Chapter 87: Manifesting Authority
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The mass and quantity of the World Bubbles were equal to the strength and capacity of the Sea of Illusions—this equation dictated the overall strength and capacity of the Sea of Illusions.
While it wasn't apparent right now, as the Sea of Illusions continued to expand, it would inevitably become bloated.
The factor determining whether the Sea of Illusions became sluggishly bloated or remained agile was its rules. Consolidating and mobilizing power also relied entirely on those rules.
Therefore, acquiring Authorities from the gods offered immense benefits to the Sea of Illusions.
Of course, with the existence of the Divine Avatar and the World Will, the Sea of Illusions would gradually birth its own rules anyway.
Just like how the Firmament, using the Flame of Heaven as a prototype, was gradually replacing the starry sky.
Every single one of those countless stars would eventually grow into a distinct sub-species divine power.
When necessary, Lucian could even manifest them as Star Gods using Annihilation Maker.
However, the expansion of the stars wasn't that simple. It couldn't be achieved merely by duplicating the Flame of Heaven; since their properties differed, their core rules would naturally shift as well.
Thus, freeloading off the gods' Authorities would allow the Sea of Illusions to grow much faster.
"The World Will... it certainly lives up to its name."
Bheara sighed in admiration. A glowing screen suddenly materialized in front of her.
Projected on the screen was an ice and snow-covered world. Bheara manipulated the interface a few times, and the frozen world began to morph, its terrain reverting to a completely primordial state.
A flat, square earth beneath a domed sky—a genuine kingdom of ice and snow.
Currently, the Sea of Illusions only contained three instance maps: the Divine Court, the Colosseum, and the Random Labyrinth. Or, more accurately, three open maps.
The maps Bheara and the others had initially constructed were set to a closed state. Furthermore, since they were all unfinished prototypes, they weren't counted among the official maps.
"You say to manifest our Authorities, but how exactly do we go about doing that?" Bheara mused.
"I just need to add an imprinting function."
Lucian snapped his fingers, and a new feature appeared on the screen: Rule Manifestation.
Utilizing this function would consume the computational power of the Divine Avatar and World Will. It would scan the user, then physically manifest their rule aggregate, filling the entire map with it.
Gods possessed four main aggregates: Divine Body, Divine Soul, Divine Power, and Authority. Bheara navigated the options and selected Authority.
In an instant, the will of the Divine Avatar descended. Everyone present simultaneously felt the sheer magnitude of that majestic will.
As Bheara's body began to emit a radiant glow, the screen in front of her shifted rapidly.
Concurrently, within one of the World Bubbles floating in the Sea of Illusions, its contents were undergoing a drastic transformation.
In that domed world of ice and snow, even the earth itself was forged of solid ice.
The ground, the sky, and all space—both tangible and intangible—were instantly filled with countless lines and characters representing manifested rules, forming an incomparably grand magical formula.
While these formulas manifested visually as lines and text, their underlying core logic was built entirely upon rules.
And out of all the languages Lucian and Bheara were familiar with, Hieroglyphs were the ultimate representation of those rules.
Therefore, when Bheara's Authority was physically manifested, it took the visual form of intricate arrays constructed entirely from Hieroglyphs.
"The Authority of Winter... So this is my true essence," Bheara marveled.
"It'll take roughly a day to complete the replication process." Lucian took a sip of his tea. "And that's only after I deliberately slowed down the Firmament's evolution. However, the speed will drastically increase as time progresses."
Once the replication was complete, the Divine Avatar would also possess these specific rules and Authorities. It would digest them, assimilate them, and integrate them as a part of its own fundamental rules.
Furthermore, the Divine Avatar's compiled rules would be made accessible, serving as an endless repository of materials for the creators to utilize.
"I see. So that's how it's used."
Prometheus opened the Map Editor and initiated her own replication.
However, she didn't stick to a primordial terrain. Instead, she edited her map into the form of a massive, spiraling library.
The entire world was constructed of library halls. The bookshelves represented wisdom, while the books represented knowledge.
Wisdom and knowledge—together, they formed the Authority of Foresight.
And just beyond those towering bookshelves lay the World Barrier.
The World Barrier completely eliminated any possibility of sneaking in or peering through. Without authorization, the residents of the Divine Court could only travel to openly accessible worlds via the teleportation arrays.
Hephaestus, on the other hand, constructed a world of magma, ultimately settling on the imagery of a roaring volcano.
Formations and text clung to every corner of the volcano and the molten rock, thereby manifesting the Authority of the Fire of Forging.
"Actually, you all can use this function as well." Lucian looked toward Alfia. "Magic Slots are inherently a degraded byproduct of Authorities. Though there is a dimensional gap in power between the two, their underlying essence is exactly the same."
"Does that mean I can also construct a world made entirely of sound?" Alfia raised an eyebrow.
"Exactly. Any form of expression is valid. Just construct a world entirely your own based on whatever you envision," Lucian nodded.
He then glanced at Talvi. "As for you, you'd only be able to create a world of poison."
"If you'd like to swap out your magic for something else, I can help you with that."
Even though the magic awakened through Falna reflected one's inner essence, that essence could still be swapped out; the only drawback was that the compatibility might not be optimal.
However, with Lucian's Map Editor, poor compatibility was irrelevant—he could elevate any affinity to the absolute peak regardless.
"I think I'm perfectly fine as I am."
Talvi smiled warmly, her expression serene. "Even though it hasn't been particularly useful, my magic represents my inner beauty."
"Truthfully, whether it represents beauty or sorrow, I believe it's an inseparable part of who I am."
"I see..." Lucian nodded slightly in understanding.
Soon enough, everyone began constructing their own maps. Since the process involved replicating Authorities and magic—which relied entirely on the Divine Avatar's computational power and the system features—they didn't need to exert any real effort.
However, once the construction was complete, understanding the composition of their own Authorities and figuring out how to write in new rules would be entirely up to them.
Moreover, while replicating a god's Authority was a slow process, replicating mortal magic was incredibly fast. It was completed in mere moments.
Ais followed suit, constructing a kingdom of wind. A look of both fascination and relief washed over her face.
Seeing that Alfia had finished her map, Lucian spoke up again. "There's one more thing."
"Among the Three Great Quests, what exact level would you classify the Behemoth as?"
"It's roughly a Level 10, but equipped with the template of a mega-boss with obscenely high stats," Alfia replied. "Back when I was Level 7, the damage output of my third magic was essentially Limit Off. Not even a Level 10 monster could withstand my power."
"Yet the Behemoth managed to tank my magic twice. In the end, Zald had to be the one to finish it off."
"It inherently shares the same rank as a Monster Rex, but it's an enhanced species far above them. Plus, as a Black Enhanced Species, it possesses an absolute immunity to divine power."
It was extremely rare for a Monster Rex to have an enhanced variant. Whenever a monster of that caliber appeared, it was inevitably because the Dungeon was reacting to the presence of divine power.
The Black Goliath from the original story; the Black Balor from a thousand years ago; the targets of the Three Great Quests; the Assassin of the Gods, Antares—aside from Antares, who specifically possessed the ability to devour gods, the other Black Enhanced Species all shared the trait of completely nullifying divine attacks.
These Black Enhanced Species could be classified as 'anti-divine monsters,' while only Antares truly qualified as 'anti-god weaponry.'
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