Meteor Cartel Assembly 3
The rule was simple: only one player could possess any given “unique” trait—whether Myth-grade, Legend-grade, or otherwise.
So what happened when a player holding one of those traits was eliminated? I put the question to the angel.
“Naturally, the trait they held becomes available for purchase in the shop section. In other words, you can be almost certain you’ll be able to buy the Myth-grade trait of whoever you defeat. Just purchase it the moment they fall.”
That settled it. Even if the top-rankers had already snatched the Myth-grade traits that fit our build, we could simply kill them and take the traits for ourselves.
The original plan had been to squeeze every drop of potential from the resources we already possessed, but the real rule of this game was simpler: if you don’t have something, you steal it from someone who does.
“Then the only question left is which members of the Myth Union we should fight. Wahando. Can you share their information?”
“I could, but the contract would break. The Union would attack me instantly, and there’s a good chance I wouldn’t get to fight the opponent I actually want.”
“How disappointing…”
I offered a simple solution.
“Then we just deceive them openly.”
“Openly?”
“All four of us hold Myth-grade traits, and you and I are already acquainted. You’re also their trading partner… In short, the four of us apply to join the Myth Union together. We tour their worlds, evaluate whether the Union is even worth joining, and take our time doing it.”
Sesaisa’s voice boomed theatrically. “Be in awe! And you mean to attack them without ever signing a contract?”
“Hmm. An intriguing idea,” Mihun mused, “but that would require us to reveal our own worlds as well, no?”
“We’ll have to accept that much. The advantage of claiming the territories we want and choosing our opponents is worth the risk.”
Since they were accepting us as members, they wouldn’t hide their information. The moment everything was laid bare and shared… we would designate our targets right before the collision and crush them.
“We could slightly revise the contract so that even if battle breaks out, we’re still forbidden from leaking each other’s information to outsiders,” Wahando suggested.
“In other words, two separate contracts—one stating ‘we will never share each other’s information with outsiders,’ and another stating ‘we are joining the Union as members’?”
“That is also an excellent deception. I shall gladly follow it. In the Way of the Immortal Dao, betrayal and trickery have always gone hand in hand.”
With that, the plan to crush the Myth Union was ready. The next problem was simpler and far more brutal.
Could the four of us actually defeat them?
“Every one of them has over a million points… the highest probably sit between 1.7 and 1.8 million. Factor in their Myth-grade traits and their real combat strength is even higher.”
“Laugh in contempt!” Sesaisa roared. “You dare compare something as trivial as ‘combat power’ to the four of us? What world could possibly hope to follow in our footsteps?”
“There is nothing more foolish than being certain of victory,” Mihun said calmly. “Until the future is fixed, every reason for believing you will win is nothing but an excuse waiting to be proven wrong.”
“Then, to secure perfect coordination and ultimate victory for our Meteor Cartel, we’ll need to share even more information among ourselves.”
At my words, the elephant, the tyrannosaurus, and the hermit crab all wore meaningful expressions.
“In other words… you’re talking about sharing even more sensitive knowledge.”
“Direct sharing of the techniques and secret arts tied directly to power.”
“Going further—composite consulting, where multiple people advise one person at the same time.”
The metaphor of composite consulting fit perfectly. We had been clumsily trading one-on-one advice. Now we needed to take it to the next level.
Because we had to win without fail. If any member of the Cartel fell, the knowledge of that entire field would vanish with them.
That would mean the very plan of helping one another rise to the absolute top could collapse at its foundation.
Therefore, we needed to share our military capabilities to the greatest extent possible.
“The problem is that we don’t have much time left until the collision.”
“Wahando and I have already finished advising each other.”
“Be at ease!” Sesaisa declared. “This Marquis Sesaisa and the Immortal Mihun have likewise completed our mutual consultation!”
“Then each of us only needs to give two more rounds of advice. Good. And right before the collision, we march on the Myth Union.”
The so-called Myth Union—the highest echelon of the game, formed on the premise of possessing Myth-grade traits—currently numbered thirteen players.
