Nordan yawned as he crawled out of his bed. Darkness surrounded him, inwardly… and outwardly. He was in a cave after all.

He slipped on the sandals he had made from one of the sheep he had created and moved to light the candle that was next to his bed. The yellowish light permeated throughout the cave, allowing Nordan to once again see his surroundings. There wasn’t much there.

There was a single table along with a chair in the room. On it, were a few tools and utensils he would use to eat or make tools.

There was one thing that stood out from all the rest. Also on the table was a painting of Liliam. Nordan had gone out of his way to gather as many colors as he could to paint it. Not only that but it had taken him a seemingly endless amount of time until he was satisfied with the painting. He seriously practiced for what seemed to be years to be able to paint something of that quality. However, he didn’t mind. There was nothing else to do.

He had long given up on his dream of bringing Liliam back. He had spent countless years trying everything he could but nothing worked. As soon as she died, he immediately tried to recreate her with an image of her past self in his mind. However, all that appeared was a wretched version of her that was clearly not friendly. That version had attacked him as soon as she saw him. He was forced to put her down.

After trying to imagine a peaceful version of her multiple times, he eventually gave up on that idea and decided to create his own civilization. Perhaps, the problem lay in the fact that his world was barren. So, he rapidly expanded his landmass and leveling system. He also added 118 elements, the same amount that had existed in his old world. It wasn’t hard since he already had all the astral energy he needed.

Yet, the new world he had created failed. Everyone seemed to be a bloodthirsty killer, only out for themselves. The system didn’t seem to promote any positivity as people would level up and immediately kill each other. It didn’t help that people always gave the most astral energy as well.

The creatures he had created for the people to grind only ever gave one astral energy each. However, people gave the total amount of energy they had earned over time. This made humans the prime target of one another.

A spark of hope had appeared for Nordan when he found the first child. It seemed that the humans had learned to repopulate. That hope didn’t last for long as he soon realized that those children would just grow up to also be merciless killers. That was if they grew up at all.

Eventually, Nordan simply gave up. He had been trying for so long yet nothing he did worked. It all meant nothing.

So, he buried himself in a cave on the edge of the world and entertained himself with various trinkets. He had considered killing himself but then realized that he had no idea how to. Sure, if some outside being invaded him then it was simple but none of his attacks harmed him. He was quite literally invincible without the presence of an invader which he hadn’t seen since the time with Liliam. If those pieces of shit were so rare then why did they have to come then?

He knew that pondering on such things was useless but he couldn’t help it. He was angry that she was taken from him. He was angry that this stupid system had caused him so much pain. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. This new life was supposed to be special. He was supposed to make a family.

Yet, it was all gone now. He had no motivation to keep trying. What was the point? Everything he did failed and it was only a matter of time until some powerhouse invaded his world and killed him. Might as well accept that fate.

In a desperate attempt for entertainment, he opened up his status. He couldn’t even remember the last time he checked it.

Nordan Sanus

Tier: Simple God

Astral Energy: 674,434 Astral Essences

Total Astral Rate: 53,826/second

Upgrades:

* Level: 5

* Cost: 100,000 Astral Essences

* Astral Rate: 10,000 Astral Energy/second

* Land: 100,000 Square Meters

* Cost: 1,000 Astral Energy per Square Meter

* Astral Rate: 0/second

* Life: 110,345 Life Forms

* Cost: 10,000 Astral Energy per Creation

* Astral Rate: 1 Astral Energy/second per life form

* Materials: 118 types

* Cost: 100,000 Astral Energy

* Astral Rate: 0/second

* Energy: 10 Energy Sources

* Cost: 1 Astral Essence Per Source

* Astral Rate: -100(per source)Astral Energy/second

* The Godly System: 15 levels

* Cost: 100 Astral Essence Per Level

* Astral Rate: -2^(l)-1 Astral Energy/second

*(Each level Nordan achieves means that he loses 2^(l)-1 Astral energy per second to maintain the system).

He had currently capped the level limit at fifteen since each level up came with such a high cost; however, it wasn’t like anyone actually got there. The highest person so far was level nine, just shy of their second ability. He was able to make it so every five levels, humans would gain a new random ability that could be activated based on a cooldown. By then, the amount of astral energy their bodies had could maintain an attack like that.

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Usually, most people died out before they could get very high but this last person was proving to be a true terror. They wiped out hundreds of humans in order to level up. Nordan knew that he probably should have done something to stop it but he just didn’t have the willpower anymore. Besides, even if he did help, the people of this world would probably just immediately attack him to steal his astral energy.

His astral essence amount was also off the charts. He hadn’t realized that he had gotten so much but then again, he had really just stopped caring. It really made him wonder just how much time he had spent sulking around.

