Chương 30: Managing the world

"Now, hold your horses..." Joshua floated back just a bit.

"I am not looking for a wife at the moment. Also, I think we have much more important things to deal with. How about we start with names and explaining what the deal was before you got sealed?" The dragoness realized how she had spoken, and her tail fin opened and closed as she awkwardly coughed into her claws.

"I am Amistare... pleased to meet you, Lord Steel." She landed and bowed her head.

"As for what happened... it is a rather long story. Would you mind healing my best friend first? Maybe we could tell it better together, as we both saw different parts of the war."

"I don't mind." Josh nodded. He prepared a divine-level healing spell in advance before pulling the griffon out of the card. The moment he released him from the time lock, Kirus cried out in both pain and fear. Joshua immediately cast the spell, the divine energy washing over the injured griffon as he carefully pulled the spear from his ribs.

"Aaaargh!" Kirus cried out, only to be immediately hugged by Amistare.

"What? Where? Who is that?" he asked, pointing at Joshua.

"I am Joshua Steel, the god of this realm. You and your people have been sealed away by a god... and I am rather curious about which one. Amistare was a bit too distraught about your situation, so she asked me to heal you before she explained." Kirus blinked several times as he looked around.

"Wait... this is not Eden?"

"I am afraid not," Amistare said with a shake of her head. - - - - - - - - - - - They both began explaining the story of their world, starting with the arrival of the first friendly gods. At first, these gods acted as though they genuinely wanted to help their creator goddess and her people. For only a few years, everything seemed peaceful. Then they assassinated her in front of all her faithful followers and demanded to be worshipped in her place.

Of course, most of the weak-willed people dared not speak up against gods. Those who did were quickly silenced, and the world descended into war. What Joshua understood, however, was something neither of them knew. These seven were likely only god-seeds. Judging by the way they had described their powers, even if the seven were not fighting in their own world, they sounded far too weak to be full-fledged gods. Every god who passed the trial of the Eternals was given a world of their own to build and develop.

A true god would have considerably more power at their disposal. As for the defenses of Extessia, the city had been using weapons their goddess had once used against some god-eating entities living in the Void. The weapons had been stored away after the battle, with only the highest priests knowing where they had been hidden. When the seven gods attacked, those ancient weapons had been brought back out of storage. Joshua couldn't tell how far back in time all of this had happened, though.

There was no way of knowing whether this Tsura was still around. He made sure to remember the name. A god who had already killed another god, betrayed his allies, and even murdered his own brother was not someone Joshua intended to trust.

"I am going to bring your entire bastion city here, so be ready to tell them about the situation in your own way. If you are desperately in need of something, just call out for me. I made this world, so anyone truly praying for help will be felt by me."

"I am grateful." Kirus bowed his head.

"And I am too," Amistare added with a nod.

"And about that... thing I asked you about, please take it into consideration." She said this as Joshua began floating upward.

"What did you ask?" Kirus turned toward her.

"None of your business." Amistare looked away, almost visibly red in the face. She was very glad she wasn't in her human form. She was certain he would have noticed immediately if he could see her cheeks. She even discreetly placed one foot over her tail so it wouldn't give her away. The city appeared perfectly within the carved-out section of the bay, its enormous structure settling into the prepared foundation as the stone seamlessly melded with the surrounding rock.

Joshua had made sure the transition was as natural as possible, almost as if the city had always been there. Kirus didn't wait long. He was confident the two of them could handle explaining everything to their people. - - - - - - - - - - - He had only just flown into the air when he felt Piur's call. Instead of flying all the way there, Joshua simply teleported to him to save time.

Unfortunately, his sudden appearance caused two Hetoru nearby to stumble backward, almost sliding straight into a newly built shrine from sheer shock.

"Hah! Metal man is scared, as you should!" Piur stomped his feet and shook his staff. A steel plate had been jammed into the top of it, carefully shaped to look exactly like Joshua's heart scale.

"Lord Steel, the metal men are dumb and do not speak Common!" Piur complained.

"We tried to make deal, but they tried to just take mana stones and give us useless paper!"

"I have no idea what the little lizard mage is on about, but we desperately need some magic crystals as our suits can only run on them. Could you translate for us?" the Hetaru named Silver Fang asked. Josh almost facepalmed with his clawed hand. He had forgotten one very important rule. He might understand all languages as a god with divine sense, but most people certainly didn't. This should have come up when he made sure no one would bring sicknesses from their old worlds... apparently, it hadn't.

"All right, everyone. I will try to make a massive spell over this world. A spell of understanding. Everyone will speak the new language without even realizing it." He nodded and prodded his system to life.

