Chapter 564

【 NEW PERPETUAL DUNGEON AND CREATING A NEW RACE 】

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Evé had long intended to eventually open her predecessor’s divine kingdom to the players by transforming it into another game dungeon.

Even though it is broken in its current state, its remaining territory still spans several million square kilometers, which provides ample space for players to explore and once again experience the vast scale of Elven Kingdom’s open world.

Moreover, scattered across this land were the remains of extraordinary creatures from the Thousand-Year Holy War, as well as various damaged relics and equipment. Despite the passage of time, these remnants still represent significant value to the players.

Nevertheless, Evé had no intention of personally clearing the area. Instead, she planned to grant players free rein to scavenge these remnants, knowing that they would find the experience enjoyable.

She was confident they could handle this task well since they were even known to grind continuously for three days and nights without eating or sleeping, all for the sake of obtaining a visually appealing piece of equipment…

Well, when the time came, she might even consider implementing an “entry fee,” possibly requiring contribution points before granting access to the old Divine Kingdom.

In addition, Evé deliberately disregarded the spatial rifts scattered throughout the land, which were caused by the corrosive power of the Abyss. She allowed these rifts to remain because they enabled low-level demons to freely roam and reproduce within the corrupted areas of the old Divine Kingdom.

These rifts were relatively small, and she could close them at any time if she chose to.

However, closing them was not part of her plan. Rather, she intended to keep them perpetually open to cultivate demons as “livestock.”

Now that the old Divine Kingdom was under her full control, there was no threat capable of causing real disruption within it anyway. So, why not treat those demons as renewable resources akin to “leeks” and let her adorable players from Earth act as “farmers” to harvest them?

To that end, Evé had even lifted the Divine Kingdom’s natural suppression of the power of the Abyss, thereby deliberately allowing the demon population to grow.

The scent of the material world was highly attractive to demons. Therefore, even if the players wiped out all the demons within it, new ones would continue to appear as long as those spatial rifts remained.

This perpetual cycle of demon respawning and extermination would provide a stable and long-lasting source of experience for the players.

Even without considering the abandoned equipment scattered across the old Divine Kingdom, the area would still function as an excellent zone for grinding experience.

Thus, this old Divine Kingdom of her predecessor would become Elven Kingdom’s third dungeon, following the Shadow Dungeon in the Underground and the Labyrinth where Demon Lord Azazel was sealed.

Speaking of which, the activity level of shadow creatures remains significantly lower than that of abyssal creatures. While the power generated by Azazel, the “perpetual demon generator,” is substantial, he remains only a singular source…

Given this context, Evé held high expectations for the old Divine Kingdom, which contained multiple spatial rifts connecting to the Abyss.

If she so desired, she could even forcibly expand these rifts, thus increasing the Abyssal influence and attracting more powerful demons to serve as bosses for the players.

In other words, the potential here was enormous.

For both the players and Evé, the more such “dungeons” appear, the better.

With that thought in mind, Evé suddenly felt that perhaps the Abyss, which was despised by the gods and feared by mortals, was not as loathsome as it once seemed.

Of course, only someone like Evé, who was capable of absorbing Abyssal power, could think of such a thing.

The old Divine Kingdom offered Evé more than just expectations as it also held numerous unforeseen surprises.

With it being a broken kingdom of a “fallen true god,” the realm held immense allure for all extraordinary beings in Seigües.

This was especially true for adventurers and bounty hunters, who were ever drawn to danger and reward in equal measure.

Not long after the war in the Desert had concluded, Evé began to sense a growing number of powerful individuals slowly converging near the periphery of the old Divine Kingdom. ℞ÄɴƟВÊ𝙨

The majority were human adventurers hailing from the Holy Maniya Empire in the east, but they were also Orcs, lizardmen, trolls, dwarves, and even elusive vampires among them.

Their power levels varied. Evé even detected several legendary-rank individuals among them, though the majority were still experts in the Silver and Iron ranks.

Each of them was actively searching for a method to gain access to her predecessor’s Divine kingdom.

Evé was not surprised by this development.

Although she had publicly claimed sovereignty over the old Divine Kingdom after defeating Uller, making such a declaration was one thing but having others respect it was quite another.

