Nova listened to her master’s suggestion of the "Dragon Words" talent, a power perfectly suited to her draconic nature. Yet, she gently shook her head, her expression a mixture of guilt and firm resolve.
"Master, your gifts are a blessing, but Brother Shenlong’s power is his own. I wish to forge my own path, one that is unique to me and my children," she said, her voice respectful but unwavering. She felt the pang of guilt by disagreeing with her creator, but her heart was set.
"Fair enough," Sunny replied, a hint of curiosity in his voice. "So, what did you have in mind?"
Nova’s eyes lit up with a passionate fire. "Master, I wish for a talent that connects my strength to the destiny of my race. A power that stacks within me every time a Dragonborn or a true dragon learns a new skill or advances to a higher realm. Then, when the need is greatest, I can unleash all of that stored power at once."
Sunny listened, a slow, proud smile spreading across his face, hidden behind his mask. She wasn’t just asking for a weapon; she was asking for a responsibility, a way to tie her own power to the prosperity of her people. To collect so much power that even the gods would shudder in fear, he thought, and nodded. With a flick of his finger, he granted her wish.
[Talent Name: Charged Explosion]
[Grade: SS]
[Description: Every advancement in your race will accumulate a power inside you. You can release this power at any time to boost any of your talents or your physical strength for a short duration]
Nova bowed deeply and returned to her position, while Sunny made a mental note to copy that incredible talent as soon as he could. Only seven and a half more hours to wait, he thought.
"It’s your turn, Demigods of the Races," Sunny announced, his gaze sweeping over the diverse line of progenitors. "What do you all want? Ask away, one by one."
Aethel, the demigod of humans, stepped forward, his presence solid and dependable. He bowed. "Master, we speak with one voice. We wish for the cooldown time to be decreased for our innate talent."
"Do all of you have the same request?" Sunny asked. A chorus of determined nods answered him. He smirked. Their unity was impressive. With a grand wave of his hand, he altered their very nature. "The cooldown for copying a new talent is now two hundred years."
A collective gasp of pure joy erupted from the race demigods. They had hoped for a reduction of maybe fifty or a hundred years, but their master had directly cut it down by three hundred. They bowed as one, their gratitude immense.
"If anyone wants anything else, speak now," Sunny said. "You may not get this chance again anytime soon."
As expected, a familiar, shameless figure stepped forward. "Master..." Loki began, a roguish grin already on his face. "Please modify my Master of Stealing talent. I wish to steal any talent not temporarily, but... permanently."
"Let’s see if that’s an SS or SSS-Grade wish," Sunny mused. He began to focus his will, but as he was etching the talent, his intuition screamed a sharp warning. He saw his faith entering a black hole and never returning back or being used in this future vision. He immediately changed the concept, adding a crucial restriction.
[Talent Name: Master of Stealing]
[Grade: SS]
[Description: You can steal anything a person possesses, be it an item, skill, or talent. However, you must kill the target within 10 minutes, otherwise, the stolen property will be returned. Note: You can only steal one thing from each of category from a person at a time.]
"Hehe, this talent matches my Master of Assassination perfectly!" Loki laughed. "Ten minutes is far too long. I will kill them in one!"
Sunny ignored him and his boastings and said "Anyone else?"
Thea’s shimmering form drifted forward. "Master, can you modify my Manifestation and Thought Sharing talents to consume any form of energy, not just Faith? This would reduce the consumption of faith and in turn make my convertor talent shine even more." Her reasoning was, as always, flawless. Making her network self-sustaining would be a massive boon.
"Granted." With a word and a wave, Sunny modified Thea’s core talents. Now, she could draw on the ambient mana of Veridia or any other energy source, a change that would allow her to expand her network to the farthest corners of the multiverse.
Sunny asked for the next demigod, but a respectful silence filled the hall. Seeing that no one else was approaching, Aethel, the human demigod, stepped forward once more.
"Master," he began, his voice ringing with a newfound, visionary confidence. "As demigods of the races, we believe our purpose shouldn’t be limited to the lifeforms on Veridia alone. There are humans, elves, dwarves, and countless others races across the 5.5 billion worlds of your new universe. Let us extend our guidance to them. Let us help all our kin soar like dragons."
Sunny paused, considering the grand suggestion. His demigods of races were still weak compared to the Demigods of law, but with a 200-year cooldown, they could grow strong very quickly by finding high-grade talents among the trillions of lifeforms now under his rule. He agreed, his mind already racing ahead.
Thea’s analysis flashed in his mind: to cover every known sentient race in his new universe, he would need 136 new demigods. Without batting an eye, Sunny gave the command of manifesting 136 new divine embrys. He felt no drain on his own faith. Instead, he felt Thea draw upon the immense, ambient mana of Veridia, its hundreds of mana veins pulsing as she siphoned off the required energy. One by one, 136 new divine embryos materialized in the God space, a silent, powerful testament to the empire’s new, self-sustaining power.
"Well, well, things have started to get interesting," Sunny said, as he saw his power take another boost with the increase in strength of his demiggds.