The Second Floor.
A massive planet, entirely made of stone, floated majestically before me, suspended in the middle of space.
Over the past period during which I attempted to construct the house, I had completed the foundational planet.
Now, the surface was a construct of multiple plates.
On three plates, there were massive elevations that would serve as continents. The rest in between would be an ocean.
However, there was currently no water, soil, or any other rocks.
The continents were smooth, without mountains, 2,000 kilometers from the deepest point of the planned ocean.
Naturally, I had already incorporated various depths in the ocean.
For the [EC] I had now, it was intended for the sand at the bottom of the ocean. With 1500 EC, I hoped to cover the entire seabed.
The layer would only be one kilometer thick, so this was relatively cheap compared to the entire planet.
Unfortunately, I had underestimated the amount, and with the 1500 EC, I only managed to cover half of the ocean floor with [Time Veil Sand].
As a result, I had to wait again and also realized that the surface design would take longer than expected.
Since I had nothing to do again, I returned to the Control Room.
"Oh, you're back already?" Gaia asked without lifting her head.
"Yes, but the Time Veil Sand now covers half of the ocean floor."
"Time Veil Sand? What can it do?" she asked, now interested.
"In a specific radius, it slows down time by 60-80%, but only underwater."
"Really?" she asked with wide eyes. "How large is this radius?"
"Hmm, hard to say!" I replied. "There's no exact measurement, just that the effect becomes more blurred the further you get from the ocean floor. On the ocean floor, where the Time Veil Sand is densest, the radius could be about ten meters. But in shallower waters, it could shrink to just one or two meters."
Gaia nodded thoughtfully. "That sounds fascinating. And you say it only works underwater?"
"Exactly, only underwater is where the effect is working, but it also means that it's useless at the land," I explained. "It's as if the sand has a connection to the depths of the ocean, where time moves slower. But as soon as the sand reaches the water's surface, time returns to its normal speed."
Gaia smiled. "That's truly amazing! So, each grain of sand has a cool ability!"
"I think the effect only occurs when a certain number of sand grains come together."
Gaia nodded thoughtfully and even paused her tree care during the conversation.
Whatever she was doing.
"Does the effect affect only inanimate objects or also living beings?" she asked after a while.
"Both!" I said as I sat back in the rocking chair.
Gaia fell into thought again.
"Hmm, I think I'll create a terrace!" I mumbled thoughtfully.
"What?" Gaia asked.
"Nothing."
She nodded but then asked, "Doesn't it affect the ecosystem if animals age slower?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"And that doesn't matter?" Gaia asked.
I looked at her, nodded, and gently rocked the chair.But then I added, "I have some ideas already."
"Like what?" Gaia asked, intrigued.
"You'll see!" I said with a sly grin.
"But if the animals age slower, they'll reach adulthood later! And they will...!"
I interrupted her.
"It'll be a while until then, and I've taken that into account."
"What does the sheep's wool say?" I asked to change the subject.
"It still needs some time to grow, but don't change the topic."
"Do you really want to discuss this now?" I asked, sighing lightly.
"Yes!" she replied as she turned back to the little tree.
"I don't."
"But think about it!"
She then described her perspective on the choice of sand to me from all angles.
I listened patiently and laughed lightly as I teased her.
After a while, she stood up and sighed. She walked towards the grazing sheep, which were standing near the lake on the cliff.
I followed her with my gaze.
She approached the sheep and petted them.
Apparently, animals really liked her.
They all walked towards Gaia, surrounded her, who retreated in surprise, tripped over a root, and fell backward into the lake from a meter away.
She emerged from the water, looking like a startled poodle.
I heard her calling out „cold!"
"HAHAHAH!" I laughed.
She came running back towards me, shivering and with her legs close together, and gave me an angry look. The sack was heavy and dripping wet.
I couldn't stop laughing until she ran into the house, completely soaked.
"Hey! You're dripping!" I jumped up and followed her. „The wood floor!"
...
Approximately 58 fun but also exhausting hours passed.
"Aren't your [EC]s filled up yet?" Gaia asked me.
"You are right, I was just about to go!"
"What are you doing today?"
"The second half of the ocean floor."
"Hmm, okay. When will you do the first continent?"
"After the ocean is finished."
She nodded and turned her attention to our primitive smelting furnace. In the last few days, we had been trying to create some tools from simple iron.
So far, it hadn't worked.
As before, the process went quickly. I created the sand and spread it over the ocean floor. Probably, the water would level it anyway.
After an hour of Second Floor time, I returned to the Control Room.
...
"And? What are you creating this time?" Gaia asked with interest.
"The seawater."
"Do I look stupid? I mean its abilities!"
"Oh, I'll tell you later! See you soon!" I said with a smile and disappeared without waiting for a response. I only understood "You knew what I...!"
