Kumodesu

So, I've completed the third stage, and I still have 14 days left—but it's not over yet.

There's still one final phase: I need to merge all the previous stages together to create a complete Earth, filled with its full history. After that, I'll have to personally experience that world for a while to verify everything.

"Hey, me."

I called the other half of my will who had been working on the other side, because this part is a bit tough to handle alone.

"Understood."

Since we can read each other's thoughts, we didn't need to say much—we just got to work.

There were four versions in total. When merging them, we had to make some adjustments to ensure the highest level of consistency and realism.

Let's begin.

First up were versions one and two. Since they only contained natural and static elements, merging them was quick.

After merging, we manifested them again from the start to see if any problems occurred during the process.

The result was very smooth, which encouraged me to move on to versions three and four.

I merged them in sequence, adjusting discrepancies. At the same time, there were some external factors to tune—like sunlight or Earth's rotational speed… These elements also change over time and couldn't be ignored.

At this point, my SP was dropping uncontrollably due to the massive amount of manifestation required to unify the versions and process the external environment.

You could say the skill [Manifest] was working at full capacity, leaving me completely drained.

I had to step outside to eat and replenish my strength.

The closer I got to the end, the faster my SP dropped. I had to head out for food every one or two days, unlike before when I could sit still for over ten days at a time.

Still, I hoped the skill would soon level up.

Who knows—if [Manifest] evolves, I might discover how to manifest the future too, right?

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While I was eating outside to recover, a flurry of system notifications appeared. I wasn't too surprised—after all, I'd been using these skills a lot lately.

But there was one exception: [Patience].

I didn't remember ever activating it...

If I had to think of anything unusual recently, it would be that time when my HP was completely drained.

Now that [Patience] suddenly leveled up, I couldn't help but feel suspicious.

At first, I was thrilled to see it as one of the Seven Virtues skills, but after a while, since I couldn't tell what it actually did, I eventually forgot about it.

Never expected it might be the one draining my HP like that!?

That's such a brutal twist!

Sigh…

I really need to level up [Appraisal] soon, so I can understand what all my skills actually do. I don't like being caught off guard by some weird passive effects activating on their own.

After eating my fill, I stretched my body a bit and returned inside.

"How's it going, me?" I asked my will.

"It's done!"

My eyes lit up when I heard that.

I looked down at the Earth—it had reached the end of its historical timeline according to my memory.

To double-check the result, I re-manifested everything again from the beginning.

It was flawless—no better result could exist.

I didn't hesitate. I dove straight in to experience it myself.

It felt completely real! People working, chatting, and engaging in activities everywhere… Everything matched exactly with the memories in my mind.

I approached someone to try and start a conversation, but they didn't respond.

They didn't even seem to see me.

I froze for a second.

"This is just a reenactment of history. Everything here is moving like a pre-recorded program. To be precise, none of this has real life yet, so you won't be able to interact,"

My will explained, stepping beside me.

Right… that makes sense.

Still, this was exactly the result I had hoped for, so I was satisfied.

Since we still had a little time, we moved on to manifesting the rest of the solar system to make the world even more complete. The higher the completion rate, the better my chances of receiving a new skill.

Earth had already been completed, yet no new skill had appeared. It felt a bit strange… But that just meant I had more time to expand my imagination even further.

There were still around ten days left until the final deadline, and I was determined to give it my all.

We didn't let up—in fact, our efficiency had increased several times compared to before. We had already re-manifested seven parts of the solar system.

Then, a notification suddenly appeared, leaving me stunned.

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"…"

I… did it?????

I really did it?????

It's real???

The system's voice rang out loud and clear—undeniable and impossible to mistake.

Aaaaahhh…!!!!

I dropped everything and jumped in joy.

Months of effort!

For the first time, I was overwhelmed with happiness just from obtaining a skill.

But there was still work to do.

I activated [Virtual World], and a blinding white space unfolded before me.

I thought about a few things—and sure enough, they appeared one by one.

Oh… my beloved donut!!

We finally meet again…

I savored each bite with tears of joy in my eyes.

"Hey, me. I know you're overjoyed, but we still have work to do."

Ah—right, almost forgot.

Now I need to head out and find more energy to maintain this [Virtual World], so it won't end up draining my soul energy.

Without hesitation, I logged out and began hunting.

After months of sitting still, I finally got to hunt again—I was more excited than ever. And now that I had [Soul Chain], extracting souls from other creatures had become incredibly easy.

All I had to do was wait for a moment of distraction, then launch the chain of [Soul Chain]. It would automatically fly to the target, connect to their soul, and drain it.

It was incredibly convenient—I no longer had to use my own soul energy. It now consumed SP instead.

There were only a few days left, so I made full use of every moment.

In just three days, I'd already cleared out both the third and fourth layers.

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Oh, thank goodness—it was just enough to level up.

I figured that should be enough for now, so I returned to the fifth layer to finish some final tasks.

I originally planned to transfer the entire solar system I built into the [Virtual World], but that would take considerable time and require a huge amount of energy to maintain. With time running short, I had no choice but to temporarily shelve that idea.

I told Loyral about it, and his reaction was even more excited than mine when I got the skill.

"I didn't expect you to make it just in time."

"How much longer do we have?"

"My guess is—one or two days at most."

So I'm about to face the spirit swarm…

But wait—I don't even have a plan yet!?

Crap!

I was so focused on getting skills, I forgot to make any proper preparations!

"Hey, Mr. Loyral. I just realized… I don't have any kind of plan."

"When the time comes, the seal will break and the spirits will be released. But you don't need to worry. They'll be extremely weakened from hunger. Unless… they manage to take over Seryl's soul. That's why the only thing you need to do is quickly use [Soul Chain] to pull her soul into the [Virtual World]."

Oh… sounds simple enough.

"What about the spirits?"

"You could try pulling them into the [Virtual World] too. If you manage that, you'll have a huge advantage. Or… you can simply leave this place."

Huh??

Why so indifferent!?

I actually really like it here—I don't want to leave.

"Don't you want to destroy them completely?"

"Of course I do. But when the time comes, I won't be in any condition to fight. And I don't want to trouble you any further."

So he still holds a deep grudge…

"If I can, I'll help you destroy them."

Loyral looked slightly surprised, then gave me a sincere word of thanks.

There wasn't much time left. I focused on resting, eating, and getting used to operating the [Virtual World] …while waiting for the seal to break.