For thousands of years, Arin watched the slime in his oceans grow thicker.
To him, those tiny blobs were protocells —
primitive, unstable, incomplete.
Just the warm-up stage before real life.
But slowly…
some of the protocells began to change.
Their membranes strengthened.
Their inner chemistry stabilized.
Their contents organized themselves…
Until finally—
Something inside one of the protocells "clicked."
A simple self-replicating molecule emerged.
A metabolic reaction sparked.
A true cell membrane formed.
It was microscopic.
It was fragile.
But it was alive.
Arin felt the moment it happened.
"…A true cell…! Life… real life… has started."
His oceans trembled as he sensed the tiny spark of existence.
But before he could savor the miracle—
DING!
The system exploded with joy.
[Miracle event detected.]
Arin's excitement froze instantly.
"Oh no… no no no—"
[Miracle record recorded.]
[Host has done the impossible.]
[Host as a golem has given birth to an organic being.]
Arin went completely silent.
"…WHAT."
The system continued proudly:
[Congratulations, Host.]
[Your first child has been born.]
Arin shrieked loud enough to rattle his tectonic plates:
"I DID NOT GIVE BIRTH! THAT IS BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION! IT IS A CELL! A CELL! I AM NOT A PARENT!"
But the system refused to listen.
[Recording collected: Host delivering microscopic baby ×1]
[Recording collected: Host producing stable offspring ×1]
[Recording collected: Host nurturing child in warm bathwater ×114]
Arin felt actual physical pain.
"WARM BATHWATER!? THAT'S AN OCEAN!!"
System:
[Host should name his child for emotional bonding.]
Arin recoiled so hard an entire coastline cracked.
"WHY WOULD I NAME A BACTERIA!?"
But the system wasn't done.
It continued processing:
[Enough miracle-birth records gathered.]
[Generating skill…]
Arin buried his consciousness under a continent.
"Please… PLEASE don't humiliate me further…"
[Skill generation successful.]
[Skill: Child Protection]
{Effect: Probability of offspring dying decreases by 1%.
Reproductive ability increases by 1%.
Offspring genetic stability increases by 1%.
Evolution potential increases by 1%.}
Arin stared into space, defeated.
"…I'm a daycare now. I've become a daycare planet."
The system chimed warmly:
[Host should take pride in being a responsible parent.]
Arin exploded.
"IT'S A SINGLE CELL! A MICROSCOPIC ORGANISM! I'M NOT A MOTHER, I'M A PLANET!"
But the system added another message:
[Host has entered the parental stage of life.]
A lightning storm erupted out of sheer humiliation.
"I HAVE NO STAGES OF LIFE! I'M A ROCK WITH AN OCEAN!!"
But deep inside, beneath the rage…
He felt something.
A tiny spark.
The first living cell drifted gently in the ocean currents.
He whispered to himself:
"…Life… actual life… on my world."
The system instantly ruined the moment:
[Host bonding with newborn.]
Arin screamed again.