A translucent window appeared before my eyes like augmented reality, displaying a search box.
But there’s no keyboard or mouse… What am I supposed to do with just this?
Here, the cursor is blinking in the search box area… but it’s not like it’ll read my thoughts and input letters automatically, right?
Is there some kind of brainwave input function? Should I try searching for “brainwave input device”?
Before I could finish that thought…
[Brainwave Input Device]
The words appeared automatically in the search box, and the results popped up.
Hm. Could it be…
TreeWiki search.
[TreeWiki]
So, this is how it works, huh.
Scrolling up and down roughly changes the viewing position on its own. Closing the window by thinking “Close!” makes it disappear…
It’s easier to use than I expected. This thing.
Seems like it’ll be useful for passing time when I’m bored or looking up various kinds of knowledge.
Of course, I can only read things here, but even that feels incredibly precious for me now.
After understanding the second bonus somewhat, knowledge about the third bonus flooded into my mind.
The power to manipulate time at will. The ability to speed up the flow of time, stop it, and rewind to the past.
To use that power… I had to materialize a small pocket watch.
Connected by a thin chain, the pocket watch displayed not just the current time but also the year, month, and day.
However, everything was set to 0, and both the hour and minute hands were stopped at 12 o’clock.
Additionally, there was a 
symbol marked on this strange watch.
On the edge of the watch were two buttons and a dial mechanism that allowed adjustments—what an amazing little gadget.
Am I supposed to control time with this? Carefully, I pressed one of the buttons.
Tick.
With the sound of the mainspring stopping, everything froze.
The wind that was gently blowing ceased. Dust stirred by footsteps didn’t settle. Nothing moved.
Time had solidified into ice. On the watch, the symbol changed to a II shape.
Pressing the button again, the frozen time began flowing once more.
Indeed, so this is how it works. But why would they include such a cheat-like ability as time stop in the bonuses? What exactly are they thinking?
Well, how could I ever know the thoughts of that god? I doubt I’d understand even if I thought about it my whole life.
Putting aside the unproductive task of pondering about that god, I continued investigating this watch.
Carefully, I turned the adjustment mechanism attached above. If my guess is correct…
The flow of air became incredibly fast. The sun floating in the sky started moving at a visible speed.
The symbol on the watch had already turned into .
Turning the adjustment mechanism a bit more made it change to , and turning it again transformed it into ×4.
Continuing to turn it, the number behind it changed, and the sun slowly sank while the moon rose.
In what felt like just a few seconds, the moon disappeared, and the sun rose again. Days passed one after another.
Returning the adjustment mechanism to its original state by turning it in the opposite direction brought it back to .
Indeed, it’s easier to use than I thought. Just imagining the desired speed while turning it adjusts it appropriately.
Thinking of making time flow slower, I turned the adjustment mechanism, and the symbol on the watch changed to ×0.1.
Even though slowing time to an extreme degree wouldn’t differ much from time stop… well, it doesn’t matter to me now.
Accelerating time again, the sun kept rising and setting. Each day passed quickly.
The hour and minute hands of the watch busily turned in sync with the speed, and every time the sun set and rose, the date displayed on the watch increased by one.
Despite the days continuously changing, I couldn’t feel any difference.
Not even hunger, which any living being should naturally feel, was sensed by me.
Sighing softly, I returned the flow of time to normal.
Judging by this, I seem to have stepped out of the category of living beings.
Creating anything, connecting to other worlds, and freely manipulating time… calling such an existence a living being would indeed be difficult.
Sighing again, I pressed the button on the pocket watch that I hadn’t touched yet.
Click. The glass covering the pocket watch opened.
So, what am I supposed to do with this?
Carefully, I turned the second and minute hands backward with my fingertips. For some reason, I had a feeling that this was what I should do.
After turning it a few rounds and resetting the date display to 0, I closed the lid, causing a small window to appear before my eyes.
[Requesting consent from the past timeline…
Consent granted from the past timeline.
Would you like to rewind time? Y / N]
Consent from the past timeline? Hmm… so this is the restriction the god mentioned?
Even if I want to rewind time, I can’t unless the past timeline agrees. Hmph.
Touching the ‘Y’ part with my fingertip, the pocket watch began to spin backward.
Is time rewinding? The sun and moon in the sky repeatedly set and rose in reverse.
After a short moment, the date displayed on the pocket watch returned to 0.
The third bonus is surprisingly intuitive and easy to understand. And it’s powerful too.
Shouting “Tadaima!” while using time stop might actually be fun. Hmm.
Summoning the pocket watch again after rewinding it and then rewinding it once more…
Since it disappears when it leaves my hand but can be summoned anytime, it must be because this pocket watch belongs to me as an ability.
Now, it’s time to test the most important bonus: the first bonus, the power of creation.
The ability to create anything I desire.
In this world where no living beings exist except for some plants, I can fill it with new life using this power.
Humans? Creating humans when there’s nothing else? That’d be foolish.
Humans are at the top of the food chain. Without enough lower-level organisms, they’d starve to death.
I should probably start with basic creatures, but it feels a bit overwhelming.
Or… should I just create a bunch of primitive single-celled organisms and let them evolve on their own?
It’ll take ages, but since I can control the flow of time however I want, it’s not really an issue.
The downside is that there’s no guarantee evolution will go the way I want.
Ah, no. If I add directionality to evolution during creation, that should work, right?
For example, creating organisms where mutations occur more frequently and extensively.
Though my biology knowledge is shaky, roughly creating lots of these organisms, spreading them across the world, and speeding up time should make them evolve and thrive on their own, right?
There’s a possibility strange creatures might be born, but I can always intervene a bit.
If I tried creating each organism individually without using this method… it’d definitely take an incredibly long time. Let’s just do it this way.
If something goes wrong… I’ll handle it personally.
Even if I look like a dragon, don’t I have the power for that?
Come to think of it, since I’m a dragon, shouldn’t I use magic too? I should think about that as well.
Hmm… Can I create magical energy itself? Or should I create something infused with magical energy?
Well, either way, I can just do it. Since this power to create anything is truly omnipotent.
Stretching lightly and standing up, I used the first bonus: creation.
A translucent window appeared before my eyes, allowing detailed settings for what I wanted to create.
Let’s see… first, a living being. As simple as possible. High vitality, good environmental adaptability. Lifespan… maybe around a year?
Since I’m aiming for simplicity, let’s refer to single-celled organisms. Even if split in half, both parts should survive as long as they’re alive.
Food… hmm… photosynthesis? No, no. It should eat and hunt.
They might end up eating each other, but since this is the first attempt, let’s leave it like this. Maybe they’ll chew on all the abundant leaves.
Here, increase the mutation occurrence rate and frequency… genetic mutation? What’s this? Hmm… let’s just include it!
Those that adapt well to the environment will survive, and those that don’t will die.
By the way, the god was truly cruel. They provided plants but left out animals. Tsk.
Ah, wait. Should I also create bacteria or viruses? Or did the god already do that?
Hmm, I don’t know. If problems arise, I can just rewind time and redo it.
That way, I managed to create the common ancestor of all living beings.
