The southern reaches of Jura remained still.
Eryon sat upon a flat stone, watching the forest before him. There was no haste in his movements, no lingering anxiety. To the north, Rimuru's village was already altering the natural flow of the region. It wasn't aggressive, but it was inevitable. Trails were being blazed; routes were being fixed. The forest was adapting to a new master.
"A collective will changes the world," Eryon murmured.
Within him, 『Elem of Saga』 responded the only way it knew how. Not with words, but with connections.
Rimuru → Structure
Structure → Permanence
Permanence → Legacy
Eryon closed his eyes. It's not what I want right now, he thought. But perhaps it's what I will become.
Saga didn't disagree. She simply archived the thought.
An idea began to take shape, abstract and ethereal. A small village. No rigid hierarchy. No blind submission. It wouldn't be made of existing monsters, but of something… new.
"If I can one day create," Eryon reflected, "it won't be through brute force or empty clones."
The mana around him drifted softly.
"Beings with purpose. With identity. Even if inspired…" He opened his eyes. "…by the stories of another world."
Saga connected the concepts instantly.
Inspiration → Archetype
Archetype → Form
Form → Existence
But then came the limitations. Current capacity: Insufficient. Elem of Saga: Initial stage. Arcana Customize: Incomplete.
Eryon smiled faintly. "Not now."
He stood and walked to the center of the clearing. "First, understand this world. Then, touch it."
The idea didn't demand haste; it was a possible future. A nation born not from fear or domination, but from conscious creation. Saga didn't suggest paths this time. She simply bookmarked the moment.
[Internal Record: "Project — Southern Village" (Conceptual).] [Activation Condition: Evolution of Elem of Saga + Arcana Customize.]
"When that happens," Eryon thought, looking at the sky through the canopy, "I won't be creating followers. I'll be creating company."
The forest remained calm. To the north, a village already existed. To the south, only an idea. But ideas, in this world, had a persistent habit of becoming reality.
The idea didn't leave Eryon's mind. It followed him as he walked, as he rested, even when he wasn't consciously dwelling on it. It wasn't an obsession, but a direction.
『Elem of Saga』 recorded everything: thought patterns, failed attempts, mental micro-adjustments. 「Arcana Customize」 reacted—still weak, still unstable, but responding.
Eryon raised his hand, focusing mana into his palm. "It's not creation," he whispered. "It's adjustment."
He pulled a small fragment of ambient mana, condensing it into a thick, swirling mist. His intent was simple: to give it form without imposing existence. The mana distorted. For a heartbeat, it seemed to obey. Then, it collapsed.
The pressure recoiled against his body like a backflow. It wasn't intense pain, but an immediate, bone-deep exhaustion.
"Hah…" He took a ragged breath. "Not yet."
Saga responded with rapid-fire associations:
Excessive control → Instability
Continuous will → Adaptation
Eryon tried again. This time, less form. More concept. Not a being. Not an object. Just… function.
The mana assumed an ephemeral structure, something between a symbol and a movement. It lasted for seconds before dissolving, but it didn't collapse.
"It worked… a little."
「Arcana Customize」 flared. Something within the skill stretched, like a muscle being pushed beyond its comfort zone. No notification. No voice. Just the clear sensation that the skill was being forced to adapt.
Hours later, Eryon was drained. But there was a new detail. When he closed his eyes, he didn't have to imagine everything from scratch anymore. Certain mental paths emerged on their own. Not suggestions from Saga, but internal shortcuts.
"So that's how you evolve," he thought. "Not by gaining power, but by gaining tolerance."
Saga associated immediately:
Repeated use → Stabilization
Persistent will → Expansion
Expansion → Possibility
Distant, but real. In the north, Rimuru paused in the middle of the village.
"Great Sage."
[Yes, Master Rimuru.] "The mana to the south… it isn't increasing." [Correction: It is organizing.] "Organizing?" [Subtle patterns detected. No threat identified.]
Rimuru smiled, intrigued. "Jura really is a strange place, huh..."
The mana didn't vanish. It remained suspended in Eryon's palm, spinning slowly as if awaiting an order he didn't yet know how to phrase.
"I don't want to force you," he murmured. "I want to understand you."
He closed his hand—not to crush the mana, but to accept it. The flow responded. 「Arcana Customize」 didn't try to impose a shape; instead, it began to reorganize from within. Saga reacted with intense logical pressure—almost a warning.
Possible paths detected.
Risk of structural instability.
Suggestion: Limit expansion.
Eryon felt the friction. "No," he said softly. "If you only suggest paths… then I choose which one to walk."
His will hardened. Not as a wish, but as a continuous decision. The mana around the clearing began to align. The world noticed.
[Analysis complete.] [Confirmation: Evolution through usage detected.]
The Voice of the World echoed—clear, impartial, irreversible.
[Extra Skill: Arcana Customize has evolved.] [Current state: In transition.]
The air grew heavy. Saga integrated the shift immediately.
[Partial integration confirmed.] [New function unlocked.]
Eryon felt something click. Not a new power, but a new margin for error.
[Unique Skill: Elem of Saga] Sub-function recognized: Path Suggestion — Stable.
[Arcana Customize] • Increased efficiency. • Reduced backflow. • Expanded conceptual customization.
[Warning: Creation capacity limited. Autonomous existence: Unavailable.]
Silence returned to the clearing. Eryon fell to his knees, breathing hard. "So… this is enough for now."
There was no ecstasy. No triumph. Only the strange feeling that the world had said: "Continue."
He extended his hand again. This time, the mana molded into a simple symbol. Not solid, not alive, but stable. He smiled.
"Saga… one day, we're going to need company."
The skill responded without emotion:
Suggested path: Gradual creation.
Suggested path: Structure before form.
Suggested path: Community before entity.
Eryon looked around his clearing. The trees. The empty space. The silence.
"A small village," he thought. "Not now. But here. Not for power, but because even the patient eventually need a place to belong."
In the north, a village grew. In the south, an idea had just been recognized by the world. Eryon remained there in silence. Now, officially… on the path.