Chapter 13: Shopping

The data displayed by the diadem represented the pinnacle of each rank. A beginner would have around 60%, a confirmed one 72%, an advanced one 85%, and only a pinnacle would reach 100%.

However, it was the average, and some individuals could be more powerful, as well as weaker.

Even so, the comparison was immediate: novarian were pathetically weak.

Thinking back about the test, sperm whales had strength and constitution statistics close to the top. Without their low agility and Liam's personal intervention, the novarian tribe would have been quickly massacred.

Returning to the current topic, not only were the Red-Moon Nagas' statistics much stronger, but they also had the advantage of size and a snake tail.

It allowed them to adapt to almost any terrain and could be used to whip or spring like a coil.

Overall, even though nagas were more skilled in water, they were highly versatile and could adapt to all environments except lava fields.

In terms of strength, a rank 1 Red-Moon Naga could fight with a rank 2 novarian warrior. Even if it couldn't win, it would give a good fight before being defeated.

Like novarians, Red-Moon Nagas followed the lineage system. As they grew up, they unlocked the seals of their bloodline and became stronger.

Their strength was purely physical, defaulting to the warrior system: mortal (rank 0), apprentice warrior (rank 1), warrior (rank 2), great warrior (rank 3),...

For rank names, it was the same as for the experts, for example, apprentice spearman (rank 1), spearman (rank 2), great spearman (rank 3),…

They didn't have spiritual energy or secret techniques.

The Spurt of the Fish wasn't a true technique; it was a small trick used to make all the body's energy converge for a brief moment. That's why they were stuck as a lower race.

Talking about that, the nagas couldn't even use the spurt of the fish due to their different physic.

In general, lower existences focused on one aspect among body, soul, and energy.

To become an intermediate existence, one had generally to train at least two out of those three elements. This would set off a chain reaction that would ultimately advance a being as a whole.

It was only by adding a true power system to their bloodline that nagas could move on to an intermediate race and enhance their power in the lower ranks.

Since it was impossible to cultivate energy in a demi-plane, and because nagas weren't intelligent enough to cultivate their souls and truly master weapons, Liam planned to wait for his divine realm to evolve into a plane before thinking about the next steps.

At that time, the Red-Moon Nagas, who barely reached 70% of the rank limits, could reach 80 or even 90% of the limit.

Liam looked at the bloodline ball in the seed.

According to the artifact, he should be able to create 63 Red-Moon Nagas.

However, he couldn't create them with a snap of his fingers.

If this bloodline already belonged to someone, he could naturally rebuild the body and recreate the soul, but here he had merged several different existences.

For the body, there would be no problem, but for the soul, he might create a twisted, half-mad creature.

This race was Liam's future. Naturally, he wouldn't take any risks; he had to make them go through a natural growth process.

On the other hand, Liam had literally created this race, so he didn't have to worry about a lack of faith. Naturally, the Red-Moon Nagas would put all their faith in him, even if he didn't manifest.

However, he had another issue to consider.

When he'll place the Red-Moon Nagas in the divine realm, it was very likely that they would directly subjugate the novarians once they grew and treat them like slaves.

That's not what Liam wanted.

novarians should naturally have a lower status than nagas, but not to the point of becoming their slaves.

After all, he was a god. If novarians became slaves and if he did nothing to change it, they would naturally struggle to believe in him.

Liam had already found a solution to this, but he couldn't implement it right away.

He looked at his watch.

It had been nearly eight years since he was in the divine realm.

In the demi-plane, the female warrior had given birth, and their child had already become a second-order warrior.

Besides that, they had two more children, and both of them became second-order warriors.

The tribe now had 7 second-order warriors, 138 first-order apprentice warriors, and 293 mortals.

There were also 12 fanatics, and almost every adult novarian became a true believer.

Liam had also lifted the restriction on the Spurt of the Fish technique, and the second-order warriors were tasked with teaching it to the novarian children.

The novarians alive when Liam used the skill pearl were the only ones to have it engrave in their mind. Others would have to learn it from the scratch.

With novarians' intelligence, they would need many years to learn the technique, even if someone could teach them.

In terms of the environment, the trees had joyfully grown on the continent, mostly measuring between 5 and 10 meters, depending on their species.

The flora became lush and even more diverse, both on the continent and in the ocean.

Microorganisms, insects, corals, and planktons proliferated. The large school of fish did grow, but not significantly with novarians' hunting.

Liam nodded happily and returned to Earth.

…

Back home, he opened internet and searched for the nearest department stores.

Shopping didn't change much from before. When you knew what you wanted, it was more convenient to order online, but when you weren't too sure, it was better to go to the store.

It was often a bit more expensive, but it saved several hours of research.

He soon found what he wanted and called a taxi.

On Earth, teleportation was regulated. He could teleport to certain designated places, such as the school square or the base on Mars.

There were special formations there able to twist spatial channels and preventing two rifts from connecting.

However, they weren't everywhere because they were very expensive. For the rest, one had to resort to the good old method: the BM-double-foot.

The transportation system, however, was much more developed, and taxis were all automated. In a few minutes, a taxi arrived.

The window of his living room opened, and he entered the flying car.

He was on the 628th floor, quite high, so the winds were very strong.

The car didn't even shake and Liam quickly entered the coordinates.

