First Creations

Kim Jihun returned home after finishing his shift at the Yelim Bookstore. He gazed at his desk, where the Creator God Manual sat waiting.

He muttered to himself, brimming with anticipation.

"I've been waiting for this moment all day."

During his shift, his mind had been entirely consumed with thoughts of material creation. His body had itched with impatience to try out this new ability. But now, his patience was rewarded. Back home, free from prying eyes, he could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠experiment to his heart's content.

"The power of creation."

Jihun slowly replayed yesterday's events in his mind—the moment he'd been dragged into the Void, and Asrie's demonstration of crafting matter, time, and space.

That was truly incredible power.

Even recalling it sent shivers down his spine. To forge an entire stellar system in an instant! He yearned to become a great Creator God like Asrie.

"Alright. No reason I can't do it too. Let's give it a shot."

Jihun decided to mimic Asrie's actions from yesterday. He had no idea how to perform material creation on his own, so the only reference he had was watching her do it right in front of him.

"Asrie definitely chanted a spell. Then golden light flashed, and a planet appeared."

He pondered aloud, then slapped his knee with a triumphant shout.

"'All things exist!' That must've been her incantation."

Standing up, Jihun struck a solemn pose, trying to recapture the atmosphere from when Asrie had unleashed her creation. Of course, if anyone saw him now, it wouldn't look charismatic—just a guy awkwardly posing in his dingy room.

"All things exist."

He intoned it gravely, expecting a golden glow to erupt and form matter any second.

Nothing happened.

"..."

Embarrassed even alone, he flopped back into his chair.

"Doesn't work."

He sighed in frustration.

"Agh! How the hell do you even do material creation? Like I'd know that."

That was when it happened. The Creator God Manual in the corner of his desk began to shimmer with a soft golden light.

Jihun's eyes widened as realization dawned.

"Right! The Creator God Manual can tell me!"

He'd already experienced the manual answering his questions before—last time about gathering Creation Force. Now it would teach him how to perform material creation.

Heart pounding, he stared at the book. Golden text slowly materialized on its pages. He read intently.

"Knowledge of materials and Creation Force? Divine words?"

Jihun tilted his head in confusion, then muttered,

"What the hell does that even mean?"

He'd read it correctly, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but it gave him no real sense of how to create. It made sense, though. He'd gained the ability for material creation but never practiced it. Learning creation from words alone was inherently tricky—it was a realm of pure intuition, and text had its limits for conveying that know-how.

"Knowledge of materials..."

Still, something clicked. To build his Creation Force, he'd analyzed countless materials around him, so he understood their structures intimately.

"If I use the info from my analyses, maybe I can create them?"

It seemed plausible. He began reviewing the materials he'd investigated before—pens, notebooks, books, furniture, clothes, and more.

"Let's start with something simple, like raw materials."

Rather than complex objects, he'd try basic single-substance items first, not knowing his limits yet.

"Hmm."

Jihun recalled the vast knowledge from his material analyses. Structures flooded his mind: plastic, steel, aluminum, paper, wood, stone... All sorts of material compositions danced in his thoughts.

So this is what it means to use the info I've gathered.

Overwhelmed by the sheer volume and detail, he sifted through it and settled on one.

Let's try plastic.

For his test, he chose polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the common plastic in bottles.

Closing his eyes, he focused. PET's structure filled his mind as he drew up the Creation Force dormant within him.

—Vmmm.

A unfamiliar sensation stirred—a foreign energy awakening deep inside. He shivered.

This is Creation Force!

Instinctively, he guided it. The energy gathered at his fingertips, condensing and glowing.

A golden light bloomed from his fingers. He concentrated on shaping it, then intoned the divine words.

As the words echoed, golden energy rippled from his fingertips.

The info and Creation Force are merging according to my will.

To form the PET he envisioned, the Creation Force surged, coalescing at his fingers into the desired material in an instant.

Flash!

A brief glow erupted from his hand. Jihun looked down to see a small object clutched in his palm.

"So this is creation."

It was a light, transparent plastic ball made of PET.

"My first creation."

Pride swelled as he admired it. To others, it was just useless plastic, but to him, it was the first object born from his Creation Talent.

"I'll keep it as a decoration."

He placed the ball on his bookshelf with a beaming smile, thrilled by his accomplishment.

Gazing at it, a sudden realization hit.

"Wait... does that mean I can make gold too?!"

How had he overlooked that? With material creation, he could produce single-substance items in small quantities if he'd analyzed them before. And the most valuable? Gold! Endless wealth to improve his family's life.

"Let's make gold!"

Leaping up excitedly, he shouted,

"Mom! Do we have any gold at home?!"

He dashed to the living room, where his mother sat on the sofa.

She gave him a puzzled look.

"Why gold out of nowhere?"

"I remembered you mentioning wedding jewelry once. I wanna see it."

As a kid, he'd heard her stories about her wedding gifts—how expensive they'd been, straining the family. He'd brushed it off then, but now it was his chance to analyze gold.

Her response crushed his hopes.

"Didn't I tell you? During the IMF crisis, I donated it all to the gold collection drive."

"Oh... right."

Jihun scratched his head, disappointed. He'd forgotten that part.

He smacked his lips.

"Anywhere I can touch some gold then?"

"What's with the sudden gold obsession?"

"I've never actually touched anything made of gold. Just wanna feel it."

"Hoho, silly boy."

Dismissing it as a joke, she laughed it off. Jihun slumped, crestfallen. He could've made endless gold with his power, but no sample meant no dice. Gold calls to gold, money to money—he'd learned capitalism's cruelty firsthand.

Guess I'll hit a gold shop later to touch some.

Resolving that, he returned to his room.

...

Flash!

Back in his room, Jihun dove into creation practice. Small spheres of various materials now orbited around him—plastic, iron, glass. He lined them up on his bookshelf like trophies.

"They actually look pretty cool like this."

Pure material orbs filled a corner: cold hard aluminum, light transparent plastic, heavy shimmering glass...

Through repeated material creations, he'd hit exactly 10—the quest requirement.

"Nice. Quest complete."

Relieved, he flipped open the Creator God Manual on his desk.

Flash!

The golden text ignited. The flaming letters floated into the air, drifting toward Jihun and absorbing into him.

He felt the Creation Force pour directly into his body and glanced at the corner of his vision.

"Whoa!"

Jihun cheered, reveling in the surge. The sacred, warm energy of Creation Force coursed through him. He grinned in satisfaction.

"Gaining this much Creation Force at once... Quests are pretty useful, huh?"

He'd mastered material creation ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and boosted his power. Life was good.

Then, the still-open Creator God Manual displayed new text.