[Mission completed!], the system announced.

  [Rewards:]

  [x1 — Card: Time Acceleration]

  [+50 Faith Accumulation]

  Ariana barely paid attention to the faith accumulation. Fifty still wasn’t enough to buy anything truly useful in the shop. What really caught her attention was the card that appeared in her hand.

  It glowed with an intense green light.

  At its center was the image of a majestic clock, its gears intricately detailed, its hands seeming to move on their own. Just holding it made Ariana feel strange, as if something were pulling the world in front of her forward.

  She read the description carefully.

  [Time Acceleration Card — Minor]

  [Advances your world five years into the future.]

  [DANGER: Using this card may cause severe damage and consequences to the world.]

  That final line made Ariana’s heart tighten.

  “Damage… consequences…?” she murmured, a faint chill running through her.

  Without hesitation, she raised her gaze and questioned the system.

  “What exactly does that mean?”

  The answer came immediately—cold and direct, as always.

  [Arcadia will advance five years forward in time.]

  [During this period, all changes will occur without your direct intervention.]

  [Entire civilizations may emerge or disappear.]

  [You will be unable to prevent any of these events.]

  The system finished its explanation with absolute calm.

  A chill ran down Ariana’s spine.

  Five years during which her world would live on its own.

  She knew that if she wanted to accelerate Arcadia’s progress, using that card would be essential. Still, she couldn’t stop thinking about the consequences.

  Five years was a long time.

  She thought of the living beings she had created. Perhaps the rabbits wouldn’t survive. Perhaps they would multiply too much… or be hunted too quickly. If the rabbits disappeared, the wolves would lose their food source. If the wolves died, the entire balance she had built could begin to collapse.

  Two devastating losses.

  Ariana tightened her grip on the card.

  Yet, in the best-case scenario, everything could unfold exactly as she had planned. Every living being had been created with a clear purpose. She had considered adaptation, balance, and natural cycles. Arcadia wasn’t a random experiment.

  She looked once more at the card glowing with deep green light.

  Then she made her decision.

  Before using it, she would take advantage of the two Create Life cards she still possessed. The system had stated that she could fuse them to create a male-and-female pair of the same species. Without overthinking it, Ariana decided to do so now.

  She held both cards in her hands.

  Without any sound cue, they began to glow and slowly fade away, as if being absorbed. In the next instant, two new creatures appeared before her eyes.

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  They didn’t fly.

  They drifted gently to the ground and immediately began pecking at the soil.

  A rooster.

  And a hen.

  Ariana blinked in surprise before smiling faintly.

  She guided them to an area near where the sheep and cattle usually gathered. There was space, food, and enough safety for them to adapt. If all went well, they would soon multiply on their own.

  With that done, Ariana ascended into the sky.

  From above, she observed Arcadia in silence.

  She had no idea what those five years would bring to her world. She didn’t know which species would thrive, which would struggle, or which might disappear entirely. The thought of losing control over everything left her deeply unsettled.

  Still, holding onto the card without using it would bring her no benefit.

  Life in Arcadia needed to expand.

  Ariana tightened her grip on the card.

  A faint image of Kon crossed her mind. For a brief moment, she hesitated. Her chest tightened, and her fingers trembled slightly.

  But she didn’t step back.

  With a decisive motion, Ariana shattered the card in her hand.

  At once, a colossal energy began gathering around Arcadia. A semi-transparent green veil enveloped the entire world. Runic patterns appeared everywhere, circling the planet in complex, flowing motions.

  Then, the sound of a bell echoed.

  Ariana watched as day and night began alternating at a terrifying speed. Arcadia spun faster and faster, as if being dragged forward through time.

  Only five minutes passed.

  When the green energy finally dissipated, the world slowed until it returned to normal.

  Arcadia had advanced five years into the future.

  [Ding!]

  [Arcadia has advanced five years forward in time.]

  [Based on your world’s performance during this period, a total of 660 Faith Accumulation has been credited to you.]

  The message stunned Ariana.

  So this was how it worked. As time passed and the world developed on its own, she would naturally receive faith accumulation. The realization made her heart beat faster.

  Ariana descended slowly toward Arcadia, landing gently on the ground. The moment her feet touched the soft earth, her heart began to race.

  Now.

  Now she would discover what had happened during those five years beyond her control—whether her choices had been right… or whether everything had fallen apart.

  She raised her gaze toward the horizon.

  Beneath a large tree, Ariana spotted a group of cattle. She counted quickly—eight in total. There were more oxen and cows this time. The number wasn’t huge, but the fact that they had survived—and even multiplied—was remarkable in itself.

  And that wasn’t all.

  The entire pasture was crawling with chickens and roosters. Chicks were everywhere, pecking at the ground, scurrying back and forth, feeding on the small insects that thrived there.

  “It worked…” Ariana murmured, genuine relief washing over her.

  She rose higher into the air, surveying the surroundings.

  Not far away, she spotted a group of sheep. There weren’t many, but they had moved far from their original location near the cattle. Likely, as their numbers grew, competition for food had pushed them to spread outward.

  She continued flying.

  As she approached the forest, Ariana descended slightly and saw the cave where the wolves usually stayed. Her heart jumped when she realized there were far more of them now.

  Many more.

  She counted roughly sixteen wolves, including several pups. Among them stood out a distinct figure—a massive, beautiful white wolf that clearly differed from the others.

  As she watched, one of the wolves returned to the cave. Clamped in its jaws were two dead rabbits. It was bringing food back to the pack.

  Ariana held her breath for a moment.

  This… was working.

  She turned slightly and, as if channeling energy into her eyes, observed the forest differently. Now, she could see the rabbits spread throughout the area.

  There were hundreds of them.

  They were everywhere—many hidden in underground burrows, others darting swiftly through the vegetation. Ariana felt a faint chill as she imagined what would have happened if the wolves hadn’t existed.

  Imbalance would have been inevitable.

  But that wasn’t the most shocking part.

  When Ariana turned her attention to the sea, her eyes widened. The fish population had exploded. In some regions, they completely dominated the waters, forming massive, continuous schools. With no marine predators, nothing restrained their growth.

  A new thought surfaced.

  “It’s time to create predators in the sea as well…” she murmured.

  If that situation spiraled out of control, the fish would eventually run out of food—and then die off en masse.

  She took a deep breath.

  As she continued observing, Ariana noticed something curious.

  The unicorns were still only three.

  That caught her attention. When she had created them, she hadn’t defined any genders. She didn’t know whether unicorns could reproduce naturally—or if they would require direct intervention.

  Finally, her gaze shifted to the skies.

  The birds now flew across much of the continent where they had first appeared. They were scattered in many regions, migrating, exploring, spreading across the world as nature intended.

  Ariana released a long sigh of relief.

  Everything had turned out well.

  The idea of five years passing without her ability to intervene had been terrifying. But despite her fears, Arcadia hadn’t just survived.

  It had grown.

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