Thankfully, it hadn’t proven to be that hard to convince Jessie’s helpers to contribute to the plan with the promise of not only being able to leave their mark on the digital world of the gods, but also a considerable portion of the leasing fees for property on these servers. With that in mind, they all began working quite quickly, allowing me to have the finished plans in under a week.

The space outside the node’s gate had long since been occupied by those looking to be first in line to explore the new server. Even if it would not be in its ‘raw’ form, there was still an incredible attraction to beings like myself. It was for that reason that I did not immediately open the gates when I was done with my work.

Rather, I opened the public forum that Blank had established for us to share important news. Hmm? Seems someone’s been talking about me. On the forum, there were several articles discussing my ‘misconduct’. People saying things such as me attempting to monopolize the digital world of the gods with force, enacting harsh punishments… at some point the rumor mill had escalated to make it look like I had committed a slaughter.

I could only roll my eyes at that, not particularly caring how they viewed me. There were several who knew that I had been assigned this role directly by Aurivy, so I didn’t really have anything to fear from the public opinion. At worst, they try to pick a fight with me.

One of the avatars fueling the arguments I recognized as the man that I had previously banned from entering the territory around the gate. He seemed to be an incredibly vocal instigator, so I ran a quick check, clicking my tongue at what I found. The accountant for a rather large tech company from Deckan. No wonder he acted like he owned the place.

Still, that was a few ranks shy of being an assistant to the Sky Citadel, and a deity atop that. With a knowing smile on my face, I wrote up my announcement post, pinging Blank to ask that he pin it before it got lost in the sea of comments.

Hello, everyone! I know most of you have been waiting quite eagerly for the reveal of the new digital world revealed recently. That golden node that everyone’s been talking about? Well, I’m happy to announce that the remodeling has been completed! Those interested may make their way to the attached online address.

However, there are a few things worth noting. First of all, only changes caused by divine energy are persistent within this digital world. For that reason, normal means of construction are impossible. If you attempt to install a shop, it will be corrupted and delete itself in a matter of hours. To solve this, I have posted a leasing agreement at the front gate of the node, where people may choose to purchase a permanent domain associated with a divine resident of the world of gods, Sanctum. These prices scale based on the identity of the god, and you may directly install the shop according to your lease agreement, the construction taking place in the designated location automatically.

Finally, I would like to announce that the prices for these domains will be tripled for any carrying the name or associated intellectual property of Gasper Holdings.

P.S.: I do not kick puppies, digital or otherwise. Puppies are adorable.

Satisfied with my work, I closed the forum, adding the special clause to the lease agreement before finally opening the gate to the network. Unlike the bulky steel gate that it had been before, Jessie had redesigned the entrance to be a pair of shining golden gates. While the facility inside was optimized, it was still largely a concrete structure, whereas the gates looked as if one were truly ascending to heaven.

That taken care of, I walked out through the gates to see the ever-growing crowd gathered before them. With a smile, I simply stepped to the side, gesturing that they were free to enter. There were bound to be a few who were dissatisfied by my petty revenge, but that did not bother me in the slightest. The other party struck first, so I was merely retaliating.

Either way, I waited for the throng of people to enter the gate, and quickly made my own escape. I had been trapped in Sanctum’s network for a week already! If not for being able to briefly sneak out to the nearby rental store, I would have truly gone insane long ago.

“Let’s head to the physical world for a while.” I said with an expectant grin, transporting myself to my trusty bookmarked retreat. I wanted to see if there was a more definitive improvement in my strength, now that I had become a deity.

After gathering my equipment and teleporting myself to the forest, I focused on suppressing my divine aura, wanting to do my best to sneak through to the higher level area. That said, the first thing that caught my attention after creating this physical avatar was my minimap. It hadn’t… particularly changed from before, but I had the suspicion that I could fix that.

“This can definitely be considered a map, after all… alright, let’s give it a try.” I focused on my minimap, causing it to expand to encompass the entire forest. “Okay… let’s highlight all monsters over level one hundred with yellow. Eh!? That many? Uhm… one hundred and fifty, and they have to be at least as big as my fist?”

Realizing that there were likely several high level insects in the area, I had to narrow down my search considerably. Only then did a more reasonable map appear before me, yellow dots scattered around. I gave a small nod at that, smiling. “Those above two hundred, tint red, with higher levels being deeper and darker.”

With this, I should be able to plan out my training pattern easily without fear of being ambushed. At least… that’s what I was hoping for. In truth, there weren’t many red dots within the forest. Those few that were were very lightly tinted, almost indistinguishable from the other dots. There was, however, one black dot at the heart of the forest.

I felt a subconscious chill when I saw that black dot. How high level would something have to be for that instruction to turn the dot seemingly pitch black? Should I just find somewhere else to level up? No… the city is too close. If something this strong went on a rampage, it would easily destroy a few towns before they subdued it. Then… what can I do?

