Chapter 53: Alma's Advice

(Quite sloppy writing in this chapter I admit. But I only want to get my ideas out in this chapter. So, I apologize. It's very difficult with little time I have to spare on fixing it and editing etc on my own.)

After spending the whole morning and half of the evening playing outside, Illya finally is satisfied and willing to return home.

Yes.

Willing…

Ray never intended to spend this much time outside as he still had much to do in his workshop, researching etc. However, Illya is unwilling to return home and he resigns to let her play and find Alma to talk about his recent roadblock in his growth.

"Hmn, I think you didn't understand, Ray." Alma sighed and looked at Ray like she was looking at a retard student.

"Since the immemorial, when has reaching godhood been an easy task to do?"

"Precisely because it is something difficult that only the exceptional manage to reach such a level and even then, everyone including me had worked hard to obtain it even when I was assisted by my sister."

"It will be exceedingly difficult, especially when you choose to not rely on the assistance of the world."

Ray listened and didn't know how to reply back. He just nodded and turned his head away from Alma and hung it low with a depressed look.

Of course he knew. But, he is the type of person that believes there is always a solution as long as one is willing to try.

His ascension to godhood had opened his path to even greater power. However, the process takes a very long time.

A god is stronger compared to mortals is their ability to express their authority, their rule over certain aspects that form their divinity.

For example, Ray.

His main divinity is Magic. If he were to be put against another magic practitioner of similar power level as him. Ray will win 10/10 because he can use his authority over magic to bend the magic around him or within his domain to his will, rendering all forms of magic used against him useless.

A god's authority is basically the system that governs an aspect of nature. No matter how great a person can use or bend the rule, he cannot even put up a fight against someone that can change or alter the law all together.

However, before Ray can do all those shenanigans with changing and altering the laws of nature. He must first have a territory around him that he can influence.

Just like a king that can change or alter rules at will. His power is absolute, but only within his territory of influence. Without any territory, is there any use of his power?

No. It's pointless.

It's like a king without a land.

For normal gods. Such land is granted to them by the world upon ascension. However, at the end of the day. The power is borrowed and belongs to the World. If the World retracted the power or died or the god left the World, the territory would also be gone and the gods lost their power.

That's why, during the ancient war. The gods that embodied nature and divinity came from Earth are incapable of putting up resistance against Sefar, who are an anti-world weapon that devours the world. Only power and weapons bearing the attribute of stars can injure Sefar.

For Ray right now, he as the king with his authority, must forge and carve out a territory where he can exercise his authority. That process can take hundreds of years to qualify him to the entry level 'Low God' stage by estimation considering what his three years of progress amounted to.

Well, considering the world needs billions of years to develop those powers, several hundred years look short in comparison. Still, that's a very long time to wait.

Ray sighed and leaned his head on his arm that rested on a tree branch.

Seeing that Ray became increasingly depressed and sighing more. Alma hesitated to tell Ray another quicker but morally evil method of quickening the acquisition of the domain of authority.

"Actually…" Words left her mouth. But she still hesitates at the last moment.

"Actually what?" Ray's interest piqued and he stared at Alma.

Alma stared back at Ray's face for a while before shaking her head and muttered 'fuck it' before she sighed.

"Actually, there is another method." Alma said before putting out her hand to stop Ray.

"But, before I tell you… Ahem… Can.. Can you hug me and whisper in my ear 'I love you mommy'?" Alma said with a blush and her two pointy ears wiggling up and down while being equally as red as her cheek that she covered with her hands.

Ray stared at her with shock and disbelief before he remembered. When Alma brought him for a tour in the village, he only saw young male Elves and no females.

She is raising a shota cherry garden! Holy shit!

Ray instantly retreated a distance away and an expression of mild disgust appeared on his face.

(Bs, pot calling kettle black. If given the chance, he probably would do the same to- No wait, Sakura and Illya… holy-)

"No, it's not like that!" Alma quickly stops Ray's imagination. "It just… I am curious about being a mother. I have never been one in my twelve thousand years of life. I just wonder how it would feel." Alma shyly eyed Ray.

Ray looks unconvinced but remembers that he needs that method from Alma. Thus he can only agree, making Alma feel very happy that her ears are wiggling excitedly.

After hugging for a while and making the embarrassing whisper to Alma's ear. Ray finally got his answer and it wasn't what he remotely imagined about.

With a happy mood, Alma explained to Ray that in her own world. High level cultivators experienced the same trouble as Ray and they would devour a world and refine them into their power. In other words, become an Outer God and devour a world like Velber, the Harvest Star.

Gaia is the Goddess of Earth and all divinity within Earth originated from her, a fragment of her divine spark or divine soul. If Ray were to devour her divinity, he can use it as material to forge and upgrade his own divinity, godhead and most importantly, expand his domain. Basically the EXP for his god related abilities. However, this injures the soul of the world and destroys it in the process.

He is sure that Gaia and Alaya will cooperate and send all their Counter Force to stop him before he could doom the world into destruction.

Alma said that the way people do it in her world is by sending their clones to integrate with the local population, growing them in power while bidding them time. Then invade once the time is ripe.

