I still had no idea what was happening outside, but after the goddess's words, I again heard a scandal through the walls of my apartment.

The loudest was the noise of collisions in the streets; these partly drowned out the thuds I heard in the surrounding apartments. It sounded like people suddenly falling flat to the floor, followed by the crash of furniture and appliances.

Suddenly, I heard screams again, much less in quantity than at the beginning, but they were extremely loud and heartbreaking this time.

A few seconds after the scandal, my body was engulfed in a whitish light. It wasn't until much later that I looked in a mirror, but I'm sure that was the moment when my appearance changed.

«My Gifts come in two forms: "skills" or "artifacts." They have just been generated, and you will receive them randomly. Not even I know what each person will get.»

As the goddess spoke, the light around me grew increasingly intense until I couldn't help but close my eyes. Amazingly, the light didn't penetrate my eyelids at all, and in the deepest darkness I've ever experienced, I saw a word taking form.

[Immortality]

«As original humans, in addition to the Gifts you just received, I will equally grant all of you an ability and a skill. The skill is "Appraisal." This skill will allow you to identify and use my Gifts in addition to any other type of magic or magical item.»

When I opened my eyes, the light had already disappeared, but if I closed them again, I could still clearly see the word 'Immortality.' I realized that I was instinctively analyzing my own body; when I stopped doing it, the word disappeared. Perhaps that was the "Appraisal skill" the goddess was referring to.

«Lastly, all original humans will have the ability to use magic, regardless of their affinity for it. Although, the capabilities of each living being are and will be different.»

Again, I focused on myself, and closing my eyes, I could now see more words.

[Immortality]

[Appraisal]

[Magic: 10]

It may have taken a while for the skill to adjust; the only sure thing is that the amount of information had increased. Now I could read the word "Immortality" more clearly; it was bigger than the rest and written in luminous white letters.

Under it were two new words written, "Appraisal" in green and "Magic" in blue, and a number next to the last word. Most of the world was probably baffled at that time, but I had spent a lot of time on gaming and fantasy in general (nothing to brag about) and had a pretty good idea of what all of those meant.

I believe that in nowhere, be it games, novels, etc... the number "ten" can be considered high; maybe it could if it represents, for example, the number of bosses you must fight simultaneously. But usually, it's treated as a pretty low number.

In conclusion, if the number next to "Magic" indicated my amount of mana or something similar, then my magic ability was garbage… That was the moment I could understand why the goddess called me pathetic.

But pathetic or not, I can't lie when I say that those big white letters that said "Immortality" really caught my eye. Although, if I need magic to activate it, I'm screwed.

«Ephereia, that's what you all should call me. Do not forget the name of who has blessed you.»

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After those words from the goddess, which sounded like a farewell, the earth began to shake with such magnitude that I wondered how the building where my apartment was located did not collapse immediately.

Thinking about it later, I figured that was the moment when the continents were rearranged. How the planet was not completely destroyed in the process is a mystery.

«Wait…! I can explain…!»

While everything was trembling, the goddess's voice was unexpectedly heard again; she seemed upset, and the communication ended abruptly. But I didn't have time to worry about that; with the earthquake, I lost my balance and hit my head on something when I fell, instantly losing consciousness.

When I woke up, I still had severe pain in the back of my head. After standing up with difficulty, I took a moment to observe my surroundings. All my belongings and furniture were on the floor, and the apartment itself was full of cracks. That it remained standing was nothing more than a miracle.

Worst of all was seeing how the bookshelf had fallen on top of my computer, turning it into a pile of junk. Of course, at that time, I still didn't fully assimilate that electricity would no longer exist.

After dedicating a prayer to my computer (of course, nothing to do with that damn goddess), I decided to leave the place. As much as It did withstand the catastrophe, those cracks in the walls weren't giving me any confidence.

I stuffed some necessities and emergency food into a backpack I had on hand and prepared to leave my home behind.

Leaving the building was challenging; the corridor and the emergency stairs were full of debris, and there were cracks the size of a person, not to mention the screams and sobs that distracted me to no end.

Fortunately? I had no direct family left, so I could focus on taking care of myself during the calamity. Even so, from time to time, my thoughts went to my colleagues and neighbors, whom I hadn't bothered to get to know better.

The outskirts of the building looked like hell on earth. Even if I didn't know anyone, seeing that many corpses on the ground was quite a heartbreaking sight. I do not wish that experience to anyone. Why were there so many bodies in the first place? Because of the earthquake?

Of course, it wasn't until later that I deduced that this resulted from what the goddess called "turning into energy." If someone were to ask me what I despise the most about Ephereia, no matter how much I miss the internet, there is no way not to choose this reason as the main one.

Apart from the corpses, different sources of fire could be seen in the distance, and the roar of collapsing buildings was the background sound. It seems that whatever had kept the buildings standing was already wearing off.

The only thing I wanted at that time was to find a safe place, so I headed towards the building that had been assigned to the sector as a shelter in case of emergencies. Of course, I couldn't be sure if it was still standing.

The sounds of far buildings crashing to the ground did not stop during my walk. All the survivors were in shock and distracted, so the ones from tires scraping on the asphalt and collisions were also not in short supply.

I heard a particularly large crash very close to me. I decided to deviate from my road a bit to see if I could help in any way. When I got there, I smelled a strong odor of burning tires, and I could see how a truck escaped at full speed, destroying some advertising banners and a trash can in its path.

A poor bastard was lying on the sidewalk. If I ever knew first aid, I had already forgotten, and I couldn't call an ambulance either. But I decided to get closer anyway; if the man had survived, at least I could drag him to the shelter.

However, I had not yet reached the victim when I saw it begin to disintegrate into tiny particles of green light. They looked like a bunch of fireflies in broad daylight. In just a matter of seconds at the accident scene, there was nothing left but a bloodstain and a small object.

I almost fell backward in surprise. For a moment, I thought we were all going to disappear. But the rest of the bodies in the street and the few people that could be seen in the distance were still there. Whatever happened to that guy remains a mystery to me to this day.

My first instinct was to walk away, but as soon as I stood up, I noticed that the object on the ground began to give off a bluish light. Against my better judgment, I decided to get closer, and I could see that it was a small tower no bigger than a keychain decoration.

I don't know if curiosity got the better of me, but I lifted the small tower-shaped ornament with my fingers. It was at that moment that information flowed directly into my head. It was a familiar feeling; surely, the appraisal skill had been activated.

[Infinity Tower]

Those words formed in my mind. Thinking that this didn't tell me much, as if the skill had read my mind, a detail opened with more information about the object.

[Infinity Tower]

{Rank: S}

{Minimum Magic Required: 200}

It was my encounter with the first artifact of many. But if something had become clear to me, it was that my magic really left a lot to be desired.