ALL NOVEL chapter 13
Chapter 13. The First Drop-off Point
I was contemplating what kind of ecosystem to create in that desert when suddenly, time stopped.
I’m not joking. Time really stopped. The movement of all living things came to a complete halt. The air, the magic, the wriggling tentacles, the water, nothing moved.
What is this? A bug?
“It’s not a bug.”
“Is it a penalty for not building a civilization?”
The angel denied it, flustered.
“Of course not. As I mentioned, we are closely monitoring your build, Mr. Bean. The time stop was originally scheduled.”
“?”
“The first and second collisions were, so to speak, tutorials to filter out the chaff. Having passed the tutorial, the community function is now unlocked. And for players who survive the third collision, a choice is given.”
A choice…?
“To move forward, or to retreat.”
“I’ll move forward.”
“I thought you might say that, but please listen to the explanation first.”
“…Alright.”
The angel’s explanation was a bit different from what I had expected.
Because retreating wasn’t ‘giving up.’
“Every third collision is a ‘retreat phase.’ All players are given the opportunity to ‘retreat.’
If you choose to move forward, you continue to participate in the game.
If you retreat, you are given the opportunity to convert the points and scores you have accumulated so far into ‘divine power.'”
“Divine power?”
“As you can see from the fact that we stopped time, we can manipulate the flow of time as we wish.
You will have the divine power to freely manipulate everything in the world as if you were performing actions in your original body, but in the time frame you participated in the game.”
What?
“Of course, the wishes you can make with the third game’s level of points are limited. For example, with 10,000 points, you could get about ‘one million dollars’ worth of tangible assets or equivalent services.”
“That’s far from enough to cause human extinction.”
“Yes, that’s correct. Of course, if you accumulate a lot of points, you could truly reign like a god on Earth. Unless your goal is to become a true god.”
“Then what if I win the final round?”
“Naturally, all the world points you have earned so far, and the points from the world you manage afterward, will all be converted into divine power. You can extend to other stars in the universe, or become a member of our organizing committee. If you want to manage multiple worlds, that is also permitted.”
“You’re explaining such an important element now?”
“Actually, if you had asked when we first met, I could have told you, but you accepted without asking or questioning.”
Well. I see. It’s my fault. That is.
Come to think of it, that’s right. Who would participate if the odds of becoming a ‘god’ are one in a billion and the rest face soul extinction? I thought it would be vaguely possible just by gathering from all dimensions, but there was a mid-exit system.
“Then let me ask now. If an ‘exiter’ appears, what happens to their world?”
“The world without a god continues its independent development. Even so, it can become a target for world collisions.”
“The player colliding with that world would be getting it for free since there’s no opposing player… right?”
“That’s correct! That’s why ‘exit’ can only be applied for up to half of the designated protection period.”
That alone doesn’t seem to solve the problem at all?
“The explanation isn’t over yet. The remaining people start an ‘auction’ for the remaining worlds! The person who pays the highest [points] per world will collide with that world next time.”
“So, you can buy the world you want?”
“That’s right! If you find an attractive world among the exiter’s worlds, you can spend [points] generously to choose it as the next collision target. Since it’s a world without a god, everything in that world is at your disposal! The creations of that world will worship you instead. Become the new god in the civilization where the god has disappeared.”
“What happens to the ‘traits’ that the original owner of the world had?”
“They cannot be inherited. Traits are unique to each player.”
“Then who gets the points I paid?”
“Of course, the original owner of the world gets them. In other words, the more attractive the world you create and exit from, the more points you get upon exit. Exiting at the right time is also a strategy.”
Hmm… Then, can I gather about ten million points, return to Earth, exterminate all humans, destroy all structures built by civilization, restore nature, and manipulate the ecosystem as I want to enjoy [The Real World Creator] on real Earth?
“Well, ten million might be a bit short. With about three hundred million, it’s definitely possible. I can tell you that obtaining eternal life is surprisingly cheap in terms of points.”
Wait a minute. But listening to the explanation, the game has become strange.
“So, it’s impossible to exit outside the ‘exit period’?”
“Yes. Additionally, to explain further, even if no one buys your world after you exit, the exit is still successful. You just won’t receive additional points.
And the exit worlds ‘primarily’ collide with other exit worlds.
After that, those worlds also become auction targets. And of course, if the remaining exit worlds are odd in number, they inevitably collide with worlds with other owners, which is just luck.”
“Hmm…”
“And… there could be an absurd situation where the residents of your world ‘lose’ after colliding with an exit world.
Don’t worry. Once the exit world collides, both are your worlds. Just think of it as the main species you were nurturing has changed.”
“Is that a common occurrence?”
“Hmm… If the world’s [politics] score is high, it can happen enough. You could say the original god was irresponsible. They controlled the world perfectly and then abandoned it.”
Just hearing this much explanation, I had all sorts of thoughts.