With the upgrade of the Earth, the sound barrier had receded significantly, and even at speeds of over 10 km/s, the car was still far from creating the sonic cone.

A few minutes later, the car dropped him off on the ground, in the middle of a busy street.

Each building was several kilometers high, and the street itself was nearly two hundred meters wide.

Cars flew in the air, and people walked on the ground.

The scene was very peaceful.

Liam didn't waste time looking around like a tourist and headed to the nearest building.

Above the entrance, a magnificent sign read "Mariafird Company." It was a well-known trading company in the surrounding galaxies; otherwise, they wouldn't have a branch on the ground floor of the city center.

Liam entered and was greeted by a long row of several hundred counters. Even with so much staff, there was still a waiting line of several hundred people, but Liam wasn't in a hurry.

The line moved quickly and soon, it was his turn.

He arrived at counter No. 429 and was greeted by a beautiful fox girl.

"What can I do for you?"

It was, of course, not the first time he saw another race, so he wasn't surprised.

"I would need 63 incubators capable of giving birth to an inferior life form with only its bloodline."

"No problem, I'll get that for you."

The girl turned around, showing her fluffy tail, and went through the door just behind her.

A few moments later, she was back with a spatial ring.

"Is that all?"

"I also need a soul pearl."

The girl gave him a strange look but didn't ask indiscreet questions.

"What level?"

"Level 2. It doesn't need to be the best quality; it's for storing a novarian's soul."

The girl nodded.

"I'll be right back."

The fox girl left for a few minutes and came back with another spatial ring.

"Here you go, sir!"

"Thank you, that's all I needed."

The girl smiled and began typing on the holographic screen in front of her.

"Alright, so 63 incubators at 1000 points each, and a level 2 soul pearl at 10 000 points. That will be a total of 73 000 faith points."

Liam took out a card and paid without hesitation.

Faith points were rare, but only those from his own believers.

Of course, Liam wouldn't use his own faith points to pay. For demigods, such a price was worth nothing.

Comparatively, a white pearl cost more than 10 000 faith point, and the prix would rise by ten times for every grade. A bleu pearl was around a hundred million faith points.

As the son of two demigods, he had a lot of pocket money, but was far from having such means.

The fox girl smiled ear to ear when she saw Liam pay; after all, she would get a commission.

"Thank you for your purchase. Before you leave, the store is organizing a mystery roulette for students. You win a ticket for every 50,000 points of purchase. You currently have one. The rewards range from the coordinates of a demi-plane to one-star legendary pearls. Those are the best rewards, but of course, there are consolation prizes."

When Liam paid, the saleswoman had obtained his identity; she knew he was a student and even knew his school.

Liam shrugged and accepted. Since it was free, let's enjoy.

The saleswoman smiled and pressed a button. Immediately, a huge holographic roulette appeared in front of Liam.

"It's your turn, sir!"

Liam didn't take it seriously and pressed "spin."

The roulette started spinning and soon stopped on a white square. A robotic voice rang out.

"Congratulations on winning a one-star red pearl."

The saleswoman brought back his prizes, and Liam stored them in his spatial ring.

Since he had finished his business, he didn't stay any longer and called a taxi to go back home.

As he was about to teleport to Mars, he suddenly received a call from his mother. When he answered, an angry hologram appeared in front of him.

"Liam, I've been trying to contact you for days. Where have you been? If you're trying to escape your exam results, it's not going to work at all!"

Liam started to panic. Between his breakthrough and the years spent in the realm, nearly five days had passed since the exam.

Even though he was a rank 8 powerhouse, able to make bloodshed in many planes of the universe, facing his mother, he could do nothing.

"Sorry, I had something to do in my divine realm. Don't worry about the exam; I finished 38th, and I managed to get into elite class No. 1."

His mother's anger melted immediately as her face went through amazement, disbelief, surprise, and finally joy.

"Please tell me you didn't cheat?"

Liam displayed a helpless expression.

"You know it's impossible to cheat; the school is way too strict about that."

His mother nodded, smiling widely.

"I'm so happy; that's fantastic. Your grandfather will be delighted to hear about it."

Liam narrowed his eyes.

"My grandfather? What does he have to do with this?"

His mother's smile froze as a trace of disbelief crossed her gaze.

"You forgot..."

"Forgot what?"

"Your grandfather..."

"What's up with grandpa?"

"Are you serious right now? Your grandfather is turning 2000 in three days! We've been talking about it for months; we even postponed the birthday party by a day so you could come without missing classes, and you forgot!"

Liam displayed a sheepish smile. This time, he had messed up. He could only try to play the heartstrings.

"Sorry, I've been so busy those days and I only focus on my divine realm."

His mother sighed.

"Anyway, you better not forget again. In the meantime, I'll keep the news for your father and me. You'll have to announce it to your grandfather in person on Saturday, okay?"

Forgiven, Liam immediately nodded.

"Yes, yes, I won't forget this time!"

His mother sighed once again, and after a few words, she hung up.

Well, Liam didn't lied. Between starting up the original seed, expanding the novarian tribe, the exam, and creating the Red-Moon Nagas, these past few days had indeed been... eventful.

Liam looked at the items in his spatial ring and smiled. It was time to move on to the next step.