Ariana had already created four types of living beings. Only one more was needed for her world to unlock the Mana Core. She still didn’t know what kind of impact that would have—whether it would be beneficial or bring unforeseen consequences.

  As the days passed, she soon regained the ability to create life once more. From time to time, Ariana visited the creatures she had created and spent some time nearby. However, the System issued a warning:

  [Autonomous life detected.]

  [Excessive intervention may compromise natural growth.]

  The message left her frustrated. Of course, she wasn’t forbidden from approaching them—but Ariana often brought fruit to Kon, which could make him lazy and cause him to stop searching for food on his own.

  She decided then that she would dedicate that month exclusively to creating living beings, accelerating the progress of her world. The moment she created the next type of creature, the Mana Core would be unlocked—and the thought filled her with anticipation.

  Whenever Ariana prepared to create a new lifeform, she thought carefully about what kind of creature it should be and, above all, what impact it would have on Arcadia. She feared creating something more harmful than beneficial. After all, it made no sense to create a carnivorous animal in a world that still lacked sufficient food to sustain it—it would simply starve.

  Following that logic, Ariana chose to create simple animals. Once again, she created a pair—this time, a couple of sheep. Their food source was the same as that of the cow and the ox, abundant across Arcadia.

  Satisfied with her creation, the sound of a notification echoed. It was the System.

  [Ding!]

  [Congratulations, host! You have unlocked the Mana Core.]

  [Mana Core generating…]

  [Generation complete!]

  [You have unlocked: Card — Natural Law]

  [You have unlocked: Card — Time Acceleration]

  [You have unlocked: Card — Biome Creation]

  [Congratulations! Your skill Create Life has evolved into Mass Life Creation.]

  [Congratulations! Your level has increased to 2.]

  [You are on the right path!]

  [Mission unlocked: Create five types of terrestrial living beings.]

  [Rewards: x1 Card — Time Acceleration, 50 Faith Accumulation.]

  Everything left Ariana deeply stunned. Her vision was immediately flooded with countless blue screens, displaying information directly to her mind.

  Among them, her own divine interface appeared:

  [Goddess Ariana — Lesser Deity]

  [World: Arcadia (21 inhabitants)]

  [Divine Level: 2]

  [Faith Accumulation: 25]

  Soon after, a new window opened before her—the System Shop.

  [x1 — Generate Life]

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  [Cost: 25] (Cost reduced due to Level 2)

  [x1 — Create Multiple Lives]

  [Cost: 150] (Cost reduced due to Level 2)

  [x1 — Time Acceleration]

  [Cost: 250] (Price increases with repeated purchases)

  [x1 — Biome Creation]

  [Cost: 150]

  [x1 — Natural Law Creation]

  [Cost: 250] (Price increases with repeated purchases)

  Many other options had appeared—some entirely new, others with reduced prices now that Ariana had reached Level 2. Even so, as she reviewed the costs, she had the distinct sense that reaching Level 3 would not be nearly as simple as before.

  With that in mind, she turned her attention back to the newly assigned mission: create five types of terrestrial living beings. So far, she had three. The sheep, the cow-and-ox pair, and Kon—whose nature she still did not fully understand.

  In a way, that made everything even more exciting.

  She began to carefully consider what form of life she should create next.

  “Is it possible to create a magical unicorn?” Ariana wondered.

  It was little more than a casual thought—almost a joke to herself. Still, the System responded immediately:

  [Due to the Mana Core, magical lifeforms can now be generated.]

  Ariana was genuinely shocked. Not only could she now create life in batches, but she also no longer had to create a single creature and wait five days before trying again, as she had in the beginning.

  Time passed.

  Without allowing herself much rest, Ariana crossed Arcadia from one end to the other, fully focused on completing the mission the System had given her. During that period, she created several new living beings. The process was now far simpler: whenever she used her skill, two to five individuals of the same species would appear, drastically accelerating the world’s development.

  Even so, there were limits.

  She still needed to wait several days between uses of her ability, and the physical strain had increased significantly. The first time she used her upgraded skill, Ariana felt her legs go weak. It was as if all the energy in her body had been drained at once.

  At first, Ariana believed the mission would be completed as soon as she created two more terrestrial species. With that in mind, she decided to create two new beings.

  The first was a fox, which she named the Arcadian Fox. Four of them appeared at once. They had soft orange fur and closely resembled the foxes from her past life.

  [Name: Arcadian Fox]

  [Classification: Common Terrestrial Animal]

  [Average Level: 1]

  [Attributes:]

  Strength: 8

  Agility: 18

  Vitality: 10

  Intelligence: 14

  Mana: 0

  [Description:]

  A small terrestrial predator specialized in opportunistic hunting and environmental adaptation. Displays above-average learning capacity and highly cautious behavior.

  Her second creation was Ariana’s first attempt at crafting a magical creature: a type of unicorn.

  [Name: Lesser Arcadian Unicorn]

  [Species: Magical Terrestrial Creature]

  [Classification: Rare]

  [Average Level: 2]

  [Attributes:]

  Strength: 14

  Agility: 16

  Vitality: 18

  Intelligence: 15

  Mana: 28

  [Description:]

  A rare magical creature sensitive to the ambient flow of mana. Passively absorbs mana and redistributes it into its surroundings, purifying it. Displays cautious behavior and avoids conflict, prioritizing self-preservation.

  Ariana was overjoyed to realize that her magical creation had succeeded. Three unicorns appeared before her. However, the physical backlash was so severe that she couldn’t even approach them. Her legs gave out, and she had to sit down where she stood, watching as each unicorn ran off in a different direction.

  After creating those two species, Ariana believed the mission had been completed. After all, Arcadia now had five types of terrestrial creatures.

  Yet, to her surprise, nothing happened.

  “System! I completed the mission. Where are my rewards?” she demanded, indignantly.

  [The mission requires the creation of five distinct types of terrestrial creatures.]

  [Current number created: 2/5.]

  Only then did Ariana realize her mistake.

  She had misunderstood the mission entirely. If she wanted the reward, she still needed to create three more different types of terrestrial lifeforms.

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