I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm

I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 64

"Yes! I will send people across the river right away, Creator of the World!"

"Thank you, but there's no need to rush. As long as they start traveling within a month or so, I'll be satisfied."

The recipient of my order was my newly chosen priest. After our introductions, I immediately requested him to send some people over to the western continent to spread teachings about making clothing out of corn husks.

Getting rid of those chicken skin outfits is the top priority...

Luckily, finding a priest to give this order to was extremely easy, with there only being one adult in the temple at the time.

It'll be a headache if there's ever a time when multiple adults are in the temple when I go to select a priest. Maybe it's the penguin's luck that's letting me have such fortunate timing so far.

I nearly thought I zoomed into a kindergarten class when I looked into the temple to choose him, as the dude was telling stories to a group of kids sitting around him in a circle.

The stories were pretty interesting though~

Not wanting to scare the kids with a yellow beam shooting out of my statue's fingertips, I patiently waited until his story was finished and the kids left the temple before I selected him to be my priest. Of course, I took the opportunity to hear the tales he was passing on, which seemed to be mostly retellings of the previous battle phase.

Rynn does seem to be very popular, but man, it would be nice to hear stories about Uunga.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I understand. I am sure there will be plenty of volunteers to go on a mission for your sake," The priest continued on with our conversation, unaware of my thoughts.

"That's perfect because I'll need a lot of them."

The priest tilted his head, "Are they all going to be teaching people how to make clothing from corn husks?"

"Not all of them- I have a much more important task I need your help organizing."

"Oh?"

After the near-disaster where Rynn almost mutinied during the Rathok-dying mess that led to him becoming my Oracle, I realized I needed a better way to get to know the personalities of my potential Oracle candidates before making a decision on who to pick. Despite the giant screen in my domain, I could only observe one place at a time.

If I could have my humans observe for me, my job would be a hundred times easier!

With that thought process in mind, and withholding the information about baby Rynn to protect his reputation, I asked my new priest to send scouts to some of the most notable villages in my realm, both to spread the word about my return and to keep an eye out for potential Oracle candidates.

"It'll be roughly a century before it's time for me to pick an Oracle, so suggesting candidates won't be needed for a while. For now, please just warn everyone to begin preparations. I have a feeling the invaders this time will be unable to make it through the northern cold, but it's always better to be cautious."

The priest's tension seemed to lessen a bit after I revealed the invasion would happen well beyond his lifespan. Nonetheless, he was eager to agree to my request and soon set off to gather volunteers in the capital.

Perfect. That should be it for now-

"Squawk."

I turned my head toward the grumpy squawk echoing from the ice palace's balcony behind me with a sigh.

"... I'm not telling them to stop eating chicken eggs. We already went over this- there's not actually baby chickens in there!"

"Squawk!"

This freaking penguin...

"That's not how it works! If the eggs aren't fertilized, they literally can't have baby chickens in them!"

"Squawk."

"... Did Tatton teach you to be vegan while I was in class? Gross. I knew I shouldn't have left you with him."

"Squawk!?"

I quickly dodged a snowball thrown from one of his mechanical arms.

"Squawk!"

"Of course I dodged it! I only let you hit me last time because I felt bad for scaring you," I muttered as I brushed the snow off my desk, "Also why are you more offended about being called a vegan than you were about our humans eating chicken eggs?"

"Squawk."

"No- you're right. Calling you a vegan was too far, I'm sorry."

"Squawk~"

Just as Mr. Flippers accepted my apology with a small hop, the blue orb on my desk began to glow.

"Jacob! Can you hear me?"

"Ah-" I moved closer to my desk, "I can, how's everything going, Julia?"

A cheerful voice reached my ears, "Everything looks pretty good so far! My elves got much better at manipulating alternia trees using their plant magic while we were away, so most of the main villages are now above the ground."

"That's great! Since the things you're fighting should be aquatic, I doubt they can do much to fight against guys living in trees," I paused for a second, "They were able to replicate the bows you got as your prize, right?"

"Yep! I was a bit worried that the elves near my temple would keep it to themselves, but luckily it looks like they've been sharing how to make them across my realm."

