I look at an old man in front of me in confusion. The last thing I remember is a white light and an intense pain for a few seconds before my consciousness is gone.
"Who are you? Where are we?"
I look around and see we are standing in the middle of a void. I can see stars and galaxies in the distance.
"You don't need to know my name, Julius. You can call me Rob if you want. As for where we are… We are in space. We are in the void between galaxies."
"And why did you take me here?"
"To ask for your help."
"My help? What kind of help can I do for a being like you?"
The old man chuckles and says.
"A lot, actually. If I try to fix this problem, it will create more problems in return. Cosmic power requires cosmic control, and I am too lazy to control it. I can do that, but there are a lot of things I need to do. I would rather give you power and let you take care of it than train my control."
"Fair enough. I would rather pay someone to do my work if I have the money."
"Exactly. That is what I am going to do with you. I will give you powers; in return, you will fix some problems for me. Here. Take a look at this."
I see a hologram appear in front of me. I look at the old man and say.
"Interactive CYOA?"
"What? It is easier."
"Fair enough."
"As you can see, you are in Sandbox mode, but you can only pick five powers and one keystone power."
"What is the difference between Keystone Power and Regular Power?"
"Keystone Power that will grow with you. I will let you take all the upgrades, but no more Keystone Power."
I opened the power section and looked at the Keystone Power he was talking about. I nod my head in understanding. All of them have a potential that lets me become a God or powerful enough to fight a God. However, it starts weak at the beginning, but with the upgrade, you will have an easier time increasing your power.
"What is my first mission?"
"You will be sent to DxD World."
"DxD… Where do I hear that?"
"Your friend once suggested that anime to you."
"Right! It is an anime about Dragons, Gods, and all supernatural races, right?"
"That is correct. However, unlike in the main timeline, humanity in this world will be wiped out. Humans are the weakest race in this world, and they are struggling to survive in this world. They are the plaything of the other races, and sooner or later, they will go extinct because of the other races."
"So, what do you want me to do?"
"Make sure they survive."
"How do I do that?"
"Kill all the supernatural races, make humanity the strongest faction, or even take humanity into the stars. Pick your power carefully because you need it."
I need the powers that let me uplift humanity so they can survive even when they are going to war against all the supernatural races. I read them one by one, and after half an hour, I stop and say.
"Will my creation be able to be copied?"
"Copied? No. They cannot do that even when they see you building them and copying them step by step. However, they can study it, but even then, they will have a very hard time because of the Blackboxed nature of tinker tech."
"Ah, you know what I want to take, huh?"
"Of course. You are eyeing that power for a long time, you know?"
"And you know the reason why I take that power."
"Yup. That is a good idea, by the way. It requires a lot of material, but the end result will be great."
I nod and take the upgraded version of my power. That is three powers, and I only have two more powers to choose. I can pick one and upgrade it but decide not to buy one and then upgrade it. After reading for a few more minutes, I pick the last two powers.
I already picked Keystone Power. It lets me grow stronger endlessly and will greatly help me in my journey. I take the [Path of Cultivator] as my Keystone Power and take all the upgrades. It lets me become immortal and awaken someone's meridian to make them cultivators if I want to.
As for my power, I take [Inspired Inventor] from Worm CYOA. It is the ability to get a Tinker specialization that allows me to create futuristic technology. Each day, I will get ten charges that I can spend to create a specialization or upgrade it. The more I upgrade it, the more it gives me blueprints and an understanding of tech in that specialization.
I decided to upgrade the power instead of getting another power source. It is called [Versatile Genius]. It upgrades my ability so it extends beyond technology, granting you knowledge and skill in any field of knowledge. By investing charges in various disciplines, I become a universal polymath, surpassing the capabilities of world-renowned experts and excelling in areas such as martial arts, social engineering, linguistics, philosophy, and more. As a [Versatile Genius], I possess superhuman knowledge, understanding, and skill in applying your newfound expertise, enabling me to tackle any intellectual pursuit with unparalleled proficiency.
This will be a great companion to my [Path of Cultivator].
The second one is an upgrade to my [Inspired Inventor] charges. Instead of ten charges, it gives me 110 charges once per day. It is a simple but very powerful upgrade.
The fourth one is called [Loyalty Insurance]. It is another simple but necessary power. This power ensures every being I create (AI, Android, or even Clone) will always be loyal to me. This loyalty is so absolute that not even mind control or similar powers could turn my creations against me. I want to create an AI to help me, and I don't want something like the Ultron event from Marvel to happen.
The last one is called [Soul Garden]. This lets me offer people who died near me or people who are dear to me to enter an afterlife that is inside my soul. They can sleep there and have their rest. It is not a real afterlife but rather a soul storage. Because of this power, I can resurrect them when I have a way to do so.
"I am done."
"Great! Ah, you pick most of the perks, huh?"
"What? You offer it. I will take it."
"Smart choice. Anyway, after you are done creating a foundation for humanity to survive, I will reward you with two more powers from this list."
"Will I get more?"
"What? Do you think this is the only problem I oversee? There are a lot of them. The longer you work for me, the more powerful you become. Anyway! I will give you a bonus. The first one is starting money. You will get five hundred billion dollars that you can use whatever you want. Don't worry. That money is clean, and you can take it using the card that will appear alongside your identity. The second one is the ability to speak any tongue and read any language in the multiverse."
"Thank you."
He waves his hand and says.
"Thank me when you are done with your job. Anyway, good luck, and make sure not to destroy the planet."