Now that Adder knew these creatures, he started adjusting the terrain to promote the growth of all these prey creatures.
Unlike the dungeon, in the Void Village, he had to build a self-sustaining environment.
After all, the ten-times passive time flow made the consequences hit ten times harder.
He focused more on creating different areas in each section. It took him four hours before he finally clapped his hands. "Done!"
The little spirit slumped next to him. "Finally!!" It started bouncing with renewed energy.
Adder ignored it and looked at the massive grassland, which was now filled with all kinds of prey creatures.
He nodded in satisfaction and instructed the little guy. "Xarik, you have to keep an eye on the birds. Make sure they do not eat too many baby mice."
The little spirit nodded its head but looked back at him. "Master, what about the snakes? Aren't you going to take them out?"
Adder shook his head. "Not for now. We have to wait for these prey to reproduce."
The little spirit stared at him and then at the grassland, bobbing its head up and down. "If you say so, Master."
Adder sighed as he remembered how, in the past, he had taken out all the snakes with no preparation, which led to them eating most of the prey monsters within a couple of days.
The situation had gotten so bad that he even lost two sets of snakes to starvation. He had to avoid that situation at all costs.
The little spirit asked him, "Master, do you want me to send you out of the dungeon?"
Adder remembered the mess outside and shook his head. "Not right now. Just take me back to the dungeon."
The little spirit moved closer to him and poked his hand with a crystal horn. The bright violet light once again engulfed him. He woke up in the dungeon master's room.
After making sure that the Void Village had switched back to passive time flow, he mumbled, "Log out."
The next second, the world became dark around him.
After a moment of confusion, he opened his eyes inside the metal pod.
"Ahhh! This pain…" he cursed as the hellish pain returned. After taking a couple of deep breaths, he opened the pod lid and pulled himself out.
Suddenly, Aren rushed toward him. "Ray, finally, you are back."
Ray tilted his head. "What happened?"
"See," Aren placed his phone screen in front of his face. It was a group chat.
Aren pointed to the notice that had a bunch of names listed on it.
Ray focused on his own name, which was in the second-last position, as Aren mumbled to him, "This is a new defaulter list. This time, all the defaulters will get dropped from the special program."
Ray waved the phone to the side. He just slumped back on the sofa and asked Aren, "What is the time limit?"
Aren mumbled, "Till midterm." He counted on his fingers. "Like 35 days."
Ray nodded to him. He had already expected this notice to come. Now that he looked at it, all of this should be part of her plan.
Just thinking about his actions in his past life made his head throb.
He just pointed to the mess. "Let's clean this first."
Aren looked back at his phone and nodded. After all, in all this, Aren was just an observer who was not linked to a different team.
For the next two hours, both of them cleaned the room in silence. This sort of work helped Ray clear his thoughts.
The thing was, in his past life, after seeing the notification, he had just rushed back into the game to create a new team. This time, a team that he controlled.
Part of that was to not get dropped from college, and the other part was to prove himself to others.
To the day he died in his past life, he regretted that decision. It was not that he failed to create the team. No. It was the opposite, as the extra year of experience played a big part in competing against the new players.
It got to the point where not only did he manage to pull himself out of the defaulter list, but he also transformed his team into the biggest newcomer guild that the college had ever created.
In those days, everything went in his favor. He got to live the life of an upcoming genius and future star. All the students flocked around him within the college to be part of his team.
He really thought things had turned around, but that illusion only lasted for three months.
Ray sighed. The downfall after that illusion burst was something he was never prepared for.
His biggest mistake was that he had only seen the game through a college student's lens.
The reality within the game was much darker. After dealing with all sorts of organizations, he now knew the biggest flaw for him right now was backing.
He had come to see the true reality that was hidden behind the freedom of the second reality.
The biggest thing was that the game had already been out for three years. All kinds of organizations understood the money-making potential of Zenaris Online.
And they were actively fighting to get the biggest share of this pie. Now, in this war, anyone with potential would get poached by these factions.
It was the same for him in the past. But his foolish past-self had been blinded by quick glory and had tried to remain independent.
A mistake that offended all of those factions, as they collectively struck him in all parts of his life.
In that one week, first, he got thrown out of college under some absurd fake allegation. Then his new teammates went on the internet, saying all sorts of things about him.
The guild he had worked hard for was scattered, leaving him alone.
And from there, things only spiraled downward to the point that even his family, the ones he had supported the most, ended up kicking him out of their lives.
For the college kid of the past, it had been hard to process all these events. If not for the fire, he might have ended up doing the most cowardly thing to himself.
Ray sighed as all these events played before his eyes. This time, however, he saw them connecting like pieces of a puzzle.
It had been his mistake to dream big without having any protection.
This time, it would not be the same. Now he did not care about any so-called glory.
This time, he was ready to begin as a pawn. There was no shame in that, but he refused to die as one again.