The Anti-Intellectualism Demon King’s World Invasion

Chapter 56. Expansion Phase -Great Nature-

A game consisting of 30 rounds.

A drop-off phase every 3 rounds.

A shop phase every 4 rounds.

A disaster phase every 5 rounds.

And, the prime rounds, which are not multiples of 3, 4, or 5, are the ‘Expansion Phase’.

To put it simply, an event occurs that expands my ecosystem.

“Then. I will explain the rules of the Expansion Phase.”

I’ve already heard it all, but.

“Please listen anyway. Just in case there is any misunderstanding, I will explain. The Expansion Phase occurs in each prime round. This world, about 10 square kilometers where the fragments of the gods exist, is a rich space that can somehow sustain a civilization even with just this much area.

However, there are bound to be ‘No Man’s Lands’ in the world where the fragments of the gods do not exist. The Expansion Phase expands the world into such ‘No Man’s Lands’.”

Even if it’s called ‘No Man’s Land’, it’s not a barren wasteland with nothing. It’s just a bit different in direction.

“In the ‘Material Realm’, there are three ‘No Man’s Lands’.

The vast ocean, ‘Great Ocean’.

The underground world with no visible bottom, ‘Great Underground’.

The vast world where civilization cannot survive, ‘Great Nature’.”

Sea, underground, nature. There is a path to the ‘Great Underground’ in my world too. Though I don’t use it…

“In the ‘Spiritual Realm’, there are also three ‘No Man’s Lands’.

The vast sky, ‘Great Sky’.

The boundary filled with the thoughts and consciousness of the dead, ‘Great Boundary’.

The endless space of illusions and dreams, ‘Great Dream’.”

I already have some areas connected to the ‘Great Sky’ and use them well. Sky islands, aerial gardens, cloud spaces, and the like.

“And finally, the ‘Great Universe’, where there is almost no matter or spirit, but powerful matter and flow exist. These seven ‘No Man’s Lands’ are linked in the seven prime rounds.”

“The player will finally complete a world by connecting the sea, underground, nature, sky, the afterlife, fantasy, and even the universe, and become the true god who rules over it.”

It sounds grand and impressive in theory.

“Isn’t the shard of the god essentially Mihoon’s body and mind? In the end, isn’t it just a task of connecting those fragments?”

“It’s a bit different. It would be better to call it the re-establishment of the soul and body. The world before it was broken, the broken world, and the combined world are all different. Mihoon will also be able to transcend from a true immortal to a divine immortal by having his newly reborn body.”

Hmm.

“So, about the rules of the expansion phase, as I mentioned earlier, the prime rounds are composed of three sections of 2-4-2-4-2-4, and a solitary 29th round.

The intervals of ‘2’ are [7], [13], [19], and the intervals of ‘4’ are [11], [17], [23]. Each of these is a set. You have to choose whether to pick the Material Realm or the Spiritual Realm first. And the 29th round is fixed to be connected with the Great Universe.”

“In other words, I can’t continuously choose the Material Realm’s ‘No Man’s Land’, right?”

“That’s correct. The same goes for the Spiritual Realm. You have to alternate.”

Although I had heard the explanation beforehand, I asked now because I didn’t want to jump to conclusions about something that hadn’t happened yet.

“Is there any advantage or disadvantage depending on the first ‘No Man’s Land’ I choose?”

“It’s unclear whether it’s an advantage or a disadvantage, but there is a difference. The chosen world will expand in size each time it wins a world collision afterward. In other words, the earlier you choose, the closer it will be to your world.”

“Hmm.”

“Even the later chosen ‘No Man’s Land’ will be given a considerable amount of territory. Of course, it won’t be as much as the first one chosen… But practically, even the 23rd round’s ‘No Man’s Land’ will be immensely vast by the final round.”

I see.

“And just before the final world collision, the ‘No Man’s Land’ chosen in the 29th round will be the Great Universe. Since there are no other options besides the Great Universe for the final opponent, the world collision will occur across the universe, and if you win that collision and achieve complete fusion, you will finally become the true god and win.”

Hearing it again, it really is a battle of an enormous scale.

“Please tell me whether you will choose the Material Realm or the Spiritual Realm as your first ‘No Man’s Land’, and I will show you the characteristic cards corresponding to that world. The chosen card will become the ‘No Man’s Land’ that your world will encounter from now on.”

There’s no room for hesitation.

“The Material Realm.”

“I knew it! Since you are building a life-based build, you would choose the Material Realm. Now, please take a look at these three characteristic cards.”

『Salt Wind: Expands to the Great Ocean. The wind and salt from the sea give an advantage to life.』

『Dungeon Exploration: Expands to the Great Underground. You gain an advantage in adventures in the Great Underground and adjacent worlds.』

From noble mtl dot com

『Power of the Wetlands: Expands to the Great Nature. More wetlands will appear in this ‘No Man’s Land’. Life inhabiting these terrains will become much stronger.』

In fact, all three have advantages for me.

Through the Great Ocean, I can create powerful marine life forms and further develop islands beyond the sea.

The Great Underground is directly adjacent to my terrain. Although it belongs to the Material Realm, it also has magic and a plausible ecosystem. Delving into this place is not a bad idea.

The Great Nature is the most stable choice. Various species will emerge, and it is most suitable for me, who nurtures ecosystems instead of civilizations.

Any choice is good. Especially if I choose the Great Ocean, the climate will stabilize.

