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Chapter: 266

And so, the story of the ‘Sage of the Deep Forest’ came to an end.

Hmm. Was it a good ending…?

I would have thought so, if it weren’t for Arthur’s sudden explosion at the end. But, seriously… I didn’t expect a confession there!

Still, he resolved the famine as a final gift.

Though there was that minor issue where my power overdid it on the sage’s body… It seems my image got etched inside the divine body, but oh well, it’s just a minor thing, right?

As for the statue left in the garden of the castle, it would fit much better as a proper beautiful statue than that hodgepodge pile of stones.

Anyway, after wrapping up that story, I stretched lightly and got up.

Having played around for a while, I guess it’s time to get back to work.

Alright then…

Shall I teach the gods the concept of ‘play’?

———

The gods don’t have many pastimes.

Once upon a time, there were gods who played with humans as if they were toys, and even waged wars against one another for fun, but those gods no longer exist.

The ones still remaining as gods are mostly obedient and well-behaved.

For the most part, they just host feasts in the Divine Hall and enjoy the food offered to them.

Sure, I do supply ambrosia and nectar obtained from overpowering Olympus for their feasts, but that alone won’t satisfy all the gods’ discontent.

Of course, at this moment, I can easily overpower all the other gods. So they won’t show any dissatisfaction for now…

But someday, I plan to offload everything onto others and just have fun!

Though I wonder if that’s pushing it a bit… It’s just a dream I have! But I’ll make it happen someday!

When that time comes, the story will change!

Ahem. Anyway, to quell the gods’ discontent, it’s certainly going to require some entertainment.

Even with tasty food, it’s hard to surpass ambrosia and nectar. Ordinary meals won’t placate the gods’ dissatisfaction.

In that regard, new forms of entertainment will be an excellent choice to calm the gods.

———

Once, I taught the children the magic to create bodies.

The magic to create avatars. It wasn’t just about altering a god’s body, but creating a doppelgänger with the same body as another life.

Though, I wonder if it can really be called magic in the strictest sense… Well, since it uses magical power, I guess calling it magic is fine.

In any case, teaching this magic to all the gods would be a bit tough. I was thinking of using tools.

Creating a body, an avatar, and putting the god’s consciousness into that body to give a sense of living a human’s life.

So for now, rather than the function of creating avatars, let’s test putting the gods’ consciousness into another body first!

Let’s put a god’s self into the body of another human and create a function to observe from that human’s point of view!

“What is this again?”

“It’s an object that will serve as entertainment for the gods.”

I created a uniquely shaped bed. A bed made of pure white marble, just right for one person to lie down on.

The lying part was filled with soft cushions, so it wouldn’t be uncomfortable even if someone lay there for days on end.

Plus, it has a transparent crystal lid!

“Entertainment, you say?”

“Hmm. Want to try it out?”

Upon my words, Asherat began examining the bed from side to side.

“What nonsense have you come up with this time?”

“Well, let’s call it a life experience simulator.”

“A, a what?”

Ah, they probably don’t have the term simulator yet.

To explain roughly… it’s like an immersive VR life simulator with all the senses involved.

You know, think of it as a life simulation game with tons of DLC, viewed from a first-person perspective.

“Seeing is believing. A quick try, and you’ll understand right away.”

“Excuse me?”

I nudged Asherat onto the bed and hit the temporary switch.

At that moment, the crystal lid closed, trapping Asherat in the bed.

“Once you experience it, you’ll get it in no time.”

After a brief moment, Asherat, lying there, suddenly lifted her body from the bed with a bewildered expression.

“Waaa… What on earth is this?”

It seemed she really experienced something beyond her comprehension!

“It’s like I experienced the world from inside another human’s body… it feels like becoming something else… this is amazing.”

“It’s still in testing, so for now, all you can do is observe from another human’s perspective.”

By lying down on this bed and hitting the switch, one can observe from the perspective of one of the humans on the ground.

Of course, it’s not just anyone, but a selected individual who has a good compatibility with the god lying down and is one of the believers of that god!

