Soul of Searing Steel

At present, in what was a brief few minutes for the real world, Priest, having been accelerated, had played the game for over hours.

The curious creatures that was the Calm Cocoon had now begun to flourish and strengthen amidst dense forest. Though without limbs, they possess great ability to control elements to form the limbs that they needed to hunt and build. Thanks to Priest’s instinctive influence, every Calm Cocoon would habitually materialize two hands, two legs and one head—hence, the Calm Cocoon slowly turned into a ‘Calm Elemental Giant’.

The giants were several meters tall and carried elements on their body, and would become earth elementals if they treaded upon deserts or water elementals if they entered lakes—likewise, whether they would become fire elementals if they enter volcano, frost elementals if they reached glaciers: their form changes every moment due to their surroundings and topography. Thanks to that extremely powerful ability, the Calm Giants were basically without natural enemies that even the ‘Epic’ creatures that walked the wastelands could not threaten them.

Joshua could actually see that Priest, who, as the leader of the Calm Giants, instigated his kin to hunt an Epic behemoth in the surrounding mountains. Known as the Grando Giant Scorpion, the 200 meters long mountain-sized shelled arachnid resembled a massive living warship, possessing physical strength that dwarfed the world.

However, as hundreds of Calm Giants moved synchronously under Priest’s command and composedly evaded its attacks, not to mention that they would survive as long as their chest area was not broken, the Grando Giant Scorpion became the hunted.

At the price of dozens of Calm Giants being slain, the seemingly invincible scorpion had fallen to the mortals it neglected. Even so, it let out a heaven-splitting bellow in rage, moving even winds and clouds as the powerful soundwaves tore through the air, killing more Calm Giants that were approaching it.

While it sounded easily, the actual battle had been difficult. Nonetheless, before he could be emotional, the lucky Priest saw the SSR Epic-tier part ‘Giant Genes’ that dropped out of the Giant Scorpion. With its effect being ‘equipped race Extraordinary tier +1 upon reaching adulthood’, Priest did not even stop to think as he attached the part on the Calm Giants.

And that was what left Joshua shaking his head and sighing.

The component magnified the genes and altered the entire race, and the bloodline at once changed dramatically. The Calm Giants that would become early-phase Silver upon maturing had now become a ‘Gold race’, growing to early-phase Gold upon reaching adulthood!

Thanks to the ‘Giant Genes’, the Calm Cocoons which adult form were just around 70 centimeters and their elemental form being around six to eight meters were now born two meters large, and twelve meters upon reaching adulthood—their elemental forms also promptly expanded to almost a hundred meters, each individual now gaining an overlooking view that surpassed the Grando Scorpion, even surpassing it in height!

Joshua saw that as the real Calm Cocoons grew from juvenile to adult, its original form would promptly crumble, dropping the white pine cone core. When on land, the Cocoon would pull up the earth to wrap around itself to form a real mountain giant of stone and dirt. It would also absorb flowing water rapidly, controlling it as it assumed the form of a massive water giant.

As the enlarged Calm Cocoon matured, Calm Giants that stood a hundred meters tall would hence appear upon the land. Their body could be tangled with plants or wafting with sparky mists or burning magma winds—each Giant’s form was different, sharing the similarity that they were exceedingly powerful and born with the strength to change landscapes and crush mountains.

The Calm Giants had hence peaked in terms of sheer violent strength.

However, Joshua was now frowning and gave his own assessment.

“Overdoing it.”

Holding Zero Three’s hand, he shook his head and softly said, “Being born with excessive power is not a good thing for a race and civilization.”

And it was precisely as the warrior had said.

As the game played on, Joshua led the Calm Giants to advance smoothly from Creature Phase to Tribal phase. Having no natural enemies in the first place, and with Epic creatures being mere prey they only had to be careful around with, it was logical and frivolous that they ascended to the third phase.

Priest had been very excited at first—he knew that he was probably the first player to obtain ‘Gold race’ achievement, and as a man and naturally competitive being, he naturally felt immeasurable delight and anticipation. He wanted to keep playing and see what level the great species he had grown could reach.

“Continue!”

Without hesitation, he clicked to stay in the game on the silver menu and kept his journey going.

Still, he quickly realized that something was not right as he entered the tribal age.

The Calm Giants’s procreation was too slow and too few that their population were decreasing during certain special years!

[Civilization’s Fork in the Road reached!]

A huge silver warning alert banner appeared!

