Little Pink Starfish

Eagle, just like Pei Sen, gazed into the distance at the village and said, “It looks… not much different from our place.”

The moment the words left his mouth, a group of dark specks appeared in the sky nearby, growing larger in an instant and rushing overhead in the blink of an eye!

“What are those?” Eagle was both startled and alert. He watched the bizarre, beast-like creatures that didn’t resemble birds at all but flew at incredible speed sweep past overhead. What made them even more terrifying was that they seemed to be carrying fully armored soldiers on their backs.

Pei Sen squinted. “It’s the Gryphon Cavalry of the Anther Empire.”

“Gryphon Cavalry?”

“Yeah.”

Unlike the Yasi Continent, the Gate of Eternity was full of extraordinary beings. The proportion of supernaturals here was extremely high, and they were highly skilled in utilizing various magical beasts and creatures in warfare.

Sure, the Yasi Continent also had magical beasts of all kinds, but they were typically wild and unmanageable. Most supernaturals wouldn’t dream of taming them—capturing one was already a challenge, and usually, they just killed them, skinned them, and sold the materials.

A magical beast like Peks, who was lazy enough to find its own owner… was truly one in a million.

The Anther Empire’s Gryphon Cavalry often clashed with the Flying Tiger Army of the Great Xia Dynasty, with both sides evenly matched.

And no, the Flying Tiger wasn’t just a name—it was a real aerial combat unit that rode flying tigers into battle.

That’s right, the Gate of Eternity was nothing like the Yasi Continent or the Soulgreen Era. The map of this world was about ten times larger than those other two servers combined. Such a vast land was essentially divided up between two great nations, with the remaining smaller countries, tribes, and alliances barely scraping by under their shadow.

To the west lay the Anther Empire. To the east, the vast and mighty Great Xia Dynasty. The two nations had been at war for years, each seeking to dominate this land. But whether it was Emperor Gubis of the Anther Empire or Emperor Tianyin of Xia, neither had succeeded in realizing that ambition.

Pei Sen remembered that when players first entered this server, it was right after a massive battle between the two nations. The brutal, iron-blooded battlefield had left a lasting impression on him.

As Pei Sen spoke, he led Eagle toward the nearby village, explaining the local circumstances along the way.

“In the Anther Empire, it’s better if we stick with the ‘master and servant’ identity like before, because you look more like an Antheran, and I look distinctly like a Xia person. These two nations have been at war for years, so Xia captives and slaves are often sold into Anther… and vice versa.”

Honestly, having both of them here made things much easier. If he were alone, his clearly eastern features would make it difficult to stay in Anther for long. He’d have to find a way to reach Xia, otherwise he’d risk a lot of trouble.

But with the two of them together, all he had to say was that he was Eagle’s slave, and no one would raise questions.

Both Anther and Xia had very strict laws. As rivals, they maintained a high level of governance—any lapse would immediately be exploited by the other side.

Whether it was Emperor Gubis or Emperor Tianyin, both were shrewd and capable rulers.

As a result, the Anther Empire was highly orderly. As someone with a master, even someone like Pei Sen, considered extremely attractive by Xia standards, could only be approached through formal negotiations with Eagle. Xia operated the same way. If Eagle posed as Pei Sen’s slave—well, setting aside whether he could pull that off, at least nominally—it would reduce many potential complications.

“Good thing the young master came with me…” If he had to come alone, and prep everything before the players arrived, that would’ve been nearly impossible. “The difficulty of this task just went up a notch.”

Starting out in the Gate of Eternity was nothing like Soulgreen Era—it wouldn’t be easy.

At this point, Pei Sen suspected that all the leeway Bix Magic Cube had given him before was leading up to this moment.

“If I’m not mistaken, the original timeline probably failed to complete the merge of this world. Those rumors were probably true.”

If the same thing had happened in the Yasi Continent or Soulgreen Era, it wouldn’t have been too terrible. Most of the high-level supernaturals on Yasi were solo operators, not organized forces. The low-level adventurers and mercenaries didn’t pose much threat. As for Soulgreen Era, that was much easier. Most of the supernaturals there had high moral standards, and with the Soulgreen Affairs Management Association in place, even if that world merged with the real one, there wouldn’t be much destruction.

But Gate of Eternity was a different story.

Too many variables. And the problem was, both Anther and Xia had brilliant monarchs and powerful systems of control—and, like Yasi, they were highly aggressive.

And there was one more thing about the Gate of Eternity.

“Young master, do you know what this place is?”

“Why?” Eagle asked, having listened to the story of Anther and Xia without sensing anything “eternal” about them.

“Because this world has divine spirits.”

“Divine spirits?”

“Yes. There’s a gate—the Gate of Eternity—and beyond that gate lies the Divine Mountain, home to eighteen divine spirits.”

Eagle looked at him speechlessly. “Not just divine spirits, but eighteen of them?”

“Right. But the divine spirits here are nothing like those of the Church of Light,” Pei Sen explained. “They’re more like a different kind of supernatural. Their powers mostly depend on the strength of faith, so they often fight over followers across the continent.”

Eagle: “…”

This was not what he imagined divine spirits to be.

The Church of Light, for all its faults, at least claimed their god was benevolent and lofty, loving the world. These divine spirits sounded… a bit too grounded in reality.

Pei Sen sighed. Reality? This isn’t just “realistic”… If this world really does blend with the real world, and Bix Magic Cube can’t confine that fusion within the “game,” it’ll be a major disaster.

