To be able to infuse his Intent into his project, Michael spent the last five months learning the Moon Drip mental technique granted to him and the other participants by the Bright Moon sect.
It was a strange but interesting technique that allowed his mind to interact with the world he designed while using the deep dive gear.
For example, the first thing he focused on was the land itself.
The Project and Concept stages were somewhat completed; however, whenever he interacted with the island, he felt no sense of reality.
It was an odd sensation that was hard to put into words, but something was lacking to give the world the 'soul' it was lacking.
Concentrating on the island as he looked at it from above, Michael remembered the backstory he had set for it.
"A forsaken island where both land, air, and nature are used to suppress two divine wills..."
As he was speaking, his Qi was getting drained at a ridiculous pace. But that wasn't the only thing happening. The island itself was coming to life, a sense of dread and might exuding from it.
That wasn't all. A feeling of anger and madness enveloped the land, making even the trees look more ferocious. The island abandoned by the world and chosen as the prison and battlefield for two divine beings... how could it not harbor any resentment toward those who declared such fate upon it?
Out of the 624 strands of Qi he had refined inside his Dantian, more than half were instantly drained.
Disconnecting himself from the device, he stood up from his bed and scratched his head. There was both helplessness and annoyance in his eyes.
"The good news is that due to the Concept and the vision I had for the for the Project matching, the transmission of Qi and Intent is much easier than I initially expected. There wasn't any pushback, which means I did things right. The only issue is my pathetic cultivation base and low conversion rate."
To become a Qi Gathering cultivator, one had to draw Qi from the outside world or a spirit stone inside their Dantian, move it through predetermined pathways through their body, and refine it into a Qi strand.
Once 100 Qi Strands have been refined, the cultivator officially advanced to the 2nd level of the Qi Gathering realm.
To reach the third level, 200 Qi Strands were needed, and 400 for the fourth level. Michael's current situation...
[ Host: Michael Lewis
Age: 18
Lifespan: 120.9 years (92.3 original lifespan + 28.6 added lifespan through cultivation)
Cultivation: 4th Level of Qi Gathering (28%)
Spiritual Roots: Inferior
Assets: 1 Spiritual Pouch (1 cubic meter), 15 spirit stones. ]
Having reached 28% of his current realm - after cultivating daily for the maximum amount of time possible - he had 624 Qi Strands he could use.
"Five months and a half, and my progress is a measly 5%. Furthermore, from the 320 Qi Strands infused into the island, only 102 were actually transmitted. It's not a 70% loss, but it's still only a 32% I was able to convert."
Grabbing a spirit stone from his pouch, he held it in his closed right hand and re-entered the Editor.
A low-level spirit stone held exactly 200 Qi Strands worth of essence. There were also medium-level and high-level spirit stones, but those had nothing to do with him, as he was a poor bloke.
There was a shortcut Programmers could take when creating Secret Realms, though most people avoided using it since it was literally burning spirit stones.
By acting as a medium between the source of Qi and the Project, the Qi transmission rate would increase to a stable 50%.
It was a god-given gift to those with poor qualifications, such as himself, though the loss was pretty severe.
If not pressed for time, Michael wouldn't dream of wasting his precious assets in such a foolish manner.
Running some numbers, it took him 6 hours of meditation to fully 'recharge' the Qi Strands in his Dantian, mostly due to it being much easier to refill the already created molds rather than create new ones.
With his transmission rate at 32% and two and a half meditation sessions per day, he could convert 499 Qi Strands daily - by doing nothing but cultivating and infusing. As for spirit stones, each one he had translated into an extra 100 Qi Strands, meaning a total of an extra 1,500 based on his current assets.
"Mildred, run an analysis for me. How many Qi Strands are needed to complete the Intent infusion of the island?"
[Calculating... 2827 Qi Strands, on top of the 102 already infused.](Mildred)
"Crap... that's more than five days if I proceed without using any spirit stones..."
With only 13 and a half days left, that wasn't an option.
Pausing the infusion of the land, he selected one of the Radiant 'creeps,' A.K.A., one of the soldiers marching in battle alongside the players.
It only took 20 Qi Strands - after the horrendous conversion - to bring it to 'life,' somewhat brightening Michael's appearance.
"A 'wave' of 'creeps' will have four melee and one ranged soldier. That means 100 Qi Strands. I need at least three individual waves on each side to be safe, meaning 600 Qi Strands to sort out the creeps for the '1v1' mod."
After discussing it with the A.I. and receiving a positive reply, Michael began working. His plan was simple: at fixed intervals, a 'wave' of five soldiers would spawn in each of the Radiant and Dire bases alike.
These 'creeps' would charge down the middle lane with or without the hero, with their goal of destroying the enemy Ancient.
As game mechanics, these soldiers would prioritize fighting one another or the enemy hero if it draws aggro, followed by the enemy structures, such as the Towers.
The Towers had fixed armor, attack, and Hit Points, and only once destroyed could the creeps advance further.
Obviously, he couldn't make these soldiers overpowered, so he limited their combat prowess to 50% of a 1st level Qi Gathering cultivator.
"One wave would spawn each... Ugh... Mildred, calculate the time needed for a wave to reach the river."
[Approximate time, 23 minutes, sir.](Mildred)
"23... let's add at least another five minutes of battle and set the spawn timer at every 30 minutes. Even if a wave doesn't fully die, I'll have another 'conscious' wave coming as reinforcements. After the soldiers die, recycle them and respawn them. That way, we'll have 15 Intent-infused 'creeps' on each side and a queue for them to wait 'resurrection.'"
With 499 Qi Strands daily output and the remaining 97 Qi Strands in his Dantian, Michael could wrap it up by tomorrow morning at the latest.
