Alex rushed to the aquarium just in time to witness a disturbing scene unfolding inside. The only remaining S1 had already given birth; however, what emerged wasn't an egg but a small S1, still connected to its mother by translucent tendrils that had some strange substance flowing through them.
At first, Alex couldn't make sense of what he was seeing. Then the truth hit him like a bolt of lightning when he saw that the mother was gradually shrinking while the daughter steadily grew.
She started consuming her parent the moment she was born!
A chill raced down Alex's spine, yet he couldn't tear his eyes away. Nature was cruel and grotesque, yet strangely mesmerizing.
The feeding didn't last long. Soon, the new S1 had completely devoured its predecessor and taken its place, drifting peacefully beneath the sun. Alex watched it for another minute but saw nothing unusual.
He named the new S1 Purple, as its body had a faint violet shimmer. Then he turned toward the silver plate, anticipation swelling inside him.
[You have reached 2nd Rank: Advanced Beginner.
You have unlocked the following World Creation Protocol functions:
[Landscape Creator (II) – Available]
[Organism Creator (II) – Available]
[Time Acceleration (I) – Available]
[Available area: 300,000 km²]
Feeling a surge of excitement, Alex paused to steady himself before reading the second paragraph.
[To reach Manager Rank 3, you must complete the current mission.
Current Mission:
Create a sentient being (intelligence value of "1" and above): 0/1
Reach a population of 30,000 sentient beings: 0/30,000]
Alex nodded. It was as if the plate had read his mind. He had long dreamed of creating a sentient being, but Organism Creator (I) had been far too limited for that.
Alex decided to test the new iteration and boot up Organism Creator (II). Just as he expected, many of the settings that had previously been grayed out now glowed with an inviting silvery light. After studying them for a while, he realized he could create even a human with it.
It felt exciting, even if a little strange.
After that, Alex examined Landscape Creator. It, too, had received an upgrade, allowing him to modify solar and lunar cycles, adjust the soil's mineral content, and much more.
At first glance, 300,000 km² might seem a little small for an entire world; however, anyone familiar with history will recall that Ancient Greece, for example, was only slightly larger, and yet it birthed a glorious, culturally rich civilization whose influence could be felt even today.
Someday, Alex hoped to create an entire universe—perhaps even a dozen of them, each with millions of interconnected worlds—but for now he was content to work on a smaller and less intimidating scale.
Meanwhile, it was high time he actually got down to work. The day was still young, and he had enough energy to at least lay the foundation of a new world.
The question was, "What exactly was he going to make?" Yet after so many months of preparation, it would have been strange if Alex didn't already know the answer.
He had always been fond of classical, Tolkien‑esque fantasy.
When a writer tries to be different just for the sake of being different, the opposite often happens, and his creation ends up feeling dull. It isn't always the case, of course, but it happens far too often.
Therefore, Alex chose to create a world of flower‑strewn meadows, rolling valleys, dense forests, and towering mountains—in other words, the quintessential European fantasy.
After all, few things in the world are as breathtaking as ordinary nature combined with human ingenuity.
First, Alex created a vast green field stretching endlessly across 300,000 km² beneath a clear blue sky. Then he opened his toolbox and let his imagination run wild.