Chapter 13: Ch 13 : Dire need of Mana stones

The Global Notification announcing the unique title for God Cosmos had sent ripples of genuine awe, thinly veiled envy, and clear attempts to curry favor through the God Chat. For the time being, the enigmatic God Cosmos had squarely captured the divine community's focus. "Oh my System! A unique title already? God Cosmos must truly be blessed!" "The System acknowledges supreme talent! To gain a title like 'God of Manifestations' so early... truly awe-inspiring!" "Such power must be incredible! God Cosmos is clearly destined for greatness. We can all learn from such a profound deity!" "Manifestations! The possibilities for creation are boundless! I wonder if God Cosmos would ever deign to share a fraction of their divine wisdom with us lesser Gods?" "Who is this magnificent God Cosmos? I must seek their guidance! This is precisely the kind of divine prowess that will lead us all forward!" "A unique title implies unique power. It's truly a privilege to witness such a monumental achievement. Congratulations, God Cosmos!" "Can you share us how you achieved this?" a God typed, a direct question that made Sunny raise an eyebrow. This God was clearly attempting to extract invaluable information for free. Sunny, ever pragmatic and possessing the cautious nature of a former shut-in, was not so naive as to carelessly empower potential future rivals. Yet, he understood the true meaning of "unique" in the System's context: even if other Gods attempted manifestation for all eternity, they could not gain this particular title. Armed with this knowledge, and with a slight hesitation, he began to type his first message in the God chat. Cosmos: "In your private space, if you imagine the thing you want to manifest, those things will come to existence." It was a short, concise message, typical of someone with limited experience in casual communication. Sunny had no prior experience in public forums or messaging others, so his reply was direct and to the point. The effect was immediate. Vulcan: "It works! Thanks, God! There are still Gods who are not profiteers like a certain vixen." His words, laced with clear disdain, were unmistakably aimed at Kitsune. Kitsune: "Don't blame others for your dumbness," Kitsune shot back, her reply sharp and swift. Bastion: "Brother Cosmos! Can you please manifest some brain in my rats? They are building sand castles!" Bastion chimed into the chaotic fun, clearly making light of his own talent and ongoing frustrations. Kairos: "Well, keep on manifesting. My humans have already started building weapons." Kairos typed, his message a deliberate attempt to downplay Sunny's newly acquired title while simultaneously boasting about his own advanced progress. Sunny didn't reply to Kairos's provocation. He wasn't one for verbal sparring, lacking the quick wit for eloquent comebacks. However, he was also not the one to passively absorb a provocation and simply move on. He meticulously noted down Kairos's veiled taunt, filing it away for future reference. "Status," Sunny said lightly, directing the command to the omnipresent System. Immediately, his personal status panel shimmered into view: [God Name: Cosmos] [Title: God of Manifestations (SS-Grade)] [Planet Name: Veridia] [Lifeforms: 260 million (ignoring single-celled lifeforms)] [Talent: Skill-Resonance (SSS-Grade)] "Even titles have grades?" Sunny exclaimed, a surprised exhalation. A wave of relief washed over him. "Thank God it didn't give out its grade in the global notification. Otherwise, they would really be crying with envy!" He then focused on the specific details of his new title: [Title: God of Manifestations] [Grade: SS] [Description: You are chosen by the law of manifestations.] A simple and precise description, which didn't answer anything, "What 'law of manifestation'?" Sunny muttered, a hint of dissatisfaction. "Hey System! Please explain the use of this title," Sunny asked the all-knowing System. He knew he had a high chance of receiving the answer from system due to his high hierarchy (SSS). [Law of Manifestation: One of the many fundamental laws responsible for the creation and maintenance of this universe.] [God Cosmos, you are chosen by the Law of Manifestation, which means you can use manifestation magic.] "Magic? But I don't have mana," exclaimed Sunny, a sudden jolt of confusion. He had a lot of mana stones in his God Space, yes, but those were merely temporary constructs from his own manifestation experiments, not real, tangible sources of cosmic mana. And to manifest real, permanent objects with magical properties, he knew he would need genuine mana. "Do I need to buy a lot of mana stones?" Sunny pondered, his mind racing through the implications. In his perspective, this newly discovered aspect of his Manifestation talent seemed incredibly overpowered. Its primary use, he immediately envisioned, would be to manifest many kinds of advanced technologies that he could then bestow upon his lifeforms in the future, dramatically accelerating their technological advancement. He opened the Trading Platform to search for mana stones, his excitement building. To his disappointment, he found none. "Already traded all?" Sunny exclaimed, a frustrated realization dawning on him as he confirmed the empty search results. The mana stones, it seemed, had been snapped up almost immediately by other Gods after the initial controversy. Sunny's mind raced, all his formidable cognitive power focused on this singular, pressing issue. The clock was ticking. It had been 22 hours since the opening of his world, leaving only two hours before the anticipated arrival of the next misfortune—a ticking bomb that could detonate at any moment. Sunny knew how much this new title, "God of Manifestations," could aid him if he could only figure out how to properly harness its magical potential. "How do I use magic?" Sunny repeated this question in his mind, over and over again, a desperate mantra for divine insight. "How stupid of me! Why didn't I think of this sooner?" Sunny suddenly exclaimed, a brilliant, almost blinding, solution igniting in his mind. The answer had been right in front of him all along.