Today was already half gone, and in order not to mess up his sleeping schedule even more, he could add one more cultivation session of six hours before going to sleep.
In the end, Michael caved in and cultivated for an extra two hours after his 'resources' were used up three additional hours to generate the needed Qi Strands to complete his mini project that night.
With the 'creeps' model finished, he collapsed weakly on the bed, worrying about how much the heroes would require.
So that he doesn't shoot himself in the foot, the following morning, he tried infusing his Intent in Lina.
The result left him somewhat speechless...
"I can generate around 6,487 Qi Strands in the remaining 13 days, maybe 7,000 if I cut down in my sleep. Adding 1,500 from the spirit stones, I'll have 8,500 at best. It takes 2,827 to finish infusing the island, another thousand each for the Ancients, and 500 for each hero. I'm doomed..."
After sorting out the island and the two Ancients, he would be left with somewhere around 1,150 and 1,660 Qi Strands.
To play it safe and avoid dying of exhaustion, it would be safer to consider the lower limit as the relevant one.
"So I can infuse two heroes at best in the given time... *Sigh* Let's change the plans then..."
Selecting Lina, which he already started working on from the Radiand side, and Shadow Fiend from the Dire, Michael began his restructured plan.
"Since it's a demo, two heroes should suffice. What I'm mostly worried about are the game mechanics... I'll need more Qi to infuse there to make sure the Concept is properly carried over."
--------Scene Break--------
It was the 11th of February, and tomorrow was the last day allotted for the practical test. As for Michael, it was his third day in a row without sleep.
He only cultivated until his Qi Strand reserves were full, then entered the Editor to infuse, then rinse and repeat.
His 'treasury' had long depleted, with his assets now showing only the Spatial Pouch.
Fortunately, his hard work paid off.
In the simulation run by Mildred, a lithe and beautiful figure was floating thirty centimeters above the ground, flames burning in both her outstretched hands.
Her gorgeous red hair was sent into a mess by the ultimate used by her enemy, even if she used her Flame Strike Array in trying to block the incoming Soul Requiem.
Watching his enemy sent flying into one of the trees, Shadow Fiend advanced cautiously towards her. This hero's lower body appeared hidden by dark fog, while his mid and upper sections only showed a slight humanoid build.
His full-black exoskeleton, long claws, and horns growing from his fiendish head all hinted at his demonic nature.
Seeing Lina's HP drop to less than 20%, he swiftly approached and used the last of his MP to cast a mid-range Raze.
Before he realized it, Lina took out a yellowish plant and squished it in her hands. Her Hit Points increased by 75, allowing her to survive her enemy's skill with only 20 left in her Life Bar.
With rapid movements, she avoided one of Shadow Fiend's normal attacks and began floating again. With her passive skill, Fiery Soul activated, her eyes turned the same color as her hair, and her right hand pushed brutally forward.
[No, no, no!](Shadow Fiend)
Casting her ultimate skill, Laguna Blade, a bolt of lightning struck the chest of Shadow Fiend, effectively wiping out his remaining Hit Points.
[Hot enough for ya?](Lina)
With the third death in a row, Shadow Fiend lost the game, and the tower behind him crumbled, signifying Radiant's victory.
Michael took off his headset and lay weakly on the bed, too tired to feel hungry or thirsty.
"That was absolutely amazing! The combat system still needs more refinement, as the A.I.-controlled heroes still seem stiff whenever they engage in a fight. Unlike in the actual game back on Earth, here, they can actually avoid hits based on their instincts, attributes, and combat experience. I can foresee in the future that someone using Omnislash on a higher cultivation level opponent will miss his strikes due to the opponent evading. So I need to put more thought into the combat mechanics."
Falling asleep, he reviewed his achievements so far.
The island and nature were successfully brought to life, with each part of the map evoking a certain type of feeling in the player. For some parts of the Radiant jungle, even if the view was breathtaking, a feeling of madness overtook them, forcing even the A.I.-controlled heroes to act on impulse.
The 'creeps' had a zealous look in their eyes, charging down the mid-lane with fanatic belief, supporting their hero even at the cost of their lives.
The towers stood tall and strong, powerful sentinels the heroes couldn't randomly assault unless their soldiers took the brunt of the attacks in their stead.
Finally, the two Ancients. A strange yet divine aura radiated from these two imposing, unique 'buildings,' something any player could easily recognize as vaguely similar.
Yet the coloring theme of the sun-kissed Radiant base and the always-covered-by-clouds Dire side stood as a stark contrast between the two.
Playing with the human understanding of good and evil but blurring the lines by altering the Concept even more, Michael managed to create an island with two unique environments.
Every time he looked at the map, it would appear as if the Radiant side had sunlight tendrils attempting to reach into the enemy's domain while the Dire showcased strange shadows inching closer to the river.
On the final day, he sighed and exchanged 5,000 credits for five spirit stones. Using the extra 500 Qi Strands, he infused an Intent of neutrality and calmness into the river, separating the two sides, making it appear much deeper and wider than it actually was.
If one paid attention, every now and then, strange shadows could be seen swimming just under the water's surface.
With only 1,000 or so credits left to his name, Michael spent the remaining half of the day tinkering with the combat system, further improving the attributes gain.
He wanted to do much more, such as adding the Tallent Tree, adding neutral items, and increasing the variety of regular items bought at the shop... but time and the small amount of resources he had wouldn't allow it.
Even the four neutral camps he set alongside the mid-lane '1v1' mod haven't reached the third stage yet and were still only virtual concepts.
"Now, only the fourth stage is left, but that depends on how things go tomorrow. Fuck... I'm so damn tired..."
He had fallen asleep without changing his clothes for three days now, with an empty stomach and a thirsty mouth, leaving everything else to fate.