Perhaps the other mythical beings, wary of Evé’s strength, would refrain from acting. But there would always be those who simply didn’t care about such matters.

And as for those mortals and legendary beings below the rank of gods, they lacked the qualifications to even hear Evé’s warning in the first place…

While the Godwardens of other deities or high-ranking secular elites might receive divine oracles from their patron gods informing them of its new ownership, ordinary mortals were unlikely to know that she had already claimed it.

Under such circumstances, they would naturally view the old Divine Kingdom as a mysterious land brimming with opportunity…

Even if they had received warnings, how effective those warnings were remained uncertain.

To the average mortal, a true god was a distant and abstract concept.

They had no intention of claiming the Divine Kingdom for themselves.

They simply hoped to discover a fortuitous encounter within it.

Even if there was a chance of incurring her divine wrath, it remained just that—a chance.

With mana resurging across the realm of Seigües, all sentient beings understood that an era filled with both opportunity and danger was dawning.

Those who failed to grow and adapt to the changing times would be left behind.

In the past, becoming stronger was a matter of enduring time. But now, things have changed.

With the resurgence of mana, the reawakening of many ancient beings, and the emergence of such realms and demirealms, new challenges and powers would arise one after another, reshaping the world and testing the limits of all who inhabit it.

Each of these phenomena signifies an opportunity for ascension.

For the ambitious, this is their chance to change their fate and take the next step forward.

For those seeking wealth, finding a single lost artifact—even just a fragment—within these lands can secure a lifetime of prosperity.

Under such circumstances, it is only natural that more and more people would wish to enter the old Divine Kingdom and explore its mysteries.

However, for the time being, they can only linger at its periphery.

Although the gateway connecting the old Divine Kingdom to Seigües has manifested as a portal of light, no creature may enter it unless Evé, its sovereign, allows it.

That said, Evé does have some plans for these mortals from the other factions, eager to explore the old Divine Kingdom.

Currently, it no longer holds anything of significant value to her.

Therefore, when she eventually opened it to the players, there will be no harm in allowing these outsiders to enter as well.

Many of these adventurers live on the edge, battling death at every turn. As such, they make perfect opponents for honing the players’ skills.

Furthermore, the old Divine Kingdom possesses exceptionally unique properties. Should an outsider perish within its boundaries, their soul is unlikely to return to the deity they worshipped.

This opens up many possibilities for Evé.

It’s not that she intends to devour their souls to strengthen herself. Rather, she sees value in the adventurers drawn to this place, many of whom are highly sensitive to information.

Upon their deaths, Evé can justifiably “sift through” their memories and gather intelligence from all corners of the world.

Never underestimate the weak.

Their strength may be insignificant compared to hers, but given their activity across the continent, they might just bring her some unexpected surprises.

In a way, this is Evé fishing.

And the old Divine Kingdom is the bait.

If one wishes to obtain something, one must be prepared to pay a price.

Of course, should someone truly manage to escape unscathed from the Divine Kingdom and come away with a reward, Evé does not plan to stop them.

On one hand, it would be a well-earned reward.

On the other, it functions as a form of advertisement for the allure of the old Divine Kingdom.

It is as if she is declaring:

“Behold! An entire Divine Kingdom awaits—filled with danger, yet abundant with scattered fragments of ancient artifacts, the remains of legendary creatures, and even opportunities to discover scrolls containing lost magic.

What are you waiting for?

Come and explore!”

Naturally, Evé will impose restrictions on mortals from other factions permitted to enter the Divine Kingdom.

All entrants will have their power limited to below the Gold-rank threshold.

At least, for now. Adjustments can be made later depending on the players’ overall progression.

From there, it will all depend on the players’ abilities.

Will the local adventurers defeat the players and send them back to the World Tree, or will the players eliminate the adventurers and claim their gear? That will be left to fate and skill.

Evé is confident that the players will enjoy the game even more once these adventurers are added into the mix.

When one thinks about it, this setup resembles the “chance encounter instances” trope in the xianxia novels Evé once read in the past—albeit adapted to a Western fantasy format.

And if one day the “treasures” within the old Divine Kingdom ever become depleted, Evé can easily replenish them by introducing additional items—possibly those previously offered to her by players—refurbishing them with her divine power, and presenting them as new “treasures.”

Its perfect.