Nasuverse is too strong but there should be plenty of other worlds within his power out there.

Once Ray got his answer, he thanked Alma and went to Lamina's Merfolk village to bring Sakura and Illya back home in time for dinner.

———

When Charlotte returned home, she instantly traveled to Ray's Workshop but saw it was empty of people.

"Hmn? It's rare for him to leave the Workshop outside for meal time and night." Charlotte mumbled before searching for others.

Charlotte spots Salter first in the courtyard, training some maids with melee combat. The maids also double as bodyguards for the residents of the castle.

Salter noticed Charlotte first when she sensed her presence which is similar to her Master's Wraith.

"Lady Charlotte? What brought you here?" Salter asked since she remembered Charlotte was assigned to be part of the defense of Einzbern's territory.

"I am looking for Ray." Charlotte walked to the training ground and saw dozens of maids with similar appearance due to their maid uniform. But, each has different weapon preferences.

"Master? He left in the morning with the girls. They went to Lady Alma's village." Salter replied before shouting to a pair of maids to train harder instead of snooping at their conversation.

Hearing what Salter said, Charlotte sighed and felt somewhat guilty.

Normally, she will be the one accompanying them and playing. But, with her active duty becoming necessary in the frontline, she is incapable of accompanying them anymore and even broke her promise with Illya to visit and play at the new village Alma built.

"Ah, thanks. I already hear what I need." Charlotte said with a nod. "Please continue with the training." She then left the training ground and wandered into the castle.

She actually returned in hope Ray would be here to accompany her for the day. But, looking at the current situation. She has nothing to do.

———

In the late evening, a portal opened in the common room and none of the maids bat an eye but proceeded with their usual task.

Ray and Sakura walk out the portal with Illya being carried by Ray on his side.

"Come on, we can go back there another day. It's almost night already." Ray said and put her down on a couch before a few maids appeared and took away their dirty footwear and a few rolls of warm towel.

"But the sky is still bright just now. You must be lying!" Illya points her finger at Ray before turning her head to the grandfather clock that is ticking and showing its 5:32 pm already.

"Eh?" Illya sounded confused when it was really quite late and almost night time soon.

"Eh? But. But… the sky is still very bright just now. I swear I'm not lying." Illya stuttered a little while defending herself.

"Yes, you are not wrong." Ray calmed her down with a pat on her head. "Just like Einzbern castle's barrier. Their village also has a special weather."

Looking around, Ray realized Sakura had already left to take a bath. He quickly ushers Illya to follow Sakura and take a bath or she will not be having dinner tonight.

Illya pushed the hand away from her head and replied to Ray with her tongue sticking out before running away.

Just when he is about to walk towards his Workshop, Charlotte phase through the ceiling drops from above and lands in front of him.

"Char? I didn't realize you're back." He said and opened his arm wide for Charlotte to jump into for a hug.

Charlotte snuggled and cuddled Ray like a kitten when its owner finally returned home at night.

Ray opted for a portal instead of walking back to his workshop with a big kitty latched on him. He lets her cuddle until she is satisfied before doing anything.

Few minutes later, in Ray's workshop. Ray sat on a couch he created a while ago and Charlotte saddled on his lap. He received the letter regarding the shortage of supplies which he dealt with easily with a simple mental message to Acht who supervised the entire production complex along with a sizable group of flesh golem with intelligence under him.

"Here, Char." Ray takes out the dark red crystal from earlier and gives it to Charlotte.

She took it and swallowed it in a gulp but nothing much happened as usual. Ray anticipated a small change at the very least but nothing happened other than her negative energy becoming purer and more dense than before.

"Hmn, it tastes better than before." Charlotte showed a surprised face as she expected a foul taste from this thing which is refined from black mud.

Shit, no matter how refined, is still shit.

"Not quite there yet." Ray inspected the changes on her body before dismissing the topic.

Ray let Charlotte rest on the side to refine the energy she just absorbed while he focused on his new project.

A project that can be summarized in these few words.

Chaooos, and Invadeee!

Well, the words can be taken literally.

First step is to create and send the seed containing Ray's soul fragment into another world.

Second is to find a baby and replace its soul with Ray's seed to be cultivated and grow into a usable chess piece.

Once it's matured. Ray takes control of the piece to cause chaos and invades the world to harvest it.

But such a plan would take time and bunch of preparation, especially an interplanar mission like this. This isn't feasible with Dead Apostle forces constantly encroaching upon his territory. Once he left, even for a while, those roaches will jump out the shadow and bare their claws.

"Tsk, whatever. Better doing something than nothing." Ray decided and create the seed or pods containing his soul fragments.

The task is rather easy with his Soul and Creation divinity. He took a small portion of his soul and seal it into a Piece which is the leash in case his pawn decided to rebel. He also gives each of them a different copy of his main abilities along with a weapon Mystic Code as a care package.

A total of seven seeds was made and Ray cast several spells on it before scatter it across dimensions using the portal that he opened. The spells will attract them to any nearest world with civilization

After that, he easily shrug of the injury on his soul which can cripple or made a big set back on others using Third Magic.

—————