Liam waited for a while, constantly checking the data displayed by the Planetary Scanner. The numbers continued changing gradually as life spread across the oceans, while the system silently recorded every major development occurring within his planetary body.
"I’m so bored, I wish I could witness the organisms below with my own eyes..."
A loud, distorted sound suddenly erupted through the silent space around Liam, causing his consciousness to jolt so violently that it almost felt as though his entire planetary body had jumped.
DING! DING! DING! DING!
[Player detected.]
[Approximate distance: 3 light-years away.]
"What? What? What? Player? Do you mean me?"
[Correction: Another player has been detected.]
[The detected player possesses a similar evolutionary progression level to Player Liam.]
Liam froze; even though he doesn’t have a physical embodiment, he felt like stuck in a time loop. "What? I thought I was the only one."
His thoughts immediately began racing.
"so there are multiple people like me?"
[Affirmative.]
[There are currently hundreds to thousands of players scattered throughout the galaxy. Each player possesses their own planetary body and is progressing through a similar stage of evolution.]
Liam struggled to process the information.
"Then does that mean they also died and got reincarnated? And what exactly is happening?"
The system remained silent for a brief moment before responding.
[The Planetary System was created for the Planetary Selection.]
[Individuals who died without leaving behind significant attachments or influence were selected as participants.]
[Each player has been reincarnated as a planet and must govern, develop, and manage the life that emerges upon their planetary body.]
The blue interface continued displaying new information.
[Upon reaching the required level of planetary and civilization development, players may encounter other players.]
[Players may form alliances, establish cooperation, compete for resources, or engage in direct conflict.]
[Once a player reaches the civilization threshold equivalent to a Type One Civilization, interplanetary interaction and invasion become possible.]
Liam’s attention immediately focused on the final part of the explanation.
"Invasion?"
[Affirmative.]
[Players may invade other players.]
[Players can only permanently die when their planetary core has been destroyed.]
Another notification appeared.
[The Planetary Selection is ultimately a process of competition.]
[Only a limited number of surviving participants may attain godhood upon the completion of the selection.]
Liam remained completely silent, his thoughts had been hit with so much information at once that he barely knew which part to process first.
"What? What? Wait, that’s way too much information getting thrown at me."
He tried organizing everything inside his mind.
"So basically, we’re all participating in some kind of game where we have to survive, compete against each other, and possibly eliminate one another to attain godhood?"
[Affirmative.]
Liam stared into the endless darkness of space. For the first time, the countless distant stars no longer appeared empty; then a disturbing thought slowly entered his mind.
Then... do all of those stars have a player managing their own planet too?
The idea was almost impossible for him to comprehend.
I can’t process this. I feel like my brain is going to explode.
Liam fell silent for a while, allowing the information to settle inside his mind.
Eventually, another question appeared.
"System, if one player speeds up their time using Temporal Acceleration, doesn’t that mean other players would be left behind if they don’t use it?"
[Negative.]
[Temporal Acceleration operates within an isolated subspace of accelerated perception and progression.]
[The universe maintains temporal balance between all active players. Differences created through Temporal Acceleration will be continuously adjusted to ensure that players progressing through separate accelerated timelines remain within compatible stages of universal progression.]
Liam listened carefully, although the explanation only created another layer of confusion.
The system continued.
[A Karma System is also active.]
[Players may directly influence the development of their planetary organisms. However, excessive direct intervention will generate karmic imbalance.]
[Once a player has significantly altered the natural development of their planet, the universe will gradually introduce balancing factors to maintain the integrity of the selection.]
Liam silently considered the explanation.
"So I can’t just keep interfering with everything and make my species overpowered without consequences."
[Correct.]
Liam mentally nodded before falling silent again.
This wasn’t just a simple reincarnation story where he could peacefully watch life develop on his planet. Somewhere out there, hundreds or perhaps thousands of other people were doing the exact same thing, each of them building their own civilizations and preparing for a future that could eventually force them into conflict. This feels less like an incremental game now and more like an RTS game.
Liam focused his attention toward the distant stars.
I need to make smart moves from now on. I need to think about the future, plan ahead, and make sure that whatever eventually evolves on this planet is capable of surviving.
With the newly discovered information still occupying his thoughts, Liam quickly determined that it would be best to accelerate time until he could finally attain Intangible Spectation. Once he obtained it, he would finally be able to observe the organisms living within his planet and make use of his newly acquired Genetic Modification ability, hopefully allowing him to create intelligent races.
"Wait... I shouldn’t rush things."
Liam paused as another thought crossed his mind.
"Even if I accelerate things, the universe will still progress all of us at the same pace anyway. The other players might also be preparing for something big while I’m here speeding through time."
He thought about it for another moment before continuing.
"Though I guess it’s still good that I sped through some of the useless timeline. Right now, I need to create major races that can eventually stand at the apex of this planet’s organisms."
Liam’s thoughts immediately became filled with possibilities.
"Something like the usual fantasy races would be pretty interesting."
With Temporal Acceleration continuing in the background, Liam watched as countless years passed across his planet. Life continued evolving beneath the oceans, gradually becoming more diverse and complex as new organisms appeared and disappeared throughout the ages.
Then, after another period of accelerated time, the system finally responded.
[Notification: Player Liam has fulfilled the required conditions.]
[Reward: Intangible Spectation.]
[Intangible Spectation: Allows the player to enter and observe their own planetary body.]