Three years had passed.
Muria stood at the highest point of Yun Jian Peak, overlooking the bustling and orderly settlement below, with a hint of emotion in his eyes. "Why haven't they come yet?"
Three years ago, after Muria had undisputedly defeated and subdued the Meisha, becoming the King of the Ayaré Forest, he began using his influence to transform the Ikonian tribes of the forest.
First, Muria invited the elites of each tribe to come live at Yun Jian Peak. This move was seen by the tribes as his intent to form his own faction. But in reality, Muria aimed to use this as the starting point to unify all the tribes in the Ayaré Forest, dismantling the ancient tribal system that had persisted for countless millennia and establishing a centralized government with him at the core.
With his influence and the allure of the Meisha, along with the allure of becoming a Meisha Knight, many elite Ikonians began to migrate to Yun Jian Peak. They had no choice but to live there if they wanted to bond with a Meisha, as the creatures refused to leave the Meisha Queen.
Of course, there were fewer than 200 Meishas, so relying on them alone to attract a large number of Ikonians was unrealistic. Most Ikonians knew their own limits and understood that they weren't strong enough to tame such powerful creatures.
So, Muria unleashed his true trump card—a breathing technique he had created out of boredom while still in the womb. This technique, which fundamentally enhanced one's physique, laid the foundation for the current prosperity of Yun Jian Peak.
Whether for themselves or for their children, Ikonians from all over the forest flocked to Yun Jian Peak in droves. And while attracting Ikonians with Meishas and the breathing technique, Muria also insisted they settle on the ground. For a people skilled in building treehouses, constructing homes on the ground posed no real challenge, though it took some getting used to. Yet, under Muria's persistence and planning, rows of wooden houses were soon erected on Yun Jian Peak.
In addition, Yun Jian Peak was rich with energy veins of a mineral Muria named Radiant Stone. About 70% of the entire peak was made of this mineral, which was why the Meisha Queen had chosen it as her nesting ground—it fed on Radiant Stone.
Muria's plan was simple: transplant trees that could absorb and release the weakened energy of Radiant Stone, making the peak more suitable for Ikonian habitation.
At the same time, Muria established the Ikonians' first school, where he was the sole teacher, and he taught only two things. The first was the breathing technique he had developed when he first arrived, and the second was a system of pictographs he created based on the Ikonian language. The importance of writing to the development of civilization is irreplaceable; only a civilization with its own written language can grow and flourish.
After Muria began teaching the breathing technique, his reputation among the Ikonians skyrocketed because he didn't keep it secret—any Ikonian could learn it if they wished. However, what the Ikonians didn't know was that this technique was just the most basic version. There was a second, enhanced stage, and a third, perfected stage. Naturally, the requirements for learning these more advanced versions were higher—Muria was not running a charity.
While Muria's reputation grew from teaching the breathing technique, he also received some criticism. The reason? He forced his followers to learn the new pictographic script he had created. However, any complaints were only whispered in private. Given Muria's power and growing influence, no Ikonian dared voice their concerns to his face.
Over the next three years, Muria didn't stop there. He found a species of large, fast-breeding spiders that produced an abundance of silk. Using their silk as material, he taught Ikonian women how to weave robes. But instead of silk, they wove directly from the spider's silk, since it was too tough to cut and sew. The first batch of spider silk robes became the standard gear for his Meisha Knights.
Muria not only revolutionized the Ikonian attire, but also their food and manufacturing. He taught them how to smelt steel, aiming to propel them directly into the Iron Age. However, progress was slow due to the lack of industrial foundations. The Ikonians were forced to chop wood to fuel the steelmaking process, causing significant pollution, which led to elders from various tribes petitioning Muria to stop.
But Muria stood firm against the complaints. The world's technology was far too primitive—there were vast resources of energy minerals, but no means to use them. If they could utilize Radiant Stone to smelt steel, there would be no pollution. But the Ikonians lacked the technology to do so. Even though Muria had vast knowledge, there was no way he could single-handedly build high-efficiency energy equipment in a world with no industrial foundation.
"It's too difficult!" Muria sighed, gazing up at the sky. Over the past three years, he had led the Ikonians in a frantic effort to sow the seeds of civilization and technology, yet he couldn't help but feel frustrated.
In a sense, Muria's true self was like a god to the Ikonians, but now he was a god who had sealed away all his power, leaving only his knowledge. Even so, Muria had full confidence that he could lead the Ikonians into the space age—if he had enough time. But time was running out. A civilization capable of space travel had already discovered the Ikonians' world.
This sense of urgency drove Muria to push the Ikonians' development as fast as possible, hoping to give them the means to face a more advanced civilization. If Muria could unleash his full power and summon his army from his demi-plane, he wouldn't fear any foreign civilization, as long as it wasn't led by an evil god.
Unfortunately, just revealing his power would trigger a reaction from the world itself, which would try to expel him. If that happened, his attempt to ascend to epic status would fail. Failing wouldn't be the end of the world—he could try again. But it would be humiliating if other legends succeeded, while he failed and had to slink back in disgrace.
"When are you going to come?" Muria muttered, gazing at the sky. A world rich in energy resources with a primitive local civilization was too tempting for any spacefaring civilization to ignore. Only a civilization that had developed perpetual motion machines and no longer needed external energy might ignore it—but such technology defied the laws of physics.
The civilization that had sent the probe Muria had easily destroyed clearly hadn't reached that level. So, they would definitely take action. The question was, why hadn't Muria seen any more signs of them in three years?
Soon, he would find out why.
…
"King Uhl, a group of Ikonians from beyond the Ayaré Forest requests an audience with you!"
"Hmm? Ikonians from outside the forest?" Muria, who had been meditating atop the Meisha, opened his eyes. Two piercing beams of pure white light shot from his eyes before fading back to the black of an ordinary Ikonian's. The divine patterns on his body also dimmed and vanished.
"Bring them to me."
"Yes, my lord!"
Before long, a group of nearly fifty individuals, escorted by six Meisha Knights, entered Muria's throne room—a grand but otherwise unremarkable stone structure.
"Greetings, King Uhl!" Under the watchful gaze of the powerful Meisha Knights, the group, who had come from far beyond the forest, bowed respectfully to Muria. He sat lazily atop the head of the sleeping Meisha, appearing relaxed.
"Why have you come to the Ayaré Forest?" Muria asked, narrowing his eyes as he examined the strangely dressed group. He immediately noticed many items on them that clearly didn't belong to this world.
"Great King Uhl, we've come to invite a delegation from your tribe to the Land of Divine Blessings, to trade with visitors from the stars!" The leader, a Baghdad, spoke with respect. He wore a full suit of silver armor that exuded a technological aura, catching the attention of the Meisha Knights.
"Divine Blessings? Visitors from the stars?" Muria laughed softly. His suspicions were correct—the civilization spying on the Ikonian world had taken action but had chosen not to land in Ayaré.
"You." Muria's smile widened as he extended his hand. A small metallic sphere floating near one of the Ikonians was pulled toward him. He gazed at the orb that had given him a sense of being watched.
"Have you seen enough?"
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