Right... since she has no priest, she couldn't really give directions after the battle phase. Man, I really lucked out getting that as my first prize.

I subconsciously glanced up at the penguin I was just arguing with.

Maybe I should use domain creation to get him some things to play with as a thanks.

"That's great! I don't want to jinx it, but it sounds like this should be a much easier battle phase for you," I replied, pushing those thoughts aside for a moment.

Julia's sigh came through the orb, "I hope so. The main forest in my realm is still recovering from that Tier I forest fire punishment; it’d be nice if we got a break until it’s fully grown back."

"Well, your elves have bows and pretty advanced plant magic now, right? With your continent's design, I think it'll take a lot for you to get a loss on defense at least. It'll all be wins from now on~"

"That would be nice," Julia faintly laughed, "But, I can't be too confident with all of the crazy prizes the teacher was talking about in class. Especially those divine weapons... we have no idea what kinds of abilities they can have."

"Yeah, those are kind of insane, aren't they? Still, I didn't really see anything crazy in terms of abilities for Ferguson's weapon..." I muttered, thinking about a certain silver hammer that gave me a panic attack last battle phase, "I'd love to get one too, but it's not impossible to beat someone who has one; I mean my Oracle was able to win against Ferguson."

"Mmm... you're not exactly normal though, Jacob."

"Squawk!"

"Huh!? What's that supposed to mean!? And don't agree with her, Mr. Flippers!"

My offended expression quickly lightened into a smile as laughter came through the orb.

"I just meant that you're strong. I'm just not too sure if I'd be able to pull off something like that."

"Don't be all insecure all of a sudden; you're extremely strong, Julia. Trust me, you're stronger than me in so many ways," I smiled, "I mean, there's a reason why you keep getting random matches- people attack those they think are weak. You saw what happened in class with the two dudes who got punished, remember? Everyone freaking rushed back to their domain to attack them. If you're getting matched randomly, it's because people don't want to attack you. At the very least, they don't see you as an easy win."

Julia stayed quiet, so I continued, "Besides, we're gonna get a lot stronger during this battle phase. You said you'd train with me during it, right?"

"Mhm, I will. I still don't really understand it, though."

"Yeah... Tatton really wouldn't budge on the explanation," I sighed, "So I'll probably just start with some basic things, I guess. What about you?"

"I'll start with archery just to get used to training. I'll set up some targets using domain creation now~"

"Sounds good," I nodded.

If I'm gonna start training, I guess I should get back on my amino acid diet.

As I did in the past, I closed my eyes and envisioned the sections of the amino acid molecules I was trying to make, starting with the amino group before attaching it to a carboxyl group and a side chain that varied on the type of acid I was forming. With my hands held out, I pictured these molecules multiplying thousands of times until I felt a minuscule amount of divinity drain from my body. Opening my eyes revealed my hands full of a familiar white powder that I then dumped into an old bowl on my desk.

Now this is what I call a meal!

As I began chomping on a spoonful of this bitter white powder, I couldn't help but get curious.

"Hey, Julia. *Munch* You said you were making targets with domain creation, right?"

"Hm? Yes, I was already making them. Should I wait?"

"No- you're good. I was just wondering how exactly you make them. It didn't sound like you knew much about molecules or anything back when we were in Tatton's lab, but I think I even remember you saying that you made soap and stuff before."

"Mhm, I did. But what does that have to do with your talk with Tatton?"

"Well, to make something with domain creation, you have to have an in-depth understanding of everything about it, right?"

"Yes..."

"Yeah, so I've been forming everything down to the molecular structure, but I'm pretty limited in the things I know. Do you just like call the hydrocarbon chain something else? Or is there some sort of mana-"

"Jacob..." Julia interrupted with a sigh, "I don't know what you're talking about, but you're definitely overthinking it."

"Huh? Are you sure? Is there some other way to make things?"

"You're going way too detailed," Julia said lightly, "Just try thinking about the finished thing. If it's something you're familiar with, everything else will kind of fill in."

"... You're kidding, right?"

"Try it!"

"... Alright."

With a deep breath, I closed my eyes and thought about soap. Rather than going down into the molecular breakdown, I instead focused on its actual qualities- the slimy texture, pleasant scent, and dirty-removing abilities. As I felt some divinity drain from me, I opened my eyes to see a clear, soapy liquid in my hands.