If there is a minor drawback to this setup, it is that she must manually manage all this conversion each time. Although it requires only a simple thought and a flick of the finger, performing this task repeatedly would begin to feel really tedious over time.

“Perhaps… it’s time I create one or several demigod retainers. Boring tasks like this are better left to them,” Evé mused.

Previously, her divine power was still much too weak to allow her to perform such a feat.

But now that she has ascended to the rank of Intermediate Divine and possesses over sixteen thousand divine power points, spending a few hundred to create a demigod retainer is well within her means.

Among her options, the simplest would be to select a devoted follower from her existing believers and elevate them to demigod status through the direct infusion of divine power.

Alternatively, a more intricate approach would be to utilize the essence of the World Tree—known for its propensity to birth primordial elves—combined with additional divine power to create a demigod elven retainer from the ground up.

However, both methods have their drawbacks in Eve’s eyes.

The first option is the most convenient, but since the matters regarding the game involves Eve’s deepest secrets, she must ensure the candidate is not only completely loyal but also willing to work tirelessly without ever questioning any of her orders.

While a devout native believer might be suitable for such a role, Evé finds their rigid personalities rather unappealing.

Furthermore, her occasional exploitative tactics could be poorly received by such a retainer. And if they were to ever discover her true nature, then it could potentially damage her divine image.

But alas, what can she do?

In the eyes of these native elves, she is the embodiment of virtue and justice…

The second method, which involves birthing a demigod through the creation of a primordial elf offers a guaranteed level of loyalty, but producing a physical vessel capable of supporting demigod power is no small feat.

While a demigod is not yet a full deity, the gap between the two is not that vast.

Their souls have already evolved into divine souls.

Thus, a physical vessel capable of bearing a divine soul is exceedingly rare.

In fact, many true gods do not possess such vessels at all and most of Eve’s temporary incarnations were merely manifestations of her divine power. It was only when she used the Soul Orb she had gotten from Hela that she was able to craft a true physical body capable of housing a divine soul for herself.

Of course, now that she possesses a superior, true deity-level body, she no longer concerns herself with such limitations.

However, if she were to bring forth a demigod-level retainer, the matter would require careful deliberation.

It is not impossible to forcibly birth such a being, but the divine power required would be several times greater than usual. A method which was an inefficient and costly option by Eve’s standards.

While she does wish to have a demigod retainer to assist her, it is not an urgent necessity. Given the high resource cost, she is reluctant to use this method.

There is, however, a third option.

She is the World Tree.

A true deity who holds dominion over the divinity of life.

Moreover, she possesses the Scepter of Life, a divine artifact that has been fully restored and ranks among the top ten most powerful artifacts in existence.

The Scepter grants its wielder the ability to create life.

Since the first two methods each have their flaws, Evé considered a new alternative:

Why not leverage her Divinity and the Scepter to directly create a demigod retainer?

Indeed, shaping a body suitable for a demigod is difficult.

Creating one capable of reproduction is even more so.

But life need not be confined to physical forms alone.

There exists a type of lifeform inherently compatible with divine souls—energy-based life.

In fact, for the true gods, the process of ascending to godhood itself involves a transformation from material life to energy-based life. Hence, many of their demigod retainers exist in this same energetic state.

With this in mind, Evé arrived at a new plan:

She would use her current divine capabilities to create a demigod-level energy lifeform.

No—more precisely, she would create an entirely new race.

If she was going to create life, she would aim for perfection.

The Scepter of Life inherently grants the power to create entire races—an ability woven into her very divinity. With her control over the divine laws of life, Eve could craft a new race from scratch.

Naturally, the entire race could not be demigods from the outset. Had Eve possessed that much power, she would have already advanced to the ranks of Greater God.

What she intends is to create an energy-based race that worships her, then select one of them to elevate to the demigod level.

“This idea has merit,” Eve mused. “I had already considered using the Scepter of Life to create a new race as a way to deepen my understanding of the laws of life. In that case… I might as well proceed with both goals at once.”

“Perhaps I could even introduce this new race as a companion species for the players. Since it would be a race of my own creation, I can imbue them with any knowledge or beliefs I choose. They would make excellent NPCs, inherently aligned with my will.”

“Something attuned to life and nature… How about fairies, like those in the fantasy stories from Earth?”

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