Hecate silently gazed upon the holographic map below her. She looked at it curiously and was somewhat amazed by how realistic it was. Though, it might actually be something real since her current identity was akin to a god.
'All of it should be real.'
'From the dense forest enveloped by the thick mist. To the small village with dots walking around it which signifying its inhabitants.'
'Though, the holographic map should span about 180 to 250 meters in diameter, judging its borders between itself and the abyss. It should probably be about 200 meters in diameter.'
'But the size of the holographic map is miniature in scale. Which means, while it might be about 200 meters in diameter, its real dimensions would have to be many times bigger than the space it consumed in the abyss.'
'It might even span hundreds of kilometers by using the tiny village and small trees as reference.'
The broadness of the holographic map wasn't to be underestimated. Even Hecate was in deep thought in regard to its size, but it seems that she never noticed how she managed to calculate the distance with confidence in a short second.
Anyhow, Hecate had questions of her own regarding the holographic map. But even with numerous questions, there was one thing that was clear to Hecate.
An area that might possibly be hundreds of kilometers was crammed into approximately 200 meters in diameter of space. And it wasn't even in the usual 2-dimensional format, but in the 3-dimensional format instead.
'So this is the board, huh?'
'I guess there was a great reason why it was amongst the general operative information.'
Hecate swiftly understood the importance of the board. It might be one of the primary ways to interact with the world below her since she had become a being unrestricted by mortality. With this in mind, she wanted to learn more about it.
'Perhaps, I might even uncover its hidden secrets.'
Upon this thought, a new digital window emerged before her sight. She gazed at it with wonder and curiosity as it seemed to be about the board.
――●――
[𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝]
●[𝐃𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝟐𝟎𝟎 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫]
●[𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝐊𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫]
●[𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲]
●[𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐥𝐲-𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐧]
●[𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫: 𝐋𝐨𝐰]
――●――
'It seems that I was surprisingly correct with my calculations regarding the board.'
'200 meters in diameter under the abyssal dimension and 100 kilometers in diameter under the projected dimension. Quite expansive for a starting location, though it might be comparatively small in the future.'
Such were Hecate's first thoughts after reading through the recently emerged digital window regarding the board. She wasn't that surprised, but in all honesty, she gained a lot of information from it.
She learned the name of the village that was below her. Its name was as simple as it gets. It was called the Janus village, and there weren't quite a lot of dots in the village. So it should mean that the population was on the low side.
'But now that I think about it, my thoughts seem to be faster than before. I can also calculate distance easily, which was something I could do before. But the efficiency of my current self was a couple times better than my former self.'
'This should be one of the perks when becoming an archon.'
Hecate's intelligence became better than before by a wide margin. She even realized the weirdness of her current self in terms of intelligence. And the perks of becoming an archon probably might not end with an intelligence increase.
'An intelligence perk, huh? I wonder if I can create something like what gods would do?'
This was a useless thought, of course. She knew her limitations, and creations were too much, even if she became a god. She might need to become stronger before she can create something. These were what Hecate had thought, and she was wrong.
―●―
[𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐮𝐬 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐬...]
―●―
'Hmm… Four Deus system arts? What's that?'
'Arts… So does it mean skills or abilities of some sort?'
'Don't tell me, it means four system abilities?'
Hecate easily realized what the four Deus system arts were. She was dumbfounded after her realization, but as expected, it didn't take time for her to realize what the digital window meant.
'If what I'm thinking of was correct, then creation should be a part of it?'
The reason why she thought creation would be a part of it was the way how the Deus system acted. Her questioning thoughts would be concluded if they could possibly be answered by the system.
Since her question was about the possibility of operating creation, it was easy for Hecate to arrive at a sensible conclusion. It might not be accurate, but it made sense to her.
Then, once again. Another digital window appeared in front of her. It was bigger than the recent notification. It also had the same size as the board window and the general operative information window.
She looked at it intently with her nonexistent eyes enveloped by expectation and thirst for knowledge. Such a reaction was expected as it concerns the ability of creation. The ability to create something out of thin air was a symbol of godhood.
――●――
[𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧]
●[(𝐕𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞)]
●[𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬...]
――●――
'Creation Application?'
'Intriguing and quite amazing.'
Hecate knew that she was about to go through godhood. But even then, things that kept happening to her seemed incredible and unbelievable. For a normal human girl like her, this was like a dream of some sort.
'In any case, to use the creation application is simple.'
She squinted her nonexistent eyes while giving the digital window a scrutinizing gaze. It didn't take that much time for her to understand how to use it. After all, it wasn't that complicated to understand to begin with.
'I can create by giving information about what I want to produce to the creation application.'
'I also have to insert exceptionally detailed information about what I wanted to create so that the divinity usage can be lowered.'
With the two following thoughts, it didn't take time for an idea to emerge within her mind. She would have been smiling if she had a face. Anyway, since she needed to test the creation ability, this might be the perfect test for it.
'Looks like I'll have to create my body.'
This was the idea she had in mind regarding the testing for the ability of creation. As continuing to exist as a floating blob of a god-like consciousness was what Hecate disliked, she used this as an opportunity to give herself a body.