“Wait a minute. Then what happens to the surrendered player?”
“If the upper god exits, all lower gods exit simultaneously. Even if they want to, they cannot inherit the world. Points are received according to their contribution to the world.”
“Then, what if there are more than two players in one world during the exit period? It’s possible if the war drags on.”
“In that case, you must negotiate a peace agreement just before the point where you can disembark. At that time, you can disembark. If not all the gods of the world have disembarked, the world auction will not take place. Naturally, the remaining players in the world will disembark with only the points they have, and they will not receive points from the world auction.”
Huh?
Because of the so-called ‘disembarker’ factor, the essence of the game suddenly changed.
This game was not about competing for the position of the last god.
It was a game where you held out as long as possible and then ‘cashed out’ at an appropriate point.
“Oh. So that’s why everyone was begging to be accepted for surrender?”
“That’s right.”
“Then it was a good thing to annihilate the souls. If I had to disembark inevitably and there were lower gods, they would have taken my points.”
“No? The lower gods just take as much as they contributed, and the higher gods take the total score, so it’s not like that at all. It’s a mechanism made to accept surrender.”
“Hmm.”
In a world where time had stopped. I really had a lot of thoughts.
The first thought was that it was easier to win than I thought.
In reality, there would be only about 10,000 serious competitors for the position of god, not 1 billion. If it were 1 billion to 1, it would be an impossible fight, but if it were 10,000 to 1, well… It would be like winning a gold medal in a popular Olympic event?
The second thought was that those serious competitors would inevitably meet later. They have plenty of points, so they would all choose a world they like, swallow it up, and slowly expand. Maybe the point of direct encounter would be around the 10th round.
When the disembarkation section comes out three times, and the remaining worlds are reduced to 1,048,576, in other words, about a million.
At that time, the gods of the remaining worlds would not be the ‘it would be nice to win, but if I lose, I can just surrender’ types I had met three times so far, but the ‘real deal’.
And, the 10,000 who have the potential to catch Yog-Sothoth on their own, as mentioned in passing by the angel, and the 10% who, even after catching it, do not perish together and can aim for victory against me.
In reality, those 1,000 would be the real opponents among the 1 billion players.
“That’s an interesting perspective. Well, considering your objectively top-tier capabilities, it might not seem like competition unless it’s at that level.”
It was after thinking that far.
“Huh?”
“What is it? You seem to have had another grim thought.”
Wait, wait…
No! It’s not just that ‘the game has become easier to win.’
“Angel. Can I assume that all players were aware of the rules of the game you mentioned?”
“Almost all of them would have been aware, and even if they weren’t, they would be aware by now.”
“I see…! Then, all the players understood the ‘environment’ of this game?”
“Uh, well. Yes.”
Oh my god.
I thought this game was a tournament to pick just one out of a billion players.
So I only researched ways to win 1:1 unconditionally.
But that wasn’t it. Winning twice opened the community function.
Winning the third time revealed the existence of the exit section. They say there are more after that.
Moreover, in this game, the person who surrenders joins the winner’s faction, and if they work hard in the winner’s faction, they earn points equally when they exit or win.
No! It’s not a tournament! All the rules of this game suggest that it is not a tournament survival but a different game.
An environment where multiple entities gather to make rational decisions and reap the best benefits.
In academic terms, this is called a game situation.
At that moment, my eyes opened wide!
‘Why’ did a ‘gamer’ get the ticket to decide the god, not a politician, entrepreneur, or scholar?
‘Why’ are there as many as 1 billion participants?
‘Why’ is there virtually no penalty for surrendering, and no benefit when surrender is not accepted?
Because, that way, a repetitive and continuous competitive environment unfolds with a large sample, forming an environment where ‘game theory’ is applied!
Then, the angel smiled.
“Oh. To have reached this point on your own without any hints. Mr. Bean, you are indeed a very capable player. Just reaching that point puts you in the top 1%.”
And there is a representative environment where game theory and game situations occur.
The ecosystem!
An environment where organisms that have evolved differently compete with different strategies, where only the most successful strategies survive, and the rest are eliminated!
The environment I have been building since I gave up civilization when I started the game!
“In fact, game situations include not only ecosystems but also strategies between civilizations and nations, diplomacy, and so on… That was our intention.”
The essence of this game was a competition of strategy against strategy, where 1 billion life forms (worlds) compete to gain the most benefits!
Then I must change my strategy. It’s not a situation where you can’t survive unless you defeat your opponent in a tournament, but rather, the best strategy of the game is ‘a good defeat and exit.’
From now on, I will not aim to win 1:1 against the opposing world.
“Oh. So from now on, Mr. Bean, will you aim to lose well?”
Ah. Ni.
I will become the most vicious and ruthless predator, exploiting players who set a ‘good defeat’ strategy in the game, crushing the souls of all who oppose me, destroying their worlds, and making my dessert legion conquer the world.
“Honestly, I expected that.”