Chapter 1097: Project Planning

“How long do we need to get everything ready?” I asked, looking around the room. “I’ve been holding back on fast-forwarding for a while, just so that I could let the world develop naturally. However, if there is an imminent threat, and we need more time to take care of it, I’ll naturally give you all the time needed.”

Tubrock and Ashley looked at one another, before Ashley spoke up. “In terms of weapons research, it could take anywhere up to twenty years to create weapons capable of planetary annihilation that we can build on a large scale, right?”

Tubrock nodded his head in agreement. “Aye. We don’t wanna just pour in a load of energy like with Olympus. That’ll be too inefficient and takes too much time to charge.”

Dana hesitated for a moment, before speaking up. “If we’re doing another timeskip, I think I’ll remain on-world for a while. I want to finish my Sky Chariot project. From what’s been discussed, I think it could be useful in the upcoming fight, even if it’s just symbolic.”

I gave a small nod at that, remembering the project in question. It was meant to be a warship that would allow me to channel any of my domains through it. However, Dana had never completed the design, or had perhaps abandoned it after V-Day.

“Ten to twenty years, huh?” Chelsea asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She glanced over at James, who was sitting next to her. “Think we can get it done by then?”

James thought about it for a long moment. “If it’s just copying an existing world, probably. We’ll need to see how the stability holds up, though. But designing a new one would probably take a bit longer than that. We’ll need to run experiments, and figure out how to implement the changes in different cores to get the results that we want.”

I glanced over at the duo as they discussed that. “Will we hit the next rank from copying an existing world, or does it have to be something new?”

“Can’t say.” Chelsea shrugged her shoulders. “We never hit that level in our past life, so we’re in uncharted territory. Likewise, Terra won’t be able to tell us exactly, because you haven’t hit that goal yet. Your friends from the guild might be able to answer, but I wouldn’t say it’s that important. We’ll find out one way or the other when it happens.”

“Right.” I nodded my head in agreement. “Is there anything else to discuss while we’re at it?”

“I’ll need a little time to prepare, before you hit the button.” Ashley spoke up, causing me to look over at her. “There is a limit to how fast my team can act while in the Admin Room. Given that the collaborator for my NPC project is still a mortal, it would seem like we cut off contact for twenty years if we did so right away. Instead, I’d like to set up a long-term assignment for him with a twenty-year deadline, that way it can be turned in when the time jump is completed.”

“Makes sense. Also, are there any new systems that we should be preparing to install after this period?” I asked, to which Ashley had a thoughtful expression.

“My team has been busy lately with the NPC project, so they haven’t had much time to work on personal projects lately. I’ll let you know once we have something worth considering for the world again.” She answered with a shake of her head.

“Alright. Anyone else?” I asked again, looking around. This time, it didn’t seem as if anyone else had any other comments to make. “In that case, Ashley, let me know when you’re ready. Everyone else, take care of whatever preparations you need, and I’ll start the acceleration.’

The others in the room all nodded their heads, standing and heading for the door. In the end, only Tsubaki and I were left behind, and I sat down in my seat with a long sigh. “I do not believe you should let this worry you so much, my Keeper.” Tsubaki said with a confident smile, standing behind me. “With the knowledge that you have on your enemy, I believe that it will only be a matter of time, of which you have all that you need.”

I gave a small nod at that. “I know… my concern is whether or not DarkestNight will just do his usual ‘casual attack’, or if he is going to decide to send more after us.”

“What do you mean?” Tsubaki asked with a tilt of her head.

“We have two wins under our belts. One of those being from a rather fierce Keeper that earned his own kills. That means that we are actually quite a bit wealthier than a Keeper at our level would be that hadn’t experienced a victory in battle. For an enemy Keeper like DarkestNight, this could make us a prime target, especially given how new we are. Just the right mix between the lack of experience and an enticing reward.”

“I see… so, you are worried that he will attack in greater numbers than what you received in your report?” She asked, to which I nodded my head.

“That’s right. Not just the number of monsters, even the scale of them could be beyond what we heard in the report. According to Sarah, the largest monster should be capable of devouring an entire solar system at once. I have to consider the possibility that DarkestNight reserves his largest monsters for battles he intends to take seriously. In the worst case scenario, there could be a creature capable of swallowing an entire galaxy.”

Tsubaki’s eyes widened slightly when she heard that, before holding her chin in her hand. “I see. However, I believe that would be somewhat impractical. Even given the idea that this Keeper specializes in larger and larger monsters, it would become inefficient to nurture those monsters beyond a certain size. Instead, I believe he would simply change the target of devouring, while reducing the size of the monster in question. For instance, the Swallowing Carp.”

