The Record of Unusual Creatures

Panda Novel

Yggdrasil stood on the crystal-studded earth of the Heart of Destiny and its luxuriant canopy covered the plain. The powerful energy escaping from the canopy not only maintained the order of everything deep in the universe but also influenced the environment of the planet visibly. As far as the canopy could reach, the thunderstorms and heavy clouds, which had lasted for thousands of years finally cleared away, revealing a clear sky. Glimmering light fell from the spreading branches and leaves, forming a stream-like flow on the great plain below.

Sometimes, under Yggdrasil, a mirage of a palace would appear, with guards and servants inside. Other times gardens and forests sprang up on the plains, while wonderful creatures leaped and ran about. There were even times when Yggdrasil was surrounded by a bustling city or kingdom, with kings and lords, as well as common people in it. The next day, as the sun rose, the wonderful sights would disappear, and they would only reappear a long time later.

The incredible phenomena could no longer be considered as illusions because everything that emerged from them was real and could even completely affect the visitors who interacted with them. So, the sprites living around Yggdrasil soon regarded the “incredible tree” as the best playground. They gathered around Yggdrasil and even moved their crystal home there, building a little sprite kingdom at the base of Yggdrasil—assuming that for a long time to come, the happy little ones would not leave the place.

Rheia stood at the lower end of one of Yggdrasil’s twigs. The twig poked out of the tree’s crown and was surrounded by a naturally growing fence. In front of it was a small platform. Such “natural structures” could be seen everywhere on Yggdrasil. She looked down curiously at the great plain, where a group of primitive people in grass skirts were trying to light their first bonfire, and a group of sprites was dancing in circles around them, cheering.

The scene brought a tender smile to Rheia’s face. “I used to love seeing things like this… I love watching them learn how to turn stones into tools, light fire, build cars and boats… I can’t believe I have a chance to see this. Are these illusions?”

“It’s Yggdrasil’s screensaver.” Hao Ren shrugged. “But it’s not exactly an illusion. In fact, it’s a system called ‘the Dream of Yggdrasil’, which is used to assist the gods who aren’t so good at Creatology. Everything you see can be transposed into reality. Now, pay attention and an option will appear in the lower-left corner of your eye. You can save the current Dream of Yggdrasil as a template, then use the search-nesting that I taught you before to project the template onto a planet. If compatibility reaches the minimum standard, it can be generated with one click…”

“It took me years and years to create a biosphere… And there was no certainty on what it was going to look like…” Rheia was surprised.

“You’re good enough.” Hao Ren comforted the goddess, then waved his hand to activate a portal, which led to the inside of Yggdrasil. (Here, he had the same access as the goddess of creation, including access to teleportation anywhere in the Holy Land.) “Let’s go back to the main hall first. We’ve been here a long time.”

Yggdrasil’s main hall was actually the crystal hall where the throne was kept. A large number of green vines and wooden parapets had already covered the rough stone walls. Meanwhile, the throne was wrapped and covered with thick interlaced vines, forming a column that connected the dome to the floor. Considering comfort and practicality, Hao Ren had added some new daily appliances there, including some chairs, a desk, several bookshelves, and an ice cream maker…

The ice cream maker was added at Lily’s insistence.

“I really didn’t expect this when I left these things behind… I thought of every possibility I could think of, except you guys,” said Rheia.

“Of course you couldn’t have thought about us,” Hao Ren smiled and said.

“And I didn’t expect people from another world would come to claim my inheritance…” Rheia sighed.

“…So should I return the engine to you?”

“No,” said Rheia, waving her hand quickly. “I’m just joking. I’m a little stressed.”

Hao Ren pointed at the huge half-moon desk in front of the vine at the center of the hall and said, “Why don’t you do two sets of exercises right now to calm down?”

Rheia was speechless.

At that moment, several beams of light appeared in the main hall, and a group of people came out of them. Lily shouted at Hao Ren the moment she walked out of the beam, “Mr. Landlord! I heard that we were going home? Why don’t we stay a few more days? I believe there’s going to be a celebration today! We can have some fun!”

“Have some fun? Can’t you think of anything else?” Hao Ren glared at Lily. “The battle is coming. Why don’t you feel nervous at all?”

Vivian laughed and said, “Don’t expect too much from huskies. If she gets nervous, the universe will be over.”

“I went to the sprites’ place,” said Nangong Wuyue. “They said the network is up and running at full power, but some of them were feeling dizzy like some node wasn’t starting up or something?”

“Yggdrasil is connected and working. No system has reported any errors. After all, the Weaves of Destiny and Yggdrasil aren’t from the same system, so there will be a few normal hardware issues when they work. The sprites are actually the upper nodes of the Weaves of Destiny, and this hardware incompatibility makes them a little bit confused.” Hao Ren was clearly aware of the situation, but he did not seem worried. “It’s just a small problem. Yggdrasil has adaptive functions, so does the Weaves of Destiny. They’ll match very quickly, hence there’s no need to worry about it.”

Rheia began to think as she listened. When Hao Ren finished, she touched her chin and said, “Why don’t I try to re-drive them?”

“No! Just don’t! Do you know how important the system is? You can’t afford to ruin it!”

Although Rheia had begun to nod, Hao Ren was still a little worried. “Don’t fiddle with Yggdrasil’s system settings. Your admin privileges are limited and you may be blocked if you touch the system. Your main task now is to study, see? I got you this big desk and this pile of books just to get you to do your homework…”

Rheia became impatient. She waved her hand constantly and said, “I’ve heard you say it hundreds of times! How can you not trust my learning ability?”

“Honestly, after reading your notes, I really doubt your learning ability…”

Rheia was at a loss for words.

Vivian tried to ease the atmosphere and said, “Goddess, we will speak to the god of the Surface World about your situation when we get back. We’ll return soon if nothing happens.”

“Well, got it,” said Rheia, nodding and smiling a little. “And you don’t have to call me so formally. Let me see… You’re supposed to call me ‘Mother’, but you’re a new creature born naturally with a soul… Then again, you still have a trace of my blood and strength… Why don’t you call me Rheia just like Hao Ren? I like this new name very much.”

Hao Ren breathed a sigh of relief. He suddenly thought that if Vivian called the goddess “Mother”, he might have to call the goddess “Mother-in-law” in the near future. And the goddess of creation looked just a little older than Y’lisabet!

Soon, however, Hao Ren realized another thing: considering his relationship with Vivian, should he be more gracious when urging the goddess to do her homework?

“What are you thinking? You’re not going to give me extra lessons, are you?” asked Rheia.

“Oh, oh, nothing. It was just a sudden feeling that you’re not quite the goddess of creation I had imagined.”

Rheia frowned. “Not what you expected? What’s the difference?”

Hao Ren imagined a kind, loving, dignified, and powerful goddess…

Conversely, the real Rheia who was standing in front of him…

Hao Ren shook his head. “Different personalities, different forms. Of course, more importantly, the shape of your body is different from what I had imagined…”

“What do you mean?!”

Hao Ren ran to the teleportation portal together with Vivian and turned his head as he ran, shouting, “Remember to do your homework!”