Nobody responded from inside the house, but John had expected as much.
Claire was probably still in class and wouldn't be back until the evening.
John didn't rush to start the regression simulation.
He cooked some food, kept it warm on the induction cooker, and then headed back to his room. Walking into his bedroom, he was greeted by the sight of a small room, only a dozen square meters in size, furnished with a desk and a bed, and walls plastered with superhero wallpapers. The books on the desk and the bedding on the bed were all arranged neatly, a task done by Claire, not John.
She never listened to John's protests and insisted on periodically checking his bedroom.
John still remembered the embarrassment of her finding his stash of adult magazines.
Shaking his head slightly, John tried to shake off those cringe-worthy memories.
He lay down on the bed, ready to start his first regression simulation.
[The host is about to begin regression simulation, the Ring of Regression provides the following prompts:]
[1. The host can have one free simulation opportunity per day. If the host wishes to simulate again, it will cost extra Origin of Creation, depending on the world the host wishes to simulate.]
[2. At the start of each simulation, the Ring of Regression will offer the host ten chances to draw assistance entries for free. At the beginning of each simulation, the host can choose three of these entries to aid in the simulation.]
[3. After each simulation, the host can fix one entry for free to use in the next simulation. If the host wants to forcibly fix additional entries, it will cost extra Origin of Creation.]
[4. During the simulation, if the host wants to interfere in the simulation process, depending on the strength of the interference, the host will need to pay extra Origin of Creation.]
[5. At the start of the simulation, the host can bring props from the real world into the simulation, but it will cost extra Origin of Creation, depending on the strength of the props brought by the host.]
...
Looking at the dozens of instructions, John was almost tempted to take off the Ring of Regression and throw it away.
"Is this a divine artifact or a scam? Why does everything cost money?" John grumbled.
He didn't remember much from the flood of information, only the words "will cost extra."
He felt frustrated for a while.
John began to draw his 10 entries, silently hoping for a top-tier entry to give himself a good start. [Regression Simulation begins, 10 entries have been drawn for you.]
The next moment, entries appeared before John's eyes.
[Unlucky Guy (White): Creature Luck -10]
[Brain Like Cement (White): Creature Intelligence -10, Head Defense +20]
[Work or Die (White): Creature Work Efficiency +50%, Death Rate +50%]
[Competitive (White): Creatures are more likely to conflict, Combat Power +10.] [Fair-Weather Sailor (White): Creatures have +10 sailing speed with the wind, +50% chance of surrendering against it]
[The Other (White): Creatures are more prone to infighting, Infidelity Rate +50%, Fertility Rate +100%]
[Born Extraordinary (Blue): Creatures are more likely to become extraordinary species, Constitution +10.]
[Born Defective (White): Creature Constitution -10]
[Love to Slack (White): Creature Mood +10, Work Efficiency -50%, Fertility Rate -50%] [Fertility Boost (White): Fertility Period -20%]
...
[Please select three from the above entries.]
John's prayers didn't seem to do much. Among the ten entries, only one was blue, and not a single one was purple.
According to the Ring of Regression, the grade of entries goes from low to high: White, Blue, Purple, Orange, Gold.
There is also a special effect marked in Red.
John was still unclear about the specific effects. "
Forget the low odds, what's up with these weird names?" John couldn't help but complain while looking through the entries.
He sighed.
It didn't take long for John to make his choice.
[Born Extraordinary (Blue): Creatures are more likely to become extraordinary species, Constitution +10.]
[The Other (White): Creatures are more prone to infighting, Infidelity Rate +50%, Fertility Rate +100%]
[Fertility Boost (White): Fertility Period -20%]
John looked at the "Infidelity" part of [The Other] and felt awkward.
But there was no helping it, the most crucial thing for a novice creator was to quickly form their world's species.
The doubled fertility rate of [The Other] was too tempting for John to give up.
[Entries confirmed. Would you like to deploy any props in the simulation?]
John checked and saw that each resource card required 300 Origin of Creation.
Despite the heartache, John decided to deploy anyway.
John's world was just one square meter. Without deploying a resource card, he'd just have to wait for his creation world to expand on its own, which was way too slow.
This left John with only 100 points of Creation Origin.
If he couldn't make a return on this simulation, John wouldn't even have a shot at a second one.
[Prop deployment confirmed, beginning regression simulation!]
The prompt appeared in John's mind.
In an instant, his vision blurred, and he found himself amidst a vast, endless sea of stars.
Golden stars glimmered in the cosmos, each harboring a world within—worlds of magic, mechanics, mythical beasts, and more, all shielded by a golden barrier known as the "Genesis Barrier."
The strength and range of a "Genesis Barrier" increased with the creator's power.
Some top-tier creators had barriers that covered vast star regions, shining in the cosmos like stars, awe-inspiring and fearsome.
In comparison, John's creation world seemed somewhat inconspicuous.
Looking down at his feet, John saw a golden orb about a meter in diameter, wrapping a piece of dry, cracked land.
This was John's creation world.
As John noticed his world beneath his feet, it began to rapidly transform.
[With chaos at the beginning, the world takes shape. Your gaze upon this narrow land brings insight.]
[A small place can have its spot in the vast universe. Everything that exists has its meaning.] [In the early First Era, your breath becomes the world's wind and rain. The wind dispersing the miasma to form clouds and sky, the raindrops falling to the ground, converging into oceans. (The Climate Card and the Ocean Card activated!)]
The scene before John started to change.
Fierce winds dispersed the toxic miasma covering the sky, followed by torrential rain falling from above.
Soon, it gathered into a lake about one kilometer in diameter, and the world's area expanded by one kilometer as well. Then, the scene continued to change.
Speckles of starlight fell from the sky, showering into the creation world, sinking into the land or the sea, vanishing from sight.
[You lament the barrenness of life, spreading starlight with a wave of your hand. They fall into the land and water, sowing the seeds of life. (The Life Card activated!)]
[In the early First Era, your world witnessed the miracle of life's birth, with primitive plankton and algae appearing in the oceans.]
[The first appearance of life, and 10 points of Creation Origin had been obtained.]
John was momentarily taken aback, not expecting to gain Creation Origin this way.
Though it wasn't much, it was better than nothing, certainly better than having nothing at all.
[Without natural predators, plankton and algae began to rapidly proliferate, quickly becoming the dominants of the ocean. (The Other Card and the Fertility Boost card activated!)]
[Ocean area increased to two kilometers, and 20 points had been obtained!]
[In the mid-First Era, algae evolved to perform photosynthesis, and multicellular organisms began to appear.]
[As time passed, the cellular structure of plankton became more complex, giving birth to a flat, elliptical creature up to ten meters long. (The Born Extraordinary card activated!)]
["Giant Umbrella Jellyfish (Iron Tier)" born!]
[The first extraordinary animal born, and 100 points had been obtained!]
John was momentarily stunned, then his face lit up with joy.
The first simulation... and he'd already produced an extraordinary creature?!
Although it was just Iron Tier, it was undoubtedly a great start for him!
John began to look forward to what other surprises the simulation could bring.