There was no hard limit on membership, nor was the condition of purchasing a Myth-grade trait every shop phase particularly difficult. They were even willing to accept anyone who bought one after the next round, the eighth.
Players with Myth-grade traits were desperate for points and therefore advertised their names all over the community, making them easy to find. Those who provided some authentication of their information were even easier.
Still, the community was enormous. Most who claimed to hold Myth-grade traits turned out to only have Legend-grade ones and weren’t truly top-tier.
Even when real Myth-grade holders were found, many answered, “My own power is sufficient,” or politely refused with, “I already have an alliance.”
In that light, gathering thirteen of them could only be called a miracle. Without the active cooperation of their angels and the score increases gained through mutual consulting among the top players, it would have been impossible.
And the central pillar of that Myth Union—the player who possessed the strongest world, Ogolraeot—was greatly shocked when he received the message.
“Four people want to join our Union?”
The hermit crab Wahando, who had been maintaining friendly exchanges though not a formal ally, seemed to have persuaded the life genius Biin after their recent contact.
Then their two other allies expressed intent to join in succession. In the end, four players wanted to enter the Myth Union.
“What do you all think?”
“Suspicious.”
“Are they all confirmed to have Myth-grade traits?”
“That part is undeniably true. And even if they dislike the Union’s conditions, they say they still want to share the most positive consulting possible—just like Wahando did with us. They claim that to win, the strong must band together.”
From those words, a reasonable guess emerged.
“Maybe that Wahando fellow never intended to actually join the Union? Perhaps he simply wants to show off how powerful his faction is so he can negotiate future trades from a position of strength?”
“Plausible. Isn’t he the war-obsessed lunatic with the highest military score in the game?”
“We never made an absolute non-aggression pact, either.”
Four new members would mean four out of seventeen—nearly a quarter of the entire Union’s influence.
“What should we do? We might end up being led around by them.”
“But isn’t that fine anyway? Our thirteen were never a perfect union to begin with.”
The remark hinted at factions within factions. There was no way the absolute top players could all be perfectly friendly with one another.
In truth, even the idealistic notion of “let’s all unite and pass the final round without fighting” was unrealistic. Anyone who fell behind midway would be devoured. The standard had been set according to scores and traits.
“Still, they’re offering to fully disclose their own worlds. There’s no reason not to cooperate.”
“The members are impressive, too. Life-consulting specialist Biin. Spiritual-realm expert Sesaisa. Mihun? Who is this one?”
“Ah. I know him. He’s a master of culture development. The foremost expert at nurturing hero entities.”
“Hmm…”
There seemed to be no downside to working together. Among the thirteen, there were certainly players who had built life-centered, spiritual-realm-centered, hero-centered, and military-centered builds, but these four had distinctly different strategic directions and personalities.
“Then let’s welcome them. Since the collision is imminent, we should at least form a peace agreement.”
With those conditions proposed, four avatars entered the large chat room.
The familiar decorated hermit crab general, Wahando.
The giant tyrannosaurus immortal, Mihun. (This time he refrained from any flashy, theatrical entrance.)
The giant elephant Sesaisa dressed in splendid attire.
And Biin, wrapped in a black robe that completely concealed his form.
“Welcome, Meteor Cartel. We are the Myth Union.”
Ogolraeot used the official name in his greeting, but the three avatars aside from Biin simultaneously twisted their faces.
“Did I make some mistake?”
“No. It’s nothing. There’s no time, so let’s get straight to business. We wish to have constructive and meaningful exchanges with you. I hope we can trade just as I did with each of you before.”
Time really was short, so the conversation moved quickly. Ogolraeot, leader of the Myth Union, spoke as their representative.
“Good. Then I would like to establish three contracts. First, complete and truthful disclosure of each of our world information. Second, an absolute secrecy maintenance contract. Third, an absolute non-aggression treaty.”
“The third one is unacceptable. Change it to a simple non-aggression treaty.”
Ogolraeot frowned.
“Why?”
Wahando, acting as the group’s representative, glared back.
“Isn’t it obvious? We’re still deciding whether to join the Union or not. If an absolute non-aggression treaty is a prerequisite, how is that any different from already joining?”
“Hmm.”
