World Keeper

Chapter 966: Trees Together, Strong

Philia sat within her home on Sanctum, her eyes closed as she sensed the various groves that had been spread from her lineage. As a Sylvan Goddess, she had an inherent connection to all trees born from her line, able to sense whenever they were in danger or if they were in urgent need of any specific material. Although such situations were rare, there was little more for her to do to pass the time, and Sylvans were inherently very patient beings.

Philia of Cities, may I have a word? A sudden voice disrupted her thoughts, causing Philia to sit up in surprise. This was a voice that she had heard before, though only rarely. However, after recent events, anyone in the world would recognize it.

Keeper. Of course, I am free to speak. Philia spoke in a respectful tone. In fact, it could be said that her divine status was itself a gift from the Greater Pantheon, which paved the way to her people being able to make a proper name for themselves among the populace.

Thank you. If you don’t mind, then… There was a rush of energy around Philia, a portal opening not far away. Two people emerged from the portal before it closed behind them. One was none other than the Keeper himself, while the other was his true Servant, Tsubaki. However, Philia’s eyes went wide at the method that they used to get in.

She was certain that she had warded the area against portals opening, whether via magic or the void. And yet, Tsubaki had managed to create such a portal without triggering any of her alarms. It took Philia a moment to collect herself, adjusting in her seat and gesturing towards the Keeper. Two chairs rose up from the floor across from Philia, and the Keeper happily moved to take one.

Tsubaki, on the other hand, simply stood behind the Keeper without a word, her hands behind her back. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me on such short notice.” The Keeper spoke politely, causing Philia to shake her head.

“Of course. I doubt there are many who would not clear their schedules if you asked.” She said in a hurried tone, though in truth she had thought that this conversation would be happening through divine messages, maybe through the system’s private message capabilities. The last thing that she expected was a sudden visit to her home. “What is it that I can help you with, sir?”

“I want your opinion on something.” As the Keeper spoke, he furrowed his brow, as if thinking of how he wanted to phrase the topic. “I assume that you are familiar with the games Vision Expanse and Fragments of Acidia, as well as the unique aspects to them.”

“Of course.” Philia confirmed. She might not be one to partake in such games, but she would be a fool if she hadn’t at least learned about them. “Though, I’m unsure what those games have to do with me. Or… did a sapling land in one of the game worlds?” While she could feel the trees of her lineage, she was not the ancestor of all Sylvans. It was natural for there to be some outside her field of view.

The Keeper blinked at that. “I… no, not that I know of. Though, now that I am aware of the possibility, I’ll have to keep an eye out. Actually, what I wanted to talk to you about was something related to that.”

“See, I am looking to create a new game. The two I mentioned before are games produced by other Keepers like myself, which I purchased the rights for and brought to my own realm. I would prefer that this information stayed between us, by the way. Regardless, I am looking to make a game of my own, one that I can use to both increase the abilities of myself and the Greater Pantheon, while also furthering the goals of strengthening the world.”

“In this game, I had the thought that the main theme could be development through natural means. This led me to think of the Sylvans, and their almost endless potential for controlling nature. My idea would have the players take the form of Golden Sylvans, though ones without inherent divinity. Instead, they would have the natural ability of nature manipulation.”

“Now, I am aware that this is considerably different from your own race, and I wanted to approach you as the most suitable representative of your race. Essentially, the Mother Trees will be player cities, created by the players when enough of them come together. They will be able to lead the colony while guiding them and enjoying their own gameplay.”

Philia blinked as she heard that, surprised to find such a topic emerging. “If I may ask… what of the others? The other children of the trees, I mean.”

The Keeper nodded his head. “I was thinking of having them as a form of NPC. From my understanding, the individual consciousness of the green, blue, and red Sylvans is rather faint, and they operate as more of a gestalt consciousness by connecting with the tree. Or, at least, that is their natural state.  Additionally, I don’t want to give too much information about Sylvans away to other Keepers, so I am trying my best to adjust the details to keep the theme without exposing anything that could be used against you.”

Philia nodded briefly, before letting out a sigh. “In truth, you are not wrong. Originally, the other children of the trees were much as you described. They were not unlike bees, each focused on their own tasks. In recent years, we have made strides to grant these individuals a greater degree of freedom, but their psyche begins to break down when it is away from a Mother Tree for too long.”

“May I offer an opinion in regards to the functionality of these children in the game? While I may not have much of an interest in such things, I have been around long enough to learn my fair share through the network.”

“Of course.” The Keeper smiled thankfully. “Any input you can give would be welcomed.”

