Unfortunately, the minimum required magic description "MMR" was quite literal when it came to "minimum" Instead of a tower, what appeared in front of me was a much less impressive round structure.

With its peaked roof, it looked like the tower's top floor. But quite smaller than a normal one since its diameter was that of a simple cottage. However, it was not made of wood. I don't know if the artifact took my aspect into consideration when it was summoned, but the truth is that it had smooth white walls that resembled marble and a round roof made of silver tiles.

Anyway, back to more relevant issues. At first, the tower was a little small, but it had a bed, a kitchen, and a magical field that surrounded it to avoid being easily seen or detected.

Combining that with my foraging skills, which had increased considerably in nearly five decades of living hand in hand with nature, allowed me to leave farming communities behind almost entirely. (Unfortunately, rumors still spread about a mysterious young man who didn't age.)

It is worth mentioning that the tower gave me the necessary space to store the artifacts that I collected during my travels.

This aspect was very valuable since it was a portable tower. I could fit my artifacts in it and shrink it down to the size of a keyring accessory. Of course, once I summoned it, I was out of magic for the rest of that day.

Around the year one hundred after the advent of the goddess ("A.A. 100" according to the calendar of the very later "Church of the Mother Goddess"), the first attempt to administer the different agricultural communities (which were already respectable towns) was started.

"The Ministry of Magical Activity" Ever since I heard that name for the first time, I couldn't help but think that it was founded by fans of a certain famous book that existed in the past. So I never took them very seriously.

They called themselves the Ministry, but they were basically the entire government and had skills and artifacts that greatly helped them in that regard. That is to say, in the first years after the advent, the continent where I found myself was ruled by an oligarchy.

Of course, the Ministry's sphere of power reached the entire continent only after about four hundred and fifty years.

But as the saying goes, they may have covered too much and grasped too little.

The only thing I can say with certainty is that the Ministry did not last much longer and dissolved into small states basically ruled by feudal lords.

So why do I bring something as archaic and insignificant as the Ministry to my monologue? They didn't even last the five hundred years a dwarf can live.

The reason is simple. As I mentioned earlier, Gifts were starting to disappear and become less understood. While nothing could be done with the skills, the Ministry took care to gather as many artifacts as possible.

According to them, for their "preservation," to me, it looked more like they wanted to accumulate all the power under their control. Artifacts were not always taken in a good way. I must add that this was one of the reasons why I lived away from society.

What I want to get at with this story about them is that by the year three thousand, only I remembered the existence of the Ministry. Even the elves, who could live for around two thousand years, had forgotten them.

Well, that is not surprising, though; by the time of the Ministry, the elves had already decided to live independently. Same with dwarves. But it's not that they got along poorly with humanity. It is just that living with those who have much shorter lifespans than you is difficult.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

If someone were listening to this monologue, I believe they would no longer question why I lived alone and had no friends.

The reason I had no friends was only that!

Ahem, back on topic, since I was the only one who remembered the Ministry's vault, I decided to rescue the artifacts before someone stole them... No, seriously! You have no idea the chaos that could ensue today if someone gets a hold of that many artifacts.

Although I've always been interested in archaeology, digging a vault on your own is another item on my no-recommendation list. But it is true that the number of artifacts I could salvage surprised even me.

Time passed, but I lived like a hermit and didn't interact much with the rest of society. Although I must admit that the years did not make me a paragon of knowledge, the truth is that I abused the artifact [Morpheus's Pillow] enough and spent most of my time sleeping. This was to keep increasing my magic capability as much as possible.

Of course, I didn't just sleep, I also spent my time traveling around the continent, and there were many times when I found myself involved in problems that I had to solve with the help of artifacts. There were even many that I donated and taught how to use. That was with the finality of increasing the magic development of humanity.

I said "donate," but it was more like a loan since I always worried about establishing "the connection" with all the artifacts I found. That way, even if I separated from them, I always knew where they were and could stop them if they were being misused.

Repeating the above for thousands of years (to be more specific, when I was awake) contributed to people starting to call me the "God of Magic," although I was never the only one. There were always two or three more with that title.

But surely the others did, in fact, understand real magic; for my part, I was only using [Appraisal] and my artifacts. But along with increasing my magic capability, I knew that I also had to increase my knowledge of magic in order to carry out what I was planning.

That was my actual goal for helping the magic development of humanity; while I increased my amount of magic, someone else could study and understand it for me. Not that I'm a coward, but until I had a certain amount of magic that could make me feel safe, I didn't want to draw the attention of the damn goddess.

Not that I was a coward! (It's important, so I must repeat it.)

However, very close to the present, only about three hundred years ago. I met who would be the second being I have to have a serious "discussion" with.

His name was Vitovinci, but I called him a brat. I must say that from the beginning, I had a very unpleasant impression of him. But it was true that, unlike me, the boy was a magic genius.

He found my tower despite its wards and declared himself my disciple. Of course, I had nothing to teach him; the skill [Appraisal] that allows me to understand and use all of my artifacts cannot be taught.

When he finally understood that I wouldn't teach him anything, the brat decided to steal one of my artifacts. The worst thing is that the forest around the tower was completely on fire when I realized it. The brat had started it so that I wouldn't follow him.

I went to the nearby village to see if I could help with something, but the villagers, who were as hermits as I, didn't know my name; they thought I was the arsonist and caught me while trying to explain the situation. That's when I learned to never again go out without an artifact to defend myself.

Short story, the villagers finally left me alone when they got scared, realizing I wasn't dying despite everything they did. It's too horrible a story to go into detail; I don't even have to explain which list I put it on.

Worst of all, the brat managed to extend his life to our times; now, he is a three-hundred-year-old brat and one of the new "Gods of Magic" (along with me and two others I have never met).

What caught my attention the most, however, was that Vitovinci was able to break my "connection" with the stolen artifact; it is something that I must investigate as soon as possible.

"At last!"

I couldn't help but exclaim with happiness after finishing my internal monologue. It's a real drag every time, but it's a necessary ritual after sleeping for a hundred years. It helps me focus on my goals.

But now is the time to put an end to these periods of hibernation. Based on my studies of the artifacts over the years, my magic capability has finally increased to a level I feel comfortable with. I closed my eyes and used [Appraisal] on myself.

[Immortality]

[Appraisal]

[Magic: 40,010]

Do not forget that the average magic units of a human are two hundred ("MU," as I call them). My magic units had already reached forty thousand!

We are precisely in the year ten thousand after the advent of the damn goddess "A.A. 10,000" What a round year to begin with my master plan! (Yes, I have a bit of OCD, I could have started a bit earlier if I wanted)

"Ephereia, Vitovinci. Wait for me with your necks washed! For our "discussion." of course."

But first, I must study actual magic, not just the artifacts. Why? To create divine magic, of course!