Wish Fulfillment System

It took a fair bit of time, but eventually, Titania managed to recover from her shock. Upon thinking about the unprecedented situation a little further, she realized that the notion of a god creating a new world wasn't as far-fetched as it felt. While it was generally believed by the inhabitants of the Lower World that it had taken all of the deities to create their world, in a collaborative effort, nonetheless, a world this small… one god might just possibly have been enough to make it, right?

Noticing that his servant had returned to a more composed state, Isaac continued his explanation. There were still many things that he had to mention, but some of them would have to wait for later - he didn't want to repeat himself too many times, after all. As for Titania's slight misunderstanding, even if he had known about it, he wouldn't have bothered to clear it up, at least not for now. In the future, she would find out just how wrong she had been anyway.

"Remember that spot from which we entered this world? I temporarily placed a teleportation node there. Basically, when in contact with a node like this, there are currently four methods to teleport someone."

First of all, he would be informed whenever someone interacted with the node - even if they just stood in it momentarily. He could then decide to teleport that being to another node, or even let them enter his private world. This also could be exploited as a surveillance tool, but it would have a ridiculous AP cost that simply wasn't worth it.

Secondly, just like when teleporting normally via his system map, everyone in a five meter radius around him or Ais could be taken along with them when teleporting. There was no additional cost, as the nodes made the entire ordeal a free one.

The third method was a little more 'novel', at least to the listening plant. By registering someone with the teleportation network, Ais and Isaac could allow them to autonomously make use of it. Of course, the two could restrict them to only being able to choose between specific nodes, or they could time them out for a while - there were far too many settings that they could control. Aside from that, once someone was a registered user, the most extraordinary part would come into play. Whenever a user was in contact with a teleportation node that they were authorized to use, a system notification would pop up in their field of view, listing the possible destinations to choose from.

Needless to say, while he had Titania test this feature, she shrieked and jolted backwards, out of the node, when she saw an unfamiliar blue dialogue box pop up out of nowhere, accompanied by an emotionless, robotic voice that had infiltrated her head. Her extreme reaction wasn't because Isaac had been a jerk and had refrained from warning her in advance - he had done the opposite. It was just that the entire phenomenon was too startling, as well as… creepy. After all, a voice suddenly communicating with someone's mind… at the very least, it would feel extremely odd.

Luckily, as she had already been shocked too many times today, the resilient plant grew slightly numb to these entirely foreign concepts. This allowed her to silently accept this new feature that she could now make use of. She teleported back and forth between here and the training courtyard that they had been in tens of minutes prior, simply to try it out.

When she had cooled down again, Isaac proceeded to explain the fourth and last method. Every registered user could scroll down to the very bottom of the system notification, where they would find an option to request permission to bring along one or even multiple guests. This would directly inform him and Ais, and also provide the two of them with information regarding whoever the respective user pleaded for. Once the request had gotten approved and the guests had gotten temporary permission to accompany the user, they could then proceed on further.

"Anyway, go and take a bath for now. Just select the '50th floor' option. When you're done, come back. I have a few other things that I need to elaborate on, but I'll only do it when everyone has been assembled."

Nodding happily at her master's words, Titania disappeared from this world in a matter of seconds, leaving behind only Ais and Isaac. As if they had come to a telepathic understanding, they entered the teleportation node after a short kiss, separating for a short while. Ais was going to gather the rest of the students and subordinates, while Isaac had to make a quick trip to pick up Ray. He also had to give the Xenos a tiny bit of an explanation…

-----

Ever since around midnight, the hidden village had been in both an uproar and a festive mood. Out of nowhere, around every hour or so, a new and unknown brethren of theirs had appeared, right in the center of their settlement, seemingly out of thin air.

Most Xenos wouldn't even have realized that something had happened, had the new arrivals not made various surprised and startled noises. They couldn't be blamed for this, however.

Sully the Sword Stag had been feeding on a couple of magic stones in a somewhat hidden alcove on the 24th floor after a hard-won battle, when she abruptly found herself in an entirely unfamiliar place. What made it even worse was that she had been munching away on her food before, but now, she only got a mouthful of dirt and stone for her efforts!

Her introduction to the rest of her kin were disgusted spitting noises coupled with a frustrated but confused roar. Thinking that they were under attack, the few Xenos that had been asleep woke up at a moment's notice, and the entire group surrounded the newcomer. When Sully realized that she was face to face with hundreds of monsters, a huge portion of which were definitely far stronger than her, the poor Level 3's knees almost gave out. Thankfully, Lyd managed to quickly defuse the situation, and instead of crying out of fear, tears of joy soon ran down the doe's face.