“We want to confirm whether you thirteen are truly on the same level as—”
From behind, Biin tapped Wahando’s shell.
“We want to see whether you are qualified to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Meteor Cartel. If your thirteen are weaker than our four, there’s no reason for us to unite.”
“Hmm.”
Ogolraeot didn’t seem offended. From the very beginning, it had been like this. Anyone who held a Myth-grade trait and stood at the absolute peak was expected to possess exactly this level of arrogance and pride.
“Very well. We’ll make the contract that way. Then shall we inspect each other’s worlds? Though with four of you, it might be difficult to examine them all.”
As if to mock the concern, nearly ten of Biin’s avatars appeared at once. The use of a Myth-grade trait was obvious. Ogolraeot snorted, then gladly invited Biin’s avatars and the other players into his own world.
The Myth Union members, including Ogolraeot, also crossed over to the opposing worlds.
The one they were most curious about was naturally Biin’s world. Just what kind of madness had he committed to push his Life score past 500,000 in this phase? Wasn’t that closer to level 13 than 12?
Just how overflowing with life must a world be for that to be possible? Everyone who crossed over froze with rigid expressions.
“What… is this world?”
There was no civilization. The only thing present was horrific, untamed nature. No one could hide their bewilderment at the true identity of the 500,000 Life points they had never even imagined.
The next world belonged to Sesaisa. It was the world of elephants, yet he had turned natural destruction into a grotesque art form. The spiritual realm constructed atop that ruin was not merely artistic but a majestic spiritual edifice, and the links connecting everything were corpses. One could only wonder what kind of twisted mind had built such a thing.
The next world was Mihun’s. A single level-12 entity named Yeondan-u seemed to explain everything. What exactly had he done to raise a single individual to level 12 at this stage?
Wahando’s world, as always, had perfectly converted its entire labor force into military power, granting it insane combat strength. The previous three worlds were impressive, but this one was on another level entirely.
“So this is the result of mutual consulting.”
“Incredible… Bizarre, yet everything is functioning perfectly.”
“There are a few life forms I’d like to introduce to my own world. If only I could purchase some nectar…”
The thirteen members of the Myth Union took quite a long time exchanging information among themselves. In contrast, the Meteor Cartel—thanks to Biin’s clones and the clone-creation method taught by Mihun—found information sharing extremely smooth. They reached their conclusion long before the Union could react.
One of Biin’s clones standing in the Myth Union’s conference room suddenly spoke.
“Hey, Myth Union. Do you know why the dinosaurs went extinct?”
“?”
Everyone turned to look at Mihun, the only one standing in the public chat room. Mihun waved his fan dismissively, as if to say, Don’t look at me.
“The dinosaurs’ survival strategy wasn’t wrong. They didn’t go extinct because they made a mistake. They were simply horribly unlucky.”
“??”
“They were living perfectly well, never dreaming a meteor would fall on them. We are those meteors.”
Player Wahando has declared war on player Daybo. The two worlds will collide during the next world collision.
Player Mihun has declared war on player ZenjanDistiller. The two worlds will collide during the next world collision.
Player Sesaisa has declared war on player Huuthu. The two worlds will collide during the next world collision.
Player Biin has declared war on player Ogolraeot. The two worlds will collide during the next world collision.
The Myth Union, suddenly on the receiving end of war declarations, stood in stunned silence.
Soon their emotions flipped violently. Especially Ogolraeot, leader of the Union, who had just been challenged by a world that didn’t even possess civilization. His face was the very picture of pure rage.
“These bastards…?!”
“Try to endure it. If you can survive this mass extinction, then the victory is yours.”
With that, every one of Biin’s clones that had been assisting with communication left the chat room. Each player expelled their opposing visitors from their own worlds.
They had refused the absolute non-aggression treaty for exactly this reason. The sight of the four calmly gathering every scrap of intelligence before immediately declaring war left the Union speechless.
The world collision will begin shortly. Only the players who survive may advance to the next round.
Ogolraeot’s face twisted like a vengeful demon.
“Fine. I understand. Then come. Meteors? Before they can fall, I’ll shatter you miserably…!”