Now, having arrived on the Second Floor, I opened the menu and created the [Space Veil Seawater].
The amount that emerged looked very disappointing. It would probably take more than a week to fill the ocean.
However, since I didn't have to place it specifically, the creation happened relatively quickly.
"Oh man..." I sighed and returned to the Control Room.
There, Gaia greeted me right away. She came running from the sheep, which were now grazing behind the house.
"And?" she asked with a curious look.
"You're really curious," I said.
"I'd rather call it being inquisitive! After all, I need to know about the world on which my species will live."
"Alright, if you put it that way..." I chuckled lightly.
"So?" she prompted.
"It's called [Space Veil Seawater]," I replied.
Gaia came over from the sheep, which were grazing behind the house, and asked with a curious look, "And? What can you tell me about this [Space Veil Seawater]?"
"Do you notice anything about the name?" I asked.
"Do you think I'm stupid?" she asked, looking at me inquisitively. "It's immediately obvious that it's similar to the sand!"
"Not anymore."
"Then it's good, and now explain it to me!"
"Okay, okay!" I said, realizing her thirst for knowledge was stronger than her annoyance.
"So, [Space Veil Seawater] is compatible with the sand."
"That means?"
"Let me finish."
She nodded and continued.
"Firstly, the water has the incredible ability to double its volume. That means..."
"I know what that means. Don't beat around the bush, and get to the more interesting details!" she said impatiently, but she also jotted it down in a notebook.
She had picked that up from me, and now she wrote down information I told her or that she discovered herself.
"We have enough time, so stop interrupting me, alright?" I asked. "You wanted to know everything, didn't you?"
"Yes, you're right. I'm sorry. So?"
"So... where was I?" I asked.
"The interaction between water and sand!"
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Okay, so when [Space Veil Seawater] comes into contact with [Time Veil Sand], it creates a kind of resonance zone. Within this zone, space-time is slightly distorted, affecting the movements of living beings and objects."
Gaia seemed to imagine this and asked further, "What does that mean for the creatures in the sea? Do they have any advantages? Does time speed up or slow down for them? And does space become larger or smaller?"
"Take it easy. One question at a time, please!" I told Gaia.
"The first one."
"Okay, so for the creatures, it means they essentially live in an isolated area."
"I currently only see disadvantages! Are there any advantages for the animals? Otherwise, it's unfair!"
"Haha!" I laughed. "Of course, there are advantages."
"Such as?"
"Give me a moment! I'll get to it. Don't be so impatient! You're not that way when gardening!"
"Yes, but you take so much time to explain! Are you a hundred years old or what?"
"Unfortunately, not anymore..." I murmured with a slight shake of my head.
"What do you mean, and speak louder!?"
"If you had read the notebook, you'd know more! Otherwise, you're usually so interested in everything!"
"True!" Gaia said, "I completely forgot. But you can't blame me for that! You've only just created me!"
"What do you want now? To discuss or to listen?" I asked Gaia patiently.
"Tell me more about the water!" she said calmly.
I nodded and continued to explain.
I explained that space within it gets distorted, becoming smaller, allowing creatures to cover a greater distance than outside the zone. Time also slows down by half.
Gaia couldn't sit still and wanted to discuss every point. I indulged her in some, as we had plenty of time.
Of course, I won the discussions, given that she knew less than I did.
So, I pointed out to her that she should first use her curiosity to gather enough information and then engage in a discussion.
She took it to heart and tried to control her enthusiasm during the conversation. I noticed it quite well!
She didn't quite manage it, though, and brought up a few points again.
Nevertheless, I had to chuckle.
Nonetheless, I continued to talk about corals that grow within this resonance zone, further enhancing the effect. Additionally, I mentioned that the radius of this resonance zone is approximately 50 meters.
But, like the effect of Time Veil Sand, it doesn't abruptly stop; there's a zone where the effect gradually diminishes.
Moreover, this resonance zone can only occur at a minimum depth of 500 meters.
Through the corals, the effect can be amplified or weakened, depending on the type of coral. It depends on the coral species!
The most important thing is that these coral reefs will be found at a depth of 500 meters or greater. These coral reefs have the special ability to weaken or neutralize water pressure.
"Hmm, should I create intelligent underwater creatures?" I wondered to myself.
...
Well, at least time passed much faster through conversations with Gaia, and two weeks later, the sea was finally filled!
"Yippie!" I exclaimed with joy.
„Incredible!!"
I had to say after I saw the really massiv ocean, and it reminds me of earth…
I teleported to the Control Room.
There, I saw Gaia pruning trees and a few bushes.
At her request, I allowed individual plants to grow into their perfect forms so she would have something to do.
Of course, only after she had finished her other tasks.