Although nobody could explain what had happened, this was still a joyous occasion, so an improvised 'feast' was held, consisting mostly out of a couple of cooked meals, fruits, as well as some magic stones that had been stowed away for a rainy day. Not that it actually ever rained down here.

Right when they were all still happily chatting up the bashful Sully, a shocked shriek could be heard from the exact spot that she had appeared at about an hour ago. Afterwards, this exact scenario played out three more times.

Micean the willow Treant had - unsuccessfully - been pretending to be an ordinary tree after barely escaping from a Monster Party, then he had been spirited away out of nowhere. Ban the Obsidian Soldier had been ripping apart a massive group of Loup Garous. By the time that he came to, his blood-drenched body that was still exuding heavy killing intent stood right in the middle of a party. When a heavily injured Fallen Melia, Nora, eventually appeared, the Xenos had already prepared themselves for any other unannounced arrivals, and luckily could get her treated in time for her to make a full recovery. Lastly, shortly before 5 a.m., Harell the Old Bison got dropped into their midst.

The vast majority of Xenos had no idea what could have possibly led to all of these strange appearances, but a few of the smarter ones at least speculated that it might have something to do with one of their allied deities. As for the leaders, they were entirely convinced that it was Isaac's doing - the reason for this was that they had contacted Fels to inquire about what was happening, only to be met by confusion on the friendly skeleton's end as well.

In time, their discussion had led to Fels revealing that Isaac may or may not have the ability to teleport, or to phase through walls - that was when all the puzzle pieces finally fell into place. Although Lyd and Gros were a bit indignant at not having gotten any warning or explanation, they weren't really angry. They had no idea what situation the mysterious god was in. He had managed to save a few of their kin, and that was already more than enough. All the grumbling was just to vent their petty frustrations before he actually appeared, so as to avoid souring their cooperative relationship through a slip of tongue.

Finally, at about 6:20 a.m., the troublemaker in question strolled in from a connected passageway. Because they had been waiting for him, as soon as Ray noticed him with her echolocation, the three leaders hastily made their way over to greet him.

"Milord, welcome back!"

With a smile that was a touch more gentle than yesterday, Ray saluted the young man in front of her. Due to the rescue of so many of her kin, right after Fels had revealed Isaac's teleportation ability to them, her Loyalty had increased by a whopping 10.

Polite and friendly as always, Isaac returned her smile and then faced the other two, who had been one step slower and only just arrived.

"It's nice to see you all. But I'm sorry to have to say that I won't be sticking around for long. I will come back later, though! For now, I need to borrow Ray for, at most, a couple of hours."

He really didn't want to be held up for as long as yesterday, especially because he still hadn't introduced his world to everyone who was relevant yet. With that in mind, he ignored the slightly disappointed looks on Lyd's and Gros' faces and hurriedly continued to speak.

"Also, I apologize for bringing so many of your kin here unannounced. I was extremely busy and couldn't come along with them, but I didn't want to leave them behind in the dungeon either. I hope that didn't cause too much trouble."

Seeing him bow very slightly, Lyd panicked and hurriedly waved his hands.

"Oh, it's no problem at all, Lord Isaac, really! These slight inconveniences mean nothing at all in the face of bringing some more of our kin into our fold, and saving their lives!"

Even the silent Gros nodded, supporting this statement. Relieved by the fact that they hadn't taken it to heart - after all, that would have complicated their work together unnecessarily - and also happy that he had dealt with this minor issue quickly, Isaac's smile widened.

"That's great! Now, I'd really love to stay longer, but I simply can't. Ray, please follow me."

Peppering his words with the necessary pleasantries, he motioned at the Siren and turned around, walking back into the passageway that he had come from one or two minutes earlier. Smiling and waving at her companions, Ray hurriedly chased after him, leaving them in the dust.

A while afterwards, the fluttering of wings could be heard next to Lyd and Gros, causing them to turn around. An excited Fear had made her way over from afar and was searching the area with a confused look on her face.

"I could swear I just heard Lord Isaac's voice. Where is he? And where did Ray go?"

With a resigned sigh, Gros decided to break the news to the lively youngster.

"They've already left."

-----

When Isaac and Ray arrived back at his world, the Siren curiously sized up her surroundings, just like everyone else who had come here before her. Right as he was about to drop the 'Welcome to my world' bombshell on her, a message from Ais arrived via the system.

