Chapter 3
“Hehe. I'm stuffed~”
I had a feast for the first time in ages.
Even though money was tight, I indulged in convenience-store fried chicken.
The reason was simple.
I’d come into some unexpected money.
“They were such a nice person.”
A drunk person I'd run into on the street.
At first, I’d been taken aback, but they’d tossed me five whole 50,000-won bills.
Were they rich?
Or had they been too drunk to know what they were doing?
Either way, it was a good thing.
With that money, I stocked up on ramen and even treated myself to a lavish meal.
Thump, thump.
I patted my belly and lay down on the floor.
This would be the perfect time to fall asleep…
“I can't sleep.”
Even in the dark hours before dawn, I was wide awake and couldn't close my eyes.
My body had been asleep the whole time.
I stared blankly at the ceiling.
And naturally, a thought came to mind.
“Milky Way. What exactly is it?”
It was time to get to the bottom of this.
I had raised a world called Yeoulrim in a game called Milky Way, and awakened the moment it advanced into a spacefaring civilization.
That was the situation.
There were two things I wanted to know.
1. What exactly was the Milky Way game?
2. Was Yeoulrim really a real world?
First, Milky Way.
I didn't know what this game really was.
I’d stumbled across it while looking for a simulation game, but it wasn’t an officially sold product, and few people knew about it.
The creator's site said they’d abandoned the game themselves.
It was free, so I downloaded it, but its level of polish was hard to believe.
There were a terrifying number of strategies, too.
I hadn't been able to play the spacefaring civilization stage, but I could say it was the best game I'd ever played.
That made me even more curious.
Was it really just an ordinary game?
They’d made it this complete and then abandoned it?
“There's something I don't know.”
I sprang up!
I got up and sat down in front of my computer.
I turned it on, intending to check the site where the creator had distributed the game.
Since I was smaller now, I raised the chair, sat up straight, and put my hands on the keyboard.
Tap tap tap.
I searched for the site.
If that didn't satisfy my curiosity, I was even willing to email the creator directly.
[This web address does not exist.]
But the site had been deleted.
It was a free game, so there shouldn't have been any reason to disappear, yet the creator was gone.
“Why!?”
It only made things more mysterious.
This was way too suspicious.
I’d awakened, the game had been deleted, and even the site where it was distributed had disappeared?
“Sigh.”
Thud.
I slumped over my desk.
I sank into a strange mood.
It was as if the world were making fun of me.
Lying there, my thoughts naturally drifted to the second question.
“Yeoulrim. A wonderful world. A pretty world. A beautiful, perfect world. The world that stole thousands of hours from me… Was it all real?”
Yeoulrim.
Was it a real world?
I couldn't say for sure.
Maybe what was happening in my head only felt real.
It made no sense.
That I was managing a world like a god.
The idea that I was imagining all this seemed more plausible than the idea that I’d become the god of a world. Maybe when I awakened, my skill had manifested according to my deepest wish.
Then what was the answer?
A real world?
An imaginary world?
If it was the latter…
“I might lie around in a daze for a week.”
I hadn't shown it, but when the game was deleted, I’d felt a huge sense of loss.
The thought that a civilization that had reached space had vanished in an instant left a hollow spot in my heart.
And that had only been a game.
What if this was fake, too?
What if the world I’d watched and raised so vividly vanished into illusion again?
Honestly, it didn't matter what Milky Way really was.
I just hoped Yeoulrim was a real world.
“…Phew!”
Enough moping.
I sprang upright.
I’d sorted through the situation, but no matter how long I thought about it, there was no way to get an answer right now.
Then I’d do my best with what I could see.
It wouldn’t be too late to regret it later.
I should enjoy the present and make good memories—memories strong enough to drown out future regrets.
My task was to enjoy the small pleasures of each day.
“I'll do whatever I want!”
Whether it was false.
Or true.
I would raise Yeoulrim.
So instead of worrying about an uncertain and unsettling future, I’d enjoy the present.
Right.
I was the god of Yeoulrim!
*
“NETosis. A process in which cells eventually rupture their membranes, trapping bacteria like a spiderweb. It might not be useful right away, but it’ll prevent a lot of diseases later. I should add it as a defense mechanism against invading pathogens.”
Scribble, scribble.
Alone in the early hours of the morning.
In a lit room, I sat in front of the computer, researching and taking notes.
The real Yeoulrim had more freedom than the game.
Game knowledge alone wasn't enough.