Because whether it was Emperor Gubis, Emperor Tianyin, or those divine spirits ravenous for belief, they all possessed a disturbing degree of aggression.

So… was that why you had no choice but to send me back in time? Pei Sen thought to himself.

No matter how he looked at it, the original timeline must have ended in failure.

So I’ve really become the world-saving hero? Pei Sen thought with a wry smile.

And if I fail, will you just send the next chosen one back in time to try again?

Of course, if possible, Pei Sen absolutely didn’t want to fail.

“Pei Sen, where are we going now?” Eagle asked.

Pei Sen thought for a moment. “We’re heading to the Anther Empire’s capital.”

Eagle raised an eyebrow. “See? All those carriages I brought will definitely come in handy—we’ll need them on the road.”

Pei Sen could only nod. “Yes, yes, of course they’ll be useful.”

“So we’re going to the capital… then what? This isn’t like the Yasi Continent. If I want to get a title and fief like before, it’ll be a lot harder, right?”

“Don’t even think about it. Nearly impossible,” Pei Sen said firmly.

“Then what if we try from the smaller nations or tribes?” Eagle wasn’t just a pretty “mascot”—when it came to manipulation and noble politics, not even ten Pei Sens could match him. Especially in aristocratic matters, he was leagues ahead.

Pei Sen shook his head. “No. If we create a powerful little kingdom like on Yasi—one with, say, Bix people who can’t die and have decent combat strength—then the moment we attract the attention of Anther or Xia, they’ll just crush us immediately.” He nearly slipped and said “players.”

“But aren’t the Bix people immortal?”

“They can’t die, sure. But in that case… the Bix can’t get stronger either.”

Players couldn’t be permanently killed, but once they hit level 10, death would cost them levels. Pei Sen didn’t want a situation where they couldn’t even level up. If that happened, forget merging worlds—they wouldn’t even qualify to be part of the main story.

“So, all those things I brought really are useful.” Eagle didn’t need Pei Sen to say anything more—he’d already guessed his plan in an instant. He said meaningfully, “We’re going into business, right?”

“Exactly.”

Pei Sen knew time was short—only two months. Anything complex or long-term simply wasn’t feasible. Especially big-picture strategies—no way they’d yield results in that time frame.

So he had to go with a direct, straightforward plan: set up a business alliance in the Anther Empire, then establish a trading company in Xia. When players arrive, they could expand those organizations and give the players legitimate identities through them.

In the original timeline, after the Gate of Eternity server opened, for a long while players were scattered across the land. This wasn’t like Yasi—the law and order here were better. They were spread out across numerous villages and small towns.

Bix Magic Cube had been cautious—player starting points were almost all far from big cities, in remote, closed-off areas.

Still, even with this arrangement, player oddities caught the attention of local natives, and development didn’t go very smoothly.

It wasn’t until later, when players learned to disguise themselves in front of NPCs, that things started improving.

At the start, players had no concept of disguise. Just like in the Yasi Continent, their crazy behavior terrified the locals. The way they talked and acted always felt out of place.

That obviously wasn’t good for integration.

Pei Sen had been trying to change that, but players would be players. In a full-immersion game, you couldn’t limit their actions to a few choices in a dialogue box. They were too free, too unpredictable.

But only a player understands players best. I know how to guide them to “play the game” properly.

Even so, the Gate of Eternity was still an enormous challenge for Pei Sen.

At this time, players on the forums were still heatedly discussing Eagle and Pei Sen’s trip on the Time-Space Train, especially after players working part-time at Red Maple Castle confirmed that the two hadn’t returned to the Yasi Continent.

“So they went to another dimension?”

“There are other stations on the Time-Space Train? But we can’t buy tickets to those yet, right?”

“Could this mean Bix Magic Cube is about to launch a new server?”

“Probably. This game is so realistic… the NPCs are literally on a whole new level.”

“Ahhh what kind of setting will the new server have? Soulgreen Era is too hard to unlock advanced classes. If the new one’s easier, I might switch.”

“This is just a teaser, at best. I don’t think the new server will open that soon.”

“I wonder what the world setting will be this time. I’m so curious!”

“I hope Pei Sen doesn’t have the same identity again… I almost got screwed over in Soulgreen Era with that insane trial quest.”

“Hahahahaha, even the craziest trial isn’t worse than that Korean guy’s golden-rank trial. He’s still stuck in that miserable opera training course.”

“LMAO, I couldn’t learn opera in ten years if I tried!”

“He got lucky. At least Boss Yu didn’t kick him out after realizing he couldn’t sing.”

“That’s lucky? Maybe he wished to get kicked out.”

“Honestly, Soulgreen Era is super fun. All those trial quests are different, and the ones with long prerequisites are usually powerful. Soulhunter’s probably like that.”

“Hope so. I’m doing one now and can barely hang on.”

“……”

Discussion about the new server quickly died down. After all, Bix Magic Cube hadn’t released an official announcement yet. After a brief round of hype, everyone moved on.

But for Pei Sen, the real problems with this upcoming server had only just begun.

“Young master, I really don’t have time.” Pei Sen sorted a stack of parchment documents and reviewed some provisions again to ensure nothing went wrong.

Eagle looked a bit disappointed, but soon asked, confused, “Pei Sen, why are you in such a rush? This world doesn’t even have the Bix people yet.”

“They’ll be here very soon. I need to finish my preparations before then.” He paused, walked over to where Eagle lay reclining on the bed, knelt down, and said, “Young master, can you help me?”

Who could say no to eyes this beautiful and gentle? Eagle thought.

“All right.”