Athanasia: My Hacker System

The talk with Goven was filled with lots of valuable information about the new world. For example, John learned that there would be a massive spawning of resources inside the new zone.

This was largely dependent on luck, but there was a chance for extremely valuable mines to appear, mine crystals of high mana density, rare ores like Mithril or Adamantite, and rare herbs that could be used in alchemy.

Furthermore, Goven explained the mechanics of zone expansion. "If any members of your race manage to clear another pocket trial while your protection period is active, that new zone will merge with your existing one.

It expands the physical size, increases the resources, and even slightly increases the protection period. This chain can continue until your race hits a ten-zone count."

Once a race reached that ten-zone threshold, the rules shifted. New pocket trials would start appearing at a significant distance from the main zone.

To grow further, the race members would need to fight their way through the new world, towards the new zone, conquering the zones of other races that stood in between the two, before they could absorb the new zone.

In case the race members managed to clear a pocket trial after the end of the protection period, their new zone would spawn randomly, and John had to fight his way towards them.

Yet they could appear far away from John’s main zone, ending up for other races to hit the new zone first after the end of the protection period, absorbing it to their main zone instead.

After reaching a certain degree of expansion, the zone owners could begin spawning secondary zones, outposts attached to the main zone via portals. These were essential for projecting power into the vast reaches of the new world, exploring further resource areas, and increasing the odds of absorbing new zones.

"... The more we advance our zone, expand its borders, and properly structure the defences there while the protection period lasts, the better our chances will be after the protection period is over," Goven finished, his voice sombre.

John remained silent for a long time, digesting the data alongside his friends. The weight of the responsibility was beginning to settle on Luke and Elena, on everyone, actually.

According to Goven’s assessment, the most brutal period would be the exact second the protection period expired. Older, established zones and strong races would take that opportunity to launch relentless attacks. They hunted new zones to kill the owners and absorb the territory, using the fresh resources to further enhance their zones.

The most dangerous race in the current hierarchy, Goven warned, was the Dragons. They weren’t just the winged beasts of myth, but a highly advanced, fiercely intelligent race blessed with innate magical powers and staggering physical builds.

They were near-impossible to fight, especially since they were so ruthless and powerful that almost every race they encountered in a pocket trial ended up voluntarily joining their side. This made them the race with the highest total population and the most expansive territory in the New World.

"Are we going to go to the new world now?" Cissel asked softly, watching John stare into thin air.

"We already have all the answers we need," John shrugged, his focus was on the Shell window shimmering in his field of vision. "There is no use in wasting any more time in this pocket trial. Let’s head to the Source Code World, establish our zone, and check the reality of the situation before we return to the academy."

Just as he spoke, the one hundred Pocket Trial Ownership parts merged within his coding interface. They began to knit together, lines of golden light weaving into a physical object.

-

[Ding! Congratulations! You succeeded in coding a Pocket Trial Ownership Badge!]

[Ding! You can synchronise with the badge using a simple handshake. Then, you can end the pocket trial by giving the order out loud!]

-

John watched the two notifications in delight, a sense of finality settling over him.

As the code stabilised, a large hexagonal badge materialised in the air before him, glowing with a deep red light that immediately drew the full, rapt attention of his friends. John reached out and caught the badge, feeling its surprising weight in his palm. It felt dense.

This was more than just a badge; it was the tangible symbol of his power, the risks he encountered, and the scale of his achievements within the pocket trial.

He took a moment of silence, looking out at his friends and then toward the ten thousand Krogers standing in disciplined ranks behind Goven.

He moved his eyes towards Blakar, Lanmar, and the four thousand Bulltors standing behind them. Then he looked at the human survivors, who experienced a grand change thanks to the training grounds and fighting monsters.

"Let’s spread as many defences as we can in all the territories," John commanded, his voice steady. He turned to Goven, intending to integrate the Krogers’ advanced technology into the final layout. "We can use your help in that as well... What’s wrong?!!"

John stopped mid-sentence, finally noticing the expression on Goven’s face. The Kroger leader, usually so composed, was staring at the badge in John’s hand with wide, unblinking eyes. He pointed a shaky, thick finger at the object, his voice trembling with an emotion that bordered on terror.

"How... How come you have such a high-grade badge?!!!" Goven stuttered.

"Higher what?!" John was startled by the reaction. He brought the badge closer to his face to examine it once more. To his eyes, it didn’t look like something unique; it was a heavy, hexagonal piece of equipment made out of a strange, dark red ore that seemed to absorb the surrounding light.

"It’s... It’s a Red Badge," Goven continued, his stutter worsening as the realisation truly sank in.

"My Lord, you don’t understand. The standard badges for newly conquered zones are always white. After a race conquers and absorbs ten separate zones, the badge evolves and turns green. After fifty zones, it turns blue. As for red... Red means you absorbed one hundred zones! That is... It is unheard of!"

"..."

John remained silent, his mind quickly analysing Goven’s shocked words. He understood the reason almost immediately.

He hadn’t acquired this badge through the standard way of the pocket trial; he didn’t gather Ogolith cores and follow the normal path. He let the magical core consume the Ogolith cores to spawn the Wrathers and the yellow monster dens.

He got this badge by coding it using the Pocket Trial Ownership parts he gathered. It was a different and unique way to do it. And John could tell that this harder and new path led to upgrading his badge as a result.

"Starting with a zone equivalent to one hundred means we will have a massive starting area and astronomical resources," Goven said, his growing excitement before it died down. "But it also means the challenges we’ll face will be way higher. The risks... The greedy eyes that will be drawn to us..."

"Does that mean good or bad news for us?" Ricky asked.

"According to how we manage our setup," Goven paused, looking at the red badge. "I have never heard of a starting zone of this grade. I don’t even know how long the protection period will last for something this massive. In normal cases, a white badge gives you up to two weeks to prepare..."

"We’ll have six months," John interrupted him, his tone firm and brooking no argument. "That is our protection period window."

He turned to his surprised friends and the stunned Goven. "Don’t ask me how. I just know."

"It must be the ultimate privilege of the owner of a trial pocket," Goven whispered, quickly finding a plausible excuse to believe. John’s friends, however, knew better than to ask.

John knew this specifically from the rewards of his last quest. The System wasn’t just rewarding him; it was providing a necessary buffer.

It knew that by creating a zone with a red badge, John was effectively painting a giant target on his back for every race in the new world. Six months was the minimum time he would need to turn his territory into an impregnable fortress.

"Let’s scatter then and spread all the defences we have," John said, returning to the task at hand. "Goven, I want the extra defences you have deployed in your territory to be deployed across the twelve territories."

For the next week, the pocket trial became a hive of frantic activity. John, his friends, and the ten thousand Krogers worked tirelessly, laying out a defensive grid that spanned all twelve sectors.

By the time they were finished, the pocket trial looked less like a training ground and more like a heavily armed, massive fortress.

Finally, they gathered in the northern base, the very territory where John had taken his first steps into this world.

John stood at the centre of the first-ever base he constructed in this world, his hand closing tightly around the Red Badge. He looked at Cissel, who watched him with a gaze of absolute faith, and at the others who had tied their fates to his.

"It’s time," John said. He raised the badge, and it began to glow with an intensity that rivalled a dying star.

"Ascend us to the Source Code World... Take us to our new home!"