The Nebula's Civilization

Chapter 2: Reptiles or Amphibians

The voices of the shadows were not audible, but it was clear from their movements that they were either talking to themselves not knowing how to react, or speaking to Aldin.

“I’m sure some of you are very familiar with the story of the Lost World through the game. On that planet, brilliant civilizations bloomed in the past, and various races lived in harmony. However, for unknown reasons, the gods left and did not return, and now, the poor creatures who have lost their gods are living in misery, wandering through the wilderness. They need a god. That is why I searched for a world to find a candidate to be their god and embrace those living on the Lost World. Once I settled on a world, I created the game ‘The Lost World’ to simulate the planet. If you wish to give up and go back, you may do so, but your memory of this place will be erased.”

“What if I accept the challenge?” asked Sung-Woon.

“What?”

“If I give up, I lose my memory. Then what do I gain if I accept the challenge and win?”

Aldin turned to Sung-Woon and replied, “You’d become a god just by accepting the challenge. As you would have experienced in the game The Lost World, only low-class creatures will believe in you at first, but if you succeed in increasing your number of followers, you may become the one and only god of the planet. The world becomes yours, and you’ll be able to do everything you want.”

Sung-Woon nodded, but there was something Aldin still wasn’t addressing.

“I understand we’ll be able to go back if we give up now, but what about after we accept the challenge?”

“You will not be able to give up.”

“Then if you’re defeated by other gods…”

“You will have a divine end.”

It was the answer Sung-Woon expected. If it was a game where the victor could gain everything; it stood to reason that the participants would have to risk their lives. And should this real world competition follow the game The Lost World, one might have to risk more than their life.

“Are the victory conditions the same as in the game The Lost World?”

“Yes.”

An Alliance Victory was one of the ways to win the game, but it was just a term. Even if an alliance was created to fight against a major enemy, one would eventually betray the other, and to prevent such from happening, it was best to only make alliances when there was a need to achieve a short-term goal.

‘That’s because winning alone would increase your rating score more. It’s probably…the same here.’

You wouldn't be able to raise your rank with your rating score, but you would be able to become the only god who could not be threatened.

Sung-Woon knew that the 32 people here was the maximum number of players able to play The Lost World.

“I know that accepting the challenge comes with its costs, but is it okay to qualify us for this challenge just because we played the game?”

“Of course,” Aldin stated. “You all deserve it. You have all saved the world hundreds and thousands of times through playing The Lost World. The interface of the game that you all are familiar with will be provided. However, this is not a game. The creatures on this planet are very much alive, and because of this, it is guaranteed there will be much variability.”

Sung-Woon had more questions to ask, but Aldin held out his hand and stopped him from doing so.

“It is now time to choose. If you would like to give up, please tell me now.”

“What about those who want to accept the challenge?”

“You may just stay where you are.”

Soon, it seemed as if some people were moving their mouths. They must be asking questions or declaring they wanted to give up. Then, as shadows started to disappear here and there, Sung-Woon stood still and remained silent.

‘Become a god?’

Sung-Woon thought about the life he would lead if he were to go back. There were reasons why he was so immersed in the game The Lost World. There was bad blood between his family members, and all he had was debt. He wouldn’t go as far as saying that there was no hope for his future, but if the calculations he made in his head were correct, he would likely be happier by staying and becoming a god here. It wasn’t a difficult decision. He was good at The Lost World, and not only was he good at it, he liked it.

‘There’s no reason to give up.’

After the 32 shadows were reduced to 27, no one spoke of giving up.

Aldin then declared, “Now, choose one card from this altar. That card will determine your first area.”

As Aldin stepped back, a round altar appeared as if it had always been there, and there lay a few cards with their back sides up.

‘It is the same as the game.’

Aldin pointed to Sung-Woon.

“You may pick first.”

Sung-Woon shrugged. The order of selection didn’t matter because the cards were randomly picked as in the game, but it seemed that they had taken him being ranked first into consideration.

“Once the card is flipped, you will be moved there.”

Fortunately, Sung-Woon was good at handling all 32 Small Areas that could be selected in the beginning.

‘Still, there are some areas where the winning rate is a little better…’

Sung-Woon picked up the card in the very middle and flipped it over. He checked the picture and frowned.

‘Damn.’

Sung-Woon’s first Small Area was ‘Insects.’

It wasn’t insects in a strict sense, but rather a category that covered, to some extent, several arthropods and crustaceans.

Among the 32 Small Areas that could have been selected first, Insects wasn’t very well evaluated and actually had the lowest winning rate according to actual data.

‘I do think it’s because of those who throw the game as soon as they pick the area.’

However, the circumstances prevented Sung-Woon from giving up, so he had to do his best with whatever he got. He wasn’t too worried though. Even though there was a little difference, his winning rate was evenly good no matter which area he started with.