Since it’s still a prototype with limited functions, for now, it’s just about seeing, hearing, and feeling but no other interaction allowed…

“Phew… Hah…”

Looking at Asherat, who seemed spaced out, you could easily guess how impressive the effect was.

It’s just observing from another human’s perspective, but that alone would provide quite a thrill for the gods.

“While it’s just an observation function for now, I’m planning to gradually add more features.”

Initially, I want to add various options at the start. Instead of seeing from a currently existing human’s perspective, they could create completely new characters… or avatars, or even experience the entire life from the birth of a newborn baby.

I plan to add more and more features!

Of course, I’m also considering limitations so that it doesn’t have a huge impact on the world below. When using the device, the user will forget that they’re a god, or if the target falls asleep, they’d be forced to wake up from the device.

For sensitive aspects… I might need to do things like mosaic overlays or forcibly blocking their view too, huh?

I’ve got plenty of ideas, but I think I’ll need to organize it all! Yes!

Additionally, I’m also thinking about features to prevent the gods from getting overly immersed in this device.

Because it’s meant for the gods’ entertainment, it shouldn’t interfere with their activities!

Oh! Right! I’ll categorize the features of this device into three levels, where lower levels can only experience it lightly, while higher levels unlock various functions.

Level 3, the lowest, would just be for observation. Level 2… Hmm, I’ll enable some subconscious interference at that level. For Level 1, they can steer the consciousness’ direction. They won’t be able to give direct commands, but nudging their thoughts a bit could be possible.

Additionally, I’ll quantify the gods’ activities… Hmm. It’s probably better to quantify the total amount of faith they possess, right?

Based on that figure, the top 10% will get Level 1 access. 30% will get Level 2, and 60% will get Level 3. The proportions are rough estimates, so I plan to adjust them later.

Hmm… It makes sense to restrict avatar creation to the highest level, right? We don’t want everyone creating munchkin characters and wreaking havoc in the mortal realm.

Well, I guess I’ll add those functionalities in a general sense!

By the way, my children won’t need this device. They already know how to create avatars! They can make their manifestations without any help!

“That’s amazing… this…”

“Right? Wasn’t it fun?”

“Yeah. But I’m worried that it feels too real and may lead to gods getting addicted, which could cause problems.”

Sounds just like a mother worrying kids would get addicted to games!

But hey, it’s their choice, so I won’t interfere, right?

“If anyone becomes so engrossed in this device that they neglect their basic duties as gods… well, let’s give three warnings, and if they still don’t get it, we can confiscate the device. Plus, if they don’t fulfill their tasks as gods and their faith decreases, their levels will drop… and then they’ll get their higher-level devices confiscated.”

Oh, I need to ensure that there are more significant differences between devices based on levels. The lowest level should feel like a budget model with restrictions on resolution and sensitivity and such.

Oh! Right! I should impose a race restriction on the beings they can possess or create! For now, let’s leave it at humans only.

With elves, dwarves, and lizardmen, the gods would usually have restrictions on which faith they can believe in, limiting those cases… but sometimes oddballs might believe in other gods.

“When will it be finished?”

“Hmm? Finished?”

“Yes! This device will surely become immensely popular among the gods! It’ll offer a refreshing thrill to those bored gods! They might even try to spread their beliefs to experience different perspectives from various humans!”

Asherat’s eyes lit up. Having tried it once, she already grasped this device’s potential.

“It’s still a prototype, so it’ll take some time to complete properly.”

There aren’t any big issues with creating the functions, but thorough testing is a must.

Such a complex item will always have bugs… problems to be fixed.

If there’s a bug in avatar creation… or a loophole in the rules allowing the creation of powerful avatars, it could negatively impact the world below.

Since the gods will be able to interact with the ground, I need to take careful, careful steps.

In this prototype, since it’s merely for experiencing from a believer’s point of view, there shouldn’t be any major issues!

“Is that so…”

At my words, Asherat’s face fell significantly. She looked incredibly disappointed.

But what can I do? I can’t just hand over something that’s not fully complete. A brief experience is one thing, but not a full-fledged one.

Experience…? Ah! That’s it! A demo! I could manage a demo version with this prototype!

Seeing Asherat looking disappointed, I couldn’t help but smile slightly.

 

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