the odd swamp nts that we hade across earlier. In the middle of this neo-ancient city were the ck pirs that we had spotted earlier- now revealed to be the spires of a basalt temple. "What do you think, Uunga? There are a lot of lizards." "... That beast is in there?" "I would be shocked if he wasn''t." We were now on Levon''s home turf and he was undoubtedly watching every move we made from his domain. Considering how important the temple was, there was absolutely no way Levon would have his Oracle stand by and give us the chance to take it. Still, conquering his temple will not be easy by any means. Even excluding his Oracle, we might need to fight our way through over 30,000 lizards. That was the number we had estimated after a bit of scouting. There were a ton of young lizardmen too, which was expected of a growing city, but I found it unlikely for the infants to join the fight. "Remember, I''m making you retreat the second things get too tough." "I know." This was the agreement wended on. Of course, 30,000 was far less than the 50,000 Uunga almost ended up facing, but it would be equally, if not even more, dangerous. They wouldn''t be half-frozen on their home turf, after all. We would never have taken such a monumental risk had the reward not been equally as immense. I turned my attention back to my screen. "Are you ready Uunga?" "... I am." The Oracle clutched a stone in his hand. A grin etched its way across my face. "Bring that city to its knees!" Fling! The moment those words left my mouth, the stoneunched from Uunga''s hand,pletely crushing the skull of an unsuspecting lizard on the farm a hundred feet away. Before the nearby lizardmen could process what happened, they soon joined him on the ground. With a path to the city now opened, Uunga dashed out from behind his cover and advanced through the farnd. Once he reached the first wooden shelter, he grabbed a torch tree branch from his bag and ignited it. Fwoom! The hut in front of him immediately went up in mes; despite the upper torch tree branches giving the house frame some fire resistance, the woven walls did not have the same luxury. With quick steps, Uunga managed to light the ten nearest huts before any lizards took notice. "Senkuna! Yoi Sens!" "Sfluna nou sens!" "Kho densa ent klo sens!?" The first wave of lizards responded to the mes but paused once they noticed the unfamiliar creature standing with a torch in hand. "Who are you!?" "... Weird. I need to focus to understand them." As if frustrated about how he was being ignored, the closest lizardman charged toward Uunga and shed at him with its ws. Of course, such a petty attack was nothing to an Oracle, so Uunga casually caught its arm and threw the lizard to the side before he continued igniting the nearby huts. Such a disy only seemed to provoke the group of confronters who quickly rushed at the unknown arsonist. "Knock it off!" The brave lizard who screamed this cry was the first to get half-heartedly bonked on the head by Uunga''s torch upon getting close. Bonk! Bonk! Bonk! Seeing the rest of the group falling unconscious before evennding a finger on the tall creature, thest two lizardmen backed off and stared in a mixture of awe and confusion. Luckily for them, another wave of lizards quickly rushed to the scene after witnessing the smoke and hearing the sounds of battle. These new forces were greeted by the figure of a mysterious creature with a wall of mes to its back. It was not hard to connect the dots after seeing the torch in his hand and the fallen bodies of their fellow men at his feet. "Stop him!" One of the standing lizards from the first group pointed at Uunga and shouted. They joined in with the neers and together pounced at the arsonist. Uunga grabbed the arm of the first lizard and flung it over his shoulder, sending thebatant crashing into a burning hut behind him. Without missing a beat, he then kicked the leg of the next lizard and cleanly punched the face of the now-exposed attacker at its rear. As another lizardman tried to grab him, Uungatched onto its wrist and spun it around beforeunching it into a batch of itsrades. m! The unfortunate group who were the target of the lizard projectile were sprawled out on the ground and groaning in pain, but there were way too many enemies left for the Oracle to give them much attention. More and more lizardmen were joining the fight at a rate faster than the Oracle could take them down. Each time a crowd joined in, the view on the screen would slightly shift before once again focusing on the closest foe. A sharp kick sent another attacker to the ground. Crack! Uunga was forced to crush its hand under his feet as it tried to w his ankle from the ground. "These guys are relentless..." I muttered while watching the Oracle send another lizard flying, "Still, you''re holding back quite a bit?" Aside from when he threw stones at the farmers in the field, Uunga was hardly doing anything that could be considered lethal. The growing piles of bodies at his feet were not corpses, but rather were unconscious or groaning lizards too injured to fight. "... I do not need to kill them," he said as thest lizard in front of him fell, "They are only protecting their home." A proud grin appeared on my face. With no more resisting lizards in his path, Uunga advanced deeper into the ancient city where the density of the huts, as well as the poption, were significantly higher. Perhaps due to them observing the battle from afar, every lizard in his sight seemed resolute and determined to fight. There were easily over two thousand of them in his immediate surroundings. Uunga scanned the crowd and groaned before taking the initiative and charging forward. Thud! His fist mmed into the nearest lizard and sent it crashing into the crowd. With the horde soon nking him from behind, Uungatched onto the arm of another and used its body as a weapon to keep them at bay. Bodies began lunging at the Oracle from all directions, but they all were smacked away effortlessly even as he continued to push through the crowd. Still, no matter how strong Uunga was, it was impossible topletely avoid their attacks. Cuts gradually began to appear on his mountain chicken hide. Their ws were not nearly as sharp as those of Levon''s Oracle, yet they were not dull by any means. Even after a few more minutes of nonstop fighting, the number of lizards surrounding the Oracle only seemed to growrger. The view on my screen began to jolt around at the crowd wildly as Uunga continued to fight. It was jarring enough for me toment on. "What''s wrong? Do you need to retreat already?" I asked the Oracle. "No." Despite his denial, the nces into the crowd only increased in frequency. "... Something is not right," he eventually added. The instincts of a hunter were not something that could be taken lightly and I found myself looking more intently at the screen. Although the only things that I could see were the lizards being crushed in front of his view and the crowd watching around him, I was determined to figure out what he was missing. What could be- ah! That''s it! The answer came quicker than I anticipated. "Uunga!" "What?" he asked as another lizard was mmed into the ground. "The lizards! There''s a ton of them not actually fighting!" Uunga spared a nce at the circle of lizards around him. It was almost like a membrane- the lizards standing at the front were simply letting others run past them to fight, but they were not joining in themselves. The Oracle''s eyes glinted at the realization. We both knew what such a sight meant. He immediately shoved the closest lizard out of his way and used that gap to grab his spiked club from out of his bag. Not even a momentter, a sharp voice screamed out, dominating over the sounds of battle. "Now!" Instantly, the lizards forming the circle around Uunga widened their legs and slightly crouched. Shoot! "Uunga! Jump!" The Oracle leaped off of the ground as a sea of mes washed over where he stood. Although his seven-foot vertical jump was enough to escape the mes, the lizards who were at his feet were not nearly as lucky, which Uunga learned afternding next to a charred corpse. He did not waste a moment on being confused at what he had just witnessed and insteadunched himself at one of the circle-forming lizards, crushing its skull with his club. "Tsk." An annoyed tongue click could be made out in the distance as Uunga ughtered the fire-breathing lizards. I watched all of this while clutching my head at my desk. How did I not even think about them using magic!? It was so obvious in retrospect, yet the thought had never crossed my mind. The reason for this was simple- Levon had never once directly mentioned the fact that he could use magic to anyone. Even in all of our encounters, the only threat he used dealt with his ws. Of course, he could freaking use it! I was the only one who didn''t raise my hand when the sheep instructor asked about mana when we first came here! Although I desperately wanted to punch myself in the face for being so stupid, there was way too much at stake to waste time on something so pointless. "Uunga, please be careful. There''s a limit to how often they can do that, but I''m sure they all can do it at least once!" There was not enough time to teach Uunga about the existence of mana, so I could only give him that small warning. The Oracle only nodded in response as he crushed thest of the circle members. Despite the thousands of lizards surrounding him, his eyes were locked on a familiar scarred figure who had climbed onto a hut behind the crowd. Two months had passed since their fight, yet it was clear that the foreign Oracle was still not anywhere close to being back to full strength. Therge woven bandages wrapping around its tail and hand were the most tant proof of that. Uunga kicked away a lizard and used that chance tounch a stone at the Oracle who stepped out of its path with an annoyed expression. "S~y him!" At the Oracle''s call, the crowd surged toward Uunga, but their bodies were crushed the moment they entered the range of his club. The lizards paid no attention to the blood of their fellow men as they rushed in. It was as though they had resolved themselves to die at his hand. Thud! The side of the nearest creature caved in from his club. Every time a lizard fell, Uunga took a step toward the foreign Oracle. His progress was slow, yet it was progress nheless. Only the asional breaths of fire were able to halt his steps, however, these were few and far between- only seeding in scorching their fellow allies. "Useless~" the foreign Oracle spat and hopped down into the crowd- effortlessly blending in among the sea of lizards. Seeing this, Uunga heightened his focus and continually switched directions to make sure his back was never exposed for long periods of time. Sure enough, the lizard to his side was shoved out of the way and the foreign Oracle sliced at his neck. Uunga was barely able to twist his body out of the way of the attack, but the surrounding crowd did not miss this chance and pounced at him. Uunga quickly worked to shove the bodies off of him, yet a scorching heat sted him the moment he was restrained. "Sskaaa!" The lizards on top of him unintentionally acted as a meat shield, sparing the Oracle from any major damage from the fire. The mountain hide he wore was not as fortunate however and his left sleeve quickly lit aze. By the time he had the chance to put out the mes, the Oracle''s left forearm was practically exposed. Uungaunched the burnt reptile in the direction the mes came from, but his target had already vanished into the crowd. There was not a moment to even look for the target either- the crowd only seemed more ferocious with their leader on the front lines and they continuously threw themselves at the lone human. Fwoom! Another st of fire wasunched from behind, yet Uunga was able to push to the side and get out of its path. He then kicked off the ground and leaped toward the source of the fire before Levon''s Oracle could get away. m! The scarred figure grabbed an adjacent lizard and held it up to absorb the impact. Blood and organs sttered from the hit. "Got you!" "Gah!" With the pause caused by the strike, the foreign Oracle reached around the body and dug its ws into Uunga''s exposed left arm. He quickly pulled his arm back, yet it left a deep and bloody wound. Uunga sharply swung his club in a counterattack and smacked the snout of the Oracle just before it disappeared into the crowd. Although Uunga continued fighting, it was clear that the wound was not something he could just shrug off. With cuts stering the hide he wore, it would not be long before more injuries appeared. I want to tell him to retreat... but I don''t think he would be able to. There were simply way too many lizards. It seemed as though the entire city joined the fight- the sea of lizards extended in all directions. Fwoom! More mes shot toward the Oracle who once again leaped up to dodge it. While in the air, Uunga nced into the crowd and spotted his target. m! He crushed a lizard as hended and kicked off again tounch back into the air. Since movement through the crowd was impossible, it seemed the Oracle decided to go over it. "I found you," he muttered as he swung his club down onto the foreign Oracle. The scarred lizard attempted to use another meat shield, but Uunga''s blow was strong enough to smash through the body and whack its target''s chest. Some mountain chicken teeth were able to shallowly pierce the Oracle''s scales, but it was not enough to deal any meaningful damage. The scarred lizard red at the human while pushing the club away and slicing with its ws. Slice! The hide was divided cleanly just below Uunga''s left shoulder and another small cut appeared on his arm. He paid no attention to this however and pressed forward with another swing. Levon''s Oracle caught the club and used all of its strength to keep it in ce. By this point, most of the mountain chicken teeth had chipped or broken off, which meant it could not inflict as much damage as before. With the two Oracles locked in ce, the surrounding lizards took the chance to continually barrage Uunga''s back with scratches, gradually tearing his hide to shreds. His opponent smirked at the scene. "Did you really think you could conquer thend of our god!? You do not justck s~scales, you have no brain either!" The lizard Oracle spat. Thud! Uunga switched to a one-handed grip on the club and used his now-free hand to punch the Oracle''s face. Thud! Thud! Uunga intentionally let go of his club sending Levon''s Oracle off bnce then used that chance to tackle him to the ground. Thud! Thud! Thud! He ignored the rapidly building cuts on his back and continued to relentlessly pound at the lizard who quickly came to his senses and shed at the attacker. Slice! The hide covering his chest was torn revealing the massive scar he endured from his first fight against the mountain chickens. Uunga pinned the Oracle''s neck to the ground with his left arm and threw a few more punches with his right; the scarred lizard relentlessly scratched at his arm to break free. Realizing the punches would not be enough against the Oracle''s hard scales, Uunga shoved an attacking lizard off of him and grabbed his talon knife off of his belt. Before he could use it, however, he was pushed off of the Oracle by the horde. The scarred lizard used this chance to get to his feet as Uunga fought against the crowd. Fwoom! A st of fire shot from the Oracle''s mouth. Uunga immediately ducked under the mes which instead scorched the lizards who had just given him the chance to escape. From his crouched position, Uunga pushed off the ground and delivered a brutal uppercut to the snout of the scarred lizardman who faltered from the blow. With a burning re in his eyes and the talon knife in hand, Uunga rotated his body and stabbed the talon directly into the lizard''s right eye. "S~SKAAA!" Blood sttered as the foreign Oracle fell to the ground with a scream. Uunga lunged onto the ground with him and pierced the lizard''s neck, ensuring that there was no chance it could get back up. The scarred lizard had fallen. Uunga pulled himself to his feet with unsteady breaths. The Oracle''s body was practically painted red- cuts all over his body oozed blood and his left arm hung limp at his side, nearly torn to shreds by the scarred lizard''s ws. Still, just because the foreign Oracle had been defeated, that did not mean there was a chance for him to celebrate. The army of lizards, though less ferocious than before their leader fell, were still attacking him from all directions. Uunga shoved his way through the crowd and picked up his fallen club before relentlessly swinging at the swarm of lizards with his right hand. Now with no other Oracles present, taking on this sea of lizards would not be nearly as daunting of a task. The piles of corpses at his feet grew exponentially as the sun began to set. Uunga kept swinging until it seemed the entire city was dyed red, and eventually, right around the time the sun crossed the horizon, thest lizard in front of him fell. "Haah.. haah... haah," Uunga breathed heavily as he towered over thest lizard corpse. With clouded eyes, the Oracles slowly trudged closer to the basalt temple. There were still lizards watching from a distance, but none dared to attempt to stop him. The Oracle wobbled the moment he entered the temple before copsing onto the basalt floor. He hoisted up his upper body against a pir with his trembling right hand while continuing to breathe heavily. I struggled to find the words to speak. My head was as riled as my heart at the shakey view on my screen. Just as I was finally about to open my mouth, the basalt temple was illuminated in a blue hue and a countdown appeared on one of my monitors. One hour... Assuming no lizards attempted ast-minute resistance, the temple would be considered captured at that time. My eyes locked onto another figure just under that timer. With a small image of crossed swords by its side, the number 12,781 (1.3%) was disyed. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 35 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 35 The hour passed quickly without any speaking nor any signs of resistance from the remaining lizards. Once the countdown on my monitor had reached its end, the basalt temple was officially considered to be captured; a box was marked on another monitor signifying that the criteria to receive a Tier I victory had been met. As for what this capture looked like on the screen, I had no idea. Uunga had fallen asleep in exhaustion after the long and bloody fight, leaving the screenpletely cked out. I still can''t believe that he single-handedly killed over 1% of Levon''s entire poption within a few hours. It was a feat that was unheard of, though there was nothing really topare it to at this point. As impressive and absurd as it was, Uunga did note out of it unharmed. In fact, his condition was unpromising to put it lightly. His injuries were nothing to scoff at; his left arm waspletely mangled, every inch of his back had been roughly sliced,rge sections of the clothing he wore for protection had been torn to shreds, and numerous cuts, bruises, and burns were stered over other parts of his body. That was without even mentioning the physical exhaustion caused by traveling for 4 months straight- half through an icy wastnd and half through a sweltering desert- and then immediately charging into a half-a-day brutal battle against an entire city and an Oracle all by himself. ... I''m not even sure if he''ll be able to make that journey again in his condition. Although his breathing had stabilized during his rest, barring any miracle, it seemed clear to me that Uunga''s fate had been set. His injuries were simply far too great for any medical advancements of this primitive world to cover. I could try to convince the Oracle to amputate his left arm and burn it afterward to stop the bleeding, but that would likely be overstepping the rules on what I could say. That''s not even mentioning how risky doing such a procedure would be. It might not even be enough to save him, anyway. My grip tightened on the arms of my chair as I was forced to face the reality of the situation. Was this the right decision? It was a question that I found myself asking repeatedly. Uunga had not only managed to defeat Levon''s Oracle andpletely eliminate any threat to my realm for this battle period, but he had also somehow found a way to capture the temple as well. Thanks to Uunga''s efforts, my humans would be safe for at least another one thousand years, but he may have thrown his life away in the process of achieving that. If I had forced him to wait for them in the arctic, would things have turned out better? It would have been a much riskier decision- Levon''s Oracle would have had years to steadily build another massive army, and with the aid of torch tree branches, they could have actually made it through the snow. Even with the advantages brought by the cold, Uunga would have needed to deal with a force far greater than the one he just faced. Given his condition despite half of the lizards fleeing after their Oracle was in, it was certain such a fight would not have gone well. That''s not even mentioning that there would have been no chance of Uunga conquering their temple. As I was thinking those thoughts, the screen gradually began to brighten and focus, revealing the inside of the dark and deserted basalt temple past the view of blood-covered legs peaking through torn clothing. After giving the Oracle some time toe to his senses, I finally spoke for the first time since the battle. I wanted to congratte him for what he had achieved. He killed an Oracle, took on an army, and conquered their temple all on his own. He had been entrusted with what should have been an impossible task, yet he had managed toe out on top and trample everything that came in his way. I wanted to convey all of this to him and shower him with praise. I wanted to tell him how proud I was, but when I opened my mouth, only two words came out. "... I''m sorry." The view on the screen stayed still- only the Oracle''s shallow breaths seemed to cause the screen to sway. Such a static sight did notst forever, however, and the Oracle soon rose to his unsteady feet with his broken club in hand. Step by step, I watched as Uunga exited the basalt temple and trudged into the now mostly abandoned ancient city still smoldering from the remnants of battle. The lone human treaded over the corpse-covered ground- his eyes soon locking onto one scarred figure sprawled among them, its right eye socket was void of its sight. With onest nce at the in beast, the Oracle continued his journey out of the city in the direction of where he came from. Uunga''s steps were slow, and with his mangled left arm dangling at his side, he nearly looked as dead as the corpses he had just left behind. His hide clothing which had once been the pinnacle of my realm''s innovation had been reduced to a state that could not be considered more than horribly tattered rags. Yet despite all of this, there was one thing that stuck out to me. The screen is in full focus. Though silent, Uunga was conscious. Though exhausted, Uunga kept moving. Though broken, Uunga was determined. He would not go down in this foreignnd- he would drag his injured body back to the portal he came from. He would return home. At his current pace, this would likely take half a year. It would be a brutal journey through sweltering desert and frigid snow, and considering his condition, it was an impossible task. But Uunga was not a stranger to impossibility. I watched on as he slowly made his way closer to the portal while the days flew by. The grasnd under his feet turned into savannah, then desert, to swamp, and desert again, until the pair of familiar stone pirs appeared before his tired body. Though I spent the time speaking of what he had achieved and every other thought that came to my mind, he had not uttered a single word through the three months it took him to reach that point. After kicking aside a small stone and stuffing the feathers buried underneath into the remaining hide on his body, Uunga stepped into the red hue- vanishing from thend he had conquered as quickly as he had appeared. The hide bag that he had sported upon his entrance had been nearlypletely destroyed in the fight, yet the Oracle had managed to tie the material into a small pouch to use on the travels. The moment after being sted by a nostalgic st of icy wind, Uunga reached into this pouch and pulled out a certain stick. Fwoom! His body which had long ago grown cold from blood loss was enveloped in a heat reminiscent of the desert he had just arrived from. It was thanks to this that Uunga managed to trudge through the ankle-high snow and eventually travel through the two mountain ranges by the time half a year had passed from when he had left the temple. While I looked at the Oracle with eyes of admiration for somehow managing to journey back to my realm with his broken body, it was clear that his body was well-passed its limit. He may have been an Oracle in a universe full of magic, but Uunga was still a human at the end of the day. No amount of willpower, nor strength could prevent the inevitable. Yet he is still moving... Even as his body deteriorated with every step, Uunga continued to move through the continent with a torch in hand. Step by step, day by day, Uunga forced his broken body closer to the teau. He went on through pure willpower for another two months, before he reached the river''s crossing where andslide had provided an unstable passage across, followed by one more month with steadily slowing steps further east. But eventually, long after burning through his stockpile of branches, near the southern tip of the longke formed from the remnants of the original river''s path, the Oracle''s legs gave out causing him to copse onto the soft moss-covered ground. The Oracle tried to push himself up using his right arm but only seded in turning himself onto his back before falling right back down. A light blue sky filled the screen now beginning to blur. "Uunga... it is time for you to rest," I softly spoke. "... I do not want to," a strong voice not matching the shattered body it had emerged from replied through the screen. "It''s the first time you''ve spoken in nearly nine months, and you use those words to argue with me." Despite the pain in my heart, I couldn''t help but smile. "You traveled two worlds, yed an Oracle, defeated a city, captured its temple, and somehow managed to return through pure determination alone. You single-handedly saved this world with your own might. You have done more than anyone else possibly could h-have." My voice broke a bit at the end, yet I continued speaking. "You did so much, but there''s nothing I can do in return," I paused as a stinging pain shot through my chest, "I can''t save you, Uunga." "..." I found Uunga when he was still a kid and made him my Oracle when he was around 22 years old. Ever since that moment, every step he took was for the sake of my realm. My emotions began to show in my eyes, and despite my best efforts to hide them, I felt a feathered stare from the icy balcony behind me. I could not hold them back any longer. "You spent your entire life living for my sake and got nothing in return. Sure, I gave you strength, but you only used it to fight on my behalf-" "That is not true," Uunga''s voice brought an end to my speech, "I wanted to fight. I yed the strongest beast of this world. You gave me the chance to beat the strongest in another." Despite the nature of the situation, I could not help but smile at his words. "That''s not a fair trade and you know it." The view of the screen narrowed slightly, indicating that the Oracle was smiling. "I did not only want to fight. I wanted to protect this world, too," he continued. The screen rapidly regained its rity, as if the blurriness that dominated my view had only been from my imagination. The Oracle''s voice seemed to likewise grow stronger. "I have traveled this whole world. I have seen the beasts, the people, and the trees. I have seen thend, the rivers that run through it, and the endless seas to which they lead. I have walked and met so many, I have fathered ones who crawl. I have seen the storms, the rainbows, and the snow; I have seen the beauty in it all." The silence of the past 9 months bore its fruits. Every line seemed to cause my heart to tighten. "E-even my storms, huh?" I managed to croak out. The screen began to blur again. "I am happy to save this beautiful world," the Oracle dered resolutely. "... But what was this whole trip for then? You could have rested months ago... why push yourself so hard?" The blue sky began to lose its color. "... I wanted to see them one more time," Uunga softly stated. I understood his plightpletely. "They will have good lives and grow up strong. I know it- they''re your children, after all." The screen narrowed again at my words. The edges began to fade ck. "...Watch them for me." "I will, Uunga. Please rest well," I watched as the darkness on the screen steadily moved in from the edges, "I am so proud of you. Thank you for everything." With one final breath, thest of the light vanished from the screen leaving the domain in heavy silence. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter H.2 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter H.2 Beep! Beep! Beep! Click~ A man pressed a button on his watch to turn off his rm. "Five o''clock already! The time went by fast today, huh?" With a smile on his face, the man tossed the gadget he was using into his toolbox, before climbing down the scaffolding. Puff! A small cloud of red dust dissipated into the air as he stepped onto the ground. The man continued his path toward one of the many dome-shaped buildings nearby and pressed a button on the door frame''s side. A noise reminiscent of a vacuum could be heard behind the steel door. After a few moments, the door finally opened and the man stepped forward - pressing another button once inside. Whoosh! Air flooded the small room, and to pass the minute-long wait time, the man watched as the number disyed on the barometer rapidly increased. Ding! A green light turned on above the second steel door the moment the pressure reached 1.013 bars, allowing the man to finally take off his helmet. "Phew," he wiped the sweat off of his forehead as he wiggled out of his suit, "As nice cool as it is living here, Earth does have this ce beat when ites to not needing to wear a fish bowl everywhere you go." He could not help but mutter those words while he hung his spacesuit between two others- one of a simr size and one half of that, but each matching with the word ''Donstar'' engraved on the suit''s torso. With the push of onest button, the second steel door rose open, finally allowing the man to go inside. "Daddy!" A small girl ran up and hugged his legs. "How''s my little girl doing?" The man picked her up with a bright smile on his face, "Were you a good girl for your mother while I was gone?" "Yes~" "Oh really?" he looked at the woman peeking at the reunion from the other room, "What about you, sweetie? Would you say she was behaving herself?" The woman smiled smugly. "I''m not so sure~" "What!? I was super good!" the small girl argued with a look of betrayal on her face. "Good girls help their mothers get the dinner ready," the woman walked over and handed the girl a basket with some cut bread inside. "Fine~" The girl wiggled out of his arms and disappeared into the other room. "You were just in there... you couldn''t have just put it on the table yourself?" he asked his wife curiously. "I could have, but then I wouldn''t have had the chance to do this!" the woman smiled and gave the man a loving kiss, "I missed you, you know." "You just saw me this morning, though?" "I did~ but I still missed you! What, are you saying you didn''t miss me while you were at work?" the woman feigned a pained expression. "No... I did miss you too," the man mumbled to the woman sporting a teasing smile. "Then use your lips for something other than questioning me," Not even a momentter, the small girl returned. "Mommy, I finished putting the bread- ew! Stop kissing! That''s gross!" "Fine, fine," the woman let go of her grinning husband, "It''s time for us to eat, anyway." The family made their way to the next room and sat down at the dinner table. "No matter how many times I see it, I''m still not used to having fish on our tes," the man said as he cut a piece. "It''s because you did such a great job setting up that aquaponics building that we even get to eat it!" the woman added proudly. "I guess I did do a pretty good job with that, huh?" He put a piece into his mouth and took a bite. "Wow! I may have brought us fish, but you cook them perfectly!" "You''re so sweet~" "E! No kissing while I''m eating! I''m gonna throw up!" The two parents smiled and backed away at their child''sint. "She''s right... let''s save it for after dinner, sweetie." "Fine~ I waited all day, I guess I can wait a bit longer," the woman said with a teasing pout. The man turned to his daughter at the end of the table. "So, how was school today?" "It was good *munch munch*. My teacher mentioned something weird, though." "Something weird?" the woman asked. "Yeah. She said there was something called ''the cold cat prison''." "... I think you mean ''The Cold Cataclysm''," the man corrected with a sigh, "They''re really telling kids this young about that?" "There''s no way they''re teaching about that at her grade, it was probably just a slip of the tongue" the woman refuted. "Yeah, she wouldn''t tell us about the cold cat prison even though I tried asking! She only said the name..." "That''s because it might be a bit scary for kids your age to hear about," the man exined. "I won''t be scared! Can you tell me? Please~" The man looked at his wife who eventually nodded hesitantly. It was clear to both of them that they needed to leave out details. He took another bite of his food perhaps buying time to think of how to start the topic. "Okay, before I tell you, you need to promise that you won''t start talking about this to the other kids. Their angry parents might be scarier to me than The Cold Cataclysm itself." "I won''t tell them!" "... Alright. It''ll be a pretty long story, so be warned-" "I know, I know! Just tell me already!" the girl whined impatiently. The man smiled at her enthusiasm, but the grin quickly faded into a somber expression. "Well, it started all the way back in the 2000''s. Back then, there was not just one government like what we have now; there were around two hundred of them and they were constantly fighting each other overnd, resources, or just petty differences. Anyway, one of these fights was happening between two of the smaller countries, which ended up dragging in one of thergest ones. Their rival, the second-biggest country at the time, tried to take over somend during that exchange. Apparently, they thought the biggest country would be too distracted or not have enough resources to do anything about it, but they were wrong and a massive war broke out. Both of these countries had nuclear weapons- a lot of them. They had enough of them to destroy the world, and they knew that yet-" the man clenched his fist while speaking. "Daddy? What''s a new clear?" the little girl asked during his pause. The man''s tension loosened as he heard this daughter''s innocent voice- a wry smile appeared on his face. "Right... I''m sorry, I forgot how little you are," he paused and held his gaze on the girl, "You know what... how about we save this talk for when you''re a bit older?" "What!? That''s not fair! I want to know why they put the cats in a cold prison!" "I..." the man tried to speak but just stopped and let out a sigh, "There is no cat prison. You just misheard your teacher." "... They didn''t lock up the kitties?" the girl questioned innocently. "No, they did not lock up the kitties." "Oh..." The girl stood up and picked up her now-empty te. "Thank you for the dinner, Mommy!" she said as she left the room with a relieved smile. The man looked at her retreating figure and soon buried his head in his hands. "I''m such an idiot. Of course, she just wanted to know about the cats." He looked up to see his wife struggling to hold back herughter. "Pfft-" "You knew the whole time!?" "Hahaha!" theughs broke through her sealed lips at his reaction. "... I''m d you enjoyed that," he said as he rolled his eyes. "I''m sorry, it was just too funny!" After a few more minutes of giggling and eating, the woman spoke again. "So, how about you continue that story?" "Huh? I mean I could, but don''t you already know all of this?" "I do, but you seemed excited to talk about it and I want to hear your voice, so it''s a win-win!" the woman exined with a smile. "... I love you so much." "I love you too, so start talking!" "Okay, okay. Well, no one really knows who shot the first nuke during that whole thing, but both sides shot a whole bunch- enough to cause a nuclear winter. Everything was already half destroyed from the war and from the nukes themselves, so no one was prepared for the fallout. The temperature was already way too cold for most crops, and the bits of farnd in the remaining warmer climates were covered in radiation, so there was a famine on a level unheard of. Before the whole war broke out, the poption on Earth was roughly 8 billion, but only a few years after the nuclear winter, there were only about 25 million people left." "It''s called The Cold Cataclysm for a reason." The woman chimed in. "Yeah... I mean, putting aside the fact that 97% of humans died during it, technology pretty much had to start from zero afterward. It''s been close to 17,000 years since then yet we''re only a bit ahead of what they were using back before the cataclysm. If it weren''t for Donstar, we would probably still be repeating the Middle Ages right now." "I know that''s what they say, but isn''t it a bit of an exaggeration? Them being close to our level of technology, I mean," she asked. "Surprisingly, it''s not far off at all! There are actually quite a few records of the peoplepeting to be the first ones to settle on Mars. If The Cold Cataclysm was a few yearster, they probably would have seeded." "So 17,000 years ago, they almost did something we only just managed to do? Wow..." "See! Now you can see why I''m so passionate about this!" the man let out a longing sigh, "The world was basically a frozen and irradiated wastnd for 13,000 years. There was not even a chance for anyone to maintain what survived the explosions, let alone develop anything new. It was only when the ice started thawing about 4,000 years ago that Donstar could finally step in and try to restore the world. Even then, most of their efforts were on bringing back what was lost. We only started developing past the point of their records pretty recently... can you imagine what kinds of things we might have developed by now if The Cold Cataclysm never happened?" "Yeah, it is a bit crazy to think about," the woman paused for a second, "Actually, I was a bit curious. Why did the nuclear winterst for so long, anyway?" "Oh- the fallout only blocked the sun for a few years at best. It wasn''t nearly enough to cause such damage on its own. Apparently, the whole thing caused some unknown cycles to start and it was those climate cycles that sent the into a small ice age. The whole thing is still being debated, but that seems to be what''s generally thought." The man stood up and started cleaning up the tes from dinner; the woman joined in to help. "Hopefully, now that we have this Mars colony getting started, progress can be made even if another cataclysm were to happen," he continued. "Well, if it happens again, at least I''ll have you to keep me warm~" the woman teased. "Of course! I have more than enough materials here to make a heaterrge enough to heat the whole colony!" The man turned, feeling an icy re on his back. "W-what?" "That''s not what I meant and you know it!" she pouted. The woman stepped toward him and started pulling on his shirt. "Come on, just for that, I''m making you warm me up now~" "W-wait, sweetie! I''m still holding the tes! The tes, sweetie- think of the tes!" "Forget the tes! They can watch!" The man was dragged into their bedroom to be used as a personal heater for the rest of eternity... or until his rm went off to go to work in the morning... it was actually only for two hours because the little girl had to get tucked in for bed. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 36 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 36 The rest of the battle period went by fairly quickly as I spent the time silently mourning. Even Mr. Flippers seemed devastated at the loss of Uunga and left his ice pce- moving onto myp instead. As the six hours of the battle phase came to a close and around 250 years passed in my realm, the feeling of loss began to subside a bit. "He wasn''t immortal, Mr. Flippers. His life span was only long enough to make it through the battle phase; even if he had survived the fight, he would have been gone by now anyway," I muttered, though I wasn''t quite sure whether I was talking to him or myself. "... Squawk." "I know. I miss him too." This is never going to get easier, is it? With a sigh, I nced back to my screen which had been focused on my temple ever since the passing of Uugna. Although only 250 years had passed, there had been a considerable difference in the surroundings whenpared to before the Oracle had arrived. What had once been a mess and jumble of tipis now resembled an organized settlement with lined shelters and continuous walking paths between them. These miniature roads all joined in a circle surrounding the temple, leaving enough room for a small vige center in front where my humans happily roasted pieces of chicken over a warm fire. It appeared that the humans maintained theyout Uunga had designed even after his passing, which gave the settlement a level of sophistication far ahead of what would be expected of their time. Had my humans been technologically advanced enough to use wood to build their homes, the area could easily be mistaken for a pre-modern town. I''m honestly pretty surprised about how neat they''ve been able to keep the whole thing... maybe it''s because the number of people living there hasn''t changed much? When Uunga left the teau, I figured it would only take a few months before people started setting up in the clear pathways or out in front of the temple, but that clearly wasn''t the case. It wasn''t as though the poption hadn''t been increasing, it had maintained roughly the same growth rate as before the battle phase, but the teau had long reached its poption limit based on the food supply. There were only so many mushrooms, cherries, and chickens that they could reliably eat, so people were venturing from the teau at the same rate as more humans were conceived. It was because of this that it became much harder to keep track of Uunga''s descendants as their generations increased. They seemed to have much more of a drive to explore whenpared with their peers. The sheer amount of them is a bit absurd too... I watched them for as long as I could, Uunga. I sighed taking onest look at the screen. "It''s about time for us to head back to the Academy, Mr. Flippers. Are you ready?" "Squawk..." "Come on, I''m hurting too, but we can''t just stay here forever. Don''t you want to see Julia?" "Squawk!" As if a lightbulb went off in his penguin head, a bit of energy returned to Mr. Flippers'' depressed body. A small smile found its way onto my face at his reaction as I picked him up and rose from my chair. "Transport to the academy!" "Agh!" "Squawk!" The two of us were instantly blinded by the bright lights of the audience hall. "It''s been so long since we''ve been here... I can''t believe I forgot about how bright it is," I muttered. There wasn''t really a point to it, so I hadn''t been counting the total amount of time I had spent in my domain. Since I was constantly switching between varying levels of time dtion, it would have been hard to say for certain even if I had tried. That being said, it was probably a year or two, with most of that taking ce during Uunga''s final march. Of course, I had only been in my domain for about nine hours from the Academy''s perspective, which stayed on heavenly time throughout the battle phases. Still... it looks a bit different than thest time I was here. There was one key differencepared to before: the stage that had been left barren since my introduction to the Academy now had what resembled two treasure chests resting on its floor. In addition to this, the stage''s back wall was now covered by a massive scoreboard. Between the two chests was a small desk facing out toward the audience hall where a robbed figure sat while writing things down on a piece of parchment. A moment after my observation, the figure lifted its head- its gaze focusing intensely on us. "It seems you''re finally here, Jacob." That robe... this voice... "Tatton?" "So you remember me," the figure spoke. I could feel a grin under his purple hood. "Of course! How could I forget you after you helped me so much with my realm?" I said as I made my way toward the stage, "Thank you again for lending me those resource points back then." "There is no need to thank me so much; it was for my benefit, as well," I could feel his smile deepen as he spoke, "It would have been a shame to see such an interesting realm copse before it could get put to the test. Based on the data I gathered, I could say it was worth the investment- and that was only from your first battle phase!" "You were watching?" "Naturally- observation is my job, after all. The Flower Box monitors every battle to ensure integrity, but I made sure that I was assigned to look over yours. Speaking of which, that was quite a show you put on." Tatton waved me onto the stage and pointed at the top left of therge rectangr scoreboard where the number ''4'' was disyed next to a small picture of me. "Three points for a tier III defensive victory and one point for a tier I offensive victory. You''re the only person who was able to score so many points during this battle phase, as you can see." Now finally on stage, I could get a much better look at the scoreboard. Sure enough, I was the only person with four points, however, there were a ton of creatures with three and even more with zero. "Hey, Tatton. What''s with all of the zero points? Did they all not have an opponent?" I couldn''t help but ask. "There were no absentees from this first battle phase- all of the zeroes you see were from Seedlings who were defeated," he exined, "Everyone is awarded one point per tier victory, but points are deducted equivalently per tier defeat. As Seedlings are still getting used to thepetition, out of mercy on these first battle phases, it is impossible to go below zero points." I nodded at his words, but my eyes still wandered across the scoreboard. Eventually, I found the person I was looking for. My heart sank. Come on, me. You knew it would be a tough battle for her. I clenched my fist regardless. Zero points for Julia. She lost, but I don''t know what tier it was... hopefully it wasn''t too bad. "So," Tatton spoke pulling me out of my thoughts, "You have one Tier I prize and one Tier III prize. Which would you like to receive first?" "I guess I''ll start with the Tier I prize." "Well, there is a 50% chance of that happening," Tatton said as he sat back down at the desk. "... What? So I don''t get to pick which one''s first?" "Nope- I don''t even have authority over the prizes. The whole system was designed by the Founder; the chest scans your divinity signature when you touch it and spits out a random prize or punishment based on what was earned in thepetition. I''m just here to keep everything running smoothly... and to observe." "Why''d you even-" "To get your attention. Like I said, I need to make sure everything is running smoothly. There are still plenty of Seedlings who need to receive their prize and I would prefer to get you moved out of the audience hall before they show up. Having a line form would not look too good on my part." "... Got it." With his feathered pen in hand, Tatton pointed to the chest on the left, which I leisurely approached. "Once again, just open the chest and your prize will be revealed." With a nod, I ced Mister Flippers down onto the stage and ced my hands on the side of a chest. After a deep breath, I slowly opened its lid. A faint golden hue shone from inside of the chest, yet when I peeked inside, there was nothing present. "Ah- it looks like you got some Resource Points. Judging by the strength of the light, that was your Tier I prize," Tatton spoke from the desk as he wrote something on his parchment, "I guess the odds were in your favor." "... I guess they were," I muttered. Resource Points were an extremely useful thing to have, and in fact, I had wanted to get them rtively soon for a certain side project. Yet despite this, a bittersweet feeling pinged in my chest at the prize. Uunga... this was the result of your efforts. "Now it''s time for your Tier III prize. All you need to do is close and re-open the chest and it will be yours." With no reason to wait, I closed the chest''s lid, but just as I was about to open it again, something that Tatton said resonated in my mind. The odds were in my favor... "Hey Tatton, are the prizes we get decided beforehand?" He looked at me curiously. "I believe that the prize is selected once the chest is opened. Of course, the prizes avable in each Tier are set beforehand by the Founder, but it should be up to luck what is drawn." Light reflected off my eyes. Luck is it? With a sly grin, I turned to face the penguin at my side. Memories of the thousands of times he had destroyed me in card games shed through my mind. If luck is the determining factor, shouldn''t I have the luckiest person I know open the chest for me? "Squawk?" Mister Flippers tilted his penguin head at my gaze. "Would you want to open the chest for me, Mister Flippers?" "Squawk!" the penguin excitedly hopped over to the chest at my offer. "You are having it open the chest on your behalf?" Tatton asked at the scene. "Yeah. Is that a problem?" "Well, it''s just that, like I said before..." Tatton paused while speaking, "You know what? Go ahead." I shrugged off hisment and nodded at Mister Flippers who happily flung open the chest. A deep blue hue spilled out from the container. I felt an intense stare from the robbed figure. "How interesting..." I picked up on Tatton''s mutter and looked into the chest where a small stone statue roughly the size of a water bottle was floating inside. Slowly, I reached in and picked it up. "This... is us, isn''t it?" I muttered as I looked at the statue in my hand. "Squawk?" The figure was clearly a statue of me holding Mister Flippers while in my winter gear. "A temple upgrade this early into thepetition!" Tatton eximed in astonishment. "What does it do?" "You will get all of the information regarding it once you return to your domain." As he was speaking a creature teleported into the audience hall. I reflexively tightened my grip on the statue, which then vanished into a puff of blue smoke. "It seems the next Seedling is here," Tatton spoke as he finished writing, "Please clear the audience hall, Jacob." "Alright," I picked up Mister Flippers and made my way off the stage, "Thank you again for the help, Tatton." "I am sure we will meet again soon. Keep showing me great things until then." With those words, I made my way off the stage and headed toward the massive wooden doors connecting the audience hall to the rest of the Academy. "It sounds like you got us a really good prize! Good job, Mister Flippers!" I whispered to the penguin in my arms as we walked through the doors. "Squawk!" the penguin responded with a smug look. I smiled and patted his head, but I soon let out a sigh. I do want to check out what that statue does... but there''s someone I want to see first. "Squawk?" "Don''t worry, I''m fine. I''m just worried someone else might not be..." She said that she would meet me- As if cutting off my thoughts, I spotted a familiar elf girl leaning on the wall outside of the ssroom. My heartbeat increased at the sight of her. "Sorry, Mister Flippers, I might need to put you down for a second," I whispered as I ced the penguin next to me. It''s been so long since I''ve seen her, yet she''s just as cute as I remember. I couldn''t help but smile as I walked closer to the girl. "Hey, Julia!" I called out. The girl nced over in my direction- a bright smile appeared on her face and she immediately ran toward me. "Jacob!" A momentter, I caught the elf girl in my arms. "It looks like someone''s happy to see me," I teased. "Mhm." Although I was expecting some sort of rebuttal, the elf girl only subtly nodded her head on my chest at my words. "I missed you," she muttered while wrapping her arms tighter around me. "I missed you, too. We were gone for way too long," I smiled and hugged her tight. "Mhm..." Eventually, Julia lightened her grip and pulled away with slightly red ears. "You really cashed in that hug pretty quickly," I teased again referring back to the promise we made thest time we saw each other. "S-shut up! I definitely needed it though..." she mumbled with her expression bing somber with that final line. "... It didn''t go so well, huh?" "No. It did not," she sighed. I sat down against the wall and Julia followed suit. Before we continued talking, Mister Flippers shyly waddled over to us. "Squawk..." "Oh, hi, little one!" With a small smile on her face, Julia picked up the penguin and ced him on herp. "Squawk squawk!" Ignoring the embarrassed penguin''s protests, the elf girl leaned her head on my shoulder as we talked. Apparently, Julia was matched against some sort of bipedal ant-resembling creature. "They were pretty weak individually, but there were so many of them and they all worked together seamlessly. It was like they were naturally trained for war..." sheined. "Well, if they are antmen, that would make sense," I let out a groan as I talked, "That might have been the worst possible opponent for you in the first battle." "I know right!? What''s up with that!?" We discussed her realm''s strengths and weaknesses in detail while preparing for the battle phase. Given her realm''s geography and the nature of her elves, she had enormous potential to be a defensive behemoth in the future once magic was developed and proper cities were formed. In the short term, however, and what was the main issue with this first battle, was that the elves'' magic capabilities were still in their infancy and the settlements that formed were isted and small. These small settlements did not stand a chance against arge and coordinated force, which of course happened to be the specialty of a race resembling ants. "... How bad was it?" I eventually asked the question that was squeezing at my heart. Given the circumstances, it wouldn''t have been surprising if it was a Tier III defeat where 66% of her lifeforms were killed. But... the way she''s acting makes that seem not to be the case. Sure, Julia looked extremely sad, but it wasn''t anywhere close to an overwhelming mourning. Maybe she got away with a Tier II defeat? "... Forty-two percent," she muttered. "I''m sorry, Julia. That''s horrible..." I clenched my fist as I reflected on that scale. I cared deeply for all of my humans. If I had to witness such a massive amount of them dying with no way to stop it, I wasn''t sure I would be anywhere near asposed as Julia had been. But wait... it''s fifty percent for a Tier II defeat, so isn''t that still a Tier I loss? As if seeing my realization, a somber smile appeared on the elf''s face. "That''s... well I want to say ''that''s great'', but it''s kind of hard to considering how much you lost. Still, how did you manage to pull away with only a Tier I defeat!?" "If it wasn''t for Orisa, my Oracle, it would have been so much worse," she exined, "Orisa was way ahead of the rest of the elves with using spells and she could somewhat use nt maniption. There was no way the traps would''ve worked so well with anyone else." "So you went the trap route, after all?" "Yep! I thought it was the best option." Given the nature of the antmen, they brought one massive and well-organized force. While this was powerful, the problem for themyed in there being no way to replenish their numbers. The antment are loyal to their own colony; it would be difficult for the Oracle to take over another''s for the sake of the invasion. With that in mind, for the person defending against them, there was no need to worry about reinforcements; once an antman was in, their overall number would permanently decrease. "-So you used gueri tactics!" "Mhm! Orisa would take out one or two at a time using traps or throughbat and would retreat once reinforcements showed up," she summarized, "Their Oracle eventually fled once we got rid of most of the weaker ones." "... I''m proud of you, Julia. You did well," I said honestly. I''m d she remembered what I spent so long teaching her. She kept her reasoning despite seeing so many of her elves die. I pulled Julia a bit closer- I ignored the slight reddening of her ears. "Considering this should be the weakest your realm will be,ing away with just a Tier I defeat is pretty amazing, but it''s still a defeat, so-" "You wanted to know what punishment I got, right?" she interrupted with a sigh. "... Yes please." "I got lucky- it was a forest fire." "That''s lucky?" I thought back to what she told me back when we first met, "I thought that elves lived in those giant trees. Wouldn''t a forest fire be horrible?" "Normally, yes, but none of my elves are advanced enough with spells to manipte those big trees yet, so they''re all just living in small huts. Plus, I went back to my domain to check, and the fire happened to be in the main forest, but that was already cleared out by the invaders." So that''s about what I could expect from a Tier I punishment... honestly, it''s not anything too crazy. Despite the relief at Julia''s fortune and the rtive softness of the punishment, I was still left curious and slightly uneasy about what the higher tiers would entail. With those thoughts in my mind, I stood up and reached out a hand to help Julia up, as well. "I''m d it worked out. I''m proud of you Julia," I said as she took my hand and stood up with Mister Flippers in her arms, "But that''s enough talk about thepetition. I just spent like two-ish years worrying about it nonstop; I don''t want to waste the time I have with you thinking about it too." "Yeah. I feel the same," Julia thought for a moment before suggesting, "Oh! How about we got to the bath!?" "Sounds good to me, let''s go! The stuff I make with domain creation really doesn''tpare to the stuff they have here." "I know, right!? I just can''t seem to match it exactly-" "Wait, hang on. You were able to make soap with domain creation?" "Huh? Yeah, of course I could. Why, what''s wrong?" "No... it''s nothing." Does Julia know the chemicalposition of soaps? No... there''s no way she does. So how did she- "Jacob~e on! I want to go to the bath!" she called out a few steps in front of me, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Squawk!" "Fine, fine, I''ming!" Deciding to deal with that another time, the three of us made our way to the bathhouse to enjoy the time we had together. