Xu Zhi was more than satisfied with their reactions.
That was all he wanted—shock, awe, and belief. Whether his claims were true or not didn't matter. He bore no responsibility for what came next.
He believed it was necessary to plant an ambitious dream in their hearts—something to ignite their imagination, to push them beyond their limits.
What he told them was little more than a fantasy, a dazzling illusion hanging high in the sky. Achievable or not, that wasn't the point. The first step was to make them believe in the path ahead. A path radiant and promising, that could lead to a future full of wonder and glory.
Because wizards, in Xu Zhi's mind, stood for discipline. They revered knowledge, obeyed the laws of equivalent exchange, and sought the truth with a fervor bordering on obsession. That was exactly the kind of force he needed to reshape the world—a society of magic born from knowledge and clarity.
In the end, no path exists unless someone walks it.
"I'm only showing them the direction," Xu Zhi thought. "Whether they succeed or not is up to them. If they fail, it simply proves that they were too small to comprehend the teachings of a god—not that I was just spewing nonsense."
Medea suddenly asked, voice laced with reverence, "Great god of wisdom, Hermes… how does the Hero King Gilgamesh, humanity's mightiest champion, compare to you?"
Xu Zhi paused, considering his words. Then, calmly, he answered, "Gilgamesh may wield the strength of a demigod… but in my eyes, he is nothing."
A heavy silence fell over the women.
Perched atop the tree, Xu Zhi—through the three-eyed crow—began to instruct them. He introduced basic meditation techniques from Earth, presenting them as sacred methods of cultivating divine power.
Then, casually, he began to lecture on alchemy, quoting directly from ancient texts. Whether or not their budding civilization could make use of this knowledge was not his concern. He had done his part.
Once the teachings were finished, he withdrew his consciousness from the three-eyed crow. The creature fell still as Xu Zhi logged out of the sandbox.
That crow was only a temporary vessel, an expendable body meant to carry his will. There was no need for sentimentality.
What he had taught was grounded in human history. Both Eastern and Western traditions had long featured meditation, and the West in particular was filled with arcane texts about alchemy and magic.
These weren't new ideas plucked from thin air. They had existed before, perhaps glimpses of a truth lost to time, buried under the rise of science and technology.
"I've sown the seeds of knowledge," Xu Zhi murmured. "Let's see if any flowers bloom."
He didn't know if they would succeed. That was what the sandbox was for—to test it, to see what could emerge under controlled evolution.
...
Snap!
The three-eyed crow plummeted from its perch. Still, the women did not move. Reverence held them still.
It was only long after the body hit the ground that Medea and her companions dared approach, confirming what they already sensed—Hermes was gone.
"What an incomprehensible lifeform," Medea whispered, eyes glittering.
She clenched her fists, murmuring, "The great god Mercury must be an abstract existence… one that can possess any creature. Of course! He is the god of Wisdom and Truth—concepts that transcend physical form!"
They returned to their tribe, alight with fervor, eager to try the meditation methods they'd been taught.
They also examined the crow's corpse in detail.
To their astonishment, they found it was a species they had never seen before. Its body was alien—its anatomy fundamentally different from all known animals. It was as though it had come from another world entirely.
"A being not of this earth," Medea whispered. "Could it have descended from… somewhere else?"
Even Circe, usually aloof, was shaken. She set aside their differences for the time being and joined the discussion.
"According to the old records," she said thoughtfully, "the Hero King once dispatched armies to explore every corner of the world. There should be no place left unknown beneath heaven…"
Heaven.
Their gazes slowly lifted.
The sky.
The Great Flood had also come from above.
Could it be? Was there a hidden realm in the skies—a floating continent where strange and powerful beings lived? A realm vast and mysterious beyond imagining? Perhaps even the Temple of Genesis itself?
Their imaginations ran wild, spinning tales beyond reason.
...
Back in the real world, Xu Zhi removed his VR headset with a sigh.
"It's finally over. I had to rehearse my lines so many times just to get everything right. Ugh, acting really isn't for me," he muttered. "If I wasn't doing this to save my life, I'd never put myself through something so humiliating."
He rubbed his temples, frustrated.
Had Gilgamesh been the same size as Xu Zhi, that legendary figure could probably crush him with a flick of the wrist. Even the three witches were already superhuman, wielding strength and wisdom that far surpassed him.
And yet… he had to keep up the illusion.
Just thinking about it gave him a headache.
After a quick shower, he rebooted the Spore Evolution game.
Barely minutes passed before the players came flooding back online.
"F*cking dev! I swear I'll find you and wring your neck!"
"You shut down the game for bug fixes and didn't even warn us before bringing it back up!"
"You're wasting my precious time, you lazy dev!"
Despite the furious complaints, they all threw themselves back into gameplay, desperately working to evolve new species for Xu Zhi.
He paid no mind to their whining. He had the grace of a benevolent Creator battling a terminal illness, after all.
"I'm building a civilization in a sandbox to cure my cancer. Who else in the world can say that? Still… this isn't going to be easy."
Modern science had failed him. So Xu Zhi turned to ancient secrets instead.
Of the three disciplines he had introduced, he pinned his hopes on Alchemy—the one that could potentially create potions powerful enough to heal his cancer. That was his ultimate goal.
But alchemy was the least grounded. It existed only in myths.
Meditation and Magic, however, were more realistic.
Yoga breathing. Qigong visualization. These were real, proven techniques for strengthening mind and body. If their civilization could build upon that foundation, a complete magical system might emerge.
And from that, true Magic would follow. With enough spiritual strength, the manipulation of invisible forces would be inevitable.
"All the preparations are in place. Let's see what they make of it…"
He sighed again.
What a shame. There weren't enough supernatural creatures like the Evil Eye to provide additional inspiration. Xu Zhi longed for a world brimming with danger and wonder—strange monsters, arcane species, terrifying magical beasts.
Instead… he got this.
"Why did I end up with such lazy players?"
Rather than trying to evolve anything useful, his players spent all day discussing how to troll him.
"Bastards! I need to find a way to squeeze some productivity out of you!"
As he brooded, a voice called out from the gate.
"Xu Zhi, you promised you'd come with me to the class reunion. It's time to go!" Chen Xi shouted.
Xu Zhi blinked. He didn't really mind. After a moment, he changed into clean clothes and stepped out for a walk.
...
Meanwhile, in the sandbox world:
"F*ck, the giant's coming! Earthquake! Everyone run!"
"Fall back! He's stomping again!"
"Hehe! I've got six legs—I don't need to be faster than the giant, just faster than you!"
"You're the worst! Next time, I'll evolve eight beautiful legs—we'll see who outruns who!"
Tiny creatures scrambled across the earth in panic, scattering like ants beneath a careless footstep. After all, their kind had only just managed to crawl ashore… and now they were fighting to survive once more.