LIGHTNOVELSTORY chapter 15
Chapter 15. The Most Vicious and Ruthless Predator 2
Alright. I understand.
So, this is it. The terrain I received, in other words, the fragment of the god, is the “Nectar Spring.”
No matter how I damage it, it’s the same. In short, even if someone fills the Nectar Spring with something like concrete, it’s still the Nectar Spring. It’s just at level 0.
So, the amount of sunlight doesn’t decrease. It gets cold at night.
No, that’s the reason why day and night are perfectly aligned in the first place.
The terrain, sky, and underground here are embedded with cosmic or magical laws that define this place as such.
Even if it’s completely destroyed without leaving any debris, the sky remains the same, and the entire land can’t be dug up, so whether there are rocks or not, whether the top is a swamp or a lake, it’s still the Nectar Spring.
Now, let’s take the case of the “River” as an example. In short, I mobilized the jellies to completely merge the river with the lake.
But it’s still the “River.” Why? Because the fragment of the god is embedded in the “River.”
So, even if it’s completely merged with the lake, the force that makes the water in the “River” flow still remains. No, it might not work if it falls below level 0.
“In terms of notation, it will be at level 0, and it will work. It will be a very weak force, though.”
Thank you for the kind explanation. Let’s go further from here.
I could inject divine power into the “River” to twist or meander its flow, or even connect it to the lake.
Why? Because the divine power reacts to the fragment of the god in the “River.”
And if a large amount of divine power is injected, it could be adjusted to flow faster or widen, raising the level of the “River.”
“You have understood it correctly.”
Conversely, even if I perfectly manipulate my jellies to build a canal that circles the world, it will never flow.
Why? Because there is no fragment of the god there. I can’t create a fragment of the god with divine power. Just like I can’t create a second Nectar Spring. Just like I can’t suddenly create a meadow here.
But I can adjust or twist the existing terrain.
“That is also correct. In fact, the normal growth of the Nectar Spring involves not only supplying a large amount of magical power but also injecting a large amount of divine power.”
I know that because I’ve played the game. I just didn’t do it because it’s possible through biological methods.
So, let’s see. I thought that if I expanded the Nectar Oasis and eventually made it into a sea, the aquifer that naturally produces fresh water would disappear.
But that’s not the case. Even if the land is completely shaved off so that the terrain called the aquifer is no longer recognizable, fresh water will still come out there. Just like the Nectar Spring will produce nectar even if the land is completely covered.
“That is correct.”
Then we can think of it this way.
What kind of fragment of the god is embedded in the terrain of the players I just defeated?
And one more thing.
What is “life”? Creating life with divine power requires surprisingly few resources.
“I think I can explain both answers by examining the terrain of the opponent.”
So I checked. First, the cactus forest where the hamsters lived in large numbers and built a civilization.
《Desert Forest LV.4: A 《Desert》 terrain where cacti and bushes grow. It is a repository of life, storing a small amount of 〈water〉 underground.
Detailed description: Numerous insects, rodents, reptiles, and other various creatures enjoy the benefits of this place. It is a place where fragments of a being once called a god reside, and the creatures inhabiting it have undergone 〈evolution〉 by the player ‘Darin Eu’ to become somewhat independent beings.》
I see. For creatures that ‘originally existed,’ do both 〈life〉 and 《terrain》 correspond to the fragments of the god?
“Yes. Creatures directly created by the player, in other words, those created by Veen, are somewhat related because they were created with divine power.”
The rapid evolution, the fact that any world has air and appropriate pressure for life to breathe, and the absence of fundamentally different structures in creatures might be due to divine power rather than magic.
So, it can be inferred that creating ‘unique creatures that completely deviate from conventional biological principles’ is impossible.
In other words, I can make it difficult for them to digest jellies, but I can’t make it impossible.
“That’s correct. Although different physical laws operate here, a single law exists. The form of life cannot deviate ‘that much.’ The dessert army, made by combining organic and inorganic materials, is within the permissible range, but creating organic matter that cannot be consumed by any means, such as water and meat, is impossible.”
That’s a bit disappointing. I thought about trying to create such creatures. Eventually, I might be able to create enemies that can eat the dessert army.
I’ll think about that later. If I push this idea further, it means that the form of 〈life〉 is somewhat recorded in the fragments of the god.
So, if I inject divine power into the 《Desert Forest》 over there, can I make the desert plants grow en masse?
“To some extent. But you need to prepare the resources necessary for the growth of the plants separately.”
Hmm. I see. Then there’s no need for that.
“Pardon?”
The evolution of the desert forest, in other words, leveling up, can be achieved sufficiently through biological mechanisms and magic.
“Indeed. You are an expert in that field. I’m looking forward to it. What kind of environment will you create?”
First, let’s look around at other environments. Since the opponent has experienced the second game, there are quite a few environments.
Even with a simple thought, there would be four fragments of the god. (In my case, seeing that the Taimon River is level 2, the opponent’s fragment of the god must have been the river.)
《Valley》 and 《Sand Desert》 《Gravel Desert》. Adding the 《Desert Forest》 I just saw, there are four.
The valley and desert forest were the hamsters’ territory. There were many traces of civilization, and it felt like they were cultivating cacti and mushrooms.
The underground is damp. Water must be flowing under the valley. Perhaps the valley itself was a terrain where water flowed in the past and then dried up… If water is introduced here, another lake could be created.
And the two deserts were real deserts. There were traces of civilization, but only stones remained.
