NOVEL WEB I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 13
I let Mr. Flippers swim around for a while to cool him down from the sauna, so it was already late by the time we returned to my domain.
My goal for the night was to finish deciding on my basic lifeforms, as although I already chose the general types, I did not yet pick a specific species of each. The phytoplankton did not need any more elaboration, but there were thousands of different types of mushrooms and moss to pick from.
Before starting, I took out my notebook and wrote down every type of moss and mushroom that I knew along with the notable qualities of each.
I decided to start with the mushrooms and immediately crossed out any that were poisonous. This narrowed down my list quite a lot; it appeared as though the majority of the mushrooms that I was familiar with were some of the most deadly ones.
Apparently, it's much easier to remember what to avoid than what's safe. My list isn't too bad... I doubt many people could even name more than three types of mushrooms yet I have about 20 here.
With only a few healthy species left from the ones I knew, I decided on fairy ring mushrooms. Fairy ring mushrooms (specifically the Marasmius oreades species) are small brown mushrooms that like to spread out in a ring shape. These are easily edible, act as great decomposers, taste pretty good, and grow extremely well in wet environments yet they are still somewhat resistant to drought. Fairy ring mushrooms usually like to grow in grassy environments, but I figured having moss instead shouldn't make too much of a difference considering they could even grow on tree roots. Decomposing any fallen trees shouldn't be difficult with these fungi on the ground.
In terms of moss, I was pretty much at a loss. There were barely any types that I remembered, let alone that I knew much about. My first thought went to java moss which was one that I had known a lot about, but I quickly eliminated that option due to its need for an aquatic environment. I eventually settled on the hypnum imponens species which is a type of sheet moss that I remembered being a pretty popular grass substitute on lawns. Since it could handle sun exposure decently well, grow over a wide area, withstand some foot traffic, and is overall an effective moss, it was a pretty easy choice.
Alright, that's the primary lifeforms out of the way!
I glanced over to check the time and noticed that there was still plenty of time left before the next class.
They won't be due for a while, but I might as well pick out my basic lifeforms since I have the time. Putting them down earlier would be better anyway.
Despite the fact that we were given an entire week in heavenly time to pick our lifeforms, we could begin placing them once we got approval if we chose early. With one day in heavenly time being equivalent to 1,000 years outside of the academy, the sooner they are placed, the longer the species would have to evolve and diversify.
I turned my attention back to the planet.
"We can only choose two basic lifeforms, unlike the three primary ones I could pick," I muttered out loud.
One of those choices was already decided on.
Similarly to how I handled the mushrooms, I began to make a list of all of the types of fish I knew about. There was absolutely no way that I would leave the water barren after investing one of my primary lifeforms into phytoplankton. Fish were easily worth the two selections; they serve as an amazing food source for those close to water and give the oceans some much-needed life.
After writing down nearly a hundred different fish species, I quickly realized that there was a problem.
Most of these fish use other small fish as their food source... I have to choose one that can actually eat the phytoplankton.
Not only would most of the ones I wrote down immediately starve, but the majority of the fish would probably be considered too complex to be a basic lifeform.
Based on the qualifications described by the instructor, basic lifeforms needed to be very simple in nature and also get their energy through the consumption of primary lifeforms. It seemed that the complexity of the lifeforms had the biggest impact on the category they belonged in based on her lectures following that statement, so I figured that the second part was mainly a guideline rather than a requirement, however.
My list thinned considerably after that realization, leaving only a few types remaining. Out of those options, I eventually settled on the Atlantic menhaden- a small, silver fish that uses phytoplankton as its main food source. It is both extremely basic in nature as required by the instructor, but it also has a ton of other great qualities. The Atlantic menhaden is extremely versatile and can survive in waters of different salinities and temperatures, which fits perfectly with the role it would be required to play in this ecosystem. Menhaden are also extremely rich in omega-3 acids that can help provide great nutrients to whoever eats them.
"Hey, Mr. Flippers!" I called out to the penguin who making another castle out of my deck of cards, "It looks like you'll have some yummy fish to eat if you ever decide to visit our realm."
The penguin did not react too much to my statement because he was so focused on the castle, but I didn't fail to notice his tiny penguin eyes lighting up at my words.
He's so adorable.
I slipped back into thought while I watched the penguin build.
I'm only able to pick one more basic lifeform... but what should I choose? I don't think there's anything major that I'm missing. So far I have moss for ground cover, phytoplankton for life in the oceans, fungi and moss to act as decomposers, and fish for future food.
Going over what I had chosen so far, food options for the future humans were pretty lacking, but I was planning to fix that with my two moderate lifeform choices. If I picked a type of fruit tree and a livestock-type animal for those two options as I planned, there would be no need to use this basic pick in that category.
While I could have easily chosen some sort of crop such as potatoes or wheat, I was extremely worried that they would get overrun by the moss and mushrooms during the roughly 350,000 years they would be left alone for. There was also the chance for some unfavorable evolution to occur that would drastically change the crop or make it less valuable for humans during that time.
I sat for a few hours thinking about all of the various possibilities. There were thousands of different species I could choose from and so many different routes that I could take.
The crop option could be useful, but based on my planning, the humans should already have five different food sources. Choosing a crop would be both risky and not exactly needed.
As I thought more about it, I couldn't help but feel I was forgetting something.
What am I missing? I know that the humans should have enough food. It's not too nutrient-balanced, but it should be okay. Screw it, I have no idea. Maybe I should use this choice to support the plants that I have?
