Far from the thick forest where Kobb and Lira hunted goblins and saw their first XP notifications, another pair of humans lived quietly by the wide riverbend.
Sasha and Dylan.
They hadn't seen any monsters.
No weird popups. No system messages. No screams in the woods or green things charging at them with stone knives.
Honestly, they were starting to think maybe they got the better deal.
Their camp sat beside slow water. Trees scattered the edges. Fish were easy. Small game even easier. And there were no signs of other people. No footprints, no smoke, no shouting.
Just peace.
They had a hut now—simple, but more refined than the one Kobb and Lira started with. It had walls. A lean-to roof. Even a small drying rack where Sasha hung cleaned rabbit skins. Dylan built a box out of bark and branches that worked as basic storage. They kept stones, sharpened bones, dried meat, sticks tied with vine.
It wasn't luxury.
But it worked.
They thought they were alone in this world.
They weren't.
Ren – Floating Above the Riverbend
Ren squinted at the screen, bored out of his skull.
He watched Sasha cut meat. Watched Dylan carve another spear. Everything was clean and normal. Too clean.
"Where's the tension?" he muttered. "Where's the pain?"
He opened the system interface.
Quest: Add 5 Humans in Different Places
Reward: 40 Coins
Bonus: Celestial Body Tool Unlock
"Alright," he said. "Population explosion time."
He tapped accept. Five new human figures spawned across Planet Rock. One in the snowy north. One in a rocky desert. One in a jungle. Two in random mixed terrain.
All far apart.
The system placed them naturally. No fanfare. No welcome screen.
He'd check on them later.
But Sasha and Dylan… yeah, they needed a shakeup.
Ren hovered over the shop. Scrolled down. Clicked on Creatures > Basic Hostiles.
Selected:
Goblin – Weak (Wandering)
Spawn Near Coordinates: Riverbend (Southwest)
Cost: 8 Coins
He tapped confirm.
A green shimmer appeared behind some rocks. Then it was there. A goblin. Small. Scrappy. Armed with a stick knife and an ugly snarl.
Perfect.
Then a chime echoed in his system.
Quest Complete: Add 5 Humans
Coins Gained: +40
Bonus Unlocked: Celestial Body Designer
Ren sat up straighter.
Now this was exciting.
A new tab opened in his god screen.
CELESTIAL BODY DESIGNER.
It showed space. Black. Empty. A central sun glowing white and blue.
At the top, a text box blinked.
Name Your Star System:
He typed:
The Pebble System
Then he added planets.
Ten of them.
Orbiting around the sun in clean paths. A mix of rocky, gaseous, ice-covered and molten. He arranged them one by one.
Three were in the Goldilocks Zone. Warm. Just right. Suitable for life.
He zoomed into one.
Planet Name: Rock
This was the world he was focused on. Trees, rivers, grass, goblins, humans.
Then the second one:
Planet Name: Azul-9
Third:
Planet Name: Dustella
They were all Earth-like. All able to support life someday. But not yet.
He locked them behind evolution timers. No one would touch them for now.
He tapped Visual Effects > Stars > ON
Then Galaxies > ON
Added 10% chance shooting stars each night
Planet visibility: randomized.
When he zoomed out, the whole thing looked real.
Not just a world now.
A universe.
He smiled.
"Okay," he said. "Now back to the river…"
Sasha and Dylan – Riverbend Hut
Sasha stood at the edge of the water, washing her hands. Blood from the last rabbit still clung to her knuckles.
Dylan was adjusting the traps. They used to be simple loops, but now they had pressure rocks and bait triggers.
Everything was quiet.
Until it wasn't.
Crunch.
Snap.
Sasha turned.
Something moved behind the stones.
"Dylan," she said. "There's something…"
He walked over, holding a bone-tipped spear. "What is it?"
She pointed.
A small green creature stepped into view. Not a lizard. Not a monkey.
It stood on two legs. Thin. Sharp ears. Yellow eyes. A jagged stick knife in one hand.
It hissed.
Dylan froze. "That's not an animal."
Sasha backed up. "It looks like a goblin."
"What?"
"From books. Games. I swear."
The goblin charged.
Dylan swung the spear. Missed. The goblin ducked, slashed at his leg.
Sasha grabbed a long branch from the firepit. She smacked the goblin across the head.
It reeled.
Dylan jabbed. Hit its side.
The goblin squealed.
They both hit it again.
It dropped.
Blood soaked the grass. Dark and sticky.
They stood over it, panting.
No popup. No ding. No system message.
Just silence.
Sasha looked at Dylan.
"That wasn't normal," she said. "That wasn't even possible."
He nodded, slow. "This place... it's not just survival."
They buried the goblin. Built a wider circle of stones around their shelter. Set more traps. Bigger ones.
They didn't sleep that night.
And when the sky turned dark, they looked up—and saw something new.
Stars.
Hundreds of them.
Twinkling. Alive.
The night sky had depth now. Color. Distance.
Even a shooting star burned overhead.
They both watched it in silence.
Ren – Floating Above It All
He watched the goblin fight replay three times. Loved the chaos. Loved their reaction.
He clicked open his coin tracker.
Current Coins: 72
Nice.
He scrolled through upgrades.
XP System was already active for Kobb and Lira.
Sasha and Dylan still hadn't triggered theirs yet.
He hovered over Assign Classes to Humans.
Quest: Assign 4 Humans a Class
Reward: 50 Coins
Bonus: Unlock Class Tree
But he didn't click it yet.
He wanted them to find more clues first. Maybe another encounter. Maybe discover the UI by killing more enemies.
There was no rush.
The world was growing.
And Planet Rock… was starting to feel real.
Kobb and Lira – Forest Edge
Back in the woods, Kobb was whittling a handle for their new stone axe. Lira was patching the roof of their hut.
They hadn't seen another goblin since the first one.
But both of them were watching the shadows now. Carrying their weapons always. Practicing basic strikes. Talking about "leveling up" like it was normal.
Kobb kept checking his Status screen.
10/100 XP.
One goblin. Ten XP.
They needed more.
"We should go out farther tomorrow," he said. "Hunt one down."
Lira looked at him like he was crazy. But also… curious.
"If we can get stronger," she said, "then maybe we can survive long term."
They looked up at the stars.
And in that moment, they didn't feel like they were just surviving anymore.
They felt like part of something bigger.