The Fourth Meteorite 2
My avatar was a humanoid figure wearing a robe so deep that nothing inside could be seen.
I had designed it that way on purpose, making it impossible to guess whether there was a person or something else beneath the fabric. Yet among all the players I had met so far, surprisingly few had chosen humanoid forms.
Sesaisa's avatar had started as a formless mist before eventually settling into the shape of an elephant, matching his own race. That probably had something to do with the fact that he had no physical body during his lifetime.
Mihun's avatar was a Tyrannosaurus Rex sage, the same appearance he had used in life. Though his clothing wasn't exactly Eastern in style—it was some bizarre outfit that defied description. (The system had simply translated his title as "sage," but that didn't mean he was actually Chinese.)
And Wahando's avatar was a hermit crab wearing a shell that looked as if a master craftsman had meticulously decorated it.
Exactly eleven medals were pinned to that shell. Each one bore titles like "First Collision Victory" or "Disaster Zone Resolution." It seemed he planned to keep awarding himself medals for every future victory. In short, he was the very picture of a glory-hungry general. Or perhaps a dictator. Maybe both. Reaching the top military ranking required more than ordinary talent.
"I recognized you immediately. Your avatar is quite distinctive."
"Same here. You're using the same form as your race, aren't you?"
"Hmm... To be completely honest, I used to think every race in the universe would look similar to my own. But after winning wars and meeting other players, I realized my species is actually... well."
"Fringe?"
"Exactly. It felt like my entire worldview had been shattered."
It didn't come across as simple racial supremacism. It felt more like he had genuinely believed his imagination was universal.
Wahando had simply assumed that any other world's humans would naturally look like hermit crabs. Earthlings weren't much different. Most creative works, even when depicting alien races, defaulted to the standard two arms, two legs, and one head.
"Anyway, let's get to the main topic. I need the resources being mined from your world. The quality of the materials is excellent, and their forms are impressive too. Are they biological in origin? It would be even better if I could obtain the creatures themselves."
I wasn't sure whether that question sounded racist or simply pragmatic.
"You want to use them as shells for your own kind?"
"That's the basic idea. Since they're metallic, I could melt them down and reshape them, of course."
Wahando didn't seem particularly offended. Which made sense. If someone asked a human, "So you grow plants just to wear them as clothes?" the answer would obviously be yes.
"You're correct that they're biological materials, but I can't hand over the living creatures themselves. That's part of my strategy."
"To be frank, I'm curious what kind of world you've built. How did you manage to rack up such a high score? Mine is fairly high too, but how on earth are you projecting five hundred thousand points in the next collision?"
"It's been a hot topic in the community, hasn't it?"
"Has it? I suppose you're quite famous in those circles."
His counter-question left me feeling a bit awkward.
With eight million participants still active, it was only natural that people operating in different parts of the community would have no idea who the others were. Some might be more curious about their next opponent's score than who currently held the top spot.
In fact, the fact that Sesaisa, Mihun, and I had all crossed paths with this guy was probably the unusual part.
I added naturally, "I've been consulting for Sesaisa and Mihun on their ecosystems. In exchange, I've learned several methods for creating spiritual realms and engineering techniques from them. I haven't dropped the number one ranking once throughout the entire game."
"I see. Given that your score appears significantly lower than mine, it seems you've taken an extremely specialized approach."
"Pretty much. My specialty is boosting points, and every part of my build revolves around that. What I sold you earlier were basically byproducts of my ecosystem. Handing over the living organisms themselves is absolutely out of the question."
Wahando fell silent for a moment, considering my words.
"I've also provided urban planning and grand military strategy consulting to Marquis Sesaisa and Immortal Mihun in exchange for points. But more than anything, I needed the raw materials from their worlds."
"Raw materials?"
"Exactly. No matter how small or biased a world's terrain might be, relying solely on what it naturally produces is foolish. I actively engage in trade. I've industrialized my own world, importing raw materials from allied worlds, processing them into finished goods, and exporting them back. In return, I receive points directly or establish contracts to process materials for a fee."
Interesting. So he ran his world like a factory or a corporation.
I hadn't considered that angle, but it sounded surprisingly efficient. Normally such a strategy would only work for maritime nations with coastal access, but in this game, material exchanges through the community were bound by absolute contracts and transportation costs were free. In other words, perfect fair-trade industrial strategies were possible.
Compared to my approach of selling only consulting services, he was actively maximizing his world's potential. Impressive.
"From that perspective, the lifeforms in your ecosystem seem remarkably resilient and superior. If you're willing to sell their 'byproducts,' I'd be happy to buy them."
"And then you'd resell them to other factions?"
"Correct. While I can't obtain the original living specimens, it seems you're open to selling the byproducts themselves. If you entrust me with distribution and processing, I'll handle the sales."
I thought it over for a moment.
The offer was tempting. I had been struggling to deal with the overflowing shells in my world anyway. They were the final waste products that couldn't be broken down any further.
If another world was willing to buy them and pay me in points—the resource I needed most—it was a good deal. Wahando would naturally take a cut during the process, but if I couldn't accept that, I had no business running any kind of business. In any transaction, both sides were supposed to profit.
Fortunately, we were still in the very early stages of the protection period. (Since time flowed simultaneously, Mugite's race and Tademoira were still happily farming with optimistic spirits.) Even if I exported in large quantities to Wahando, he would likely be able to sell them off without much trouble.
"The contract sounds good. We'll need to negotiate the details, of course."
"If you show me your world, I'll show you mine. I'll demonstrate what my loyal subordinates can produce and sell."
"I have no objection to that. We should also establish a non-aggression pact."
