Arsere stood on the balcony of her quiet domain, staring down at the Eternal Sea Plate. The newborn jelly‑like organisms drifted gently through the water, shimmering pale blue under the plate's artificial sunlight. They were small… fragile… but alive. And they were hers—her first naturally born lifeforms.
Yet one problem remained.
"How do I send them to the other plates…?" she whispered.
She didn't want to interfere directly. She wanted evolution, not shortcuts. But every idea she came up with either felt too forced or too artificial. She paced back and forth, one hand on her forehead, overthinking as usual.
Her brainstorming was interrupted by a knock on her door—well, more like someone shouting through it.
"Arsere! What are you doing?"
Xian's loud voice echoed inside the room.
She opened the door with a blank stare. "Thinking."
Xian squinted. "You don't know, do you?"
"Know what?"
He sighed dramatically, tossed his long black hair back, and walked inside like a teacher entering class. "Sit. Let me explain this properly."
Arsere sat on the sofa, confused but curious. Virex drifted in behind Xian, holding a cup of tea he stole from the kitchen. He looked awkward—like he regretted being here—but he sat down too.
Xian cleared his throat, crossing his arms proudly.
"First, do you remember the system message everyone saw when they became gods?"
Arsere nodded. "The one about trillions of divinities?"
"Exactly. Everyone is assigned a divinity—mine is Star and Sword, Virex's is Negative Emotion, and yours is…" he paused. "Creation."
Arsere blinked. "Yes."
"Now here's what you don't know." Xian leaned forward, serious for once. "There are only two ways for gods to grow stronger: mastering their divinity… or collecting faith."
Arsere frowned slightly. "Faith?"
Virex nodded. "Worship from lifeforms. The more followers you have, the more your divine power increases."
Xian continued, "But here's the important part—most gods cannot create worlds. They have to fight for existing ones. Only a few rare divinities, like yours, can create an entire realm. That's why…"
He glanced at Virex.
Virex scratched the back of his head. "…That's why we wanted to stay here. Your world will eventually have lifeforms. And faith."
Arsere stared at them quietly. Her face didn't show anger or disappointment. Just… understanding.
"So you two wanted to benefit from my world," she said calmly.
Xian braced himself for being shouted at.
But Arsere simply shrugged.
"It doesn't matter."
Xian blinked. "What?"
"I'm not interested in collecting faith," Arsere said. "I will master my divinity directly. If you two want to rely on faith, then go ahead. It doesn't harm me."
Virex almost dropped his tea. "…She's treating us like scavengers."
Xian facepalmed. "She really is."
Arsere ignored their reactions and spoke again, voice steady.
"In exchange, I need help with something."
Both of them straightened. "What is it?"
Arsere pointed at the projection of the Eternal Sea Plate. "How do I naturally move these lifeforms to the other plates? I don't want to manually interfere."
Virex raised a hand. "Um… have you checked your system shop?"
Arsere froze.
Her system.
Her SHOP.
She had completely forgotten it existed.
She slowly turned toward Virex. "Thank you."
"Oh. Uh. Sure," he mumbled, slightly red.
Arsere opened her system window. A pale blue interface floated before her.
But something new was there—an icon she hadn't seen before.
A gift icon. Shaped like a small glowing present.
Her heart skipped.
"Why is that here…?"
She touched it.
The gift window opened gently, displaying shimmering text:
[A reward has been prepared for the World Creator.]
[Requirements met: Creation of First Natural Life.]
[Would you like to claim your gift?]
Arsere stared at it, speechless.
Behind her, Xian leaned in with sparkling eyes. "Oho? A gift from the system! This must be a big one."
Virex whispered, "Maybe it's a new authority."
Arsere's heart beat faster.
"What kind of reward would a system give for creating natural life…?"
The Eternal Sea Plate's projection continued to glow beside her.
Her newborn creatures drifted through their oceans, unaware that the future of all life—and perhaps even all plates—depended on what she chose next.
Arsere reached toward the shimmering button.
Her fingertips trembled.
"Alright," she whispered. "Let's see what you've prepared for me."
She pressed [CLAIM].
And the screen began to shine.
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