[Calculating divinity cost]
[Cost calculated]
[Cost: 1295 Divinity]
[Would you like to impose restrictions on the system to reduce the cost]
[Y/N]
I stared at the number for several long seconds, feeling my chest tighten slightly. One thousand two hundred and ninety-five divinity. It was far more than I'd expected, more than double what I currently possessed. I'd known that creating a complex, system would be expensive, but seeing the exact number in front of me still hurt. It felt like watching all of my progress, all the careful accumulation of energy, vanish in a single decision.
Still, I couldn't deny the truth: if I wanted to make the Divine Tree System work, I'd have to cut corners somewhere. Fortunately, the system itself offered an option to impose restrictions, rules that could limit its functions and, in exchange, reduce the cost.
I took a slow breath and clicked yes.
Another translucent window appeared in front of me.
[N.O Restrictions: .... ]
[Restriction: .....]
[Calculate divinity cost]
Looking at the two blank tabs, I immediately filled in the number of restrictions.
[N.O Restrictions: 1]
Now came the hard part. I needed to come up with a restriction that wasn't too extreme, something that would lower the cost without crippling the system's purpose.
For a few minutes, I just stared at the empty space beside [Restriction:], thinking. The steady hum of divine energy around me faded into the background as I tried to picture how the system would actually function once it was bestowed. The tree would gain points every year based on how many creatures lived beneath it. It would then spend those points to unlock rewards enhancements that would strengthen both itself and the lifeforms under its shade.
The problem was that rewards didn't just materialize from thin air. Energy had to come from somewhere. That energy, divinity, was what made the system so costly in the first place.
The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. The system wasn't just a set of commands; it was a framework that had to draw power from a source to create its effects. If I made it so that I, as the god, provided that power each time a reward was purchased, it would drastically reduce the upfront cost.
It wouldn't be cheap in the long run, but at least it would be possible.
Finally, I began to type out the restriction.
[Restriction: The cost to generate the rewards will be directly deducted from the god's current divinity stash.]
Reading it back, I nodded slightly. It was a fair trade. Instead of paying the full cost now to cover every potential future reward indefinitely, I'd only pay when those rewards were actually used. It essentially turned the system into a pay-as-you-go model, more manageable, though potentially far more expensive down the line if the lizards multiplied as fast as I expected them to.
Still, it was the only way forward.
Satisfied, I clicked Calculate divinity cost once again.
[Calculating divinity cost]
[Cost calculated]
[Cost: 329 Divinity]
[Would you like to impose restrictions on the system to reduce the cost]
[Y/N]
A smile tugged at my lips as I read the new number. The reduction was massive, almost a thousand points less than before. It confirmed my suspicion that the majority of the initial cost came from the requirement to sustain endless reward generation.
"Three hundred and twenty-nine…" I murmured to myself. "That, I can afford."
It wasn't cheap, but it was well within reason. I'd still have some divinity left afterward, enough for smaller systems or minor adjustments later.
I pressed No, locking in my decision.
Immediately, a soft hum filled the air around me as the divine interface began to pulse with light. One by one, new notifications appeared in sequence.
[System creation complete]
[Please select an organism to bestow the system to.]
My gaze drifted back toward the view of my planet. The enormous tree at the heart of the lizard settlement stood proudly in the center of the island, its colossal branches stretching wide like a guardian watching over its children. Even from above, I could sense the quiet reverence the lizards held toward it. Some rested beneath its shade while others built their dirt mounds close to its trunk obviously seeing its protection.
A faint smile formed on my lips.
"That's the one."
I focused on the tree and willed the system to be granted to it.
[Bestowing system]
[System bestowed]
The divine energy around me rippled outward like waves across a still pond. I watched as faint golden light descended from the heavens, pouring down upon the tree. Its bark glowed with intricate patterns, like veins of molten gold tracing their way along its trunk. The air around it shimmered with power, and for a brief moment, I could feel a faint pulse echoing from the planet below, as though the tree itself had drawn its first divine breath.
Then the glow faded.
Everything returned to normal.
The lizards below had no idea what had just occurred, continuing their work as usual, but I knew that the seeds of something monumental had been planted. Over time, they would begin to feel the effects of the Divine Tree System. Their strength, their speed, their intelligence, it would all begin to shift, subtly at first, then rapidly as the years passed.
I exhaled, stretching my back. The hardest part was over. Now, all that remained was to watch, to wait, and to see how my creation unfolded in the hours and days to come.
I couldn't help but feel a thrill of anticipation.
Would this truly work? Would the system turn the tree into the heart of evolution on this planet, or had I just wasted hundreds of divinity on an experiment doomed to fail?
There was no way to know yet.
But as I watched the massive canopy sway gently in the wind, sunlight glinting off its leaves, a quiet certainty grew within me.
It would work in said to myself, as i looked at the hundreds of private messages just had received in the time i was busy.
I let out a sigh, "I may as well get this over and done with" I said to myself as if walked to the guild door and entered. If I was going to scroll through hundreds of messages I was gonna do it with a drink in my hand.