"What would a worldwide spell cost me that makes everyone speak the same language and understand it too?" [System recognises planetary-level spell. Rating D, cost calculated... 38, 000 patron points will make it permanent. Which language would you have implanted?]"English." Joshua nodded. [Implementing – English – as baseline language.] He felt his patron points shrink, and a massive magic circle enveloped the entire globe. It was visible for only a few seconds before disappearing. Joshua flew back down.

"Now, please try to get along." He turned toward the Hetoru.

"I have no idea what made you think the cash from your world would work here, but maybe you can work out a deal that doesn't involve money for now. Perhaps service for product." The Hetoru were not particularly pleased, but they nodded. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Josh flew back into the air and instantly received another call. This time, it was from Euripa. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

"Oh, come on..." He rolled his eyes, but decided to fly this time. The people of Maurapia already knew about him, so there was no reason to hide. Only a month had passed since his last visit, and already there were massive fields plowed and several new outposts built. The sheer amount of progress was impressive. Joshua made sure to shrink himself enough to land comfortably on the massive terrace of the castle, then settled down and waited.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - Maurapia was not made up of people with weak minds. Most of those who had not been born there had arrived with a resolve forged by difficult lives, and as such, the older generation quickly took the new situation in hand. With the grain reserves full and the surrounding area providing so many sources of food, they opened several massive bags of grains of all types and hurried to plant them all. With the help of the mages, a harvest would be ready in only a few months.

After more than one full month, almost all the seeds had already poked their way out of the fertile ground. All the grass they cleared was either turned into food for their Chakura bugs or used as mulch. Maurapia might have looked like a semi-advanced medieval city, but it was so much more than that. Sanitation and flowing water were basic necessities rather than luxuries, while magical instruments made almost every daily task easier.

The mana flow in this world was not too different from the one in their original world, if a little thicker. Actually, this was the whole reason the seven Future Makers, whom Joshua had taken to simply calling the magic scientists, had asked for Euripa's help. Mana was beginning to accumulate. If this continued much further, their magical items could eventually break from being overcharged. Wild mana, which was usually absorbed by monsters, was also becoming an issue.

It wasn't particularly healthy for humanoids to be exposed to too much of it. Their calculations showed only a tiny difference for now, but if the concentration continued to increase over the years, the entire world could eventually be in danger. The other issue was the news Euripa was receiving about their new god. It had started with a single kobold tribe and two lesser dragons living in the mountains.

Then their god had apparently created a new city for people from another world, and now there was yet another settlement being established in the east. Maurapia did not want to send out ambassadors just yet, but they also didn't want to remain completely clueless about what was happening around them. Their magical communication tools could only reach a certain distance, after all. The arrival of the steel dragon caused several people to stop what they were doing and stare.

A few workers even whispered among themselves, but since their ruler had already told them that the dragon was not a threat, the people trusted their City Lord and simply returned to their work. Maurapia had survived far too much to panic over something as simple as a dragon landing on their castle. - - - - - - - - - - - - Euripa and Lord Xullias arrived with the seven Future Makers just a step behind. The female Baukk woman now had a proper new set of clothes made for her, fitting of her status.

She did not look at all comfortable in them, however, as the robe covered more of her fur than she liked.

"My God, Lord Joshua Steel. Thank you for hearing our pleas and coming." Euripa spoke first, kneeling down.

"I think I told you that I am not that kind of god, so please stand up. Also, what's with the new getup?" Josh asked, looking at the overly detailed and flowy robe.

"It was my idea. A prophet... erm, divine messenger of a god should look the part. You like it?" Xullias asked.

"Well, she looked pretty nice in her previous clothes," Joshua admitted aloud instead of merely thinking it. Now she looked like any other priest from other worlds, and he had rather liked seeing her neat, practical appearance.

"Yess," Euripa said under her breath, barely audible to anyone except Joshua, who smirked at the cat lady's joy.

"My lord!" Future Maker Agiro bowed deeply.

"We have measured a slow but increasing level of mana in the air which is not being used by the monsters... as in, there are no monsters to do it. In the long term, this wild mana could be detrimental to normal life forms, meaning us."

"Indeed. We have already calculated a seven percent increase over the next year if nothing changes." The old Future Maker, Pushma, showed him several papers with the graphs they had made.

"I kind of needed to get every soul out of those accursed cards, but yes... I was already planning to make dungeon realms throughout the world and create the magical creatures you call monsters. I will only place weaker ones near established settlements for now and keep the stronger ones on the main lands and other continents." Joshua nodded. He knew this could become a problem, but he hadn't expected it to happen this soon.

Then again, he had used roughly the same mana density as the world of Gaix when designing New Terra. Without dungeons or monsters to consume it, the mana was essentially behaving like a runaway greenhouse effect.

"It's an important issue, and I will adjust the mana and make sure no such problems can arise." Josh nodded.