I wondered what it was, so I looked closely, and it is said that the concentration of magic, in other words, the magic pressure, is very high here. Many specific elements gather here. So, monsters and spirit creatures were living here.
I don’t like it at all. Such an ecosystem that only exists with magic is too incomprehensible and hard to accept for an amateur ecologist.
“So, it’s not all the same magic… The relationship between spirits and natural magic is…”
Enough… I can’t understand it even if I hear it, and I don’t want to understand it. The effort of an otaku who worked hard on the setting notes is commendable, but who reads that?
“Ah, no, it’s not the setting notes of an otaku, but a reality that clearly operates in this world.”
I understand… I’m sorry for them, but I have to say that you live in a space that I absolutely cannot accept.
But still, there is something I know. Magic is also a resource. Biologically speaking, it’s quite an impressive resource. It can do anything, just a cheat-like resource.
I carefully edited the opposing world that hadn’t yet merged with mine so that the magic desert would be attached ‘next’ to the nectar oasis.
This is possible because the world is spherical in all spaces. Clearly, until the last game, my nectar oasis was surrounded by the Taimon River and desert, but by tearing? or ripping? the space there, I could attach the newly created world.
Ah. Come to think of it, the reason why it’s impossible to completely tear the world apart is because the unit of the world is ‘a fragment of God.’
“That’s correct.”
I see. I understand. Anyway, as I continued to expand, my nectar oasis, which seemed to be about to touch the river, now had a desert and a cactus forest area between the river and the oasis.
That sand desert will be devoured by the nectar oasis that feeds on magic, sand, and gravel, and if I edit the valley well considering the spherical structure of the world, it seems like I could make the river flow inside it…
“You can definitely do it, so keep it up.”
So, after twisting the world, which is like a non-overlapping square, I managed to edit it back into a perfect plane. Actually, it’s spherical, but it’s too difficult for humans to understand spatially.
“As your divine power increases, the player’s stats will also rise, making it easier to understand that space.”
That’s a relief. Now, the next problem is how to handle the ecosystem here.
First, the desert and valley will eventually be submerged in the nectar lake, so let’s move on.
The problem is the cactus forest. How can I harmonize this cactus forest with my dessert legion?
It seems that the ant tribe, which was a slave race in the opposing world, were the natives of this forest. There are strong traces of civilization, and they must have lived by farming with cacti.
But no matter how I think about it, how did they farm in this place without water? Even in fantasy, there are things that can and cannot be done. Cacti surely live on water.
The answer came when clouds formed over the cactus forest and it started to rain.
As the rain fell, unseen plants sprouted rapidly in the desert, bore fruit, scattered seeds, and then died shortly after.
And the herbivores that originally lived here came to eat the dead flowers and grass, ate the fruit, moved around, and pooped nearby, spreading seeds widely…
I was overthinking it because of the fantasy elements. It’s a typical desert plant ecosystem. Even in a desert, it doesn’t mean it never rains.
Instead, it rains very occasionally. At that time, they quickly absorb water, grow, and scatter seeds to reproduce. The seeds are designed to endure for years until the next rain.
“Interesting. So how do we integrate this with the dessert legion?”
Just like domesticating wild chickens.
“Chickens?”
Originally, chickens were birds native to Southeast Asia, living in the jungle. They were birds that laid a lot of eggs once a year when the jungle was full of fruit.
But humans had this idea. ‘This bird lays eggs when there’s plenty of food. What if we feed it a lot every day?’
The result was successful. The chicken’s biological rhythm made it lay eggs continuously in an environment with abundant food, and today, it has been bred into a biological machine that lays one egg a day.
“Oh. It seems a bit cruel.”
Do the same with those desert plants. If they have an ecosystem where they rapidly reproduce and die when it rains, water them immediately when they scatter seeds. Then feed the herbivores, and when they scatter seeds again, water them again.
If water is continuously supplied, they will absorb the nutrients of the desert like crazy and proliferate, and the large herbivores that originally lived here, similar to camels, will eat and grow to their heart’s content.
“Hmm… It’s a good idea, but how do you water them?”
“Is the magic of Yogurtosus just for show? If you don’t use it now, when will you? Just fetch some water from the Nectar Spring and sprinkle it.”
“Oh. It’s just magic… You sure know how to use it well in times like this.”
Then, when the numbers have sufficiently increased, we release the carnivorous puddings that have been adapted to the desert.
The carnivorous puddings will hunt the overpopulated herbivores and eat their meat. When they die in the desert, they will become nutrients for the plants that will grow again. This process repeats.
As a result, the puddings will keep going to the cactus forest area to die, enriching the entire forest with nutrients.
The jellies will eat the minerals there and clear away the sand, leaving behind seeds. The seeds here are quite sturdy, so no additional evolution is needed.
“Then won’t the herbivores keep dying?”
“We’ll have to keep evolving them to survive the puddings. It will probably require artificial manipulation. Large creatures have slow generational turnover.
And those large bodies are adapted to withstand the desert’s heat and cold, and the environment with few plants, so we might need to make them smaller.
Most life forms don’t seem to be that big.”
“Well. I get the idea. But let’s go back to our original topic. How can we become the most vicious and ruthless predators that plunder peacefully growing civilizations?”
It’s simple. Now that we’ve understood the environment of the cactus forest, we make it our hunting ground and create the most vicious and ruthless predator.
“?”
Just watch. You’ll be amazed by the miracle of evolution.
First, let’s find a candidate to evolve into a camel-eating pudding.
That guy will eventually become a human-eating pudding.