She was already used to her former body from her past life. Operating in a physical bipedal body was something she had mastered, so there was no need to abandon the normality it could give her.
'I guess it's time to start.'
'(Create my former body that is acceptable with the divinity of my current state. It doesn't have to be strong, and it might even be weaker than my former self. I only need something to operate into in this void, so that this uncomfortable feeling as a floating blob wouldn't last long.)'
It was a long explanation of what Hecate wanted to create. She wanted something that she could handle and use. It was straightforward, so it didn't take long for the create application to give reply to her thought.
―●―
[𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬...]
[𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐛𝐲!]
―●―
With the confirmation notification, the only thing Hecate needed to do was wait. While waiting, numerous thoughts passed through her mind. It was mostly about how the ability of creation would appear before her.
She wondered how it worked as she had created a body for herself to possess. So would her consciousness be automatically thrown into the new body? Or would she have to manually possess the body that was created?
Such were her questions, and they were about to be swiftly answered. Surprisingly, the creation didn't take that much time. A silver light glowed before her, and a body was materializing into existence.
A couple of seconds later, the silver luster faded as if it didn't exist. As Hecate's body was about to be revealed, her perception blacked out. But after a short while, she felt her eyelids opening, finding her staring at the dark and endless void.
She was surrounded by the holographic forest while lying on the floor. From the looks of it, Hecate got transferred into the body upon the completion of its creation. In all honesty, it was more straightforward than she had expected.
'So I'm finally back.'
Hecate silently thought while keeping her gaze on the abyss above her. A smile emerged on her face as she slowly stood up using her new body. Fortunately, she didn't have to reeducate herself to move her body.
After standing up, she looked at her arms and was somewhat surprised at what she had seen. Her arms were rather clean and pale as milky white. She remembered having scars that had accumulated over time.
It looks like they disappeared during the creation. Beforehand, they were mostly hidden in her clothes. She wore gloves, and her uniform was usually long-sleeved. It was hard for anyone to see them, but every time Hecate started her day.
She would always be reminded of her past, which always brought about a horrible feeling within her gut and heart.
'All of my scars actually faded….'
'Even the deep ones from knife stabs disappeared without a trace.'
Hecate didn't know what to feel, though there was a small feeling of liberty from her past. In simpler terms, what had happened in her past had all of its traces erased from her. Basically, freeing her from its shackles.
What was left behind was a fair maiden-like body, untainted by violence. It was milky white, smooth, and soft. Her body was also gorgeous, though such a shape was something that Hecate was already aware of before the reincarnation.
At any rate, Hecate began moving her body. Her long and silky pitch-black hair kept fluttering around her waist. It glistened along with the luster of the holographic map. And despite resembling the abyssal void, it could reflect the kinder of silver light.
Her eyes glanced around the abyssal void surrounding her. They were sharp and cold, perfectly reinforcing her frosty-like face. Their irises were crimson amethyst in color, and the pupils within her eyes were slit like that of a snake.
"Nothing's strange, and everything seems normal."
Hecate spoke for the first time, and the tone of her voice was soft and clear. The edges of her lips rose as she began stretching her arms upward. She yawned to herself while looking at the Janus village. It was time to start her religion.
She looked over the Janus village, the only settlement within her starting location. A calm expression covered her face as she observed the moving dots within the village. Her gemstone-like irises peered through everything.
Then, Hecate reached the conclusion of her short examination.
"All of the residents of this village have dark-colored hair. They also seem very intelligent, using various tools despite being only a tiny settlement. But the main problem of them is the fact that they are divided."
Even though the Janus village was a small community within the misty forest, they were still divided into three factions. How something so small could be divided into three was a question in itself.
Though, that wasn't something Hecate wanted to be bothered about. A small divided community was a problem for her. If she wanted to take over the village, she needed someone with high status yet weak influence.
"Hmm… Let's look at the village chief's house."
Hecate walked one step forward and arrived at the village chief's house. She bent her knees and crouched while looking over two dots in the house. It seems that the village chief had a child, and this might be an opportunity.
With this thinking in mind, a digital window appeared out of nowhere. It flashed before Hecate's eyes, which didn't startle her though she couldn't deny it being an annoyance. She quietly reads the digital window, and for some reason afterward, Hecate began smirking.
"I didn't expect I had the ability to do this."
"Oh well, at the very least, I found the perfect candidate amongst all of them."
――●――
[𝐄𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐬]
►(𝐀𝐠𝐞: 𝟐𝟎)●(𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫: 𝐅𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞)
►(𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐞: 𝐔𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚)●(𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬: 𝐃𝐚𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧)
►(𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐬: 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝, 𝐒𝐥𝐢𝐭-𝐏𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐬, 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐡-𝐕𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐭 𝐈𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬)
►(𝐇𝐚𝐢𝐫: 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐥𝐲, 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐎𝐧𝐲𝐱-𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤)
►(𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐲: 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐞, 𝐒𝐨𝐟𝐭, 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞)
►(𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚: 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐝, 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞, 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐑𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬)
►(𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟)
――●――