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 37 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 37 SLAM! "WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING!?" Levon''s fist mmed into his desk as he watched the injured human sleeping in his temple. "JUST GET HIM ALREADY!" Despite his angry pleas, not a single one of his lifeforms made any attempt to approach the being whom they had just witnessed massacring theirrades. Who do these wimps belong to!? They clearly are not mine! His anger had already reached new heights after witnessing the failed evasion, thwarted ambush, and the death of Scar. Seeing his lifeforms refuse to ughter the Oracle who had been the source of all of those defeats was nearly enough to make him go numb. Yet, whether it was due to a false hope that one of the lizards would get the courage to murder the human or that it would sumb to its wounds, Levon continued watching the screen until the Oracle had fully escaped his realm. "... What a joke," he spat. The aftermath of the first battle phase had been worse than he ever could have imagined. His Oracle and over 60,000 of his best life forms had been killed, most of the capital city surrounding his temple had been reduced to ashes, and worst of all, he had endured both a Tier III and a Tier I defeat. Rather than be terrified of what the punishments for such a result would be, only pure anger red through his brain. "Transport to the academy" Levon squinted his eyes as his surroundings changed to the bright audience hall of the Academy. "... What is all of this?" Uponing to his senses, the lizard noticed an odd arrangement on the audience hall''s stage, featuring two chests, a desk, and a massive scoreboard. With nothing better to do, Levon began approaching the stage when a robed figure hastily entered the room. "You arrived here faster than I expected," the figure spoke. "... Who are you?" "You know, that race to your temple was quite entertaining. It was a bit impressive how your Oracle managed to convince those nearby settlements to defend your temple when he was in that condition. I mean, the ce was half empty after you sent most of the poption to die by your Oracle''s own hands. Well... it''s not like it mattered in the end," the figure recounted while ignoring the Seedling. The lizard red as the robed figure walked passed him and climbed onto the stage, before sitting down at the desk. "It looks like you were watching," Levon grumbled. "That is my job," the figure pulled a small, spherical crystal out of his robe and ced it onto the desk, "A job that you interrupted by showing up so early. Eager to get your punishments, are you?" The lizard did not reply- his only response was a scowl, leading to the robed figure continuing. "Normally, you would need to wait until the battle phase waspletely over to receive the punishment, but the conditions were met for an earlypletion. Both Oracles were in, there are no foreign advanced lifeforms on either realm, and neither Seedling shows any signs of continuing-" "His Oracle is dead?" Levon interrupted to which the robbed figure gave a slight nod. The livid expression on the lizard''s face lightened a bit at the news. "It''s odd seeing someone who''s about to receive two punishments be so relieved." As the robed figure spoke, the scoreboard behind him changed: a ''4'' appeared next to a picture of Jacob. Levon''s score remained at zero. "It looks like the earlypletion request was epted," the figure pointed to the chest on the right of the stage, "How about we see what you''ll endure." While ignoring the small image of the human out of the corner of his eye, Levon approached the chest before lifting it open. Ssssssk! With a hissing sound, a thick cloud of heavy ck smoke oozed out of the chest. Bits of glowing, bright red shards could be seen scattered throughout the fumes, causing Levon to step back reflexively. "Now that''s a Tier III punishment!" Levon red at the figure in the purple robe. "What is your problem!?" he shouted. "Calm down, no need to erupt at me. You''ll have enough of those to deal with, yourself." "What do you-" "Enough talking. Go ahead and get your Tier I punishment so that I can focus on these realms," the figure interrupted. While clenching his fist to hold back his anger, Levon closed and reopened the chest. A now-familiar ck fog diffused out of the open chest, though at a much lower concentration than before. Dust seemed to be scattered in the fog. "Ah-" "What is it?" Levon finally asked at the figure''s reaction. "It''s just a small drought," he answered half-heartedly, "It might be a blessing in disguise considering you won''t have to worry about much acid rain....or snow." "Snow!? Why would there be-" "You''ll figure it out soon enough," the figure interrupted again and turned his attention back to the crystal on the desk, "Now let me get back to my work. Either head back to your domain and watch the punishments happen, or go train so you don''t get crushed as easily next time." Although Levon wanted to argue, it was clear doing so would be pointless. After shooting another sharp re toward the purple-robed figure, the lizard stomped over to the training ground in a silent rage. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Ferguson strolled into the training ground to find Alishia sitting on a barrel staring into the melee area. "What are you-" "Shhh!" the golden and redmia hushed the confused ogre and pointed inside. "DIE! DIE! DIE! HOW DOES IT FEEL TO GET CRUSHED BY YOUR OWN STUPID STICK!?" Inside the melee area of the training ground was a familiar red lizard bashing a humanoid torso with a wooden club. "... How long has-" "No idea, but I''ve been watching for about twenty minutes." "HAVE YOU HAD ENOUGH YET!? YOU HAD THE GALL TO SLEEP IN MY TEMPLE YET HERE YOU ARE CRYING LIKE A LITTLE B-" "... I am going to stop this," Ferguson announced. "Boooo~" Ferguson walked into the melee area and approached the screaming lizard. "BEGGING FOR MERCY!? WELL- WHAT!?" the lizard sharply turned upon feeling arge hand touch his shoulder, "Oh... hello, Ferguson." "Hello." The lizard looked past the giant ogre and noticed themia sitting with an amused smile. "... How long were you two watching for?" "Long enough," Alishia answered with a smirk. "It was needed," Levon let out a sigh and tossed the club back into the barrel that he grabbed it from. The ogre continued to stare at the lizard who was acting as though he wasn''t just torturing a training dummy mere seconds ago. "What happened?" he asked. "I lost... badly," Levon answered as he flipped over an empty barrel and sat near Alishia. "I saw your score. ''Badly'' might be an understatement!" Alishia chimed in to which Levon adverted his gaze. "His score? Is zero bad?" "You can''t just look at Levon''s score since you can''t get less than zero points. Jacob had 4 points, so that means Levon-" "Ah," Ferguson turned to the lizard once he realized his mistake and gave him a stern look, "You did bad." "IT WAS NOT MY FAULT!" The two creatures looked at Levon with expressions of pity. "A~ are you okay? How could that human be so mean to you?" "It really was not my fault! That coward used some cheap trick!" Levon defended while brushing off Alishia''s teasing. "... I told you the human is tricky," Ferguson grumbled. "I know! But how could I expect him to put his portal in a ce buried in snow!?" "Snow?" "YES SNOW! My army froze to death before they could even do anything!" "Well that exins the three points... but Jacob got four, so-" The two creatures turned to each other. "Wait wait wait. Let''s review this," Alishia began recounting, "For people attacking, a Tier I victory is killing 33% or conquering a temple, a Tier II victory is killing 50%, and a Tier III victory is killing 66%." "Yes," Ferguson nodded in confirmation. "And for people defending, a Tier I victory is losing less than 33% of their lifeforms, a Tier II victory is losing less than 20%, and a Tier III victory is losing less than 15%. Losing their temple would be an automatic Tier I loss, but to counter that, the invader must kill more than they lose for these results to count." "Right." "Then the only way he could''ve got the fourth point is if-" "He counter-attacked," Levon finally answered, drawing their attention back to him. "So when you were screaming about someone sleeping in your temple, you were serious!?" Alishia said in shock. "... You are weaker than I thought," Ferguson mumbled disappointedly. "Shut up! I''m not weak! That coward''s stupid trick just left me with half an Oracle to defend with." ""..."" "Why are you two staring at me like that!?" "Well... I just didn''t think you''d lose so badly," Alishia admitted, "Didn''t you spend thest like 6 months talking about how easily you''d ''crush that scaleless wimp''?" "If it wasn''t for his trick-" "You make a lot of excuses for your own failures," Ferguson interrupted. "What!?" "You let him take your temple. That was not from his trick," the ogre continued. "Ferguson has a point!" Alishia chimed in. "... If you two think it is so easy, how about one of you try attacking him next?" "That is not a bad idea." The ogre who had been standing over the two creatures finally flipped over arge barrel and sat with Levon and Alishia. "I need information," he stated while staring at the lizard. "Fine. The portal where you enter his realm leads to a cold wastnd with nothing but snow. It ispletely disconnected from the rest of his continent other than a small passageway to the east." "How far east?" "About a month-long march from the portal to the passage. The snow will slow you down a bit." "... A month might be a bit much for me. I don''t think I''ll be able to attack him for now," Alishia said with a sigh, "My people can''t handle the cold very well." "Can you not use fire magic?" "That is me," Levon corrected the ogre, "But it was not working when we invaded. It must have been too cold." "Too cold?" The lizard nodded. "Even my Oracle''s mes went out immediately." "Oh, speaking of magic, isn''t it annoying how we can''t use it here? I tried to test a seduction spell on Jacob-" Levon and Ferguson''s conversation instantly came to a halt as their heads snapped toward Alishia. "You tried to what!? Why would you even try that!?" Levon asked in disbelief. "It was a while back," she answered nonchntly, "I happened to see him in the bathhouse, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to test it out." "... Did it work?" Ferguson asked curiously. "Not really. The spell couldn''t form properly, but..." "But?" "It seems he''s a bit weak to seduction," Alishia said with a sly wink. "Disgusting," Levon spat. "Oh hush- it''s good information! If I ever find a way for my people to get through the snow, conquering his realm should be a breeze." "We can handle the cold and we can use fire," Ferguson spoke, "I will attack the human next." A grin appeared on Levon''s face after hearing those words. "Aren''t you worried about him pulling another trick?" Alishia asked. "He can not do much without getting punished. Even if he found a way-" Ferguson stopped mid-sentence and took out arge club. m! A huge dent appeared on the front of the humanoid training dummy. "-We can beat small tricks with strength," he finished. "Make him pay for his insolence, Ferguson." "... Avenge your own loss. Do not use my strength to cover your own." "Believe me, I will slice that twerp''s neck once my realm regains its strength." "That''s odd," Alishia teased, "Thest time you mentioned slicing Jacob''s neck, his Oracle took a nap in your temple," Levon shot themia a small re before turning back to Ferguson when he spoke. "Tell me about your attack." "Fine. My Oracle went in with an army of 50,000-" The time quickly passed as Levon recounted the events of the previous battle phase. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 38 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 38 "I guess it''s time for us to get to ss," I said disappointedly while watching the other creatures begin to exit the bathhouse. "Yeah, it went by so fast," Julia sighed, "We really spent the whole time in here, huh?" It was as she said. We spent the entire 12-hour ''development period'' between when the battle phase ended and ss began talking to each other in the bathhouse. Although 12 hours seems like a lot of time, it was practically nothingpared to the two-ish years that we were separated from my perspective. Based on what Julia said, she spent a simr amount of time in her domain, too. Having to scout for her Oracle''s guerri warfare strategy meant that she needed to constantly slow down the time to ry orders. I got to hear a ton about what Julia and her Oracle had to endure, which was as interesting as it was brutal. Seriously, I have no idea how she was able to keep a clear head through that. There was so much bloodshed, especially at the start, and I was sure that most people in her position would''ve given up and watched as their realm was overrun by the ant-man army. But Julia and her Oracle stood strong and managed to spare the lives of hundreds of thousands of elves who certainly would''ve faced certain destruction. I was honestly extremely proud of her. Just as I heard about her story, I told her all about the journey of Uunga. Even after everything that she went through, Julia still shed a tear when I recounted his final words. Do I really need to go another two years before I can see her again? I couldn''t help but dread the ending of the uing ss. Our current schedule was as follows: ss from 7am-10am Battle Preparation from 10am-1pm (Oracle selection begins at 12pm) Battle Phase from 1pm-7pm Development Period from 7pm-7am I''ll have a few more hours with her in ss, but it''s not like we''ll really be able to talk or anything. "So then I mentioned how it sounded like Alghelme- are you okay Jacob?" "Huh? Oh, I''m alright, Julia." "You weren''t even listening, were you!?" the elf used with a pout. "I was! I just zoned out for a second there..." "Squawk~" "Since when did your sense of time get so good, Mister Flippers?" I muttered, "Anyway, I''m listening, so please continue!" "... Maybe I won''t since you''ll just zone out again," Julia continued to pout exaggeratedly. "I''m listening, I swear!" "Fine~ but if you stop listening, I''ll give you a super serious punch. So anyway-" As the elf girl continued her story, and despite the risk of her fist, I couldn''t help but sink back into thought. What am I doing? I''m wasting the time I have with Julia because I''m so worried about the next time I''ll get to see her I couldn''t help but sigh at my own stupidity. Screw it. No more thinking of tomorrow- I''m just gonna focus on the time I have with her now. "Of course, Orisa hadn''t been up north- huh?" Julia paused for a second once she felt my hand lightly hold onto hers. "W-why''d you do that all of a sudden?" "Just felt like it," I smiled at the adorable elf, "Your ears are red again~" Julia looked away embarrassedly, yet I felt her grip on my hand tighten slightly. "... Squawk." "Hush. Let me enjoy my time without your sass." The tiny penguin that I was holding in my other arm didn''t seem to care for the romantic atmosphere. Luckily for him, it was only a few more moments until we reached the entrance to the lecture hall. Most of the other creatures were already seated given how we waited until nearly thest possible minute to arrive. It almost feels weird to be back here. Roughly two years had passed from my perspective. I imagined it would feel simr to going back to your freshman ss after starting your junior year. Despite that, there was no feeling of nostalgia. It just felt as though I hade back from a long break. Aside from chilling with Julia, I can''t say I have many pleasant memories of this ce. I took a chance to nce around the room after taking my seat between Julia and the purple blob creature that had been my seat neighbor since I first came to the academy. There''s that fish-head dude and the toad thing... hey, is that the ant guy that Julia was fighting? I might need to greet him once my humans get a bit stronger. Oh look- there''s the lizard! Sitting on the side with Ferguson and Alishia, are you? Ferguson might be huge, but not even he can shield you from the embarrassment you must be feeling right now~ Before I had the chance to openly call out and gloat to Levon, the sheep instructor entered the lecture hall and began to speak to the ss. "Good morning, Seedlings! I am happy to wee you all back from your first round of thepetition and proud to announce that we have found no instances of any prohibited actions during it. I know emotions tend to run high during battle, so thank you all for prioritizing your adherence to the policies set by the Founder himself. With that out of the way, it should be about time to give you all your reward for participating-" As she finished her introduction, a familiar power rushed through my body. "Huh?" "Whoa!" "Wow!" This is... divinity? It was a sensation not felt since my introduction to the academy, but there was no mistaking what I felt. The amount is pretty small... but it feels different somehow? It''s morefortable in a way. "It seems that you all have figured out the reward," the sheep instructor began after giving us a moment to react, "Now that thepetition is in full swing, I can finally reveal a bit more details to you all. So, I will use today to discuss divinity. Divinity, in essence, is the power of will. Though some have greater than others, every creature has a small amount of influence on the world. Their hopes, beliefs, and desires tend to be manifested and be a reality. Now, it''s not as though one lifeform could, for example, just desire rain and instantly have a storm appear- the power of their will is hardly even a fraction of what is required to manifest such an event. But when all of those fractions add up, you might see a few drops start to fall. Now, as rulers, you are the ones who gather up those fractions of will. As their creator, their hopes and desires will be entrusted to you in the form of divinity. The more divinity one has, the greater one''s influence and the stronger one will be. At the beginning of every ss, every Seedling present will be given the divinity received from their lifeforms from the previous day. Now-" I quickly raised my hand before the sheep instructor could switch topics. "... Yes, Jacob?" Sky called out to me with a sigh. "What exactly is the point of divinity? It sounds like it makes us stronger, but how would we use it in thepetition?" The whole influence thing makes it sound like it could be used to substitute resource points, but if that were the case, she would''ve just said it outright. "For the purposes of thepetition, you''re right in your thinking that you can not use it directly. That being said, it is not meaningless by any stretch of the imagination," the sheep instructor looked toward the rest of the ss while she continued, "Remember, your Oracles will receive a small percentage of your divinity. The more divinity you have, the more powerful they will be in turn. Of course, to keep thepetition fair while also ensuring that your efforts are rewarded, there has been a limit ced on the amount of divinity that can be given to an Oracle. This limit will gradually increase as thepetition goes forward. Now, keep in mind, while you will still naturally get some divinity due to your lifeforms subconsciously worshiping their creator, the amount you receive will vary depending on how much they entrust you with-" I slipped into thought as the sheep instructor continued her lecture. She did mention it before, but it really seems that I need to get my lifeforms to know I exist. I already had Uunga try to introduce my presence during his travels around my realm, but it was really a second priority when matched against improving the realm''s technology. Being worshipped though... I can''t say that I''m too keen on it. These humans were like my children; worshipping was not really the dynamic that I wanted. Sigh A small sigh slipped out as I leaned back on the chair. Even a small difference in strength could be what determines the fate of my realm. If acting like a god is what it takes to get there, I guess I have no choice but to y that role. The rest of the ss passed fairly quickly and I soon found myself standing in the hallway with Julia. "I guess it''s time to say goodbye," I muttered with a soft smile. "Yeah..." The elf girl stepped toward me and I gently wrapped my arms around her. "Good luck, Julia. I know you''ll do amazing." "Thank you... you too, Jacob," she said softly, "... Do we really need to go already?" "I really don''t want to, but you know we have to. We''ll see each other tomorrow, though!" "... You know tomorrow could be years from now," Julia pouted and hugged me slightly tighter. "Only if we let it," I couldn''t help but mutter. There''s no way I''m going to stay in mortal time for that long again. Despite thinking that, deep down I knew that I needed to prioritize managing my realm. If things called for me to slow down, I couldn''t let disaster unfold in my rush to see Julia again. After a few more minutes of hugging, our bodies eventually separated and I picked up Mr. Flippers. "Goodbye and good luck, Julia. You better destroy whoeveres for your realm!" "I''ll see you soon, okay? I know you''ll win again!" "Squawk~" "Goodbye, too, little one. Behave yourself," Julia rubbed the penguin''s head before taking onest look at us with her fist clenched, "I''m going to win this time! [Return to domain]!" I couldn''t help but sigh as I watched the elf girl vanish from where she stood. "...I already miss her," I couldn''t help but moan. "Squawk..." A few moments passed while Iposed my thoughts. It''s so hard to say goodbye when I don''t know when I can see her again. Sigh With onest sigh, I nced down at the penguin in my arms. "Well, I guess we should probably head back now. We have that prize to check out, too," "Squawk!" The penguin seemed to regain his energy a bit once he remembered the Tier III prize we received. "Alright, [Return to-]" "Wait." "Huh?" I immediately canceled the chant upon hearing a deep voice from the doorway of the lecture hall. "... Ferguson?" "Squawk?" The light brown ogre emerged from the lecture hall and stared at me. He''s still here? I thought he would''ve gone back to his realm by now... but why is he calling out to me? Does he need something? "... What''s up? It''s been a while since west talked." I greeted the creature casually, but I was only met by his silent stare. "..." Oh please slow down, Ferguson! I can''t keep up with your soliloquy! A few more moments passed with the two of us locked in an ufortable stare-down. "Uhhh... how''d your battle go?" I tried again to break the awkward silence. "I won." Sess! The meatball has spoken! I couldn''t help but let go of a breath of relief at the silence''s conclusion. "Cool! I did too!" "I know." "..." "..." And it''s back. "... So, why did you stop me from going back to my domain?" "I will invade your realm." "Ah-" "Squawk!?" Despite the sudden deration of war, I wasn''t too surprised at the revtion. Behind Levon, he was the creature I had provoked the most over the past year. We even had a spar a few months ago which I somehow ended up winning. "Okay... but why are you telling me this? I mean, I would''ve found out the second I went back to my domain." "Do not rely on tricks," he spoke. "Huh?" "My people have fire." "... So you spoke with Levon?" The ogre nodded in response. It was something I figured would happen. The trio of Levon, Ferguson, and Alishia had not grown distant over the year leading up to thepetition. Them exchanging information was a guarantee. "Fight with all of your strength. [Return to domain]." The ogre disappeared following his warning, leaving Mr. Flippers and me standing in the empty hallway. "... This is going to be tough, won''t it?" "Squawk..." There''s no room for gambling against him. I''m going to need a proper army this time around. "Screw it, we''re losing time standing here. Let''s deal with all of this once we''re back- [return to domain]!" The view of the hallway was reced by darkness. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 39 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 39 We''re already back here, aren''t we? As much as I enjoyed the view of Mr. Flippers'' ice pce, seeing the same scenery for over two years was a bit tiring. "What do you think, Mr. Flippers? Should we redecorate this ce a bit?" I asked the penguin still in my arms. "Squawk? Squawk!?" The penguin seemed to take offense to my suggestion. "Your ice pce is fine! It''s just that- ow! What are you pecking me for!? Let me talk first!" "Squawk!" "Fine! Pretend I didn''t say anything then," I surrendered with a sigh. I took another look around the dark room. Though it seemed the same as usual, it felt as though something was missing. "Wait a minute... shouldn''t there be-" Just when I was beginning to question its absence, a red hue engulfed my domain. "Squawk!?" Mr. Flippers clung to my chest at the sudden change, while I looked toward the screen to see the words "Invasion Imminent" underneath a projection of Ferguson. "That ogre sure took his time," I muttered. Given how quickly everyone went back to their domains, I figured someone else would''ve tried to invade me before he had the chance to. Actually, the fact that no one did might be a problem... do I need to provoke them a bit more? Aside from the anomaly that was Uunga, I didn''t think my humans were ready to initiate an invasion. The only way for me not to fall behind was to have someone invade and have my humans fight a defensive battle. As I was thinking such thoughts, I gradually felt the tension on the penguin start to loosen. "Oh? You calmed down a lot faster this time. I had to drag you out from under your bedst time that thing went off," I teased. "Squawk..." "Yeah, right. How could you say you weren''t scared when your head was buried in my chest?" I nced back at Ferguson''s figure on the screen. How is he more afraid of Levon than that behemoth? Well, whatever... "Should we check out that Tier III prize now?" "Squawk!" The now rejuvenated penguin and I made our way over to my desk where I quickly turned off the invasion rm. "It should be around here somewhere, right?" The stone statue of Mister Flippers and I vanished soon after I grabbed it from the Tier III prize box. I didn''t break it, did I? No, there''s no way. Tatton definitely would''ve said something. Sure enough, I soon noticed a disy on one of my monitors which dispelled my fearspletely.
Temple Upgrade Avable! Possible Upgrades:
  1. Statue
I immediately selected the ''statue'' option, which opened another prompt window.
Statue - After choosing to activate this temple upgrade, a statue resembling the ruler will be ced inside of their temple. A statute allows for the selection of one priest who can bemunicated with in the same manner as an Oracle, but they will not be granted power nor an extended lifespan. The presence of a statue greatly increases the efficiency of divinity generation. Would you like to use this upgrade? Yes / No
My eyes shook after reading the statue''s description. "... We hit the jackpot on our first try, didn''t we?" "Squawk~" The penguin responded to my mutter smugly. There weren''t even words to describe how amazing such a prize was. In apetition where the amount of divinity corrted to an Oracle''s strength, getting such a huge head start on its production was an absurdly amazing advantage. Still, this paled inparison to the statue''s main function: the appointment of a priest. One of the biggest perks of choosing an oracle was the fact that it enabled a line ofmunication between the ruler and their realm. The existence of a priest allowed for this connection to never break even after the battle phase concluded. Of course, it could be assumed that the regtions put in ce for Oraclemunication would apply when talking to a priest, but this was hardly a downsidepared to its enormous value. My realm developed so much with only about fifty years ofmunication with Uunga. If I was able to talk to him for even just double that, there''s no telling what my realm would look like right now! It was hard not to get excited just by thinking of the possibilities my continued guidance could have on my realm, but although I wanted to think about what to say, I felt cing the statue took priority. With anxious eyes, I clicked ''yes'' on the prompt.
Statue cement Confirmed. Status: Constructing... (0%)
The view on my screen automatically changed to the side of my temple, which began shaking roughly. "Raaaa!" "Engu con radada!" "Kon! Hun kon!" My humans inside rushed out in a panic at the rumbling and soon stood staring at the temple from the vige center surrounding it. A marble figure began to appear from the ground at the back of the temple immediately following their vacancy. Starting with my snow boots, the statue was rapidly constructed until it perfectly resembled the miniature version I had grabbed from the chest a few hours prior. Unlike the miniature version, however, the statue in the temple was roughly 20 feet tall. It''s pretty wild to see a statue of myself. The quality is unbelievable too! The marble figure perfectly dipected an image of me in my full winter gear holding Mister Flippers in my left arm and pointing toward the temple entrance with my right hand. There was an insane level of detail; every wrinkle on my clothing was apparent to the degree that it looked as though actual fabric had been petrified into stone. I couldn''t help but marvel at such a sight. "Hey, do you see that?" "Squawk?" "The statue Mister Flippers is bigger than the actual one!" "Squawk!?" I endured an angry peck from the penguin and nced back at the screen following the rumblings'' conclusion.
Statue cement Complete. New Option Avable! -Priests (0/1) You Are Eligible To Select A Priest Select Now? Yes / No
Although the decision on whether or not to select a priest had a pretty obvious answer, I hesitated a bit before I decided to click ''yes''. Priests might not have any extra physical power whenpared to my other humans, but they would still be who I relied on to urately deliver my messages. I had to make sure I picked someone who I could trust. But how would I know who to trust? The humans were all my babies in a way, yet they did not see me as their father. That basic bond between us was simply not present. When I thought of trust regarding my realm, only one name came to mind: Uunga. He''s not really an option though... or is he? I quickly scanned through the crowd of humans standing outside the temple who were still hesitant to return despite the shaking ceasing. Uunga had a ton of children while he was living on the teau. I would be shocked if none of these people were a descendant of his. Following his passing, I kept track of a few generations of his, but sadly all of those children had long since joined him in the time I spent today at the Academy. Over five hundred years had passed in that time, after all. Despite this, finding his lineage was notpletely hopeless. It was pretty much a precedent that the strongest of the teau resided in the temple instead of a tipi. Given Uunga''s strength even before bing an Oracle, it would make sense that those with his genes were more likely to be in there, which boosted the odds of finding them even further. My eyes soon focused on a man a bit taller than the others standing closest to the temple. While he was nowhere near as imposing as Uunga, there was a vague resemnce in their stature. He''s a bit braver than the rest and he''s at a good age; not too young for his words to be brushed off nor old enough to need to be quickly reced. Yeah, let''s go with him. There was no guarantee that the man was Uunga''s descendant, but it ultimately did not matter either way. Such a qualification was only for my peace of mind, so I wasn''t too concerned about my discernment.
Priest Candidate Identified: Lifeform - Human Eligibility - Confirmed Give Priest Status? Yes / No *Warning: Only one priest can be selected at a time. Priest statussts until death and can not be rescinded.
Can''t be rescinded... so even if the priest goes rogue, I can''t do anything directly. The original description alluded to this possibility, but seeing it under a warningbel only amplified my worries. Well, there''s no way I''m gonna pass on this prize. The risk is more than worth the reward. I selected ''yes'' once again.
Priest Selection - Complete Establishing Link...
While this was going on, an initial group of humans hesitantly re-entered the temple and quickly noticed the massive statue now looking toward the entrance. Their reactions were a mixed bag; some cowered in fear at the sight of the giant human, a few got into a defensive stance, and others just looked upon it curiously. The human I chose to be the priest was in thattter category. After a bit of observation, those not petrified approached the statue with hesitant steps. A small ball of yellow light appeared on the statue''s pointing finger and shot toward the human I chose to be my priest. The priest candidate tried to leap out of the way but bumped into another human at his side and was unsessful. "Fignis!?" "Raaaa!" Despite the other humans running around in a panic after seeing theunch of light, the priest stayed on the ground and examined his chest where the light hit. "... Cagnis?"
Priest Link - Complete
Alright- it looks like it worked! That was a lot different from how it went when I chose an oracle though... A wry smile appeared on my face as I watched the humans running in circles while the priest who got hit just sat there confused. Should I use hisnguage? That''s what I did for my introduction with Uunga, but if I''m trying to act like a god, maybe it''ll be best to skip that step. I nodded at Mister Flippers and began to speak. "Hello." The priest immediately shot up at the sound of the unknown voice and he cautiously nced around the still chaotic temple. "You are looking really hard for someone so easy to see." Still silent, the priest slowly shifted his gaze onto the giant statue. "There you go. Yes, that is me you are looking at. Well, it is actually a depiction of me." "... Who are you?" The priest hesitantly asked. Good- the trantion seems to be working fine. The tension in my breath loosened a bit while I continued. "I am the creator of this world. I have shaped the very ground you stand on and the feet on which you do so. After watching over you all for many years, it is now the time for me to reveal myself to the world." "... The creator of the world?" the priest muttered, "Are you the one from the legends?" "The legends?" The priest nodded and continued. "It is a story told to children about the man who shaped the vige. He could lift trees with his strength and shake the ground with his steps. He spoke of ''the one who built the world'' as the reason for his strength... is that you?" I couldn''t help but feel a warm sensation in my chest as he spoke. Even without knowing that he saved my realm, Uunga still became a legend, huh? I honestly didn''t expect Uunga''s stories about my existence to be passed down so reliably, but they seemed toe in handy with my introduction. "It seems you know of me. I did indeed give him some of my power- without his help, this world would have certainly faced destruction." The priest paused at my revtion before asking a question. "Are you here to give me that power?" "No, I am not- the time is not right. I need to save my power to protect this realm, so you will have a different role. The same threat that Uunga, the one who shaped your vige many years ago, had faced is returning once more. I need you to ry my words and get my humans ready for battle." I watched the priest tense up but nod with determination on my screen. "What is your name, mortal?" "... Angru." "Well then, Angru, will you take on the role of being my first priest?" "I will," his deration was simple yet resolute. "Good. Follow my guidance and ry my words to those around you. Only then can we hand down a world for your descendants to live in." I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 40 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 40 Angru began spreading the news of my appearance following my introduction. Surprisingly, a decent amount of people took his words at face value, which I assumed was due to them already being introduced to rumors of my existence through stories passed down about Uunga. Uunga became a sort of boogeyman on the teau. Parents would tell their children that if they made a mess of the vige streets, the ''man who shaped the vige'' would appear and throw a tree at them. It was pretty hard not tough when I was told this by Angru, since I got to witness that event happen live. I still can''t get over how hrious that was. It was one of the few times I''ve seen him lose his temper. The incident itself took ce near the start of his time on the teau and came after months of random people moving their tipis into his carefully marked streets. Of course, he purposely missed the guy, but the warning seemed to be ingrained in the heads of the vigers. With stories such as these being passed down, rumors of my existence followed suit as the one who gave him that power. Rumors were still just rumors, however, so there were still many who were still doubtful of the words of Priest Angru. Such a possibility was something I had both expected and prepared for. "Gather the non-believers, for I shall show them a miracle so grand they will have no choice but to acknowledge my existence!" Angru followed my instructions and gathered the nearby humans into the vige center. Lored by curiosity and the possibility of some rare entertainment, there was easily a crowd of a few thousand people. Oh~ this is gonna be fun! "Now then, get ready to see the power of your creator!" With Angru rying my words, I used the first bit of resource points from Uunga''s Tier I prize to break off arge cherry tree branch and hover it above the humans. "Raaaa!" "Fuo branga!" "Ungo branga!?" Muahahaha! Bow down before my massive stick, humans! I smiled in pleasant amusement as I watched all of my people pointing at the flying branch with expressions of awe. "That''s not all, folks! It''s time for an encore!" In the center of the humans, I positioned the branch to bepletely vertical then created two basketball-sized rocks that I hovered underneath it. "Raaaaa! Pena!" "Pena fuo!" "Pfft-" I tried to keep a straight face as I wiggled the objects in the air. "B-bow before my giant-" "Squawk!" "Ouch!" My good time was interrupted by a sharp peck on my side. "Fine, fine. I guess that''s enough for now." Still smiling from the human''s reactions, I floated the stick and stones into the temple andyed them in front of my statue. In case any of the humans didn''t get the message from seeing the flying objects, I was sure that thest part would convince them. With that disy out of the way, I was able to leave things in the hands of my priest and focus my attention on my next task. There had been a side project of mine that I had been nning since I first made my realm, and now that I finally had some resource points, I could finally start working on it! Oh baby, it''s finally time! The targets of my excitementyed in the southwest of my realm where three bare inds sat above the seas. To bypass the Academy''s watchdogs, I had to have them form through volcanic activity over the course of the 360,000 years we had for development time. We weren''t supposed to have anynd not directly connected with the main continent, but apparently, their screening for such a thing ended long ago, as the inds had beenying dormant for quite some time with no notice from the Academy. That might change if people start settling on them. Given how nothing even close to boats had been invented yet, it would be a long time before there was even a chance of that happening, though. I''ll deal with that when the timees. There''s no way I''m putting such a golden opportunity to waste. I had long nned for the inds to be a sort of hub for evolution simr to the Gpagos Inds back on Earth. There had already been a ton of new species and subspecies that had popped up from my original seven. Including the original seven, there were now four types of cherry trees and mushrooms, six types of chickens, two types of moss and earthworms, and an absurd amount of fishies. Although that was a lot, now that all of the major niches were filled, I expected this growth to slow down considerably. Being able to start over on isted inds would be an amazing opportunity for more species to be created. It would have been ideal to have started such a project even a few heavenly days ago, but sadly I didn''t have the resource points to move anything onto the inds. Well, I don''t want to waste even more time, so how about I just get started. I had a solid n for two out of three inds. The first of these would take ce on the most isted of the three: the ind southeast of where the massive river spilled into the ocean. I nned to bring over some fairy ring mushrooms and giant mushrooms to make this a sort of mushroom ind. Although I also wanted to introduce some chickens, I was worried that there would simply be a repeat of what happened in the mud ts of my realm. There was no real benefit if the ind simply turned into a hub for poisonous mushrooms. So, I just need to take away that stimulus until the mushrooms go down a different path. It was simple: if the poison developed as an adaptation to defend against the chickens, I wouldn''t need to worry about the poison until their introduction. This would be less of a concern once the mushrooms started to diversify a bit and poison would be harder to develop. There was no telling how long it would take for this imaginary threshold to be met, but it was certain that my realm would need to endure more than a couple of battle phases in the meantime. "I guess I should do a little prep work, huh?" I muttered as I nced over the barren ind. My realm''s inds were formed from underwater volcanoes, much like Hawaii. The rocky surface created by cooledva flows were a bit tough for the mushrooms to grow on. Mushrooms were a pretty good pioneer species, but they would still need some help to get started. There were two options I could go with; I could create ayer of topsoil like how I did for my main continent, or I could break down the rock myself to give the mushrooms some gaps to settle on. "Hey, Mister Flippers." "Squawk?" "It''s rock smashing time~" The decision was a no-brainer. Moving or interacting with objects was iparably cheaper than creating them. Sure, I received a decent amount of resource points from the Tier I prize, but it wasn''t enough to waste on something like this. This was especially important considering I had no idea when I could get more of them. Luckily, natural weathering broke down arge portion of the ind which saved me a ton of resource points and work. Those sections just needed a tiny bit of preparation before I began to carry over some fairy ring and giant mushrooms from the main continent. I turned my attention to the other two inds after the seeds of my mushroom ind were put into ce. These two were far from the main continent, yet rtively close to each other. I don''t think I can guarantee an isted system on these two. It wouldn''t be too surprising if a cherry or a moss-covered rock from one of them floated over to the other. Unlike the mushroom ind, however, I didn''t really need the two of them isted from one another; as long as they were separate from the main continent, it would be fine. The reason for this was that I only really knew what to do for one of those inds. There were just not enough species avable to make a notably different environment, so I nned to keep the other as a sanctuary. If one of my species looked to be struggling, I could ce them on the ind to prevent them from dying out. As for the other ind, I got ready to introduce four species: moss, earthworms, quasi-ducks, and coastal cherry trees. While the moss and earthworms were really only there to maintain the soil for the trees, I thought that these species had some interesting potential in an ind environment. The coastal cherry trees were still only a sub-species found on the eastern gulf where storms frequented. When left to develop on a windy ind, I was certain they would evolve much further. The same could be said for the quasi-ducks. Despite being isted on an ind, they had an ocean''s worth of fish to consume. I really wanted to see what changes they would undergo. After breaking down the rock on the ind closest to the continent and cing my lifeforms on it, I took a second to watch over my realm. "Man... I never get tired of this." A warm feeling filled my chest as I looked at my realm. I still can''t believe I made this world... I had crafted a masterpiece in my eyes. The bright blue oceans and the lush green cherry tree forests brought me so much pride. With the inds finally prepared, it finally felt like my original vision hade to fruition. What was once a yellowish brown sphere was now covered in shades of blue, green, white, brown, and ck. Hold on a second... ck? I zoomed in on the screen toward what looked like ck specks forming a razor-thin dotted line across my continent. The heck could those- oh my god! Their identity became obvious the instant I zoomed in enough to notice the renowned me-shaped leaf canopy on the top of the ck branches. "Torch trees!" "Squawk!?" "You remember them? I can''t believe it, but it makes so much sense!" There was only one person who could have brought torch trees to my realm: Uunga. My fallen Oracle carried an ignited branch during his attempted journey back to the teau. Given how the tree''s seeds spread through the smoke, it would have been nearly impossible for none of them to germinate. ... Even after he''s gone, that guy never stops amazing me. My eyes became a bit ssy as I looked at the line of torch trees almost perfectly paving the path my Oracle once walked. "...Squawk." "I know. I miss him too," I replied to the penguin with a sigh. Uunga had saved the realm, yed an Oracle, earned a statue, gave me a ton of resource points, and brought back a new species as a trophy. He had done so much more for my realm in addition to all of that and it was nearly time for me to choose his sessor. I couldn''t help but smile as I reflected on his legacy. That''s gonna be a tough bar to reach. It was honestly unrealistic to expect my next Oracle to even manage half of what Uunga had aplished. As long as he could stop Ferguson, I would consider it a resounding sess. Unlike Uunga, he won''t need to fight alone either. I should probably tell Angru to- Ding! Huh? I nced over to the source of the sound and noticed an unusual disy on one of my previously dark monitors. "The Oracle chat?" I mumbled. When I was fast forwarding time, Uunga''s messages to me would be disyed on the monitor in a manner that resembled a chat log so that I could slow down time to talk if needed. Thatyout was exactly what this monitor resembled, but it couldn''t be the Oracle chat, since that took ce on a different monitor. "So what could-" I leaned in closer and finally noticed the screen''s header. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [Prayer Log] New Notification! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jacob''s Current Evolution Sheet Jacob''s Realm I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 41 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 41 "A prayer log?" I looked at the notification with eyes of confusion. Is this a bonus from cing the statue? The description didn''t mention anything about this though... A simple question asking for strength was presented in yellow text; the view on my screen immediately changed to a small child looking up at my statue upon clicking on it. "I-I want to be big and strong! I want to throw trees like the man my mommy told me about!" I couldn''t help but smile at the kid''s innocent request presented in front of me. It trantes the prayer too? Although it wasn''t really a necessary feature for me since I taught myself theirnguage, it was still an interesting feature to have. So, the tiny one wants power, huh? Obviously, it was not something I could do. Aside from the fact that it wasn''t time to select an Oracle yet, I wasn''t willing to simply select a random kid just because he asked for it. I can''t give him power, but I guess I could give him something else. "What do you think, Mister Flippers? Should I give this kid something cool?" I asked the penguin chilling on myp. "Squawk?" "... You want me to give him a fish?" "Squawk!" the penguin nodded in satisfaction. "... Sometimes I forget how much of a penguin you are," I muttered. "Squawk!?" I ignored the squawking creature and tried to think about the situation. Well, let''s say I do give him the fish. Sure, it would make the kid happy and hopefully motivate my humans to start praying to me, but is it the right move? Based on what the sheep instructor said, the more my humans worshipped me, the more divinity I would receive from them. It was only logical that their prayers would increase this efficiency. But giving them things in return for praying just seems like a bribe. There was also no way for me to directly convert the divinity back into resources for my realm. While it was true that more divinity would mean that my Oracle would have more strength in battle, it was down to pure luck whether or not I received resource points as a prize. It would be the most inefficient conversion I''ve ever heard of if I gave resources for this purpose. Then there''s also the chance that my humans would begin to rely on my handouts or even get upset if I did not give them anything. Their view of me might even worsen depending on how I go about this. I leaned back in my chair and let out a sigh. Maybe I''m just overthinking this. Giving the kid a fish might do nothing more than feed him for a day. "You know what... how about I go with this?" -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ "Shan con cuga!" Thud! Thud! Thud! Crack! "Raaaaa!" Thud! "Uga! Ka-" "... Raaa~" Angru let out a sigh after handing the man another stone. This is the third one he broke. We will need to wait another winter at this rate. "This is- gah!" Out of nowhere, an impact hit Angru on the back of his head causing him to stagger. "What was... oh." The priest was greeted by a floating fish upon turning around. Almost immediately afterward, a familiar voice sounded in his head. "Angru! I need you to do me a favor." "..." "... Why are you not saying anything?" "What are you doing?"Angru couldn''t help but let out another sigh at the disy. "Well, I''m trying to talk to my priest, but apparently he''s giving me the silent treatment." "I meant with the fish. You are moving its lips as if it is talking." "... The fish is talking though?" "No, it is not." "Yes, it is. See- look!" The fish''s lips opened and closed much more dramatically. "Hello. I am Mister Fish. I love to talk. Nice to meet you, human!" "..." The priest stared sternly at the floating fish. "You are way too serious, Angru. You should smile more. Oh- I know!" the fish''s lips suddenly stuck out, "Come on, go give the fish a kiss." "... What?" "A kiss! You know, ''mwah'', ''smooch'', et cetera." "I am not doing that." "Come on! It''ll cheer you up!Come kiss me, human!" "No. I- pah!" Thud! The fish suddenly flung into Angru''s face and knocked him onto the ground before itnded limply on the priest''s stomach. "Oops, sorry! That was a bit harder than I thought... maybe I should practice moving things?" Angru stayed tly on the mossy ground and stared up at the light blue sky. Did this guy really make all of this? It was a question he asked himself frequently over the years since the two had met. "What did you need to tell me?" he asked with a sigh, putting such thoughts behind him. "Oh, right! I need you to deliver a message for me... and this fish." The priest quickly memorized the voice''s words. "Alright. I will tell the kid what you said." "Perfect, thank you, Angru! I''ll go -" "Wait." "Huh? What''s up?" Angru slowly sat up and nced toward the group of humans still chipping away at stones. "We may need more time before we go north." "North? Oh, you mean the expedition. That''s fine- I''d rather you guys take longer and be prepared than rush and deal with those guys without proper equipment. Just try to start the journey within a few years." "Okay. Thank you," Angru nodded at the voice''s words. He could feel the tension leave his body. We will have enough time to make proper weapons now.'' "Well, if that''s all, I''ll be going now. Thanks and sorry again for knocking you down, Angru!" With those final words, the voice vanished from his head leaving the priest with one thought lingering in his mind. What an interesting being. