Chapter 2: Hello, World! (2)
Like augmented reality, a search box appears in a floating square window before my eyes.
But without a keyboard or mouse… what am I supposed to do with this?
The cursor is blinking in the search box area, but… it’s not like it’s going to read my mind and automatically type for me.
Is there some kind of brainwave input feature? Should I search with a brainwave input device?
Just as I think this.
[Brainwave input device]
The words automatically appear in the search box, and the search results show up.
Hmm. Maybe…
Search TreeWiki.
[TreeWiki]
Indeed, this is how it works.
Scrolling up and down adjusts automatically based on where I look. Closing the window happens the moment I think about it disappearing…
It might be better than I thought. This thing.
It could be useful for killing time or searching for various knowledge when needed.
Well, it’s only for reading, but that alone is incredibly precious to me right now.
Having somewhat understood the second bonus, knowledge about the third bonus now pours into my mind.
The power to freely control time. The ability to speed up, pause, and rewind time.
The way to use this power… was to materialize a small pocket watch.
The pocket watch, connected by a thin chain, displayed not only the current time but also the year, month, and day.
However, everything is currently set to 0, and both the hour and minute hands are stopped at the 12 o’clock position.
There’s also a ▶ symbol displayed on this strange watch.
On the edge of the watch, there are two buttons and a turnable dial, a curious device.
Is this how I control time? I cautiously press one of the buttons on the watch.
Tick.
As the sound of the winding spring stops, everything comes to a halt.
The slight breeze no longer blows. The dust stirred by my footsteps doesn’t settle. Nothing can move.
A scene where time has frozen. Instead of the [ ▶ ] symbol, a [ II ] shape now appears on the watch.
I press the button again, and the paused time starts to flow once more.
Indeed, this is how it works. But, to include such an overpowered ability as a bonus… what was it thinking?
Well, how could I possibly understand the thoughts of that god? I might spend a lifetime thinking and still not get it.
Putting aside the thought of that god, a zero-productivity task, I continue to investigate the watch.
I carefully turn the dial attached to the top. If I’m right…
The flow of air speeds up significantly. The sun in the sky starts to move at a visible speed.
The ▶ symbol on the watch soon changes to ▶▶.
Turning the dial further changes it to ▶▶▶, and turning it once more changes it to ▶×4.
As I continue to turn it, the number behind changes, and the sun sets while the moon rises.
In a brief moment, the moon sets and the sun rises again. Though it feels like only a few seconds have passed, a day, then two days go by.
I hold the dial and turn it in the opposite direction, hoping for the flow of time to return to normal, and it goes back to ▶.
Indeed, it’s easier to use than I thought. Just by thinking about the desired speed of time and turning it, it changes to the appropriate speed.
I turn the dial, thinking of making time flow even slower, and the symbol on the watch changes to ▶×0.1.
Extremely slowing down the flow of time wouldn’t be much different from stopping it… but, well, it’s meaningless to me right now.
As I accelerate time again, days pass by rapidly, with the sun rising and setting in a blur.
In sync with that speed, the minute and hour hands on the watch also spin busily. With each sunrise and sunset, the day indicator on the watch increases by 1.
Even though days are continuously changing, I don’t feel the slightest change.
I’m in a situation where I don’t feel even the slightest hunger, something that any living creature should naturally feel.
I let out a small sigh and return the flow of time to normal.
It seems I’ve stepped out of the category of living beings.
Well, to call an entity that can create everything, connect to other worlds, and manipulate time at will a living being… would be a bit of a stretch.
I sigh once more and press the button on the pocket watch that I hadn’t pressed yet.
Then, click. The glass covering the pocket watch opens.
So, what am I supposed to do with this?
I carefully wound the second and minute hands backward with the tip of my finger. Somehow, I felt like this was what I needed to do.
After turning it several times and setting the date display back to 0, I closed the lid, and a small window appeared before my eyes.
[
Seeking consent from the past point…
The past point has consented.
Would you like to rewind time?
Y / N
]
Consent from the past point? Hmm… Is this the restriction that god mentioned?
Even if I want to rewind time, I can’t unless the past point consents. Hmm.
I pressed the
Y
part with my fingertip. Then, the pocket watch began to turn backward.
Is time rewinding? The sun and moon in the sky reverse, rising and setting in the opposite direction.
After a brief moment, the date displayed on the pocket watch had returned to 0.
The third bonus is quite intuitive and easy to understand. And it’s also powerful.
It might be fun to shout “The World!” and stop time. Hmm.
I rewound and then summoned the pocket watch again, then rewound it once more.
The pocket watch, which disappears when it leaves my hand and can be summoned again at any time, must be a power tied to me.
Now, it’s time to test the most important bonus, the first bonus, the power of creation.
The ability to create anything I desire.
The ability to fill this world, which has no living beings except for some plants, with new life.
What should I create with this ability?
Humans? In a world with nothing? That’s absurd.
Humans are at the top of the food chain. Without enough creatures below them, they would starve to death.
Should I start by creating basic life forms? But that feels a bit daunting.
Or… maybe it’s better to create a bunch of primitive single-celled organisms and induce their own evolution?
It would take a lot of time, but time isn’t much of an issue for me, who can change its flow as I wish.
The downside might be that there’s no guarantee the evolution of life will go as I want.
Ah, no. Maybe I can create them with a direction for evolution?
For example… creating them so that mutations occur more frequently, more abundantly.
I’m not well-versed in biology, but if I create a bunch of creatures with such traits, scatter them across the world, and accelerate time… they should evolve and thrive on their own, right?
There’s a chance some bizarre creatures might emerge… but I can tweak that a bit.
If I don’t use this method and create everything directly… it seems like it would take a very long time. Let’s just go with this.
If something goes wrong… I’ll handle it myself.
I may be a dragon, but I should have that much ability, right?
Ah, speaking of which, as a dragon, shouldn’t I also use magic? I need to think about magic too.
Hmm… can I create magical power? Or do I need to create something imbued with magical power?
Well, either way, I’ll just do it. The ability to create anything truly is all-powerful.
I stretched lightly and stood up, then used the first bonus, [Creation].
A translucent window appears before me. A window that allows me to make detailed settings about what to create.
Let’s see… First, a creature. As simple as possible. High vitality, good environmental adaptability. Lifespan… maybe about a year.
Since I’m going for something simple, let’s reference single-celled organisms. A creature so resilient that even if split in half, both parts would remain alive.
As for food… hmm… photosynthesis? No, no. There should be consumption and predation.
They might end up eating each other… but since this is the first attempt, let’s go with this. They might nibble on abundant leaves or something.
Increase the mutation occurrence rate and frequency… Genetic mutation? What’s this… hmm… let’s include it!
Those well adapted to the environment will survive, and those that aren’t will die.
Speaking of which, that being is really cruel. Why did it include plants but not animals? Sigh.
Oh, wait. Should I also create bacteria or viruses? Or has that god already made them?
Hmm, I’m not sure. Well, if there’s a problem, I can just rewind time and do it again.
Thus, I was able to create a creature that would become the common ancestor of all life.
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