However, considering that the first chosen world will be the terrain faced throughout the next four rounds…

I decided to expand with 《Great Nature》. It feels like I’ve chosen the orthodox option after going around in circles.

“An excellent choice. Solidity rather than unpredictability is the path to victory.”

“You speak plausibly.”

“Yes. So please, build a solid civilization…”

Haven’t you given up yet? Just let it go already.

∞

Once you decide which world to expand into during the expansion phase, cracks begin to form in the world.

The unclaimed land is an area where gods do not exist. An area where the providence of gods does not operate. Therefore, it expands from around the lowest terrain level near the fragments of gods, distorting the world that had taken the form of a ‘sphere in all directions.’

In short, 《Great Ocean》 creates the ‘outside’ of the world. In other words, from the moment you choose 《Great Ocean》, the world no longer expands in a spherical shape but in a flat plane.

The greatest influence on the climate is not only the sky but also the sea, so it also plays a role in stabilizing the climate of the world that was only influenced by the fragments of gods. In some cases, the world that was once connected as one may split into islands with the sea in between.

《Great Underground》 brings ‘depth’ to the world. The underground of the originally spherical world goes down endlessly, allowing exploration of an area called the underground world.

Lastly, 《Great Nature》 creates the ‘inside.’ The degree of expansion is less than that of 《Great Ocean》, and the changes in height are much less than those of 《Great Underground》.

However, it creates terrains where various creatures live. While both 《Great Ocean》 and 《Great Underground》 have creatures, they are fundamentally barren places. On the other hand, 《Great Nature》 has a very high ‘quality’ of its own. The diverse species and the various environments they live in are ever-changing.

If you choose 《Great Ocean》 or 《Great Underground》 later, without choosing 《Great Nature》, there may be no life forms in the vast sea and deep ground. (Conversely, the unclaimed land can have two attributes simultaneously.)

The ecosystem of the beings who chose 《Great Nature》. Cracks formed in deserts, wetlands, mountainous terrains, etc., and new lands began to emerge in between.

There were no significant changes near the Nectar Spring. The desert terrain that the Nectar Spring had completely swallowed was the same.

However, between the world of Mukite, made up of a vast desert, mountains, and a floating aerial garden, and the world of beings, numerous wastelands, mountainous regions, valleys, rivers, wetlands, and large and small hills emerged, and wild creatures began to appear there.

The 《Aerial Garden》 was not much different. The terrain of 《Great Nature》 can also exist in the sky. It becomes both 《Great Sky》 and 《Great Nature》.

Floating cloud islands, floating balloon-like or airship-like creatures, or creatures like Eastern dragons roamed the sky, creating new cloud terrains and life forms between Mukite Mountain, where the aerial garden was located, and Yogurt Mountain, which the beings cultivated and bestowed upon Yogurtos.

It’s not just wild beasts and birds. Plants, bacteria, and parasites also exist. Life forms that are not helpful to civilization, which players would not bother to create. Life forms that live simply because they must live.

Unfortunately, the ecosystem they must live in is not a world with only well-constructed civilizations.

The desert, which was already 《Great Nature》 itself, easily swallowed numerous wastelands, grasslands, and wetlands that extended from the desert and grassland terrains, winning the survival competition.

In fact, it didn’t matter even if they lost the survival competition. The beings meticulously evolved both the newly introduced life forms and the existing life forms, preserving them so that the competition could continue fiercely for a long time.

Jelly-like life forms were on the verge of extinction but have now adapted to pollen. Insects that did not exist in the desert also evolved to grow by sucking nectar and the sap of gummy trees.

Life forms inhabiting the wetlands received the grace of life as much as the Nectar Lake. Such life forms sometimes defeated the existing life forms of the desert.

Life forms that do not exist on Earth, indescribable aquatic life forms. Strange life forms that you can’t tell if they are dinosaurs, mammals, or giant amphibians naturally settled and evolved, sometimes driving out the life forms of the desert, and sometimes being driven out, all integrating into the dessert legion.

The enormously expanded wasteland was roamed by Shuk-Rimuras, who ate life forms, gave birth to new life, and scattered jelly, cream, and syrup everywhere.

The term unclaimed land became meaningless as the terrains of various regions, unable to raise their levels due to being ‘narrow,’ encroached upon the unclaimed land, incorporating them into the realm of the fragments of gods.

The area least affected by these dramatic ecological changes might be the Nectar Lake side.

Not only is it the highest terrain level, but it has also become the perfect domain of the dessert legion and the Gamchis, always being the most prosperous and diverse space in this world, while also being hellish.

Yogurtosus grumbled, “If I had received ‘《Great Sky》 instead of ‘《Great Nature》, the work would have been much easier.” Nevertheless, he was happily researching in the Yogurt Mountains, having been recognized for his significant contributions and claiming the unowned lands near the mountains and the Sky Island as his domain. He was training himself, vowing not to be defeated by a powerful entity like Tademoira next time.

And there were those who couldn’t adapt to this changing world at all.

“What should we do now?”

“Lord Tademoira…”

They were the remnants of a destroyed world.

They were not recognized as useful by their new master.

Nor were they deemed unnecessary and eliminated.

They were merely given a chance to live.

Now, they had to survive in this dreadful dessert desert.

Thinking that their new god wanted them to die because they couldn’t endure this environment, they had to somehow survive here to prove that wrong.