A few more days passed. Nearly a month had gone by since Ariana began creating Arcadia. The passage of time barely registered for her, as she sometimes remained on the bright side of the world, while at other times she wandered into the region where night reigned completely.

  The birds had already chosen their territories and begun building nests. It would still take time before they laid eggs and eventually hatched them, increasing the bird population in Arcadia. Ariana wasn’t in a hurry. Still, she spent much of her time bored. Occasionally, she visited the small creature she had created in the beginning. By now, it seemed far more accustomed to Ariana’s presence and even interacted with her naturally.

  The creature started approaching her more often after Ariana began visiting a different region filled with banana trees, bringing some of the fruit along. The moment it tasted a banana, it clearly loved the flavor. Gradually, it realized Ariana wasn’t a threat and no longer felt the need to remain so guarded around her.

  While Ariana sat in the forest beside the small creature, an interface appeared before her eyes the moment she focused her gaze on it.

  [Name your first living being: ]

  Ariana was surprised for a moment, then smiled.

  “From now on, your name will be Kon,” she said with a gentle note of affection.

  The interface vanished, instantly replaced by another.

  [Name: Kon]

  [Species: ???]

  [Age: 33 days]

  [Strength: 6]

  [Endurance: 8]

  [Intelligence: 3]

  [Mana: 0]

  [Skills: Bite — Level 1]

  Ariana studied the screen with curiosity. It really did resemble a game interface. She could see attributes like strength, endurance, and even mana. That last value, however, caught her attention in particular.

  “Zero mana…” she murmured. “Does that mean he has no magical aptitude?”

  Before she could think much further, the system answered directly.

  [Your world does not yet possess a Mana Core.]

  [This feature will be unlocked once five different types of living beings exist in your world.]

  [You currently have only two.]

  Ariana frowned slightly.

  “And what exactly is a Mana Core?” she asked, confused.

  The system seemed to adjust its explanation to something she could more easily understand.

  [The Mana Core exists within the world.]

  [It converts various forms of energy into mana and distributes it across the surface.]

  [It functions like the world’s breathing: it absorbs energy and exhales mana.]

  Ariana was surprised. So it was only a matter of time before a Mana Core emerged. Little by little, she realized just how much there was still to discover about the system—and about her world.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Choosing not to dwell on it for now, Ariana took to the skies, flying toward the horizon. After some time, she arrived at a beach.

  The sea was beautiful.

  Crystal-clear water stretched as far as her eyes could see, creating a sense of infinity. Ariana watched the gentle waves and thought about her old world. Beaches there weren’t like this. People polluted without thinking, threw trash everywhere, and fish and other marine creatures suffered silently because of it.

  Arcadia was still clean.

  Alive.

  As those thoughts passed through her mind, a familiar sound echoed.

  [Ding!]

  The system interface appeared before her eyes.

  [Mission unlocked.]

  [The seas of Arcadia are vast, but devoid of life.]

  [Create a living being capable of inhabiting the ocean.]

  [Bonus condition:]

  [Upon creation, the living being will be automatically multiplied.]

  [Rewards:]

  [x1 Create Life]

  [+25 Faith Accumulation]

  Ariana observed the interface in silence.

  “System, how do missions work?” she asked. “Why did one only appear now, after so much time?”

  The system responded plainly, as usual.

  [Missions are usually triggered by your actions or by natural developments within your world.]

  [The more you interact with it, the more missions may be unlocked.]

  Ariana didn’t overthink it. The logic was simple enough. Her world reacted to her choices, and the system merely followed along.

  Now, she would create her next living being.

  This creation would count as the third existing type in Arcadia. Even though the birds belonged to different species, the system treated them as a single type of living being.

  Ariana’s Generate Life ability had been available again for some time. Even so, using it still placed a heavy strain on her body, and she was still recovering from previous creations. What had weakened her the most, without a doubt, was shaping Arcadia in the beginning. Compared to that, creating life was less taxing—and now she felt well enough to use her ability without major issues.

  Even so, Ariana hesitated.

  She had two options.

  She could use her own ability and accept the physical cost, or she could use the Create Life card she possessed and avoid any strain altogether. If she used her innate ability, she would need to wait another five days before using it again. That alone wasn’t a problem. After all, she still had the card, which would allow another creation without cost.

  If she chose wisely, she would soon have four different types of living beings in her world.

  Ariana knelt on the beach and placed her hands on the water. At once, a divine glow spread across the sea before her. It was radiant. Beautiful. Her green hair fluttered in the released energy as the water around her hands began to rise, slowly rotating and taking shape.

  As she created, memories surfaced in her mind. She remembered the beaches from her past life, the beauty of the ocean, and the marine life constantly threatened by trash humanity discarded without regard for the consequences.

  Ariana decided to create something simple yet resilient. A creature that wouldn’t be aggressive, that fed on marine plants, and helped keep the ocean healthy.

  Then, from the water itself, the creature began to form.

  Its body resembled that of a fish, but longer and more flexible. Its scales were semi-transparent, tinted with a soft bluish hue. It had wide fins, almost like submerged wings, and a small mouth with visible—but subtle—teeth.

  When the magical glow finally faded, the creature dropped toward the sea, diving into the crystal-clear water below.

  [Creature successfully created.]

  [Bonus granted.]

  As soon as the system announced the successful creation, more shapes began to appear around it. Several fish leapt from the sea before Ariana’s eyes, as if celebrating. There were at least ten of them, jumping and diving back into the water.

  Ariana watched the scene, enchanted.

  “Your name will be Tidefin!” she exclaimed.

  Moments later, another interface appeared before her eyes.

  [Name: Tidefin]

  [Race: Primordial Aquatic]

  [Age: 0 days]

  [Strength: 2]

  [Endurance: 4]

  [Intelligence: 1]

  [Mana: 0]

  [Skills: Swim — Level 1]

  Ariana slowly closed the interface.

  Now, Arcadia had marine life.

  It was another step forward. A small one—but an essential one. And little by little, Ariana would continue filling her world with life.

  https://www.patreon.com/horaciogui