Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: The Next Stage
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'Huh?'
As soon as I recognized it was the next step, a new button appeared on the screen beside me.
A new button—yellow—had emerged below the blue and red ones.
Naturally, any person would see a new button and feel compelled to press it—
As if responding to that instinct, I reverently clicked the yellow button.
[ You have acquired a sufficient amount of 'Divine Power'! ]
[ Proceed to the next stage? ]
[ Yes / No ]
The moment of choice returned once more, heightening my tension—
'Should... should I press this?'
For now, my guess was that since it appeared in the Rabbit tooltip, it had to be related to the Rabbit.
In other words... maybe it meant the Rabbit would 'evolve'?
'What happens if it evolves?'
I imagined it might become a more powerful Rabbit, or perhaps even a female character with bunny ears in beastkin style—
But if it really was evolution, the latter seemed unlikely.
The writer was quite negative about creating humanoid lifeforms through sponsorship money.
Even for a pet bought with a huge sum, they probably wouldn't easily give it a beastkin-style avatar.
So, pass on that.
The only thing left was the Rabbit getting stronger... but if that was it from the start, why bother asking my opinion?
They'd just send a message like 'The Armageddon-flinging Rabbit grew by devouring Divine Power and became even stronger!' and force the evolution.
In other words, the fact that this button came to me meant— it was related to the Rabbit, sure, but even more closely tied to me—
'The 'next stage' from the perspective of a god.'
With my thoughts settled, I immediately messaged the writer.
[ Igugwoden: Writer ]
[ Igugwoden: A button asking if I want to go to the next stage popped up next to the Rabbit. What's this? ]
[ Please Donate: Pardon? By Rabbit, do you mean the pet? ]
[ Please Donate: So... you're saying you can see a 'button' when observing the Rabbit? ]
[ Igugwoden: Yeah ]
[ Please Donate: Please wait a moment ]
About five minutes passed before the writer's next message arrived.
[ Please Donate: Sorry, Lord Igugwoden ]
[ Please Donate: I hurried as fast as I could, but I haven't fully grasped the new observation system yet... ]
[ Please Donate: I can't explain what the 'next stage' exactly is since I don't know myself ]
...Huh?
What?
The writer made this world, and even accounting for immersion in the worldview, was there any reason to flatly say they didn't know?
[ Igugwoden: So, can I press it? Should I not? ]
[ Please Donate: I'm not entirely sure ]
[ Please Donate: But if it's visible in your sight, Lord Igugwoden, can't you just do as you wish? ]
[ Please Donate: If the observation system calls it the 'next stage,' I might learn something new too ]
Hm.
For now, the writer seemed to want me to press it.
If they didn't, they'd have told me not to.
Well then, guess I can press it without worry.
[ Igugwoden: OK, I'll press it then ]
[ Please Donate: Understood ]
[ Please Donate: I'll prepare to adapt flexibly to any situation ]
[ Please Donate: As a being receiving Lord Igugwoden's love, I can't prepare for anything half-heartedly ]
The repeated emphasis on 'receiving love' caught my eye a bit—
But more than that, I wanted to satisfy the curiosity right in front of me.
'Press.'
I firmly pressed the yellow button, and as soon as the tooltip asking to proceed popped up, I selected 'Yes' without hesitation.
And—
'Whoa...!'
—The transformation arrived immediately, without a moment to grasp it.
* * *
"Igogodon."
The Rabbit, bored even of spitting random words at humans and Elves and munching on Eve-Silon fruits, lay sprawled in the grass, steeped in profound ennui.
Ophelia, who traveled with it, would surely be aghast—but Ophelia was currently busy helping the elderly Elves.
By the will of the god, she should always stay by its side... but the god would forgive this much leisure.
As it basked in the breeze with such thoughts—
"...!!!"
The Rabbit's pitch-black eyes sparkled.
—God.
The god had given it a command.
More akin to the god than any being on the continent—the Rabbit, divine messenger, instinctively knew the god had commanded it.
The god exists, named Igugwoden, and whispered like starlight: Proceed to the next stage.
—Understood.
All according to Lord Igugwoden's will.
In that instant, a membrane of light enveloped the Rabbit.
It was a truly mysterious light.
The red of hot blood. The blue of vast oceans. The deep green of verdant meadows.
A protective barrier of three colors, as if containing the whole world, pulsed rapidly around the Rabbit.
Flash, flash, flash.
