The First Divine Voice
Let's see. I've roughly sorted out my thoughts, so maybe it's time to contact the Lizardmen.
Hmm... Should I go there in person? It's been quite a while since I last visited them. They might have kept records about me, but I'm not sure if they still remember who I am...
Ah, right. This GodTalk basically has a messenger function. I can probably use it to send a message to the Lizardmen.
With that in mind, I fiddled around with the message window for the Lizardmen.
I tapped the last message from the Lizardmen chieftain with my finger. On a smartphone messenger, this spot should connect to all sorts of reply functions... There's a reply option? I cautiously tapped the part labeled reply.
A small window popped up with a button—a red circle with a little microphone icon inside... Is this the recording button? Hmm. So we record our voice and send it from here? And what's with the mic shape? Why a microphone? I'm probably the only one in this world who could even understand what that looks like.
Wait... Am I the only one who can use GodTalk?
I shook my head to dismiss the sudden thought. Nah, there are probably other gods in this world. More could show up, right?
I cleared my throat softly to steady my voice and thought about what to say. First, ask if they can hear me, confirm if it's the Great Chieftain... then chat about this and that. It kinda feels like issuing a divine oracle. Or maybe it is a divine oracle. Hmm...
For starters, instruct them to hold a martial tournament during the festival. Promise the winner the title of Great Warrior and my blessing. Oh, and make sure they don't kill their opponents. I want a tournament, not a slaughterfest. Just pick out the strongest without anyone dying—subdue and win. If it's a draw, let the judges or audience decide the victor... Perfect.
Next, select a Great Sorcerer too. Hmm. Sorcery... talent for sorcery... To judge that properly, do I need to study it myself? Well, it's borrowing spirit power, so I could tweak it to be more efficient. Right now, the Lizardmen use it to buff their bodies—borrowing water spirits to swim faster, wind spirits for agility, fire spirits to maintain body heat in the cold, that sort of thing. They minimize direct spirit effects because of low mana.
If I systematize their patchwork sorcery into something more efficient... it'd help the Lizardmen a ton. Might be rough on the spirits, though. But specific instructions would be easier for them than vague ones—win-win, right? Nice. I've got the talking points sorted.
I tapped the red recording button floating in front of me. Buttons appeared on either side of it, and the red button changed shape. A small number popped up above it, ticking up fast. Recording timer? One per second, huh.
Below the number, the changed recording button had a white circle with || inside. Pause? The new buttons were super familiar too—black square ■ on the right for stop, and play ▶ on the left. Obvious at a glance. Triangle for playback preview, square to finish recording. Intuitive—nice.
Alright, let's try it. I hit the square to end recording. A little window appeared above:
Send recording? Yes / No
Got it. Neat system. I hit No to cancel and reset, cleared my throat again, and started recording.
The number climbed fast. Good, it's working. Staring at the screen, I spoke in a low voice.
"Can you hear my voice?"
Short and sweet. I paused the recording and hit play to check.
"Can you hear my voice?"
A soft, delicate voice flowed from the recording screen. Hmm... yeah, recorded voices always sound different from when you're speaking. Something about vibrations in your body or whatever—I think I've read that somewhere. Makes it feel not quite like my own voice. Anyway, it recorded fine.
I stopped the recording and hit Yes on the send prompt. Something new appeared in the bottom right of the Great Chieftain's message window—a round button with a right-pointing triangle.
I tapped it, and my voice played back again. For previewing sent voice messages, huh. Pretty good. I smiled, satisfied with my first message.
Now, to skim Lizardmen sorcery while waiting for a reply...
Whoa, reply came fast. And it's long. Super packed. I skimmed the overwhelming response and let out a small sigh.
Guess I've been neglecting the Lizardmen... Kinda feel bad now.
I hit record again and spoke.
"Managing this world has taken much time, but now there is no more for my hands to tend, so I answer your call with a moment's leisure."
Voice okay? Tone right? Not too light—proper gravitas. Checked the recording... Decent enough! I sent it.
Reply came quick.
No, stop with the stone tablets. Seriously, stop.
"No more stone tablets. Your sins are as nothing—worry not. I called you for an important matter."
Sent.
Stop harvesting human heads! That's seriously not it!!! If you guys go all out on humans, they'll get wiped out without a fight!!
"That is unnecessary. What I bring you is a small gift for my devoted followers."
I ignored the reverence bleeding through the text and kept sending voice recordings.
"What I command is this: at the next festival, on the final day, select the strongest among you Lizardmen."
"Yes. Select the strongest. But none must lose their life in the process, and victory must be clear. If the fight is too close to call, let the will of the other Lizardmen decide the victor. And in this contest, nothing but the clash of body and weapon may intervene."
"Good. Upon the one who stands victorious, I shall bestow my blessing. That one shall be the strongest of the Lizardmen—my blade."
Though I have zero plans to actually swing that blade! But hey, say it now, figure it out later, right?