Pinching the map, I zoomed in on the black dot, wanting to get a better look at it. Since I was only operating the minimap through my domain, this should be safe, right…? What I saw was a black bear, easily ten meters tall and with metallic teeth and claws. “Well, it’s not a bird, at least.”

Then, how could I take care of that monster? I couldn’t particularly think of any attack methods using the Maps domain. Or rather, I’ve never needed to do so yet. Maybe I could set a level restriction on the area around the monster, like how I designated an area a safe zone before? No… at most that would mean I would fight the monster at the same level. With it being that size, it would still have a considerable advantage.

What kind of map could you use to attack? If I had a fictional map, maybe I could trap the bear in it? When my thoughts reached that point, my eyes went wide with a sudden realization. It wasn’t an attack… but may it could be something just as good?

“Give me a map of the open ocean.” I focused, crouching down with my hands on the ground. Beneath my right hand, I manifested the minimap that I was previously observing as a physical item. Beneath my left hand, a large parchment depicting a topographical map of the ocean floor. My fingers flicked at both maps, causing the images on them to zoom in at the same scale.

Only when the map on the right showed a clear image of the black bear did I give a small grin. “Map transfer.” I muttered, circling the bear with one finger, flicking it towards the other map. Suddenly, the ocean map revealed a patch of green, a very surprised bear appearing at the bottom of the ocean.

It swung its arms hard enough to cause waves reaching all the way to the surface, but these waves would never reach the shore. Furthermore, with how dense the bear’s body was, there was no way that it would be able to easily swim upwards. And even if it did… it was over a hundred kilometers away from the nearest landmass.

Over on the map of the forest, there was now a circular patch of soggy sand, bits of flattened seaweed laying on the ground. Closing my eyes, I sensed the amount of energy that this feat consumed. While it was not enough to worry me, it was enough that I didn’t want to have to do something like this more than necessary. “How did such a strong monster even wander into this forest…”

While I was wondering about that, I dismissed the two maps, slowly rising to my feet. With this obstacle and inevitable threat to my life out of the way, I could get back to my training in peace! Though… considering that I essentially just killed a monster as strong as that bear, did I really have the need to measure my strength against creatures this weak…?

Yes, yes I did! That was my divine domain, not any kind of actual attack. If I just casually reshaped the landscape whenever I wanted to get out of a fight, Aurivy would get really mad at me. My personal combat skills still need to be polished to prevent me from ending up in a dangerous scenario.

With that thought in mind, I sent myself into the forest once again, keeping track of the locations of various monsters on my minimap so that I wouldn’t be ambushed like the last time I was here. As for the results… well, being able to map the area did lessen the damage I took. Unfortunately… becoming a god did not make my spell cards any stronger.

After fighting a few enemies, this fact became very evident to me. I had definitely become stronger by gaining access to a domain, but that was all. Until I trained my personal abilities to a higher level, I would not be able to take on monsters like that bear on my own for the foreseeable future.

With a reluctant sigh, I ended my hunt after feeling that my mana was nearing the halfway mark. Although I had collected quite a few cards during this time, none of them were particularly powerful. Maybe I should go the path of a summoner now? The thought crossed my mind, thinking about the wide area-controlling abilities that summoners employed. If I combined that with my divine power to control maps, maybe it would bring forth a surprising synergy.

I hope that bear’s still there… I muttered the thought in my mind, creating a map of the area I had sent the high level monster before. As I was specifically looking for it, I set the map to only highlight the body of the bear, whether it was dead or alive.

To no surprise, the creature was dead, having drowned on the ocean floor. However, there were numerous small fish attempting to eat away at it, gnawing at its tough hide in hopes of getting a free meal. Rolling my eyes, I traced a circle around the bear, flicking my hand downwards.

There was a sound of splashing water, and I jumped into the air to avoid the small wave that came towards me. Resting before me now was another patch of murky sand, the drenched body of the bear covered by numerous floundering fish. With the creatures removed from their natural environments, they were left with no hope of survival, flailing uselessly against the bear and the ground.

Some of them even tried to kick off the ground with their fins to rush at me, but their control was too poor, causing them to simply hop a short distance into the air. Shaking my head, I walked over to the bear, placing my hands on it. “This is going to be heavy…” I groaned, realizing the requirements to take the cards from this monster.

Focusing internally, I cast all of the self-strengthening cards that I owned before ‘looting’ the bear. As I had expected, a terrible weight began to immediately press down against me. However, it was oddly within the range of what I could withstand, as I had expected to be pushed back in this situation. Licking my lips in anticipation, I focused on letting the pressure wash over me, the body of the bear beginning to dissolve in particles of light.

What should I call my summons? My Menagerie? No, that sounds wrong. My pack? Eh… if they were the same type of monster, but I want only special ones. Ah! I know, I’ll call them Sun’s Zoo.