READ NOVEL ONLINE chapter 7
Chapter 7. World Collision -Second-
The Nectar Spring, which had been greedily absorbing divine power, eventually stopped pulsating on its own.
And this time, the used divinity did not return.
「The 〈Intelligence Bestowal〉 used on the 《Nectar Spring》 has failed. It seems more divinity needs to be bestowed.」
Is it not working?
“Of course not. Bestowing intelligence on a fragment of a god is not an easy task.”
If intelligence is bestowed, it becomes a living being, and then I thought it could evolve into a being that produces nectar more efficiently.
“Then raise your 〈Faith〉 stats. Although, how you gather 〈Faith〉 without a single intelligent being to worship you is another matter… It’s amazing that you’re evolving life forms with zero faith.”
Well, that’s because I’m not touching the fundamental functions of the life forms but creating only the necessary organs to evolve them efficiently.
The basic divine power itself is quite high, and evolution itself surprisingly doesn’t consume much faith… I’ve also acquired related traits.
「The world collision will begin soon. Only the surviving players will advance to the next round.」
Has it already come to this?
“I see. Honestly, I expect an easy victory. The current average score is about 1,100 points, with half filtered out in the first collision.”
「Bein’s World
Life LV.4: 1,567
Military LV.1: 132
Industry LV.1: 175
Technology LV.0: 0
Culture LV.0: 0
Politics LV.0: 0
Mystery LV.0: 86
Faith LV.0: 0
Total Score LV.2: 1,960」
About twice as much. I probably won’t lose.
The angel added.
“In fact, Player Bein does not have the most powerful world in existence.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The world with the highest military power has over 1,400 military points. There are also worlds with total scores exceeding 2,800 points.”
That’s fascinating in its own way. How do they manage to operate at such a high level?
“However, those players are also engaging in ‘abnormal play’ like you, Bein. Among the over a billion players gathered from across the universe, there are bound to be such peculiar individuals.
But, I assure you, no world can defeat Bein’s world in a 1:1 match. At best, they might manage a ‘not lost’ outcome…”
“In short, I will never lose now?”
“Yes. No world in this game can ever drive out the lives of this desert by itself. I am certain.”
That’s how it is.
But while I am all-in on one life, other forces will gain explosive increases in numbers through synergy in various fields. No matter how much I hold on to one life, there is a limit. To win, I must seek other means.
In short, the total score of 2,800 is a bit concerning. What kind of monster is it…? Even with simple calculations, it means an average of over 350 points. I thought that having a military power of over 400 was high in the game, but having a military power of 350 while all other scores are 350…
Or, a monster with a military power already at 1,400. A formidable combat power capable of destroying my ecosystem with sheer force.
It’s unfortunate that I can’t know in advance what kind of world it is, but I will think about such problems after winning the next game and obtaining the characteristic card.
∞
It seems like it’s all over. Not Earth, but another world. Queen Teimong, who ruled a place called the Kingdom of Meiya, thought so.
As a queen, she was a wise ruler. During her reign, the country became prosperous, dominated the world, and all the people were happy.
Therefore, when her body was old and dying, and an angel came and asked if she wanted to become a ‘god’, she naturally accepted. She thought that with her abilities, she could become a god without any problems.
The part she miscalculated was that if she was the best wise ruler in the world, her opponent would naturally be the best wise ruler in that world as well.
During the preparation period, she evenly developed mystery, faith, culture, and military in her first tribe. The tribe, which had less than 200 people, faced a nation that had developed almost similarly.
Teimong’s tribe was weak in physical abilities but excelled in mystery.
The opponent’s tribe had overwhelming physical abilities but almost no mystery abilities.
A desperate and bloody battle ensued. In the end, Teimong, who had achievements in internal affairs and experience in leading wars to victory, won, but the tribe’s population, which once exceeded 130 points, was halved, and both lands were devastated.
Thanks to the quick resolution, Teimong had plenty of protection period left to rebuild the population and expand various infrastructures, including military power, but unfortunately, the score was below average.