When I arched my brow at that term, Tsubaki explained. “This is a rare monster found in Deckan’s ocean, prominently spawning after V-Day. The Swallowing Carp is a fish of no more than one meter in length, and a third as thick. However, this is one of the most fearsome creatures that can be found at sea, due to its unique ability.”

“When the Swallowing Carp opens its mouth, it releases an intense suction force, known for creating whirlpools in an instant. Anything that is drawn towards its mouth shrinks rapidly, becoming no bigger than a grain of sand. Once inside its mouth, you will find yourself in what appears to be an independent world, full of everything that the fish has swallowed in recent times, while a potent acid begins to dissolve everything.”

“Of those that encounter this creature, very few are known to survive. The report on its interior actually comes from an old God of Water that was caught up in its attack while exploring the ocean. He managed to escape before he sustained too much damage, and wrote online about what he experienced.”

“If this other Keeper follows a similar trend, then their most terrifying monsters won’t be those incredibly massive ones, but rather smaller monsters that are able to freely enter and exit the void, rapidly consuming entire universes. While this would not be as visually impressive as, say, a gigantic dragon with a wingspan larger than a galaxy, it would be the more efficient route to take when developing a monster.”

I hesitated at Tsubaki’s explanation. While insightful, it didn’t really help me calm down. “I… suppose that we’ll be needing to increase our void defenses, as well.”

Tsubaki nodded her head, before blinking as a thought occurred to her. “The truly terrifying concept would be if one of these swallowing beasts was able to store a universe that it had consumed within its stomach, and possessed the intelligence to wait for a good moment to attack. If that was the case, they could simply hide in a forest or uninhabited planet while we fought the rest of the monsters.”

“Then, after days or weeks of battle, when we were frantically searching for the remnants of the attack, it appears in the void and releases the universe it previously stored, this universe containing the true attack force. I believe this is what I would do, if I were using a similar build and determined to ensure a victory.”

There was a long pause after Tsubaki said that, and I turned my head to look at her. “I thought you wanted me not to worry?”

Galahan sat in his office, looking over the message that had only just arrived with a curious expression. “Dear Galahan, be advised that we are entering into a long-term project. This project is expected to take roughly twenty years to accomplish. During this time, there is an assignment for you to perform, due upon the end of this twenty year period.”

“You are to create a narrative for a living universe, which is built within a universe that functions with the following systems. These should all be taken into account as intrinsic facts about the world.”

“There is a crafting system, in which players are able to automate the crafting process after registering a recipe. This happens through the creation of a special crafting facility, which brings up an interface for what to craft. The time needed for each craft, as well as its quality, depend on both the recipe and the level of the facility”

”Every individual, upon reaching a certain age, gains powers at a divine level. For some, these powers will be in the form of a domain, while others will simply gain an enhancement to their natural abilities that will allow them to fight on the same level as gods.”

“There is a fast travel system, through which people can visit any city that they have previously visited. This happens by attuning oneself to a special structure located within the city.”

“There is an inventory, which increases in size in accordance with personal power. This inventory functions similarly to the real world system, with one caveat. Mana can be spent to increase the inventory size, as well as ki and divine energy.”

“Although there is a level system, there are no classes. The terms ‘mage’ and ‘fighter’ merely indicate one’s talents, rather than a class that is enforced by the system. Levels represent an individual’s total fighting power, with the divine baseline as level one hundred. This is also the level that everyone rises to upon the previously mentioned age.”

“The magic system in this world is Arcanobinary, the same magic system commonly found in Fragments of Acidia. For this reason, the world should have a general science-fiction theme, as opposed to more magic in nature.”

“The final system of note is the Respawn system, which even NPCs will have access to. All entities, whether players or NPC, will respawn twenty-four hours after their death at their last register travel point. However, if they die a second time within seven days of their original death, they will not respawn. This is the case for players as well, who will have their characters deleted if they repeatedly die in this manner.”

“We look forward to seeing the world that you create within these guidelines. Aside from what has been stipulated above, you have the creative freedom to customize the world as you see fit, with one restriction. There is to be no mention of specific gods or locations from the real world.”

“Lastly, if you create a world with which you are satisfied before the deadline, you are free to use it as the setting of a movie or broadcasted series if you desire. If you do so, and the setting is approved at the end of the deadline, these materials may be considered as promotional material for the completed product.”

His eyes widened slightly as he read that last section. It was surprising that he was being given such a long-term project, though he knew to some extent that this would eventually happen, due to his original conversation with Ashley. Additionally, he knew that the ban on using real-world people or places was because this game, once completed, could be sent to other Keepers.

What surprised him the most was the freedom to create promotional movies for the game. To date, none of the Keeper-sponsored games had released official promotional videos prior to their release, aside from short videos to be used as advertisement. A feature-length film was unheard of for these games.

A smile crept over his lips, ideas forming in the back of his mind. “I think I can work with this.”