Have you ever imagined three colors, each claiming their boundaries firmly, orbiting around the Rabbit?
"Igogodon."
Utterly calm, the Rabbit gathered strength in its legs and leaped to the maximum height to fulfill the god's command.
And then, it landed in midair.
No misstatement. The Rabbit could 'land' in the air. Even with nothing there, it could stand on the plain facts of the god floating in the atmosphere as footing.
A third party witnessing this might think the Rabbit was levitating—but that would be wrong.
Just as not anyone can comprehend the god's will—mortals can only interpret it as levitation.
Anyway, settled somewhere in the sky, the Rabbit lifted its head toward the heavens.
Staring blankly up at the god Igugwoden gazing down upon it—
"...!!!!!"
Front paws spread wide to the sides.
Hind legs spread wide downward.
In a pose as if ready to embrace and seize this world right then and there, it whispered.
"Pure Fact
Igodon."
And—
A new world opened.
A world perceivable only by the god.
* * *
The first change after pressing the button was, predictably, the Rabbit.
The light barrier enveloping the leisurely lounging Rabbit trembled—
Then began flashing in various colors!
...No.
Not various colors.
Exactly three: red, blue, and green.
The three colors formed a mystical band, encircling and shining around the Rabbit.
I had seen this exact combination of three colors moving like this before.
Heck, my keyboard and mouse right in front of me were emitting similar lights!
Yes. This was—Gaming color!
The tri-primary glow from gear bearing the 'Gaming Gear' title, earned by flashing RGB!
Now I somewhat understood what the next stage meant.
It was—
'The Rabbit evolving into a Gaming Rabbit...!!'
...Wait.
'Is this really it?'
If this was the end, it'd be kinda underwhelming.
Becoming a Gaming Rabbit and gaining an RGB-flashing barrier looked cool to my eyes at least, but honestly, aren't the perks of anything 'gaming' nonexistent unless you appreciate RGB's coolness?
The moment I cautiously harbored that small doubt—
"...Huh?"
Hop!
The Rabbit suddenly jumped, freezing midair in a flying squirrel-like pose begging to be hugged—and at the same time—
—Rumble rumble rumble
The world shook.
Not my world, of course, but the New Continent on the screen.
As the quarter-view camera panned away from the characters, what emerged was—a mountain pass with crumbled rocks.
In the dark forest beyond the pass... colors bloomed.
'Whoa...!'
RGB bloomed everywhere.
The land, life, imagery bloomed everywhere.
The scene of the pitch-black world brightening to reveal the unknown continent was plenty epic, despite the crude graphics.
Yes. If I likened this moment to the old RTS genre craze—
'Feels like map hack activated.'
Soon, the airborne Rabbit cautiously landed.
As the RGB barrier faded— a crisp sound effect rang out.
[ (
Enlightened Elves with faith (O) Cleared the blocking boulders at the pass (O) Achieved sufficient development rate (O) Existence with god-like power present (O) ) ]
[ All conditions met, safely entered the next stage! ]
The continent expanded as the new world was revealed!
'For a dot-game, the presentation is killer.'
With RGB, any color could be displayed.
With RGB, any landscape could be depicted.
Zoom in on the display, and you'd find RGB everywhere without fail.
So, wasn't the reveal of the new world using gaming colors?
If this was indeed why the Rabbit became a 'Gaming Rabbit'—
'Writer-chan, you terrifying genius...!'
Awed anew by the writer's design, I turned my eyes to the new world.
'That...!'
Beyond the newly revealed forest came into view: a village and buildings in an entirely different style.
Tiny humanoid lifeforms, small enough to feel short even in SD style, bustled about building something diligently.
They resembled humans—but weren't. The size difference was too great.
Nor were they Elves. Not just the size, but their ears weren't long.
The moment I realized that, the term flashing in my mind was—the original name for Elves before Dtamuk Thinking Army derogatorily called them Kanp: Ierly.
Meaning 'the long-eared ones.'
If Elves were named for long ears, another race inevitably existed—and now appeared before me.
Lift the view a bit higher—
A massive cave emanated an aura clearly distinct from a dungeon.
Only then did I grasp the true nature of the next stage.
Not the Rabbit evolving into a Gaming Rabbit—but the development of the New Continent.
And another message window appeared—
[ New region discovered! ]
[ Please bestow the sweet grace of God-nim upon the new region as well! ]
—A 'new BM' fully prepared to raid my wallet.