Their outrageously colossal forms made it very difficult for their true forms beneath their elemental shell to mate, just as their immense power did not leave them wanting progeny. Thus, after entering the tribal phase, the Calm Giant population that were over thousands swiftly decreased—thus, within a short period, as the first generation of Calm Giant neared the end of their natural life, their numbers plummeted down to less than a hundred!

“No. That doesn’t even fulfill the basic requirement of a tribal population!”

Bitter-faced, as Priest realized that his game was about to end outside of battle, he promptly understood his mistake.

Massive bodies meant massive demand for food; great power meant there was no desire to reproduce. In addition to the Cocoons being seclusive creatures in the first place, it was difficult for the Calm Giants to gather since they had to stay away from each other to find food, much less mate.

After all, their process of mating was the only time in the Titan Giants’ lives where they would leave their outer elemental shell and leaving themselves vulnerable. Twelve-meters was a large form but not an invincible one, and other creatures could prey on them in that period. That was why they would not try to breed without a place that was absolutely safe.

To begin with, the Tribal phase was a stage where the species had to work together—Priest could not even gather a sufficient population or cover for the burdensome food cost when the Calm Giants gathered, much less collaborate… as everything seemed to go wrong all at once, there was nothing unusual with the tribe crumbling instantly.

“No, there’s still hope!”

Be that as it may, Priest did not give up after having become heavily emotionally invested in the Calm Giants… As generations passed in game, he led the remaining Calm Giants to gather upon fertile coastal plains, planting crops that were just as massive and occasionally fishing to maintain their food source.

As their leader, Priest led several powerful subordinates to live on a huge summit where they forged a sturdy and absolutely secured perimeter. It was there that he encouraged his own kind to procreate and multiply…

Time passed. With Priest’s hard work, the giants’ numbers slowly stabilized around a hundred. Alongside the eleven most powerful of them and the thunder Giant leader that Priest controlled, they lived on the mountaintop castle and ruled over all the other Calm Giants.

They were hence dubbed the ‘Twelve Heavenly Gods’ by the other weaker intelligent life on the continent.

One way or the other, with Priest virtually kicking every other giant’s bottom and driving them to breed, he stumbled through the ‘Tribal’ phase, leading the Giants along with a bunch of little critters that appeared out of nowhere—perhaps creatures that were originally designed to be foes during the Giants’ phase, they journey together into the ‘Civilization’ phase.

[Confirmed—Heavenly Gods, you have progressed into the Age of Civilizations!]

But that was also the end.

As the Civilization stage progressed into the mid-phase, shrines for the Calm Giants were built around the globe, just as otherworld Chaos invaders began to appear.

Priest understood at once that his game was about to end there.

The vast legions of Chaotic spawn were not something a few hundred of those powerful Giants could repel. They needed a complete, robust, independent and populous Civilization with a considerable number of champions to truly stop their powerful foes!

Though possessing powerful abilities, the Calm Giants were too few. While each individual would become Gold-advanced after cultivation and the ‘Heavenly God’ individuals especially obtaining Supreme-tier abilities, they were utterly swamped and wiped out by the millions of Chaos spawns.

The shrines of the Calm Giants were destroyed, blasphemous demonic fire igniting the holy summit as the mountainous giants fall one after another, reduced to dust in the end.

And in the last fortress, as the final Calm Giant—the thunder Giant that Priest control died, red-black curtains shrouded the world.

[Game over—the Calm Heavenly God civilization was wiped out]

***

Joshua was not at all surprised with the outcome: it had been the same reason that the Calm Giants, an Extraordinary race stored in the obelisks was wiped out.

Excessive power and exceedingly low birth rate hat ceased the progress of civilization and technology. When outside invaders captured and destroyed them, it was only then that they learned to built houses.

And even that skill was only learned after observing a mortal race that saw them as gods.

“Priest actually did well. He at least did not forget about developing skills, but he still could not resist the lure of power.”

Joshua then shook his head at the thought. “In truth, he had another choice: if he did not waste so much time on race and focused on his own character’s ability to improve into Legend, he alone could have repelled the otherworld Chaos invasion.”

Though it sounded like a jest, there were times when equality was not required for an Extraordinary civilization. Most of the time, a single outlier champion could improve all of civilization, which was more important than developing skill.

In the very least, a single Legendary champion could buy enough time in case of invasion from powerful foes so that all of civilization could progress.

In reality, Joshua had set so that the fourth phase, ‘Civilization’ would be the boundary dividing hardcore and amateur players.