To evolve life, I needed to study the traits of living things. I could give them traits that hadn't even existed in the game.
A well-raised cell has no equal!
You have to feed and raise them well, starting from the cellular stage.
If other people could become exceptional talents through early education, then I’d educate mine from the cellular stage, so they’d grow into bodies full of outstanding cells.
“Deinococcus. A cell that’s an expert at repairing DNA. A microorganism that can survive in space. I wonder what side effects giving it these traits might have…”
I studied and studied.
For the sake of my children.
“Multiply and grow strong!”
I didn’t forget to check in on Yeoulrim from time to time and see how my vassal cell was doing.
Just then, countless cells were released from the underside of my vassal cell’s tail.
The released cells grew much like the vassal cell, following its DNA information.
This gave it another chance to try again with its offspring, even if the vassal cell failed to evolve.
It was time to move on to the next stage.
But first.
“A little more studying.”
Scritch scratch.
After checking on its progress, I went back to studying.
Looking after Yeoulrim, I realized that World Power was based on my knowledge.
It was difficult to induce traits in organisms I knew nothing about, while conversely, I could use knowledge that hadn’t been in the game.
Because this was reality, with overwhelming freedom.
Put simply:
World Power = the power of miracles.
Knowledge = the options for miracles.
That was one way to interpret it.
Game knowledge.
Real-world knowledge.
I needed both to broaden my options.
So I spent the night absorbed in raising cells, going back and forth between the two worlds.
Knowledge I’d gained from the game.
Earth’s knowledge, like what you’d find in textbooks.
Yeoulrim’s all-powerful senses and intuition.
I’d keep studying for a while, until these ingredients were well blended.
*
“Hmm?”
Smack.
I wiped away my drool and got up.
I’d been so focused that I’d fallen asleep.
I’d spent a lot of time in reality, and on top of that, I’d been studying something completely unlike me.
When I checked the clock, it was 2 p.m.
I stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly came to my senses.
“Where's Little Squirmy!?”
Little Squirmy.
That was the name of the vassal cell I’d raised.
Cells could easily die on their own, so I had to check on them often.
I connected to Yeoulrim right away.
“Phew~ Little Squirmy's grown into a real biggie.”
Little Squirmy was safe.
Despite all my worry, it had eaten countless cells and grown into an even larger one.
It had even produced many offspring and grown its internal organs to enormous sizes.
Calling it a tank cell wouldn't be an exaggeration.
“That's the cell I made, all right.”
Oh, right.
Little Squirmy was a cell I’d created from inorganic matter using World Power and time acceleration.
Yeoulrim already had countless fish, plants, and animals, but I’d chosen to start with cells instead of raising them.
That way, I could raise them to be stronger.
Effort is rewarded.
“Hehe.”
That’s why a smile slipped out.
I was proud of Little Squirmy, growing bigger and bigger. It was growing up splendidly.
Swoosh~
I appeared underwater as an avatar and looked down at Little Squirmy, swimming about and wiggling.
Since my avatar was an illusion that reflected my thoughts, I had no trouble breathing underwater.
But Little Squirmy couldn’t see who I was, so it didn’t react even when I came close. That let me observe it more closely.
I peered at it from right up close.
How could it be so sturdy and wonderful?
So.
“You've worked hard. I'll use the nutrients you've stored up to give you a new life.”
As a reward.
Before it could die of old age or be eaten by another creature, I’d let it molt and begin a new life.
Right, it was time to evolve into a multicellular organism.
Become a wonderful fish.
[Inducing a mutation in the individual.]
[Promoting cell division in the individual.]
[Stimulating the individual's survival instinct, making it stronger than its reproductive instinct.]
[Inducing the formation of a cell colony.]
[60pt of World Power has been consumed.]
Single-celled evolution had been easy, but this time it was a difficult evolution: after dividing, the cells had to stay connected by adhering to one another’s membranes instead of separating completely.
It was advantageous to stimulate its survival instinct for this.
That was because sticking together with its own kind and growing larger was directly tied to its chances of survival.
After that.
[Accelerating the world by 1 hour.]
…
[Accelerating the world by 1 hour.]
…
[Accelerating the world by 1 hour.]
…
I observed while accelerating time.
The sea surged violently, or the sun raced across the sky.
Then came the moment of division.
Puh-hung~
Little Squirmy once again produced countless offspring, some of which clung fast to its side, forming a colony made up of multiple cells.
What this meant was simple.
Little Squirmy had taken its first step toward becoming multicellular.