God asked Li Ming to help build this world's equivalent of "Noah's Ark," to which Li Ming replied that it was no big deal.
As long as he could review the ark's construction manual and ensure sufficient materials, not only could he build an ark in a few months, but he could even assemble an entire aircraft carrier fleet in a quarter of an hour.
After all, he was a mage—a mere wave of his hand could conjure an ark.
But then, Li Ming was stunned when God added, "During the construction of the ark, you may cultivate your mana, but you cannot use spells. You must work with your own hands, just like an ordinary person."
"What?" Li Ming widened his innocent eyes and pointed at a wooden crate filled with antique tools in the distance. "You want me to hammer out an ark with those wooden mallets?"
"Exactly," God replied with a gentle smile. "Didn't you want me to analyze your spells for you? Once you finish building the ark, I'll help you."
"By the way, I won't seal your mana since you still need to cultivate. But if you use any spells, the task will be considered a failure."
At this point, God turned his head toward Klee Che, who was invisible and hiding behind Li Ming, and said, "You also can't let Kreacher help you during this time—no laundry, no cooking. Everything must be done by your own hands."
Following God's gaze, Ewen, who had been looking behind Li Ming, admitted he saw nothing and asked curiously, "Who's Kreacher?"
God pointed at Ewen's eyes. "Now you can see."
Ewen blinked and turned to look behind Li Ming again. This time, he saw a long-eared, big-nosed dwarf waving at him. Startled, Ewen jumped on the spot and instinctively traced a prayer gesture over his chest.
Then, realizing God was right in front of him, he thought, What's the point of me praying?
Gulping, Ewen took a few deep breaths to steady himself, feeling like he'd been scared half to death. After cautiously greeting Kreacher, he asked, "Has the magic world always existed? Where do they usually hide?"
God shrugged and didn't explain Li Ming and Kreacher's origins to Ewen—those were matters far beyond what Ewen could comprehend.
Meanwhile, Li Ming, having heard God's demands, wasn't in the mood to explain anything either. He hung his head, looking utterly defeated.
He had been a mage for quite some time now. To familiarize himself with spells as quickly as possible, he had grown accustomed to using magic for even the smallest tasks in daily life.
For example, whenever he wanted to grab something from a distance, he habitually used a spell to make the object float into his hand.
Now, being forced to abandon spells and rely solely on his hands to build an ark was a daunting challenge. After all, habits, once formed, were hard to break.
If his mana had been sealed, it might have been easier—at least when he reflexively tried to cast a spell, nothing would happen.
But God had explicitly stated he wouldn't seal Li Ming's mana, leaving everything to Li Ming's own self-control. When Li Ming sees something good or beneficial, his first instinct is to snatch it. Does he have any self-restraint? Don't joke around—this guy has no idea what self-restraint even is.
Isn't this just torturing him?
The worst part is that Klee Che isn't allowed to help. Washing clothes is manageable—Li Ming doesn't care about his appearance anyway. He could just treat it as living like a wild man, something he's done before. No big deal.
But not being able to eat Klee Che's cooking? That, Li Ming declared, was absolutely unacceptable.
"Are you trying to starve me to death? Old Man God, can't we negotiate a little?"
"Oh, I almost forgot—you don't have a place to stay yet," God said casually, pointing at an empty patch of land. A tent materialized, along with some pots and pans in front of it. "You'll stay here for now. Don't worry, no one will notice you except Ewen."
Li Ming glanced at the pots and pans, then back at God, licking his lips ingratiatingly. "Old Man, you're giving me cooking tools but no ingredients. What am I supposed to eat? You don't expect me to chew on these pots and pans, do you? My teeth aren't that good. How about swapping these for instant noodles and just leaving me a kettle to boil water? If that's too much, I'll take military rations or canned food."
God smiled and shook his head, then pointed at the tent again. A patch of lush green grass sprouted rapidly, surrounding the tent. "Hidden among these weeds are the ingredients you need—but you'll have to gather them yourself."
With that, God winked playfully at Li Ming and added, "There's even wheat in there. If you want dumplings or steamed buns, you'll have to harvest the wheat yourself."
Li Ming smacked his lips, mentally giving God a thumbs-up. You really know how to play this game, don't you? So damn thorough. For the sake of the spell, he'd endure.
Still feeling like he was missing something, Li Ming scratched his head and said, "Old Man, I don't have any experience building an ark. Since the lumber isn't ready yet, could you give me a model to study how to construct one?"
The moment the words left his mouth, God pulled out a shoebox-sized cardboard box and a book titled Even a Fool Can Build an Ark from behind him, handing them to Li Ming. "Not a bad idea. I approve. This book will help you understand the construction process better."
Li Ming weakly accepted the model and the book, then gestured toward the tent. "I'll go study the ark now." With that, he shot Ewen a good luck with that look before turning and heading into the tent.
Meanwhile, Ewen—his mind a complete mess—still wanted to negotiate with God. After all, he really didn't have the time.