Still, he didn’t really care. Without Liliam, he felt as if he had no purpose. He continued to feel bad for himself as he fell back into his bed. Since he was a god, he didn’t need to eat or anything so he ended up spending much of his time inside of his cave.

Suddenly, a loud ruckus started up outside. A large amount of yelping was taking place outside of his cave. At first, he figured he would just wait it out but soon his patience got the best of him.

He groaned as he dragged himself out of his cave and nearly hissed as the light from his energy sources pierced his eyes. After a moment of adjustment, he squinted at the sight in front of him.

There was a large pack of wolves attacking a young man, maybe in his late teens. The man was clearly losing; however, he refused to give up and continued to punch the one wolf he was hanging on to over and over again.

After a few more moments, Nordan could tell that the fight was over. The man was barely breathing and the wolves were essentially biting every part of his body. Yet, he couldn’t help but notice that the man seemed upset… like he wasn’t satisfied with something. Usually, all the humans Nordan had seen killed were either fearful or had a sort of primitive rage about them. This man was different… and that piqued Nordan’s curiosity

It took little effort to summon a small sun and obliterate the wolves. They died quickly and without much resistance. They couldn’t really level up so it made them exceptionally easy prey. Nordan couldn’t help but frown at their weakness. He knew there must have been a way to get these types of creatures to level up but he hadn’t ever been feeling up to it. Now, he was ever so slightly regretting that.

The man glared at Nordan right before passing out from blood loss. Nordan quickly summoned a few of those healing plants he had created long ago and saved the man. Unlike Liliam, he wasn’t too far gone yet.

Nordan picked the man up and took him to his cave to rest. He knew that this was a bad idea but he didn’t really care. His life had been exceptionally boring recently and he needed something to spice it up. Besides, he doubted that the man could even lay a finger on him, let alone kill him. In fact, he knew he couldn't. He was a god.

Nordan laid the man on his bed and sat in a chair next to him until he woke up. Time was basically meaningless to him so he wasn’t really sure if the man took minutes to come to or hours.

When he did, the glare from before immediately came across his face.

“You! You’re the one who killed them aren’t you!” he screamed.

Nordan frowned as he dodged an incoming punch from the man. This man… he cared about people. That was… unexpected.

“You… cared for others?” Nordan quickly asked, desperate to satisfy his curiosity.

The man looked at him with rage, “Stop playing dumb! You did it right? You killed my family! I’ll never forgive you” he screamed as he tried to ram into Nordan.

Nordan stopped him with one hand rather easily. “A… family…”

The man struggled against Nordan relentlessly, despite the massive difference in strength.

“Why! Why did you kill them? Why! They did nothing to you!” the man screamed.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Nordan sighed, “I did nothing of the sort.”

The man hesitated as soon as Nordan said that. “You’re… you’re lying.”

“Why would I lie? I am stronger than you in every way. You are no threat to me. Lying to you would gain me nothing,” Nordan reasoned.

The man stepped back at his logic causing Nordan to get even more excited. This person actually seemed capable of reason. This was unlike anything he had seen since… Liliam.

“I… I are you sure?” he asked.

Nordan nearly chuckled. “Yes, I am positive that I didn’t happen to go out and slaughter a family today.”

“I… I apologize then… I had never assumed that there would be other people around here… I must be going then. I have to find the killer.” The man clenched his fists and turned to leave.

Nordan was not going to just let this man go. This was the first time he had ever seen a reasonable being let alone signs of a family in his world. If he let this man go then he would likely die. Nordan wouldn’t let that happen.

“You will just be killed too you know,” Nordan said.

The man turned to him angrily. “So? What else am I to do? Let the killer roam free while my father, mother, and sister lie dead in our old home. I have nothing else to go back to! I have nothing else! Understand? I don’t care if I die! I don’t!” the man snarled.

Yet, Nordan shook his head. “You misunderstand… I too would like to see such evil vanquished as well… however, just running at them and dying is pointless. You don’t stand a chance. Instead, I would suggest you level up some and then attempt to fight such a foe. Then, you may be able to actually avenge your family.”

The man’s eyes sparkled with clarity as he comprehended Nordan’s words. “Do you… really think I could kill someone like that? My father… he was strong. He even had his own special ability! How could I possibly stand a chance?”

His father's ability came as a surprise to Nordan. There were not many people who could stand against someone like that. In fact, there was only one he knew of and that was because of how many people they had killed. If Nordan was right then this kid may not stand a chance after all… but he wasn’t about to tell him that. Instead, he would do something to ensure this guy made it out alive and well. He would finally take action.

“Hmph… I’ll train you. I’ll teach you the ways of the system and once I am satisfied with your progress, I will send you off to find your killer,” Nordan said.

The man eye’s went wide as he understood what Nordan had just offered. It didn’t take him too long to nod his head yes.