Utopian System

Under the guise of helpful wisdom, Nala would plant seeds of doubt about human nature.

To a group of students learning about resource distribution for those non having books, she'd smile kindly and say, "It's natural to want more for yourself. That's what makes sharing so difficult, isn't it? You must acknowledge your selfish nature to overcome it."

The words seemed encouraging, but they left a lingering awareness of inherent greed.

Dionz would occasionally catch these moments, shooting her warning looks or directly intervening.

"They're still learning the basics, not different from babies so stop that," he'd remind her, to which she'd respond with innocent confusion, as if she hadn't just subtly reminded humans of their 'fundamental flaws'.

She'd gather children and tell them stories that seemed uplifting but always contained some hidden barb about human nature. Tales of heroes who succeeded despite their "natural human limitations" or parables about how "understanding our inherent flaws makes us stronger."

A year passed in this fashion.

Then came the conversation with Dionz. He found her watching the sunset from one of the newly constructed towers.

"I've figured it out," he announced, looking both triumphant and apprehensive. "How to counter your last rule about the book challenges sealing powers."

Nala in the memory turned, one eyebrow raised with interest.

"You'll have to live among them," Dionz stated. "The first hundred years of each game. No revealing who you are, no divine powers, just... living as one of them."

"That's your counter-rule?" Memory-Nala seemed amused.

"If you're so convinced humans are destined to fail, that they don't deserve to exist as individuals," Dionz's voice carried unexpected weight, "then you should at least walk in their shoes before condemning them to non-existence."

♢♢♢♢

After defeating the tenth challenge, Elio found himself back in the chamber ready to take the 10th augment.

Dionz was beaming with an oddly paternal pride.

"And that concludes what I like to call the tutorial!" the god announced cheerfully. "You know, goblins evolving into hobgoblins, then ogres, and... well, all those other names I borrowed from my favorite games and media."

Elio exchanged a look with his invocations. Emberg created a tiny flame question mark while Poison Stinger's tentacles formed what appeared to be a "???"

"How are you feeling now? Ten percent is quite a jump from where we started," Dionz asked, studying Elio with genuine curiosity.

"A tutorial is like an easy introduction right?" Elio's voice carried an amused edge that hadn't been there before. His posture was relaxed despite having just finished intense combat, the 10% divine corruption evident in his casual confidence.

"You really can't help yourself, can you? Even with the fate of existence at stake, you had to sneak in your weird references."

Dionz blinked, caught off guard by this new version of Elio. "Well, I…"

"Let me guess," Elio continued, a playful glint in his eyes that somehow made him seem more dangerous, not less.

"The next challenges will probably have some naming scheme from another 'game' you liked… Seems you had fun making all of this and made some hidden complex stuff… But, what of Nala?"

"Oh?" Dionz tried to maintain his divine dignity, but curiosity got the better of him. "What do you mean?"

"Did Nala really agree to this system because she didn't think we could make it here, or did she just pretend she wasn't looking? Maybe we are still falling into a trap, are you sure she did not expect this?"

The god's expression told him everything he needed to know.

"That's what I thought," Elio laughed, but it was the laugh of someone who now saw more layers of the game being played.

♢♢♢♢

"From here on," Dionz continued, "you'll face two monsters that multiply like in the book. Though..."

He fidgeted with his divine robes.

"I may have made the same mathematical error there. But hey! At least this time I had the decency to cap it at a billion!" Explore stories at My Virtual Library Empire

The look Elio gave him could have frozen hellfire.

"What? It's much better than a trillion! And you've already proven you can handle them dying… many… times..." Dionz trailed off under Elio's continued stare.

Poison Stinger was clicking its pincers.

"It's fine," Elio finally said, though his tone suggested it was anything but. "If we can defeat them gradually like before..." He paused, a new concern crossing his face for a moment. "We've been here two days already."

"Oh, don't worry about that!" Dionz waved dismissively. "Nala will be busy for quite a while processing those memories I gave her. We have time."

The god gestured toward the portal. "Speaking of time, shall we continue? Just hop into your invocation's form and…"

"Not yet," Elio interrupted, reaching for his floating book. "There's something else I want to try first."

Dionz blinked in surprise. "The book? But why would you... oh." His expression shifted from confusion to understanding, then to something like approval.

With his enhanced capabilities, Elio approached the book challenges with newfound confidence.

The 1000-point increase in mana and magical damage significantly changed the equation, even without his original sword, he was far more powerful than before.

Elio Von Elian's Statistics

Skills:

{5 Basic ones}

{5 Heaven's ones}

{11- 20 Magical ones}

Divine Corruption 10/100

Familiars:

{5 Tier 1}

{5 Tier 2}

{11 - 15 Tier 3}

Fire Salamander(Merged - 1)

Wind Swift(Merged - 1)

Illumination Jellyfish (Merged - 1)

Absorption Scorpion (Merged - 1)

1st Fusion (+120)

2nd Fusion (+120)

Emblems:

Wind, Fire, Water and Earth

Level 20

Mana: 1200/1200

Resistance: 1200/1200 (+2000)

Stamina: 30/30

Attack: 1020 (1220)

Magic Damage: 1020 (+20)(+120)(+120)(+200)/ (1480) A

Strength: 20 A

Defense: 120 (140)

Magic Defense: 120 (+20)(+20) / (160)

Speed: 30

Perception / Agility: 4 A

God Weapon (20) / ((Attack 200) (Magic Damage 200))

Divine Elemental Resistance Cape / Magic Defense 20

Divine Helmet

System's Armor 20 / ((Defense 20) (Magic Defense 20) (Magic Damage 20) (Resistance(2000/2000))

Portable oral oxygen stone

Balance:

Sugar God Daddy mana points

10 special cores

90 commandment cores

Using some of the enormous mana pool Dionz had provided, Elio purchased a high-grade potion and a replacement sword from the statue. It wasn't his personal weapon, but it would serve its purpose.

"64,000 monsters shouldn't be too bad now," he mused, checking his equipment. Emberg and Poison Stinger nodded in agreement, their forms stronger thanks to the enhanced magical damage.