NOVEL WEB chapter 1
Chapter 1. Humans are Trash
Long ago, in the forests of Africa, there lived tailless apes.
Among those apes, the ones who lived in the most resource-rich and abundant areas evolved into a species called bonobos. They are real animals that resolve all conflicts and disputes with ‘love’ rather than violence, almost like a fantasy.
And the apes that lived in resource-poor forests gradually became more violent as they fought over the few resources they had. They began to enjoy war, slaughter, torture, and the persecution of the weak. These are chimpanzees.
And the weaker apes, unable to endure the persecution of the chimpanzees, left the painful forest and came out to the treeless plains.
As they had to walk for long periods, they began to lose hair to cool down.
Walking on two legs was energy-efficient, so they started walking on two legs.
And since their hands were free, they made tools, started fires, and built civilizations.
These are humans. Do you understand what this means? Humans are a species that were inherently inferior, even to chimpanzees.
This species, which started by being beaten and driven out of the comfortable forest, becomes insidious to those who seem weaker and does not hesitate to trample others if they have more.
There is no need to distinguish between good and evil. It just means that biologically, they are designed this way.
Humans are trash. Not philosophically, but biologically.
In just 20,000 years, they have caused a mass extinction that completely destroyed the ecosystem they live in, and without any reflection, they continue to destroy the Earth in real-time, expecting the future world to take responsibility.
Born as an orphan abandoned by my parents, and growing up experiencing severe persecution and contempt, I decided to attribute the cause of my suffering not to myself or the world, but to the human species itself.
Although I am also human, if I had been born as a less intelligent being, I would have been freed from such pain and agony, living a life pursuing only simple and animalistic desires. It would have been nice to be born as a bonobo, as mentioned earlier.
While analyzing humans to hate them, I made hundreds of billions by appropriately using coins, which can be said to be the madness of humans itself. When everyone around me, even strangers, came to me claiming to be my real parents and asking to borrow money, my hatred for humans reached its peak.
I wanted to kill them all, but due to the limitations of laws created by civilization, I just quit my insignificant job and secluded myself in the countryside.
Anyway, in this era, all the necessary supplies for survival could be obtained through internet delivery, and my only hobby was playing games.
“It’s true, but I haven’t said anything yet.”
“I’m sorry. I was just always prepared for something like this to happen, so I got a bit anxious… Anyway, oh great god of another world, who bestows the qualification of a god not to politicians, entrepreneurs, or ecologists, but to a mere game addict. May I take your place?”
“To correct a slight misunderstanding, I’m actually an angel, not a god. Anyway, it’s been a while since we’ve had such a positive and calm player. Since it’s a rule to explain, please listen to the explanation.”
I quietly waited for the angel’s response.
“From now on, you will become the god of another world, different from this Earth. [The Fantasy World Creator].
You will retain all the powers, functions, and interfaces you enjoyed as a player, and you will even be able to wield more free and bold powers.
All the mechanisms that existed in the game will be applied as they are, but since it has become reality, some interactions may change.
You will start in a small world with a single environment, and by fighting and defeating players from other worlds, you will absorb their worlds and civilizations and gradually build a larger world.
Ultimately, if you defeat all competitors and win, you will be able to permanently reign as the god of that world.
If you are defeated in the process, your soul will be annihilated and disappear.
Do you accept this proposal…?”
“I’ll do it.”
The angel shrugged.
“I’ve never seen such an enthusiastic player before. Are you okay with your soul being annihilated if you lose?”
“If I win, I become a god, and if I lose, one human disappears from the world, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Amazing. Very well. Player nickname [Veen], from now on, you are the god of our world.”
The angel’s hand entered my body, and my soul was pulled into the other world inside the monitor, leaving my body behind.
As my soul, still in human form, turned its head, I saw my human body collapse and lie on the floor in front of the monitor.
Leaving it behind, I followed the angel, looking forward to the life of a god that was about to begin.
∞
When I opened my eyes, I saw a vast space filled with a gigantic sun and countless worlds.
The worlds in the space were orbiting the gigantic sun, and if I wasn’t mistaken, each of their sizes was not round but flat or shaped like a plain with high mountains, as if the worlds had been split apart.
Those planets, or rather worlds, were orbiting the sun in billions of different trajectories.
“Welcome. This is the universe where you will fight.”
It’s just like the game interface.
“That’s right.”
Oh. I didn’t say anything, ah. I see. Because I don’t have a body anymore…
“Yes. Now I can read your thoughts. Not your innermost thoughts, though. Anyway, you will manage one world in this universe. When worlds intersect and meet, the collision of the two worlds begins.
Then, the races and civilizations of the colliding worlds will fight each other, and if you win, you will take control of the opposing world… The game rules are the same, so it’s simple, right? The last one standing becomes the owner of the universe!”
