Chapter 286: Ch 286 : Power of Pantheon

[Master, Another century has been passed in Veridia. Do you want to see the development in these 100 years?]Thea’s melodious voice rang in Sunny’s ear, pulling him from his meditation on the throne.

He looked up at the holographic panel hovering before him, his mouth curving into a wide grin.

"Another century gone in the blink of an eye," Sunny muttered, rubbing his hands together with the eagerness of a child opening a present.

"And for you to specifically mention development, Thea, it implies something monumental has shifted in the meta of my world."

"Show me," he commanded.

Immediately, the system panel expanded, shattering into pixels of light that reformed into a hyper-realistic projection of Veridia.

Sunny leaned forward, his eyes scanning the hologram. What he saw was breathtaking.

The atmosphere of Veridia was busy. A constant stream of traffic. Sleek, rune-etched cargo haulers and massive transport ships were entering and exiting the planet.

They were like ants marching in a line, carrying resources from the neighboring worlds and the asteroid belts of the solar system.

Sunny zoomed in, his consciousness diving into the simulation to walk among his people invisibly.

He landed first on a massive floating continent in the upper atmosphere.

This was a cathedral of industry. It was Sky-Forge Haven, the beating heart of Veridia’s technological revolution.

The air here smelled of molten metal and energized crystals. Millions of magical scientists, engineers, and smiths moved with chaos through docks that held starships the size of mountains.

But as Sunny observed, he noticed a shift. It wasn’t just the scientist building these ships anymore.

A new power had risen in Veridia: The Economy.

His introduction of Cosmic Coins and Contribution Points centuries ago had been intended as a simple reward system. But the mortals, with their boundless ambition, had evolved it.

Those with a sharp mind for business, the merchants, the logistics experts, the resource managers had begun to hoard wealth. And they weren’t sitting on it.

They were investing. They looked at the dark void of space and saw profit.

Sunny drifted into a high-end observation deck overlooking Docking Bay 4.

"Boss, the shipment from Alpha B-1 has arrived," a human male in a sharp suit reported, holding a datapad. "We have secured 400 kilograms of Valerian Steel and 200 kilograms of raw Vibranium."

The man he was speaking to was a Dwarf, standing barely four feet tall but radiating the aura of a genius. He wore grease-stained overalls and welding goggles.

"Good," the Dwarf, named Robin, grunted. He didn’t look up from the engine schematic he was examining. "Those capitalists will be happy to hear that. I don’t care about the profit margins; I just need the metal. Their investment is returning tenfold, so they better let me build the engine my way."

Just as Robin finished his sentence, the hydraulic doors of the office hissed open.

"Oh, Robin," a silky, amused female voice echoed through the hall. "Your statement stings me to death. What do you mean by ’those capitalists’?"

A woman walked in. She was a Lamia, her lower half a serpentine tail of shimmering emerald scales, her upper half adorned in silk robes that screamed wealth.

"Oh! Ms. Lamia!" The human assistant panicked, bowing deeply to a 90-degree angle. "It’s an honor! Boss didn’t mean it! He was just... overwhelmed by the success of the prototype!"

Sunny watched the interaction with keen interest. The power dynamics were clear.

Robin was the genius, the head engineer. But Lamia? She was the Investor.

She was the one who had poured billion of Cosmic Coins into this facility to buy the raw materials Robin needed.

In return, she owned a stake in the fleet. When these ships mined asteroids or colonized new planets, she would get a cut of the resources, which she would sell back to the masses at a cheaper price than manifesting it from Thea.

It was a cycle of wealth.

"I hope this doesn’t affect my territory negatively," Sunny mused, stroking his chin. "Greed can be a poison, but it is also the most potent fuel for expansion. If I interfere too much, I may stop their drive. I will let the invisible hand of the market work... for now."

"I know Robin is hot-headed," Lamia said, gliding over to the window to look at the massive ship. "I just came to check on my asset. Can this beauty really take us out of the star system in three days?"

For her, that speed meant being the first to reach new and abundant resources. It meant a monopoly.

"Yes," Robin sighed, resigning himself to the conversation. In truth, he despised the money-driven nature of the investors, but he couldn’t deny that without Lamia’s gold, this engine would still be a drawing on a napkin.

"It is complete, Lamia," Robin said, a spark of pride entering his voice. He pointed at the ship. "The Stellar Horizon. It utilizes the new space-Jump drive. It is the fastest thing in Veridia."

Sunny smiled. "It is going well."

The Central Continent: The Cradle of Wisdom.

Sunny shifted his perspective, drifting away from the noise of the shipyards and descending toward the lush, green expanse of the Central Continent.

Here, a different kind of structure dominated the land. It wasn’t tall and jagged like a fortress; it was sprawling and elegant, built from white marble and intertwined with living vines.

It was the Royal Academy of Veridia.

Centuries ago, this place was exclusive to the nobility and those with contribution. But thanks to the reforms pushed by Demigod Light, the gates had been thrown open.

Now, anyone with dedication, doesn’t matter if they are a peasant, a royal, or a monster, anyone could walk these halls.

It was a utopia for knowledge. It was the second greatest repository of wisdom in the universe, surpassed only by Sunny’s own Divine Library.

Sunny walked invisibly through the courtyard. He saw thousands of students from a dozen different races debating magic theory, practicing sword forms, and studying alchemy.

But what amazed him were the Teachers.

"Oh," Sunny whispered, raising an eyebrow. "We have imported talent?"

He looked at a lecture hall. The professor wasn’t from Veridia. He was a being with blue skin and an enlarged cranium, a native of the Strategist’s World.

He was born with a 10x Wisdom. He was teaching advanced calculus and logistics to a class of awe-struck lifeforms.

In the courtyard, a teacher from the world of God Builder, a golem-like race was teaching structural engineering, showing students how to build bridges that could withstand any earthquake.

Sunny nodded in approval. "This is the true strength of the Pantheon. When the best minds from a universe come together to teach the next generation... the result is exponential growth."