“Teimong’s World
Life LV.1: 69
Military LV.1: 147
Industry LV.0: 35
Technology LV.0: 67
Culture LV.0: 98
Politics LV.2: 233
Mystery LV.1: 186
Faith LV.1: 200
World Total LV.1: 1,035″
The average is 1,100, so it’s a bit lacking. And the fact that the average is 1,100 means that someone might be below 1,100, and someone might be far ahead of 1,100.
Maybe everyone is still around 1,100, but the biggest weakness of Teimong’s world right now is the population. Politics and faith are stable, so control is perfect, and military power is solid through high mystery, but each death is too fatal. The population doesn’t even exceed level 1. Moreover, industry and technology are even more miserable.
For now, there is no choice but to request cooperation. There was also a ‘surrender’ function, but there was also an ‘alliance’ function. Through alliances, we can grow stably for now.
If you refuse, I dislike inhumane methods, but… I had to win the next battle somehow. And then enslave the opposing race.
And by enslaving them, secure industry, technology, and population, and later slowly release them from slavery.
For now, that’s the only way. Praying that the opponent would make friendly contact, Taimon sent an envoy to the opposing world.
Even the mere possibility of losing a talented individual was a loss. First, reconnaissance had to be prioritized…
And Taimon almost wet himself upon seeing the opposing world. If he had a body, he surely would have.
“He, heeeeeek?!”
Jelly. Jelly. Nothing but jelly.
“What? What is this? Is there such a race? I thought at least a race similar to mine would appear, even if they were gathered from different dimensions?”
Since Taimon was roughly humanoid, it was extremely bizarre. And despite telling the dispatched scout to handle it, jellies began to infiltrate her world as well.
“F, first, block those jellies!”
The official name is carnivorous pudding. Not jelly.
And unfortunately, the carnivorous puddings were terribly weak.
The superior mysticism Taimon possessed could easily turn the puddings into powder with simple long-range magic projection.
“Thank goodness. The opponent isn’t that strong…”
The lifeline and core that sustained her world. The river, which bizarrely flowed back to its original point like a snake biting its tail, became jelly-infested within a few days, and the fertile floodplain farmland began to be covered with sand. This realization came before the ‘passage’ between worlds even opened.
Taimon’s vision went dark.
∞
“The opposing player ‘Taimon’ requests ＜surrender＞.”
“The opposing player ‘Taimon’ requests ＜surrender＞.”
“The opposing player ‘Taimon’ requests ＜surrender＞.”
“The opposing player ‘Taimon’ requests ＜surrender＞.”
“The opposing player ‘Taimon’ requests ＜surrender＞.”
I need to block this. How many times is he pressing the surrender button?
“To put it bluntly, he’s shouting surrender.”
“Player ‘Taimon’ has been blocked.”
Taimon’s world couldn’t last a year. In fact, there was no need to wait until the harvest season.
Dropping a few hundred carnivorous puddings caused the sparsely populated opposing world to deplete its combat power, and soon they had to engage in survival against the puddings.
“You have won the world collision against player ‘Taimon’.”
“Your world expands.”
The two worlds merge. Strangely, the opposing world had no distinction between the start and end of the river. How does the river flow then?
By exerting divine power, I could slightly edit the world’s terrain. I skillfully manipulated that strange river to flow into the Oswald Oasis.
Then, the water came out of the Oswald Oasis, circled around, and returned to the oasis, creating a peculiar structure. My world doubled in size, with a surface area of about 40 square kilometers.
Still, only deserts appear as opponents. In fact, 40 square kilometers is too narrow by desert standards. However, since that side has been somewhat reclaimed, it feels more like a grassland than a desert.
“It was an easy victory.”
“The opponent was weak.”
“That’s true. It seems they struggled too much in the last battle. If the Taimon player had managed to secure the opponent’s surrender and preserve their forces, maybe…”
Maybe?
“Maybe they could have inflicted some meaningful damage on your world, Veen.”
That’s right. But in reality, they were trampled.
The first victory was skill. The second victory was said to be due to luck, but even if luck had been slightly worse, I would have still won.
So, there’s no need to talk about whether luck was good or bad.
The next opponent might surpass me or perfectly counter my ecosystem. Regrettably, if that happens, I will accept it as fate.
