Seth stood in a seemingly endless void that stretched out in every direction without end. Thanks to his enhanced eyes, he was barely able to make out shapes and forms within this void of absolute nothing. He looked around carefully, completely confused as to what his trial was going to be about or what he was supposed to do here.
That's when his eyes shifted to catch sight of another Seth standing before him—one that looked like a perfect mirror image of his current self, staring back at him with an amused smile on his face.
"Well, well, record breaker," the newcomer said with evident satisfaction, clapping his hands together in amusement while looking directly at Seth. The sight left Seth frowning deeply in confusion, unsure what to make of this doppelganger... was this going to be one of those novels where he fights himself, and has to get better than the current version of himself?
"I'm the system, also known as the will of the universe itself. The one who has granted your wishes and made all of this possible." The universe, which had taken the form of Seth for this meeting, said with that same knowing smile. This revelation left Seth completely stunned, his mind reeling from the implications. But before he could say anything in response, the universe continued speaking.
"Before you say anything, allow me to finish first. I have important information to share." He raised a hand to forestall any questions. "For everyone with a UR-tier talent—also known as universal rank talents—for such a rare and overwhelmingly overpowered talent, you shall receive zero help from me and any gods that exist. This is why your titles came with no information, descriptions, or anything like that to guide you."
Seth nodded in light understanding, pieces of the puzzle falling into place. 'No wonder wishes could be granted to their fullest, how could a universe grant Whis on an omniversal scale. So it had to be picky.'
"Since you have broken a record that stood for quite some time, I will give you more than just that gear set as a reward," the universe continued. "Three questions, plus these five skill level-up orbs. There is also no trial for you to complete, since well… you're already the best there is."
With a casual snap of his fingers, Seth found five glowing orbs suddenly materializing in his hands. These were orbs which could be used to level up any skill of his choosing instantly.
"Those are some of the rarest resources across the entire universe, with only the likes of a UR talent surpassing their value in terms of rarity," the universe explained with clear satisfaction. "Well, go ahead and ask your three questions. I'll answer them truthfully."
"Why did you grant wishes and set up all of this stuff in the first place?" Seth asked, cutting straight to what mattered most. "There has to be a reason for it all, right? Some purpose behind everything?"
The universe nodded in acknowledgment of the perceptive question.
"It's a self-defense mechanism, like how your body instinctively tries to defend itself from illnesses and infections," he began explaining. "My way to defend myself from external threats is to grow planets filled with life, hide them away carefully from others who would exploit them, and wait patiently until the right moment to give them mana. I then have said lifeforms grow stronger and more powerful so they can help me fight against those threats, which is why over the past month, new higher-tier monsters have been appearing every single week until the past few weeks when things stabilized."
Seth nodded slowly in deep thought, processing this cosmic-scale information.
"I blessed you all with the ability to turn any wish you desired into reality at the beginning," the universe continued. "I allowed you all to wish for absolutely anything your hearts desired, and I gave it to you all without discrimination. All of you had completely equal chances to obtain a UR-tier talent—it was you who managed to word his wish the best and most precisely to gain such a powerful wish fulfillment. Your wish was the most detailed and well-thought-out. You had the clearest vision of what you wanted, and most importantly, it wasn't a stolen idea copied from someone else's work. Those who just wished to become someone else—to inhabit another person's identity or powers—would at most receive an SS-tier talent as their reward."
He said all of this with a satisfied smile, leaving Seth confused and somewhat suspicious as to why this cosmic entity was going so far above and beyond in answering his questions with such detail.
"Why do you not seem to be worried about your life and death at all?" Seth asked his second question, his tone probing and curious. "You seem to be having fun above everything else, like none of this actually matters to you."
The universe's eyebrow raised slightly at the unexpected question, clearly intrigued by Seth's observation and perception.
"Fear is a concept created for mortals to experience and struggle with. I'm a universe—a fundamental force of existence—and I wasn't born with such a limiting thing built into my very nature," the universe explained with a casual shrug of his shoulders. "I simply do my job, carry out my designated functions, and if I get destroyed in the process, then I get destroyed. That's all there is to it. Why should I fear something that would inevitably come sooner or later anyway? If it comes tomorrow or in a trillion years from now, it makes absolutely no difference to me whatsoever in the end."
"But I do take genuine enjoyment from watching you all live your lives and face your challenges," he continued, his expression shifting to something almost fond. "I have found myself watching you all struggle through your various challenges and overcome them all through sheer determination, creativity, and willpower. Well, this is exactly why I'm planning something special together for you in particular."
He said this with a knowing smile playing across his features, before falling silent and waiting patiently for Seth to ask his next question.
"What are you hiding from me?" Seth asked his final question with a deep frown etched across his face, sensing there was more beneath the surface.
"Well, there has to be a balance maintained in all things, and Earth is about to reach that natural balance… so long as you're not there to disrupt the entire system," the universe began explaining carefully. "What I'm getting at is simple and straightforward: the monsters are about to reach a critical point where conquering their regions would require a full overlord's concentrated effort, even for those blessed with SSS-tier talents. A proper balance is about to be formed between the human and monster factions, so for that equilibrium to happen correctly and naturally, I shall remove you from the picture entirely until we hit the six-month mark since the system's initial arrival."
He said this with that same enigmatic smile that revealed nothing.
"No. I'm not in the mood to arrive back here to find some powerful guy appeared in the time I was away and took Chu Yin, who happened to be pregnant with my child," Seth said coldly, his voice hard with determination and barely restrained anger at the mere thought.
The universe laughed openly at Seth's wild imagination. Clearly, Seth had read too many novels and believed this was about to turn into such an event. Seth even believed he might go through his whole being a slave or a prisoner forced to fight for the amusement of others arc, and he outright rejected the thought.
"No, that won't happen. For a full year after a planet receives mana for the first time, I ensure the complete protection of that planet, which is still adapting to mana's overwhelming presence in its reality. So, no outside powers from other galaxies can do anything to interfere with or artificially limit the natural growth of a developing planet during this critical period. That protection is even more strictly enforced for Earth specifically, which is, to date, my most powerful and successful planet in terms of both potential and actual results. I honestly don't think I would ever find another planet in my existence filled with such bright minds and creative problem-solving abilities."
"You would be sent to the Evlen Galaxy for the duration of your temporary exile. You would be there for the next few months until Earth properly stabilizes. Also, you're not allowed to tier up at all until you break the absolute limit of every single tier going forward—that's your new restriction as a record breaker and the price of your achievement," he declared firmly, his tone brooking no argument. "You have exactly five minutes before I send you there. Use them wisely to prepare yourself."
With those final words, Seth abruptly left that strange void space and found himself back in the familiar surroundings of the mall. Incredible power was flowing through him like never before, for at this very moment, he had officially become tier one.
[A/N: To those who think you could make a wish that no one wish comes true, the universe would reject the wish.]