Hmm.
“There are exactly 1,073,741,824 worlds right now. It seems like a lot, but since half of the participants are eliminated each time, after 30 rounds, it’s ‘the end.'”
Are there that many players too? Where did they get a billion people from?
“Not just from your world, but from all dimensions.”
I see… An interdimensional international competition. Must have been tough to create this game.
“Hehe. Each world has a different environment, but the ‘balance’ is maintained. The world you receive is random. Is that okay?”
I don’t mind. As long as the balance is maintained. Wait, I can’t think in formal language.
“Why worry about such trivial matters? From now on, you are a god. Speak to a mere angel as you wish. I will continue to observe the game and provide answers and advice to any questions you may have, so feel free to do as you please.
Now, let me guide you to the world you will manage.”
∞
A blink of consciousness. After that, I found myself overlooking the entire world I had received.
It was a fascinating sight. Instead of focusing on one thing, I was able to concentrate on the entire world simultaneously. It was an impossible feat for human eyes, truly a god’s perspective.
The world’s size was approximately 10 square kilometers in surface area. In other words, it was about 3.16 kilometers in length and width. If you reached the end of the world, you would come out on the opposite side.
At first glance, the surface of such a world seemed nothing short of despair.
The entire world was covered in dark brown rocks. No water. No grass. No trees, insects, or soil.
Yet, the surface temperature was horrifically high. Half of the day was over 50 degrees, and the other half was a night cold enough to freeze to death.
In a word, it was a desert.
“World of the Uninhabited
Life LV.0: 0
Military LV.0: 0
Industry LV.0: 0
Technology LV.0: 0
Culture LV.0: 0
Politics LV.0: 0
Mystery LV.0: 20
Faith LV.0: 0
Total World Score LV.0: 20″
Such a world had a score of 20 points. There was no life, but strangely, there was a ‘Mystery’ score. That meant there was something.
Upon closer inspection, there was something like a glass mirror on the desert surface. Upon closer examination, it was a small spring with a diameter of 50 meters and a depth of 5 meters, gradually narrowing like an inverted cone.
When I checked, an explanation appeared like in a game.
“Nectar: Pure essence containing the energy of life. Any living being can consume it, and it functions as the most efficient resource for any living being.”
《Nectar Spring LV.0: A terrain that produces nectar. It continuously refines nectar by absorbing the surrounding magic.》
The temperature and humidity around the spring were appropriate, perhaps due to the life energy emitted by the nectar. Any creature could successfully grow here.
“What an interesting world. Most of it is a desert where life cannot survive, yet around that spring, it is more abundant than any other world.”
Nectar was one of the few ultra-efficient resources that could hardly be matched even in the game.
A world that continuously produces such top-grade resources but has no living creatures. That was the abnormal world I was starting in.
“Then the game begins from the moment you create the first creature. You are already an experienced gamer, but in this world, the common strategy would be to first establish an ecosystem around the nectar spring and then build a magic-centered civilization from the base. The nectar spring can continue to grow as long as there is magic.”
Usually, that is the case. I was also going to create plants with the player’s divine ability, 〈Creation〉, without much thought.
However, for a moment, I remembered what the angel said when they brought me into this world.
“Wait a moment, angel.”
“Oh, you are asking directly? Ask anything.”
“I remember you explaining that the freedom has increased since it became reality instead of a game. How much has it increased? In the original game, I could only create plants, animals, and monsters. Can I now create any creature? In other words, is it possible to create creatures that are not defined by those three categories?”
The angel made a mischievous expression and nodded as if to say, give it a try.
“I don’t know what powerful creature you are trying to create, but as long as it is allowed by the physical laws of the world, you can create any creature.”
“I see. Then I will decide on the first creature to create. It is still the case that the first creature created has an additional 〈Trait〉, right?”
“Of course.”
The angel seemed to be mocking me. I could read that gaze.
It must mean that many have failed by trying new strategies with the increased freedom. In the game, only efficient and common-sense choices were given.
But I always thought that the game’s freedom was too low to implement the ecosystem I wanted, even with dozens of mods. If I were to create a creature, it should be something like this.
As I focused, the physical laws that make up the universe naturally entered my mind. Realizing that the creature I wanted to create did not violate these laws, I created a life form.
“I will create a life form that is 3~10 micrometers in size. It will grow and reproduce by consuming 〈Light〉, 〈Heat〉, 〈Minerals〉, and 〈Nectar〉, and in return, it will produce 〈Water〉 and 〈Magic〉 as byproducts.”
“Huh?”
With the angel’s bewilderment, 〈Divinity〉 condensed, and my first life form was created at the nectar spring.