"Hmm. Naturally."
Then I made an additional proposal.
"By the way, would you be interested in receiving consulting from me? If your massive military power were supplemented by points, you'd become even more formidable."
Wahando answered immediately.
"I've seen what you did for Sesaisa and Mihun. Of course I'm interested—but only on the condition that you also receive consulting from me."
"Why?"
Wahando blinked in a peculiar way. I instinctively understood that this was the equivalent of him scoffing.
"Because after winning the next Stage 8, we'll both need to purchase high-grade traits. That's why you're offering consulting in the first place, isn't it?"
"Hmm."
I see. So that's how it is.
This guy was probably top-tier as well. Sesaisa and Mihun were top-tier too.
The four of us had been mutually consulting one another, each raising the other's stats in our respective areas of expertise, while barely taking any point profits for ourselves.
Of course, I wasn't disappointed by that. After all, they had been filling in my weaknesses.
But even now, I couldn't help but hesitate slightly. Wasn't I just strengthening potential future enemies with my own hands?
"Since we all know each other anyway, I've already established 'absolute non-aggression pacts that cannot be broken except in unavoidable circumstances' and confidentiality agreements with both Sesaisa and Mihun. If you join that agreement as well, I'd welcome it."
"I'd like that too, Biin. I think we'll have quite a good trading relationship. That damned Marquis Sesaisa and Immortal Mihun were complete idiots who couldn't even understand the concept of trade."
That made sense. What would an elephant who couldn't even comprehend eating like a normal creature, or someone from a dog-eat-dog cultivation world, know about proper business?
So we established three contracts.
Absolute Non-Aggression Pact.
Absolute Confidentiality Agreement.
One-Time Mutual Consulting Contract.
After sealing the three contracts, since I was the producer, I confidently opened the doors to my ecosystem for Wahando.
"I look forward to seeing just how bountiful a world could produce such a high score. It must be overflowing with incredible resources and food."
Of course it is.
The moment Wahando entered my ecosystem, the joy and smile vanished from his face.
He slammed the two claws on his hands together with a loud clack, like violent applause.
I instinctively recognized it as the equivalent of grinding one's teeth.
"What the hell is this cesspit?"
Harsh words.
"It's already after the seventh collision and your stat hasn't even reached 100? And what about civilization? Why is your score so high? You expect me to consult on this?!"
Heh heh heh... In the consulting contract, you were required to consult my world at least once.
So, Mr. Wahando, expert in , , and . Just how exactly do you plan to consult on my world? A world with no civilization, and therefore no ruling class, no officers, no military, no laborers, and no scientists.
I wonder how many points you'll manage to squeeze out of consulting my world? When you scrape together a measly 100 points from my ecosystem, I'll turn your ecosystem into the healthiest one imaginable and rip 500,000 points out of you.
Wahando frantically scanned my world, examining the various lifeforms and their byproducts while repeatedly clacking his claws.
Ah. This is fun.
"...I'll think about the consulting content later. As long as it's done before the eighth collision, right?"
"You don't have to if you don't want to. But if I do it, you still have to pay the points."
"Fine. I've found quite a few useful resources in your world. I've estimated prices for the ones I want to buy. Please review them and let's begin negotiations."
I could handle that with another clone. While one of my split consciousnesses was inspecting Wahando's purchase list, he seemed slightly surprised.
"Then, it's time for you to see my world."
Ah. Of course. Let's see just how healthy I can make it. Heh heh heh... I'll turn it into an ecosystem healthier than any other in existence.
With complete confidence, I crossed over to Wahando's world.
"Are you kidding me right now?"
The world itself was a decent one, featuring a good balance of plains, hills, watersides, and valleys. I could understand that much.
The problem was that half the world's surface had already been urbanized. Another twenty-five percent was packed with military installations and other facilities that couldn't be touched. The remaining twenty-five percent had been reduced to completely devastated wasteland with terrain level 0.
The he had chosen was the . They were digging endless mines to extract resources, while the only things being grown in the terrain level 0 wasteland were enormous land snails (presumably the ones that produced the shells his race wore) and the grasses they ate.
Wait a second. This doesn't make sense. No matter how I look at it, there's no way they have enough food for their population.
Upon further investigation, I found mushroom farms underground and a strange system within the urbanized areas where they maintained both vegetable gardens and livestock together.
They fed the excrement and organic waste from the cities to livestock resembling "urban herbivorous pigs" for disposal. Every building in the city grew vines that Wahando's race couldn't eat but the pigs could, effectively turning the entire city into one massive farm. The balance of these plants was so delicate that disturbing it even slightly would likely cause the city's citizens to suffer food shortages and starve to death.
Sesaisa's world had simply erased all lifeforms, so I just needed to help him grow new ones.
Mihun's idiot hadn't done any land development at all, so I could enhance his growth through magical means.
But this bastard Wahando had developed everything, either completely erasing the ecosystem or bringing it under his perfect control.
What the hell am I supposed to touch? If I mess it up, won't he just use it as an excuse to squeeze points out of me?
Wahando himself stretched his chin out over his shell and issued a challenge.
"Go on then. Show me how much healthier you can make my world."
"...Sigh. I'll do my best before the eighth collision."
A formidable opponent. As expected of a player who's survived to this stage.
Now, what method will I need to use to make this guy's eyes pop open? I have to improve the health of an urban ecosystem and, in doing so, advance Wahando's civilization.
It's an incredibly challenging topic. But I have no choice but to try... Because if he succeeds in consulting my world, I'll end up losing a massive amount of points, and my chance at a Mythic-grade trait will vanish completely.