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ I watched the screen with a satisfied smile as I saw Angru enter the temple and hand over the fish to the kid. It looks like he delivered my message well. I had told Angru to tell the kid that I heard his request, but that I could not give him the power he needed. He would need to grow big and strong through his own hard work- the fish was just a gift to wish him luck on his journey. "Eat the protein, little one! That''s how I got my gains~" "...Squawk." "Oh, hush. Maybe you''d have muscles too if you didn''t refuse to eat the amino acids I gave you." Although I had worked hard to get my physique, there wasn''t really any current use in it. Sure, my muscles may have some impact due to the tendency for my lifeforms to resemble me, but there wasn''t currently a direct use for my strength. My humans, on the other hand, desperately needed some. The start of the battle phase was still a bit away, but I wanted to give my humans on the teau a taste of fighting, so, I organized a trip to the north. Angru would be leading a few hundred of the men from the teau to the northern river which mountain chickens frequented outside of the winter months. It would be a super tough and brutal challenge for them, but the ferocious predators wouldn''t stand a chance against a small army of stone-wielding men. Even before he became my Oracle, Uunga managed to take one down by himself. I''m not expecting any of them to do that, though. The humans on my teau had never faced danger for the most part. While putting them up against mountain chickens would definitely get them exposed to it, it was practically like throwing a child into the deep end of a pool to teach them how to swim. I fully expected them to panic and for there to be a bit of chaos on the first encounter. Still, it would be a few hundred of them likely up against a typical pack of 3-5 mountain chickens. If they couldn''t find a way toe out victorious with such a numerical advantage, there would be way greater problems I''d need to deal with than just losing those people. I might''ve coddled them a bit too much. Being so overprotective of my humans definitely put me at a bit of a disadvantage at this point, yet I wasn''t sure whether I regretted it or not. The reason for that was because I was confident that they could adapt. Many of them are descendants of Uunga. They have fighting in their blood. Speaking of myte Oracle, I was nning to guide Angru''s army toward the settlement where Uunga grew up. It wasn''t for nostalgia or to pay respects or anything like that, however. After seeing the sess and valuable materials that Uunga looted from the mountain chickens, the tribe began trying to hunt them too. It was a disaster at first, but eventually, they became skilled at doing so. This was made many times easier when they invented a new weapon to help them in their hunt. I was wondering when they''d invent this, but it happened sooner than I thought! It wasn''t anything too special, just a pointed rock hafted to the end of a long stick, yet this weapon represented the pinnacle of technology in my realm. Yes, my humans invented the javelin! I nearly leaped out of my chair in excitement upon realizing this discovery, and I still couldn''t help but shake a little at the thought of such a thing. "Can you believe it Mister Flippers!? A javelin! The very weapon that brought the mammoths to their knees! My humans finally made them!" Being proud was an understatement; my humans were developing faster than I ever could have imagined. The drive behind their discovery was likely the same as what prompted their creation on Earth. Like mammoths who crushed anything that got close, mountain chickens thrived in closebat. So, if there was a way to attack them from a distance where their razor talons and teeth couldn''t reach, wouldn''t things be so much easier? With that thought in mind, the humans developed these sharp points attached to sticks that they could throw from far away. If they missed, it was no big deal; they could simply climb a tree or run away before the mountain chicken could get to them. If they hit the chicken on the other hand... It was bound to yield a great harvest! The hide, the talons, the teeth... all of the materials were extremely valuable in this primitive world. And unlike mammoths with their massive and fatty bodies, it only took a single javelin or two to bring a mountain chicken to its knees. Sending Angru''s men to this settlement would introduce them to this revolutionary technology. If the teau could begin training with javelins, it could help tremendously in the uing fight against Ferguson. It was literally the difference between fighting with proper weapons and running into battle with a stone in hand. At this point, the start of the battle phase wouldn''t be for another roughly eighty years in the realm, so my humans would have a few generations to learn how to use these new weapons. This was exactly why I wasn''t overly concerned about the exact time that Angru''s group started their journey. That being said, the sooner they set out, the more time they would have to prepare for the invasion. Hopefully their trip can boost my divinity rate a bit, too. The journey was doubling as a missionary trip, as I had instructed Angru to tell those they came across about my existence. There was a chance I''d need to perform a small show if they came across a particrlyrge settlement, but I felt it was a worthwhile investment. Simply moving small things around short distances hardly costs any resource points. I guess there''s nothing much for me to do until that timees. "Should we fast forward a bit, Mister Flippers?" "Squawk!" With a small nod, I changed the speed of my domain to match heavenly time and watched as the months flew by. Within a few minutes, I watched the group of roughly four hundred men advance down the stairs of the teau and venture north. Let''s slow down a bit. I had to make sure that I didn''t miss anything important on their journey, so I kept the domain speed to a point where I could react in an adequate amount of time to any unusual situation. Soon after, a notification appeared on my screen signaling my priest wanted to talk. I leaned forward in my chair with a sigh. "Looks like I have some work to do." I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 42 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 42 "Fifteen minutes..." That was all the time left before Ferguson could start his invasion, yet I still did not have an Oracle. There were a few reasons for this; those being my prediction of Ferguson''s timing and theck of candidates. Ferguson may have been battle-hungry, but he was not stupid. Based on my recent encounters with him, I could confidently say that he was much smarter than I originally gave him credit for. He told me directly that he knew about the arctic conditions his force would have to travel through. I fully expected him to take his time building up a force to cross the icyndscape, so unlike Levon who charged in almost immediately, it wouldn''t surprise me if Ferguson waited an hour or two more before making his move. Oracles have a lifespan that couldst until the end of the battle phase, but that doesn''t mean they would be in their prime throughout that whole time. Sure, Oracles aged super slowly, but over 290 years would pass in the realm between when an Oracle could first be selected and when the battle phase came to an end. If Ferguson was extremely patient and waited until thest hour to start his invasion, I might be fighting with an old man as my main defense. Typically, it was better to choose an Oracle the second we were allowed to do so- both to get the Oracle prepared and to take advantage of the line ofmunication thates with the selection. In my case, however, I had a priest whom I could talk with whenever, so thetter was not much of an incentive. Still, there''s always the chance that I''m wrong about that guess and he invades soon, so I definitely need to have someone chosen before the battle phase starts. Ast-minute selection was my best option with these factors in mind. Of course, had there been an Uunga-level human that I had my eyes on, I wouldn''t have passed up the opportunity to select them, but that was simply not the case so far. That wasn''t to say that there were no good candidates at all; I actually had one family in particr on my radar. The family resided with Uunga''s old tribe, which now sported a fairlyrge settlement. The humans there were some of the strongest and most advanced in my realm due to their frequent hunting of mountain chickens. Their development even impressed some of my first priest''s men, leaving some to stay behind following the mission I sent them on roughly 75 years ago. The family I was currently scouting actually descended from one of those people. After a hunting mishap took the life of the father, I kept his two sons in my sight. Due to their descendence from those at the teau, the family fully believed in my existence and possessed a clear loyalty to me from what I could tell. After witnessing many of the father''s encounters, I could also attest to the strength running through their blood. They were even around the optimal age for the selection with the older son being in his mid-teens and the younger just hitting double-digits. If Ferguson were to drag things out, they would be much closer to their prime than an older selection. I couldn''t see any reason not to choose one of the sons. The older one seems like a safe choice... I guess I should go with him. With the screen still zoomed in on the vige on the brisk of spring, I began preparing to make my selection. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ "Oh! Thank you, Rathok!" "Rathok! Would you mind bringing this over to that youngdy when you finish?" "Thanks for those feathers the other day, Rathok!" Rynn sat on a stone while he watched his older brother help construct a tipi. His brother, Rathok, was universally loved by the vige. It made sense, too. Rathok spent every second he had helping the people around him. Building a new tipi for an elderly woman was simply the current project he volunteered to do. "He has been running around the vige all day," a soft voice spoke next to Rynn. "Is there a day when he is not?" he muttered in return. It was a usual sight for Rynn who was tasked with preparing javelins for the uing hunting season. Despite being alone in this task for most of the day, his friend A would usually sit with him after she was back from scavenging the forest for mushrooms and cherries. Such was the routine for the young girls of the vige; gather in the morning, craft in the afternoon, then help prepare arge dinner once the men returned from hunting by nightfall. With it beingte in the afternoon, A was weaving together some feathers to make clothing for the new babies in the vige. And so, the two kids sat together doing their tasks while watching the lively vige. Click! Click! Crack! As Rynn was creating notches on the base of the stone tip, he noticed his brother raising the new tipi. Looks like he''s finished. After receiving a hug and a cherry from the old woman, Rathok quickly picked up a pouch and trotted over to the two of them. "Phew~ I am beat!" The older brother sat down next to Rynn in an exaggerated manner. "... I am sure you are." Despite the im of exhaustion, Rynn didn''t miss the wide smile on his brother''s face. Rathok didn''t seem to take any offense to his brother''s curt reply and simply pointed at the carved stone in his hand. "That tip is looking good so far! How many is that today?" "This will be number four," Rynn said, pointing at the threepleted javelins behind him. "Wow! Four javelins in one day- that is amazing, Rynn! You must be exhausted after that." "Says the one running around the vige nonstop," Rynn rolled his eyes at his brother''s words, "All I do is carve the tip and attach it. The other kids do the rest." "Still, that is..." Rathok''s voice trailed off as he looked at the tips of the javelins, "Stone, huh?" "Yup. Do you have something to say about that?" "No, no. I am sure the hunters will put them to good use in this season''s hunt! Ah- right!" Rathok finally turned to the girl sitting on the other side of his brother and tossed over the pouch that he was carrying, "I was told to give these to you, A!" "Huh? Oh- thanks!" The young girl peeked into the pouch to see it stuffed to the brim with feathers. "... They are giving us a lot of work," she muttered with a sigh. "Well, that is to be expected. The mountain chickens should return from the north soon, so we need to be ready!" Rathok dered enthusiastically. "And me making baby clothes is important for the hunt?" "Wow, you two are grumpy today!" Rathok eximed with a forced smile, "Are you both not happy to help the vige?" "It is not that-" "You do enough helping for the both of us," Rynn interrupted. Rathok looked down with an embarrassed expression. "Come on, Rynn, you can never help too much. Especially not when we need to defend our world." "Ugh. You are still talking about that?" Rynn groaned. "Of course I am! The beasts that the creator of the world warned of could show up in our lifetime!" "I am not too sure of that..." "Huh?" A interjected, "I remember you telling me all about this when we were little, Rynn. Why are you being so doubtful now?" Rynn stopped chipping away at the stone and turned toward the girl. "Look, we are not kids anymore. If you two want to believe in this ''creator of the world'', go ahead, but I know better now." "What are you saying, Rynn!? Our own great-grandfather was gifted a fish by him! There was even a show where the creator of the world caused the vige''s javelins to fly in a circle once the people from the south moved in!" Rathok defended with a look of disbelief. "I have not seen any flying javelins." "Come on, Rynn- the story was passed down by every family in the vige! No one would lie about that!" "Yeah, well they also tell stories of a man who could throw trees." "... That was the Oracle, right?" A asked as she continued weaving the feathers. "It was! See, even A knows this!" "Hey! What do you mean by that?" The young girl pouted. "Ah... forget I said anything. Anyway, do those stories not excite you? Having the power to throw trees as if they were javelins-" "It sounds like you want to be an Oracle," A noted. "Well... it would be nice," Rathok looked to the ground with red cheeks, "I could help so many more people with that kind of strength." "I would not want strength from someone not strong enough to save father..." "Rynn! You-" "Raaaa~" The conversation was cut to a halt by amotioning from the other side of the vige. Rathok sighed and looked toward the forest. "It sounds like the hunters are back," Rathok stood up and let out a breath, "Let us talk more about thister, Rynn." "Fine. There is not much-" "Raaaaa!" Rynn''s reply was interrupted by a loud shout from the other end of the vige. More screams rapidly began to cry out and the group watched as many of the vigers rushed over to see what was causing themotion. "... Should we go see what this is all about?" Rynn asked as he stood up. "Yeah. It does not sound good," Rathok looked back at the two, "Come with me, Rynn. A you stay-" "Caaaw!" The two brothers instantly froze. "N-no..." Rynn felt his heart tighten. "Mountain chickens!?" Rathok looked into the distance with an expression of shock, confusion, and fear, "They are early this year!" "Caaaaw!" "Caaw!" The cries of the mountain chickens grew louder and the screams of the vigers followed suit. Immediately after, arge creature with white and gray feathers trampled over the tipi that Rathok just put up and spotted the elderly woman at its side. "Rynn!" "Here!" "Huah!" Rynn tossed one of his javelins to Rathok who immediatelyunched it at the mountain chicken. "C-caaww~" Thud! The javelin pierced the creature''s neck and sent it copsing onto the ground with a bloody cry. "Nice throw!" "It was nothing..." Although intended as a statement of humility, such a response became increasingly urate when three more mountain chickens appeared between the groups of tipis. "Why are there so many!?" Rynn couldn''t help but exim in frustration. The sounds ofbat only intensified throughout the vige signaling that there were way more mountain chickens than just three in front of them. A finally stood up and faced the two boys. "W-what should we do?" "We need to help!" Rathok unhesitantly dered, "Give me another javelin, quickly!" "Are you crazy!? Do you hear how many there are!? We need to get out of here!" Rathok looked shocked at his brother''s reply. "You want to run!? The vige will be destroyed if we leave!" The sky began to darken. "The vige will be destroyed either way! Even if you try to fight them, you can not beat them on your own!" Rynn argued as he unsessfully tried to stop his brother from grabbing another spear. "Thene with me!" Rathok gave a cheeky smile as a gust of wind blew his hair. "Rathok!" Before Rynn could stop him, Rathok sprinted toward the group of chickens that were eying the old woman. "That idiot!" Rynn grabbed thest javelin in frustration. "W-wait! What should I do!?" A asked flustered. Rynn quickly looked around before pointing at a tree on the outskirts of the vige. "Go get to the tree over there! Climb it like we did as kids and hide there until they leave!" "O-okay!" The two kids dashed in opposite directions as the increasingly strong wind added to the chaos. Sounds of battle rang out from around Rynn and he could spot glimpses of bloody skirmishes from between the swaying tipis. "Hey, ugly chickens! Over here!" Rynn heard his brother shout at the chickens through the mayhem. The mountain chickens turned away from the old woman at the sound and angrily sprinted toward Rathok. "Yeah! Follow me, you mean things!" Rathok began running in an attempt to lead the mountain chickens away as drops of rain began to fall around him. What is he doing!? He can handle one or maybe two, but there is no way he can take three at the same time! Javelins were amazing weapons for dealing with the mountain chickens and Rathok was skilled at using them. That did not make these vicious predators any less deadly, however. I need to take on one of them so he has a chance! Rynn dashed toward his brother and pushed through a tipi blowing in the strong wind. The rain began to pour. He could see his brother now surrounded by the three creatures roughly fifty feet from him. "Rathok! Over- ugh!" A heavy impact on his side sent Rynn mming to the ground. Rynn lifted his head to see a mountain chicken covered in the debris of a tipi ring down at him. It charged me through a tipi!? Rynn quickly attempted to grab his weapon from his side but quickly realized it slid out of his reach. "Ca!" This thing! The mountain chicken let out a cry as if mocking him before lunging at Rynn with full force. Schlinch! While the mountain chicken was in midair, a javelin pierced its neck and caused it to crash to the ground next to him. "What?" Rynn looked around in confusion before his eyes locked onto Rathok''s. "No..." He was still standing at the center of the three mountain chickens. There was no weapon in his hand. "RATHOK!" His brother only smiled lightly before the three chickens lunged. Another tipi blew in front of Rynn''s eyes, but by the time it cleared from his vision, Rathok''s figure could be seenying on the ground in a puddle of blood. "N-no... Rathok..." Despite the chaos around him, everything seemed to stay still in the eyes of Rynn. He did not even notice the yellow beam shooting toward him. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 43 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 43 I slowed down the time of my domain and zoomed in on the two brothers who were sitting together with a girl near the outskirts of the vige. Huh... it looks like they¡¯re talking about something. Out of curiosity, I listened in to their conversation. "Kow. Wagu no hovu. Ru cag benugu en wund ok huga, ko sun no benugu." "Rynn, cagnis ru sponk!? Wagyu gfund unn pisc fon wund huga! Fu huga pergun ok curgu fuo spaks weng huma sut conbu wagyu!" "Ru no kow spak fuo." Oi- why is the younger one trashing me all of a sudden!? What the heck happened!? I didn¡¯t do anything! This is sphemy! sphemy I say!! It came out of nowhere- sure a bit of time had passed in the realm since Ist scouted the two in-depth, but their opinions of me seemed favorable at the time. It was a stark contrast from the borderline-hostile perception the younger brother now held. At least the older one is defending me¡­ I might¡¯ve cried if he joined in. Although it was an odd development, the opinion of the younger brother ultimately did not matter much. I was already nning to select the older one to be my Oracle, anyway. Yeah! Screw you, young one! Listen to your elders when they talk about how cool I am! As their conversation continued, I made a mental note to myself. Rathok is the nice one and Rynn is the mean one. Got it. ¡°You¡¯re fine with making Rathok our Oracle, right?¡± I asked the penguin in myp. ¡°Squawk!¡± ¡°Perfect,¡± I said with a smirk. Let¡¯s see if you can still doubt my existence when your brother is throwing trees~ I unhesitantly clicked on the Oracle icon.
You Are Eligible To Select An Oracle Select Now? Yes / No
Of course, I immediately selected ¡®yes¡¯. Simrly to how I chose Uunga, I zoomed in on Rathok on my screen and waited until a new window appeared.
Lifeform - Human Eligibility - Confirmed Give Oracle Status? Yes / No *Warning: This choice is irreversible and the ruler will allocate divinity.
Just when I was about to click ¡®yes¡¯, I heard amotioning from the screen. ¡°Is there something going on?¡± I paused for a second and zoomed out. ¡°...Mountain chickens?¡± On my screen was a small group of humans being chased by what could be described as a small stampede of mountain chickens. The migration of these predators followed the same pattern every year: they retreated to the mountains in the winter to incubate their eggs before all running down in a massive stampede and inhabiting the main continent in spring. What the humans were likely running from was an off-shoot of this initial stampede that stuck together a bit longer than usual. This usually wouldn¡¯t be a problem; they would split up eventually, but there was something that made the situation infinitely worse¡­ Oh my god, those idiots! The humans were leading them right back to the vige! I was so zoomed in that I didn¡¯t even see what was going on until the vige was well within the mountain chickens¡¯ sights. Even if I tried to stop the humans, it was far toote. ¡°Shoot! This isn¡¯t good!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but speak. I immediately selected ¡®yes¡¯ on the confirm window from earlier. ¡°Come on,e on! I need Rathok to be an Oracle quickly or the vige might be- urghwgrlkgjlkr¡± A long-forgotten and extremely ufortable sensation washed over me as my divinity was rapidly drained. It was the same horrible feeling asst time; it was like a million mosquitos were sucking the divinity out of my back. My body copsed into my chair as I forced myself to watch the increasingly worsening situation unfold on my screen. ¡°Squawk!¡± Mr. Flippers hopped off myp and onto the desk to get a better view. ¡°L-leaving me while I¡¯m dying? How h-heartless¡­¡± The penguin ignored my plight and watched as Rathok rushed toward a group of mountain chickens. "Squawk!" ¡°S-shoot! Just wait a few more minutes!¡± With my body still numb and draining, I forced myself to sit up and attempted to reach theputer¡¯s mouse, but my hands were far too shaky to grasp it fully. ¡°Come on,e on!¡± I muttered as I struggled. As if answering my plea, the divinity draining finally came to an end, but my body was still extremely weak. Still, I was able to finally grasp onto the mouse while rain began to pour on my realm. If I could just move the mountain chickens away from Rathok, I should be able to buy enough time for him to be an Oracle! So, I attempted to move the mountain chickens in the same way that I carried creatures to my inds. ¡°Dangit!¡± But I quickly found out that it wasn¡¯t possible when I sent a tipi flying by mistake. My body was still far too weak and shaky to urately target the mountain chickens. Moving life forms was something that I was poor at doing even in my optimal condition- there was a good chance I¡¯d identally kill Rathok or the other humans if I tried it as I was now. Still, things weren¡¯t hopeless. Based on Uunga¡¯s Oracle transformation, the beams would likely begin shooting any second. Although he was surrounded by three mountain chickens, he was unharmed and actually holding them at bay with his javelin. Yellow began forming in the clouds and the tension in my body rxed in turn. Alright! He can do it! Just a few more- WHAT!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? Out of nowhere, Rathok threw his javelin into the distance- leaving himselfpletely defenseless against the three vicious predators. I quickly zoomed out to see the weapon impale itself into the neck of a mountain chicken targeting his little brother. Ah¡­ shoot. Before I could fully process what happened, I watched the three creatures lunge at my Oracle candidate. Immediately after, my screen blew up with notifications.
Oracle Candidate Status Changed! Eligibility - Rejected Error!
Attempting Cancetion . .. ¡­ Cancetion Impossible!
Automatic Oracle Selection - Engaged Searching Nearby Lifeforms for Eligibility¡­ (16) Eligible Lifeforms Found! Scanning for Lifeform Most Simr To Original Selection . .. ¡­ Suitable Candiadate Found! (99.50% Simrity) Selection In Progress¡­
I pulled my attention away from the flood of notifications and watched a yellow beam shoot down from the clouds and hit a human who made no effort to move away from it. ¡­ No way. The target of the beam was the younger brother of Rathok. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Rynn waspletely numb. Neither the storm nor the chaos around him registered in his brain; only his brother''s corpse was in his sight. Although the storm seemed to quickly vanish once he pulled himself to his feet, the bloody skirmishes around him seemed to only grow more vigorous. It was not long before Rynn found himself looking down at the torn body of his only rtive. ¡°Why¡­¡± Why did you save me? Why did you throw your life away? Why did you go and do something so reckless? There were so many questions going through his head, but one stood out from the rest. Why do I need to endure this pain again? Memories of the past rushed into Rynn¡¯s head. The corpse of his dad seemed to ovep with the one in his vision. "N-no. Rathok... not again! NO- mmph!?" Seemingly out of nowhere, a giant cherry flew into his open mouth. "Listen, I know you''re grieving, but can you please grab a weapon before you start screaming?" "Pew!" Rynn spat out the cherry in a rush, "Who said that!?" A sudden voice sounded in Rynn''s head who quickly began looking around for the source. "Sorry to disappoint, but you''re not gonna find me. There''s no time, so let''s cut to the chase." As the voice continued, the ground under where his brotheryed opened up. The corpse vanished into the small pit which immediately got covered with dirt and marked with arge stone. "Phew, that was tougher than I thought. My control is still a bit weak-" "Who are you?" Rynn interrupted with his eyes staring at the stone marking his brother''s resting ce. "Isn''t that obvious?" the voice spoke, "I''m the one you don''t believe in." Rynn flinched at those words. "...The creator of the world?" "Bingo~" "No... that is impossible," Rynn muttered to himself as he took a step back, "Maybe this is all a nightmare... yeah that must be it." "A nightmare, huh? Well, you''re not wrong about that." While the voice was talking, a javelin flew over to Rynn before falling limply at his side. Its stone tip was covered in the blood of a mountain chicken. "It''s going to be an even bigger one if you don''t do something about it, though," the voice continued. The cloudiness in Rynn''s eyes finally cleared up as he gazed at the chaos unfolding around him. "Right... the vige," Rynn hesitantly picked up the javelin from the ground, "I can take care of a couple, but-" "Ca!" A mountain chicken suddenly rushed at Rynn from behind, who reflexively turned and thrusted his weapon behind him. Schlinch! "C-caaw~" The javelin pierced cleanly into the beast''s torso with little resistance and caused it to copse onto the mossy ground. "W-what?" Rynn took a step back and looked at the javelin in his hand. "How did I-" "I gave you strength," the voice interrupted his thoughts, "Mountain chickens won''t stand a chance against you." The stories that Rynn grew up listening to shed through his mind. "The man who could throw trees... he was real?" "Yep. Now I have given you that power. So, with that in mind, I think you should use it to do something about the situation to your left." "My left?" Rynn turned in the direction and quickly spotted a group of mountain chickens ramming into the base of a thin tree. In its shaking branches was a young girl holding onto its trunk. "A!" The new Oracle immediately dashed toward the tree. "Caaw!" Schlinch! "Raaaaa!" "Caaaaw~" Schlinch! Whenever he passed by a skirmish or lone predator, Rynn would quickly thrust his javelin to take them out. He was in a rush, so only the ones in his way met their demise, but due to the enormous number of mountain chickens guing the vige, over a dozen were in by his hands by the time he neared the tree. Thud! Thud! The impacts from the mountain chickens ramming the tree rang out and small branches began to fall onto the ground as the tree shook more intensely. "A! Hang on!" "Rynn!?" Thud! Thud!THUD! "Kyaaaa!" An especially hard impact made the girl lose her footing and fall toward the three vicious beasts below her. "No! I will not lose anyone else!" Rynn sprinted at full speed toward the falling girl- his speed surpassed anything ever achieved by my lifeforms so far. A secondter, the Oracle kicked off the ground and leaped over the mountain chickens... "Huh!?" "I got you!" ... and caught the girl in his arms. Thud! The two fell and rolled onto the soaked and mossy ground-ing to a stop a few feet away. Not wasting any time, Rynn let go of the girl whose fall he cushioned and quickly pulled himself up. "Ow~" Although he felt pity for the girl who was groaning in pain behind him- Rynn was grateful to hear the noise. It meant that she was alive. But the fight was far from over yet. The new Oracle shifted his attention back toward the base of the tree where three predators were ring at him. Rynn only red back. "Caaaw!" "Caaaaaw!" "Caaaaw!" Angered by him stealing their prey, the three mountain chickens rushed toward Rynn who readied his javelin. "Three..." shbacks to the sight of the three mountain chickens surrounding his brother entered Rynn''s mind. Now he was their target. His grip on his javelin tightened as the closest one lunged toward him. Schlinch! The javelin pierced through its torso- Rynn barely managed to pull it out of the creature''s rib cage before the next beast shed at him with its talons. "Caaaw!" With no time to get into a suitable stance, Rynn had no choice but to whack its leg away using the javelin''s staff. The creature lost its bnce from the impact and fell to the ground. "C-caaaw~" Of course, Rynn did not miss the opportunity and pierced the defenseless predator through its back. "That is two, but where is-" "Rynn!" The new Oracle turned around to see thest mountain chicken charging at A. It ran past me!? The beast was out of Rynn''s reach- even if he tried to catch up, it would definitely reach the girl before he could stop it. With no other choice, Rynn threw his weapon at the charging beast, which zoomed through the air at a zing speed. Thump! But speed and power were no substitute for uracy. Rynn felt his heart stop. The javelin skimmed by its target and pierced into the side of the tree behind it. "No... A!" The mountain chicken lunged at the defenseless girl. "Kyaaa!" Schlinch! But right when it was about to make contact, the javelin flew out of the tree and stabbed through the creature''s skull. Thud! The in beast crashed violently into the mossy ground just inches from the shaking girl. With relief filling his mind, Rynn pulled himself off of the ground and rushed toward her. "A! I am so d you are okay..." "Rynn! T-thank you so much!" A fell into his arms with tears in her eyes, "What is going on... how did you kill those three mountain chickens!?" Rynn gently let go of the still-trembling girl and pulled out the javelin lodged in the beast''s skull. "I did not," he muttered. "...What? But I just saw-" "I only killed two of them," he stated tly, "Someone else killed thest one." The sounds of battle were blocked out of his ears. His heart which was beating wildly only moments before now calmed to a slow and eerie rhythm. Rynn gripped the javelin tightly in his hand and looked toward the sky. "It was killed by someone with more strength than I can imagine. Someone who can kill these beasts without even being here. So..." His eyes had a sharp, cold ce. It felt like I would get pierced by an icicle through my heart just by looking at them. "...Why did he not use that power to save my brother?" I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 44 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 44 With Rynn''s cold re piercing me through the screen, I couldn''t help but let out a groan. "Why did it have to be him..." I can''t believe I got stuck with the one human in my realm with a negative opinion of me as my Oracle. It hasn''t even been ten minutes and he''s already threatening me. Although part of me was annoyed about how he was behaving, I couldn''t really me him. He had just watched his brother die in front of him- it would be unfair to expect him to be acting rationally in this circumstance. .... But that doesn''t mean I can just let my Oracle behave like a toddler. No matter how unfair it was, he has to be held to higher standards. "Rynn, you are using me of something without knowing a thing about my circumstances." The person in question continued to point his weapon to the sky. "I know enough. You had the power to create this world. You had the power to make javelins fly. You had the power to y a mountain chicken without any effort. You even had the power to open up the ground and swallow his corpse. So why... WHY DID YOU NOT USE THAT POWER TO SAVE MY BROTHER!?" His scream was loud enough to deafen the raging battlefield around him, as both humans and mountain chickens alike nced over at the sound. "Caaaw!" "Caaaaw!" "Caaw!" ... And of course that made him a prime target for the beasts. This guy... I could only let out a sigh of pity and disappointment as I watched Rynn turn his anger toward the lunging mountain chickens. Schlinch! "RAAAAAA!" He''s too immature. It made sense. Not only was he still not yet a teenager, but he had been without parents since he was a young child. Rynn was practically raised by his brother who was only a few years older than him. Schlinch! I watched as his javelin pierced the torso of another mountain chicken sending it copsing to the ground. His strength was definitely not bad. Such was the case even before he received divinity, which is why I considered him as a candidate in the first ce. "WHY DID YOU-" Thud! "LET MY-" Crack! "BROTHER DIE!?" Schlinch! He was smart- the deduction that led to him ming me, though wed, was proof of this. It was his emotional maturity that really held him back. I continued to watch the screen with pity as the new Oracle ughtered the horde of mountain chickens charging him as he yelled toward the sky. "ANSWER ME!" Well... when he asks so nicely I guess I have to. "I tried to save your brother, Rynn. I really did. Think about this for a second; why would I give you the power you now have?" Rynn ducked under a lunging mountain chicken and pierced its underbelly with his javelin. "... To kill these beasts?" he asked begrudgingly. "Well, I would like you to, but no. You are the only person in your vige who did not believe in me, so why did I choose you to give this power to?" "... To make me believe?" "... You think I would give this power to you for something so petty?" My mouth unconsciously gaped at his guess. Rynn scowled at my retort. "Why then!? What other reason could you have!?" Crack! Rynn whacked the torso of a mountain chicken with the shaft of the javelin causing some of its ribs to break. "There was no reason," I corrected. "... What do you mean?" "I mean that I didn''t intend to give you this power. It was meant for your brother." Rynn''s eye twitched at those words. "... Even if you are telling the truth, you gave me this power after he died. You could have saved him before," he argued. He''s tough to convince... "Giving power takes time, but I am extremely weak during the process and can not use my power. I started before he even began fighting the mountain chickens, so he should have had enough time. He really only needed a few more seconds before he would''ve be my Oracle but..." I didn''t need to finish the thought. The look on Rynn''s face proved he connected the dots. "Because he saved me..." Rynn muttered. I had to be vague so that I wouldn''t get punished by the Academy, but I did my best to exin the situation. Schlinch! "C-caaaw~" Rynn''s face grimaced with a mix of guilt, despair, and frustration as thest mountain chicken from the small horde fell from his javelin. With him silent, I decided to hammer my point in even more. "Did you forget about the girl behind you?" Rynn looked back at his childhood friend who had retreated into the tree''s branches once the horde approached. "I didn''t have to save her. I could''ve just feigned ignorance and looked away as the mountain chickens tore her to shreds. From a logical standpoint, it would''ve made sense to save my drained power... but I didn''t. I decided to save her anyway. Yet instead of thanking me or even appreciating my effort, you pointed your weapon at me." The new Oracle hung his head at my words; I could see the grip on his javelin tighten. "Listen, I know you''re upset. I''m sure I would be too if I were in your position," I continued, "But there are some situations where you need to clear your head despite how angry or frustrated or upset you may be and think of things from a perspective outside of your own. There are over 1.5 million people in my world right now. No matter how hard I try, I can''t save everyone. Even with the power I gave you, neither can you." I paused as memories of a 9-month long march yed in my head. "... That doesn''t mean we can''t try though," I finished. Rynn''s head rose at my words. "You have the power of an Oracle; you bear the responsibility of saving this world and the people who inhabit it. Their lives are in your hands now. So... since you speak so much about saving people, why don''t you start by saving those right in front of you?" The Oracle finally focused back on the vige around him. Although much less than before, fighting was still indeed raging strong. A sudden light seemed to fill Rynn''s eyes which were stered by a cloudy sorrow mere moments before. His chest puffed out as he took in a deep breath, before quickly releasing it back into the air. "A!" Rynn shouted- his back still facing the tree she sat in. "... Yes?" "Yell if you need me! I will not let these beasts take anyone else!" With those words, Rynn rushed to the vige interior with a javelin in hand. I couldn''t stop the corners of my mouth from rising at the sight. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Schlinch! "Caaaaw~" Thud! "F-finally... It is finally over!" Out of breath and with his body screaming at him, Rynn flopped onto the mossy ground next to the body of the mountain chicken he just yed. The fighting went on for another hour following his talk with the creator of the world. He lost count of how many mountain chickens were ughtered by his hands, but it was easily in the dozens. Running around the vige to locate the stragglers took him longer than the fights themselves. This fact did not go unnoticed by those saved by his effort, whose words of gratitude felt a bit overbearing to this Oracle inexperienced with receiving them. Honestly, my brain might be more exhausted than my body. Way too much had just urred. It was only a few hours ago when he was carving javelin tips on the edge of the vige with his brother. Now, the vige was practicallyying on the ground that his brother was buried beneath. Then there was his selection as an Oracle and the talk with the creator of the world, which gave Rynn a headache whenever he tried to wrap his head around it. "Ugh. This really is a nightmare..." As Rynn was catching his breath, a slender hand reached out to him and obscured his vision of the sky now enveloped in the darkness of night. "You look pretty tired," "That is putting it lightly," Rynn forced a smile at the girl''s words and pulled himself up using her hand, "Are you okay, A?" "I am not injured, but... I can not say that I am okay either," A shrugged and said with a sigh. The vige around them, if it could even be called one now, was a mess, to put it bluntly. Virtually all of the tipis were knocked down or destroyed. What little ground was not covered in rubble was instead littered with the corpses of mountain chickens and humans alike. With most of the hunters presumedly caught up in the initial horde, the vige was nearly defenseless against the massive wave of beasts. Aside from the handful of men who remained in the vige for various reasons, it was mostly up to the women and children to defend themselves from the vicious predators. The carnage around them spoke for how well that turned out. Of the roughly 2,000 people originally in the vige, only a couple hundred could be seen wandering through the wreckage- many of them were badly injured. If I had not been made an Oracle... "Hey, Rynn," A spoke interrupting his thoughts, "What you said earlier... about Rathok... is he really-? "Yeah. He is dead," A sharp pain shot through Rynn''s chest as he answered. "H-he... really is..." A small tear illuminated by the glimmering stars dripped down A''s cheek. Rynn stuck out his arms at the sight, not knowing anything else to do. "Come here..." The girl did not hesitate at his offer and quickly buried herself in his chest. Her tears immediately soaked through the Oracle''s torn clothing. "Rathok!" Ever since they were babies, A, Rynn, and Rathok had been an inseparable trio. Now, that trio had be a duo. Although her cries rang out for a while, the sad reality was that her tears were only a small part of the symphony sounding through the vige. The destruction was enormous; not a single person was without the loss of a friend, a family member, a neighbor, or a home. Their lives are in my hands, huh? The words from the creator of the world reyed in Rynn''s mind as he gazed at the dim destruction around him. It was andscape full of rubble, corpses, and tears. Honestly, Rynn desperately wanted to join in their wailing and let his pain flow through his tears, but despite his sorrow, something was stopping him from giving in. Someone needs to fix this whole mess... and I am the only one with the power to do so. Gently, Rynn separated from the still-tearful girl and began scavenging some of the nearby wreckage for any materials that managed to make it through the brief storm without gettingpletely soaked. "A, could you do me a favor and find me a piece of flint?" the Oracle asked as he made a small pile of pieces of bark, leaves, and wood on the ground. A seemed to flinch at the request. "F-flint? I can but..." "Thank you." Seeing how Rynn shrugged off her worry, A began searching the dark ground for flint. By the time she found some, Rynn had constructed a pretty big pile of material. "H-here. I found some..." "Perfect." Rynn stretched out his shaking hand for Alya who hesitantly ced the rocks in his palm. One was flint and the other was a gray rock containing golden-colored specs. Tsk. This is harder than I thought. After letting out a breath Rynn struck the two rocks together causing some sparks to fly on some crushed dry leaves. It only took a few minutes before he had a decently sized fire going. The sorrowful eyes of the surviving vigers turned to this one source of light in the darkened vige. Rynn paid it no mind and instead turned his attention to the corpse of a mountain chicken behind him. As A sat by the fire, he began roughly using his javelin to cut through its feathers and hide before cutting out portions of its meat. "Here you go," Rynn handed the girl arge piece of the mountain chicken meat that he stabbed a stick through. "Thank you, Rynn," A epted the food with a faint smile and started to roast it over the fire. The cold, hungry, and soaked vigers gravitated toward the fire and were promptly handed a meat skewer by Rynn once they arrived. Soon enough, the few hundred survivors created a few more fires near the group, and a few helped Rynn butcher the mountain chickens. Their hearts which were frigid from loss seemed to slowly thaw around the fire''s warmth. Eventually, sounds other than whimpers began to flow from their mouths- some recounting what had urred, others mourning who were lost, and the rest pondering where to go from here. The two kids were no exception to that. "Hey, Rynn... back when you rescued me after I fell from the tree, you said someone else killed the mountain chicken that was attacking me?" Rynn put down his mountain chicken skewer at A''s question and let out a sigh. "Yeah. It was the creator of the world who saved you." The conversations around the fire immediately came to a halt at Rynn''s causal words. "Did he say the creator of the world?" "That poor kid, he lost his mind." "I heard his brother was killed. I bet he is taking this all pretty hard..." Murmurs of concern rang out through the crowd, but Rynn paid them no mind and stood up. "Everyone!" he announced, "I know it may be hard to believe, but I was given power by the creator of the world. I have been given the power of an Oracle!" This deration only seemed to cause more looks of pity among the crowd. Many of those present had actually been saved by him, but as he did not do much more than pierce the mountain chickens with his javelin, it was difficult for them to believe he had been given the power passed down through legends. Ugh. Of course, they do not believe me, but I can not me them. I would have had the same expression if someone said that to me yesterday... Maybe I should throw a tree or something. I am way too tired for that right now, though. "... You do not need to believe me. I do not really care either way-" Fwoom! Suddenly, a giant spiral formed in the fire in front of Rynn, easily reaching double his height. "Raaaaa!" "The fire!" "What is that!?" The vigers hurriedly backed up from the sudden burst of mes, which soon vanished as quickly as they came revealing a fish hovering in the air. Rynn watched in bewilderment as the fish slowly floated over to him andnded on top of his head. "He was right!" "That fish! It is just like the story! The kid was telling the truth!" "The creator of the world really is watching us!" Energy rapidly began to return to the vigers who were filled with a desperately needed sense of hope. Yet as they all celebrated, Rynn could only stare nkly at the fire while bncing the weight of the creature on his head. ... What is my life bing? I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 45 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 45 "B~bawk!" Yes! Rynn trotted over to the newly impaled chicken attached to the end of his javelin. "This power is crazy," he couldn''t help but mutter. He had effortlesslyunched his javelin over 100 feet and perfectly pierced his prey. Of course, the power he gained after bing an Oracle only directly affected his strength- not his uracy. It was his hard work over the past month that allowed for such a strike to be possible. This should be enough for tonight. After retrieving the green chicken kabab, Rynn headed back toward his small camp where a familiar face greeted him upon his return. "Rynn! You are back!" "Mhm. It took me a bit. These guys are so much easier to kill, but they are way harder to see than mountain chickens," Rynn wiggled his javelin with the chicken on the end of it, "It smells pretty good... did you manage to find some mushrooms, A?" "I did! You would never believe it! There was a mushroom almost as tall as me not far from here!" she beamed. "... A mushroom almost as tall as you?" "Yes! I have never seen anything like that near our vige! It is very yummy too~" "Right..." Rynn forced a wry smile as he removed the chicken from the end of his javelin and handed it over to the girl. "Hmph. You do not believe me, do you?" A pouted. Rynn sat down on a fallen log and watched her remove the chicken''s feathers using the edge of a stone. "I believe you... it would not be the weirdest thing I have heard of." "You have a point," A smiled, "Well, I am sure we wille across more on our trip, anyway." "Ugh. We have been walking so long that I would not be surprised if we came across things much crazier than giant mushrooms," Rynn groaned. The two had been traveling for well over a month at this point. It was a trip that seemingly came out of nowhere for them; after spending a few weeks repairing the vige, the creator of the vige suddenly spoke and asked for Rynn to travel to his temple. "Has he said anything?" A asked, "Maybe he can tell us how much longer it will be?" "I have not heard a word since we left." After the night when the vige was attacked, Rynn did not hear a single word from the creator of the world. If it weren''t for his power, Rynn would''ve thought that his bing an Oracle was a sort of nightmare after waking up the next day. The order to travel south was the first and only time since then that he heard the creator of the world. "He probably hates me..." Rynn muttered. "Huh? Did you say something?" "No- it is nothing," Rynn sighed, "Let me start cooking the chicken- I am hungry." Rynn snatched the bird from A''sp before she could protest. "H-hey! I was not finished!" "That is fine. I want to eat," Rynn nonchntly shoved a stick through the chicken and began roasting it over the fire. "Hmph. Have fun eating feathers..." A began sipping on some mushroom stew that she prepared earlier using arge carved-out branch as a bowl. "Hey, Rynn, do you think the vige is okay?" "I think so. With the amount of mountain chicken meat we left them, they should be fine until the younger ones get used to hunting. Besides, I am sure the girls could manage to catch a chicken or two." "I guess you are right," A sighed, "You did a good job with getting them ready before we left, though. I can imagine what the look on Rathok''s face would have been if he saw you helping out." Rynn smiled as he pictured his brother''s smug face. "Yeah, well I did not help because I wanted to. Helping them is what he would have wanted me to do... and since he saved me, I thought that I should do that for him." "Oh? Thest time I brought it up, you said something about it being ''the duty of the Oracle''?" "... Please forget that," Rynn''s face flushed red at the recollection. "No! It was so cool!" A stood up and deepened her voice, "I have been given the power of an Oracle! I will not let a single one of you die!" "Please... please stop," Rynn hid his face as he reflected on the day after bing an Oracle. The whole situation was like something out of a legend- him getting caught up in the excitement was only natural. Now that things had settled down a bit, he was back to his usual self, however. "So, you''re embarrassed of being an Oracle, are you?" "Huh!?" Rynn shot up at the sudden appearance of a voice in his head- unintentionally dropping his chicken into the fire. "No! Not my chicken!" Rynn quickly snatched the end of the stick and shook out the fire along it, "What was that for!? You almost made me ruin my dinner!" "I... did not do anything though?" A tilted her head in confusion. "No, not you. The creator of the world said something," Rynn looked up at the sky, "Do you need something or did you juste to be annoying?" "Rynn! Why are you being so rude to him!? You need to apologize!" "Yeah, are you always this grumpy? I don''t think I''ve ever had a conversation with you where you''re not mad about something," The voice joined in. "I am not grumpy... and I am not apologizing either. You have only talked to me three times anyway." "I''ve been busy talking with baby Angru." "... Baby Angru?" "Yeah, he''s my priest. The people at the temple refer to him as ''Angru IV'' though. You''ll get to meet him soon enough; he''s pretty excited to see you." Rynn took the chicken off of the fire which had finally finished cooking and cut a piece off for A as he listened to the voice. "How much longer will it take for us to get there? We have been walking for over a month now..." "That''s what I came to talk to you about. When I first made the teau where my temple is, I made two stairways up: one in the north and one in the south. Sadly, it looks like the northern one is in terrible condition and not really usable, so you guys had to go the longer way." "Okay," Rynn took a bite of the chicken, "How much longer will it take to get there?" "You''ve already been on the path, so just keep traveling south for another day then head east until you see the teau. I''ll have baby Angru send some people there to guide you to the temple." "That sounds fine, but I have a question." "... Yes?" "What is a teau?" "Ah-" -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ "So that is a teau..." "Wow! It is huge!" After a bit more traveling, the two had finally approached this massive chunk ofnd that seemed to pierce through the sky. Although Rynn had some uneasiness with the creator of the world''s exnation of ''you''ll know when you see it'', such a statement was urate enough. Rynn had heard stories ofnd that touched the sky from some older hunters in the vige, but this was the first time he had seen anything like this in person. "It is so beautiful," A muttered, "Maybe there are so many people here because they like the view?" "Huh? I mean... maybe?" Rynn tilted his head. Despite trying toe up with some kind of retort, he honestly could not figure out why there were so many more people here than where they came from. The frequency of their encounters with viges, and people by proxy, had gradually increased as they went further along their journey. It had now gotten to the point where it was difficult to find a ce not inhabited by people now that they were finally at the base of the teau. Luckily, such a situation made it extremely easy to figure out where the two were supposed to go. The people in the area were apparently familiar with the path up the teau and happily pointed them in its direction. With their help, it did not take long for them to arrive at the massive set of steps hiding at the vertex of the star-shaped teau between its two southern arms. "This... is going to take a while," Rynn couldn''t help but sigh as he strained his neck, looking to where the staircase led. "Could you maybe carry me and jump to the top with your Oracle powers?" "... You know that is way too much even with my power. We have no choice but to climb," Rynn responded with a sigh. While the two kids wereining, a man sitting on the first step of the staircase suddenly stood up and jogged over. "Excuse me, but would you happen to be Rynn?" "Huh?" Rynn turned to the figure and squinted his eyes at the sight of his flint-tipped spear, "Yeah, that is me..." "Perfect! I can finally head back then! Please follow me, I will guide you two to the temple," the man said with a smile before retreating back to the massive staircase. "Right..." Rynn hesitantly nodded his head at the offer. "We are following him?" A checked by his side. "I guess so. We need to go up there anyway, so there is not much point in us not going with him. Besides¡­¡± Rynn casually flexed his right arm, ¡°I could easily stop him if he does anything suspicious with my power." "Good point~" A smiled slyly, ¡°I am Rynn! No one can mess with me now that I have the power of an Oracle!¡± ¡°I never said that one!¡± ¡°Really~? It sounds like something you would say though!