Kingdom Building: Civilization Starts with Divinity

"A… Goddess? You mean the same kind who hide in the divine realm and allow humans to rule the continent?" Ali questioned in a panic.

"Humans… Don't have a God, though? Although I take this form, I'm not related to the humans at all, if that wasn't obvious by the… Bugs. That aside, they're a [Species of Mana], just like you. How could they have a God?"

IN A.O.A, Humans were a pretty standard race. They were simple and had a lot of bonuses to technology, allowing them to progress fast at the cost of power in the late game. In terms of viability in the meta, they were only slightly better than the Verminae.

"What are you trying to get at, supposed Goddess? A being from the Divine Realm would never ally themselves with mere Monsters unless they have some ulterior motive." Xenea said

"What did you say, Ingrate?" Nera's temper was about to blow over.

'Wait… Sapphire is also a [Species of Mana], yet I managed to give her a blessing in the form of an [Epic]. I thought it was just the System's shenanigans, but would it really be possible for a non [Prospect] God or Goddess to bless non-divine species?'

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'Yeah… You can go die in the deepest of holes.' Alchemy sighed inwardly.

"Okay… Suppose I'm to believe you. Who are these Gods? And on the topic, what is the [Divine Realm]?"

Hiding her hand in her pocket, she clenched her fist as an irritation-fueled headache came over her.

"I-I-i don't know! Our Leader, the monkey king, is far more aware of matters related to humans and demi-humans. If you want, we can bring your grace to him. O-our original purpose was to find you and form an alliance anyway." Ali answered.

"The Monkey King, huh? How far away is this king of yours?"

"At- If we run at full speed, it'd take a little over an hour!"

'I'm curious about this matter, but I can't leave the territory right now. Even if I could, leaving the base unchecked while those Gale Wolves know where I've set up is dangerous. Even if I've made it seem like I'm not the one behind their adolescent disappearance, they seem like the type to knock on my door anyway.'

"We're done here. Let's head back." Alchemy commanded as she turned and began heading back. 

"Eh? Mother Goddess? What about these wolves who showed you no respect?" Nera questioned, running to catch Alchemy and Sapphire.

"I'm not trying to start a pointless war. It's not worth it."

Nera glared at the Gale Wolves for a few seconds before turning her head and, frowning, let down. She wanted to learn how their wind attacks worked.

"Ah, and you, Ali's your name, yes? If you wish for me to visit your king, you'll need to show some sincerity. Bye-bye." Alchemy waved without looking back.

Instead, she watched the map and waited for them to leave. The moment they did, she let out a sigh of relief, leaning against a tree.

"Are you okay, Master Alchemy?" Sapphire asked.

"Fine enough. I wasn't prepared to have to deal with organized groups. Did I handle it wrong? If both groups were to attack, it would be impossible to defend against them both. Darn it."

"You did fine, Mother Goddess! By the looks of their relations, even if they both hated you, they'd never attack together! Even if they did, I'm sure we can crush them with a bit of guerilla warfare!"

"Gorilla warfare, huh? If we had metal, I'd agree with you unconditionally. However, this does open up a possibility. Since both those Monkeys and Wolves have some form of higher sentience, I bet those bears do too. We might be able to open trade with them." Alchemy hummed.

"That's true! I haven't heard anything bad about the [Mineral Bears] like the other species, so they might be more civil than those mean wolves!" Sapphire chimed.

"Then what is the next plan of action, Mother Goddess?"

What a good question that was. What else was there to do aside from waiting until they got some metal?

"Aside from scolding Nera when we get back? I'm not too sure." Alchemy hummed, looking at her Hero with an eerie smile and a clenched fist.

In response, Nera froze.

"W-wait! Mother Goddess! Y-you told me to play with them! A-a-and you can't blame me for my temper! They were insulting you! As your most loyal child, I simply couldn't let them get away with that!"

Raising her arm to throw a punch, Alchemy took slow steps toward Nera. In the same time, Sapphire closed her eyes tightly.

"P-please! We can talk about this, Goddess Mother, I'm sorry, I'm so so so-"

Before she could finish her words, Alchemy's fist reached Nera's forehead. Instead of an impact, however, all that came was a small flick, followed by Alchemy hugging Nera.

"I told you to play with them, not put your life in mortal danger, you idiot!"

"G-Goddess Mother?"

"The Verminae should have already told you how opposed to losing you guys I am. Don't make me repeat myself. I'm not losing you too, dang it."

Alchemy did her best to put on a strong face as she ended the embrace with Nera and continued walking.

"Rest for a while first. You did a splendid job of showing off our power and giving us a floor for negotiation."

Alchemy had a lot of things she wanted to talk to Nera about, but that could wait. Although she healed Nera's wound, she didn't have the excess Divine Power to remove the pain.

"Yes, Mother Goddess. If you need me, just call for me!" Nera chimed, happy she got praised.

"Yeah. I plan to."

'With that settled… What should I do next? It won't be much, but I could fortify the base with some [spike barricades]. Although, with seemingly a large number of animals here having some form of higher intelligence, I'm not sure how much they'll help…'