Kingdom Building: Civilization Starts with Divinity-Chapter 120: Black Dot

Taking a seat on her throne, Alchemy ran her hand across her face before slouching down.

"Oh, what a day." Alchemy let out a deep sigh

|<It’s barely noon.>|

Looking at the system, she paused for a moment before groaning. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Don’t remind me. I feel like my body is gonna give out before my mind at this rate."

A couple of hours had passed since Alchemy had excused herself from the celebrations. Although the spirits of every one were high, it was a shame that she didn’t have proper accommodations for a party.

She’d do more than just kill for a beer right now.

"System, how long until rewards are calculated?"

|<Soon? We can’t check on other Prospects.>|

The system took a few minutes to respond causing Alchemy’s eyes to narrow at it.

"Right... Then, while I wait for that, what exactly are you?"

|<Notice: The System is a tool to aid Prospects in their journey and conquest.>|

"Not that, you. The person I’ve been talking to. You’ve been very vocal this past day, so I should at least properly identify you, yes?"

Once again, the system went silent for a while.

|<We are your Administrator. A Handler or Manager of sorts. As for the frequency, the Arbiter gave their permission to chat without quick chat.>|

"Quick chat? My god, are you a pre-2010s kid-friendly MMO?"

|<It was very annoying... Very few of us have this privilege. We can only imagine it’s because of your status as a top ranker.>|

"Hmm. So, I am getting special treatment. Neat." She chuckled.

"I suppose it’s a little late, but it’s both my pleasure and ire to work with you, Handler."

|<Likewise, cutting board.>|

As she felt her eye twitch, her smile turned sinister.

"Yeah, I’m going to beat the hell out of you."

|<That aside. You should begin considering what you’re going to name your Civilization. You’ll need it to claim your rewards.>|

"A name, huh? I’ve been thinking of one and have a few ideas, but nothing has really clicked with me. I could always go with my original name, couldn’t I?"

|<Please don’t.>|

Alchemy clicked her tongue.

"You’re no fun."

Regarding names, Alchemy wasn’t looking for anything with deep meaning. She wasn’t any good at wordplay, so trying too hard would make her land sound stupid.

’Something Cool and Snappy. Maybe God’s Right Seat? Nah, a divinity-related name is too tacky.’

As she gave the name more thought, she idly flipped through her different management panels. On top of coming up with a name, she still had so much to do.

Creating proper housing for the Verminae, upgrading her Throne again, and doing something with that mountain of gold and jewels she had.

Eventually, she opened her map when a stray dot caught her eye.

"Uhm... Hey, System. Or, Handler. Could you list all the map indicators for me?"

|<Notice: Green = Building | Blue = Civilians | Gold = Heroes | Red = Enemies | Silver = Allies | Gray = Mercenaries.>|

"Right, so I’m not forgetting one. Glad Mental Destruction hasn’t messed that up. But uhm, why is there a black spot on the map?"

|<That...>|

|<Someone is interfering with the System’s interface.>|

Alchemy’s eyes widened.

"Just one thing after another. Can I catch a break?"

Alchemy wanted to sigh, but she was about out of sighs to give.

|<Notice: Caution is advised.>|

"Yeah, I know. I have a vague idea of what it might be."

The black dot resided rather close to the heart of Alchemy’s territory. Just shy of what her units would be able to detect but close enough to be out of the Thornskirmishers patrol range.

Thanks to the map, they rarely check the inside of their Goddess’s land, allowing them to allocate more manpower to the border, but it seemed Alchemy didn’t check it often enough.

Whatever was there knew of their patrol routes.

"Nera!" Alchemy called out as she left her hut.

The young moth was still partying when her Mother called for her, but she left everything she was doing to the nearby Verminae and flew over to Alchemy.

"You called Mother Goddess?"

"Yeah. Sorry to cut your celebration short, but we need to check something out." Alchemy nodded, showing her the abnormal black dot.

"What am I looking at?"

"Don’t know."

Alchemy recited what the System told her, and Nera’s eyes grew bright.

"A being capable of disturbing the System? The same thing happened in the Dire Tooth’s Lair... No, the influence seems significantly weaker." She mused.

"Mother Goddess! Please allow me to investigate! This is much too interes... I mean, dangerous. Much too dangerous to leave so deep in our land!"

’Your true intentions are showing, Nera.’ Alchemy hummed inwardly.

While Alchemy agreed with her daughter, she didn’t seem to feel the same urgency. If whatever it was was hostile, it had plenty of time to attack.

During the invasion, right after it, when they started partying. It didn’t make any sense for them to wait so long.

Unless they determined that attacking wouldn’t be possible.

"Alright. Can I trust you to avoid resorting to violence? At least until we know it’s a threat."

"Of course! We shouldn’t disturb my brothers and sisters if possible." Nera nodded.

As Nera turned around to leave, Alchemy grabbed her shoulder and held her up.

"Right. Here, take this little one with you!"

|<Notice: Please choose your next sub-skill for [Miracle Generation]!>|

|<Sanctify>|

|<Piety>|

|<Desecration>|

|<Confirmed. You have chosen Piety!>|

Sticking out her hand, Alchemy poured a small amount of Divine Power through it. Similarly to Grace, it began to take a physical form, however, right before the Divine Power would be transmuted into a type of matter, it stopped.

In Alchemy’s hand, a small butterfly with black and purple wings.

|<Notice: You have used Piety For the first time!>|

|<Notice: 101 Divine Power has been consumed!>|

"Woah, this is weird." Alchemy’s voice could be heard twice, the little butterfly parroting her words.

Not only was her voice doubled, but Alchemy’s field of vision shifted greatly. It was like she had four eyes instead of two.

Everything gained an uncanny sense of depth as she saw the world through not only her own eyes but also that of her creation.