“Then, I must first ask. What is the primary gameplay mechanic? Is it simply developing through nature as you said, or is there another aspect that needs to be considered?”

When the Keeper heard her question, he thought about it for a moment. “This is subject to change. However, the current idea is raising and merging monsters. Think of it like the card fusion system of Deckan. My current idea is to take that theme and apply it to a larger scale, so that the entire world can develop without any form of proper industry.”

Philia blinked at that, nodding her head. “I see… but what of space travel? Surely you know that my kind cannot reach the stars with their physical bodies, not without first obtaining godhood like myself.”

“Actually… that’s where you are wrong.” The Keeper spoke up, leaving Philia dumbfounded. “A while back, I had the ability to get a look at the full potential of your race. Far beyond the branch of development you are currently pursuing. With the proper research and combined efforts, the Sylvans are capable of altering their own body structures in many ways. For instance, it is possible to create a seed which, upon detonating with natural energy, can turn into a massive dragon made of plant matter. If this research is pursued to the extreme, I do not believe that it would be impossible to create plants capable of substituting for spaceships.”

“Even in the slim chance that it is, there is still the development via raising monsters. The two sides are meant to coexist in harmony, not battle against one another.”

Philia froze at the Keeper’s description of her own race. As a Sylvan herself, she thought she was fully aware of the limits of her race. And yet, the Keeper had completely shattered that reality with a simple thought. “I… see. I suppose the history of our race is rather short, so there is much that we still don’t know.”

“That’s right.” The Keeper nodded his agreement. “With that in mind, what advice would you like to give?”

Philia had to pause for a moment, rethinking the advice that she originally wanted to offer. “First… the green children. Their purpose is spreading the grove and maintaining it. It’s possible to train them for other tasks, such as managing a shop or guiding tourists. However, as you said, they are mostly drones. They would make good candidates for NPCs, especially given their numbers.”

“Next, the blue children. As this is a game, and you want to include such a natural system of evolution, the blue children don’t need to appear physically. Rather, they can be substituted by having the players build research buildings. As this is taking place in a ‘real world’, these buildings would act as a neural hub for their tree, with the green children entering to ‘work’.”

“Finally, the red children. Due to their use as soldiers, they have the most individuality of all three types. That is also why their growth rate is the lowest, outside of us golden. They have far more complex minds, capable of making various decisions in a battle without being directly connected to the tree. These units could be converted from green children in a barracks. This would allow you to preserve the idea of the race while keeping the specific details obscured.”

“Additionally, a tree should be established by no less than ten players coming together, as that is the number of golden sisters that a single mother tree can give birth to. Aside from that, the overall population of the grove should determine the upper limit of their research.”

After saying all of that, Philia fell into thought. “Typically, a matured golden sister carries with her a fragment of the knowledge contained within their mother tree when they go to take root themselves. This is how our race grows as a civilization. However, because you are creating these trees in reverse, we will have to approach that from a different direction. After the tree has reached the limit of its development, it should begin naturally withering. At its heart will be a seed that any of the original ten players can use to form a new tree.”

“This new tree will have an increased upper limit to its development, and retain a portion of the research done by its predecessor. If the players cooperate, they can continue to grow their colony, but if one player takes the seed for themselves…”

The Keeper hesitated briefly. “The theme of the Sylvans is cooperation. You want to leave such an opening for selfish desires to break that idea?”

Philia offered a small smile. “Indeed, cooperation is our core value. That is precisely why I want to do this. If all ten players continue to nurture the same lineage, they may be able to reach the potential that you described. But, if one broke away and took the seed with them, they would be chased by the other players. I am fully aware of the concept of PvP in games, as well as a person’s natural greed.”

“If a certain tree managed to uncover a special mutation research, one of the players may take the seed to sell it. They may even use some methods to force the tree to wither prematurely so that they get the chance to do so. A well developed seed would become an incredibly important strategic resource. Especially if there are methods in place to ensure that a target research is retained when the seed is created.”

“Together, we thrive. Alone, we are weak. Let the players realize the folly of their actions when their greed takes hold.”

The Keeper nodded his head at that. “I see… that reminds me. The magic system I planned to introduce to this game was the same as the one found in the game Natural Seed, if you are aware of it. Aurivy created the concept, and it has been proven to work even in the real world without any adjustments being made.”

Philia blinked again, a thought coming to her mind. “This could be even better, then. The seed created by the withering of the Mother Tree could be a rare form of Elemental Seed. If one fuses with it, they could obtain any mutated abilities retained in the tree’s research. I am aware that it is possible to bring items from these games to reality, so I feel that this will make it a rather tempting target for those unable to maintain their patience.”