I was woken up by the soft, warm, and heavenly sensation pressing against my back. I turned around and saw the goddess sleeping there, her arms wrapped around me.
My movements woke her.
We both sat up and stretched. Her figure, already well-defined beneath her clothing, became even more so when she stretched.
"Those things are really gigantic," I subconsciously whispered while staring at her assets.
"What did you say?" she teased, licking her lips playfully.
"It's nothing. By the way, did we meet somewhere before?"
"No, why do you ask?" Demeter replied while combing her long, soft, silky hair.
A flowery scent drifted into my nose—it was intoxicating. It was her natural fragrance.
"Well, you're acting a bit too close to me."
Demeter giggled behind her hand. "No comment."
I sighed at her response. "What do you want, Demeter?"
"Chicken."
"Chicken, huh? Are there any around these islands?"
"Why go far? They might look near, but those islands are already beyond the uncharted level its totality endlessly at that."
"Huh? What do you mean? I already measured them yesterday—they were just five light-years away."
I turned toward the nearby islands I had measured yesterday—and they were gone. In the distance, they had become unfathomably massive, appearing huge despite the unimaginable distance separating us.
"Well, damn—the expansion rate of this place is insane."
Demeter laughed behind her hand at my reaction. "There's a flock of them over there."
I turned to where she pointed and saw chickens—swimming in the ocean.
My mouth twitched. Their swimming skills were even better than ducks'.
"Are those aquatic chickens, or are they just good at swimming?"
"Aquatic," Demeter replied.
"Oh well, breakfast is served." I dove into the ocean, swimming toward the chickens and catching them all before storing them in my inventory.
I continued swimming to catch more food. Diving hundreds of meters below the surface, I encountered many fish and caught them. I swam forward for a few minutes until I reached a bottomless cliff—the end of the shallow sea.
I extended my magic sense beyond ??? entirely, endlessly so—yet I never reached the bottom.
An abyss. That's what I called it. Beyond the shallow waters, the cliff extended endlessly into the depths.
In that oceanic abyss dwelled unfathomably massive creatures. The full range of my magic sense couldn't even cover one-trillionth of a single eye. Each creature was more than enough to erase all of existence before the Great Change.
"Well, damn," I murmured as one of those creatures passed in the far distance. Despite the unimaginably vast range, its shadow's sheer size dominated everything.
"I'm not approaching that," I muttered and turned back to continue exploring the shallows.
Corals blanketed the seabed behind me—the cliff and the abyss. The shadow of that massive creature still lingered, dominating the scenery.
That creature swam beyond the maximum range of my magic sense, yet even so, I could confidently say my magic sense barely covered one-trillionth of its eye. It's instinct and experience.
Suddenly, the shadow of another creature—far larger—appeared, swallowing the first. It was one-decillionth times larger than the one it devoured.
I witnessed it all and decided not to dwell on it. I continued exploring the shallows, searching for food.
I swam toward a cluster of corals. Schools of fish passed by, and the corals shifted colors each minute. Searching carefully, I found my target—an octopus capable of disguising itself as coral.
I caught it with my bare hands and placed it into my storage.
After an hour of fishing, I swam back to shore. There, Demeter greeted me warmly.
"How's the catch?" she asked.
"Good. We'll be eating squid, chicken, and a bunch of fish." I took out everything I caught and presented it to her.
Demeter smiled and conjured a simple knife out of thin air, then began processing the food at incredible speed, displaying perfect culinary skill even the gods could only dream of.
As she cooked, a mouthwatering aroma spread throughout the area.
After a few minutes, a vast array of dishes was served on a large table I brought out from my inventory.
The two of us started digging in.
"This is delicious. Your cooking is extraordinary."
Demeter smiled brightly at my praise.
"By the way, John, do you want to stay here, or are you planning to live outside?"
"Outside. I'll give you the address later."
I looked around, wondering how many people lived here. "How many people are living here?"
"Around a thousand—all executives I've chosen since the dawn of creation."
"Didn't the gods descend only a thousand years ago?"
Demeter chuckled. "There are exceptions."
"I see. How strong are they?"
"As strong as you—some even stronger."
"Oh. How deep have you reached in the Dungeon?"
"The fifty-billionth floor."
"Well, I'll have some information exchange soon, huh?"
"By the way, don't be too mesmerized when you meet them," she teased.
"Don't worry, Demeter—I'm already used to it."
Demeter handed me a golden key. The power emanating from it was overwhelming and absolute, forcing all things to bend before it. Cold sweat ran down my back.
"This is…?"
"It's the key to this place. You can come here anytime you want," Demeter said. As soon as she finished speaking, the key's immense pressure subsided.
I grabbed it and thanked her.
"Visit me often," she said.
"Okay, I'll do that."
We continued chatting while eating breakfast. When we finished, I bid her goodbye.
With her help, I was teleported outside the Wheat Manor. The two guards nodded and smiled as I appeared.
I nodded back, waved my hand, and walked away—heading toward the Guild.