not just for combat, but for nurturing the land,
purifying water sources,
and even for subtle manipulations of the weather within their territories.
Their mastery over mana was deepening,
leading to improved mana conduits that channeled natural energy directly into their communities,
and the creation of small, stable mana lakes. ������������������������������������������������.������������
Enchanted items were becoming more common among them:
armor intricately reinforced with nature’s magic,
tools that aided in magically cultivating rare herbs,
and delicate magical communication devices that allowed swift contact across their vast forest domains.
Early forms of arcane academies were also beginning to take shape,
where elven mages meticulously documented and shared their magical discoveries.
Their craftsmanship, already renowned for its beauty,
was now infused with subtle enchantments,
creating objects of both aesthetic and magical power.
Thus, clearly showing the widespread and diverse advancement of Veridia,
all due to the potent influence of the Innovation Buff.
Chapter 26: Ch 26: Nova, The Advance Scout
Chapter 26 - Ch 26: Nova, The Advance Scout
Sunny relayed the critical information about the Realm of Advancement, a new and mysterious gateway, to both the human and elven tribes dwelling on Veridia.
His divine message permeated the collective consciousnesses of the shamans of both humans and elves, an urgent and undeniable truth.
The reason for this immediate divine revelation was simple and strategic: Sunny wanted them to focus all their burgeoning ingenuity and effort on building faster, more efficient methods of travel.
The current, rudimentary boats, primarily constructed and utilized by the humans, were simply incapable of traversing such immense distances.
Their small size and limited capacity for rations meant that even if they attempted such a monumental journey, it would consume 50 or more years of their precious mortal lives, an unacceptably long time unless some groundbreaking technological leap occurred.
Sunny deliberately chose not to directly manifest advanced vehicles for them��� no sleek, high-speed boats appeared out of thin air, no roaring airplanes materialized in the skies, no buzzing helicopters descended from the heavens.
He understood that such direct, overt intervention, while seemingly expedient in the short term, would foster a dangerous and ingrained dependency.
It would invariably condition his lifeforms to rely on him every single time a misfortune arose, or every time a significant challenge presented itself.
His ultimate goal was for them to be as independent, self-reliant, and inherently innovative as possible, not to become -faith consuming fools- who would merely passively wait for divine help at every turn of their developing civilizations.
The divine revelation was like a wildfire, a powerful, transformative force, spreading with astonishing speed and intensity throughout every corner of the human and elven tribes.
It ignited a collective sense of profound purpose and a fervent, unwavering drive for innovation. �������������������������������������������.�����������
-Ask everyone to focus their minds on finding a better way to transport,- Thorn, the pragmatic and resolute leader of the human tribe, commanded, his voice resonating with newfound resolve as he addressed all the other authoritative figures gathered before him.
The primary Goal of the humans, spurred by this direct divine imperative, was now unequivocally clear: to focus all their collective genius and resources on technological advancement, specifically geared towards achieving rapid travel methods across vast distances.
On the other hand, the elves, with their innate magical prowess, deep connection to nature, and inherent affinity for the arcane, were also focusing intensely on fast travel, but their approach diverged sharply from that of the humans.
Instead of purely technological advancements, they aimed to achieve it through sophisticated array formations.
In the elven tribe, there existed a gifted magician, ranked D-Grade in raw magical power but possessing an impressive B potential for growth and mastery, and crucially, endowed with a rare space affinity in magic.
Because of this specific individual’s unique talent, the elven forgers, who crafted magical artifacts, and their formation masters, who designed complex arrays, had already been able to develop some rudimentary artifacts and arrays that were subtly imbued with nascent space powers.
Their most significant breakthrough to date was small-scale teleportation, a marvel of magical engineering and a testament to their arcane skill.
Thus, their path forward was clear and focused: they only needed to research tirelessly on existing array formations, meticulously refining and enhancing them to exponentially increase the distance of their teleportation capabilities.
Sunny observed all this with a sense of profound approval.
He knew, of course, that if he truly wanted, he could bypass all their struggles and laborious research.
He could directly teleport all his lifeforms, both human and elven, instantly placing them in front of the enigmatic portal to the Realm of Advancement.
But doing so would incur a colossal cost in Faith points, an expenditure Sunny was deeply reluctant to undertake, especially when there were other, more strategic and valuable uses for his ever-accumulating divine currency.
He had already meticulously thought of a cunning and preemptive plan to potentially impede the advancement of other Gods’ lifeforms within this new realm, at least until his own chosen lifeforms managed to reach it and secure their own opportunities.
And the centerpiece of this audacious plan was simple and elegant: his newly created, as-yet unnamed, pet dragon.
Sunny intended to send his magnificent dragon to visit this realm first, to act as his personal advance scout, his divine vanguard.
Nova would gather all the necessary intelligence and information about its dangers, its layout, and its profound opportunities.
Crucially, it would also serve a secondary, yet equally vital, purpose: to deter or outright stop the lifeforms from other Gods from taking too many of the valuable treasures or seizing all the prime opportunities within this mysterious realm before Veridia’s champions even arrived.
Now, with his Faith coffers thoroughly replenished and swelling to a comfortable level, hovering around 3 million points after his recent divine transactions, Sunny had more than enough capital to bestow upon his formidable pet dragon some truly powerful and essential additional abilities. His Dragon already possessed a formidable set of inherent talents: Space Affinity, which would allow it to traverse the cosmic void; Magic Affinity, granting it the inherent capacity to wield arcane energies; the ability to change its size at will, a versatile power for both stealth and intimidation; and both Elemental and Physical Defense, ensuring its profound resilience against various forms of threat.
He now intended to imbue it with Super Strength, the all-seeing Eye of Truth for unparalleled perception and discernment, and a devastating Dragon’s Breath, a classic and awe-inspiring draconic weapon.
(Note: Space Affinity would specifically let the lifeform use spatial magic, while Magic Affinity granted it the general ability to use magic of any kind.)
Sunny began to channel his vast reserves of Faith points, pouring immense sums of his divine energy into the nascent form of his dragon, carefully creating and solidifying these powerful new abilities within its very essence.
As the last ability finally solidified within its being, Sunny decided upon a name for this magnificent creature, a name that resonated with its cosmic journey and explosive power: he named this awe-inspiring dragon ‘Nova’.