[ I just picked up Lefiya, and ran into Riveria on the way. I'd like to bring her with me, would that be okay? ]

A small smile played across Isaac's lips as he thought about it for a moment, then he replied with a 'Yes'. While the motherly Elf wasn't one of the people under his command, he knew that Ais cherished her greatly. He didn't know the exact extent of what Riveria had done for her in these past years, but it wasn't hard to make some educated deductions. And even if that connection hadn't been there, he wasn't averse to letting the mother hen have a look at the foundation of his long-term project.

Although she could be stern and cold on the outside, it was plain to see that she cared a great deal about those that she was responsible for. Now that he also was a part of that group, he would be lying if he said that he didn't appreciate her kind nature at all. Additionally, she had long since known about a considerable amount of his less important secrets, and had kept them well. She was trustworthy. And even if she wasn't, this world couldn't be invaded, damaged or even perceived by anyone unless he allowed it. There was absolutely no danger to granting her entry at all.

So with that in mind, Isaac postponed explaining what was going on to Ray for a minute or so longer, then Ais, accompanied by the others, appeared right next to them. Even a now no longer concealed Hel was amongst them, doing her best to hide without the use of her trusty Arcanum.

As veterans who had been through at least one spatiotemporal dislocation, everyone but Riveria quickly came to terms with their new environment. Most of them simply ignored the black void, but Lefiya noticed that it was different from before… it felt like there was some kind of barrier in between them and the beyond - or rather, the barrier was thicker than before.

While her disciple was getting distracted, Riveria herself was completely taken aback by what she was confronted with. Because she had been studying magic for a long time and also was far more sensitive to mana than most, courtesy of being a High Elf, she realized that this place was… fundamentally different from where she had just come from. But how was that possible? What she currently perceived to be 'mana' might not even be mana… What was this nearly empty plane!?

If she hadn't been overwhelmed by this first mystery already, then countless other questions would have flooded her mind, there was no doubt about it. After all, according to common sense, far too many things about this world were 'wrong'. Still, her mind was stuck on the first matter, confusing her so utterly that she was stunned entirely speechless.

No matter what any of them were thinking, the sound of a certain person clearing their throat soon got their attention.

"Ahem! You're all here, so I'll start with the explanation."

Preempting any questions, Isaac quickly told them exactly the teleportation network-related information that he had informed Titania about earlier, eliciting even more astonishment from them. The system notification was the chief reason why many of them staggered backwards or grabbed the empty air in front of them, staring dumbly.

The ones who adapted the quickest were Averin, Mina and - surprisingly - Aselina. The boisterous Jack Bird being the least impacted by all of this was to be expected, especially since he was still very young. As his worldview wasn't as rigid yet, it was a lot easier for him to accept new and stunning information. Mina never really seemed to have trouble to do so either, specifically when something was related to her lord. But because Aselina hadn't been a part of the group for as long as some of the others, her coming to terms with it all so fast made Isaac raise an eyebrow.

Eventually, after everyone had somewhat settled down again, Titania returned from her bath, only to be greeted by a huge number of people, two of which she had never seen before - the winged woman standing obediently behind Isaac, as well as the grey-haired girl futilely trying to hide behind gusts of wind. It really didn't need to be explained why she failed.

"Titania, you're back. That's great, I can finally begin. Also, this should be the first time that you meet Ray and Hel, right?"

Getting the introductions out of the way quickly, Isaac took a seat on his sofa's back. Everyone else sat down on the many chairs that he had pulled out of his inventory for them to recline on whilst listening to his lecture.

"First things first. Welcome to my private world! I created it earlier today, and while it's currently just the cornerstone of what it will become in the future, it is already useful in many ways. I wanted to share news of its existence with you all."

Before he could get any further, he noticed that Riveria was already on the edge of her seat, furrowing her eyebrows and about to ask a question. Deliberately pausing, he gave her a chance to speak up. He also glanced at the shell-shocked Hel for a moment. Out of everyone here, she was probably the clearest about just how ridiculous and impossible of a feat creating a world was, at least for a deity of the world that she had come from. One sentence: It couldn't be done.

"You claim that this is a new world? And that you created it? How are you even capable of this?"

Even though Riveria's questions sounded confrontational, they really weren't. The High Elf was just so intrigued that she needed clarification - also, it would be foolish of her to immediately believe literally everything that she was told. While she had no reason to suspect him of lying, because this was way beyond her expertise - and even beyond what she had expected him to have the ability to do - she simply needed more information and proof before she could be fully convinced.

Not taking any offence, Isaac showed a sympathetic smile.

"This is indeed a new world. A plane type world, to be exact. It is entirely disconnected from your own world. Just check back with Hel if you want to make sure of that. Lastly, I am capable of everything. The question isn't 'if I can do it', it is 'when I will do it'. To prove that I, at the very least, am in control of this world's laws…"

With a glance at the system, Isaac changed a few settings. Very rapidly, the environment switched from day to night, and back again. This repeated for a few tens of times. All the while, heavy gusts of wind battered everyone present, before settling down once more.