"No freaking way... it was actually that simple?"

"Mhm... I don't know what you've been doing."

"Man, I feel stupid; it's pretty much like putting a lifeform on those card things," I reflexively went to bury my head in my palms but quickly stopped before I covered my face in soap, "Thanks for teaching me though, Julia... this will make it way easier to set up things to train with."

A small giggle came through the orb, "It looks like I was the one to teach you this time~ I'm glad I can help!"

That was a cute laugh.

I couldn't help but smile as I wiped the soap off my hands.

It looks like I can use domain creation to make a lot more things now, though. I can make Mr. Flippers some mechanical stuff so easily now!

As I satisfiedly stretched back in my chair, I caught a glimpse of text zooming by on one of my monitors.

My prayer log is going crazy- I guess my priest is spreading the news well~

The prayer log was a feature I unlocked around the time I added the statue to my temple which basically did as the name implied: recording people's prayers toward me. Although I seldom used the feature since I rarely spent time in mortal time, now that I would be training at that speed, it was a perfect opportunity to get closer to my humans. 

"Hey, Julia. Do you have that prayer log thing, too?"

"Hm? I think so; it's that artifact that let's you see when your lifeforms are talking to you, right?"

"Yep- I was just checking since I wasn't sure if it came with my statue prize or if I just coincidently got access to it around the same time," I explained as I scanned over some of the messages, "My humans are mostly just welcoming me back right now, but usually they're asking for stuff. Sadly, I can't really spare any Resource Points now..."

"They already know you're back? Oh, right... your priest," Julia's shock quickly transitioned into a pout, "That's not fair, I want a priest! My elves won't even know I'm watching over them until it's time for me to pick an Oracle."

"It is pretty amazing, isn't it~" I couldn't help but tease, making Julia's pout deepen.

"What kind of things do they usually ask you for, anyway?" she eventually asked curiously.

"Well, I had this one kid asking me to make him strong like an Oracle, so I had my priest give him a fish as a gift. There were also some times where I flattened some trees or got water for people, though. I think I also brought some chickens to a hungry village, too. Part of me wanted to do more, but I think the Academy would throw a fit if I did more complicated things like making houses or something."

"You can do all of that with Resource Points? Wow... they can be used for way more than I thought," Julia paused, "Wasn't that a Tier I prize? You seriously have some left?"

"Only a very small amount, but yes. They go a long way when you don't just dump them into mana~"

"Apparently," Julia groaned, "I still can't believe how expensive mana is. I want to save some Resource Points if I get it as a prize, but my realm's mana density is way too low right now."

"I'm personally pretty happy mana that is so expensive; it'll make my future invading so much easier~"

"... I'm going to super seriously punch you."

"Good luck reaching me through the orb," I teased, "Would adding more mana even make much of a difference, anyway? Your elves can manipulate those giant trees already, right?"

"They can... but not very easily," Julia explained, "With the mana density being so low, the actual strength of the magic my elves use is much lower than what it should be. They can really only use small chants a few times a day because of how long it takes mana to be re-absorbed into their bodies."

Interesting... if all of the Seedlings are having that problem, maybe magic won't be too difficult to counter early in the competition.

I decided to store that information in the back of my mind for the time being.

"Well, there's always the chance you'll get a jackpot and get a divine weapon, a priest, and some Resource Points all from your next prize," I teased.

"That would be amazing," Julia smiled, "Who knows, if I keep winning like you say I will, I might get them sooner than I thought~"

"There's that confidence I was missing! You got this, Julia- those wins are gonna start stacking, I'm sure of it!"

"Mhm, but that's only if I get stronger, so let's stop stalling so we can actually start training."

Dangit.

"... You knew I was-"

"Yes, it was obvious," Julia sighed.

I couldn't help but give a wry smile, "You really do know me so well."

With a groan, I forced myself out of my seat before holding out my hand and closing my eyes.

A heavy weight soon pressed against my palm following a slight loss of divinity, and a shiny, medieval sword greeted me when I re-opened my eyes.

"Guess I have no choice now; one hundred years of training starts now!"