One trillion gold coins are only enough for the fourth seven-day period.
Damn it.
Higashino Makoto gritted his teeth. Without hesitation, he raised his hand again and waved it lightly.
Another trillion gold coins have disappeared.
Two-thirds of the three trillion gold coins have vanished!
The mountains of gold coins disappeared one by one, and the corners of the treasure vault began to empty.
That mountain of wealth is dwindling at a visible rate.
Tingyun stood at the entrance of the treasure vault, her Kohaku eyes watching everything unfold, her fox ears standing straight up.
She didn't speak, but stood there quietly, watching the gold coins disappear and watching Higashino Makoto's back.
She had never seen an adult so focused.
I've never seen adults so crazy before.
By the end of the fourth seven-day period, the diameter of the space had reached seven thousand kilometers.
Higashino Makoto stood in the center of the treasure vault, where most of the surrounding mountains of gold coins had disappeared.
His face was somewhat pale.
It wasn't because I was tired, but because I felt sorry for her.
Seventy-seven billion gold coins—that's the total amount he's already invested.
We have two trillion yuan on hand, ready to be invested.
According to the pattern, for the next seven days, the expansion will be 10,000 kilometers per day, consuming one trillion gold coins.
If he continues to invest, the diameter of the space will reach 77,000 kilometers by the end of the seventh day.
More than five times the diameter of the Earth.
Unfortunately, he didn't have that much money.
Novas Etier's gold coins will be almost completely depleted in two more days at most.
Higashino Makoto took a deep breath and raised his hand again.
But this time, his hand froze in mid-air.
Because the Creator stopped expanding.
It's not a slowdown, but a complete, total, and utter cessation without any further movement.
Moreover, the gold coins that were originally devoured by the "Creator"
Higashino Makoto was stunned.
He sensed the state of the Creator.
The space remains, stable, intact, and orderly.
But its boundaries stopped expanding outwards, as if it had hit something and could no longer move forward.
(World Item are essentially remnants of a world; they will inevitably have limits and cannot directly surpass a complete world.)
(And it won't be suppressed for long; expansion will resume soon.)
What happened?
He spoke softly, a hint of confusion flashing in his golden eyes.
He quickly did the calculations.
The diameter of the space is 7,784 kilometers.
It is more than twice the diameter of the moon, but about 5,000 kilometers smaller than the diameter of the earth.
Why did you stop here?
No one could answer him.
He has to find the answer himself.
Higashino Makoto closed his eyes and focused all his senses into the space created by the Creator.
He sensed its boundaries, its structure, and every single detail.
Then, he found the answer.
The "Creator" has temporarily reached its limit.
In the game YGGDRASIL, each world is only two to three times the size of Tokyo, roughly four to seven thousand square kilometers.
Converted to diameter, that's about eighty kilometers.
However, the "Creator" directly increased this number by a hundredfold.
Yes, if the diameter increases a hundredfold, the area will be far greater.
The "Creator" now floats silently in the center of space, looking as if it is about to collapse.
Higashino Makoto touched his chin in surprise, somewhat incredulous.
"This... exhausted the Creator?"
Higashino Makoto didn't know that what was actually exhausted was not the "Creator," but the "world" itself.
Upon arriving near the Creator, one is surrounded by a vast amount of gold coins.
If I'm not mistaken, it should be 1,222.3 billion gold coins.
Higashino Makoto has no intention of removing it; perhaps one day the "Creator" will recover and can be used again.
"So, it seems that although the 'Creator' can no longer be used, it won't disappear either?"
This is better than Higashino Makoto had anticipated, since he doesn't have to worry about it being picked up by others and used against him.
The boundary of space met the edge of emptiness.
The space created by the Creator is merging with the void itself.
It is no longer expanding, but it is devouring the void.
"I see..."
Higashino Makoto opened his eyes, a flash of understanding appearing in his golden pupils.
"It's devouring the void, making that door to another world a part of itself."
This is both good news and bad news.
The good news is that he no longer needs to invest resources.
The Creator will devour the void on its own; he doesn't need to worry about it.
The bad news is that it takes time to swallow up the void.
Moreover, he cannot fully control the speed and direction of the devouring.
Higashino Makoto remained silent for a long time.
He looked at the remaining mountains of gold coins in the treasure vault, at the empty corners, and at the equipment and items that he hadn't yet had a chance to use.
"Seven hundred and seventy-seven billion..."
He said in a low voice.
"Seven hundred and seventy-seven billion gold coins, plus one item worth twenty, can be exchanged for a space with a diameter of seven thousand seven hundred and seventy-eight kilometers."
He paused.
"Not a loss!"
Only the faint clinking of gold coins echoed within the treasure vault.
Tingyun walked to his side, her fox tail gently wrapping around his wrist.
"Grown ups."
"Um."
Is it over?
Higashino Makoto looked at her for two seconds, then chuckled softly.
"It's temporarily over."
He reached out and ruffled her hair.
The fox ears trembled slightly between his fingers, and the furry touch eased his tense nerves a little.
"I'm sorry, I haven't had much time to spend with you this month. How about this, you tell the next person that your term will be extended by one week."
Tingyun's lips curled up slightly.
"Sir, what are your plans next?"
Higashino Makoto thought for a moment.
"Continue investing."
Tingyun was taken aback for a moment.
"Sir, didn't you just say..."
"I said, the Creator no longer needs resources. But the space inside does."
In this small world, apart from a desolate piece of land in the center that is only three times the size of Tokyo, there is almost nothing.
Higashino Makoto walked deep into the treasure vault and took a box from a shelf.
Inside the box is a World Item.
"Dove Carrying an Olive Branch."
"The space is empty, without light, without sound, without life; it's just a shell. There's nothing there except a barren piece of land."
He opened the box and took out the "Dove Carrying an Olive Branch".
This item has very subtle properties. I only used it in the game for a few days, and I probably won't need it again in the future, so I'll use it for experiments.
The golden olive branches gleamed softly under the light, their surfaces shimmering with a subtle glow.
"Give it a try, and hopefully it will turn out well."
He placed it into the space created by the Creator.
The olive branch floated in space, slowly rotating.
Then, it started to glow.
Light burst forth from it, spreading in all directions and illuminating the entire space.
The space didn't get bigger, but the previously somewhat fragile space became more stable.
Moreover, the concept of "Peace" seems to be written into this world, meaning that others are not allowed to attack this space unless they initiate an attack themselves.
During the activation, if Wisdom beings in the space, they must not attack others.
Of course, this restriction applies to yourself as well, but you can actively break it.
As for the others, they are completely unable to make a move unless they are attacked.