‘Insects are just a little more difficult than the popular areas like Minerals and Livestock.’

Getting Minerals was quite advantageous at the beginning of the Bronze Age. One could start the Iron Age civilization more easily than with any other starting areas. Everyone knew the strength of iron. Livestock was also a great option; meat resources were easily increased, and large quantities of grain resources were attainable using cattle. It was also a bonus to gain Faith resources through sacrifices of livestock.

‘On the other hand, insects…’

After thinking deeply, Sung-Woon looked down at the planet with the insect card in his hand. He let out a sigh.

‘I didn’t expect the start to be this bad.’

To begin with, the continent he had been transported to was not that good. The Lost World was divided into three large continents, and Sung-Woon found himself in the northern part of the third continent. Although the third continent was the largest, it didn’t have as many resource reserves as the first continent and didn’t have as good a climate as the second continent. Instead, various races and monsters lived there, and there were lots of ruins where special abilities in the game were provided. Depending on how it was used, it could be an advantage or a disadvantage.

.

‘There’s nothing I can do.’

Sung-Woon tended to spend more time trying to get out of unsatisfactory situations rather than expressing complaints about the cards he’d been dealt. He soon learned that he was able to move in the air however he wished to or zoom in on the surface of the planet. He wouldn’t say he was omnipotent, but he did feel somewhat like a god.

Sung-Woon quickly scanned through the land given to him and identified the species and tribes. The land was a peninsula located in the eastern end of the third continent.

‘It would have been nice to start a little further west.’

At the first to mid stage of The Lost World, he was confident in winning the battles of the Middle Ages and the Bronze Age, and also confident in winning fights against other gods. However, the peninsula had a disadvantage in advancing.

‘On the contrary, it could be considered safe in the beginning.’

Sung-Woon began to think of builds in his head. Compared to the average game duration of four hours in The Lost World, he had a lot of time. Hurrying wouldn’t even give him much advantage. Rather, accurate judgment was needed.

Once the territory and land were determined, players had to decide on their first species and tribe. In the Lost World, there were numerous species besides humans; tribes varied in population size, and smaller tribes were the only ones allowed to be chosen in the beginning.

‘Even though I’m a god, I only have a little strength in the beginning.’

Not even a god could do whatever they wanted to do, and in the Lost World, gods could only influence creatures on the planet by getting through a filter called Causal Rate. Faith was required to overthrow the Causal Rate, and ten Faith points was initially all that Sung-Woon had. He had to use it well to make the species he chose believe and rely on him because that was the only way to gain more Faith points and conjure more Miracles.

‘Well, two tribes are catching my eye.’

One of them was a group of Lizardmen. Their skin was blue and mottled, and as characteristic of their species, they were small and skinny. There were thirty of them, too small of a number to even be referred to as a small tribe, and it was likely that they were all related by blood.

‘They must have been driven out of the larger tribe by a power struggle.’

In fact, where the small group of Lizardmen was moving away from was an oasis upon which a tribe of the same species had built a settlement. There were about one hundred and fifty of them. However, Sung-Woon was more interested in the smaller group, and that wasn’t out of sympathy.

The bigger the group, the less little Miracles were cared about. It may be a benefit to gain a big tribe in the beginning, but there was a risk of vainly consuming all ten Faith points. On the other hand, the smaller the group and more in need they were for help, the easier it was to make them believe and follow a god.

‘Faith depends on the degree of individual belief, how much they believe in and entrust their hearts to the god, and whether they actually rely on them… But there’s no need to take the rough road from the start.’

In fact, the biggest reason why Sung-Woon was so interested in Lizardmen was because Lizardmen ate ‘Insects.’ Other species ate insects as well when put into an extreme situation that necessitated it; humans and elves were both such examples. However, there was a cultural aversion to consuming insects, for nothing if not for the germs and parasites one might contract. With their high resistance, however, Lizardmen had no qualms rearing insects.

It was easy for humans to obtain food from livestock; similarly, insects would be of use for Lizardmen.

‘Of course breeding insects requires quite a bit of technology. And for something that eats insects as well…’

This time Sung-Woon turned to the second tribe. It was a bunch of Frogmen. These aquatic, amphibian creatures actually enjoyed eating insects more. Insect farming was possible at the level of Bronze Age culture, and bases were starting to get established at lakes and rivers where civilization would develop. The Frogmen Sung-Woon was overlooking in the southwest of the wilderness was actually a large tribe of five hundred, which was very rare for the first tribe.

‘But aquatic life is not necessarily a strength. You can’t really do anything where there are no bodies of water until you achieve a high level of technology. There won’t be enough time for adventures in this game, and I need to be able to make flexible choices. Is it possible with these guys?’?

Sung-Woon pondered for a bit.

‘Reptiles or amphibians?’

He chose the first tribe.