¡± The two continued their banter as they began their trek up the staircase. . .. ... "That was horrible!" Rynn sprawled on the ground after finally reaching the top of the teau. "I have done this trip multiple times and it never gets easier," the man who was guiding them admitted while he sat down not far from the two, "Still, I know you are young, but I thought you would not be as phased by such a trip?" "I would not be as tired if I had not had to carry a certain someone most of the way..." Rynn shot an usatory nce toward the girl with a flushed red faceying next to him. "I-I am sorry!" She had climbed roughly the first 500 steps with them, but that seemed to be her limit. It was an impressive number, but it was only a quarter of the over 2,000 total steps they needed to climb. Of course, that meant that Rynn needed to carry her up the remaining 75% of the way on his back. "Go easy on her- there is no way a kid your age would have been able to do all of that without a break. It is no wonder why Angru IV wants to meet you so badly." With nothing else to do but climb, Rynn had chatted with the man on their way up. This started with Rynn asking how he recognized him so easily and the man pointing out how rare mountain chicken clothing was in this area. Rynn remembered hearing stories about how mountain chickens rarely came this far south, but as someone who lived his entire life in a vige that was built on fighting them, such a fact never really seemed to resonate with him. Maybe that is why there are more people here? Not having to deal with mountain chickens would be nice¡­ but it seems so boring. Honestly, he hated them. He had lost both his brother and father to those beasts; Rynn felt that he could understand the reasons to get away from them more than anyone, yet at the same time, that was never something he really wanted to do. Sure, it would be nice in the short term to not have to worry about the dangers, however, he hesitated to develop a conviction to abandon the hunting lifestyle entirely. Battling those beasts was in his blood stemming from the time when his great-grandfather first moved into the vige as a kid. If living a life of peace was as good as it sounded, there would have been no reason for him to leave this ce. That is right¡­ my great-grandpa used to live here. Such a realization served to snap Rynn out of his thoughts. ¡°What is with this Angru guy? Is he the leader of your vige?¡± he asked the man sitting near him. ¡°The leader?¡± The man slipped into thought for a second before replying, ¡°In a way. He only follows what the creator of the world orders, so I guess it is more urate to say that the creator of the world is the vige leader.¡± Right¡­ he did mention talking to that guy. ¡°Do the two of them talk a lot?¡± ¡°Mhm. Based on what I hear, the two of them talk fairly regrly.¡± ¡°... He never talks to me though,¡± Rynn couldn¡¯t help but mutter. ¡°Huh? Did you say something?¡± ¡°No, it is nothing,¡± Rynn sighed as he lifted himself off of the ground and turned to A, ¡°Are you ready to keep going?¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± A lifted her arms up innocently. ¡°... I am not carrying you again.¡± ¡°Boooo~¡± Seeing the two re-energized, the man hoisted himself up with the shaft of his spear. ¡°Alright. It looks like you two are ready. Follow me- you already got through the worst of it.¡± I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 46 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 46 "Wow..." "This ce is crazy!" After walking for nearly two days along a path seemingly naturally formed by therge number of people walking to and from the temple, the trio of Rynn, A, and their guide finally arrived at the boundary marking the teau''s capital. This boundary was extremely obvious even without the need for man-made walls or a gateway; the sudden clearance in trees allowed for a sharp transition between forest and an open area dense with people and tipis. The capital''syout was unlike anything they had ever seen before. While their vige had tipis scattered randomly, the capital was organized into multiple distinct sections separated by wide and clear paths with edges dotted by evenly spaced cherry trees. Despite the dense poption of over 10,000 people, not every section was filled by tipis; some were left intact as small forested areas where people could be seen picking mushrooms and munching on fallen cherries. Of course, this was nowhere near enough to satisfy such arge poption, but it was enough to supplement what they gathered elsewhere on the teau. The group began walking along one of these paths leading to arge, mossy area nearly devoid of trees andpletely uninhabited by tipis in the middle of the capital. "Hey, Rynn, do you see that tree? Straight ahead." "Huh? Oh... that tree is weird. Why does it have such dark branches?" The focus of the children''s attention was the sole tree standing in the center of this mossy area. "Ah- that thing?" After overhearing their conversation, the man guiding them joined in, "Those trees grow out west. Rumor has it that the creator of the world instructed the first Angru to send a group to bring one back." "They brought back a tree!?" The tree was just over 10 feet tall, but even with his Oracle powers, Rynn winced when he imagined carrying something like that up the massive set of stairs. "No, they did not carry back the entire tree. I heard that they only brought the branch of one and buried it in the ground," the man exined, "It is simr to how we get the cherry trees to grow, except instead of burying the cherries, we buried the branch." "That... is very weird, " Rynn muttered causing the man to smile. "You know, that is not even the weirdest thing about those trees." "Really?" A chimed in. The man nodded. "I will hold off from exining. I am sure Angru IV will do that for me. You two might find it interesting." As the group approached the mossy center, their attention shifted to therge rectangr structure behind the torch tree. "What... is that?" the girl asked in shock. "Our temple." Of course, this was obvious at first nce; the building itself was millenniums ahead of the tipis scattered around the teau. The closer they got, the more magnificent the temple seemed to be. It dawned a massive structure; 50ft wide, 100ft long, and 25ft tall. Long doric columns that supported its t roof lined the structure and provided a level of sophistication not seen elsewhere in this primitive world. The temple''s white marble material was unknown to the kids whose only contact with stones was limited to simple tools, javelin tips, and fire starters. This is insane. Such thoughts filled Rynn''s head as he approached the structure''s steps. If I had seen this ce, would I have ever denied the existence of the creator of the world? "So... should we go inside?" A asked once they finally arrived. "No need. I have walked up enough steps this week. He cane out to meet us," the man cupped his hands in front of his mouth and yelled up the small staircase, "HEY ANGRU IV! I BROUGHT THE ORACLE!" A moment passed. Then two. Then three. Just when the man was ready to yell again, a young man dashed out of the temple and gazed down at the group- his eyes sparkled as he locked eyes with Rynn. "Hello! Wee to the temple!" the priest quickly trotted down the steps with a smile and turned to their guide, "Thank you for bringing them, brother." Rynn flinched. "Brother!?" The priest turned toward the shocked girl in confusion. "Y-yeah. Did he not mention that?" "No, he did not!" Angru IV narrowed his eyes at the man who nonchntly avoided his gaze. "Well, I brought them here as requested, but I need to rest after such a long trip. Have fun!" With those words, the man slyly scurried off into the capital as the priest called out to him. "Why did you not mention it, you jerk!?" Angru IV shouted then turned back to the two kids with a sigh, "Sorry about him. My brother can be a bit sneaky..." "It is fine- it is a bit surprising, though," A replied seeing how Rynn was still silent. "I thank you both for your patience," the priest smiled warmly at the two, "You have probably heard by now, but I am Angru IV- the fourth Angru born in my family, though the third official priest. You two are Rynn and A, right? The creator of the world has told me a bit about you, yet you two look a bit younger than I thought." "The creator of the world told you about us?" Rynn finally seemed to snap out of his thoughts at those words and jumped in to question the priest. "Just a bit- only the fact that you two were from a vige in the north and that you were chosen as an Oracle. While I would love to see your power in action, I think it is best to show you two around first. Follow me- I bet you are dying to see the creator of the world!" What!? The two kids eagerly followed Angru IV who began walking up the shallow steps leading to the floor of the temple. "T-the creator of the world is here!?" Rynn asked in disbelief. "Well... not really?" "Huh? Then why would you-" "He is not actually here," the priest cut off the Oracle, "It is simply a statue of him that I will show you." A statue? What is that? Before Rynn had a chance to voice his thoughts, the group arrived at the temple''s entryway. The priest stoutly came to a stop and opened his arm- gesturing them to enter. "Once again, I wee you both to the temple!" Rynn nodded and peeked inside, before immediately flinching at the sight of a massive stone finger seemingly pointing directly at him from the back of the structure. "That... is the creator of the world?" The Oracle was frozen in awe as he gazed upon the massive stone figure that towered at the structure''s rear. It is made from stone but it looks like it is a real person in front of me. The level of detail was astounding; even creases in the figure''s clothing could be seen clearly. It was as though a giant had been turned into stone. "His clothing..." A muttered in awe. "Interesting, right? It is even more advanced than what we can make with mountain chicken hides from the north," the priest said proudly. While the manyyers making up the statue''s winter clothing were impressive, something else caught the Oracle''s attention. "What is that in his arm? Is he holding a chicken?" "It is so cute!" "Oh, that?" The priest looked at the creature that the two kids were wondering about, "I do not really know. I tried asking the creator of the world about it, but he only said that it was ''his friend''." "His friend?" A tilted her head. "Yeah... I do not really understand either. He never tells me more no matter how many times I ask him though." "I guess you talk to him a lot then¡­" the Oracle mumbled. "Well, he is very busy, so not too often. He usually reaches out at least once every season, but if I need to give him any updates on my tasks, he will usually answer." "Hmmm..." "Huh? Are you okay?" "Yeah... I am fine." "O-okay then," the priest took a step back from the suddenly sulky Oracle and gestured to the temple''s entrance, "How about I show you the rest of the area?" "Sure!" A cheerfully grabbed Rynn''s hand, "Please lead the way!" . .. ... At the dawn of dusk, the group finally finished their tour and sat down near a fire pit. There were dozens of these mossless circles marked by a boundary of small stones scattered around the capital''s center. "That was... exhausting," Rynn muttered as he sprawled out on the ground. "There were so many people," the girl sitting next to him added. The priest looked at the two kids with a wry smile. "Was it really that bad?" "Yes!" "A little..." What was advertised as a tour of the capital turned out to be more of an introduction to the people living in it. Although the conversations were brief, the kids had talked to easily over two thousand people. "But that was not even a quarter of the people here?" The two kids looked at the priest as if he was crazy at his innocent remark. ¡°You knew all of them by name¡­¡± the Oracle muttered. ¡°I do not know how you still have energy. I am more tired after talking than I was after climbing that staircase,¡± Amented, ignoring Rynn¡¯s small re, ¡°By the way, will the hunters be back soon? I am getting pretty hungry.¡± ¡°The hunters? It would depend on when they left¡­ everyone leaves at different times.¡± Seeing the children¡¯s confused faces, the priest decided to borate. ¡°All of the chickens nearby have been eaten long ago. Once in a while, the men will go on a trip either to the east of the teau or down the staircase and bring back some for their family.¡± ¡°So they only bring back enough for their family?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± the priest nodded, ¡°They can only carry so much.¡± ¡°... What about those without parents to hunt?¡± Rynn hesitantly asked. ¡°Other families will usually bring them in. If not, my brother¡¯s team will help them out. Speaking of which, he should meet up here to give us some~¡± Rynn finally sat up at those words and pulled out two small stones he kept in a fold of his clothing. ¡°I will get the fire started then! Should I get some leaves from that forest area or-?¡± ¡°Ah- that will not be necessary. My brother will bring some branches, too. While we wait, would you two mind helping me clear the pit?¡± The kids looked at the empty dirt circle in confusion. ¡°There is nothing there though?¡± A questioned. ¡°I meant help me dig up the rocks¡­¡± the priest attempted to rify, but quickly cut himself short after noticing their bewildered expression, ¡°Here, let me show you.¡± With those words, Angru IV started digging in the middle of the dirt pit with his hands- quickly uncovering a fist-sized rock. ¡°These,¡± the priest tossed the rock at the Oracle who reflexively caught it. With shaky eyes, Rynn looked down at his hands. ¡°Is this¡­ flint? Why is it so shiny?¡± ¡°It is a trick we discovered a while back¡­ I guess you guys did not do this at your vige,¡± the priest exined, ¡°We bury these stones about an inch under the ground before we light a fire over it. After letting them cool off for a day, we can take them out and the stones be super shiny and hard. They are much easier to carve, so they can be made much sharper.¡± Rynn hung his head. His breathing became rough while his hands clenched against the flint. ¡°I-if I had known about this back then-¡± His mumblings were interrupted when a small hand touched the top of his. Rynn reflexively opened his glossy eyes, meeting the sympathetic gaze of his childhood friend- the only one left who knew what he was going through. ¡°Rynn-¡± Before A could speak, Rynn pulled his arm away and used it to wipe his face. ¡°I-I am sorry. I will be back soon.¡± With those words, the Oracle dashed at inhuman speeds toward the capital¡¯s eastern-forested sector. As the two watched his figure disappear beyond the tree line, the priest turned to A with a look of worry. ¡°Did¡­ did I say something strange?¡± A shook her head somberly, ¡°No, it is not your fault. He has been like this around flint for five springs now.¡± ¡°Flint?¡± The priest nced down at the fire pit below his feet. ¡°Yes,¡± A kneeled down and began helping him dig up the remaining pieces, ¡°I usually would not share this with others, but since you were chosen by the creator of the world, I do not think Rynn would mind.¡± Seeing the priest¡¯s concerned stare, A sighed and continued, ¡°When Rynn was six, he had just started learning how to make javelin and spear tips. He spent days trying to make the perfect spear tip for his father out of a piece of flint that he found in the vige.¡± A¡¯s eyes seemed to glisten as she recounted his efforts. ¡°Rynn worked so hard trying to make it as sharp as possible and was super happy when he finally gave it to him. His dad even promised to use it in the spring hunt. So, when spring came, Rynn¡¯s dad attached the tip to his spear shaft and went off, but Rynn really wanted to watch him use it, so he secretly followed the hunters into the forest.¡± ¡°... It sounds like a nice story so far?¡± the priest wondered out loud as he reced the removed flint with raw ones. ¡°It was fine at first, but early into their hunt, a mountain chicken popped out from behind a tree and happened to target Rynn¡¯s dad. Apparently, his dad went to stab the beast with his spear, but the flint tip that Rynn made shattered when it made contact. His dad was in before the other hunters had time to react¡­ Rynn watched the entire thing happen.¡± ¡°That is terrible,¡± the priest muttered with sympathy. A nodded, ¡°It really was. Since then, Rynn refused to use flint and would only make weapons out of other stones. He had only recently begun to even touch it again.¡± ¡°... I messed up then,¡± Angru IV sighed as he reflected on him handing Rynn the piece of flint, ¡°I will apologize when he returns.¡± ¡°It is not your fault. You had no way of knowing.¡± ¡°Still, it is something I feel is right,¡± Angru IV stated resolutely, ¡°I am a bit confused, though. Even before we started using fire on our flint, our weapons never shattered like that.¡± ¡°It did not happen often at our vige either. Rathok, Rynn¡¯s brother, tried to tell him that it was not a problem with the flint and that instead his effort to make it sharper must have made the tip brittle, but Rynn would not ept it. He kept ming the flint for his father¡¯s death.¡± ¡°He was so young when that happened- it makes sense for him not being able to ept it,¡± the priest paused, ¡°Rynn¡¯s brother¡­ did he not me Rynn for what happened?¡± A smiled softly at the question. ¡°Not even for a second.¡± As their conversation continued, Angru IV¡¯s brother soon dropped off two chickens and a small pouch full of mushrooms. Although they wanted to wait for Rynn toe back, the two eventually began to eat their meal. ¡°I guess he will not be joining us tonight¡­¡± the priest stated somberly as he nced at the uneaten piece of chicken near the fire. ¡°It is already night,¡± A sighed, ¡°He wille back soon, though. I am sure of it.¡± As if waiting for those words, a young boy was soon illuminated by the fire¡¯s light. ¡°Rynn!¡± A popped up excitedly at the Oracle¡¯s return. ¡°Ah- Rynn, I am so sorry. I did not mean to¡­¡± The priest¡¯s words soon trailed off as he nced at the spear in the Oracle¡¯s hand- its shining flint tip reflecting the fire¡¯s light. ¡°You¡­ made a spear?¡± Rynn nodded. The roughly formed shaft of the weapon in the boy¡¯s hands made it clear that this was not the weapon he had brought with him on his trip to the capital. That one was resting soundly in the temple. ¡°You made that spear so fast, yet it looks so wonderful,¡± the priest honestly remarked. ¡°I have been practicing for a long time.¡± Rynn sat down with the two and A handed him the remaining food. ¡°Come eat. You would never believe how Angru started the fire-¡± ¡°Hang on. I need to do something first.¡± With those words, Rynn tossed the newly made spear into the fire and watched the weapon he had spent thest few hours crafting burn up in mes. The two looked at him in shock. ¡°I figured it was time,¡± the Oracle spoke, ¡°To finally give my dad the spear he deserved.¡± -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Map of the capital: I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 47 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 47 I stared at my screen with a slight smile on my face. For the first time in the history of my realm, my priest and Oracle had met face to face! Sure, it was also the first time that such an event was even possible, but I figured it was still worth a small celebration. "What do you think, Mr. Flippers? Should we do something to celebrate?" I asked the penguin in myp. "...Squawk." "Fine~," I sighed, "You''re right. I did say that I needed to start saving my resource points more, didn''t I?" I had been spending resource points like crazy between setting up my inds, performing small fish-floating ceremonies to build faith, and dealing with the whole incident that happened at my Oracle''s old vige. Spending more on a celebration was both pretty unneeded and not a great use of resources considering how everyone present already had full belief in me. While I could do something small like making fish fly, I decided to simply toss the idea. Those performances hardly cost me anything to do, but as there was no telling when I''d get more, I needed to start being stingy with my resource points. "Squawk!" "Huh? Oh yeah, look at that- they''re looking at your statue!" "Squawk~" We decided to listen to their conversation. "Cagnis en fud pern? Fu tine unn cok?" "Su oy boni!" The penguin tilted his head up at the girl''s words that came through the screen and stretched his tiny flippers. Look at him... acting all smug because the girl called him cute. I couldn''t help but smile at the sight. "Well, she isn''t wrong. You are a cute little penguin!" "... Squawk," the penguin immediately stopped his stretching and hopped off myp. "Oi- what do you mean it''s gross when I say it!? That''s not fair!" Sadly, the penguin ignored my protests as he retreated back into his ice pce. "Whatever... I have another cute thing to keep mepany anyway," I muttered as I pulled up a picture of a certain elf girl on my phone. Julia...hopefully things are going better for you this time around. There were just over 10 years remaining in the realms before the start of the next battle phase. Of course, not all of the rulers would be like Levon who attacked the second the portals opened, but there was still a chance that her Oracle would be fighting soon. Ten years. I could feel my heartbeat speed up as I thought about how soon it was. Such an interval would pass in less than 15 minutes if I sped up time in my domain. Yet as I looked at the state of my realm, it was easy to tell that I was not even close to being ready myself. A sigh escaped my lips as I put my phone away- recing it with my notebook instead. My Oracle was a child, the force that I instructed my priest to set up was still in its infancy, and nearly none of the major preparations that I nned for had even gotten started yet. Sure, I was predicting Ferguson to attackter in the battle phase, but if I was wrong about that judgment and he rushed in, things would not go so well as they were now. Ten years. It repeated in my mind once more. It was both a short time and a long time depending on how one looked at it. After my numerous gambles and close calls both when first creating my realm and in my previous battle phase, I resolved myself to y things a bit safer from now on. Although I did wait until fairlyte to select my Oracle, I made sure that there would be just enough time to finish my preparations before the start of the battle phase. In order words, despite the situation seeming pretty dire, such a thing was not really the case. I nced down at my notebook where I had jotted down a list of goals to meet before the 10 years were up.
  1. Have Rynn develop into a proper Oracle
  2. Get equipment ready in time for the battle phase
  3. Establish a camp in the gap between the northern mountain ranges
Oracles do age very slowly, but their mind''s development does not change. Ten years was still ten years. Rynn would still probably look like a young teenager at the start of the battle phase, yet he would hopefully mature a ton mentally in that time. A major reason why I sent him to the teau was for just that. Rynn had no parents, and now no siblings. With only a girl the same age as him by his side, my Oracle had no one older than himself to look up to for guidance. I wanted my priest to step into this role for him. My priest was pretty young himself at roughly 20 years of age, yet I was confident that he would be someone that Rynn could look up to. Guide him well, baby Angru. I crossed my first preparation note off my list with hopeful expectations. The second goal was by far the easiest of the three. Ten years was easily enough time to make the thousands of spears and javelins that my army would need to fend off Ferguson''s invasion. I had asked baby Angru to start ramping up their production upon Rynn''s arrival to the teau, so I could also cross this off my list, as well.
  1. Have Rynn develop into a proper Oracle
  2. Get equipment ready in time for the battle phase
  3. Establish a camp in the gap between the northern mountain ranges
I took a look at thest major preparation goal left on my list: creating a camp in the gap between the two mountain ranges near the invader buffer zone. Unlike my battle against Levon where Uunga acted alone, I would be sending a whole army to fight Ferguson. Such arge force would require an equallyrge amount of supplies and space- there was no way I could just have them camping while they waited for the ogres to show up. Given the uncertainty of the invasion timing, an entire generation could pass before Fergusonunched his attack. I needed to make the camp into a space where my humans could live reasonably well or I''d run the risk of mass desertion. By the nature of it, this would be the most difficult goal to achieve. Not only was the location on the opposite end of my continent, but it was also located in an extremely underdeveloped region. With the mountain ranges squeezing the moisture out of the air as clouds went over the area, the valley was home to little rain. Trees were scarcer in the area because of this and even the chicken poption was much smaller than in other areas of my realm. It would be pretty difficult to station arge force there for long periods of time. Luckily, the melting snow from the mountain peaks did create ake in the valley, which I preemptively stocked with phytonkton and fish a while back. I hoped that the fish would be enough to supplement my army''s diet, but it was likely that I would need to make two separate camps- one in the valley and the other further south. It would take Ferguson''s army at least a month and a half at an absolute minimum to trudge through the snow and reach the first passageway through the mountains. That would be just enough time for those stationed at the southern base to move north. I''m getting ahead of myself. There was something major that I needed to deal with before I could even think about making the camps. The difficulty in making the camps themselves paled inparison to the struggle of actually getting my army there. This freaking river... I let out a groan as I looked at the massive barrier of water splitting my continent in two. I made that thing to protect my realm from invaders, but it''s been more of a hindrance to me than to them. With the path created by andslide that Uunga used to cross the river being washed away long ago, the two halves of my continent had beenpletely isted for nearly 1,000 years. This was causing me many problems outside of the one I was currently dealing with, though finding a way to get my army across was the most pressing of them. My humans could sail across the river, but boats haven''t been invented yet. There was no way for me to teach them either without getting in serious trouble with the Academy. Honestly, I highly doubted my humans would suddenly discover how to make boats within the next 10 years, so that route was pretty much eliminated. Is building across it the only way left? Obviously, there was no way my humans would be able to construct some sort of massive bridge. Their technology was still many years behind what they would need for such a feat. But maybe a path is possible? Due to the somewhat t nature of the continent, although the river was extremely wide, it was not very deep; on average it was only around 10ft. Of course, this was an average- the river reached depths of nearly 100ft in some areas and less than 6ft in others. The area where thendslide urred was one of the shallowest of these sections. It would be pretty crude... but it is definitely possible for my humans to make a path across the river there. Making such a path would undoubtedly take both a lot of effort and time- both things that I would rather be devoted to my other two preparation goals. I need my humans to stay focused on making weapons and training for the fight, so I guess I''ll give them the time to do that. With nothing more to do until the time came to give them the river crossing order, I advanced the time in my domain. . .. ... This should be about right. I slowed down my domain''s time to match that of my realm. Six years had passed in my realm in what seemed like the blink of an eye. With humans'' full efforts being on making weapons and training, there was no real need to slow down time tomunicate. Of course, there were still a handful of times when I checked in with baby Angru to see their progress, but these were few and far between. It felt pretty nice to skip some time. They should have a pretty good stockpile of weapons at this point, especially with Rynn helping them out. Based on one of my conversations with my priest, Rynn had been focusing relentlessly on making javelin and spear tips. This was something that he excelled at even prior to bing an Oracle, but with the increased strength that came with divinity, shaping the stone had be child''s y. I guess I should check in on them, though. It took little effort to find my priest and Oracle who were sitting by a fire in my capital''s center. As usual, Rynn''s childhood friend A joined the two; such an event was a nightly asion for the group. Wow... I had a feeling that it would be like this, but seeing him next to A really feels weird. Six years had passed since thest time that I really got a good look at the group. Despite being the same age, A, who was now nearing 18 years old, looked the part, while Rynn looked to just be starting puberty. There are still four years before the start of the battle phase, so hopefully Rynn can grow up a bit more before then. Putting those thoughts aside, I decided to finally issue the order to build the river pathway. Hmmm... wait a second. I''ve never tried talking to both of them at the same time... is that even possible? Usually, when I tried tomunicate with either my priest or Oracle, I clicked on their respective icon on my monitor. I had just naturally assumed that it was a one-at-a-time situation, but when I tried clicking both of them, it seemed to work seamlessly. "Hello!" I watched my priest and Oracle both flinch at my sudden words on the screen and struggled to hold back myughter. That never gets old... "The creator of the world!" "... Is it really you?" I received two contrasting replies- excitement from my priest and disbelief from my Oracle. "The creator of the world is talking!?" A jumped up after seeing their reactions. "Yep, it is me. Tell the girl I said ''hi'', baby Angru." As I was only able to directlymunicate with those two, I needed my priest to echo my sentiments for me. "The creator of the world says hi, A," the priest diligently delivered my words. A smiled brightly and looked up to the sky, "Hi~!" That''s adorable. It looks like she got that whole sky thing from Rynn- "Creator of the world, what is the reason for you reaching out?" the priest asked, interrupting my thoughts. "Ah- right. Before I answer that, what is the progress like for everything I tasked you with?" The priest wore a proud expression on his face. "We have roughly 2,500 bundles of javelins and 1,500 bundles of spears stored inside of the temple." Four thousand bundles... I had them wrap them in groups of 10, so that''s forty thousand weapons! "Wow! You guys did an amazing job!" It was honest praise. Crafting such arge stockpile of weapons in just six years was extremely impressive. "We could not have done it without Rynn," my priest acknowledged, "He alone made half of those." "Half... HE MADE TWENTY THOUSAND OF THEM!?" I nced at my Oracle on the screen in shock as he looked at the ground with a reddened face. My priest smiled at his reaction and added, "He has been making eight per day ever since he arrived." Eight per day... It was hard to believe that someone who hated my guts not too long ago was doing so much work on my behalf. "... You''ve worked hard. I''m proud of you, Rynn." Despite him trying to hide it, I could see a faint smile on my Oracle''s face at my words. "Thank you. I-I only carved the tips, though. The other men handled the shafts." "Don''t discredit yourself. You did amazing, Rynn," I paused, "I remember seeing you carving them back at your vige. I couldn''t believe you were able to make four per day back then, but you''ve somehow doubled it!" "It is thanks to the power that you gave me," Rynn sheepishly admitted, "The rocks here being easy to shape also helps." "Well, that doesn''t make what you did any less impressive. Speaking of the power that I gave you, you''ll need to put it to use on your next task." "What do you need us to do?" the priest asked curiously. "It''ll only be a few more years until it bes possible for the next invasion to happen. Before then, I need you guys to set up a camp closer to where they will invade from. Sadly, there is a massive river to the west that you''ll need to find a way to cross to get there. I''ll guide you all to the point where such a feat is possible, but just because it is possible, making a pathway across it will not be easy by any means. I know that you can do it, though." I could see Rynn''s grip tighten when I mentioned the invasion. "It is really happening..." The priest seemed to fall into thought at my words. "The river... from what I have heard, it is so wide that you can not even see across it. Is crossing it really possible?" "It is," I affirmed resolutely, "You two will need to figure out how to, though. By the way, how is the army looking, baby Angru?" "We have three thousand men near the temple that can be mobilized at any time. There are another fifteen thousandmitted elsewhere on the teau and thousands more outside of it." "Perfect- you guys did great. Rynn, take one thousand men with you to help out. Would you be okay with heading west a week from now?" My Oracle nodded, "Yes. That is fine." "Great! Cross the mighty river that divides my realm in two. The future of my realm depends on you." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Map of Jacob''s Realm: I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 48 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 48 Rynn gazed at the flowing river in front of him with a mixture of wonder and awe. "How are we supposed to make a path across this?" Calling the river massive would be an understatement. The flowing blue water seemed to extend endlessly into the horizon. Rynn almost wishfully dismissed the rumors he heard about the river being too vast to see across, but such a fact was impossible to deny now that it was presented before his eyes. "Are you sure this is even a river?" a high voice questioned next to him. Rynn sighed, "This is exactly where the creator of the world told us to go, so it must be one." The two of them hade across multiple rivers,kes, and streams during their trek to the temple over six years ago, but nothing even came close to the amount of water in front of them. With most of the soldiers apanying them being from the teau, this sentiment was being shared throughout the group. "It has to be deep, right? Are we not able to just walk across it?" "From what the creator of the world said, this area should be somewhat shallow... but maybe I should test it?" "Pfffft~" Rynn turned toward his childhood friend who was suddenly holding backughter. "W-what? Why are youughing?" "You were going to try to cross the river? Pfffft-" A''sughing suddenly started again as she pictured the scene, "You are even shorter than I am! Your head will disappear under the water after a few steps!" "H-hey! I am not short! Oracles just age slowly..." Rynn deliberately ignored the pitiful gazes of the nearby soldiers. A was not tall by any means, standing at a mere 5''6, yet Rynn who still had the body of a kid who was just entering puberty was still barely above 5 feet tall. "Just you wait... I will tower over you one day," the Oracle muttered. "Pffft~" "He is the Oracle but he talks like a kid!" "The kid says he will tower!" Rynn''s brow furred at the teasing of the soldiers who overheard his mumblings. "How about we have someone tall inspect the river then!?" he shouted, scanning the crowd. His eyes quickly fell on a certain soldier who was taller than most of the others present. "You there! Come over here!" "Huh? Me?" "Yes, you!" The man standing at about 6''3 pushed his way to the front of the crowd and stood in front of the Oracle. "Pffft~" "Shut up!" Rynn forced himself to ignore A''s re-kindledughter and ordered the soldier. "I want you to walk further into the river until it bes too deep to continue." The soldier hesitantly nodded and tossed down his belongings before taking his first step onto the river bed. "It is moving fast," the soldier muttered. "You will need to deal with it¡­ but turn back if the water starts to make you lose your bnce." After onest nod, the soldier finally stepped into the water and began walking deeper into it. The 1,000-member army watched curiously as the man disappeared slightly more below the blue water with every step he took. By the time he was fifty feet into the river, the soldier¡¯s neck was fully submerged. This is not going to work. "That is enough! You cane back now!" The man turned back at Rynn''s orders and began making his way toward the shore. "It seems deeper than I thought... definitely enough to keep me underwater," Rynn thought out loud. "That does not take much water~" "Shut up!" Rynn turned his attention back toward the river to distract himself from A''s teasing. I want to know how deep it gets, but it looks like there is nobody tall enough to reach the bottom... As the Oracle was thinking such thoughts, he approached the soldier who was now squeezing the water out of the hem of his clothing on the riverbed. ¡°There is no way that the creator of the world would ask us to cross the river if it was impossible to do. Did you notice a way to cross it while you were out there?¡± The soldier shook his head, ¡°Nothing really but¡­¡± "But?" ¡°It felt like the bottom of the river was starting to level off,¡± he finished. Rynn turned his gaze back to the scene of seemingly endless water. ¡°... You hardly made a step into the river. Are you sure it really ttens out?¡± ¡°Not at all,¡± the soldier answered, ¡°Even if I went back out there to check, there is no point. The water would be over my head before it stopped sloping downward.¡± Rynn simply sighed. ¡°You make a good point¡­ and even if it leveled off at the depth you reached, that alone is too deep for most of the others.¡± ¡°Especially for you~¡± Rynn could feel a vein in his forehead throb at the words from the eavesdropping girl who snuck up behind him. ¡°I am not even that much shorter than you!¡± ¡°Pfffft~¡± A ced her hand t on Rynn¡¯s head, ¡°You would need to stand on your spear to reach me.¡± ¡°That is not even true! I would only need-¡± Rynn suddenly stopped mid-sentence. ¡°A! That is exactly what I needed!¡± ¡°... Are you talking about needing to stand on spears to reach me?¡± ¡°Yes! Wait- no!¡± Rynn groaned at A¡¯s cheeky expression, ¡°I meant that we might be able to cross the river if we walked on the spears!¡± ¡°That is impossible." The kids turned back toward the soaked soldier who had spoken. ¡°The water is moving too fast. Even if we could somehow attach spears to our feet, it would be impossible to keep bnce. The spears would snap if we tried to stand on them, anyway.¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± Rynn looked back toward the forest, ¡°But what if we used something thicker?¡± "Thicker?" A tilted her head. "The trees. They are tall enough to reach the bottom of the river and thick enough to hold our weight. If we could ce a line of them across the river, the soldiers could simply walk across them," Rynn exined. "You want to make a path using trees?" the soldier checked skeptically, "We would need to use hundreds of them, but we do not even have the tools to fall a single one." Rynn shrugged, "It should not take too long to make tools." "... Even if we were to topple one and work together to carry it to the river, we would need to bury some of it to stop the water from pushing it over. We do not have that kind of strength-" The soldier fell silent as he looked at the smug expression on the kid''s face in front of him. "I can do it. I am an Oracle, after all." . .. ... With a n in ce, the Oracle quickly began assigning tasks to the soldiers. The first few nights passed with him and around one hundred soldiers making tools while the rest spent the time hunting for food and setting up a camp. Once enough tools, consisting of sharpened stones hafted onto thick branches, were made, the soldiers were split up into small teams to begin chipping away at the base of the nearby cherry trees. THUD! THUD! THUD! One by one, the massive cherry trees in the area crashed to the ground where they were subsequently stripped of their branches and split into pieces. The cherry trees around this area were absolutely massive- some even piercing 70ft into the sky. This meant that one tree could provide multiple tforms on the path across the river. After the trees were split ording to the river''s estimated depth, the soldiers would work together to lug the pieces over to the riverbed where the Oracle would then carve a point into one end, carry it across the existing tforms, and m it into the river. "That kid is crazy..." "I guess the stories about the man who shaped the vige were true!" "Who knew someone so small could be so strong?" The soldiers watched in awe as Rynn swung down his joined fists like a hammer and smashed the trees securely into the river. Log after log, the Oracle continued his path across the river, and as he walked across those he had previously ced to do so, those who doubted the method were forced to ept its sess. With every cement, Rynn would call back to the shore to give an estimate on how long to make the next log. Sure enough, as was predicted, the river eventually leveled off around 10ft in depth, allowing for the soldiers on shore to have the logs ready ahead of time. This process was slow even with the soldiers preparing the logs for Rynn to ce. The longer the path got, the longer it took the Oracle to walk back to the beginning to grab the next tree. Although there were some attempts to pass the tree along the logs over to him, it was quickly deemed too dangerous. Each log required the strength of tens of men to carry. With the spacing between the 2ft diameter logs being multiple feet, it was easy for the soldiers focusing on supporting the nearly 2,000lb weight to miss a step and fall into the rushing river. And so, the Oracle was forced to walk the path alone, but the Oracle was undeterred. Day by day, the path gradually extended, and though the shoreline on the other side had finallye into view, it was still far out of reach. Step Step Step. On one of his many trips to the end of the ce a new log, the Oracle heard the sound of small footsteps following behind him. "What are you doing, A?" Rynn asked with a sigh. "Aww~ you noticed me already?" "Yep. You are not very hard to miss." "What is that supposed to mean!?" "It means you are very loud," Rynn said tly. "Well, you are very grumpy." "... Why are you following me?" "You looked so lonely! I thought I should keep youpany while you walked," A innocently exined. "Are you not supposed to be helping the soldiers prepare their food?" "The camp is flooded with cherries from the trees they are knocking down. They can eat those!" "... Alright." The duo descended in silence for a bit as Rynn continued stepping across the logs. "You finally look like a real Oracle carrying that tree~" A eventually spoke, putting an end to the brief silence. "Well... I am a real Oracle." "Yeah, but it never really feels like it! You are usually just making spear tips or talking with Angru or his brother." "There was just not anything else for me to do there. If the creator of the world gave me a task, I would have done it." A paused and watched as Rynn carried the log that neared three times his height. "You have not taken a single break so far... is that why you have been working so hard? Because he finally gave you a task?" The Oracle nodded. "When the creator of the world asked me to cross the river, it was the first time he talked to me since we were first told to go to the temple. Honestly, I thought he hated me." A''s foot halted in shock, nearly causing her to slip into the river. "What!? Why would you think that!?" "Please be careful," Rynn sighed, "I know I told you before, but the creator of the world was originally supposed to choose Rathok to be his Oracle instead of me." A nodded, "Yeah, you told me that before, but just because the creator of the world wanted to choose Rathok, that does not mean he needs to hate you." Rynn let out a deep breath and his step came to a stop. "Do you remember the day the mountain chickens destroyed our vige? The day I became an Oracle?" "Of course!" "Well, after you fell from the tree, I could not stop all of the mountain chickens and one ran past me. If it was not for the creator of the world sending a javelin flying, you would be dead," Rynn''s voice quivered, "B-but instead of thanking him, I med him for not saving Rathok. I pointed my weapon at the one who saved you." "Rynn... you were just a kid back then-" "I know, but if I was in his position, I would have taken offense," Rynn sighed, "It is no wonder why he only talked to Angru." A could only look at the back of the Oracle in pity. Rynn continued his steps. "I was waiting for him to speak. I was waiting for him to finally give me a task so that I could repay him for saving you. I was waiting to atone for what I did." He lifted the massive log vertically after reaching the end of the path. "Now that he has given me this chance, I will cross a thousand rivers if I have to." Ssh! The log crashed into the river. "I will make it up to him... I will save this world that he has created." I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 49 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 49 Ferguson sat in his realm with his gaze focused intensely on his screen. Disyed on the massive monitor were two stone pirs with a red, hazy rectangle between them. Thousands of ogres surrounded this monument, which existed in arge clearing in an area otherwise dominated by dense forests. Tentspletely covered this space, with many spilling out into the gaps in the surrounding trees. Due to the disarrangement, figuring out the exact number of ogres present was not a simple feat for the Seedling, but Ferguson had someone who could help him do just that. "Erik. Give me a count." While speaking such a request, Ferguson focused his screen on arge figure lounging in an equallyrge tent next to the portal''s entrance. The portal''s red hue slipped through the small gap in the tent''s entryway, illuminating the bored figure in an eerie light. "There are 17,824 from the western tribes, 8,625 from the northern tribes, 2,431 from the southern tribes, 734 from the eastern tribes, and 386 from the mountain tribes," the figure responded tly. The Seedling narrowed his eyes, "... Is that count urate? It sounds convenient." "It is right. I made sure of it," the figure replied, closing its eyes, "You told me thend could only support 30,000 men. I kept exactly that." The original n had been for a portion of his force to set up camp around the portal and prepare for the invasion while the rest of the force hunted around his realm and sent them supplies. After the first round of support came in, however, Ferguson quickly found out that it was not nearly enough for his ns. With each ogre sporting a bulky figure reaching heights ranging from 6''3 to 7''1, the amount of meat they consumed was absurd. Even with rations being sent over from various tribes supplementing their hunting, the two-month stockpile of food they had worked so hard to amass was hardly increasing. It was a problem that would only get worse with time. There were only so many hares to hunt and berries to pick before the area would bepletely depleted. Once this happened, his force would likely need to dig into these stored supplies before the invasion could even begin. As a way to avoid this, Ferguson ordered his Oracle to cut down their numbers and maintain a strict limit of 30,000 ogres. Even this amount would only slow down the inevitable, however. "Did you send them to the extension or to the reserve?" "The extension." Ferguson panned his screen south where he located the camp at the center of their conversation, now crowded with roughly 8,000 ogres. The camp was about a two-day walk from the portal- far enough away for their hunting ranges not to intercept, but close enough to be called upon when needed. Good. That should be fine for now. While Ferguson was looking over the extension, his Oracle''s voice once again came through the screen. "Do we really need to bring so much food? We could easilybine with the extension and feed a few thousand more if we used some of it." "Like I said before, thend through the portal is cold and empty. You need enough food tost until you reach betternd," Ferguson answered. "... How long will that take?" It was a question Ferguson had been wondering himself for quite some time. Since Levon''s Oracle had never made it out of the snow, the two of them could onlye up with a number that was closer to a guess than to an estimate. "I do not know," Ferguson replied honestly, "It could take a month or two." "Eugh... so troublesome." Ferguson ignored the groans of his Oracle, despite sympathizing with his frustration. He felt the same, after all, yet he couldn''t me anybody but himself. This food shortage was a disaster of his own making. He had sent his Oracle on a decades-long recruitment campaign around his realm and was met with outstanding enthusiasm. Stories of the overwhelming sess in the previous battle phase had been passed down in legends; thousands flocked at the opportunity to be part of a legend themselves. But he had drastically underestimated how much food they needed; he simply couldn''t feed them all. It was humiliating. Even after dedicating most of the volunteers to the task of obtaining food around his realm, he could barely support thebined force of 38,000 near the portal. If he could not reliably feed them in his own realm, there was no way he could do so in another''s. What was supposed to be a fragment of his initial army would now need to be the entire force. In the eyes of someone who did not need to eat thanks to his ruler status, this was even more frustrating. I could have an army four times the size if they did not eat so much. The situation may have been irking enough for the ruler to clench his fist, yet such a scenario was not dire by any means for one simple reason: That human must have the same problem. It was something he wholeheartedly believed. Food was a universally limiting factor. If the area on the other side of the portal was as frozen as Levon made it out to be, there would likely not be any areas rich enough to supply arge army for arge distance. Even if Jacob managed to supply an army twice his size, Ferguson was confident it would not be enough to stop him. Ferguson crossed his arms as he slipped into thought. I fought against that human personally, but his strength was nothing to boast about. If his humans areparable, my ogres should have no problems crushing them. Sure, he did lose the fight in the end, but that was due to an unexpected trick, rather than an advantage in power. That human''s tricks... They were something that the ogre could not quite brush off even with the overwhelmingly stronger physique of his army. Jacob''s previous trick had resulted in the annihtion of a 50,000-member lizard army. Of course, he had his ogres prepare for the cold by fashioning warm clothing out of the hides of hares, yet he was sure that the human had something else up his sleeve. But I might know what that is. "Erik. Send in the scouts." At the ruler''s words, the Oracle shot up with an energy so strong that one would doubt the lethargic sight he previously disyed. "Is it finally time!?" Ferguson nodded at the screen, "Waiting will only waste food." A wide grin appeared on the Oracle''s face who exited his tent and stretched his massive body. The surrounding ogres quickly turned their heads at the sight of this muscr behemoth of an Oracle who fashioned the pelt of a gigantic gray wolf and towered over most of them at a seven-foot-tall height. "Do you see that? Erik is out!" "He came out at this time? Did something happen?" "Look at his grin... that could only mean one thing!" The Oracle''s eager expression was enough for those around him to guess what was about to happen. Sure enough, Erik''s next words confirmed their theories. "BRING ME THE MOUNTAIN TRIBE!" he fiercely shouted, his voice loud enough for the entire clearing to hear. "It is time!" "We can finally fight!" "Huahhhh!" Cheers rang out at his words as a small group of ogres coated inyers of sewn hare hide approached the massive figure. "You hail from the tops of mountains," the Oracle addressed the group once they gathered in front of him, "Snow is your grass and the cold is your home. You should bear no grudge against thend we will raid!" Erik scanned the faces of the ogres in front of him for any signs of nerves, but nodded his head in satisfaction at their unfazed determination. The Oracle continued, "As those who thrive in the snow, you will get the honor of entering this frigidnd as scouts for our force. May the steps you walk will leave their prints in legends!" """Huahhhh!""" As cheers sounded on his screen, Ferguson recounted the tasks these scouts were assigned with. The first was as expected- the group would need to scout out the area around the portal to see if there was anything of note and to make sure there were no hidden forces nearby who could ambush their group. Ferguson originally wanted to send a scouting group far into Jacob''s realm to find out how long it would take to get out of the snow, but he had to scrap the idea for a few reasons. For starters, Jacob could clearly see what was going on in his own realm. There was no way he''d let the scouts do as they pleased without sending a force to intercept them. Without knowing whether his scouts were dead or still traveling, he would likely be wasting months of time and some of his dwindling food supplies for little reward. He could circumvent this by sending in Erik, since unlike the scouts, he could see his view on his screen, but that was never going to happen. It was way too risky to send his Oracle through the portal for a simple scouting mission, so the scouts he sent actually needed to return alive to deliver the information he desired. Building off of this, he decided to send those familiar with the cold to see how frigid Jacob''s realm was inparison to ces he knew the ogres could handle. While Levon did rage about the conditions, his lizards were especially weak in such an environment, so Ferguson wanted to verify how much had been dramatized. Levon''s word is not very reliable, but he did say something interesting... There was one thing that Levon said during their conversation in the training ground that stuck out to him. His fire magic was not working in Jacob''s realm. It was a haunting thought; Ferguson could only pity the lizard who had a major lifeline ripped out from under him without any warning. Levon med it on the cold, but... What if it was something else? This was the other mission he tasked his scouts with figuring out. "Erik. Make sure you remind them about the aura testing," the ruler ordered. Ferguson watched as his Oracle gave a subtle nod on his screen andmunicated his words before finishing off his boisterous speech to the ogres. "You are the ones who will set sight on our new opponents. Let us crush their heads as we did those insects of before!" """Huuahh!!""" With those words, the first set of ogres from the mountain tribe disappeared into the red hue of the portal. "So it begins..." Ferguson muttered at the sight. "It has been a long wait." "... I do not know whether you are hungry for battle or just impatient," Ferguson sighed at his Oracle''s response, "You will need to wait a bit longer regardless. Send in two more men from each tribe. I need to see how the others can handle the cold." The Oracle nodded his head at the request and the eight ogres entered the portal soon after. Now we wait. It took about an hour before the ogres returned to the realm; each shivering heavily and covered in snow. Erik immediately ran over to greet the group and note their discoveries. "Erik. Give me an update," Ferguson ordered upon noticing their finished discussion. "It seems to be an environment even the mountain tribe struggles with. They im the cold was pressing down on them. There is nothing but snow in every direction with no trees or game to speak of," The Oracle grimaced as he spoke. "Pressing down on them? What does that mean?" "... I do not know either. They said the cold made them feel heavy." "That is odd..." It seems Levon was telling the truth. There was always the chance that Levon was exaggerating the awful conditions in an attempt to save face following his brutal defeat, but this had not been the case. The environment on the other side of the portal was truly as abysmal as he made it out to be. "... And what did they say about their aura?" Ferguson brought himself to ask. "It seemed to work fine in strengthening their bodies, but..." "But?" "They im that it did notst long. Once they used up what was stored in their bodies, they could not recover any of it," the Oracle hesitantly admitted. "I knew it! So it was not because of the cold, after all!" "... Chieftain?" "Ah- Give me a moment." Ferguson drifted into thought at the realization. Did that human truly not put any mana on his realm? It was something that was difficult to believe even with all signs pointing to it being the case. Despite ogres using it nearly exclusively for body strengthening, mana was something that Ferguson deemed to be essential. It will be impossible for him to go far in thispetition without mana. This was something that Ferguson wholeheartedly believed. ...But that is not my concern. Not having mana will greatly limit what he can do in the fight. Still, even with this discovery, Ferguson could not shake a feeling of unease when he thought about sending his ogres into the fight. I did not use aura during my fight with him. I overpowered him without it. In theory, his ogres should have no problem crushing the humans regardless of theck of mana, especially when considering his hidden reward from the previous battle phase that would help them in doing so, but this fact made Ferguson even more wary. Is this the trick that the human nned? If the trick would have no impact on the oue of the fight, was it really the trick that was meant for him? There was also the whole issue of his scouts apparently being weighed down by the cold which he had no clue how to address. Such thoughts filled Ferguson''s head as shbacks to Jacob''s wooden sword pointed at his neck reyed in his mind. "... We are not ready," the Seedling mumbled out loud. "WHAT!?" Ferguson turned to the screen at the sudden shout from his Oracle. "What do you mean ''we are not ready!?'' I have been gathering men for decades! I have been waiting here doing nothing for weeks! I even just sent in scouts! How could we not be ready!?" Ferguson''s eyes narrowed at his Oracle''s sudden outburst. "We are not ready because I said we are not ready. We need more men and more supplies. There are no trees on the other side of the portal. If it is as cold as the scouts im, we need to prepare more firewood." "YOU WANT TO DELAY OUR FIGHT FOR FIREWOOD!?" The surrounding ogres watched in confusion as Erik sprinted over to a nearby oak tree and wrapped his arms around its trunk. "IF YOU WANT FIREWOOD, I WILL GIVE YOU FIREWOOD!" With a sudden motion, the massive Oracle ripped the gigantic tree out of the ground, roots and all... "HUAHHH!" ... Before heunched it through the portal with a shout. "H-how is *hah*, how is that for firewood?" the Oracle stammeredpletely out of breath after the whole scene. Ferguson simply stared at the screen with a nk expression. "... Are you done?" The Oracle gave a small nod. "Good. Then set up a few more extension camps about the same distance as the one to the south," Ferguson paused, "Send out messengers to the reserves. Tell them that anyone who can get at least two months'' worth of food for themself can join the fight. The men here can gather firewood until then." The ruler looked at his Oracle with mixed emotions. "You will get your fight soon. Work hard until then." Given the sess of the southern extension, it was possible to increase their force by at least a few thousand more. It seemed as though every ogre would count in this uing fight. We only need to win one battle. Whatever petty tricks he pulls can be overpowered by our strength. Once we make a foothold in his realm, the rest of the reserve cane through. With those orders set, Ferguson began to advance the time in his realm. We just need to win one battle. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 50 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 50 "You did a good job back there. I seriously don''t know what I would''ve done if you actually ate that poisonous mushroom like they wanted you to." "That mushroom killed a chicken who barely took a small bite... there is no way I would eat that," Rynn smiled in disbelief while recounting the scene, "I honestly do not understand it. I just finished telling them about how I am needed to save the world and they wanted to test me by trying to kill me?" "That vige was... a bit interesting to put it lightly." The Oracle sighed at myment, "I might use a different word, but yes. I am d to be back, though." Roughly 30 minutes in my domain, about equivalent to 22 years in my realm, had passed since the battle phase officially started. As I predicted, Ferguson made no signs of movement even after the portals opened. A lot had happened since Rynn finished his path across the massive river and stepped foot on the western half of my realm. For starters, the two camps we had nned for were immediately set up: one at theke between the two mountain ranges and the other near the southern mountain passageway. Given how they were positioned there indefinitely, many of the soldiers brought their families with them to the area. To prevent any chaos when Ferguson inevitably attacked, the families were required to stay at the southern camp; the camp between the mountain ranges was strictly kept for soldiers who would alternate between the two at different times of the year. It is hard to even call them camps at this point; they are closer to cities with how many people there are. Over one hundred thousand people crossed into the western half of the continent following the path''spletion- the vast majority of them being either the families of the soldiers or the soldiers themselves. I estimated that there were nearly 60,000 soldiers between the two camps and around 30,000 nonbatants, which were made up of women, children, and soldiers who had grown too old to fight over the two decades since the camps were constructed. Even though they would not be fighting, these people were still doing their best to contribute by crafting weapons, gathering food, and making clothing. These were not all of the peoplemitted to joining the fight, however; around another 20,000 soldiers stationed in various viges not too far from the passage had also pledged to join once the time came. I am just d I prepared well enough to feed all of them. It just so happened that this area was in a prime location for taking advantage of all the food options avable in my realm. Not only was there an abundance of chickens and cherry trees, but therge amount of mountain-induced rain caused mushrooms to flourish, as well. These factors, in addition to the nearby coast and various small streams which allowed for fishing to be both easy and essible, made food abundant enough to support such arge amount of people. After I heard Julia''s choices, I figured I might''ve gone a bit overkill with the food options, but I''m d to see I made the right choice. I couldn''t help but smile when thinking about it. My choices back then allowed my fighters to have an abundance of food and their family nearby in the current time. It is because of this that the soldiers'' morale was extremely high despite their uing march into a bloody battle. This ease was especially evident in the southern camp where the soldiers began to expand their families and children could be seen ying between the tipis. Rynn, who was just returning to this camp after traveling the southern mudts, was not an exception to this. "Rynn! You are finally back!" "Dad!" Rynn brightly smiled as the two figures stood up to greet him. "Hi, you two." I watched the heartwarming scene of Rynn embracing A and his son in a hug with a smile on my face. It was inevitable, wasn''t it? Although it took some time, the two childhood friends had gotten together in the end. "I missed you, Rynn," A muttered with her head buried in his chest. "I missed you both too. Sorry for being gone for so long." A was now 43 years old. Despite Rynn being around the same, he still looked to be in his mid-twenties thanks to his Oracle status. "You better make it up to me~" "I... will do my best." "Ew."'' The two grinned as their son backed away; Rynn embarrassedly, and A with an evil glint in her eye. "You have grown a bit since thest time I saw you, Rathok," Rynn said, stopping his retreat. The child nodded proudly, "I did! Mom had to make me new clothesst month because of it." "I think they turned out pretty great," A grinned, "I would have made some for you too, Rynn, but you have not grown in years~" Rynn rolled his eyes at her teasing, "Obviously. I already need to look down to see you. I would hurt my neck if I grew any more." The Oracle, once relentlessly teased for being short, had since reached the famed height of six feet. It was hrious watching her smugness crumble as Rynn grew taller than her. When A gave birth to their son 11 years ago, there was no question what his name would be. As heartwarming as it was seeing the couple through over the years, the feeling was a bit bittersweet; I found myself looking at pictures of a certain elf girl on my phone countless times because of it. "Does it hurt when you look at me, Dad?" Rynn smiled at his kid''s innocent question and ruffled his hair. "Not at all. Only your mom." "Hey! How is that fair!?" Ignoring A''s pouts behind him, Rynn took notice of something ck in Rathok''s hand, which the kid immediately hid behind his back. Before Rynn could ask about the object, A spoke behind him. "Rathok has been working hard to make you a present while you were gone~" "Really!?" The kid nodded, "It is not finished yet, though." "Should I go back to the south to give you more time?" "No! I-I will just work on it while you are here... you do not have to go." The two parents smiled at his reaction. "He really is just like you were when you were his age, Rynn~" "... Hopefully that is a good thing," Rynn sighed. "It is!" Rynn grinned at the kid''s response. "How about I tell you two about some of the things that happened during this trip to the south?" "Sure!" "Yes, please!" While Rynn recounted a tale of nearly being force-fed a poisonous mushroom, I took the time to look over the western side of the continent. With it being isted from the eastern half of my realm by the river, I hadn''t really taken the time to inspect it too closely up until recently. The people there were as unknown to me as I was to them. As the path from thendslide had washed away long before my priest was selected, and because Uunga rushed straight to the north to fight Levon''s Oracle, neither got the chance to spread the word of my existence in this side of my realm. Rectifying this issue was one of the main reasons why I sent Rynn on a tour around this side of the continent. In most cases, him lifting up a tree was enough proof to back up his ims, but I did asionally need to step in by making a spear fly to convince others. This was usually enough to get people to believe, yet there were a few particrly stubborn people who wanted to test the Oracle in their own way, which is how Rynn nearly ended up eating a highly poisonous mushroom. The two of us actually learned a ton about the humans here while on the trip- the biggest surprise being that they had yet to invent spears and javelins. It was surprising, but it does make sense. Those weapons were invented in the east to defend against mountain chickens, but they don''t exist in the western part of the continent. The closest thing they have are predator chickens which are not as big of a threat since they usually hunt solo. The absence of mountain chickens also allowed for arge poption of chickens who retained their signature white feathers, as the need for green or brown feathers like those in the east was not as dire. Despite not yet inventing javelins or spears, it was not as though the people in the west had been stagnant over the past 1,000 years. The humans living in the south''s mudts had actually gotten fairly skilled in setting up traps for the big chickens who feasted on poisonous mushrooms. Having lost their ability to fly thanks to their size, the humans started digging holes into the soft mud and covering them with leaves and branches. After being baited by either a mushroom or earthworm resting on top, these giant chickens would fall into the hole without any way of escaping and be an easy meal. Neither Rynn nor I missed how revolutionary such a concept was for the realm and the Oracle immediately began recruiting these people to help defend from Ferguson. After Rynn modified the design by making the traps deeper and cing shallow spears upright inside them to make the traps more lethal, the recruits were quickly put to workying these traps in the northern mountain passageway It was a lot of work, especially because of how much harder the ground waspared to the mudts, but I expected them to eventually cover the middle of the passage. I should probably check the progress of that. After waiting for Rynn to finish catching up with his family, I spoke through the screen. "Hey, Rynn. Do you know how many of the spike traps are finished?" "Before I left for the south, they had a few thousand of them. There should be a bit more by now, though," he answered. A few thousand... it''s a good start, but not nearly enough for our defense n. "How about the other preparations?" I asked. The Oracle nodded, "We have at least three spears for every human and more javelins than we should need." "Perfect! Would you mind helping a bit with the digging next time you''re up there then?" "Sure. I do not mind," Rynn paused for a second, "Do you really think the n will work against them, though?" "It should. At the very least, I don''t see it working against us even if we''re wrong." Back when I was first forced to form the mile-wide mountain passages, I used a bit of maliciouspliance and created tforms high up on both sides that could only be essed through a slope in the valley. What this meant was that there would be humans stationed thousands of feet above the invading force. Any non-flying creature would have to make it through the passage and climb up the slopes to even have a chance to attack them. This was the crutch of the n. After loading the middle of the passageway with traps, the ogres would naturally begin to move to the sides of the passageway- right in the range of javelins and stones being thrown down at them from the humans above. No matter how muscr these creatures were, they would not fare well against a 50lb rock falling on their head from 2,000ft in the air. The ogres would be pretty much screwed either way. Either they continue upying the middle of the passage and suffer thousands of casualties from the spear traps or hug the sides of the mountains and risk being crushed to death by falling rocks. I have no idea how big Ferguson''s army will be when he eventually attacks, but I want to whittle down his army as much as possible before my humans actually start fullbat. Having gone up against an ogre, I knew how physically strong they were. Every ogre impaled, crushed, or squished could mean one to five fewer human deaths. Beep! Beep! While I was thinking those thoughts, a sudden rm sounded on one of my monitors. Someone came through the portal? It was an rm I had heard many times by now. When the portal first opened, there had been more than a few curious ogres who must''vee across the gateway and wondered inside. Of course, they immediately ran back after seeing the frozen wastnd, so it wasn''t anything I had to worry about. It has been a while since thatst happened though. Out of both curiosity and precaution, I decided to move my screen to the portal where I was greeted by a small group of ogres looking around and striking odd poses. "Squawk!" I looked up at the penguin watching the screen from the ice pce''s balcony behind me. "You think those are stances?" The penguin nodded at my question, "Squawk! Squawk?" "Well, whatever their magic is, it won''t work in our realm, so I don''t think we''ll need to worry about anything crazy." The fact that someone as strong as Ferguson could also use magic sent shivers down my spine. I am so d I went the no-mana route. "...Squawk?" "No. Ferguson finding out isn''t a big deal or anything. I mean, if Levon told him about the cold, I''m sure he''d tell him about not having mana." If he starts spreading that fact around the Academy, I might cry though. Although I wasn''t sure how big of a deal it would be, people finding out that my realm has no mana might dissuade them from attacking. Since I needed to stay on the defensive until my humans could get some better weapons, not having an opponent could potentially set me back extremely far. I was able to do so much with the rewards from thest battle phase... skipping one wouldn''t be the end of my realm or anything, but I really want that Tier III prize. The small group of ogres continued walking around as our conversation continued. "Hey, Mister Flippers, do you think Ferguson sent them in as scouts? They seem a bit too organized to be random ogres." "... Squawk." "That doesn''t mean an army is about to run through. He could just be checking to see the situation for himself before he actually starts making his force." "Squawk." "Well, yeah, but isn''t it a bit too early for that? I mean, it hasn''t even been close to an hour since the portal opened," I narrowed my eyes while watching the screen, "Then again, I guess there''s nothing stopping him from invading now, but I seriously figured he''d be cautious and wait longer." I''m d I started the battle preparations so early. If he really is about to attack, we''ll be ready. Before long, the group of ogres retreated back through the portal, leaving me to release a sigh of relief. "See? It was probably nothing. It would be one thing if the Oracle was with-" "Squawk!?" Right as I was speaking, a massive oak tree flew through the portal, crashing into the piles of snow around it. "... Mister Flippers?" "... Squawk?" "It looks like the Oracle was with them." "Squawk!" "I know, I know!" I could feel my heart racing as I clicked my Oracle''s icon on the monitor. "Hey, Rynn. The invasion might be happening sooner than we thought." The Oracle shot up from around a fire where he sat with his family. "Dad? "Rynn? Are you okay?" "Are you sure?" He asked, ignoring the two voices behind him. "Not exactly, but I''ve definitely seen signs of the enemy Oracle. We''re going to need to start step one. I''ll send the signal to the other viges, so I need you to bring the soldiers to the northern camp and have them start digging spike traps. Send the others at the southern camp to the nearby viges until we get a better idea of what to expect." "... Got it." The Oracle sat back down and looked at his family. "It may be time," he whispered, "I need you guys to travel to the teau. Old man Angru will take care of you there." "But Dad-" "Will do," A interrupted Rathok''s plea, her face wearing an expression more serious than either boy had seen her have before. "No, but-" "Come on," A grabbed Rathok by the hand, "Help me get us ready to go." "Dad!" Rathok looked to his dad for help, only to be greeted by an equally serious expression. "You will be okay," Rynn said forcing a smile, "If it turns out we are wrong, you cane back soon. Go help your mom for now so you can head out in the morning." Rynn kneeled down and gave his worried kid a hug. "I am the Oracle, but I am also your dad. I will make sure I save this world and return to your side, so stay strong and look after your mom until then, okay?" After feeling his kid''s nod on his chest, Rynn stood up and gazed around the camp. "I need to let the others know. I will be back to say goodbye before you two go." With those parting words, the Oracle stood up and started his announcement. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 51 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 51 "The time has finallye," Erik muttered after watching thest soldier disappear into the red portal before him. Nearly six months had passed since the first set of scouts ventured through the portal. Although they had sent a few more since then with the goal of finding where the snow ends, none had returned. Whether this was due to the distance being over the two months they had predicted or because the scouts had been in, it was impossible to know. With their force now through the portal, such a thing was irrelevant, anyway. "What are you waiting for? Do not just stand there after rushing me." Erik scoffed at the chieftain''s voice in his head, "I am going. I was admiring the sight, that is all." Over 52,000 ogres donning thick pelts andrge clubs had marched through the gateway with squads hauling supplies joining behind them. As much as I hated the wait, the chieftain was right. Creating the additional extensions had proved to be a great sess; their current force was muchrger than the 38,000 that they originally nned to attack with. In only half a year, their army was able to grow by 37% and ample supplies such as firewood had been procured. His men had already entered enemy territory and would soon be on their way to conquer a world. Now it was time for him to join them. Just as Erik was about to step through the portal with empty hands, a familiar voice spoke in his head. "Wait. You have it, right?" "Of course," the Oracle patted his pelt covering something hiding on his chest, "I am not careless enough to leave it behind." With those words, the ogre finished his step. In an instant, the lush and warm forest vanished; in its ce was a snowy and barren wastnd spreading out as far as the eye could see. Cold. This was the first word that came to mind as a frigid gust of wind blew over him. When the ogre attempted to put up his hand to stop the snow from blowing into his eyes, a new word entered his head. Heavy. It was exactly as the scouts had described. Although it was not anything major as he only noticed the weight upon moving his body, the fact that the weight affected him at all was a scary thought. If I can feel it with my power... The Oracle nced over at his army who were lined in formation with bent knees. Those leaning on their clubs to stand were numerous and many more wore snow-covered pelts signaling their previous falls into the powder. "Two months," Erik muttered as another st of arctic wind blew into him, "We need to deal with this for two months." In reality, this was simply an estimate. Not only was the distance following the connection to the maind unknown, but given the snow and the weight the army would need to deal with, there was no telling how long the march could take. Yet the army was focused on this two-month window. It was as though the distance, the snow, nor the weight would change this timeline; they would arrive for battle in two months. They had to. The food will onlyst two months. As this army''s leader, I will get them there in time. With these thoughts resolute in his mind, Ferguson took a breath of cold air and addressed his men. "Listen up!" The ogres turned at his words. "This world is harsh. It may be cold. It may be windy. The world itself may be pressing down on us," The Oracle paused, a fierce grin appearing on his face, "But does that not make conquest even more exciting?" Muttering could be heard between the ogres. "Those before us had it easy," he continued, "They simply walked through the portal and squashed the insects waiting for them on the other side in warm sun. Does this harsh greeting not make our battle more honorable? We only need two months to reach betternd. What are two monthspared to an eternity in legend!?" ""Huahhh!!"" A reinvigorated battle cry sounded out among the ogres as if their suffering moments before had been a facade. Good. The Oracle nodded in satisfaction at their reaction, "Then march! Two months may be nothing, but let us not turn it into three." With these words, the ogre army began their trek through the snow. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ I couldn''t help but let out a groan as I looked at my screen. "Squawk!" "I know, I know." There are way too many of them. Just from a quick nce, I could tell that Ferguson brought just as big, if not arger, force than Levon. It was a terrifying sight. Not only were the ogres much physically stronger than the lizards, but they were also clearly more prepared. Where Levon''s army had scales, they had fat and wore pelts. While Levon''s army had ws, they wielded clubs. While Levon''s force arrived starved, Ferguson''s seemed to bring enough food and firewood tost the walk. "I knew it before, but this is really gonna be tough," I muttered. "Squawk." "You can say that again" "...Squawk?" "No, I- nevermind." Although our opponent was tough, it was not as though my humans had been doing nothing since thest battle phase. Unlike previously where Uunga had been left to fend off the invasion by himself, there was a massive army waiting behind my Oracle to fight against the ogres with weapons leagues ahead of what they wielded one thousand years prior. My humans were ready. Preparations had only ramped up in the half a year since Ferguson sent his scouts to my realm. Not only was the entire northern passage nearly covered in traps, but we were able to recruit thousands more soldiers and increase our already-overflowing stockpile of weapons. "I guess I should send the signal, huh?" "Squawk!" Depending on how fast they marched, it would likely take 2-3 months for Ferguson''s army to reach the passage. With that in mind, despite most of my soldiers being located between the two camps, there were still arge amount in viges outside of them. As long as they were close enough to reach the northern mountain passage within two months, Rynn and I were fine with letting them spread out a bit. This leniency was only possible because of the resource points that Uunga got for me. Sending a messenger would take a lot of time and cut the area these soldiers could live in half, so I made a system that could eliminate the need for such a process. In every vige withmitted soldiers, I would make a spear fly when it was time to mobilize to the north. Since there were a ton of nonbatants at these viges, I also had the option to raise a fish instead, which I nned to do if Ferguson still hadn''t attacked over a year after the scouts were sent. This was pretty much just a message saying they could return to the southern camp; there was no point keeping the soldiers from their families if Ferguson wouldn''t attack for another decade. Sadly, it looks like they won''t get to see the fish fly this time. With a sigh, I began going through the nearby viges and raising the spears one by one. "Squawk!" "Huh? Oh yeah- I guess they were staying in this vige." While I was raising the spear in a vige near the two-month boundary, we spotted A and Rathok on the screen. Sorry guys. It looks like you''ll need to visit baby Angru after all. With onest look at the two, I moved the screen away to finish up the signals. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ "Come on,e on!" "We need to leave, Rathok... you saw the spear fly." "Wait a second, Mom! I am almost done!" The kid called out as he attached thest ck stone to the weapon he had been fiddling with. "You can finish making that on our way to the teau; Old man Angru has been waiting to meet you!" Rathok held up the weapon, carefully examining the ck stones lining its side, "He can meet me after we win the battle. I need to get this to Dad first." "I know you want to give it to your dad, but it is too dangerous to go there now," A sighed, "You can give it to him after everything is over to celebrate him winning- I am sure he will love it." "There is no point in giving it to him after the fight. I need to get it to him now so he can use it to fight those things!" With an expression of pity on her face, A sat next to her son. "Do you remember the story of what happened to Rynn''s dad... your grandfather?" she asked. The kid nodded hesitantly, "Dad made him a spear, but it broke." "Exactly," A sighed, "I know you have been working very hard, but making weapons is not easy. The people here might not even get there in time for the battle... if you can not get it to him in time anyway, why not wait and spend the time perfecting it? I think Rynn would be very sad if something you worked so hard on broke so quickly." Rathok nced down at the weapon in his hands. The weapon itself had a long shaft made from a thick branch of a cherry tree, even wider than both his fists curled together. Attached in two rows on opposite sides of this pole were shiny ck stones with small gaps between them. He had firste across these shiny ck rocks when exploring a stream near the southern camp that seemed to unearth it from theyers of soil covering the ground. Although initially attracted to the shine, a small cut on his finger he suffered when attempting to pick one up revealed the stones'' sharp properties. It would be perfect for Dad! He can cut a beast in half with this stone! Such thoughts filled the kid''s mind upon thinking of how the sharp stone could be used to make an amazing slicing weapon. It wasn''t until he went back to share his idea with his mother that the kid learned about an eerily simr situation paralleled by his own father. To prevent such an incident from urring, Rathok shaped the thickest shaft possible that could still fit in his father''s hands for the weapon. He also used tens of small stones to make the sharp edges of the weapon to ensure that the breakage of one section would not make the entire row useless. Aside from this, he also arranged a backup row of stones on the opposite side of the weapon in case one side somehow became unusable. Although Rathok was about to argue this, the resolute expression on his mom''s face made him confident that it would be pointless. "... Fine." A smiled, "Thank you, Rathok. We will leave for the teau in the morning, so please help me get ready." With a small nod, the kid put down his weapon and walked over to their tipi to begin making preparations for their travel. Once night came, Rathok stood over his sleeping mother with an expression equally as resolute as the one she showed to him. "I am sorry, Mom," he muttered, "There is no way my weapon will break." With those quiet words, the kid picked up his weapon and a small pouch of supplies he had thrown together during the day before exiting the tipi and the vige alike. By the time A woke in the morning, Rathok was nowhere to be found. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ "Lift!" ""Rahhhh!"" The group of soldiers worked together to lift arge stone at the Oracle''s signal. "Try to match my pace. We break at the next marking!" Rynn had lost track of how many times he had led the soldiers up the mountain slope over the past few weeks. With the spear traps nearlypleted, they had decided to switch focus to stocking up the ledges on the sides of the passageway with stones to throw down at the invaders when they inevitably marched through the area. "Hah... that guy is crazy." "H-how can he even do that?" "Oracles are way too strong..." Rynn paid no attention to the muttering from the soldiers behind him who marveled at him effortlessly lifting a stone over his head five times the size of what the three of them worked together to carry. Hearing stories of the Oracle''s strength was a lot different than witnessing it first-hand. I figured they would be used to this by now. Although Rynn tried to ignore them, it was a bit embarrassing having so much attention on himself; it was something he had not grown used to ever since its beginnings during his construction of the pathway over the river. Being modest would only slow their progress, however, so the Oracle would need to endure the difort. "We will take a minute break here," Rynn spoke after the group arrived at the first marking, cing therge stone down onto the slope. ""Yes!"" Rynn stared past the soldiers who were massaging their arms after lowering their stone and looked toward the southern mountain range. I heard Rathok and A were waiting to cross the river until after the invaderse. Hopefully, they are doing alright... "Hey, Rynn! It''s time!" His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden voice in his head. "The invaders..." Rynn could feel his heartbeat increase at his words, "They are really here?" The group fell quiet at the Oracle''s words. His words directed toward the sky could only mean one thing. "The creator of the world?" "Did he say the invaders are here!?" "Quiet! Do not distract him!" "How many are there?" Rynn asked as he distanced himself from the soldiers to avoid their mutterings. "It looks like there''s a bit over 50,000 of them," the creator of the world answered, "We will be in for a tough fight..." "Fifty thousand..." It was a number that was unmistakenly huge, but it was notably less than the roughly 85,000 men they had ready to face them. "The traps you guys made should hopefully widdle down their numbers a ton before you guys actually need to fight them. You''ve been doing an amazing job leading them, Rynn." "Thank you," the Oracle smiled embarrassedly at the honest praise, "Did you send the signal to the camps?" "I raised the spears in all of them except for the northern camp- I''ll let you do the honors there. Prepare them to be ready in two months; have them set up a temporary camp near the bottom of the slope." The Oracle nodded at the order. His whole life had been leading up to this moment; he would carry the world over his shoulders just as he did the stone. "I will save this world..." Rynn took one more nce toward the south. ... I will protect you two. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 52 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 52 Erik stared at the gap between the mountains in front of his army. "This must be it..." After traveling across an empty, snowy wastnd for over two months, his army was freezing, hungry, and exhausted. Upon reaching the connection between the invader buffer zone and the main continent about a month into their journey, the army was ecstatic thinking they would soon reach greennd; Erik had even given a speech to bolster their motivation for the anticipated fight when crossing. But such a fight never happened. To their despair, instead of being greeted by grass and life at the entrance to the maind, the ogre army was only met with gigantic mountains overlooking more ice and snow. Attempts to cross the mountains ended in failure; they were simply too steep, and a few brutal falls from those who tried to climb quickly deemed it too risky. The ogres had no choice but to follow the snowy path before them. There was no telling how long this massive wall of mountains would extend; the army only grew more restless as their supplies steadily dwindled and rations were put into ce. Yet right as they had burnt thest of their firewood, a gap in the mountains had appeared in the distance. With a fire in his eyes seemingly burning bright enough to thaw the frozen limbs of his men, Erik stood at the rear of his army and called out to the crowd. "The path to victory is before us! It is no coincidence we reached the mountain''s break the moment our supplies ran dry- how can it be anything but destiny!?" he announced, "The Chieftain prepared us well. Now it is time for us to conquer thend in his name!" Although still covered by a thinyer of snow, its depth seemed to lessen as he nced further down the pathway. It was still too far to see across, but the thinning snow could only mean one thing. "Green grasses wait for us on the other side of this path. The food and warmth you have all been craving are nearly in our grasp," the Oracle announced, "There will be enemies in our way who want to stop our advance and keep us cold and starved! Do they not know how pitiful their resistance will be to our might!? It will be us whoy im to thend, the meat, and everything else this pathetic world has to offer! Their conquest is our destiny!" The Oracle pointed toward the snowy pathway before them. "Let us march into battle and crush any weakling who dares stand in our way! Our names will be written into legend with their blood!" ""HUAHH!!"" Just as the ogres began storming into the gap, an annoyed voice sounded in the Oracle''s head. "Why did you send them through without giving them time to prepare? You did not even send scouts!" Erik''s eye twitched at the sudden criticism as he looked over the advancing army. "What good would there be in waiting, aside from freezing our men?" he argued, "Scouts are pointless, anyway. We will all be fighting no matter how many are behind the mountains." "There is more to fighting than just numbers." The Oracle''s eyes narrowed as he followed behind his men with their clubs raised, "Yes. There is also strength. Nothing will beat us in that." "... I told you not to underestimate these humans." "You are underestimating me if you think anything they do can bring me to my knees," Erik spat, clenching his fist. "Might is not the only thing that can topple a giant. You need information to n for what that could be before you attack. Your entire army would have frozen had I not made you prepare for this. I am telling you to be careful of their tricks," the voice warned, "Why do you dismiss my words when they have been proven right?" "Enough with the nagging!" Erik scowled, his stepsing to a halt, "I have united the tribes, I have traveled the world several times over, and I have put together thergest army our world has ever seen! I have been following your orders for tens of years. You may have got us to this point, but now that we are here, let me fight how I see fit! What is the point of having all of this power if you decide every arm I lift!?" The voice in his head suddenly quieted after his outburst. "... Fine. If your strength trumps the need for caution, prove it. Deal with this disaster yourself." "There will be no disaster. Only victory-" "Hahhh!" A sudden screaming from the front of his force echoed in the pathway and interrupted his rebuttal. Did the fighting start? Although that was his first thought, Erik could not see any signs of foreign life in the path ahead. The Oracle clicked his tongue and pushed through the halted crowd, "Move aside." The ogres quickly made way for their massive leader who soon found himself at the front of the army, staring down at a bloody and unconscious ogre inside a shallow hole. Sharp stones attached to the ends of sticks seemed to pierce through its body thatid meer feet below theyer of snow he stood on. "You," The Oracle pointed to the ogre standing next to him, "Tell me what happened." "I-I do not know. He rushed ahead and suddenly fell through the snow!" The voice''s warning echoed in his mind as he looked at the scene. If this is the trick he was so worried about, it is a pathetic one. The Oracle turned to face his men, "These weaklings think a few holes can stop us? It looks more like they dug their own graves to me! Keep moving for now- they could not have made many of these." ""Yes!"" At his words, the ogres continued their advance with Erik returning to his position at their rear, but the screams that he expected to be asional seemed to echo regrly as the army''s pace gradually slowed to a stop. These cowards. Erik spat as he once again pushed his way to the front of his army where he was greeted by a row of ogres crawling on the ground and whacking the snow in front of them with their clubs. The Oracle stood over one crawling ogre with a look of disgust on his face. "What happened to your pride? Are you willing to throw away your dignity over a few holes in the ground?" To his surprise, the target of his question did not stand, choosing to continue whacking the ground instead. "I came to fight, not to die in a hole," the ogre spoke, "I would rather be slow and fight than rush and die before it." "And what of your pride? Youy on your hands and knees in a foreignnd." "When our stories are told in legends, will they be of those we y or our method of reaching them? I will regain my pride with blood," the ogre gestured to the ogres behind him, "They can rush ahead and fall if they choose, but I would not be in front if that were their choice." The Oracle watched the line of ogres slowly inching up before looking at the remaining path ahead and clicking his tongue. Being slow is an understatement. This will take weeks at this pace. Putting aside their already depleted firewood, they would likely run out of food before they reached the end, too. With his fist clenched, the Oracle turned to speak to his army. "They could not have covered this whole gap with holes, there must be a path somewhere! Spread out and check the ground. Report if you reach ten club lengths without a hole!" ""Yes!"" . .. ... "So it was the two edges..." The ogre in front of the Oracle nodded his head, "Yes. So far no holes have been found near the edges of the mountainsides." Such a cement seemed obvious in retrospect, yet it took a few hours toe to such a revtion. After receiving the report, Erik spoke to his army. "Their petty trick only managed to dy the inevitable. Stick close to the mountains! Half will go with me on the right and the rest of you will walk against the left cliff. Let us race to battle!" ""HUAHHH!"" The Oracle stood at the rear as his army split into two and marched in lines near the edge of the cliff-like mountainsides roughly one mile apart. Despite him still holding out caution for any random holes in their way, none seemed to appear even after many minutes of walking. "After all of that nagging, this is what you feared?" Although Erik muttered this, there was no response from the voice in his head. "I will lead these men to victory. Wait and -" THUD! Out of nowhere, the ogre''s head in front of him exploded, covering the Oracle''s pelt with blood and pieces of brain matter. Erik stared in shock at the fallen body in front of him- arge stone one foot in diameter was embedded in its body where its head should be. What... With a hesitant movement, the Oracle shifted his gaze upward toward the source of the stone, only to see dozens more falling down toward him. "EVERYONE! WATCH OUT!" His shout was toote. Before any of the ogres even had a chance to dodge, they were bombarded by what appeared to be an avnche of stones. THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! TUHD! Blood sttered on the snow and the mountainside, staining the area crimson red. "HHUAGG!" Screams of pain erupted from those who had the misfortune of not immediately dying from the impacts- many of them had their shoulders fractured or their skulls cracked and were spewing blood. Those spared from the initial bombardment ran away from the mountainside, only for some to quickly fall through the snow and be embedded with spikes. "W-what is this-" Such words unconsciously slipped out of Erik''s mouth. The scene before him was something he never could have imagined. Those in front of him were being killed in droves- not in honorable battle, but in an ambush instead. A quick nce at the opposite mountainside revealed a simr scene taking ce. His men were being massacred by falling stones- the source of which was finally revealed. Although the angle of the cliff made it impossible to see the stones'' origin above his, Erik could clearly see arge number of thin creatures dropping them from a t area on the opposing mountainside. "No..." They were far too high to hit; there was absolutely nothing his men would be able to do to fight back. All of his shock quickly turned to fury. "SPREAD OUT! GET AWAY FROM THE MOUNTAIN!" His voice sounded out over the sounds of screams and chaos- the slow yet ordered formation they marched in prior to the stone bombardment quickly morphed into a frantic dash toward the middle of the mountain passageway. Their slow movements hindered by the heightened gravity left many to be crushed by stones even after the warning. Thousands of his men fell into holes in the snow; those who stuck closer to the mountainside held their clubs over their heads in an attempt to withstand any stones. THUD! Crack! "HUAGGG!" Yet the sounds of screams from both the mountainside and the snowy pathway only emphasized the pity of their resistance. "Travel in lines! Spreading out will only make more of you fall!" Erik managed to order through the chaos. At his words, those taking their chance in running toward the middle of the pathway began to bunch together and slowly walk forward. For those away from the mountainside, things seemed to calm down a bit. The inability of the stones to target them allowed for them to slowly regain their focus and breath; their only worry was now regarding the path in front of them. Schlinch! Suddenly, an ogre in the middle of the group was pierced in the chest by something falling from the sky. The men around him instinctively paused and stared at the ogre, who nced down at the pole sticking out of his side. With shaking hands, the ogre touched the area where he had been pierced before examining his now-blooded hand in horror. Thud! The body of the ogre copsed into the snow. A haunting realization quickly dawned on the ogres: even far from the edge of the passage, they were still in their range. Panic erupted. "N-no..." "What is this!?" "Huaahhhhh!" Schlinch! Schlinch! Schlinch! Schlinch! Dozens more of these weapons flew down from the cliffs andnded around them. "GET THROUGH THIS GAP AS FAST AS YOU CAN!" It was a mad dash toward the end of the passageway. Screams from the ogres filled the air as many fell into holes or were pierced by falling javelins. Those who fell into the pits were trampled deeper into the spear shafts as ogres used their bodies as tforms in their rush forward. Some attempted to use the aura they had saved up from before their voyage through the portal, but it was to no avail. The mana in their body had gradually leaked away during their two-month journey, now leaving their bodiespletely depleted. Where is the honor in this!? Such thoughts filled Erik''s mind as he watched the scene in front of him. He had lost track of how many of his men had perished, and with a lot of the pathway still remaining, there would undoubtedly be many more losses. As they struggled, a massive force could be seen gathering at the end of the pathway, in their hands were the same weapons that were now piercing his men. Erik could feel a vein throb in his forehead. "Look ahead!" he called out as his army sprinted forward, "Those weaklings without an ounce of muscle think they can stand up to us!? So what if they have a few cheap tricks- they will be crushed the moment we arrive! The chance to etch your feats in legend is in front of us! Keep moving forward!" A look of resolve seemed to morph onto the ogres'' faces at the Oracle''s words. ""HUAHHH!"" The ogre army continued pushing forward. As the ogres quickly approached the end of the pathway, a new barrage of javelins startedunching toward them- this time from the growing army in front of them. With no source of cover in the open pathway, the ogres were helpless against the onught. Erik''s fury only grew stronger with every corpse he passed. Although countless men fell around him from the onught of javelins, their advance continued moving forward. Eventually, the creatures responsible for all of this humiliation stood before them. ""HUAHHHH!!"" ""RAHHHHH!!"" After hours of provocation, the ogres rampaged, smashing at the humans with their clubs, who responded by piercing into the ogre''s fat with their spears. Javelins continued to rain down at the ogres from above as many more humans poured down from the mountains and reinforced their already enormous numbers. Schlinch! One javelin hit Erik''s shoulder, shallowly piercing his skin. So annoying! With a re, the Oracle pulled the weapon out of his shoulder as if it were nothing but a splinter and tossed it onto the ground. Although the javelins weren''t able to pierce him well thanks to his strength, the same clearly wasn''t the case for his men. Erik''s teeth clenched as he witnessed the battle. Despite initially being met with a wall of creatures blocking their advance, this wall quickly broke down; the battle now appeared to be made up of countless skirmishes between the two forces. After so many of his troops perished in the pathway, a quick nce revealed that they were outnumbered by at least two to one. The creatures in front of him seemed scrawny, but their strength did not appear to be too far behind that of his own men. Being jabbed at from multiple directions by such beings was not an easy scenario to counter. "Humans... that is what he called them, right? They use the tactics of insects," Erik spat as he charged forward toward a human with his back turned. Crack! With a solid punch, the human''s ribcage shattered and pierced its heart, instantly killing him. The Oracle paid no mind to the body and simply approached the next one before swiftly killing him too with a single blow. A spear suddenly stabbed at his side, but Erik grabbed its shaft and pulled the human toward him, grabbing its skull between his hands. "So weak..." St! He tightened his grasp around the human''s skill, crushing it between his hands. The body fell limp into the bloody snow. "There is only one of them that will be worth fighting," Erik muttered as he shook the blood and brain matter off of his hands. As if waiting for those words, the Oracle nced up to see a massive rock shooting toward him. "I found you!" With a grin, he reached under his wolf pelt and pulled out something he had waited decades to use. THUD! The boulder shattered into pieces, covering the snow in its fragments. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "What is that!?" "Squawk!?" Mr. Flippers and I looked at the screen in horror. Everything had been going extremely well up until this point with my humans'' efforts in making all of the traps and carrying heavy stones up the mountains more than paying off. It helped a ton that they stayed within the range of the javelins, too. Even after factoring in the height of the cliffs they threw from, the javelins could only reach a few hundred feet at best. In their desperate panic, however, most of the ogres switched their focus away from getting into the middle of the passage and instead rushed toward the end of the passage which was a stupid mistake. Of course, I weed the surprise as it only added to our kill count. From my quick estimates, Ferguson''s force went from a bit over 50,000 members to just barely over 20,000. Arge percentage of those who remained had various injuries and all of them were winded from their sprint across the mountain passage. With our force confronting the ogres nearing 60,000 men, and with thousands more waiting to reinforce, I was extremely optimistic about how this battle would go. But that was before witnessing what their Oracle held. Their Oracle was easy to spot thanks to his brutal showings of strength; with only Rynn able to do any meaningful damage to him, we nned for a simple surprise attack where he wouldunch a small boulder at him. I never thought the boulder would actually be enough to beat him, but I didn''t expect him to freaking smash right through it! His smashing through the boulder was crazy on its own, yet it was what he used to do it that terrified me. I witnessed it all on the screen; their Oracle grabbed what looked like a silver toy mallet from inside the pelt he wore, and after pressing a small button on its side, it grew massively into a weapon only seen in fantasy. The hammer itself was huge with its double-sided faces spanning roughly two feet in diameter. It seemed to be made from some kind of metal resembling steel. Obviously, this was not something the ogres could reasonably make, made even more apparent by the wooden clubs wielded by the rest of the army, so there was only one way he could have gotten that. Ferguson''s prize... I hoped he got resource points or a new lifeform or something- isn''t a weapon a bit overpowered at this point? His Oracle held a weapon of steel in a battle of sticks and stones. When the Oracles were roughly of simr strength, what would happen when one fought with a weapon far more advanced than the other? I felt cold sweat dripping down my back. This isn''t good... On my screen, both the humans and the ogres distanced themselves from the two Oracles who slowly approached each other with their weapons drawn. "Hey, Rynn," I spoke to the screen, "You remember what I told you, right?" I watched my Oracle give a subtle nod on the screen, "You can not interfere. I must do this on my own." "Yeah," I sighed, "There can be no flying javelins this time. I''m sure you don''t need me to tell you, but please don''t let him hit you with that thing." "... I can not say I was nning on it." Rynn stopped talking as the two Oracles stood around twenty feet from one another. Their stillness was in sharp contrast to the raging battle going on in a circle around them. "You must be this world''s Oracle," Erik started with his hammer held over his shoulder, "That was some wee you gave us, but I am not one to care about first impressions." Rynn stayed silent, so Erik continued, "My men havee craving a battle of honor. It seems that is something you know nothing about." There was still no response. Erik clicked his tongue, "So dull. Your men could rally behind an acorn if they can fight beside you." The ogre took a step forward with his hammer in hand, smirking at the flint-tipped spear his opponent held, "If you do not care for speech, let us get to the fighting, instead!" At those words, Rynn sprinted toward the ogre who vertically mmed down his hammer once he stepped into range. BOOM! The ground shook as the hammer struck the ground, missing Rynn who moved to the left and trusted his spear. "Fast..." Erik''s subconscious mutter leaked through the screen. Although he tried to step backward out of the spear''s range, its tip reached him before he fully could, leaving a shallow gash on his side. Without giving the ogre a chance to settle, Rynn began running around the Oracle in a circle, continuously thrusting his spear. Small cuts and holes gradually appeared on the ogre as the two continued moving; Rynn moved to attack while Erik tried to find an opportunity to set his feet to counter. Eventually, the ogre clicked his tongue and nted his feet, taking a decent hit to his stomach in the process. With clenched teeth, Erik swung his hammer horizontally at the Oracle but hit only air; the target of his swing took distance before it reached him. Rynn looked back and forth between his opponent''s wounds and the tip of his spear in dissatisfaction. Even though he made it extra thick, it''s already starting to chip. The flint weapon was clearly struggling against the divinity-enhanced body of the foreign Oracle. Not only was it quickly being worn down, but it also was not able to fully prate through hisyer of fat to do any meaningful damage. "You are as fast as you are silent," Erik acknowledged, taking full advantage of the pause. "... I just have nothing to say to you." Erik''s eyes glowed at the response, "So he speaks! I was starting to-" Ding! Erik moved his hammer in front of his chest to block the spear Rynn threw at him mid-sentence. "You... really have no honor, do you?" "I only care about protecting this world and my family," Rynn spoke, "You talk a lot about honor for someone using a weapon like that." Erik shrugged, "I would count it as an exception. If you expected me to put it away after you threw yours, you are mistaken." "I thought so." Rynn took a step back and raised his arm, "Spear me!" A nearby soldier immediately tossed him a spear, whichnded perfectly in his hand. "Impressive. Now, let us continue our fight." The two Oracles rushed at each other once more. "Squawk..." "I know..." We watched anxiously as the two fought. Boom! Dink! "Spear me!" Rynn continued scoring small hits on the ogre at the expense of many spears. BOOM! Rynn barely dodged another vertical swing; the ground shook from the impact. He is dodging well, but his margins are getting smaller. It seemed that with every exchange, Erik was getting closer tonding a hit. And when that happens... I clenched my fist. As I was thinking those thoughts, I watched Erik swing the hammer horizontally as Rynn was rushing toward it. The Oracle slid under the hammer and trusted up with his spear. Schlinch! Rynn shallowly pierced the ogre''s stomach, but before he had the chance to retract his spear, he was sent flying by a heavy impact on his side. Crack! "Gah!" The Oracle slid across the bloody snow clutching his side, beforeing to a stop and ncing up at the massive ogre who was lowering his foot after the kick. "You used enough tricks, so I thought I should do more than simply swing this thing," the foreign Oracle said with a grin, "I let you hit me enough. I think it is time for me to start getting serious." I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 53 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 53 "Finally... I made it!" These words, equal parts relief and exhaustion, slipped out of Rathok''s mouth as he looked at the scene on the horizon. The kid had been traveling solo for over two months at this point. Although he encountered many soldiers along the way, he couldn''t join them. He knew many of them by name, given how he was the Oracle''s son, so he couldn''t risk them recognizing him and forcing him to turn back. Rathok traveled alone to avoid this, hunting for food and burning torch tree branches for fire as he went. Now, his efforts were about to pay off; the massive gathering of soldiers at the end of the northern mountain passage was in his sights. I knew I could get to him in time! The kid, who was on the cusp of twelve years old, couldn''t help but grin as he neared the soldiers with his homemade weapon in hand. "Ready your javelins!" An order, faint from that distance, barely entered Rathok''s ears. Suddenly, the massive group of soldiers raised their weapons near their shoulders. Huh? Are they training? "Now!" At the loud call, the barrage of javelins flew through the air, quickly crushing such innocent thoughts. Even if it were for the sake of practice, throwing all of those weapons and possibly breaking them before the fight was not something his dad would allow. No... are they really fighting now!? Although he wanted to deny the possibility, the next round of javelins being thrown and the faint sounds of screams echoing off the mountains made it clear what was up ahead. It was the basic strategy he had heard many times when he was living at the southern base; the army would whittle down the invaders'' numbers byunching javelins before engaging them in hand-to-handbat. "Dad..." Rathok''s heart tightened as he gripped his weapon and increased his pace. They are still throwing the javelins... that means there is still time! With those thoughts guiding him, Rathok continued to sprint ahead until he reached the outer line of soldiers. Before he even had the chance to push through, one of the soldiers spotted him while picking up a javelin from a small pile. "R-Rathok!?" "Hah... Hello," the kid used the chance to catch his breath. "Do not just say ''hello''! What are you doing here!? I thought you were heading to the temple with the other families!" the soldier paused, his face paling, "No... do not tell me- did something happen to them!?" "Uhhh probably not... I did not travel with them," Rathok tilted his head and held out his weapon, "I came here to give this to my dad. Do you know where he is?" The soldier gave a small sigh of relief. "You had me worried for a second, kid. That is an interesting weapon, buting all the way here is a bit..." the soldier paused seeing the kid''s unlistening eyes, "Anyway, your dad should be near the front, but it is not safe to go there. Our first line is already fighting." "The front..." Rathok muttered, shifting his gaze ahead. "Yes- and you are not going there! Even if you wanted to, there is no way you would find him with this many people, so stay back here with me. I will bring you to him when things start to-" "There he is!" Rathok interrupted, pointing in the direction of the fighting. "... What?" In the direction of Rathok''s pointing finger was a small boulder flying over the soldiers into the passage near the front of the army. "I aming, Dad!" "W-wait! It is too dangerous! Stay-" Before the soldier could even finish, Rathok had disappeared into the crowd of soldiers and was actively pushing his way to the front. "... He is as crazy as his father," the soldier muttered before taking off after the kid, "Wait up! I aming too!" . .. ... There are so many people! Rathok squeezed his way through another batch of soldiers. The fighting was growing louder the closer he got to the front, but that only motivated him to keep moving- it meant that he was getting closer to his father... at least this was the case until he spotted something seemingly towering over the soldiers in the crowd in front of him. What... is that? His feet came to a stop as he examined the unfamiliar creature through the gaps between those ahead. Rathok''s heart pounded at the sight. The first thing he noticed was that it was massive- both in height and in weight. The fact that it was simultaneously engaging with multiple people meant it was strong too. That thing is big, but it is nothingpared to Dad. After taking a quick breath, the kid sprinted past the preupied creature, only to be met with more skirmishes in its wake. I do not need to beat them, I just need to get past them. The soldiers can handle them, but... Rathok held out his weapon. ... It would not hurt to test this out when I have the chance. With the creatures all engaged in fights, Rathok was able to dash past the first few groups with little trouble. The further he got, however, the lower the ratio of humans to ogres seemed to be. It was nearly impossible to find one not actively fighting in every direction he looked. sh! "Grahhh!" As he was running, Rathok took the chance to sh at one of the ogres who was fighting with its back turned; the sharp edge of his weapon cut right through the unknown animal''s pelt covering the creature''s back and cleanly sliced into its flesh. "Yes!" A smile quickly appeared on the kid''s face as he continued running, leaving no chance for the creature to retaliate. This movement did notst long, however, and he soon reached an areapletely blocked off by fighting. There are so many of them... Although the invaders were still outnumbered, their brutal fighting andrge stature seemed to emphasize their presence. With punches, spears, and clubs flying everywhere, Rathok had nowhere to go; the only option he could find was in the openings between their steps. I guess I have no choice. Rathok watched the ogre in front of him until it took a particrly wide step backward to avoid a spear. Now! The kid dove through the creature''s legs, leaving a deep cut in its leg with his weapon in the process. "GRAHH!" Following the unexpected pain, the ogre''s leg buckled just as a soldier charged forward, causing the creature to fall to the ground parallel to him. "Rahhhh!" Schlinch! The human who had been fighting him did not miss the chance and immediately pounced on the fallen ogre, piercing its heart with his spear before the ogre could retaliate. Rathok''s eyes widened at the sight as blood sshed onto his face. Rathok couldn''t help but shiver as the soldier rose from the chest of the fallen creature and offered him a hand- his eyes unconsciously looked past his hand and locked onto the new corpse in front of him as he felt warm blood dripping off his chin. "Dad... I need to find Dad," he muttered, waving away the soldier''s offer. Whether he was saying it to himself or to the soldier, Rathok had no idea, yet such words echoed in his mind as he forced himself to stand on his own unsteady feet. BOOM! A loud noise paired with a sudden shaking of the ground nearly caused him to copse back onto the soil. Rathok''s head shot over to the direction of the sound. There was only one person in his mind who could be responsible for such a noise. "Dad!" With reinvigorated determination, Rathok dashed forward, weaving in and out of small openings in the process. Javelins fell from the sky around him as he stepped over corpses of both humans and ogres alike- their blood washing away the thinyer of snow that normally covered the ground. After squeezing past onest skirmish, the massive crowd in front of him vanished. In its ce was arge and nearly empty circle, seemingly being mutually avoided by the shing forces. Rathok''s heart tightened when he saw the scene in its center; his dad was copsed on the ground clutching his side. Standing over him was a huge creature wielding an equally massive weapon. "Dad!" -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ "Stand up." Erik stared down at the fallen Oracle with a look of disgust. The human had charged at him multiple times- each ending with him falling to the ground after a single blow. "Do not tell me that is the most you can do." Although the human''s re was fierce, it did not appear that his strength could be considered the same. "Pathetic. Is this what I spent my whole life waiting for? Is this what I came all this way to do? What was the point of leading an army against creatures so weak when I could have crushed you all myself!?" Erik''s dissatisfied mutters quickly morphed into fiery shouts, "This was supposed to be the fight that would immortalize me in legends! Who would want to tell the tale of such a one-sided ughter!?" Rynn ignored the Oracle''s tantrum and took the chance to catch his breath. "What should I do?" he asked in a whisper. "... I really don''t know," a familiar voice in his head groaned in frustration, "He has a massive metal hammer! It''s not even fair!" The human could only sigh in agreement. He had lost track of how many times he had impaled the creature in front of him with various spears, yet only a few blows prated deep enough to have any real impact. Given the disparity between the Oracles'' weapons and figures, it was hard to argue that the situation was anything other than hopeless. Even so, it was not as though Rynn could simplyy down and give up. Though small, his attacks were still inflicting wounds- a fire still shined bright in the Oracle''s eyes. The more damage I do now, the less the other men will need to do when I fall. Even if it takes all of them, the soldiers here can probably finish him off. I doubt he would be strong enough to cross the river and beat Old Man Angru''s army at the teau even if he survives. Rynn''s mind was calm despite the situation. A and Rathok should be safe. "... Shoot! Rynn this isn''t-" "Dad!" The Oracle felt his heart stop at an overwhelming familiar voice that had no business entering his ears. Hisposure which held strong even in the face of certain defeat immediately began to falter. Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum! Rynn turned toward the shout and saw what he feared. His son, who was supposed to be safe at the teau, was in the middle of this bloody battle with him. "Rathok!? What are you doing here!?" The kid stuck out the object he was holding embarrassedly, "I-I came to give you this." Rynn''s head ached with conflicting emotions as he stared at the odd weapon made from a thick branch and lined with two rows of unfamiliar ck stones. "... This is what you were working on? You came all this way to give it to me?" Rynn''s eyes teared up for a moment before he shook his head toe back to his senses, "Listen, Rathok, you need to get out of here!" "But Dad, you-" "Oh? That expression... so he is the one you fight for?" A loud voice interrupted the kid; Rynn''s face paled as the ogre stepped forward. "Such a touching reunion, yet you have not even introduced me. Where are your manners?" Ignoring the pain on his side, Rynn quickly forced himself to his feet while ring at the foreign Oracle. "Stay away from him." "Rx. I have honor, unlike someone. Besides," Erik smirked at the weapon in the kid''s hands, "I might even have to thank the little guy." Rynn slowly approached his son as the ogre continued, "Blood against blood! An Oracle against an Oracle! A proper weapon against a proper weapon! Finally, it will be a battle of honor!" Now close enough, the Oracle took the new weapon from Rathok and examined it in his hands. "It is really good at cutting!" the kid whispered excitedly. Despite the situation, Rynn couldn''t help but smile and used his free hand to ruffle his son''s hair. "Thank you, Rathok, but this ce is not safe," the Oracle nced up at the sky, "Would you be able to move him away?" "I''m sorry, Rynn. I don''t think I can; it would count as interfering with the battle," the voice replied dejectedly, "Still, it looks like he won''t be entirely on his own." "What do you mean?" Schlinch! At that moment, an ogre not far behind the two copsed revealing an exhausted soldier who had been hidden from view; his eyes locked onto Rathok''s with aplicated expression. "There you are, kid! You are way too fast for someone so-" the soldier paused as he noticed the two Oracles, "Am I interrupting something?" "No, you had good timing. Do you think you could get him out of here?" Rynn asked, pointing toward his son. "That is why I came here," the soldier grinned confidently, "Even back when I was carrying those rocks for you, I moved faster than these things." "Thank you," Rynn kneeled down and looked at his son, "Go with him- I will join you after I finish. Now that you gave me this, I am sure I will win." Although Rathok wanted to argue, the look on his dad''s face prevented him from doing anything other than nod as the soldier grabbed his arm. "It is like your entire speciescks the thirst for battle," Erik grumbled as he watched the two humans run off into the crowd, "I think I waited long enough." The Oracle stood at his words, "You did. Thank you." "... I only spared him for this battle. When Ie across him again, he will meet your same fate." "You will not get the chance," Rynn''s eyes turned harsh; the ck stones on the weapon he held seemed to reflect the fire in his eyes, "I will not lose anyone else!" "Now that is what I like to hear! Bring it, human! Let us-" Before the ogre could finish, Rynn sprinted toward him at full speed. "Can you let me finish for once!?" Erik swung his hammer with thisint, which Rynn easily avoided by stopping in his tracks. Wind from the massive metal chunk pushed against the Oracle who ran to the ogre''s right and trusted his new weapon toward the giant target. sh! The sharp obsidian shards left a clean cut on the ogre''s side, who was still unbnced thanks to his previous swing. Rynn''s eyes widened as he circled the foreign Oracle- a small stream of blood flowed from the shallow gash, "I only grazed him, but..." "No way! That''s obsidian, isn''t it!?" He shed once more at the ogre who avoided the swing by stepping back. "Obsidian?" "It''s a type of super sharp rock. There should be a ton of it around my realm from when I expanded it, but I thought most of it was buried by now!" While the voice in his head talked, Rynn ducked under another swing. Swoosh! The Oracle shed through the wind; his obsidian des connected with the ogre''s stomach, who immediately kicked in retaliation. "Not this time." Rynn leaped backward forcing the kick to only seed in hitting air. He quickly flicked his weapon at Erik''s leg before once again taking some distance. Erik touched his stomach and drew away his newly crimson hand. "Finally... we have a worthy battle," the ogre grinned fiercely as he flicked off the blood from his fingers, "That boy brought you something sharp." The Oracle only nodded in response, "He did. I will use it well." Erik lunged forward, swinging his hammer down overhead. BOOM! The ground shook as Rynn narrowly dodged by hopping to the side- a sharp pain shot through his injured ribs from the movement. Rynn clenched his teeth as he swiped the ogre''s exposed arm. Slice! It was another clean cut! Rynn couldn''t help but smile as he once again nced at the weapon in his hands. Rathok really made something amazing! His mind which had already epted defeat was now beaming with the thought of a new oue. Though he could now fight with hope, that did not mean the fight would be easy. Rynn stared at the figure in front of him ready to rush in the moment it swung its heavy hammer. A shallow trail of red flowed onto the hammer''s handle as Erik lifted it off the ground with a sly grin. "Huah!" It wasn''t a swing- Erik bluntly thrusted out his hammer as if it were a spear. THUD! "Gah!" Although Rynn tried to jump back, the unexpected movement gave him no time to do so and the metal weapon mmed into his chest. The Oracleunched through the air from the blow before crashing into the ground with a thud. Sharp pain shot through his torso as he gasped for air. Arge shadow appeared above him before he could recover. BOOM! Rynn forced himself to roll out of the way just before the ogre''s massive hammer smashed into the ground where he hadid. Crack! A heavy kick once again impacted his side and sent the Oracle skipping across the ground. His head spun as he skidded to a stop, but Rynn knew he couldn''t afford to stay down. Fighting through unbearable pain, Rynn used his weapon as support and pulled himself onto his feet. Without even giving Rynn a second to rest, Erik approached the struggling human with his hammer raised. Schlinch! BOOM! A javelin suddenly pierced the ogre''s back from above, distracting Erik for a fraction of a second. Though not much, made just enough of a gap for Rynn to move out of the hammer''s way. Both Oracles shifted their gazes to the javelin''s source revealing a group of humans looking down on them from a t area on the mountain. "None of you humans have any honor, do you?" Erik grumbled as he pulled out the shallow weapon with a re, "THIS IS A BATTLE BETWEEN ORACLES! DO YOU HAVE NO SHAME IN INTERFERING!?" Despite his shouts, more javelins began to fall around him while Rynn took his distance. The Oracle steadied himself, ignoring the throbbing pain. He was at his limit- he couldn''t afford any more hits. Images of Rathok shed through his blurred vision as he tightened his grip on his obsidian-ded weapon. I need to finish this now. His wobbling legs stabilized. With his head spinning from pain, Rynn took a step forward, then another. The barrage of javelins started to slow as the Oracle''s pace quickened and the distance between him and the ogre rapidly closed. "Nice try." Seeing the sudden charge, Erik nted his feet and swung his weapon toward the human, fully expecting him to slide under as usual. "What!?" Contrary to his expectations, the human instead pushed off the ground andunched himself high into the air. With fire in his eyes, Rynn changed his grip mid-air, holding the weapon vertically above his head as he fell back to the ground. Erik''s eyes widened. The massive hammer''s weight carried Erik''s body, leaving himpletely helpless against the de shing down at him. "RAHHHH!!" sh! "HUAGG!" The obsidian cut deep in an arc stemming from Erik''s left shoulder and slicing all the way down to his right hip. Blood sprayed from this wound, as Rynnnded at his side and kept moving before the ogre could retaliate. "Y-you!" Erik stepped toward the human driven by rage. The blood from his wound was rapidly soaking through his wolf-pelt clothing and was showing no signs of stopping. Driven by rage, Erik charged toward Rynn once more and lifted the hammer above his head as blood gushed out in the process. BOOM! The hammer mmed into the bloody ground, skimming past Rynn who turned his body to the side and shed at the ogre''s leg. sh! Yet another wound appeared on the ogre who stumbled as he attempted to lift the hammer. Before Erik could recover, Rynn shed at his unprotected side leaving trails of crimson in its wake then retreated out of his reach. Erik advanced towards the human, but the ogre''s movements were sluggish- his strength waned as blood continued to pour from all around his body. Although he was also badly injured, Rynn was still slightly faster. The Oracle continued to keep his distance from the ogre whose face rapidly began to pale while puddles of blood formed in his footsteps. "No... the victory, the conquest, the legends," Erik spoke with a weakened voice, "It was all supposed to be mine! How can it end like this!?" His arms gradually lost their battle against the weight of the hammer until he could no longer pull it from the ground, at which point it rapidly shrunk back into its small toy-like form. Rynn simply watched all this unfold from afar while the foreign Oracle continued to stumble toward him. Thud! Soon enough, the Oracle''s strength gave out and the ogre fell limply onto the blood-covered ground. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Erik stared up at the foreign sky as his vision began to darken. "I am sorry, Chieftan. I have failed." "You did," a deep voice he had not heard since his force first crossed the mountain passage entered his mind, "You were overconfident, just as I warned you not to be." Erik had no argument against that. He underestimated the humans and it cost him his life. "I lost the battle. There will be no victory, no legend, and no prize. Are you mad?" he asked as the sounds of battle seemed to deafen around him. "Mad? No, I can not say that is the right word." "Good... I-" "The truth is that I lost the moment I selected you as my Oracle." Everything faded to ck. I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 54 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 54 Rynn stared silently at the Oracle''s corpse; his silence was in sharp contrast to both the battle raging around him and his own screaming body. Although the relief from his victory was doing wonders to muffle the pain coursing throughout his body, it was still difficult to overstate how much pain he was enduring. Simply standing on his feet was taking everything he had- he could spare no strength to help the other soldiers who were still fighting the remnants of the invaders. As Rynn was watching the battle unfold, a voice spoke in his head in disbelief. "You actually managed to beat him!" "Yes... barely." He could have critiqued theck of faith from the creator of the world, but he was equally as surprised. Rynn looked down at the weapon in his hand, "I would not have been able to if not for this." With his own spear being unable to prate through the thickyers of fat, the unique weapon lined with sharp obsidian was what enabled him to bring down the foreign Oracle. Though it also could not target the ogre''s organs, it allowed him to be defeated through blood loss. "It looks like you were saved twice by Rathok," the voice teased. Rynn smiled at his words, "Different Rathoks, but I guess you are right." "Please thank him for me, okay? He literally might have saved my realm." "Yes. I need to thank him, too." Rynn could feel his eyes water as he said this. Visions of the past failure of his own attempt to make his dad a weapon shed through his mind. He did what I could not... I am so proud of him. With those thoughts, the two fell into a momentary silence as the sounds of battle likewise began to soften. "I''m proud of you, Rynn." Such words that mirrored his own thoughts soon entered his head. "Huh? T-thank you but why say that so suddenly?" "Well, you just killed an Oracle- a stupidly strong one with an overpowered weapon at that. I''m proud of you for more than just that though." "What do you mean?" "You''ve done so much with your life. You found a partner, had a kid who you raised to be a hero, and you worked so hard throughout all of it. I remember back when you were just..." the creator of the world suddenly paused before continuing, "You know, I was originally torn between whether I should choose you or your brother to be my Oracle." "What!?" Rynn could feel his eyes widen at the reveal, "I thought I was only made an Oracle because my brother fell when you tried to pick him!" "Well, that is what ultimately led to you bing an Oracle, but I only decided to go with your brother in the first ce because he was a bit more mature. I had been keeping an eye on your family ever since I gave your great-grandfather a fish, so I saw how strong your father was. Sadly, I had my eyes elsewhere when he passed, but I knew you and your brother had strong blood." "Wow." It was a simple reply, yet it was all he could manage to say through the shock. He actually wanted me to be an Oracle! "You really wanted to pick me even though I did not believe you were real back then?" he asked to clear up thest question he had. "I was sure you wouldn''t have been able to deny my existence if you became an Oracle, so that wasn''t really a problem," the creator of the world exined before briefly pausing again, "I know it might seem a bit insincere since I''m only saying this after you saved my realm, but I never hated you, Rynn." The Oracle shifted his eyes toward the ground embarrassedly, "When did you-" "I was watching you build the bridge across the river and I happened to hear you mention it. There''s no way I would hate a kid just because of a few rude words. I mean, you just watched your brother die in front of you and your whole vige was being destroyed. How could I possibly take offense in that kind of situation? I probably should''ve corrected that misunderstanding back then but-" "No," Rynn interrupted with a small smile, "I am d you did not. It motivated me." "Exactly... I could tell." The two fell back into afortable silence as the number of standing ogres rapidly dwindled in the distance and cries of victory echoed across the mountains. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ "I guess this is goodbye." Such words came through my screen as the battle neared its end. "It is." This farewell wasn''t something sudden, rather it was something we discussed long before the battle began. After the invasion was over, I said I would disappear from the realm for a while to rest. By rest, I really meant I would step away from my screen and go to the Academy, but I had to put it into terms of something they could understand. A part of me was hesitant about dering this; I figured we couldunch a counterattack in the unlikely event that we obliterated Ferguson''s army and Rynn somehow came out of the fight in good shape. Ultimately, however, I decided against this for several reasons- the first of which was that the ogres themselves were very formidable. Fighting on their home turf where they had ess to unknown magic was extremely risky, even when considering our slight edge on weaponry. The one exception to this, the hammer Ferguson''s Oracle used, had disappeared into a puff of yellow particles not long after he fell. Despite this, I still didn''t want to needlessly risk the lives of my humans and send my Oracle into another harsh battle. Rynn already did so much; he deserves to have time with his family. Besides... I shifted my attention to my notebook where the words ''rabbit'', ''wolf'', and ''oak tree'' were written. There''s nothing really worth doing a quick invasion for, anyway. These were the three lifeforms that I knew were somewhere in Ferguson''s realm; the pelts of rabbits and wolves were worn as clothing by his army, while the tree that resembled an oak was thrown through the portal before the invasion by his Oracle. While the idea of kidnapping some wolves was tempting to potentially give my humans ess to dogs in the future, I was worried that they would put excessive strain on the chicken poption in my realm. Taking the rabbits which I presumed they fed on in Ferguson''s realm was not a feasible solution either; since my realm had moss instead of grass, the rabbits would likely not be able to sustain any meaningful numbers. As for the oak tree, my northern cherry trees were already evolving in a way that was starting to resemble them, so I wasn''t too interested. Since Ferguson got a weapon as a reward from thest battle phase, there should only be one non-primary lifeform unounted for in his realm. Well, there''s also the possibility that he took some lifeforms from the realm he invaded, but I can''t really imagine what they could be if he even did. Since I didn''t think I couldunch an invasionrge enough to me a prize, especially now that Rynn was in terrible condition, invading wasn''t really worth the cost. My humans worked hard enough, anyway. They have families to get back to. I put those thoughts aside as I watched thest ogre fall on my screen while my humans erupted in cheers. 26,321. That was how many of my humans died protecting my realm. As there were many more in terrible condition and covered in wounds, this number would likely increase by a few thousand in theing days. It was not a small number by any means, yet it was much less than what it could have been had things not gone as smoothly. Despite the heavy losses and a lingering sense of sadness over them, I couldn''t help but feel an overwhelming feeling of pride as I looked at my humans cheering on my screen. They freaking did it! I pumped my fist as I felt a huge smile appear on my face. My humans actually did it! They beat their first invasion! Yes, Uunga defeated one single-handedly, but this was the first battle where my non-Oracle lifeforms had a role. They had worked so hard for so long to prepare for this moment and their effort clearly paid off. Every single one of them was responsible for saving my realm. It feels like it was just yesterday when they were walking around naked and stuffing moss in their mouths, yet here they are fending off an invasion all on their own! I''m so proud of them! "Squawk." "Ah- right, I gotta focus." I patted he head of the penguin standing on myp, who quickly wiggled to get away from my hand. "You''re always so grumpy. Rathok lets Rynn touch his head and he doesn''tin." "... Squawk." I grinned as Mr. Flippers relented and let me pet him. Hah... penguins are adorable. With my emotions finally settling down, I turned my attention back to the screen where the tens of thousands of the remaining soldiers were celebrating around my Oracle. "I guess I should go and tell Baby Angru the good news." "You are still calling that old man a baby?" Rynn asked with a wry smile. "Well, I knew him back when he was actually a baby, so it''s a force of habit. To be fair, all of you guys are babiespared to me." ".... How old are you, anyway?" "That... is a very good question." It was a practically impossible question to answer with all of the time variations I was constantly going through. That was not even mentioning how I couldn''t remember how old I was since my memories were wiped when I was first chosen to be a ruler. Of course, I haven''t aged physically since then either. "I have no idea!" I finally gave up and answered, "I look the same as the statue of me in the temple, though." As we talked, I spotted Rynn''s son running up to him in the distance. ¡°... Is it hard living that long?¡± ¡°Well, it morphs your sense of time, so it doesn¡¯t feel so long. It is tough out-living everyone though; there¡¯s been more than a handful of people I¡¯ve cared about who I had to watch pass on. With your lifespan, you¡¯ll need to endure it, too. Make sure you treasure the time you have with everyone; it''ll go by in the blink of an eye from your perspective.¡± ¡°I will take your advice. Thank you,¡± his reply was somber yet resolute. ¡°Dad!¡± A sudden shout came through my screen as Rathok neared his father. I guess I shouldn''t hold him up any longer. ¡°Goodbye, Rynn. Thank you for everything.¡± ¡°Goodbye- gah!¡± I struggled not tough as Rathok jumped onto his dad¡¯s injured body before I switched the screen to the teau. Man, this feels so weird to look at. The teau, which was usually on the verge of being overcrowded, was now half-empty thanks to thousands of its inhabitants joining Rynn¡¯s army at the mountain passage- most of those who remained were women, children, or the elderly. Technically in thetter group was my priest who looked to be organizing piles of spears in my temple. Wow, Rynn was right. He really did get old. Gray hair covered his head and he let out a small groan every time he bent over to adjust the piles. Although he was not too much older than Rynn and A, time did not seem to do him justice. He looks healthy, though... I guess he''s just been pushing himself pretty hard. "You should really ask some of the guys to help you, Angru." "They are all out training with my brother. I can at least handle this while they are working so hard," my priest casually responded before turning around and seeing the empty temple, "Wait- the creator of the world!? You are speaking... but that means-!" "Yes. The battle is over- Rynn managed to win!" "I- I knew he could do it!" it seemed like a massive wave of relief washed over my priest as a huge smile appeared on his face, "Everyone will be so happy! I will let them know now-" "Hang on a second. Let me talk to you for a bit before you run off." Angru IV halted in his tracks after tossing the spear he was holding onto the ground, "Oh no- did something happen? Is Rynn okay!?" "Well, he''s in rough shape now, but he should be fine after a lot of rest. There were a lot of casualties though... over 26,000 people died in the battle." Aplicated expression appeared on Angru''s face, "I am d Rynn is alright, but for so many to lose their lives..." It was a number of deaths unheard of in my realm. In Angru''s eyes, it would have been as though over half the teau had disappeared overnight. "I know... it''s painful. So many people had to give their lives to protect my realm, but it could have been way worse. That''s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. You never had any kids, right?" "... No I did not, but what does that have to do with-" "I want to make Rathok the next priest of my realm." The joyous eyes of my priest quickly turned serious, "... What happened?" Although it has only been for four generations, Angru''s lineage has been chosen to be my priests since I first ced down my statue- both him and I were under the expectation that the tradition would continue for the foreseeable future, as despite the fact that Angru IV did not have children, his brother actually did. His reluctance to ept the sudden announcement was understandable, but once I exined what happened in the battle and how Rathok''s weapon was what allowed Rynn to defeat the invading Oracle, Angru had no argument against giving him the position. Of course, since I would be going back to the Academy soon, being a priest would only be in title; I would have no way to actually select a priest with myputer, nor talk to them, until I was back. After getting Angru''s pledge to teach Rathok how to perform his duties as a priest once they arrived at the teau, I said my goodbyes before looking away from my screen for the first time in a long time. It''s finally over, isn''t it? Honestly, I was exhausted- this battle phase seemed like it took so much longer than my previous one, yet I couldn''t help but smile as I leaned back in my chair. My humans really are progressing. Their progress seemed slow when I was watching them live on the screen, but when I looked back on arger scale, their advancements could actually be considered to be rapid. They went from clubs to spears and a single fighter to an entire army in just one battle phase. I''m actually pretty excited to see how much they improve while I''m away. With those optimistic thoughts in my head, I looked at the penguin who was now hopping around on my desk expectantly. "You ready to head out?" "Squawk!" The penguin jumped off my desk forcing me to stand up to catch him. "... You must really be excited. Let''s go then! Transport to the- ah wait. Make sure you close your eyes this time." "Squawk~" I couldn''t help but smile as I watched the tiny creature tightly shut his eyes. He really is adorable. Though I wanted to look for longer, my eyes soon joined his in darkness as I restarted the chant. "Here we go- [transport to the academy]!" A strange feeling instantly enveloped my body and bright lights could be seen shining through my closed eyelids. "Squawk!" "... You opened your eyes, didn''t you?" I sighed at the sudden shout. "Squawk..." "You have to give your eyes time to adjust. I probably should''ve told you that before we left, sorry, Mr. Flippers." "Squawk~" As I apologized, I gradually opened my eyes into a squint before letting the pain-free sight of the audience hall fill my vision soon after. Oh yeah, I''m learning, baby! This ce hasn''t changed a bit, though. The audience hall looked identical to how it was before I left to prepare for the fight against Ferguson; a desk and two chests sat on the stage between vibrant purple curtains and were overlooked by a massive scoreboard that towered over them from behind. Just likest time, a familiar robbed figure was sitting at the desk while looking into a crystal ball. "Let''s go say ''hi'' to him, Mr. Flippers!" "Squawk~" As the two of us approached the stage, the robbed figure let out a sigh and stood up. "What are you doing here, Jacob?" I slowed my steps at the unexpected greeting, "I beat Ferguson, so I came to get my prize..." "You are the sixth Seedling in this battle phase to make this mistake. I need to have a talk with Sky- she clearly didn''t go over this well enough for your cycle," another sigh escaped his lips following his mutter, "You don''t meet several of the requirements for an earlypletion; the most important one being that your Oracle is still alive." "Ah-" The sheep instructor did say something about that didn''t she? I vaguely remembered her mentioning the conditions to end the battle phase early during a ss a while back. Years had passed since the lecture from my perspective, so it wasn''t too surprising how it slipped my mind. "I have to wait to get my prize then?" I asked despite already knowing the answer. "Correct." "Dangit," I groaned as Mr. Flippers looked up at me. "Squawk?" "No, we''re not going back. It would be way too awkward after we just said goodbye," I turned my attention back to Tatton, "Is there anything fun we can do at the Academy while we wait? Besides the training ground and bathhouse, I mean." The robed figure shook his head, "No. It''s just those two for now. We need you Seedlings to focus on building your realms and getting stronger, so we don''t want to give you any temptations. I would personally rmend you go to the training ground." "... Is there really much of a point in training though? I know our lifeforms take after us, but it really feels like only divinity is having much of an impact on the battles." This was something that had been bothering me for a while now. Since our strength seemed to only indirectly affect our lifeforms, I had practically stopped working out and even significantly reduced how many amino acids I was eating. Contrary to my evaluation, Tatton''s reply was firm. "There is definitely a point. You should train and get as strong as possible." "But why?" "Is there a reason not to polish your skills?" Tatton paused after seeing my dissatisfied expression, "... I can''t give you a specific answer yet, but you will want to get as strong as you can for what lies ahead. You may even want to take advantage of your domain and use mortal time to your advantage." "... It''s really that big of a deal?" "Yes." Before I even had time to process what he said, I noticed Tatton''s gaze shift behind me. I followed his nce and noticed that another ruler teleported into the audience hall. "Scree~ I am finally back!" the creature turned its attention to the stage, "Hey, purple guy! Let me pick out my prize!" "... You do not meet the requirements," Tatton sighed. "What!? What do you mean!?" As I watched the two bicker, I took the chance to study the blue-lumpy creature that was now in front of me. Is he a toad-man? A bipedal toad? A lumpy monster that vaguely resembles a frog? I don''t know, but he definitely looks like some sort of amphibian or reptile thing to me! It would be a shame to pass on an opportunity like this, wouldn''t it? "Howe I need to wait!? I sent his Oracle packing after-" "Ha! This frog dude seriously thought he could just get his prize whenever? For a creature with such a big head, I figured it would have a big brain, but I guess it''s empty in there!" "What did you say!?" The toad-man immediately turned to me after my interruption. "I said you must be an idiot for thinking you could get your prize early!" As I said this, I could feel the judgemental stare from the penguin in my arms, but I purposely ignored his gaze. Shhhhh. Hush, little penguin. Let me do my thing~ "Are you picking a fight!? I just destroyed a Seedling and I can destroy you too!" How does that bait taste, you frog? "Bring it on then, lumpy! You won''t evenst a second against my guys!" "Screee! You will eat those words! [Return to domain]!" The toad-man vanished just as quickly as he appeared, leaving me in the audience hall apanied only by the stares of Mr. Flippers and Tatton. "... Is that really your n? Terrorizing the other Seedlings so they attack you?" "Well, it works doesn''t it?" I shrugged. "You... really are interesting." It would be nice if that guy actually does attack me. I might not even need to make an army- with a build like that, I doubt he''d make it through the arctic. "Squawk?" "Yeah, I guess we should head to the training ground. I''ll be backter, Tatton- ah wait," I turned back to the robed figure just as I was about to head out of the audience hall, "How do I know when I can get my prize? Should I just keep checking back?" "There is no need for that," Tatton reached into his robe and pulled out a small crystal ball, roughly the size of a baseball, "Take this. I''ll send a signal when it is time for you to return-e back when it turns green." "Got it. Thank you, Tatton." After grabbing the ball from him, I gave the figure onest wave before exiting through the audience hall''s massive mahogany doors and walking toward the training ground. "I guess we should trust him- let''s try to get a bit stronger, Mr. Flippers." "Squawk!" I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 55 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 55 Smack! Smack! Smack! Roll! Roll! Roll! Dents formed on the training dummy''s torso as Mr. Flippers could be heard ying near the wall behind me. "You gotta be careful with that thing, Mr. Flippers. Tatton won''t be happy if you break his crystal ball thing." "Squawk~" Despite my warning, the penguin continued rolling the ssy orb behind me. "If you break it, I''m putting you in the barrel until we leave." "Squawk!" This penguin caused such a fuss when I tried to put him in it before, but I might regret letting him stay out. We went to the training ground as per Tatton''s rmendation following the dy in receiving our prize. "Hah..." a sigh escaped my lips as I looked at the orb he was ying with. Man, this is a weird feeling. Since the ball had yet to turn green, it meant Rynn was still alive. Though I needed it to turn green to move on with getting my prize, I found myself dreading seeing the color change every time I turned around. A and Rathok are probably long gone by now... hopefully he''s doing alright. Smack! I decided to silence my worries through training, but like usual, my mind couldn''t stay quiet for long. Tatton told me I needed to get as strong as possible, yet he couldn''t tell me what I needed the strength for. Smack! A new dent appeared on the dummy which rapidly began to regenerate. "Telling me to get stronger is one thing, but why did he have to say that?" I muttered with my brows furrowed. What really had me stressing was his advice to use the time difference in my domain to my advantage. One thousand years passes at mortal time for every day that passes in the Academy. Does whatever he wants me training for really warrant that much time? Of course, I could adjust the rate of time in my domain to some value between the two extremes, but even at a middle point, hundreds of years could pass between every battle phase. Training for so long without any idea regarding the reasoning behind it was not something I was willing to do; I wasn''t someone with unlimited motivation and there were people who I wanted to see. And besides- There has to be a limit on how far training can take me, right? Even when just dealing with my body, I expected there to be some sort of upper limit on how much muscle I could obtain. Sure, I had divinity and whatnot, but I was still a human at the end of the day. With this in mind, I figured Tatton was more-so referring to obtaining strength through enhancing my skills. But how the heck am I supposed to do that? I knew practically nothing about martial arts, so whatever technique I threw together would be self-taught and likely extremely subpar, as evident by my basic swings at the training dummy. Why are the only weapon options here so basic, anyway? This would be so much easier if I had a gun... wait can I make a gun? Using domain creation, making one shouldn''t be impossible. Although, I only had an extremely primitive idea of how one even functioned, let alone how to make one, I was sure I''d be able toe up with something given enough time. But what''s the point of making one if I can''t even bring it out of my domain? That was both the key limitation and the main problem holding me back from most of my experimenting: things made with domain creation couldn''t be brought into the Academy. Unless they add something new, only training with weapons already in the Academy would trante to anything meaningful. I should probably ask Tatton about it- "Squawk!" I turned around at Mr. Flipper''s call. "Ah-" My heart tightened as a bright green glow terminating from the orb at the penguin''s feet entered my eyes. "I guess it''s time," I announced while feigningposure. Rest in peace, Rynn. Thank you for everything. After tossing the wooden sword I was using into a barrel, I picked up Mr. Flippers who was tightly holding onto the green-glowing crystal ball. "Come on; let''s go get our prize." "Squawk!" . .. ... It only took a few minutes for us to arrive back at the audience hall and start walking to the stage where a familiar face was waiting. "Wee back, Jacob." "Thank you, Tatton. I know I was gone for a bit, but hopefully you didn''t miss me too much," I joked as I stepped onto the stage, "We''re good to get our prize now, right?" "Correct. The earlypletion request was granted," he nodded, "Please im your prize when you are ready." "Got it." With a forced smile, I approached the chest on the left and lowered Mr. Flippers down in front of it. "I''ll let the lucky one handle this. Are you ready?" "Squawk!" A green glow emanated from inside the chest as the penguin flung open its lid. Once the light subsided, I spotted a familiar white cardying at the bottom. "This is-" "Oh, it looks like you got a lifefrom." I nodded as I reached down and picked up the card, "It''s been a while since I''ve seen one of these." Judging by the markings, it looked to be a basic lifeform card. "You can use it just as you did when you first chose the seven starting lifeforms for your realm," Tatton exined, "I have the authority to approve your selection, so feel free to select one if you have one in mind." "Alright. Thank you." A sigh escaped my lips as I looked down at the card in my hand. I guess it''s finally time, isn''t it? "Squawk?" "No, it''s a great prize- you did a good job, Mr. Flippers," "Squawk~" My expression lightened as I tapped his penguin head. "I just didn''t think I would get this so soon." After seeing the benefits of agriculture firsthand when Uunga invaded Levon''s realm, I resolved myself to choose a good farming crop the next time I had the opportunity to do so. Of course, I knew about agriculture''s importance prior to Uunga''s counterattack, but Levon''s capital only served to reinforce what I assumed; the only reason why I was a bit apprehensive about getting this chance was because I knew its impact on my realm would be absolutely massive. Cities weren''t really possible in my realm because of the low food density that the forests provide. Once I introduce farming, this limitation will be removed. If human history on Earth was anything to go by, the world that I had spent so long building and looking over would never be the same. Well, I guess you can''t have progress without having change." With that thought, I closed my eyes and focused. Although I had only just received the card, I had already extensively thought over which lifeform I would choose when this time came. I eventually settled on some sort of grain as my basic lifeform. Back on Earth, there were three types of grains that dominated over the rest of their peers- each forming a foundation that humanity built off of in their global conquest. No one could deny the poprity of rice in the East, nor discount the empires built off of wheat in the West, but what I ultimately settled on when debating this choice in the past was the third option: corn. These beautiful, yellow, and somewhat cylindrical vegetables resting on thick, leafy stalks represented, in my opinion, what was the pinnacle of a crop. In terms of caloric efficiency, utility, and farmability, corn was unmatched. It also tastes really freaking good. Even with my personal memories being wiped upon bing a ruler, the taste of corn still could be reyed in my mind when I thought about it. Cornbread, chips, popcorn... they are all so good~ Although types of bread and chips could be made with rice and wheat, the existence of popcorn made corn the iparably better choice, in my opinion. There were also just so many uses for corn outside of food that it was hard to name them all. I mean, it''s even a great source of ethanol. Well, it will be a long time before my humans can figure out what that even is, though." A faint glow could be seen beyond my closed eyelids as my thoughts were tranted onto the card in my hands. Once the glow subsided, I opened my eyes and looked at the card with a smile. "Squawk?" "Yep, it worked. You''ll love it, trust me." Still grinning, I walked over to Tatton''s desk and handed him the card, and after looking over it, his reaction could only be described as astonished. "How is it possible for a basic lifeform to produce this much food without mana? It is still simple enough to fall into the basic lifeform category, yet itpletely out sses most of the moderate lifeforms of this cycle! It''s as though the lifeform was created for the sole purpose of producing food!" "Well... you''re not too wrong about that." When humans first crossed the Bering Straight and made their way through the Americas, there was nothing evenparable to the lifeform Tatton was now raving over. What they found instead were skinny nts that produced only a few kernels which were protected by an annoying, hard coating. It took thousands of years of selective breeding for these small amounts of tough kernels to morph into the modern masterpiece consisting of hundreds of yummy and easy-to-eat kernels around a massive, yellow cob. Corn had gone through such massive change at the hands of humans that without being manually nted, corn everywhere would cease to exist. The husks of modern corn trap the kernels together; even if they were to be exposed to soil, the hundreds of individual kernels wouldpete against one another and likely starve each other out. With this in mind, it made perfect sense for Tatton to be so awestruck; a nt so perfectly tailored to the needs of another lifeform at the cost of its own survivability went against the veryws of nature that life was based upon. This was not a valid reason for rejecting the lifeform, however, so after checking it over a bit more, Tatton pulled out a stamp from under his robe and marked the card as ''approved''. "You certainly keep showing me interesting things," he amused while handing me back the card. "I have a lot more in my pocket, so look forward to it," I smiled as I put the card away, "By the way, I wanted to ask you about what you said earlier. Did you really want me to train at mortal time? Also, should I limit myself to the weapons already in the training ground, or-" "Mortal time might be a bit excessive, but I rmend training as much as you can. As for your second question, I am extremely limited in what I can say, so let me just say this: training with what is in the Academy may be more valuable in the short term, but your efforts will not be wasted regardless of what you practice using." ''Hmmm... Alright, thank you." It was actually really good information despite his im that he couldn''t say much. "If I''m gonna be spending so much time training, I at least want to be able to talk to people so I won''t go crazy," I took the crystal ball out of the penguin''s flippers and ced it on the desk, ignoring his sad squawk of protest, "Does this thing have a call function by any chance?" "A call function?" "Yeah, like a way for someone to talk into one and have their voicee through a different orb thing." "... I do have some magic devices capable of such, but they would not work for what you are intending," Tatton leaned back in his chair, "To put it simply, they need a solid connection of mana to function. This works fine in this dense mana environment of the Academy, but this path would be interrupted when trying to cross the boundary between domains." "I guess that makes sense..." I sighed. It looks like magic has its limitations, too. A boundary between domains, though... This was something we clearly hadn''t been told about, yet looking back, it made sense for there to be something separating the domains from the Academy. I originally figured we were just teleporting to like a hidden dorm-room type thing, but it''s clearly something different. Even after being a Seedling for over a year in heavenly time, there was still way too much about the Academy that was clouded in mystery. Still, it was precisely because of myck of knowledge about how things worked here that I was unwilling to simply give up on my calling-orb idea. "If it isn''t possible to cross this boundary with mana, is there something on the science route that could do it?" I asked. Tatton looked at me puzzled, "Do you have something particr in mind?" "Well, I mean, can''t we just make something like a phone?" I reached into my pocket and pulled out one of my few connections to my life back on Earth. "That is your painting-creating device, is it not?" "... You''ve been spying on me a bit more than I thought." "... It is my job to observe. Putting that aside, please borate on how that rtes." "Okay, so to start with, although this can take pictures, that isn''t its main function; its real purpose is to call people from far away." Despite not being able to see him under his hood, I could feel Tatton''s eyes widen. "You came from a world devoid of mana, did you not? So how could-" "We used radio waves instead of mana," I answered, seeing where his question was leading. "... Radiowaves?" "Yeah, basically they''re these... actually it might take a bit to exin." Tatton''s gaze shifted past me, as if finally realizing how long our conversation was taking. "I see. It won''t be long before we get a wave of Seedlings with the battle phase reaching its conclusion," he sighed while turning his attention back to me, "Do you remember where my office is?" "I think so," I nodded. "Then please stop by sometime before your ss today. You can bring the girl if you desire," he offered, waving me off. "Got it. I''ll see youter then, Tatton." "I will await yourpany, Jacob." Rather than get off the stage, I spoke aloud after returning my phone to my pocket to be snug with my basic lifeform card. "Return to domain!" In an instant, a familiar dark room half-filled by a giant ice pce appeared before me. "Squawk!?" "I know, I''m not too thrilled to be back here either." "... Squawk?" I lowered the confused penguin onto the ground and pulled out my newly acquired prize. "I want to get this in my realm as soon as possible to give my humans time to get used to it. There''s still a bit of time before Julia finishes her battle phase, anyway." I made my way over to my desk and slowed down the time to match that of my realm, "Let''s see what they think of the fruits of their victory!" "Squawk!" Just as I was about to ce down the card, I paused. "... Would it be better to call it thevegetablesof their victory?" "Squawk!" "Ow- don''t peck me! It was a valid question! Okay, okay- I''m cing it." I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 56 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 56 Announcement Attention everyone!!! Following this chapter, I will be entering my first hiatus! Please read the author''s notes for more details! "This might be a bit