World merge and other civilizations

The sky screamed.

It wasn't thunder. It wasn't magic. It was the groan of a dimension being unzipped, as the solar system twisted and vanished from its original position in the universe. For a moment, everything went still—no wind, no sound, just a cold vacuum of silence as reality recalibrated.

Then it began.

A pulse, like the heartbeat of a titan, echoed through every planet, moon, and sun. The planets shuddered, their cores boiling with new mass as the worlds swelled, inflating tenfold in size within seconds. Mountains cracked and reformed. Oceans deepened. Continents expanded outward like blooming lotus petals made of stone and fire.

The very laws of physics trembled—gravity increased, density stabilized, and every atom reinforced by an unseen force.

Trees grew taller, their trunks gaining veins of spirit ore. Animals howled as their bodies strengthened to survive the new pull. Weaklings—mortals, beasts, even low-tier cultivators—fell to their knees as pressure crushed the old world from their bones.

But then, the adjustment came.

Their bodies began to glow with a faint system light, as if infused with a minimal standard of strength—just enough to survive. Just enough to walk under this new, oppressive sky.

And high above them...

The sun flared blue, no longer a gentle fireball but a compressed star, its light dense enough to burn illusions and lies. Neighboring stars—too close for comfort—burned like lanterns hanging in the sky, as if the solar system had been hurled into a cosmic coliseum made for war between gods.

Players and cultivators looked down at their hands. Some glowed. Some didn't.

A harsh system message bloomed across the sky:

> [Welcome to the Star Cluster. Gravitational Standard Upgraded.]

[Minimum Body Reinforcement: Applied to all life below standard.]

[No stat boosts granted to entities already meeting survival threshold.]

[Adapt, or perish.]

Many cheered at the strengthening. Some wept at the realization that their power hadn't increased—just the playing field had. They were no longer giants in a small world. They were ants in a storm of stars.

The civilizations in the star cluster noticed the sudden appearance of Earth's solar system, and they knew immediately what it meant. Someone in that solar system had reached level 201, a feat that only a few individuals could achieve. This news spread quickly, causing a stir among the star cluster members. Few were curious, wanting to establish contact and learn more about this new civilization. But most want to conquer it. Some don't care as they are at fight with others right now.

The arrival of a new solar system on the celestial stage was a significant event, and the other players knew that they had to keep an eye on the developing situation.

Those who want to conquer the new system sighed "We will need to wait for 10 years to conquer it, because of protection period system gives to new solar system in the cluster. Lets se whether this civilization can survive after protection period is over or it becomes a slave like most other new civilizations become.

The civilizations that wanted to take over Earth's solar system saw this as a challenge, and they started making plans to attack after the protection period was over. They were confident that the new civilization would not survive for long, and that they would soon be able to enslave its people. The challenge wasn't tge new civilization but other civilizations like them. It was a race for them to conquer a new civilization.

Somewhere else, two beings were having a conversation. One of them asked, "How many decades do you think it took the new civilization to reach star cluster level?"

The other being replied, "It's hard to say for sure. As you know players need dungeons to level up. And according to our research, dungeons that appear in a civilization are closely related to its thoughts and imagination. More they are more faster will stronger dungeons appear. But least time it took to a civilization in our star cluster is 26 years. But some civilizations with simple thoughts like those plant civilizations even took centuries. So I think it varies greatly and will depend on the civilization."

The first being nodded in agreement with the second one, acknowledging that it was difficult to predict how long it would take a new civilization to reach star cluster level. The existence of dungeons was a key factor in their ability to grow in power, but as the second being had noted, the speed at which dungeons appeared was closely related to the thoughts and imagination of the civilization. This meant that the time it took for a civilization to reach star cluster level could vary greatly depending on a number of factors, including the complexity of their thought process and their ability to generate new ideas.

The first being then asked, "Do you think the new civilization will be able to survive long enough to grow into a major player in the star cluster?"