Anyway, I was about to ask for a trait as a victory reward when the angel said something unexpected.
“Veen, since you have achieved your second victory, there is an announcement.”
Hmm?
“From now on, the interaction function with other players will be unlocked.”
“Interaction function?”
“Yes. Simply put, winning twice in a game where half of the players are eliminated each time means you are in the top 25%. After filtering out the chaff, you are qualified to interact with other players.”
Chaff, that’s harsh.
“Even if it’s interaction… In the end, we fight until only one remains, so what does interaction mean?”
“Since you’ve experienced it in the form of a game, think of it as community activities. Simply put, you can share friendly activities with the majority of players you will never meet.
Or you can form alliances in advance and promise to clash with a specific world in the next world collision, or attack a player you don’t like or a player with desirable territory.”
Team play, or more maliciously, teaming.
Neither option appeals to me. Why should I converse with impure beings?
“Or you can share or sell creations produced or extracted from your world, such as technology, culture, or life forms. Not just sharing, but in the form of sales.”
“What currency is used for sales?”
“Points. Actually, you don’t use points directly. After each collision, you get currency equivalent to the points. Literally, [points]. So, if your total score is high, you can buy many things, and even if your total score is low, if you have excellent technology or creations, you can sell them for greater benefits.”
“What about unused points?”
“They carry over to the next game.”
“What else can you do with points? For example, can you buy new traits or resources that don’t exist in your world from a neutral shop?”
“Purchasing traits is not possible. Resources or creations can only be exchanged or purchased from other players. You can exchange materials by opening dimensional gates between each other’s worlds.”
“If the currency is only for exchange, it would be useless, and exchanges wouldn’t happen in the first place, right?”
“Ah. Of course, there are other functions. It’s good to have a lot of points when you exit the game after the third round. Would you like me to explain in detail?”
No, that’s fine. It must have some function to prevent soul extinction or something.
Anyway, with that mechanism, isn’t it practically forced participation?
In short, even if unused points are carried over, the concept of ‘saving’ is impossible. The structure is such that scores explode in every game.
Even for me, it was 568 points in the first collision, but 1,960 in the second collision. Inflation is severe. In other words, if you don’t use all the currency received that day by the next collision, it will become worthless.
Considering that you might not survive the next game, it is structured to expand exchanges between each other.
And according to the principles of commerce and trade, the side that exchanges more will inevitably become stronger.
“That’s exactly right. It’s a system designed to force interaction between players.”
Disappointing. It’s a bit harsh for single players.
“I thought you might be quite shy. If you had accepted the surrender of other players, you could have made them interact and trade instead.”
“Well.”
“But don’t worry. There are other ways to use the points.”
Alright then. It doesn’t seem like a method I would expect much from, though.
「You acquire new world traits as a victory reward.」
Let’s think about this first. I need to create my world.
“Here. I have selected the three traits that will be most helpful for your ‘civilization’.”
Persistent.
『Excellent Craftsmanship: Creations are skilled at making tools, advantageous for 〈industrial〉 development.』
『Fairy Transformation: Transforms terrain, structures, low-intelligence life forms, or mysterious entities in the world into immortal fairies. Fairies are intelligent beings absolutely dedicated to the player’s world, civilization, and creations.』
『High Intelligence: Greatly increases the intelligence of creations. High-intelligence species are advantageous for 〈political〉 and 〈technological〉 development.』
They are really pushing me to create a civilization. Which one of these trash should I choose…
Wait a minute, this one has a peculiar description.
It can be applied to ‘terrain’, ‘structures’, and ‘mysterious entities’?
“I’ll go with 『Fairy Transformation』.”
“Hmm. Choosing to create fairies of rivers and lakes, or coral reefs… Ah. aaah!”
Ignoring the belated realization and the angel’s scream, I drew the 『Fairy Transformation』 card and immediately used its power.
「Using 『Fairy Transformation』 on [Nectar Spring].」
Wriggle─! Wriggle─! Wriggle─!
Nectar Spring, that fragment of the god, began to pulse, and an unholy intelligence that could not have dared to exist in my ecosystem began to dwell.