God Simulator

Chapter 2: The Garlic Tribe

After a brief moment of contemplation in his studio apartment, Luke clicks [Yes]. Outside the temple, the worshippers' heads fill with exclamation marks. "The deity has manifested!" "A miracle from the deity!" "Long live the miracle, long live the deity!" "Thank you for your blessing, great deity!" "Garlic! Garlic!" "The deity's garlic! A gift from the deity!" The followers kneel in prayer and rush to spread the news, their faces filled with joy. Together, they quickly cultivate a patch of farmland where tiny sprouts soon emerge, gradually turning into green shoots.

A message appears on the screen. [Your blessing has taught the followers to cultivate garlic, increasing their faith.] Luke looks at the top right corner. His faith points, originally at 7, have now increased to 22. Clearly, blessings can rapidly harvest faith. Luke glances around his apartment, spotting a pencil on his desk. A tool like a pencil could be quite useful for a primitive civilization.

When he opens the page, however, the garlic is still in the [Blessing] slot. Clicking on it, a prompt appears. [The garlic is integrating into the world, please wait.] Luke has no choice but to wait. He's only just begun this game, still exploring its mechanics and gameplay, taking one step at a time. He eats his now-cold dinner, eyes fixed on the screen.

About half an hour later, a group of figures runs in from off-screen. They're all dressed in leather vests, the leader wearing a horned helmet and carrying a wooden spear. The outsiders, torches in hand, surround the temple. "Demon's den! Demon's den!" "Must be destroyed! You followers of the demon!" "Burn it! Burn it!" Luke understands. This is the forest tribe the temple's followers mentioned, believing the temple to be a den of evil. Simultaneously, the seven temple followers' heads burst with exclamation marks.

"This is the palace of the deity, the Luke's Temple!" "The deity has shown a miracle!" "The miracle of garlic!" "How dare you blaspheme the deity!" The forest tribe doesn't listen, continuing their chant to burn it down, torches poised to ignite the temple. Luke opens the [Miracle] tab, his cursor hovering over [Rainfall].

If he summons rain, based on these primitive people's understanding, they might interpret it as the deity's wrath and hopefully back off. As his finger hovers to click, Luke suddenly reconsiders. No, if he's going to intervene, it should be a grand act. His gaze shifts down the list of [Miracles], the cost in faith points increasing from top to bottom: [Rainfall] 10, [Lightning] 20, [Scorching Sun] 25, [Hurricane] 30, [Earthquake] 40.

His focus settles on [Lightning]. [Lightning]: Consume 20 faith points to summon a bolt to a designated area. That's the one. Luke selects [Lightning], and the cursor turns into a targeting icon. He narrows the range, locking onto the forest tribe leader's head. As the saying goes, 'the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.' The leader's about to learn this the hard way. He clicks.

A bolt of lightning strikes from the pixelated sky, directly hitting the horned leader and instantly incinerating him along with two nearby figures. The other torch-bearing tribe members scatter in panic, exclamation marks over their heads. But the temple's seven followers now wear angry expressions. "Divine punishment!" "You've angered the deity!" "Don't provoke the deity! This is what happens to blasphemers!"

Satisfied, Luke leans back. The forest tribe is unlikely to trouble them again soon, unless they want another taste of lightning. He relaxes, feeling a slight ache in his neck. The game might not involve much action, but its unique charm has captivated him. Unwittingly, he's played until 12:30 am. Reluctantly, he shuts down his computer and heads to bed, knowing he has work tomorrow. Lying in bed, Luke's thoughts drift. If he can indeed create disasters and continuously bestow real-world objects to the game's inhabitants, then in the eyes of these pixelated people, he truly is a deity.

The next day, Luke finishes work early. With the boss out meeting clients and the quick exit of the boss's relatives, he too leaves early. Back home, he eagerly boots up "God Simulator." He clicks [Continue Game], and the familiar pixelated world slowly unfolds. Relieved that his save file is intact, he notices changes in the scene. Beside the temple, there are now five thatched huts, each with a square plot of farmland in front. Hovering over the farmland with his cursor, he sees they're growing garlic. The population icon in the top right corner has jumped from 7 to 30, and the faith points from 7 to 25. Luke does the math. After using [Lightning] yesterday, his faith points should've dropped to 2, but now they're at 25, an increase of 23 points, matching the

increase in population. It confirms his earlier theory: typically, each new follower contributes one point of faith.

This game continues to operate even when not actively open, a feature Luke finds intriguing. A new prompt appears on the screen. Luke types "Garlic" in response. Naming the tribe after their primary produce, the Garlic Tribe, seems fitting, reminiscent of the simple naming conventions of ancient times. [Your miracles and blessings have officially established the Garlic Tribe, making Luke's Temple known to more distant people.] This likely helps attract outsiders.

Luke focuses on the new arrivals. The 23 figures who joined overnight are all dressed in leather vests, distinctly different from the original seven barefoot, bare-chested locals. They're from the forest tribe. It appears that part of the forest tribe has switched allegiances, deciding to settle by the temple. Luke is secretly pleased. Last night's lightning tactic worked wonders. Whether out of fear or reverence, they've been effectively drawn in.

With the increased population comes simple job specialization. The tribe members aren't limited to cultivating garlic and managing berry bushes anymore. A couple of them venture into the forest to hunt, and another tries his hand at fishing by the river. Overall, the Garlic Tribe is still in a primitive societal stage, with every member working towards securing food. Luke checks the temple interface again and sees the garlic still in the [Blessing] slot. He's slightly disappointed. The cooldown for blessings seems lengthy. Had he known he could introduce real-world items into the pixel world, he would have chosen wheat to address the early food shortage, or perhaps gifted a bow and arrow to aid in hunting and provide defense against the forest tribe.