I noticed that she was quite diligent!
"I was pretty lucky with her," I murmured because it could have been worse!
By now, we had managed to create a primitive garden shear and other small utensils from iron.
I went to the terrace, which I had created in between for a small sum, and settled into a rocking chair.
"Oh, I love rocking chairs!" I said with nostalgia.
I rocked gently while watching Gaia work. I reflected on my time where I was really a hundred-years-old.
I sat in a cozy rocking chair, casually watching TV. The news was reporting the successful launch of the first manned mission to Mars.
"Hmm, I think it was around 2060, give or take a few years," I reminisced.
I still remembered the feelings of pride and nostalgia. How far humanity had come, and yet, I knew I wouldn't be part of it for much longer.
"Even though I was slightly off back then. Haha!" I chuckled lightly, as I had gained more than 30 additional years.
Not much had happened during that time for me. Bella, my daughter, had passed away. She was already old but died in a natural disaster. I was deeply saddened by her loss and questioned many things.
I had reached that point in my thoughts when Gaia ran over to me and called my name.
"Isaac! You're back! I didn't even notice!" Gaia exclaimed.
"I'm back!" I smiled.
"Is there something wrong?" Gaia asked.
"Not really, but I've finally finished the ocean!" I replied.
"Really?! Cool! And I've sheared the first sheep!" she said.
"But tell me, what are you creating now?" she asked with wide eyes.
Sometimes Gaia seemed like a child, and sometimes not. It was a strange feeling.
Regardless...
"I was thinking of creating plankton first, using the next 1500 [EC], so that the floor starts producing EC, and the initial marine creatures have enough food. What do you think...?"
"What is plankton?" she interrupted.
"Have you heard of algae?"
"Yes!"
"Plankton is a type of tiny marine organism. There are two main types: plant plankton, which includes algae, and animal plankton, which are small marine creatures. Plankton is important because it forms the basis of the marine food chain and serves as food for many other organisms."
"But for now, I only want to create plant plankton, so they can generate some mana through Fotosynthese."
"Okay, that doesn't sound bad!" Gaia replied.
I nodded and wondered why I had even asked.
"How's progress with the first clothes?" I asked Gaia.
"As you suggested, I tried spinning the wool into threads. I haven't figured out how knitting works yet!"
"Alright. It will come with time. But it's getting cold with just the sacks!" I noted.
She nodded, and I said, "As with everything, practice makes perfect!"
I noticed that autumn was slowly approaching in the Control Room.
I looked at the small tree next to the house. It had grown to about 50 centimeters in height.
Then, I checked my status.
—————
[Status]
Name: -
Age: 0 years, 8 months, 0 weeks, 3 days, 4 hours
Species: World Dungeon Core
Level: 2/6
Experience Points: 2456/150,000
EC: 26/1,500
—> 2 EC regenerates per hour
Characteristics:
Space (unique)
Time (unique)
Consciousness
Floors: 3
Control Room
First Floor (Tempora) ---> 1.2 EC per hour
Second Floor (name)
[More]
—————
Not much had changed. However, what surprised me was that an entire month had passed since the evolution!
"Incredible!"
"That also means that theoretically, 20 months have passed on Tempora, and theoretically, 80 months on the second floor!"
"Incredible!" I said.
I also noticed that the Control Room was drawing no mana.
It was strange because I could gradually feel a bit of mana as an avatar.
"Gaia, can you do something with the limited mana in the air?" I asked.
"I'm not entirely sure yet. I feel like it's possible to absorb it, but how?" she replied.
I nodded thoughtfully.
"It doesn't matter; we'll figure it out with time," I replied.
She nodded and was about to head to the lake.
*Drip*
*Drip* *Drip*
It started to rain suddenly.
So, I got up and hurried inside the house.
I glanced at Gaia, who had already started running.
"My gardening shears!" she screamed during the run
Since it was raining a bit harder now, I watched her from inside the house.
She was on her way back.
"Ahh!" she screamed.
"HAHAHA," I burst into laughter.
She had slipped on the wet grass.
"That's not funny!" she complained.
"Yes, it is," I laughed.
She entered the house, now dripping water onto the beautiful wooden floor.
"Hurry and take a shower; I'll light the fireplace," I told Gaia.
She nodded and ran across the living room, leaving a wet trail with individual blades of grass.
I shook my head a little, while smiling.
I lit the fireplace.
"With flint," I shook my head with a light laugh.
Once the fire was burning, I sat on the sofa made from a certain plant, that formed soft cushions, and wood.
I covered myself with a blanket made of grass and peacefully gazed at the now crackling fire.
As the shimmering light made me somewhat drowsy, I closed my eyes.
I fell asleep for the first time in two weeks, and I dreamt of the past…