In the fourth phase—civilization, each player-controlled world would be invaded by different otherworld Chaos minions. Players could choose to play the hero and resist the Chaos assault alone, waging a true war against them.

It was also a part of Continental War.

“Still, while he did not clear the entire game, it’s not like there are no rewards for failing at the fourth phase.”

Joshua turned towards the other screens—there were almost seven thousand players at present, with some of the testers hesitating for some time before joining anyway.

Even so, five thousand and eight hundred of the players had failed, their race extinct and their civilization fallen. Most had fallen to tribal conflict, with only one-fifth of them destroyed by Chaos invasion during the Civilization phase.

Now, aside from Roland and the others still holding on vigorously in the civilization phase and doing battle with otherworld Chaos, every player had basically fallen.

“There will be a surprise.” Joshua softly muttered as he grinned at the screens that had mostly darkened.

***

Moldavia, the outer southern city zone.

In his own room, Priest was jolted awake.

“My citadel was assaulted by the Chaos Legion… I failed…”

His mind was still delving in his defeat and the sight of his civilization’s fall. Nonetheless, Priest soon realized that he was out of the game and had returned to reality.

“What a thrilling adventure… Never would have thought that even after so many steps were simplified, leading a race to become a civilization and advance was so difficult…”

Though disappointed—even feeling heartache, the rational Priest breathed a sigh of relief… after all, the outcome of it all, including the failure at the very end, was his choice.

Of course, he had sensed the reason the Calm Giants were destroyed—everything was caused by his great greed in forcing the Giant Gene on his own race. If they never took that Giant Gene, the Calm Cocoons’ considerable ability and fertility would not have been so directly destroyed by the Chaos Legion.

As he had thought, the most important essence of civilization was not individual ability but population!

Beyond the heartache from failing the game, Priest kept that key element in mind, and not make the same mistake when he played again!

“Next time, I would definitely… eh?!”

Priest rolled and jumped down from his bed, ready to call Sol and prepare dinner for everyone. However, he suddenly yelled in surprise when his feet touched the floorboard, reaching out to stroke his own heard. “Weird… how did my spiritual powers suddenly bloated a whole notch?”

“And how did the Calm Giants’ skill of element control appear in my mind?!”

Unbelievable!

Just as Priest was left in shock, players of Continental War who had cleared the third and fourth phases partially over every corner of the world exclaimed in surprise.

All of them felt their improvement in the spiritual aspect, with players who cleared up to the fourth phase even obtaining the in-game skills that the civilizations they played had learned, not to mention that all those skills can be used even in reality!

While it appeared unthinkable and bizarre, it was in fact nothing important since it was simply the reward system that Joshua had set for Continental War.

As Continental War progressed to the third phase and the conflict in a civilization was resolved, the players would be able to help Joshua purge a part of Chaos, allowing him to free some of his mental capacity and suppress divinity. Furthermore, to the warrior who was a Soul Searer, melting Chaos itself meant gaining some power.

Through the Mana Net, Joshua would directly transfer the portion of powers obtained by melting Chaos, and players who had cleared up to the third phase would more or less gain in spirit or physical powers.

For the players who experienced the fourth phase and fought the Chaos Legions directly, it was equal to directly fighting the Chaos memories in Joshua’s mind. As a reward, they would be able to learn certain corresponding skill and knowledge from Joshua’s endless data vault of fallen civilizations.

“This isn’t just a game.”

Watching as the screens dimmed, Joshua’s data projection slowly diminished as well—due to the singularity of Extraordinary ability, the sorcerer civilization that Roland had played after the civilization phase faced three Chaos Legions, and unfortunately encountered a natural enemy who possessed ‘mid-tier magical resistance’, hence left on the backfoot and slowly being defeated.

At this point, there were not many Continental War players, leaving only new players who had joined just now.

Meanwhile, in reality, both Roland and Priest noticed that they had become stronger. The former lifted his brow lightly and smiled, while the latter, flanked by Sol and his sister, enthusiastically recommending that new style of game.

However, Joshua, whose consciousness had left the data space and returned to the Moldavian Liege Residence was not aware of that, and would not be puzzled even if he was.

Having gone through much in the spirit realm, they could completely shoulder that proportion—strengthening is possible through games, and it was no lie when it came to Continental War.

And he would take that opportunity to discreetly deliver the intricate skills of many civilizations to the Mycroft civilization’s people through the game.

So, it was not merely a game.