more work than I thought..." My subconscious thoughts leaked from my mouth as I looked at the screen in front of me. I originally wanted to quickly dump my new lifeform all over my realm in a simr manner to when I first ced my cherry trees, but there was something preventing me from doing so this time. As much as I love corn, it does suck how it can''t really reproduce on its own. Modern corn needed to be nted manually to grow sessfully, so if I acted haphazardly, it would all disappear in a single generation. I guess I''ll have to exin it to them myself. Left with no other choice, I zoomed into the teau in search of someone to turn into my priest and quickly changed the view to that of the inside of my temple. The priest should be of Rathok''s lineage instead of Angru''s assuming that my orders were followed. In a stroke of luck, the temple was empty aside from one woman who seemed to be in her forties. Although I had no definitive way of affirming whether or not she was the heir to the priest''s title, the fact that she was alone in the temple and had the same dark, ck hair as my previous Oracle gave me enough confidence in my guess. It will be a bit awkward if I''m wrong though... I couldn''t help but notice a drop of cold sweat dripping down my back as I followed the usual prompts to confirm my selection. I just woke up from a 200-year long nap from their perspective... they could excuse a bit of grogginess after I just woke up, right? As I prepared my excuses, a golden st shot out of my statue''s finger and hit the stunned woman''s chest, thus turning the unofficial priest into an official one. The woman seemed to quickly recover from the shock and dropped to the temple floor in a kneeling posture. "You have returned, creator of the world," she spoke while sping her hands together and looking up at my statue. Oi!? What is this!? "Y-yes... I have returned. May I ask why you are kneeling though?" I managed to croak out. The woman tilted her head at my question, "This is the official way to greet the creator of the world. It is knowledge passed down from Priest Angru IV to Priest Rathok." "R-right... Of course." A wry smile formed on my lips at her exnation. I left baby Angru in charge of teaching Rathok, but it looks like he made up some odd things. It seemed to be some sort of petty revenge for switching the title''s lineage, yet since it wasn''t exactly harmful, I decided to just roll with it. He must''ve stolen the idea from some sarcasticments I made back when he first became my priest. Although I was fairly certain of where the idea came from, I couldn''t help but sink back into my chair as I looked at the prayer-like posture. It''s something that started after Uunga''s rein, but they really are starting to treat me more and more like a god. I know I''ve been acting like one for the sake of divinity, but I''m really just a normal guy! Sure, I couldn''t remember anything from before I got hit by a green beam while smuggling myself to Antarctica, but that''s something that happens to normal guys! The feeling was a bit ufortable, yet it was the path I had chosen long ago. Baby Angru''s pettiness could only serve to strengthen my resolve. If pretending to be their god could get me more power to protect them, I can deal with this... probably! Pushing the difort aside, I couldn''t help but ask about the woman''s lineage which was now somewhat confirmed based on her knowledge of Angru''s teachings. "Before I get to the reason behind my early return, would you mind filling me in on the life of my Oracle following his victory?" "dly!" With sparkling eyes, she began exining everything I missed since I disappeared from my realm. To summarize, celebrations erupted across my realm following our victory at the mountain passage. As part of this, a group of soldiers paraded the ogre Oracle''s corpse around my realm before ultimately burning it at the foot of the Tree of Victory, the apparent new nickname forthe torch tree in front of the temple. Rynn was meanwhile celebrated as a hero; such feelings were emphasized by those who saw the frighteningly massive figure of the Oracle he defeated. The corpse seemed to still be bursting with power even after its death. Despite this, Rynn''s life was a bit bittersweet; he was never able to fully recover from his injuries, leaving him unable to exert much more strength than that of an ordinary human. If it weren''t for his divinity, even this much strength would have been impossible. His life was peaceful, and although he long outlived even his grandson, he always had more family there to support him through hard times. "... I am d he lived long enough for me to meet him. He was always very quiet, but equally kind," the priest finished, "I was much younger than I am now, but I remember when he left the teau to return to his old vige. He said he felt it was his time to join his family, and sure enough, he was buried next to the graves of his wife and his brother soon after." Wow... While it was a heartwarming story, I couldn''t help but feel a tinge of guilt for not checking in on Rynn one more time before his time came to an end. I knew he would be fine, but he risked his life and saved my realm... I should have at least came back to say goodbye. A dull pain hummed in my chest as I thought of my now-deceased Oracle whom I watched over since he was a kid. After spending so much time in my domain, I was always so eager to leave and dreadeding back. That''s not enough of an excuse for not paying proper respects, though. It hasn''t even been a day and I''m already feeling this much regret... Smack! "Squawk!?" I lightly smacked the sides of my face to get myself focused, startling the tiny penguin still in myp. "Rynn was a great Oracle; I am d he had a good life," I pushed aside my thoughts and spoke while patting Mr. Flippers, "It is thanks to his efforts that I am able to give this gift to you all." "A gift?" "Yes, a gift. Your triumph over the invaders gave me great power, which I fully used to create a new food for you all to enjoy." Since I couldn''t really tell her about the prize system of the Academy, I was forced to distort the exnation behind the sudden creation. "You created a new food!?" I could see the woman''s eyes light up at my announcement, oblivious to my distortion. Such a prospect was understandably exciting given the rtively limited menu of food currently avable in my realm. "Yes. I am very proud of it myself; I''m sure you will all enjoy it," I paused, "But before I can give this food to the world, I must introduce some of its traits." I couldn''t help but smile as my priest eagerly nodded her head with an energy unbefitting of her age. "The new food is a nt, vaguely simr to the cherry trees you all are familiar with, but it has a few major differences. First of all, the nt is a lot smaller and produces hundreds of small, yellow cherries instead of singrrge, red cherries. It also only produces these yellow cherries one time before it needs to grow again. If you bury a few of these yellow cherries in the ground, it will likely grow back again in the next season." My priest''s excitement seemed to understandably die down at my admittedly terrible exnation, but it was the best I could do while both keeping it within the bounds of what my humans were familiar with and making it vague enough to not get in trouble with the Academy. "I am sure we will treasure the gift you have given us, creator of the world. Thank you," my priest said with a forced smile. If you''re gonna thank me, at least don''t look so disappointed! You look like a kid who unwrapped a massive present only to find out it was just a pair of socks! "... You''ll see what I''m talking about soon," I sighed while withholding my retort, "I''m going to ce some in the western forested sector near the temple soon, so feel free to try some." The priest nodded, "I will gather those nearby and let them know of your return and your gift." With those words, the priest finally stood and ventured out of the temple. . .. ... It looks like it''s finally time for them to try it! After cing a few dozen cornstalks in the aforementioned clearing, I saved myself some waiting by fast-forwarding the time until a massive crowd formed around the new nts. Just like when I ced my other lifeforms, it seemed the corn was nearly mature, which allowed the first daring humans to begin curiously poking and examining the new lifeform. "Cagnis sudin?" "Sudin wuda capro..." "Su alton pogu sun pena~" It''s fun watching them see it for the first time... but some of thosements were a bit questionable. Eventually, one of the humans inspecting the nt finally pulled open the nt''s husk, revealing the unfamiliar yellow cob hiding inside it. "Oooo! Sun serud su! Su en loc!" The man excitedly shouted his discovery as he pulled out the cob- immediately taking a bite with bright eyes. *Chomp! "Mmm!" Sess! I couldn''t help but smile as I watched the other humans simrly find and bite into the yummy corn. Man, if they''re loving it raw, I can''t wait to see their reactions when they find out they can cook it~ "I should probably remind them that they need to save some," I smiled as I zoomed in on my priest who was enthusiastically munching on the new food, "I see you''re enjoying my gift." The priest nodded her head vigorously, "Yes- it is very tasty! It is a taste unlike *munch* anything I have had before! Thank you for the gift, creator of the world!" "I''m d you are enjoying it, but I have an experiment I would like for you to do for me." My priest hesitantly put down the corn and tilted her head, "An experiment?" "Correct. I''ll ce down some more corn near the temple, but you need to make sure that nobody eats it. Starting tomorrow, I would like for you to bury a few of the yellow kernels from one nt into the ground. I want you to do this with one nt every day until we find a point where the ones you nt begin to grow. Since you''ll only need to nt a few kernels from every nt, you can feel free to eat the rest." The priest hesitantly nodded at first, but then readily agreed after my final sentence. I''m not too sure about when the kernels are ripe enough to be nted again, so I''ll have to have my humans figure it out on their own. Luckily, I have plenty I can ce down for some trial and error~ Although I figured this experiment alone would be enough to teach them, I decided to y it safe and fast-forward to the next season before I ced down more of my stockpile. Sure enough, as the spring transitioned to summer, a few rows of fresh stalks could be seen growing in front of the temple. It looks like they got the hang of it! My heart filled with pride at the sight. They managed to get the hang of farming so fast... I know they''ve nted cherries before, but I''m still impressed! My experiment and vague guidance surely helped them, yet that didn''t make me any less proud. I assumed it was a simr feeling to how a parent felt watching their kid sessfully ride a bike without training wheels for the first time. Sure, they had some help before, but now they were on their own and still zooming by happily. They copied how I ced the corn down in rows. I didn''t really mean for them to do that, but that''ll definitely make things more efficient for them! Given the rtively warm climate year-round on the teau, they could likely nt corn for seed purposes 3 times a year and harvest corn for consumption a whopping four times a year! What was currently a small garden had the potential to grow exponentially. The food crisis on the teau can definitely be saved once they get the hang of this. I could feel my heart beat as I pictured how much the teau could grow with this new lifeform. There was no way that I was going to keep such a monumental food source as a teau exclusive, though. Now that I was confident my lifeforms had the process of nting down, I requested my priest to send messengers carrying pouches of mature kernels to some of the biggest viges to introduce them to corn and to help teach them how to grow it. Of course, I made sure to have them mention that it was a gift from me as a reward for the sessful victory against the invaders. I ced down more corn to help speed up the process as I fast-forwarded the time and it was not long before nearly all of the major viges in the eastern half of the continent had small gardens of corn of their very own. Yes, just the eastern continent. "What a pain..." A sigh unintentionally escaped my lips as I zoomed in on the portion of the river that previously had a log pathway dotted across it. "I knew it wouldn''tst long, but man it still sucks to see it gone..." Since Rynn''s strength had been downgraded to that of an average human following his injuries incurred against Ferguson''s Oracle, repairing the pathway had be a nearly impossible feat. The logs held up for a while, but years of weathering by the high river current eventually led to the pathway linking the two halves of my continent washing away, plunging both sides into istion. I don''t really want to just ce corn randomly and just hope my humans figure out how to use it. Maybe a few really good swimmers would be able to cross it to deliver some kernels and exin everything, but that''s not something I can reasonably request. While I could have used a few of my remaining resource points to make a temporary or even a semi-permanent path across, I hesitated to do so. My stockpile of Resource Points was starting to run low, after all. It might be a bit dangerous, but I guess I could just move someone across the river like how I moved some lifeforms to my inds. Yeah, that''s probably the best scenario. Just as I was about to ask my priest to find a volunteer, however, a thought popped into my head. "...Maybe I shouldn''t give corn to the western continent yet." "Squawk!?" I looked down at the penguin who let out a confused squawk at my mutter, "Huh? What''s wrong?" "Squawk squawk!" "I know it goes against what I was saying, but hear me out!" Despite how much I had been gushing over the benefits of having corn ever since I chose it as my new lifeform, it wasn''t really needed yet in the western continent. With the western continent''s poption still scarce even after some migration over the path across the river, the vigers there had not yet reached the point where farming would be needed. Sticking with their primitive hunting and gathering strategy was still a viable method thanks to the abundance of food in the region. "Besides, most of the biggest viges are set up in the north near the mountain passage thanks to those who stayed behind after the battle phase. If corn allowed them to grow into cities, they would be at a huge risk if an invasion managed to get through the passage," I added, "Besides, they''d probably only get one harvest a year with how cold it is up there, so let''s just leave them be for now; we can give them corn when they actually have a need for it." "Squawk..." With a look of reluctance, it seemed the tiny penguin agreed with my opinion. I couldn''t help but smile as I looked at his expression. This penguin... he really does care a lot about our humans, doesn''t he? It was understandable for him to be judging my decision; preventing the whole western continent from getting corn simply because cities in the north might develop was a pretty weak reason, but there was more that went into my choice than just that. I know I said I''d slow down on my gambles, but who could pass up on something so low-risk with such a high reward? Although I didn''t exin this to the penguin, I expected the presence of corn to be a major source of interest for those on the western continent. Someone will get across the river eventually, and once the others learn about something so valuable on the other side, there is bound to be a revolution to get across it~ Desire has inspired some of the most important discoveries throughout history. I expected corn to serve as this desire in my realm. Despite me calling it a gamble, there was practically no risk from my decision. My humans will need to make some huge advancements to find a reliable way to cross the river. Whether it''s boats or building techniques, what theye up with could be extremely useful in the future. Even if they can''t figure out how to get across, they will still be able to thrive for a few more battle phases until food bes a problem, so there''s no risk! Well, an Oracle would likely get corn to them before then, anyway. A cunning smile crept onto my face. Of course, this penguin will be none-the-wiser to my evil scheme! There''s no gambling here, little penguin~ "Since we don''t have to worry about getting corn into the west continent, it looks like our work is done for now!" I said while stretching back in my chair and hiding my smile behind my hands. "Squawk! Squawk?" "Yes, Julia should be done by now~," I smirked as I altered the time of my domain to match heavenly time, "Let''s just watch over for a few seasons to make sure they have the hang of everything and then we can head out." "Squawk!" After saying goodbye to my priest and watching my humans achieve ster results as a few more seasons flew by, I picked up Mr. Flippers and prepared to meet someone who I was anxious to see. "Alright- it''s time to go back! Transport to the Academy!" I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 57 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 57 Announcement We are finally back, my guys!!! Please read the massive author''s note; there were a few retcons I made to the story while I was on hiatus (nothing too crazy) "Squawk!" "Ow! Dangit!" A usual sh of light marked our entrance into the Academy. "Squawk~" "I know. I''m sorry, Mister Flippers, I forgot to remind you to close your eyes," I apologized as I rubbed my own burning eyes, "I''m so used to using back after a battle phase that it didn''t even cross my mind." As I waited for my eyes to adjust to the sudden change in light level, I noticed what looked like a blurry figure approaching me. "Jacob!" "... Julia?" "Yes, it''s me! Why do you sound so unsure!?" "I''m used to you being cute, not being bright." "Huh!? What is that supposed to mean!?" I quickly hopped back, barely noticing a blurry fist flying toward my shoulder between my squinted eyes. "Whoa! You''re trying to hit a blind guy! The Julia I know would never do something so cruel! Who are you- what did you do to my elf girl!?" "... I don''t know why you''re pretending to be blind, but the Julia you know would definitely hit someone who called her stupid." As she pouted, my vision gradually returned and I was able to finally admire the elf girl in front of me. "Stupid? Oh, I didn''t mean brightlike that. The Academy is just way brighter than our domain, right, Mr. Flippers?" "Squawk~" Julia tilted her head as I lightly ced the penguin onto the audience hall floor, but before she could speak, I quickly pulled her in for a hug. "I missed you, Julia." Her pouty face gradually vanished, and I soon felt her arms wrap around me in return. "... I missed you too, Jacob." Although we stayed like that for a couple minutes, we were eventually forced to let go following an impatient squawk from the penguin beside us. "Fine, fine- you can say hi," I mumbled jokingly as I picked up the tiny creature and ced him in Julia''s arms. "Squawk!" "Hello, little one! Have you been good for Jacob?" "... Squawk." "... You took a long time to answer that," Julia wryly smiled as her eyes shifted over to meet mine, "You better be nice to Jacob- maybe your misbehaving is what caused him to be blind." "Squawk!" "Oh, speaking of blind- did you see the board yet?" Julia asked, turning to me. "The board? Do you mean the scoreboard?" I quickly looked past the crowd of creatures near the stage where the massive scoreboard was overlooking, "I haven''t had a chance yet. Wait- is that a ''one'' next to your picture!?" I immediately snapped my eyes to the elf girl who was standing next to me who was nodding with a smug expression on her face. "Yep, I - kyahh!" "Squawk!?" Unable to contain myself, I snatched up the elf girl and lifted her off the ground in a hug, identally squishing the unfortunate penguin between us in the process. "You got a win this early!? I thought you said it would take another battle phase before your elves learned enough magic to defend!? You must''ve found a super-strong Oracle, right? She must''ve sted away whatever thing tried to invade you! Or maybe you just thought of a really good strategy? Either way, I''m so proud of you!!" I excitedly spun Julia in a circle as I rapid-fired questions at her. "W-wait! Jacob! Everyone''s watching us!" "Huh?" I stopped spinning the elf girl whose face was now beat red and looked back at the crowd of creatures. Sure enough, most of them were looking at the two of us with curious gazes. "Ah... sorry," I apologized as I gently lowered Julia onto her feet, "I got a little excited." "I think that''s more than just a little," Julia muttered embarrassedly as she plopped Mr. Flippers down next to her, "But yes, I won! Maybe we should go somewhere else while I tell you about it... someone put a lot of attention on us here." "A-ah. I wonder who that was..." I avoided the elf''s tiny re, "Do you want to go to the bathhouse? It''s probably pretty empty with everyone being in line here." "Sure!" "Great, then let''s go!" I couldn''t help but smile as Julia grabbed onto my outstretched hand, but just as we began to walk, I heard an odd noise behind us. "Squa~" Thud! "Pffft-" The dizzy penguin fell over with spinny eyes. . .. ... "Training, huh?" I couldn''t help but look at myself in the mirror after changing into a towel in one of the changing rooms. My muscles are already pretty decent... does Tatton want me to look like a meatball? An image of a certain ogre shed in my mind, but I quickly shook my head to dispel the thought. "Whatever. Now''s not the time to really think about that," I turned to the tiny penguin who still had a few bubbles on him after the quick bath I gave him, "You ready to go swimming?" "Squawk~" "Perfect, me too." As I creaked open the door to the stall, I was surprised to see the person we were nning to meet up with already standing before us. "Hi, Julia! Did we keep you waiting? It feels like it''s been forever since I''ve seen you in that massive towel," I teased. "... What''s wrong with my towel?" The elf girl pouted as she looked down at the towel that spanned from her chest to her ankles, "There''s nothing wrong with it, but I mean it covers more of you than the shorts you usually wear, so-" "It''s different..." Julia looked away embarrassedly. Although I waited a second for her to borate, it didn''t seem like any exnation would be given. "Right... should we go to the baths now?" "..." "... Julia?" Tilting my head at the odd silence, I followed the elf girl''s stare until I noticed her eyes locked onto my exposed torso. "... Pervert," I teased. "W-what!?" Julia seemed to snap out of whatever trance-like state she was in and flusteredly waved her hands, "I-I wasn''t looking at your abs!" "Pffft-" "S-stopughing! I-I wasn''t looking!" I couldn''t help butugh as the now-red elf girl''s panic. If I can get more reactions like that, maybe bing a meatball wouldn''t be so bad, after all. "You can look all you want while we''re in the bath, so let''s head over before Mr. Flippers gets mad," I winked. "... Okay. I wasn''t looking though..." "Squawk~" As we walked out of the changing area and headed toward the baths, I couldn''t help but admire the giant fountain in the center of the bathhouse. Odd but vibrant nts grew all over the fountain in a way that resembled a miniature, lush hanging garden-basking in the Academy''s sole source of sunlight, which poured through the ss roof over top of them. It never gets old no matter how many times I see it. There was something so beautiful about seeing sunlight other than from through a screen. Although part of me wanted to climb up the fountain to feel it on my skin, I had a feeling that such an action wouldn''t end well. Keeping these thoughts to myself, our group of three quickly arrived at the three baths. "Squawk!" Ssh! Mr. Flippers immediately dove into the cold bath the second we arrived, sshing us with water in the process. "... He missed this more than I thought," I muttered with a wry smile, "This might be the first time I''ve gotten sshed when he jumped in." "Is it cold? I didn''t feel anything." "It''s pretty cold. You just didn''t feel it because your massive towel blocked all the water~" "Why are you picking on my towel so much!?" "It''s just fun to see your reactions~" I ignored Julia''s pouts as the two of us watched the penguin swim happily swim around the cold bath in a circle. "What do you think? Should we hop in, too?" "Hop in the cold bath?" "I meant the warm one; Mr, Flippers should be fine here on his own," I shrugged. Although we had been at the Academy for over a year, I had yet to see a creature aside from the penguin go in the cold bath. Honestly, I''m wondering what the point of even having it is. If no one''s using it, it might''ve been better to just get rid of it and make the warm and hot baths bigger. Mr. Flippers would probably cry if he heard my thoughts, so I kept them to myself as Julia and I stepped into the warm bath. "You were right... it''s not crowded at all!" "I told you~" The warm bath was usually the most packed out of the three forcing Julia and I toe at awkward times just to avoid being cramped with odd creatures. With most of the Seedlings still waiting to get their prizes or punishments from the previous battle phase, however, the two of us were able to find afortable seat away from the other creatures in the bath. "Ah~ this feels nice," I leaned back and lowered myself into the warm water. "... You sound like an old man." "Well, I feel like one. I watched a baby get gray hair and start grunting every time he picked up a spear in my temple," I sighed, "I might even be 1,000 years older next time you see me." Julia looked at me in confusion, "Why would you be one thousand years older?" I lowered myself further into the water at her question; with my mouth barely above the surface of the warm water, I spoke in a whisper. "I was talking to Tatton earlier and he told me that I should start training as much as possible. He told me I should use the time difference in my domain to my advantage." "He actually said that!?" Julia matched my whisper with wide eyes, "Did he tell you why?" I shook my head, "No, he said he wasn''t allowed to. I''m gonna go to his office before our ss to try to squeeze out more info if you''d want toe with me." "Sure, I''ll join you." "Perfect! I really didn''t feel like skipping on meeting with him," I smiled. "... You weren''t going to go if I didn''t go with you?" "Well, I''d just join him after you go back to your domain," I shrugged, "Since I know I''ll be on defense, I don''t really have to rush back to my domain after ss. I doubt I''d really need to use the full battle preparation phase if the toad guy I was messing with attacks me." Julia sighed, "You''re really still doing that? I thought you said you''d quit antagonizing people." "It works so there''s no reason for me to stop~" As we were talking, I noticed a small hand next to me through the shimmering water. Without hesitating, I gently ced my hand on top of it, causing Julia to tilt her head. "I just felt like it," I exined, "Anyway, can I hear about your battle phase now? The curiosity is killing me~" Julia smiled at my beaming eyes, "Sure, but I really only won because I got lucky-" Surprisingly, Julia got paired against one of the few quadruped Seedlings in the Academy. I''ve seen the guy sitting, or I guess standing, in the front of the ss. The thing looks like a bear had a baby with a coffee table. Honestly, I don''t really understand how it was chosen as a Seedling... it seems more like a weird animal to me. Although I only saw him from afar, I was able to get a better understanding based on what Julia was describing. The invading creatures were pretty long with rtively t backs covered in ayer of bone acting as a sort of exoskeleton. Though thinner, this exoskeleton extended over the back of the creature''s neck and over its head before thinning out and ending on the bridge of its nose between its two eyes. The more I thought of it, the more the creature confused me. It attacked just as a bear would; by shing its sharp ws and chomping with its jagged teeth. This was fine and all but there was something that weirded me out beyond belief. "You said they burrowed?" "Mhm," Julia nodded, "They started digging into the ground every time they were setting up a camp. My Oracle was able to seal some of them underground using her nt-controlling magic because of it. Some of their camps got pretty deep though." "A freaking bear-table-mole crossbreed... there really are some interesting people we''ll have to fight against." I really want to know what caused it to evolve like that... It may have been an odd opponent, but surprisingly the oddsnded in Julia''s favor this time. Though they were great borrowers, they were utterly useless when it came to climbing trees which the elves were adept at using to their advantage. Their low stature and four-legged stance also left them much more vulnerable to the nt-based magic that was now bing wide-spread in her realm. Even with these advantages, the battle phase was far from easy. The table bears invaded with massive numbers and were formationed in small but deadly attack groups. Even with Julia''s elves bing more skilled at using nt-magic, they still weren''t at the point where they could terraform the giant alternea trees that elves on Julia''s original used as homes. As such, most elves still lived in huts on the forest floor and were vulnerable to the invaders. "Every battle was tough," Julia recounted with a sigh, "The spears we used to hunt boars weren''t able to do much against the invader''s tough back. They also used mana to make their ws extra sharp and were able to cut apart some of the vines my elves tangled them in." I couldn''t help but grimace when I thought of the battles her elves must''ve gone through, "That''s honestly kind of terrifying. You were able to get a Tier I prize against them, but it couldn''t have been easy..." "We lost about twenty-three percent," Julia admitted somberly, "It''s much better than the forty-two percent I lostst time, but I can''t say it''s a good feeling." My free hand subconsciously tightened into a fist as I processed the number. "I''m sorry, Julia," I paused as I matched my gaze with her green eyes that seemed to glisten from the reflections of the water we sat in, "Are you okay?" The elf girl gave a small nod, "My elves are getting stronger. I can only hope that next time another twenty percent less of them are lost." I could only give a sad smile in response, "You''re really strong, Julia. I bet the reason they''re getting so strong is because they''re taking after you." "Thank you, Jacob," Although it was slight, I could see her mncholy expression lighten a bit at my words, "I might''ve felt a bit better if we had been able toe away with the Tier II prize." "Oh, right- it''s under twenty percent for a Tier II victory, isn''t it!? You were so close!" "I was," Julia groaned, "I thought I was going to win at 18%, but his Oracle went on a rampage and managed to get into the northern part of my realm and my elves were caught off guard. My Oracle followed, of course, but there was not much she could do to get through its back. By the time she was able to take it down, my losses were already at 23%." "That''s screwed up..." Julia nodded and raised her fist with an evil glint in her eyes, "I''m going to have to give him a super-serious punch next time I see him." I couldn''t help but smile at her disy despite the tragic topic. "Believe me, I''d love to give him a punch- or maybe several- of my own, but I don''t think the sheep instructor would be too happy if we were to start fighting in ss," I cautioned with a forced smile. Julia shrugged, "I''m sure I''m not the only one who wants to fight. I was looking at the scoreboard and there were some pretty crazy changes! Even Ferguson somehow got a Tier III defeat! I really didn''t think anyone would be able to win against him, let alone beat him that badly!" "Y-yeah... that really is crazy!" "Right?" Julia leaned back against the wall of the bath as if calming herself down after the depressing talk, "It''s your turn to tell me about how things went for you. You were able to get a Tier III win so..." Julia trailed off as she noticed me avoiding her line of sight. "What are you doing, Jacob?" she pouted. "W-well... I may have been the one to beat Ferguson..." "... Huh? YOU WERE THE ONE WHO BEAT HIM!?" The elf girl shot up, sshing me with warm water in the process. "Mhm," I nodded at her finger pointed in front of my face. "How did you even beat him!? No- why did you even provoke him in the first ce!? Out of everyone in the Academy, you picked a fight with Ferguson!?" "It wasn''t my fault! I didn''t even provoke him... at least not recently," I defended myself, "The lizard probably asked him to attack me or something; don''t start ming the victim!" "... It''s hard to really call you the victim when you got a Tier III prize out of it," Julia sighed, "What exactly happened?" We continued soaking in the warm bath as I gave her a summary of everything that happened starting from when Ferguson first announced that he would be invading me after Julia went back to her domain outside the ssroom. I told her the story of Rathok and Rynn, which she seemed oddly emotional about, and gave her a rundown of how my humans turned the mountain passage into a death trap. "Wow... you actually managed to beat him," Julia said in disbelief. "Oi- why are you still so surprised!? I feel like I should be offended at this point!" "Well, he''s just so... you know?" Julia muttered as she flexed her arms as if mimicking a bodybuilder. "Are you saying that I don''t have muscles!? You were just staring at my abs like 10 minutes ago!" "I didn''t say that!" the elf girl defended while waving her hands, "And I wasn''t staring!" "You know what? I''ve decided... I''m spending the one thousand years working out!" "You don''t have to!" I know Ferguson is a meatball, but I''m proud of my muscles! The two of us continued bickering for a bit as I did my best jealous girlfriend act. We eventually settled down as my pouting subsided. "Anyway, enough talking about how you think I''m super weak and have no muscles. Could you tell me what prize you ended up getting?" "I never said... hah," Julia started to argue but ended up just sighing after I stuck my tongue out at her, "I got a bow." "A bow? Julia nodded, "Mhm. I checked back in my domain and I was able to ce a few bows in my temple. I could only make ten of them though." "Huh... I didn''t really expect that would be a prize we could win," I thought aloud with my hand on my chin, "There wasn''t anything special about the bows? Like they weren''t made of metal or shoot like some insane arrows or anything?" "No- they were just normal bows from what I could tell, but it was a really good prize! It definitely would have taken my elves at least another battle phase before they could''ve figured out how to make them; the bows in the temple gave them a huge hint on how to do it!" I thought she had something like Ferguson''s hammer for a second. It''s definitely not on that level, but it''s honestly a really great prize. Not even my humans have bows yet; it pretty much just set her realm''s weaponry an entire battle phase ahead! "What about you, Jacob?" Julia asked, cutting off my thoughts, "I told you what I got, so you have to tell me your prize!" "Oh, I got to choose a basic lifeform." Julia tilted her head, "A basic lifeform? They didn''t give you a moderate lifeform for getting a Tier III victory against Ferguson?" "I guess not," I shrugged, "I''m notining, though. I was able to get corn because of it~" Although I said this, Julia''s gaze looked unsatisfied. "It''s this super yummy nt," I exined as I stood up in the bath, "We''ve been in here for a while, so I think most of the other Seedlings have already gotten their prizes by now. The bathhouse will probably be crowded soon, too. How about we go stop by Tatton''s office and I''ll tell you about corn on the way?" "Sure, that''s fine with me," Julia said as she stood up with me. "Sweet! Let''s go get the penguin and head out." As the two of us went to grab the penguin from the cold bath, I couldn''t help but slip into thought. If the other Seedlings are done getting their prizes, that means Ferguson must''ve gotten his punishment too. I wonder what kind of thing he got stuck with... "Squawk!" My thoughts were once again cut off, but this time by a penguin who swam up to the edge of the bath as Julia and I approached it. "Hi, Mr. Flippers. Did you have fun?" I asked as I reached down into the bath and lifted him out of the cold water. "Squawk~ squawk?" "Of course I''m strong enough to pick you up! Screw you!" "Pffft-" Fixed Realm Map (Potential for more changes): I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 58 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 58 Ferguson sat in his domain while expressionlessly staring at his realm on his screen. You were overconfident. That was one of thest things he said to his Oracle before he vanished- dying in a puddle of his own blood in a foreignnd. "Was I talking to him or me?" Ferguson''s quiet mutter echoed through his domain, upied by only himself, a desk, and the chair he sat on. The ogre''s eyes subconsciouslynded on a small, silver hammer resting on top of a pile of papers on the desk in front of him. Although he was never the type to easily disy emotions on his face, a hint of frustration mixed with regret could be seen as he gazed upon the object. It was the prize he won as a result of an overwhelmingly sessful invasion during the previous battle phase. Despite it currently looking like some sort of toy, the hammer still seemed to be bursting with power. It was to the point where Ferguson himself felt as though he was unbeatable when he first held the weapon in his hands. If I can find someone strong enough to use it, there will not be anyone who can stop him! Such was his mindset after receiving the weapon from a chest on stage. With these thoughts still shining in his head, he brazenly dered he would attack Jacob after hearing about Levon''s defeat. Having fought against Jacob first-hand near the start of his time at the Academy, Ferguson knew well of the human''s tricks. Still, he figured there was a limit on what Jacob would be able to do through a screen, and unless he had a divine weapon of his own, Ferguson couldn''t see a way for his future Oracle to be defeated throughbat. Since he didn''t see the human running around the Academy unting a weapon and provoking people, Ferguson was pretty confident that Jacob got some other prize for defeating Levon. And so, after dering his intent to invade and heading back to his domain, Ferguson began scouting his realm for whoever he deemed to be the strongest. Eventually, the Seedlingid his eyes on a young but impressively built ogre who had won a battle for the position of a tribe''s chief in the eastern part of his realm. Not only was this ogre exceptionally strong for his age, but he also had a thirst for battle unlike anything Ferguson had seen before and an obsession with the tales of his realm''s triumphs in the first battle phase that were passed down through legends. Once he selected this ogre to be his Oracle, however, Ferguson quickly realized just how detrimental this obsession would be. Upon gaining divinity, Erik, the Oracle Ferguson selected, would not stop pestering him for stories about the first battle phase. It seemed that Erik craved being a part of those legends himself- he wanted to triumph in battle and be immortalized in the stories told for the rest of time. Things were fine up until the portal opened, marking the official start of the battle phase. At that point, his Oracle who had been diligently recruiting across his realm began insistently pressuring him to start the invasion. Every bit of pushback Ferguson gave for things such as nning was instantly met withints from the Oracle. It was Erik''splete disregard for caution that made Ferguson realize his own overconfidence in strength. Even though I started being cautious before we attacked, it was not enough for his tricks. Honestly, Ferguson viewed Jacob''s tricks as honorless and underhanded, but regardless of the method, Jacob was the one with the prize at the end of the battle phase. Dead men do not talk. Ferguson could only let out a sigh as he looked over his realm. Not a single one of his lifeforms would have any idea what happened to the over 50,000 ogres who went through the portal nor would they know of the tricks they faced. Their expectant waiting for news of a victory gradually turned to worry and then to despair as months turned to years. Eventually, new generations of ogres were born into the world with no knowledge of the 50,000 people who were missing from it. Ferguson continued monitoring his realm until the portal closed, marking the official end of the battle phase. He did not counter-attack... his Oracle must not have recovered from his wounds. That was the one bit of good news that came from this ordeal, but Ferguson''s realm was far from safe. "It is time to get my punishment. Transport to the Academy." In a sh, Ferguson appeared in the audience hall and let out a groan as he was greeted by a massive line leading up to the stage where his punishment was waiting. Forcing us to wait for a punishment is a punishment itself. Knowing very well what kind of trouble he''d face if he didn''t follow the process, the ogre begrudgingly stepped into line. . .. ... Sickness. After what felt like an eternity, Ferguson finally discovered that this was the punishment his realm would be subjected to. Although on the surface it may not seem like much, this was one of the worst possible results for Ferguson. A punishment fitting such a loss. The ogre couldn''t help but groan as he exited the stage. Disease was a terrible concept that had been foreign to his realm until now. Regardless of how physically strong his ogres were, a virus was not something that could simply be punched away nor defeated in battle. The purple one said aura would have no effect, either. There was nothing that would crush an ogre''s pride quite like losing a battle to a foe too small to even see; and unlike the disasters that befell many of the other Seedlings as punishments, this sickness was something that was likely to stay in his realm long after the start of the next battle phase. He said it would be deadly, too. It was difficult for Ferguson to even imagine how many tribes would be wiped out from disease, a concept so foreign to his ogres that they would have no idea what they were dealing with. Judging by what the purple figure said, the aftermath was bound to be brutal. This is frustrating. I need to rx. As if automatic, Ferguson slowly began making his way toward the bathhouse. The halls are almost empty. The bathhouse must be packed. These thoughts entered his mind as he approached its entrance, but its door opened just as he was about to go inside revealing three familiar figures. "... Really?" "Yes, really, I''d even say it to his face-" "Squawk!" "What do you- ah." The group stopped their conversation and froze at the sight of him. Such odd timing. Right in front of Ferguson stood the Seedling who just smacked him with a Tier III defeat. Cradled in his arms was a tiny ck and white creature, while another Seedling who looked nearly identical to the human he had encountered stood to their left. Apparently, she is not a human. He had seen these three countless times since he came to the Academy, though the times they actually conversed were rather small inparison. Do they ever separate? Aside from our duel, I can not think of a time when they were apart. "I''ll get way bigger muscles than you." "What?" "Nothing." An iprehensible deration blurted out by the Seedling in front of him interrupted his thoughts. What is he talking about muscles for? Ferguson shifted his eyes over the Seedling''s body. All of his muscles are covered by clothing. Out of everyone I have seen, only the purple one shows less skin. The ogre looked closer. It is such odd clothing. Even the Seedling next to him does not wear clothing like that. Does hee from a cold world? Maybe that is why the entrance to his realm is so freezing. The target of his examination took a step back Those details do not matter now. I already lost to him. "Human, it was a good fight. It was my loss." "Uhh... right..." the human seemed to be confused, but quickly shook his head and spoke again, "It was definitely not easy; that hammer you had was absurd." Ferguson nodded, "It is a good prize. If I had chosen someone more reliable to use it, our battle may have had a different oue." "... That is a bit harsh, isn''t it?" "It is true, not harsh. He could not listen to simple instructions, but I was the one who chose him. The loss falls in my hands." "I mean, I think my defenses were pretty good too..." the human muttered in front of him. His defenses... Ferguson thought back to the battle he witnessed on his screen. His force was stuck traveling between two cliffs with stones and spears raining down upon them. In addition to this barrage from above, there were also countless traps beneath their feet. Thousands of ogres fell through the snow as they rushed toward the end of the pathway and into battle. If Erik scouted like I ordered, he would have noticed both the troops on the cliffs and the traps in the snow. There would have been no panic and they would have had time to think of a n. The stones and spears could not possibly reach the middle of the pathway. If they started there, our force could have taken its time crossing and avoided the traps. They would have arrived at the main battle with double the men and without any of the fatigue. Although it wasn''t a guarantee that this would have been enough to win him the battle, it was too big of a difference to ignore. "You had an interesting n, but our own errors were big. You could have been beaten." "That''s... not very reassuring." As the human looked down dejectedly, the elf behind him finally spoke, "Hey, Jacob. Shouldn''t we get going now?" "Ah- right!" Jacob jolted back and turned his attention back toward Ferguson, "Sorry, but we have something we have to get done. I''ll see you around, Ferguson." With those words, the trio began making their way down the hall as Ferguson watched their retreating figures. There was something I wanted to tell him, but I can not remember what it was... oh yes, the mana! While scouting Jacob''s realm, Ferguson was able to figure out that Jacob''s realm had no mana. It is an interesting strategy, but it will only limit what his creatures can do. I should warn him. "Human!" Ferguson shouted down the hallway at the group, to which Jacob curiously turned his head, "You will notst long as you are now." Although Jacob paused with an odd stare, he soon turned around and continued walking to which Ferguson nodded satisfied. I did my part. If he won resource points for beating me, he should use them to get some mana. With a satisfied expression, Ferguson turned and entered the bathhouse. It has been a while since I wasst here. Although the sight was a wee one after being alone in his domain for so long, the ogre spent no time reminiscing and instead made his way to the changing room to grab a towel before entering the sauna. Whoosh~ A gust of steam washed over Ferguson as he opened the door, yet through the vapor he could make out two familiar figures. "You two are here?" Alishia, who was soaking in a steamy, wooden tub slyly turned toward the ogre following his entrance, "Surprised~?" "Not much. There are not many ces to go in the Academy," Ferguson shrugged, "I would have met you two at the training groundter." "We can still train after this. You might need it after how badly you lost," Levon, who was sitting on a bench nearby, chimed in. "Yeah! What''s with that!? We couldn''t believe it when we saw you lost three points!" Alishia shot up in the bath, sending water over the sides. "Watch where you are sshing," Levon grumbled before ncing back at the ogre, "Seriously, though. You really lost to that twerp? What happened to your whole ''I can beat his tricks with strength'' speech?" "... I was overconfident," Ferguson sighed, sitting next to Levon on the bench, "I was not wrong. He had a lot of tricks, but he can be beaten." "Being overconfident doesn''t exin the Tier III loss, though." "Yeah, Alishia is right. I told you what happened when I faced that twerpst time, so now it is your turn to speak." At the two''s questioning, Ferguson reluctantly gave them a summary of his failed invasion, eventually stopping once his Oracle was in. Ferguson could see Levon shaking on the bench next to him with a fiery glint in his eyes. "That scale-less twerp really did something annoying. Not only did he make us start somewherepletely frozen, but he also had the gall to build mountains beyond it!? How can he taunt so loudly yet fight like such a coward!?" "I don''t know why you''re so mad- you didn''t evene close to reaching the mountains." Levon shot a re toward themia, "Next time I fight him, I will have to deal with it. I have the right to be annoyed." "Wow~ Even though he just beat Ferguson, you''re really still nning to attack him again?" "I am not afraid of that weakling. His cowardly trick made my realm suffer two punishments. I will make sure he pays for it," Levon growled and turned to Ferguson, "How did your Oracle lose to that weakling? You said the Oracles fought one on one and your Oracle had a better weapon." "... He cared more for the story of the fight than the fight itself. He would have won if he fought with his full strength from the start. By the time he went all out, it was toote. I made a mistake picking such an Oracle." Although the two Seedlings gave him conflicted looks, Ferguson ignored them and continued speaking. "You know how my battle went. Did you two win?" "Of course~" Alishia answered, "We both got Tier III victories!" "You both did that well? That is impressive." "I attacked that leafy flutter guy you rmended and they practically burned without any real challenge. It was a bit too easy," Levon paused and nced at themia soaking in the tub next to him, "... Maybe it was not as easy as she had it, though." Ferguson looked over curiously, but was only met with Alishia''s casual shrug, "His Oracle couldn''t resist my Oracle''s charms. It''s not my fault that they gave up on the invasion before it even started. Sadly, I only got resource points for it, so I just put it all into adding mana." "You two did well," Ferguson nodded approvingly before turning toward Levon, "Speaking about mana, I figured out why your men could not breathe fire in the human''s realm." "It was because it was too cold, right?" "No, that is not it," Ferguson lowered his voice and beckoned the two Seedlings to lean in, "The human has no mana in his realm." "WHAT!?" Levon reflexively shouted while Alishia simply widened her eyes in surprise. "WHAT DO Y-" Levon quickly hushed noticing the stares of the other Seedlings in the sauna, "What do you mean there is no mana!?" "I mean what I said. Temperature does not affect body-strengthening magic, but my men could not replenish their aura in his realm." "I don''t understand. Why wouldn''t Jacob put any mana in his realm?" Alishia wondered out loud. "Probably because he is an idiot." "Wow, Levon! You really lost twice in one battle phase to someone who''s both a weakling and a mana-less idiot!" Alishia smiled at the lizardman who was ring in response to her teasing. "Whether he has mana in his realm or not, I will still destroy him," Levon scoffed, "The prize I got today will make sure of that." "Are you nning to attack him in the next battle phase?" Ferguson asked. "... No. I will wait a few more battle phases and get more prizes until I am sure I can kill everyst one of his lifeforms. It is not like he can do much without mana. As my realm grows stronger with victories, his will only be stagnant without it. That twerp made a big mistake." "It''s notpletely bad to not have mana," Alishia defended, "After all, I can''t attack him if there''s no mana in his realm. You know my creatures use seduction magic." "So you are saying that it was notpletely dumb because it prevents invasions by the one lifeform who attacks by fu-" Ssh! "Hey! I said to not ssh me!" "That is not what my lifeforms do and you know it!" "Your Oracle just won by seducing the invading Oracle!" "Yes, but they never actually did anything like that!" Ssh! Ferguson sighed as the two Seedlings bickered next to him. So loud. "I came here to rx," Ferguson spoke, interrupting their fighting, "If you two want to fight, we can go to the arena and spar." "...Fine." "Hmph~" The two quieted down after the threat, but the silence did notst long. "Should we spread the word that Jacob''s realm has no mana?" Alishia asked. "No," Levon shook his head, "If people know how weak he is, they might kill his lifeforms before I have the chance to. He is my prey." "How can you say he''s weak when he just beat you and Ferguson? You just said you''re waiting to attack him until you get strong enough, so aren''t you calling yourself weaker than weak?" Levon stood up with a re, "You sure seem to be defending that twerp a lot." "He''s entertaining, but I don''t care much about him," Alishia shrugged. "Then what is your problem?" "My problem is that you haven''t taken back what you said about my lifeforms!" "It is true, though!" "No, it''s not!" "You know what? Maybe you are being so defensive because of how lifeforms take after-" Levon''s voice trailed off as a shadow loomed over him. Without even turning around, he could feel the massive figure bearing down on him. "Both of you. Arena. Now." Two small gulps could be heard echoing in the sauna. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 59 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 59 "You will notst long as you are now." I shuddered as Ferguson shouted down the hallway. Man, I was not expecting to see him so soon. The ogre who I had just beaten in thest battle phase was standing right outside of the bathhouse door when I opened it to leave. He almost gave me a freaking heart attack. Being stared down by an almost 7-foot-tall meatball was not a fun experience. He''s definitely mad. It was the only conclusion I could reach from the situation. And thest thing he said... he''s clearly threatening to invade me again, right? Forget the toad guy, what the heck am I supposed to do if Ferguson invades me in the next battle phase? During the conversation, the ogre tantly imed he could beat me. I managed to beat him this time, but can I really expect my humans to deal with an invasion like that every battle phase? I couldn''t help but shiver at the thought. "So you really did beat him..." A certain elf''s voice cut through my analysis. "Huh? Yeah, I told you that I did, didn''t I?" "Well you did say it, but I didn''t actually confirm it until now." "What!? You didn''t believe me!? I even gave you a whole run-down of the battle!" Julia shrugged, "You could''ve made it up. It''s hard to believe you could win against someone so strong." I could feel a vein throb in my head. "I am way stronger than him! I literally just got a Tier III win against him!" "Then why are you being so nervous about fighting him again?" "Ah-" My mouth subconsciously opened as I looked at the smug elf girl beside me. "... You really knew exactly what I was thinking," I couldn''t help but mutter embarrassedly. "After all the time I''ve spent with you, it''s not that hard to do," Julia said proudly, "Anyway, he''s probably just mad after you beat him, he might not actually invade again. Even if he does, I know you''ll be able to beat him just like you did this time!" "... You''re sweet sometimes." "Sometimes? I''m always sweet," Julia pouted. "Taste-wise?" "W-what!?" I couldn''t help but grin as she flusteredly studdered; the tsunami of unease in my mind quickly calmed to steady waves. Man, I really missed her. "Thank you, Julia." "You''re just gonna... hah," Julia started to say something but let it go with a sigh after seeing my content expression, "I''m d I could help." "Squawk!" By the time we finished talking, a squawk from the small penguin in my arms alerted us to a door slightly ajar ahead of us. "It looks like we''re here," "...Do we just go in?" "I mean, he invited us, so we might as well." Knock Knock! I slowly creaked open the door after briefly knocking, revealing a familiar purple-robbed figure sitting at a cluttered desk on the edge of the room. "Ah- Jacob. Come in, I see you brought somepany." "I wasn''t nning to, but this girl follows me everywhere." I quickly dodged a sudden punch from a grumpy elf next to me and walked inside. The three of us sat down on the three chairs he had prepared facing him at his desk. He even gave Mr. Flippers a seat~ Tatton began speaking as I hid my smile at the sight of the tiny penguin casually sitting in a giant chair over twice his height. "So, Jacob, you imed you thought of a way to prate the domain boundary." "... I didn''t say that much. I don''t even really know what this boundary is; all that I know is that you said mana can''t cross it. I was just wondering if radio waves could, that way we could get the calling thing to work." "A calling thing?" Julia tilted her head, "Are you trying to make something like that picture-making thing you have?" "Oh, right. I forgot to tell you why I came here," I took out my phone from my pocket, "Basically, Tatton has these crystal ball things that canmunicate with each other in the Academy. I was trying to see if I could use them like my phone so I could talk to you from our domains during the battle phases." "Oh..." "Ahem!"Tatton coughed, bringing my attention away from Julia''s flushed face, "May I see this ''phone''?" With a nod, I handed the phone over to Tatton who began inspecting it from all sides. "I do not understand. I specifically remember seeing it produce light, but it does not seem to be doing so even when I inject it with mana." ... Man, I really am dealing with a boomer, aren''t I? "I told you that it doesn''t use mana," I sighed, "You just have to turn it on." Seeing Tatton''s nk stare, I reached out and pressed the power button on the phone''s side. A glow immediately began emitting from the phone''s screen and a familiar wallpaper of an elf girl holding a penguin came into view. "Fascinating!" "Yeah, it''s pretty cool. All of those square things are different things that the phone can do, but practically none of them work without the inte. Wherever this Academy is, it is way too far from Earth to have any, so I can really only use it to take pictures now," I exined as I pulled up the photo album to show Tatton. After I swiped through a few, Tatton imitated me and began looking through the pictures. "... You sure made a lot of paintings of that small creature." "Yeah~ he''s cute, so I take a lot of him." "Squawk!?" "Don''t worry, I usually tell you when I take them." "Squawk..." I looked over as Tatton continued swiping through the pictures. Wow, I forgot I took some of those! There''s Mr. Fippers almost back when we first came to the Academy! As I reminisced on those times, a feeling of unease washed over me. Back near the start of the Academy... wait a second! I immediately snatched the phone from Tatton. "I-I think that''s enough pictures for now," I stuttered as cold sweat dripped down my back, purposely avoiding the confused nce from the elf girl next to me that I saw out of the corner of my eye. "This phone, as you called it, is an interesting tool, but you have not shown me how itmunicates through distances without mana." "Well, without another phone and a signal I can''t really show it, but I''ll try to exin how it works. I''m definitely not an expert or anything, so I might be missing some things, though." "That is fine, just tell me what you know." "Got it," I leaned back in my chair, "So, phones use radiowaves tomunicate, which are basically movements in electric and maic fields." Although I said this, Tatton just seemed lost. "... Maybe I should start with the basics. You do know what electrons are, right?" "I do not." A simple denial! "Shoot. This might take a bit to exin," I rested my chin on my palm, "Do you have a board or something I can write on?" "Hmm... alright. I''ll take you to myboratory- follow me." With those words, Tatton stood up and walked over to an empty area on his office''s wall. As Julia picked up the penguin, Tatton ced his hand on the wall. Hummm! An ominous hum echoed through the room as an odd winding pattern began to glow on the wall he touched. After a few seconds, the wall split open like an elevator door, revealing a small room inside. "Come in," Tatton called out to us after entering the room. "... Is that really hisboratory?" Julia asked in a whisper. "Probably not, but it''ll I''m sure it will take us there." Though skeptical, the three of us followed his instructions and entered the small room as the door closed behind us. "What floor are we going to?" "What?" "Never mind." Yep. It''s not an elevator- just a weird small room that we''re squeezed in. I couldn''t help but look around at the odd glowing symbols carved on the room''s walls. Although it was faint, there was a weird rumbling sensation echoing under our feet. "Squawk!" "Mr. Flippers wants to know what this room is for." "Squawk~" "This is a buffer between myboratory and the rest of the Academy," Tatton exined, "My job here requires me to constantly observe multiple realms, so there is little time for me to do my own research. Myboratory operates at mortal time topensate for it." "Oh, so this is sort of like an airlock but for time? It''s like gradually slowing us down to match mortal time?" "An airlock? I''m unfamiliar with the word, but it sounds like it fits the principle. It is more urate to say that we are speeding up to mortal time, however," Tatton nodded, "Without this room, there would be a sudden change of speed as one entered theboratory; having two parts of your body operating at drastically different speeds is not a fun experience, so this was made to avoid it." Just as he finished exining, the symbols on the walls lost their light and the rumbling stopped with it. At the same time, the wall opposite to the one we entered through opened up, revealing arge room filled to the brim with materials, devices, and carvings that werepletely foreign to me. "Wow~" "Squawk~" Exmations of wonder leaked from the mouths of the two behind me as we followed Tatton into the room. Julia practically sprinted over to a brown te carved with a detailed circr pattern, encased and disyed on a table. "This rune is amazing! There''s easily thousands of different mana pathways around the circle! How were you able to make something soplex!?" "Ah- that? It is one out of one thousand runes in a device I was attempting to make. Sadly, it did not work, but I kept it as a reference," Tatton dismissed her enthusiasm with a wave, "Please try not to touch anything; many of these are iplete prototypes." With that warning in mind, we continued walking until we reached the far wall over theboratory where arge ckboardpletely full of sketches of things resembling magic circles sat waiting. Not wanting to erase his work, Tatton flipped the board over to the other side which was left nk and handed me a piece of chalk. "You now have a board- please teach me well." I don''t even have a teaching license! If I''m gonna anger the unions, I should at least get paid for this! "... I''ll do my best," I responded hesitantly despite my thoughts, taking the chalk from his hand, "Alright, let''s start with electrons." . .. ... "Let me double-check to make sure I am understanding this right. When these electrons are traveling a wire and the current is alternated, they start to oscite which generates an electric field?" "Well, it generates a maic field, which induces an electric field, but yes." "Okay. So these fields are osciting with the electrons and this forms sort of waves in charges throughout the area. Those are the radiowaves you were mentioning?" "Yep, exactly!" I am so confused. Julia sat on a chair nearby with her head buried in her palms. "Do you have any idea what they are talking about, little one?" "Squawk~" "I''ll take that as a ''no''," Julia smiled at the penguin on herp. Jacob and the robbed figure had been talking for what seemed like an eternity, though it was likely just a few hours at most. Despite her attempt to follow along with whatever they were talking about, she got lost at some point between gathering electrons and getting them to move through wires. "Okay, I understand the theories so far, except for one thing. I do not see how these radiowaves can be used to talk from a distance." "Well, on their own they''re kind of pointless, but you can basically encode information into these waves," Jacob exined to Tatton, "I guess it makes more sense to talk about talking for this. When someone speaks, you hear the vibrations they make in the air. If you convert these vibrations into an electrical signal and then send it through the wire, the electrons will move ordingly. Basically, the radiowaves will sort of mimic these vibrations." "Ah- so if a device observes these radio waves, they can do the inverse and hear the sound!" Tatton spoke as if having an epiphany. "Exactly! Well, it''s a bit moreplicated than that, but that''s the general idea!" "This is fascinating!" They sure look like they''re having fun... Julia''s cheeks subconsciously expanded into a slight pout as she watched the two''s eyes sparkling. It''s not fair. I waited so long to see Jacob, but he can''t even talk to me... A small sigh escaped the elf girl''s lips. Well, I guess this is better than nothing. Plus, since this ce is at mortal time, I''ll still have a while with him in the Academy before ss~ "I will grab some supplies to try to make a model. I''ll be back soon." Tatton''s voice cut through her thoughts as he swiftly made his way to some bins and boxes on the opposite end of theboratory, shuffling through them enthusiastically. "Sorry about all of this," Jacob smiled wryly as he seized the moment the robed figure left to sit down next to her, "I just couldn''t pass up a chance like this." "You''re really doing all of this so we can talk during the battle phases?" Jacob nodded resolutely, "Mhm. There''s no way I''m gonna be spending potentially hundreds of years training in there without talking to you." Ba-dum ba-dum. "A-anyway," Julia studdered as she tried to distract herself from her own beating heart, "I couldn''t understand anything you were talking about..." "Oh....sorry. I''d try to exin it better but I honestly don''t know this stuff too well myself. I''ll leave figuring out the details of everything to Tatton," Jacob stuck out his tongue. "Do you really think he''ll be able to figure it out?" "That''s a good question," Jacob let out a sigh as he leaned back into his seat, "I guess we can only hope that he does." Julia''s head subconsciously nodded at his words, putting a smile on Jacob''s face. Talking to Jacob in my domain would be nice... "But what will you do if he can''t make it? Or what if your idea doesn''t work?" Julia tilted her head, "Will you still do that long training?" "... I guess I''ll have to, but I won''t be too happy about it," Jacob groaned, "I think I said it before, but I honestly don''t know how long I''d be able tost just talking to Mr. Flippers and training. It''s kind of hard to have endless motivation when I don''t have any idea what I''m working toward or how I''m even supposed to train." Julia nodded in understanding. I should probably train, too. I set up some targets in my domain, but I can only grow so much from shooting at them. The elf girl quickly found herself facing the same wall that stood before Jacob. "It does sound difficult..." Tatton''s steps echoed closer while she muttered, lost in thought. "Maybe he''ll tell us more?" Jacob turned toward the approaching sound and called out, "Hey, Tatton! Could you tell us any more about what we''re training for- or at least how we''re supposed to... train?" Huh? Why did his voice trail off at the end there? Confused, Julia followed his gaze, her eyes locking onto what looked like an obscured, purple creature with 6 long, twisting arms emerging from behind some jumbled equipment. "Kyahh!?" A startled scream escaped her lips as she jolted backward, falling out of the chair. "Whoa!" Jacob dove onto the floor, catching her barely before she hit the ground. "That''s the second time I''ve heard you make that noise today~" Julia ignored his teasing grin as he lifted her up in a princess carry, instead using her energy to point toward the 6-armed creature. "What is that thing!?" The creature spoke before Jacob even had the chance to reply. "What is thismotion about?" "You scared her, Tatton. The heck is with those arms?" Huh? Tatton? Julia''s face reddened as she noticed a familiar hood from behind a box the purple creature was carrying in its arms. "Oh, my apologies. This is just an artifact that I built a while back; extra arms are sometimes needed in my work." Each of the additional arms carried a box full of various tools and materials, which were gently ced down onto a nearby table. "There we go, this should be everything we need," Tatton nodded in satisfaction at the pile of boxes before turning toward the Seedlings, "As for your first question, like I said, I''m not allowed to give an answer just yet. That being said, my previous advice holds true. It does not matter how you train or what you train with; as long as you are doing your best, you will be at an advantage. Hard work never goes to waste." That doesn''t sound very helpful... A sigh escaped her lips as she looked up at Jacob who was still carrying her in his arms, "... Are you going to keep holding me?" "Ah- right." Julia couldn''t help but feel a tinge of regret as her feet once again touched the floor. I shouldn''t have said anything... With no concept of her inner turmoil, Tatton called out to Jacob, "Let''s get started on a prototype." With those words, the many arms connected to a metallic circle on his back spryly began reaching into the boxes and pulling out various materials. "Squawk~" Jacob looked down at the penguin pointing over toward Tatton''s working arms, "Oh? You like those things?" No way! He likes those creepy things!? Julia couldn''t help but look at Mr. Flippers in wonder. "Squawk! ...Squawk?" "Uhh... I guess I can ask," Jacob turned toward Tatton, apparently repeating the tiny creature''s question, "Do you have another one of those arm things? Mr. Flippers wants to try using it." Tatton''s arms paused as he slipped into thought, "Hmm... I may have something. Give me one moment." The purple figure retreated back into hisboratory''s storage and soon emerged with what looked like a small box connected to some leather straps. ... That''s way too big for the little guy. As if hearing her thoughts, Tatton ced the box on the table and immediately began using his extra arms to make some adjustments to the box. Within a few minutes, he approached Mr. Flippers and gently strapped the box to his back before inserting a brightly glowing stone into a circr hole in the box''s back. "Wow! Such a bright mana stone!" Julia couldn''t help but exim at the sight. "That''s a mana stone?"" Jacob asked pointing toward the stone. "Yes- I can feel the mana from here!" Julia marveled at the sight. I never knew they could get so bright! I can''t even imagine how much mana must be stored in that! "You''ve heard of mana stones, Jacob?" Tatton chimed in, overhearing their exchange, "I''m a bit surprised considering youe from a world devoid of mana." Jacob nodded at Tatton''s question, "Julia mentioned something about them back when I first came to the Academy. It''s my first time seeing one, though." He remembers that!? I think I only mentioned mana stones when he first told me about his old world! While she stared at Jacob in shock, Tatton began to exin. "Not all mana stones look like this. I infused this one with my own mana, so it is much denser than what would typically be seen in nature, hense the bright glow," Tatton revealed as he continued making small adjustments to the box. "In nature? So these things grow naturally?" "In some cases, yes," Tatton exined, "There are two ways for mana stones to form- the first is through the natural collection of mana into materials. Of course, this usually only happens within mana-dense areas. and normally only to materials adept at containing mana. They moremonly form from the mana-storage organs that some advanced lifeforms possess. These mana-storage organs don''t dpose, so they end up hardening and practically be small mana stones of their own after the lifeform dies." "Squawk!?" "Pffft-" Jacob startedughing at the penguin''s sudden panic, "It looks like he doesn''t want to wear a dead guy''s organ on his back." "This one was originally a naturally forming stone, so calm down," Tatton sighed, putting an end to the penguin''s squirming. "Your arm model thing doesn''t use a mana stone, right? Does his really need it?" "Yes, it does," Tatton continued fiddling with the device attached to Mr. Flippers, "Since this creature can''t freely use the Academy''s mana, he needs this mana stone to control the arms. Luckily, I had this old prototype that I made before I realized I could tap into the Academy''s dense mana even in myboratory." Julia couldn''t help but slip into thought at the exnation. Why is the Academy''s mana so thick, anyway? It''s practically impossible to use magic because of it. Just walking through the Academy felt like wading through a pool of honey. Actually using this mana would take not only absurd mental strength, but also skill far above the realm of anything she thought possible. Even simply absorbing it was like trying to get tar to flow through a hole made by a needle. I guess using mana from a stone instead of from what''s floating around the Academy is the only real option here. "That should be all," Tatton announced as he finally finished with his maintenance, "Please see if you can activate the artifact." "Squawk!" "Wow!" After Mr. Flippers closed his eyes with a determined look on his face, the box attached to his back opened up sending four metallic arms springing out of it, wildly moving around as the penguin attempted to get used to using them. It''s somehow not as scary when he does it... "Squawk~" "Look at that, Mr. Flippers- you finally have fingers!" "... Squawk." Jacob stuck out his tongue at the penguin''s re. "I would rmend starting with one arm until you get a better hang of using them," Tatton suggested, looking at the sight, "Once you got the hang of it, you can try to help Jacob and me with this calling device. With that out of the way, I feel we wasted enough time, so let''s get started." "Got it." "Squawk~" As the three began working at the table, Julia couldn''t help but look at them in awe. Even Mr. Flippers seems to understand it... maybe I''m the weird one here. "Ow! Watch where you''re putting those fingers, Mr. Flippers!" No... I must be the only normal one. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 60 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 60 "Are you okay, Jacob?" "Yeah... this just feels weird." "I''m sure he''ll be fine, so try not to worry." Despite Julia''s reassurance, I couldn''t help but let out a nervous sigh as the two of us walked down the Academy''s hallway. The topic of our conversation and the target of my worry was Mr. Flippers, who ended up staying behind in Tatton''sboratory after we finished making a telephone prototype. The tiny penguin quickly took a liking to his new arms and somehow became extremely good at using them after only a few minutes of learning. Not only that, he was somehow a huge help in actually making the prototype, nearly surpassing even my own physical contribution. When Tatton offered the penguin to continue developing the device with him while Julia and I went to ss, I wasn''t too surprised to see him ept the invitation. I''m happy he''s having fun, but this is stressing me out. I can''t even remember thest time I went somewhere without him. After being with the penguin practically nonstop since I first became a Seedling, this anxiety was pretty understandable, yet I still couldn''t shake off the feeling of difort. "Hopefully Tatton doesn''t keep him in theb for too long. Since ss is about three hours, Tatton could potentially have him for over 120 years from his perspective..." Julia lightly smiled reassuringly at my nervous mutter, "Well, you saw how happy he was. I don''t think the little one would mind very much even if he was ying in there for that long." "... That makes me feel worse for other reasons." While I continued to groan, the two of us finally reached the entrance to the lecture hall and ventured to our seats. Sandwiched between an elf girl and a giant purple blob thing... all that''s missing is a small penguin and it would almost feel nostalgic. As I looked at our emptyps with a frown, a familiar bipedal, semi-sheep instructor entered the room. Oh shoot- The chatter and bickering from the Seedlings in the ssroom instantly fell silent. "Hey... Jacob-" "Yeah. I see it." The sheep instructor had an icy re in her sheep-like eyes. Clearly, it wasn''t just us who noticed it given the silence; the entire ss seemed to freeze at the sight. The sound of her slow steps echoed across the lecture hall''s barren walls before she came to a stop behind her desk at the front of the ss. "Good morning, Seedlings," the sheep instructor spoke with a feigned smile that failed to hide the anger in her eyes, "I am pleased to announce that the majority of you all continued following the rules and procedures for thepetition which we spent an entire year going over prior to your first battle phase. Before we begin this ss, there are two Seedlings who were unable to im their prizes today. If that was you, can you please stand up?" At her eerily joyful words, two creatures who were sitting next to each other did as they were told and stood up. "That was us! We both got one Tier 1 prize and one Tier 1 punishment, but for some reason, we could only im the punishment on the stage!" "Yeah! The guy giving out the prizes would not tell us why!" The sheep instructor''s forced grin grew wider as her re deepened. Somehow unaware of the instructor''s trembling fist and the cold sweat dripping down the backs of most of the ss, the two Seedlings continued speaking. "It is unfair! Everyone else got to get their prize except us!" "Exactly! We should get an extra one since we could not add it to our realm before the ss started!" Oh my god, those idiots- BANG! Sky''s fist mmed into the desk leaving a mark closer to a crater than a dent- it could only be considered a miracle and a testament to whatever reinforcements were installed on it that the desk itself didn''t burst into pieces. "ENOUGH!" A torrent of pressure engulfed the lecture hall as the sheep instructor yelled out. Although I wasn''t even the target of her wrath, I could feel my body tighten and I immediately moved myself in front of Julia in an attempt to shield her. Being at the back of the ssroom, we were lucky to only get what felt like a light squeeze. while those next to the two talkative Seedlings werepletely frozen in ce and unable to move an inch. Such a fate could only be considered merciful whenpared with the two Seedlings themselves who nearly resembled crushed water bottles with the air being squeezed out of them. "YOU TWO DARE DEMAND COMPENSATION AFTER BLATANTLY VIOLATING THE INTEGRITY OF THE COMPETITION!?" she screamed loud enough to put concert speakers to shame, "AFTER ALL OF THE LESSONS I HAVE GIVEN YOU, HOW DARE YOU GO AND TRY TO UNDERMINE THE FOUNDER! DO YOU THINK THIS COMPETITION IS JUST SOME GAME FOR YOU TO PLAY!? DID YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE THAT YOU COULD DISREGARD THE FOUNDER''S WILL AND GET AWAY WITH IT!?" Blood dripped from the nose of one of the Seedlings as fluids leaked from the mouth of the other. Sky''s voice dropped as she shook, "You two have no idea how much he has endured... how much he has seen- how much he has sacrificed! If you knew even a fragment of the burden he bears you would''ve pierced your own throat before you muttered such disgrace! No- you would have crushed your own skull with your hands if the thought of going against his will even crossed your mind..." The sheep instructor looked at the two trembling Seedlings as if looking at something more disgusting than trash. "You two are lucky the Founder is more merciful than me. I overestimated you guys. I thought stressing the integrity of thepetition was enough for you all, but clearly you will take the chance to squeeze out every single bit of leniency that he gives," Sky spat. The two Seedlings were pale as a puddle of blood and fluids formed under their crushed bodies, held up above their seats by whatever glowing pressure the sheep instructor was forcing upon them. "If it were up to me, you would be ash on the floor, but sadly I will need to leave you within an inch of your life instead. Your prizes were confiscated and your divinity from this battle phase will be dyed until the next ss. Be thankful for his mercy." BOOM! The two Seedlings wereunched out of the lecture hall and their bodies could be heard mming against the Academy''s wall. As the pressure was finally released in the ssroom, the creatures looked out the entrance toward the two battered and unconscious bodies not with pity as they did before, but rather with gazes reminiscent of predators looking at their prey. "Did you hear that? They won''t be getting any divinity today!" "Was she serious!? Is this not a free win!?" "Can she squeeze me like that next?" "I know who I''m attacking next battle phase..." ... That guy is still saying that after seeing what she just did? Although I wanted to verbally retort to that one guy''s libido, my conversation partner was busy worriedly looking at the two bodies through the ssroom''s exit next to her seat. "Do you think they''re okay?" "Well... she said she wouldn''t kill them, so I don''t think they''re dead." It was the only bit of sce I could give to the anxious elf girl as I slipped into thought over the punishment the sheep instructor mentioned. No divinity increase... It was a rough punishment, arguably worse than the physical beating the two Seedlings had just endured. The difference in our Oracles'' power was obvious even between just the first and second battle phases... This is practically guaranteeing them a Tier III defeat. Although I felt bad for the two of them, it would''ve been a lie to say I wasn''t tempted to use the opportunity andunch an attack for the first time. Sadly, there was no way I''d be able to beat the rest of the Seedlings to selecting them as an opponent since I had to pick up Mr. Flippers from Tatton before I went back. Plus, I should have an easy opponent regardless, so it doesn''t really matter... assuming he keeps his word, that is. As I nced around the lecture hall in an attempt to spot the lumpy toad guy, the sheep instructor finally spoke. "Those Seedlings attacked each other and purposely allowed themselves to take their temples without resistance. They swapped lifeforms and technology in the process. Now I will make this very clear. Actions that go against the very nature of thepetition are prohibited- any future Seedlings who engage in such behavior will be dealt with far harsher than those two," Sky dered with a fierce re in her eyes. I could feel another drop of cold sweat drip down my back. I was actually thinking about doing something simr with Julia... My eyes once again wandered toward the two bodies in the hall. If it weren''t for my recent sess in winning Tier III prizes and my weariness of the Academy, it wouldn''t have been too far-fetched for me to be the oneying in the hall. But what did she mean by ''far harsher''? Despite the tense environment, my curiosity got the better of me and my hand naturally began to rise. "Jacob! What are you-" "It appears we have a question in the back," Sky nced over to me, cutting off Julia''s nervous remarks, "What is it, Jacob? You''re not nning on protesting their punishment, are you?" "No, not really," I shook my head in denial, "They broke the rules, so it''s not my ce toin on their behalf. I was just wondering what you meant by ''far harsher''. They both got a Tier I punishment and are probably going to get another Tier III punishment on top of it after the next battle phase... that''s not even mentioning their current state. Is there anything else you can really do besides outright killing them?" "Well, that certainly is an option; there''s no ce in thepetition for those who can''t follow simple directions. With that in mind..." the sheep instructor paused with an eery look in her eyes, "... you would be mistaken if you think a Tier III punishment is the highest tier we can give out." ... What? My mind nearly went nk as the lecture hall fell into a silence, broken only by anxious murmurs momentster. There''s punishments worse than Tier III? I mean, that obviously means there''s at least a Tier IV punishment... but how high do the numbers go? After hearing whispers of the utter devastation others have faced after getting stuck with a Tier III punishment, it wouldn''t be surprising in the slightest for a Tier IV punishment to wipe out most of a realm. A Tier V punishment though... that would practically guarantee the realm''s destruction, wouldn''t it? As much as I hated my humans being seemingly held hostage by the Academy''s whims, I had no choice but to be extra cautious of viting the rules going forward. Since I haven''t been crushed over the inds yet, I think I should be fine right? However, before I had the chance to seriously contemte sinking my inds with thest of my Resource Points, the sheep instructor continued speaking. "For everyone still in the ssroom, I anticipate that none of you will let me down," She let out a single p as thest of the anger drained from her face, "Now, before we start this ss, it is time for me to award you all with the divinity you earned from this battle phase." With a wave of her hand, a sudden rush of power entered my body. Wow- this is way more thanst time! Whether it was due to my lifeforms having a higher belief in me, there being overall more humans in my realm, or a mix of the two, the amount of divinity I received was nearly iparable to what I got after my fight against Levon. I definitely didn''t feel this lightheadedst time, though... Just chalking it up to the big increase in divinity, I quickly shook it off while Sky started her lesson. "Those of you fortunate enough to receive prizes within the first two battle phases may be a bit curious about the potential prizes you could''ve gotten. Today''s lesson will be about this topic." With a snap of her fingers, a few pieces of colored chalk floated up to the board on the back of the wall behind the sheep instructor and began drawing some sketches. "The first of these potential prizes are resource points," she pointed to a drawing of a gold coin behind her, "You should all be familiar with using these since they were used when first making your realm. Unlike back then, there is no time limit for utilizing Resource Points acquired through prizes, so feel free to save them until the time is right. With that in mind, using these Resource Points to interfere with a battle or to do anything that would be considered a vition of thepetition''s integrity will be met with harsh punishment." Oh... yay. More talk of punishment. Unaware of the stiff feeling around the lecture hall, the sheep instructor moved to the next drawing, a green flower, and continued her lesson. I couldn''t help but notice a tint of red in its petals. "Another prize that you should be aware of are lifeforms! Seedlings can receive either a primary, basic, or moderate lifeform depending on their prize tier. The Tier prize a lifeform category is avable at depends on whether the lifeform is randomly selected or if it can be chosen by the Seedling. These can be ced in the same manner as done during the creation of your realms." The lifeforms can be random!? Man, it''s a good thing Mr. Flippers'' penguin luck is insane... After I spent so long debating which type of grain I wanted for my realm, I probably would''ve cried if I ended up with something else entirely. Honestly, it seems like the random lifeform thing could be kind of a dud prize... I can''t imagine the rate of getting a useful species is too high. "Next are divine weapons," the sheep instructor continued, pointing to a yellow sketch of a sword, "Devine weapons are only given out as Tier III prizes, but some other weapon options can be awarded at lower tiers. These weapons can be both summoned to the Seedling''s realm and brought into the Academy for things such as training in the training grounds." Murmurs filled the ssroom at her statement. Seriously!? We can bring them into the Academy!? It seemed crazy considering how strict the Academy had been so far, but it seemed like there was a reason for it. "Of course, injuring other Seedlings with these weapons outside of training is prohibited," the sheep instructor warned hearing the ruckus, "Every divine weapon is unique to a Seedling and tied to their divinity signature; even if two Seedlings get a sword, for example, the abilities assigned to the weapon will be different, of which each weapon has two. Anyone who has faced off against a Sedling with a divine weapon can attest that these weapons are extremely powerful and can easily help carry a Seeding to victory. As such, the chance of getting these weapons is boosted during the start of thepetition to try to get everyone on the same ying field as fast as possible." "... I would''ve liked her to tell us about this before thepetition started," I muttered out loud. "That''s the thing you said Ferguson had, right?" "Huh? You heard that?" I turned to the elf girl in shock, "I guess your ears are for more than just being cute and blushing." "...If the teacher didn''t just throw two people out of the room, I''d super seriously punch you." Scary~ "Anyway, he definitely had a divine weapon," I replied, ignoring her pouty re, "But her exnation is a bit weird. If the weapon is apparently linked to our divinity, it should take after us, right? Like, I''d assume you''d get a bow if you got one of those since that''s kind of your specialty." Julia tilted her head with her cheeks deting, "I guess that makes sense. I''d definitely prefer a bow if I had to pick, but based on what you told me about what Ferguson''s Oracle used, it sounds like anything would be really strong." "Yeah... you''re probably right." I leaned back in my chair. Even if it''ll be strong regardless, I''m still curious about what kind of weapon I''d get. There''s not anything that I''d like immediately call my go-to weapon and there''s no way I''d be able to get some sort of gun to use in thepetition. Although I thought a steel-looking hammer was absurd enough this early in thepetition, a gun would be outright too far to give my humans who still had yet to discover bows. With no real lead on my potential future weapon, I zoned out into thoughts until the sheep instructor pointed to a drawing of a red circle with a ssic double-helix etched inside of it to move on to the next category. "Next up are Mutation Orbs! Mutation Orbs allow for Seedlings to permanently change an aspect of their own physique. These changes can only be minor in nature, however," The sheep instructor paused, pointing to the wings on her back, "Let''s say you wanted to have wings like these. One mutation point would not be nearly enough, since there are many different muscles, joints, and otherponents that go into making them function. A seedling would need to make these changes one by one using multiple Mutation Orbs before getting to this point." That''s honestly a bit crazy... they''re literally giving us the power to selectively evolve! Although it seemed fairly bnced as it would likely take a ton of these mutation orbs to make any major changes, it was still a bit weird to think of my humans suddenly being able to fly or have an extra arm or something. Despite my shock, the sheep instructor wasn''t finished. "One Mutation Orb should be enough to heighten abilities or features already possessed by your lifeforms. Giving your lifeform a stronger sense of smell or further-seeing eyes, for example, are easy changes to make," Sky continued, "Since your lifeforms take after yourselves, the Mutation Orb and the changes thate with it will first be applied to you. Gradually, some of your advanced lifeforms will be born with these new features and they will spread until all of them possess it." ... I want one of those. Sure it wasn''t anything super shy like a divine weapon or a new lifeform, but the ability to modify my humans was absolutely overpowered in its own right. If there''s a way I could use that orb to give them more stamina or make it easier for them to build muscle, my humans would get exponentially stronger! Honestly, I was nearly shaking in my seat just thinking about all of the possible routes I could go. Of course, I could invest in something big like a new limb or something... but enhancing what they already have just seems both smarter and more efficient. "Thest main category of potential prizes are temple upgrades!" The sheep instructor started again, pointing to a blue sketch of a ssic temple andpletely thwarting my mad scientist daydreams, "These are pretty self-exnatory. Temple upgrades can be actual changes to the size, design, or fortifications of a Seedling''s temple or they can take the form of an artifact that can provide special bonuses or abilities to the Seedling! High-tier temple upgrades are rare, but they can be some of the strongest prizes in thepetition if utilized properly." Ah- that''s what I got for my win against Levon! I do remember Tatton being shocked... I guess they really are rare. Her im that temple upgrades were strong was something that I was able to see firsthand. The temple upgrade that added the statue of me holding Mr. Flippers to my realm let me add a priest to my realm and apparently boosted how much divinity I was getting every battle phase. The ability tomunicate to my lifeforms through a priest even between battle phases was something that could only be considered as overpowered. My realm advanced rapidly in just the short time I had it. She said it could change the actual properties of the temple which is cool, but I''m more interested in the artifacts. If there''s something else on the level of getting a priest, I really want it~ With my greed showing on my face, the sheep instructor finally finished with the five sketches on the board and turned to the ss, "There are some prizes that do not fit cleanly into any of these categories, but those are pretty umon. For the most part, these five categories are what can be expected for those who are victorious during thepetition. Please do your best to make sure you can enjoy them!" Following those words of encouragement, with a much more cheerful tonepared to when she first entered the ss, the sheep instructor spent the rest of the time diving into more specifics for every category until it was finally time to retrieve my penguin. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 61 I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm ¨C Chapter 61 "Now then. That was all for ss today- please do your best in this battle phase! ss dismissed!" "Finally. That ss felt way too long," I groaned as I stood up from my seat and stretched. "Really?" Julia tilted her head next to me, "I thought it was pretty interesting." "No- it definitely was. Honestly, my brain has been going into overdrive thinking of all of the possibilities I''ll have if I''m able to get one of those Mutation Orbs. That''s not even mentioning all of the other prizes; they all seem insane!" Julia nodded at my words, "Seriously! Hopefully, I''ll be able to get one this battle phase..." I smiled softly at the elf girl as I grabbed her hand, "I know you''ll win, Julia. Your elves nearly managed to get a Tier II prize against those table bear things without even having bows. Since your realm actually has them now, I think it''ll be pretty difficult for anyone to win against you." "Hopefully you''re right..." Julia lightly squeezed my hand as we entered the empty hallway. With most Seedlings rushing back to their domain in a rush to dere their target, the Academy quickly emptied as their return to domainchants rang out. There seemed to be an even bigger rush than usual to get back this time. Looks like those two are gone. I wonder what happened to them? Not a single mark remained on the Academy''s wall after the sheep instructor sent two Seedlings crashing into it at the beginning of ss. Maybe the Academy''s walls have the same regeneration as training dummies in the training ground? I guess someone also just could''ve fixed it while we were in ss... "Are you okay, Jacob?" "Huh? Oh, yeah I''m fine. I was just thinking about how weird this ce is." Julia tilted her head, "I mean, you''re right, but I thought you would''ve been thinking about the little one." I sighed, "I spent the whole ss thinking of Mr. Flippers, I need a break. Someone so tiny doesn''t have the right to take up that much of my brain. He can stay with Tatton for as long as he wants for all I care." "You say that but you''re walking faster-" "... I just want to get back to my domain faster and get my realm ready for the next battle phase. After what happenedst time, I need to have enough time to look deeper into the personalities of my Oracle candidates-" My feet suddenly stopped as I speed-walked down the hall. "Hm? What''s wrong?" "... I know this is terrible timing considering we''re in a rush, but I have a question. Did you do anything to memorialize your first Oracle?" Julia shook her head, "No, nothing really. Orisa made it through the battle phase so she didn''t need a funeral or anything. Even if I wanted to make her one, it''s not like I had any Resource Points to do it." "Right... I guess that makes sense." I began walking again with Julia following by my side. "... Why did you ask though? And I can see you''re upset, so I won''t let you just walk away without telling me what''s wrong," the elf girl pouted. A sigh escaped my lips which hid a small smile at her pouting, "Fine, fine- I''ll tell you. I''m probably just being dramatic, but I''m worried that my realm might be forgetting about Uunga- my first Oracle." As we walked, I briefly exined how I put a torch tree near my realm''s temple as a memorial for Uunga, but that my humans renamed it to the Tree of Victory and burnt Ferugon''s Oracle''s corpse at its base. "The meaning behind it was basically taken over. It''s more of a memorial to Rynn at this point than to Uunga," I eventually finished. "Hmmm," Julia put her hand on her chin and continued thinking, "I see what you''re saying, but even if the meaning of the tree changed, isn''t there something else that they can remember about him?" "... I don''t know," I sighed again. "There''s at least nothing physical left since he didn''t leave anything behind at his old vige. Actually, he was from the same vige as Rynn, so even the vige would be associated with Rynn instead of Uunga. My first Oracle also fought against Levon by himself, so it''s not like he had an army to bring back stories. If it weren''t for me being able to tell my priest about everything he did, my humans wouldn''t even know that he saved my realm at all." Julia''s eyes lit up at my words, "Isn''t that a solution then? If you really don''t want your humans to forget about your first Oracle, can''t you just have your priest remind them? "... Yeah, I guess you''re right," I groaned as I stretched to fix my slouching posture, "It just sucks that I even need to do it, though. Uunga deserves not to be forgotten." Julia nodded, "I know what you mean. I can''t even tell people about my Oracle if I tried since I don''t have a priest to talk to. It''s hard for my Oracle to spend time teaching about the past when she''s getting ready for a battle phase." "Ah- right. I''m sorry. Since I''ve had my priest since the end of the first battle phase, it keeps slipping my mind how everyone else can only talk to their realm during battle phases," I buried my head in my hands, "Between the loss and everything, you''ve really had it rough, haven''t you? Meanwhile, I''m getting all sad about a memory." A light punchnded on my shoulder from the girl next to me. "I''m fine, so don''t frown like that," Julia smiled faintly, "Besides, we both know it''s not just a memory you''re upset over. He was someone you really cared about- your first Oracle. I can''t me you for getting sad about people forgetting him." My hands fell from my face as I turned to look at her understanding expression. "... You really are strong, you know that?" "I have to be. My elves take after me, you know~" Julia smiled and grabbed my hand, "So keep doing your best for them, too." "I will... thank you, Julia." Man... I don''t know what my life was like on Earth, but I must''ve done something amazing to have a girl like this by my side now. Although we walked infortable silence for a bit, the elf girl soon looked at me with a teasing expression. "You know, for someone being so concerned about his Oracle being forgotten, I''m surprised you''re not worried about the little one forgetting about you, especially considering all the time he''s been spending ying with Tatton~" "Huh? There''s no way Mr. Flippers forgot about me..." Despite my mutter, I could feel my heart start racing in my chest. He could''ve been in there for well over 100 years from his perspective because of the time difference. Even with all of the battle phases, isn''t that more time than I''ve been with him!? "Shoot!" "J-Jacob!?" I suddenly began sprinting down the hall, dragging the unfortunate elf girl still gripping my hand behind me. "Mr. Flippers! You better not forget me!!" "I was joking! There''s no way he-" "I''ming, my baby!!" -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- Prior to Jacob dragging Julia through the Academy in a desperate rush to see his penguin, a burning desire was forming in the mind of a human in his realm. "I want to cross this stupid river!" A desperate cry, tranted for your convenience, echoed off the tree line sprawling out behind the riverbank heyed upon. With a groan full of frustration, the young adult rolled across the mossy river bank until he reached his small camp on the edge of the cherry tree filled forest. "Why did he make this stupid river so big..." Such grumbles escaped the man''s mouth as he lit a branch of a torch tree and warmed his soaked body with its heat. As the guy dried off and began preparing himself some chicken and mushroom stew in a carved wooden bowl, he began reflecting on his fixation that was forcing him to endure sure wet trials. The man grew up in a small vige near the upper mudts in the southeast of the realm, constantly hearing stories of the previous Oracle who visited his vige to gather volunteers to protect the world. These stories of the Orcale''s quest infatuated the kid who desperately asked families descended from those fighters to tell tales of their triumph. Through this, the now-adult learned of a temple supposedly housing the one who created the world on the other side of the continent. If there is anyone I could ask for stories of that fight, it would have to be the one who guided the Oracle! With this motivation in mind and oblivious to the concept of a statue, his quest to find the temple began- only toe to a screeching halt the moment he reached a massive river far too wide to see across. I heard there was a log pathway across the river... but I do not see it anywhere. After weeks of travel, the man eventually found himself in a small vige along the river''s edge. It was there where he heard the dreaded news. "The pathway got destroyed!?" "Yes... a long time ago. Not even my great-grandparents were here when thest log dotting the river washed beneath the waves." "... It was that long ago?" Although the man was demoralized, he was not one to give up so easily. His first attempt was obvious: a swim across the river! Unfortunately, hecked the stamina to swim any notable distance before he needing to turn back. With that failure, he decided to make his own pathway across... only to quickly find out that he was nowhere near strong enough to carry such heavy trees. Such an attempt wasn''tpletely in vain, however. Seeing a leaf let loose from the log he used floating on the river inspired his next try. That''s right- holding a pile of leaves in his arms and attempting to float on them! ... Obviously that didn''t work. Yet the man kept trying! There were numerous attempts including bncing on sticks, riding chickens, and floating on his back to save stamina, but all of them ended in failure. This led him to where he was now; a retry of where he started- another failed attempt to swim across the river. "How am I supposed to see your temple with this giant river in the way!?" Finally finished with his stew, the man chucked the empty bowl into the river in frustration. Ssh! "This is impossible... is there really no way to- huh?" The man''s groan came to a sudden stop as he noticed something in the corner of his eye. "The bowl... is floating!?" The man dashed over to the river in disbelief and watched as the bowl slowly floated downstream. "Some small sticks also floated, but is the bowl not too heavy?" he wondered aloud as he followed it along the riverbank. After watching for a few minutes, the man waded into the river and grabbed the bowl before heading back to his campsite. "Can I float if I make a bowl big enough to fit in?" Though a sudden new source of inspiration entered his mind, a defeated sigh escaped from his lips. It was a promising idea- far greater than holding a bunch of leaves, yet it seemed to be an impossible project. His eyes wandered over to the towering cherry trees nearby. Even the tallest trees only had a trunk diameter of around 2ft- it would not be wide enough in a bowl shape to house himfortably enough for the long journey even if it could hold him. "... Maybe a long bowl would work?" he wondered aloud while tilting his head. Guided by this thought and with only primitive stone tools in hand, the man approached the tree and started working. . .. ... "It worked! I finally crossed the river!" The hours of paddling were nothingpared to the long journey it took to reach this point. Simply felling the tree with his simple tools and splitting off a six foot portion took him weeks to aplish with his tools. Hollowing out the horizontal log to give himself room to sit inside took another three months. The log itself was around 2ft wide and 6ft long- it was a tight fit width-wise, yet it was still barely enough to allow him to sit. Laying down was possible thanks to the length if he were to scrunch up his shoulders ory on his side. Although the first model of his creations did seem to float, it waspletely unstable in the water and flipped over the second it entered the river. Eventually, he was able to remedy this by giving the log a somewhat t bottom. Once out on the water, further testing revealed many more issues at y; mainly water gradually seeping through the cherry wood. Why does water seep through this log, but not my bowl made of the same wood? The man went back to examining his bowl to look for clues. While he was unable to realize that the fat from the chicken he was eating had helped seal the pores in the wooden bowl, he did notice the charring from the me he cooked it over and attempted to charr his creation to match it using a branch of a torch tree. He cautiously burnt the outside of the log with the river mere inches from him in case something went wrong- miraculously managing not to set his work aze. Against even his own belief, this new charredyer actually did help slow down the rate at which water seeped into the log''s opening, but it was not enough to stop it fully. "I can scoop up the water that leaks inside with my bowl... but I do not know how long it will take to cross the river." Worried he may fall asleep and sink on the journey, the man tried everything he could think of a way to stop the water, yet moss, nor feathers, nor leaves, nor crushed mushrooms seemed to make a difference. While he was just about to give up and risk crossing despite the water seepage, the man happened to recall a phenomenon he observed back in his home vige in the mudts. His vige in the mudts was known for its giant chicken traps, which required digging pits for the creatures to fall into. The dug-up mud from this process was left in small piles, which seemed to dry and harden in the sun. He had even seen puddles thatsted for days form on top of some dented piles after rain that held for days. "Could that work to stop the water?" It was a desperate n requiring him to travel for weeks carrying the mud from near his vige back to his camp at the river, but left with no other option, the man did just that. He lined the interior of the hollowed log with this y-filled mud and let it dry in the sun''s heat, aided by torch tree branches, before the man finally tested his creation onest time in the river. "It worked! It really worked!" Even after hours of sitting in the floating log, no water appeared to soak through. "RAAAAAAA!" A shout of victory echoed off the water, and following a small victory feast of chickens and cherries, the man created what was essentially a paddle to help him move the log through the water before immediately setting off without a moment of hesitation. That led him to where he was now- taking his first step onto the eastern half of the realm. His excitement couldn''t be understated; his hard work had paid off. All that stood between the man and the temple was a long walk, but a rumbling in his stomach needed to be addressed prior him starting such a journey. "There should be chickens on this side of the river, right? Hm?" His eyes which had been scanning the area for any signs of a delicious, feathery bird suddenly spotted what looked to be a ton of small and thin green trunks off in the distance. Curious, the man pulled the log he used ashore and trotted over to the field of odd nts, soon hesitantly approaching one and running his hands over its long leaves. "... These are not trees." "Obviously." "Ah!?" Thud! A sudden woman''s voice spoke to him from behind some dense stalks, causing him to trip over a small pile of husks and fall to the ground. "You are not from this vige. Why are you trying to steal our corn?" she asked, taking the opportunity to squeeze through the stalks'' gaps and stand above him. "Corn? Is that what this is?" "Obviously. And you were trying to steal it!" The woman squinted her eyes. "I was not! I was just looking at it since I have never seen something like this. Besides, it was out in the open! How can I steal something that is growing naturally? That is like yelling at me for picking a mushroom in a forest!" "It is nothing like that! Our vige had to work hard nting every single one of these nts!" she defended, before pausing at the man''s shocked expression, "Do you really not know what corn is? I have not even heard of a vige nearby without any. Where are you from?" "I am from across the river." "Pfft- that is impossible. Not a single person has crossed the river since the Oracle''s pathway copsed." "Then I am the first," the man dered as he picked himself off the ground, "I am trying to get to the temple. If you can guide me in that direction, I will dly show you how I got across it." "The temple?" the woman looked at the man for any signs of lies, yet ultimately just sighed, "... Fine. But you will need to apologize to the vige for trying to steal the corn if you are lying." "I have nothing to worry about then." A few months after the man showed off the realm''s first dugout canoe, he eventually stepped foot into the temple only to discover it housed a statue and not the actual creator of the world himself. Even so, his journey was not for naught; the priest inside the temple was inspired by his efforts and happily told him of the stories passed down by the previous priests. And so, after exploring the western half of the continent to his satisfaction, the man went back home with a gift from the priest in hand. Kernels, and the corn they grew, would soon cross the river in the man''s canoe. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!