"This should suffice, right? I could do far more, but that would eat into some of my resources, and I'm not a wastrel."

Upon looking at Riveria once more, he noticed that she was completely awestruck. For a while, he wondered if she had short-circuited, but she eventually recovered her senses. Silently, she nodded at him, asking him to continue. It was very clear to her that there had been no Magics in play, and after realizing how antsy Hel was now that she couldn't hide anymore, the answer couldn't be any more clear. If she had just noticed the young goddess' plight earlier, then she wouldn't have even doubted Isaac's claims. Even though her expression didn't change much, he could see the tips of her ears grow slightly red from embarrassment.

Smirking but deciding not to make her any more uncomfortable, he finally had a chance to fully elaborate on some of the important features of this world.

The elephant in the room was this question: If this was another world, would the flow of time be aligned with the DanMachi world? The answer to this was simple: Yes, because he had chosen for it to be that way. It felt far too 'cheap' to simply hide away in this world for a few years to fully research all new things that he encountered in Ais' world. While it was possible to do this, and he might change his mind on this matter one day, for now, he decided to keep this world's flow of time parallel to the world of DanMachi's. If a day passed in one, a day would pass in the other, and vice versa.

Regarding the various inexplicable phenomena, like the lighting, the temperature, the air composition, et cetera, he didn't go into too much detail - it was sufficient to say that he had set all of them to be reminiscent of the world that the others had come from. It had only taken him a bit of time to choose all of the correct settings in the system back when he had created this world, and he could even adjust them on the fly. After seeing some of the others sport confused faces, he realized that the easiest way to make them understand was to clarify this: He could control everything about this place, no matter what it was. Of course, he had also shared this authority with Ais, but the others didn't really need to know about this. If she felt like it, then his beloved could tell them about all of that herself.

It was important to let them all realize that this was a perfectly secure haven - nothing and nobody could influence it, even in the slightest, unless he gave his express permission. To alleviate any potential worries, he even made Hel attest to not having been able to perceive this world, or the teleportation node leading to it, at all.

This world's landmass extended ten kilometers in every horizontal direction from a central point. Overall, the world's form was cylindrical. The ground was two kilometers deep, while the 'sky' extended upwards for another three kilometers.

Next on the list was what Riveria had previously been baffled by, this slightly different 'mana'. Isaac explained that he had simply made the energy inherent in all things - no matter which world one was in - emulate the mana that they were all used to. Functionally, it was no different, and he would be able to use it for his research. Still, to someone attuned to the nature of a particular world, like a certain motherly High Elf, for example, the feeling that the two different kinds of mana gave off would not be entirely the same. This could, of course, be adjusted, but as that wouldn't influence the functionality at all, Isaac couldn't be bothered to increase his expenses.

Lastly, there was still one other matter that he wanted to touch on before getting into the first step of the plans that he had for this world's future.

As this wasn't the Lower World of the DanMachi world, the restrictions placed upon him and Ais that prevented them from making use of all of their divine abilities and powers should have not applied in this place. Still, he had chosen to keep them intact, as it would feel highly uncomfortable to be repeatedly released from the shackles, only to be bound again. If either of them ever felt like their wrists had gotten too sore, then they could unlock them and recover, reveling in their current peak capabilities for a while, but it was unclear whether or not that would ever actually be necessary. It also was a bit dangerous - after all, once one was used to comfort, letting go of it was quite difficult. While that wouldn't be a problem for him, it might trouble Ais for some time. She would, of course, eventually overcome it - he had every confidence in that - but there was no need to put her in such a position in the first place, right?

While most of the others weren't too clear about what exactly he was talking about when he told them about this last point, Ais' eyes widened in realization, and she showed a gentle smile. She hadn't even thought of what could have happened should he have failed to take such a precaution.

With a deep breath, Isaac's expression suddenly shifted into a more solemn one, making a few in the audience gulp audibly.

"You might be wondering what I plan to do with this place, so let me tell you. I will build a central base for all of my people here, as well as research facilities to house some of the specimens that I have gathered. One example of these would be the Mermaid that I picked up in the dungeon. But all of these are just side hustles. The main focus will be on two other things. Firstly, a comfortable home for myself and Ais. I'm sure it will come in handy during our future travels. And secondly, a library."

Seeing the realization dawning on almost everyone's faces, a bright, genuine smile spread on Isaac's face.

"You're correct, that is why I gave you that homework. I will build myself the greatest library in existence!"