The second being considered the question for a moment before replying, "No it will not survive. We've seen many new civilizations come and go over the years. Only 1 in 1000 civilization is able to grow and become strong players in the star cluster, while others were quickly conquered or destroyed by older civilizations."

Then first one said "Lets send an envoy to border of their newbie protection barrier. Although system prevents us from going in without permission, it still don't prevent us from observing them and talking to them."

"That's a good idea," the second being said. "Sending an envoy to the border of the newbie protection barrier is a smart move. That way, we can observe and communicate with the new civilization without violating any rules. And if our envoy is lucky, they may even obtain permission to enter the barrier and learn more about the civilization firsthand."

Soon, on the outskirts of the protective barrier surrounding Earth's solar system, a number of envoys from various civilizations began to gather. It was an unusual assembly, as members of several civilizations were rarely seen together in this way. The barrier glimmered faintly, a shimmering, translucent layer of energy that separated them from the newly arrived solar system. Some of the envoys stood at a distance, observing silently, while others engaged in animated discussions with their counterparts.

The air was thick with anticipation and curiosity, as each envoy eagerly awaited any sign of activity coming from the new solar system. Some were hopeful that the new civilization would prove to be a valuable addition to the star cluster, while others harbored more sinister intentions. Regardless of their motivations, however, all of them had come to witness the arrival of this new entity.

Then one of the envoys said "Why is life planet of this civilization so small?"

This observation sparked a discussion among the gathered envoys, as they compared the life planet to the ones they were familiar with. Some speculated that the smaller size could be indicative of a less developed or advanced civilization, while others suggested it may be a unique characteristic of the planet itself. Regardless of their theories, the small size of the life planet left many of the envoys puzzled and intrigued.

Then another one said "It shouldn't be this small as planets size continue to increase gradually after dungeons appear and get a boost of 10 times when someone reach level 201."

This suggested that the small size of the life planet was an anomaly, one that defied the usual progression of planet size in a civilization. The envoy speculated that this could be a sign of something out of the ordinary happening in the new civilization.

Then another one said "The increase in size usually depends on time it took for someone of that civilization to reach level 201. The longer it takes more dungeons appear and gets cleared or breaks increasing the size of planet."

The information shared by the third envoy sparked further discussion among the gathered envoys. It confirmed the belief that the size of a planet's life planet was closely related to the time it took for the first player to reach level 201. According to this insight, the life planet of the new civilization should be proportionally larger given the time taken for the first player to reach level 201.

Given this knowledge, the small size of the life planet seemed even more unusual and perplexing, leading to further speculation and contemplation among the envoys.

The fourth envoy proposed that the life planet might have started as a dwarf planet before dungeons began appearing in the civilization. This theory was based on the assumption that the life planet had only taken 2 or 3 decades to achieve its current size, which was unusual given the standard progression of planet growth following the appearance of dungeons.

The other envoys considered this possibility, and some began to wonder if there was some kind of abnormality present in the development of this new civilization.

The fifth envoy speculated that the new civilization had an impressive level of imagination, which allowed strong enough dungeons to appear in just 2 or 3 decades. This comment was met with nods of agreement from some of the other envoys, as it explained the unusual size of the life planet despite the short timeline.

Some envoys became even more intrigued by the new civilization's ability to produce such powerful dungeons so quickly, wondering what other secrets and abilities they might possess.

Then another envoy said "Dungeons appearing at such a speed and high level players in such a small size planet should have caused massive damage to it. Maybe only high level players are left on it."

This comment led to murmurs of concern among the gathered envoys, as they contemplated the potential destruction that could have occurred.

The envoy's suggestion that only high-level players may have survived a cataclysmic event stirred a sense of urgency and intrigue among the group.

The seventh envoy offered a grim observation, speculating that the new civilization's life planet was likely overrun by monsters by now. This assertion brought a sense of melancholy to the assemblage of envoys, as they considered the potential destruction and devastation that could have occurred in the years since the appearance of dungeons.

Then 1 of them said "I just hope that greatest treasure of their civilization had not been destroyed."

Another one agreed "Yes best benefit of attacking other civilizations is that."