"Since there's a mage helping to build the ark, can I just go back to my normal job? Besides, the ark is so huge—I have no idea where to even start."
"I hear that a lot," God shrugged. "Everyone wants to make the world a better place, but they always feel like they don't know how. Want to know the secret? Start small by showing those around you kindness each day, sincerely. Every little act of compassion and encouragement builds up over time."
Seeing Ewen's half-understanding expression, God didn't bother trying to enlighten him further with lectures. He pointed—Pointing at Ewen, he said, "You're responsible for building the ark, and I'll gather the animals. If anyone asks why you're building an ark, just tell them, 'The flood is coming.'"
As he spoke, God took out a book titled 'Even a Fool Can Build an Ark' and handed it to Ewen, saying, "As for how to build the ark, you can refer to this book or ask that mage over there."
Ewen took the book in bewilderment, glanced back at the tent, and turned around intending to discuss something further with God—only to find that God had already vanished.
Ewen shrugged helplessly. "Well, I guess I'm Noah now. But I have a new job to start, and no time to figure out how to build an ark. I'll think about it after work."
Meanwhile, inside the tent, Li Ming was equally exasperated. The tent God had given him was barely large enough to shelter him and Klee Che from wind and rain—so cramped that even turning over was difficult.
There wasn't even a moisture-proof mat inside. He had to sleep directly on the grass. If the temperature dropped suddenly at night, Li Ming would have to gather firewood himself to stay warm.
"These conditions are so harsh, I might as well be an ascetic monk," he muttered.
But for the sake of spells and his future, what else could Li Ming do but grit his teeth and endure? He had no choice but to squat inside the tent, unpack the ship model, and start pondering how to build the ark.
By afternoon, his stomach, empty all day, growled in protest. Only then did Li Ming set aside the assembled ship model, rub his belly, and step out of the tent.
Just as he instinctively opened his mouth to call Kreacher to prepare food, he suddenly remembered God's instructions.
With a sigh, Li Ming resignedly walked toward the grassy field.
Fortunately, having grown up in the countryside and worked as an apothecary, Li Ming could recognize a few types of wild vegetables. If he'd been less fortunate and unable to tell weeds from edible greens, he'd have had to toss everything into the pot and boil it all together.
To his surprise, the grass concealed quite a variety of edible plants. Near the tent's entrance, he found purslane, while further away grew sow thistle and wild amaranth.
Li Ming didn't care whether these plants were in season or even supposed to grow in grassy fields. As far as he was concerned, today was an eye-opener.
Especially the few stalks of wheat behind the tent. If he remembered correctly, when he'd first entered the tent to fiddle with the ship model, they'd been as short as the surrounding weeds. Now? By tomorrow morning, they'd probably be ready to harvest—ripe for threshing, milling into flour, and wrapping into dumplings.
The only regret was that the field only grew plants. If only it could produce some pork or something. After all, Li Ming was a carnivore. Dumplings without meat were heresy in his book—the kind that deserved damnation.
Muttering about his craving for meat, Li Ming gathered some wild greens and was about to toss them into the pot for a quick boil when a light drizzle began to fall from the sky.
Then, to his utter astonishment, a large fish plopped right into his pot along with the rain.
Li Ming looked up at the sky, then down at the dazed fish in his pot. Needless to say, this was God answering Li Ming's prayer for "meat" by sending him extra provisions. After all, building an ark was strenuous work—how could one carry timber or hammer nails without strength?
The problem was that Li Ming had been craving red meat, while fish counted as white meat. Moreover, this thing had bones and wasn't suitable for devouring in large bites.
Pursing his lips, Li Ming shouted toward the sky, "Thanks a lot!" Then he pointed at a stray dog in the distance and asked, "Old man, can I eat that one? Don't worry, Kreacher knows healing spells too. I promise the dog will stay alive and kicking after I carve some meat off it—at least outwardly, you won't find a single wound."
As he spoke, Li Ming silently added in his heart: As for whether the dog develops psychological trauma... well, that's between it and its therapist.
Unfortunately, the old man upstairs seemed too busy to entertain Li Ming. Meanwhile, the stray dog appeared to understand his words, baring its teeth and barking furiously as if saying, Just try it, you spell-less mage. I'll bite you to death!
After waiting a while with no divine appearance, Li Ming could only fish out his catch, gut it, and gather some herbs from the grassland to remove the fishy smell, preparing grilled fish with wild soup for dinner.
As Li Ming lay on the grass after dinner, stargazing to aid digestion, Ewen came rushing over with an armful of documents, his face frantic. "Can you contact God?" he asked rapidly. "Ask if we could get a few days' extension for the ark construction. I've got urgent matters!"
Before Li Ming could respond, Ewen shook the papers in his hand. "I've been invited by Resource Committee Chairman Chuck Lance to participate in a major proposal. If I can be involved, it'll be crucial for my future."