Six hours until the public beta opened.
Murphy hummed a tune as he traveled from Transia to the Creation Engine hidden beneath the yellow sands, escorted by Tritan. He had just completed an experiment linking to another world and gotten excellent results.
He hadn't come alone. Before Triss and Adele left, they had asked Shani to look after Murphy. Shani wasn't good at taking care of people, but as part of the security detail, she was still quite diligent about staying by his side, just in case some fool suddenly jumped out and put a few holes in the Scarlet Lord.
Murphy wouldn't die from an injury like that in his current state, of course. But if something like that did happen, Mrs. Shani's reputation as a top bodyguard would be ruined.
When Murphy returned to the Creation Engine, the various machines that had been operating automatically roared as if welcoming their master. He strode through the most secure place in the material world with practiced ease, hands clasped behind his back and an air of nonchalance. He was already beginning to look every bit the powerful figure.
"I noticed that your cooperation with the people from another world has entered a new phase. I read the planning team's internal messages earlier. The outsiders have finished testing their replica game log-in devices, which means they can start mass-producing troops on their side, too.
"Is this what you've prepared for the great war between Order and Chaos?"
Shani asked. Murphy shrugged and replied,
"You could put it that way. But even the public beta will open in stages. There won't be many people coming in at first. We'll need to bring in my three hundred thousand 'Imperial Guards' before we start letting people in on a large scale. If everything goes