Possibility of Terraforming Mars

By the end, a chill flashed through Albedo's eyes. Ryan gave an awkward chuckle and quickly changed the subject.

"My gentleness is only for you all. Ahem, never mind that for now. I'll leave the construction and protection of this base to you. With our technology, it shouldn't be difficult to build a place suitable for ordinary people to live in here, right?"

As he spoke, Ryan looked toward Albedo and Alva.

When it came to internal administration, Albedo could handle it as perfectly as he could imagine. As for technical matters, they would depend on Alva, Nazarick's foremost researcher.

"If we're only building a base, it will be easy. But making this place suitable for ordinary humans to live in... Alva, will that pose any problems for you?"

Albedo answered calmly, then turned to ask Alva.

"Creator, Nazarick's technology is sufficient to fulfill your requirements."

Alva swept his gaze over the surroundings and answered with ease.

The gravity issue could be solved by maintaining a gravity spell underground. Air was also simple: they only needed to construct a protective barrier around the entire basin and plant special magical flora within it. As for light, water, and food, those were even less of a concern. At most, he could finish transforming the entire basin in two days.

"I see. Then what if we expanded that to the entire planet?"

Hearing Alva's easy answer, Ryan's eyes lit up as he asked.

"An entire planet?" Alva's aged face showed some difficulty. "Transforming an entire planet into a place suitable for human habitation would require considering far more factors. At the very least, we would need to establish a complete ecosystem. We also could not keep using magic as a temporary solution, but would have to solve the problems thoroughly at their root. Otherwise, if a key magic array were to break somewhere one day, the consequences would be catastrophic."

"However, with Nazarick's current resources, if you, Creator, are willing to spend three to five years on it, then given the size and conditions of the planet beneath our feet, it should still be possible."

After calculating it in his mind, Alva gave a rough answer.

Three to five years... Ryan nodded upon hearing that.

The mere possibility of success was already beyond his expectations, not to mention that the required time was not particularly long.

"Then I'll leave the base's construction to you. There's one more matter as well." Ryan took out a complete set of textbooks from his personal storage and handed them to Albedo. "From now on, anyone who wishes to travel to my world must thoroughly study this set of books and score over sixty points on the subsequent examination. Otherwise, they will not be permitted to go to Earth. Oh, and Shalltear's passing score is eighty."

Ryan spoke calmly, and Shalltear, who had been eavesdropping, wore a miserable expression once more as she picked up the books and began glaring at them viciously.

Eighty points! I wonder if cheating would work... Shalltear thought miserably.

"I understand. Please rest assured, everyone in Nazarick will meet your standards within three days. We certainly will not delay your affairs."

Albedo spoke gently yet firmly. Midway through, she glanced back at the others. At once, they all nodded repeatedly.

"There's no need to rush that much..."

Ryan felt a little awkward.

"You are right. However, this is a task you have assigned to us. We will devote everything to completing it."

Albedo replied gently. Ryan, somewhat helpless, found it difficult to interfere further. After giving everyone a sympathetic look, he asked another question.

"How has the exploration around Nazarick been going?"

Because his attention over the past two days had been entirely focused on the Marvel Universe, he had not paid much attention to the world where Nazarick was located, which he had named World No. 2.

However, if everything had developed according to the original plot of Overlord, then the Kingdom's Warrior-Captain, an important character from the original story, should have already been surrounded and killed by Slane Theocracy troops because Ryan had not gone to rescue him.

Carne Village in the story should also have been slaughtered clean by the cavalry. He just did not know how things would develop from there under such circumstances. No matter what, World No. 2 still held some things worth his attention.

For example, there was Wild Magic, which differed from the magic system of YGGDRASIL, as well as the World Items left behind when former players had crossed into this world.

Among them, a World Item called the Nameless Spellbook was what concerned him most.

This item possessed the ability to record every spell in existence. Whether it had existed in the past or had just been created, it would be recorded within it.

If Ryan could find it, it would be of enormous help in his future travels between worlds. It was the finest treasure for stealing the fruits of a world's wisdom.

Unfortunately, Ryan did not know this item's exact location, and the original work had not mentioned it either. To obtain it, he would need intelligence.

"We have already investigated it. Nazarick's Great Tomb is currently beneath the territory of a human nation called the Re-Estize Kingdom. Nearby, there is only a human village called Carne Village and a town named E-Rantel. However, it is very strange. Although the people of this world are as weak as ants, they can actually use magic from YGGDRASIL. Some monsters are also identical to those in YGGDRASIL."

There was a trace of confusion in Albedo's tone. Clearly, she could not understand why this was happening.

Ryan raised an eyebrow after hearing this. Naturally, he understood the reason. Five hundred years ago, the players known to the world as the Eight Greed Kings had used the World Item ranked among the Twenty, Five Elements Overcoming, to alter the magic rules of the entire world. This had made the Wild Magic that had once flourished in this world difficult to use.

However, Ryan had doubts about whether that item still existed. In the game, after it was used, the item was displayed as having vanished somewhere in the world, and other players could still obtain it if they were lucky. But in this world, had it truly disappeared after being used by the Twenty, or was it hidden somewhere in the world just as in the game? That remained unclear.

But why did Albedo say Carne Village still existed? Logically, without his help, Carne Village should have been massacred. Could this be some damn butterfly effect again? But that effect was far too strong. He had barely even gone to that world, so how could this have happened?

"Albedo, did you say there was a human village near Nazarick?"

Ryan could not help asking.

"Yes. After you left, I dispatched the Pleiades Battle Maids to gather information. At the time, they happened to encounter a group of cavalry belonging to a faction called the Slane Theocracy massacring the village. They also took the initiative to attack Solution, so your subordinate ordered them dealt with. Afterward, we even saved the Warrior-Captain of that kingdom. Much of our information was gathered from him."

There was a trace of unease in Albedo's tone. The prohibition Ryan had issued had always weighed heavily on their minds. Although she believed the order she had given at the time did not violate it, she was still nervous.