This kind of passage was not enough, even for his fingernail to get through. However, it wasn't the same for the souls of these humans. Although they were pure in essence, they were still frail and had no problem passing this path.
So, the connection between the two points was finally established! Zyreth soon recovered from the exhaustion of opening the passage. He checked the remaining power of his domain, and after estimating, he nodded.
"Well, it's enough. No, it's more than enough."
Aside from opening the path, the rest of the operation of the game didn't need that huge expense in terms of his Infernal Power. The players were still weak at the beginning of the game, and Zyreth wasn't concerned yet about their evolution and growth.
Having the hardest part accomplished, Zyreth would now proceed with the finishing touches of his game before he began to test the stability of his game, such as if the soul could pass through safely without much discomfort to the real body.
Once that was done, he would open his game to the public. Zyreth didn't have many qualms like Closed Beta or whatnot; he wanted to replenish his energy, and for that, millions or even billions of players were what he needed.
"Now, for the rest," Zyreth said, looking at his tower. "I'll have to visit my treasury."
He then left his domain core once more; it was now operating again to regenerate his Infernal power while also preparing itself for its new role as the 'game system'.
Zyreth stood at the peak of his tower. He would be snatching... well, using his treasure from inside. They were necessary for his plan—one vital point at that.
It didn't take long for all the information about the tower to appear in his mind. Before, he never bothered to know the state of his treasury, so he didn't have any idea what was inside.
His mind spun; he was picking what suited the most to be used. A few moments later, he had already decided on the list. Zyreth flicked his hand, and as he did so, countless wild creatures appeared on the surface. These would be the monsters that the players needed to beat to level up.
As soon as they appeared, new rules appeared on their bodies. The moment they died, some of them would sure drop equipment or material, while their deaths would trigger another creature in their race inside the tower to replace them in the Abyssal Realm, and the cycle would continue.
It was especially so for the low-level creatures, which were also categorized and ordered according to their strengths, or 'levels'. The new rules inside this domain would automatically place stronger creatures deeper in the domain.
Soon, these creatures, who were suddenly plunged into a different environment, began to roam around in their new home. However, aside from the vicinities of their spawn points, they couldn't wander too far. This was Zyreth's consideration so that those stronger creatures wouldn't disrupt the flow of his game.
Amidst the roars, the rules from the domain core also seeped into the minds of every creature—an ironclad law. Zyreth observed for a moment, and seeing that his system rules were working perfectly, he proceeded to enter his tower.
Aside from the monsters, the race to be his NPCs was necessary. Zyreth picked what he thought was qualified and teleported them to the main game map. They were all intelligent races and would undoubtedly react if they suddenly appeared in a new environment.
The new rules would also transform them the moment they appeared on the main game map. From then on, they were all connected and restricted to the game.
Some of these NPCs were also powerful individuals inside the tower, but for Zyreth? They were all nothing but mere treasures that he could use and discard if he wanted to.
After he was done with the tower, he was unconcerned with the effect of what he did on the civilizations inside and directly left. His next stop was another location underground, not far from the domain core.
After reconstructing his domain, this place also changed. From this place, one could see the bottom of the tower. As he walked, his feet created a ripple on the damp ground. It was not normal water either, but the extension of the red liquid from the domain core.
A huge platform was erected at the center, and there slept a colossal creature. Its huge body was curled, but one couldn't see the end of its body.
It was the Abyssal Mother Worm. Zyreth grinned, the most crucial part aside from the path. He stopped just beneath its huge head. Her body was covered with thin mucus, which made her look disgusting at a glance. The thick skin of her body also had thin, needle-like fur.
As though sensing his appearance, the Abyssal Mother Worm moved. Her huge head approached Zyreth and rested before his feet. He stared at it and, without disgust, petted her head.
The Abyssal Mother Worm was not unfamiliar to the civilizations on the main material plane. They were said to be the ones giving birth to abyssal demons endlessly. Abyssal Mother Worms were everywhere in the Abyss and even in the planes that were infested by demons.
It was known that without destroying the Abyssal Mother Worms, the Abyssal demons would never cease to exist. There were some facts about it: Zyreth created the mother worms to give birth to demons in the first place.
And this one before him was the Primordial Abyssal Mother Worm. In fact, all the mother worms in the Abyss were just her children. Except for the earlier demons, no one was directly birthed by the Primordial Abyssal Mother Worm.
This time, the players would also be reborn in his domain as a new demon born by the Primordial Abyssal Mother Worm.
After setting the new rules for her, which were also almost the same as what he imparted to the domain core, Her primary job was to give birth to players.
Once he was done, he left her and returned to his throne. His preparations were finally completed! Now, what was left was to test it!
I don't want to conduct a close beta, but it's fine to invite someone to test my game.
It just so happened that there was indeed a committee that checked the 'safety' of these VR games. Even though he didn't care for trouble, it was still an advantage if his game was deemed legal, which was a way to quickly become mainstream. Otherwise, if his game just popped out of nowhere, the humans might become wary of its existence.
Silently, an unknown company was established on Blue Planet and registered a game. It was called... The Game of the Abyss.