Beyond the back of Rico's villa, which sat on a mountainside, a path wound through dense forest to the rarely explored wilderness. In the upper-right distance stood Mt. Conquest, a desolate peak shaped like a Roman nose. Determined to gain experience before his journey, Rico set out to run some tests. Dressed in running gear, he stepped out the back door and was immediately surrounded by thick undergrowth. After a short walk he came to a small wooden shelter that served as a rain cover and a resting place. After a quick break he continued up the slope.

As he trudged upward, he fixated on a massive stone slab ahead. With a thought the slab vanished, and Rico grinned as he saw an identical stone resting on a nearby plot of land in another dimension. Knowing objects from the outside world could be transferred to his disc world without issue, he exhaled deeply. He called this place the Cradle, where he would explore and practice until he could create a true world. The Cradle was a kilometre-long stretch of flat land, encircled by a white ash-grey atmosphere that served as a barrier, protecting the world from chaos and keeping any harmful radiation from affecting living creatures. There was no life in the Cradle—only dirt, stones, and water. Using his authority, Rico could observe anything within his universe for as long as he wished. The blazing orb in the sky was the sun, and the world itself appeared to be a small flat disc floating in space. To support life he had built a three-kilometer-thick atmosphere. With a thought, the stone from the Cradle returned to the outside world. Before, Rico had no aspirations, interests, or goals, but now that he had the disc world he had specific aims, one of which was to build a vivid realm drawn from myths and legends. The Cradle lacked an entire suite of biological chains; these biological links would supplement the myriad laws Rico had imposed on it. After a life was extinguished, the Cradle would take its energy to grow the world, boost its vitality, and produce various materials. The idea was partly inspired by visions Enoch had given him and by articles he'd read on the internet. Although it was the simplest world he had ever attempted to construct, it was also rudimentary. The Book of Enoch, which he had written using the power of Origin, contained all the incomprehensible things the white orbs had implanted in his mind, and despite trying to read much of it over the previous weeks, he still didn't understand even one percent. Rico cocked his head and scanned the area, noting the profusion of weeds, shrubs, and other plants. "This should be alright," he thought. The Life of the Cradle would start among the weeds and insects on the ground. Rico's physical condition was poor; his long, narrow arms could barely pull up a few weeds. If he simply tore them out, the plants would be destroyed and their deep roots left behind. He pulled at the weeds until he had to rest. After using his power to place them, a stand of plants soon appeared in the Cradle beside a small running stream. As he glanced a few meters away, a boulder, the surrounding soil, and a host of insects and microorganisms rose into the air and entered the Cradle. In the Cradle, the weeds he had planted had already grown into a patch of grass and tall shrubs with clumps three to four meters long. He wondered if it was because time in the Cradle flowed differently. Because of its small size, Rico could manipulate time; in a tiny world, time could pass hundreds of thousands of times faster. At least two years had gone by in a few minutes. The plants were swarming with ants whose shells gleamed oddly metallic; Rico was astonished. It showed that Earth's organisms could not only survive but also mutate. Looking around, he spotted mosquitoes buzzing over a nearby pond. "I should investigate this small food chain," Rico pondered. "What do ants eat? What do mosquitoes feed on? Ants are insects that will eat almost anything. Mosquitoes feed on blood—could they take blood from ants? And how could a mosquito pierce an ant that's two centimeters long? Truly fascinating." Rico beamed a nasty grin.