"We thank you, great Joshua Steel. Also, the rule forbidding faith in our city has been lifted, seeing that we are in a new world with a god who actually cares," Xullias stated.

"Some might start worshipping you, but there are many who likely never will."

"Well, I do this not to be worshipped, but because someone tossed the responsibility onto me." Josh laughed.

"Then again, this godhood is starting to feel more like a full-time job than I imagined it would." Euripa felt Josh's genuine joy through the connection she had been given, and it felt nice. The god was speaking the truth... there was no doubt about it. After living so long in fear of a cruel god, it was comforting to have a divine entity who genuinely cared. Her own inner divine thread had also grown considerably, and she had managed to grant several small miracles, as any prophet should.

People had learned her name throughout the city, and she would be lying if she said it didn't feel nice. After answering a few important questions about the other settlements, Joshua left in a smooth motion high up into the air. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Joshua spent the next few days inside his own world, filling it with monsters and dungeons. This, however, wasn't nearly as easy as creating normal animals. Monsters needed cores, and dungeon realms required an imposing amount of divine essence to create.

Joshua's so-called nice amount of spendable patron points ran out halfway through the process, leaving him stunned by just how hard it was to make a world that didn't slowly ruin itself. As for the monsters and dungeons, he asked Cthulhu and Oberon for ideas. The two were his friends, so he gave them the opportunity to leave their own little marks on his world. While Oberon was fascinated by the idea of making monsters, Big C was far more interested in dungeon creation.

He called Josh a softie after taking a look at what he had already made. The seven dungeons designed by Cthulhu were absolute deathtraps. They contained so many dangers, traps, curses, and monsters that Joshua was genuinely worried nobody would ever make it through them.

"Not to worry your soft little heart about it, Joshua. I made dungeons ten times more dangerous in other worlds, and people still managed to reach the end." The ancient entity laughed, causing the nearby land to shake with a small earthquake.

"If you say so, buddy." Joshua was still shaking his head as he tossed a few stone carvings of skulls and lethal warning marks next to the entrances, along with a bunch of dried-up skeletons for good measure. Anyone approaching these places would immediately get a bad feeling. Not that the dark-green, bubbling portals weren't already a dead giveaway. Oberon's so-called monsters, meanwhile, actually turned out to be works of art.

He went on and on about how magical creatures were supposed to be the apex of both power and beauty. He created phoenixes, unicorns, nature beasts, and even fae dragons that looked oddly colorful and cute. He didn't stop there. He actually spent some of his own essence to create several fae-inspired forests that would make people become lost and confused, or slowly transform into fae-like beings.

Joshua was a bit against the idea, but the old god was so completely in his element and enjoying himself so much that Joshua simply didn't have the heart to stop him. With their help, the mana began stabilizing. It still needed more mana sinks, but the increase had dropped to such a low level that even Joshua could barely feel it anymore.

"I need my Luna to hug..." he sighed as he noticed a blue spark appear in the air.

"Lord Joshua!" The blue dragoness arrived in a flash.

"I felt the world being changed and the rampant mana calming. You truly are a god all should love."

"Lady Amistare..." Joshua forced a smile.

"What a surprise."

"I like to arrive at just the right time." She smiled before continuing.

"Also, I have great news. Everyone in our bastion city is now your faithful follower." She flew closer to him and flared her neck scales, her tail moving in an almost hypnotic pattern.

"Soo... about that thing..."

"Sorry, gotta go for now." Joshua waved at her and promptly popped out of the realm. Amistare snapped her claws together and bit her lip.

"I will get him next time." She floated on an air current as she tried to figure out why her draconic charm hadn't worked on him. No male dragon had ever been able to resist her beauty before. In fact, she had often needed to literally scare away males who tried to force her into marriage. Now she finally understood their pain of rejection.

"At least I know he does not have a wife. He said it himself… which means I have a chance." she murmured as she flew back toward Extessia. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Josh appeared in his human form back inside his study, looking far too tired. His divine essence was literally almost spent, and he was certainly not about to get tangled up with a horny dragon queen. He entertained the idea for about six seconds… then he laughed and shook his head. All he needed was his daughter.

Speaking of which, he looked at the time. It was already late afternoon, and he couldn't feel her anywhere nearby.

"Felix," he called out.

"Master, it is so good to see you back in our reality. How has work been inside your realm?" the demon butler asked, bowing deeply.

"Extensive," Josh sighed.

"Where is Luna?"

"Oh, your daughter is having something the local humans call a sleepover with a classmate," Felix noted with a casual smile.

"Is there any issue?"

"Err... none." Josh sighed again. He really needed his recharge from his daughter right now, but alas, he would just have to make do with a nice meal and a long sleep.