A certain lifeform was in the back of my mind, but it was so simple that it could probably be considered a primary lifeform. These tiny creatures have been thriving for hundreds of millions of years feasting on decaying organic matter. They create small gaps in the ground as they crawl which drastically improve the structure, drainage, and nutrient availability of the soil.
Even if it wouldn't be a very flashy pick, earthworms would have an enormously positive effect on the continent.
It was impossible to overstate just how many amazing contributions these tiny earthworms would make to the health of the realm's ecosystem and it quickly became obvious to me that no other lifeform would be more worthy of this pick.
"Alright! It's settled then!" I announced while stretching in my chair.
My current list was as follows:
Primary: Moss, Mushroom, Phytoplankton
Basic: Atlantic Menhaden, Earthworm
Moderate: Livestock (undecided), Tree (undecided)
There were now three different decomposers upon the addition of the earthworms to the party previously of just moss and mushrooms. Given the multiple different uses asides from only this role, I didn't feel there were any major balancing issues despite this. The more decomposers the better in my opinion.
It felt amazing to have a break after spending so much time debating species. There were still the moderate lifeforms to worry about, but there was no way that I would have enough time to properly choose in the little remaining time before class starts.
"You ready to go to class?" I called out to Mr. Flippers as I turned around.
The penguin stopped his routine of waddling in circles around his now-completed card castle and nodded his penguin head.
"You did a pretty good job on that! How about we take a picture so Julia can see what you built?"
I pulled out my phone and took a picture of the proud penguin next to his creation.
"It looks like we both worked hard- I'm sure she'll love it," I smiled as I picked up the feathery creature, "Let's get to class- transport to the academy!"
As usual, the two of us appeared inside the audience hall and quickly made our way to class. Julia and most of the other creatures were already in their seats as we arrived a bit later than usual.
"Good morning, Seedlings! I know that some of you may be anxious to verify your lifeforms, but we will get to it at the end of the class- we have a very interesting topic to cover today, so I am sure you will not mind the wait," The sheep instructor began.
A new topic? I was pretty sure she was going to talk more about the food chain...
"Today I will be introducing you all access to domain creation. To put it simply, you can all create things such as objects, and food inside your domains using your divinity. It may take a bit of practice, but as long as you have a detailed image of what you are creating and in-depth knowledge on how it functions, you should perfect it quite quickly."
Numerous excited whispers were coming from the creatures. I was hardly an exception and my mind was racing thinking about all the possible things I could now do with this ability.
My thoughts did not last long, as I was quickly distracted by the overwhelming sparkle in Julia's eyes.
"Please be responsible, everyone. I highly encourage you all to finish choosing your lifeforms prior to utilizing this function. I mainly decided to introduce this ability to give entertainment to Seedlings who finished early," the sheep instructor continued, "The other function that I will mention today is the ability to change the passage of time inside your domains. To ensure a somewhat fair environment, this ability will be locked until the start of the advance lifeform introductory period. As I have gone over before, 1 heavenly day is equivalent to 1,000 mortal years. The time in your domains can move at the same rate as mortal time at its slowest, but it can not become faster than heavenly time. I will reiterate that the time will be locked into heavenly time until closer to the competition's beginning. Some of you may notice much more rapid changes in your realms compared to before; the academy switched to mortal time for the first few days of your introduction for monitoring purposes, but we are now once again using heavenly time."
Her lecture continued for a while as she went into details on performing domain creation before the sheep instructor eventually dismissed the class and a small line formed to get the lifeforms checked. Sadly, my position at the back of the lecture hall guaranteed my spot at the end of the line. Julia volunteered to keep an eye on Mr. Flippers since she did not want to submit anything yet. I felt a bit bad for holding her up- Julia's eyes were still sparkling and it was obvious she desperately wanted to go back to her domain to try out domain creation. Luckily, the line appeared to be moving quickly and I soon found myself face-to-face with the instructor.
"It seems you are the last one today," the sheep instructor said as she handed me a few blank white cards, "All you need to do is think about the details of the lifeforms you are choosing. The cards should use that to gather all the needed information from your memory."
I nodded my head and held up one of the cards while thinking about the mushroom. I thought about its growth, how it gets nutrients, its spores, and every other component that I could think of. A golden glow quickly enveloped the card revealing a sketch of the mushroom and a ton of information about the lifeform once the light faded.
I repeated this action for the remainder of the primary and basic lifeforms all of which were stamped off by the sheep instructor without any problems.
"Now that you have my approval, you should be able to begin placing these lifeforms once you return to your domain. Remember to be patient and careful- you only have a limited amount that you can add."
"Thank you, instructor, I'll do my best," I turned to leave before I was immediately stopped.
"Hold on. Before you can go, I need to verify that your realm followed the criteria I laid out in our first lesson," the sheep instructor placed a small orb on the table, "the Flower Box has carefully inspected everyone's realm ahead of time and marked who violated the rules- this is just to verify that you passed the inspection."
Wow- I guess I was underestimating the academy after the whole tattoo incident... they actually are paying attention to us.
"Shouldn't be a problem," I lightheartedly stated while reaching for the orb, "Just out of curiosity, what were to happen if someone did break the rules?"
The sheep's usually gentle expression turned serious at my question and a chill quickly went down my spine.
"...They would be punished."
A small gulp sounded in my throat as my hand made contact with the orb. It was soon dyed a dark yellow color.
Yellow? Does that mean I passed?
I turned my attention back to the sheep instructor only to be met with a glare from two horizontal pupils.
Enormous pressure bore down on me.
