The sun shone brightly. The sky was blue, and white clouds drifted by.
Above the sky, a floating city hovered atop the clouds. Through the mist, towering and magical structures could be seen. Spires pierced through the clouds. The architecture was majestic and awe-inspiring, overlooking the world below.
The ground below stretched with continuous green forests. Towering trees reached toward the heavens, creating a grand and epic landscape.
Within the forest, all kinds of magical creatures appeared.
Elegant, beautiful, and artistic, skilled in magic and archery, forest fairies the size of fingers danced through the jungle.
Wolves breathed icy wind blades. Earth bears controlled the ground. Giant tigers, ferocious and cruel, prowled the wilderness. A lion king led its pride across the grasslands.
In the hills, the sounds of iron being forged echoed endlessly from dwarven caves.
In the skies, venomous scorpions flew and battled fierce half-eagles.
On the ground, centaur tribes charged, launching attacks on the Orc Empire.
Deep in the abyss, a demonic king awakened, laughing menacingly.
The Human Empire was thriving.
"Roar..."
A deafening roar erupted from the sky as a massive shadow blanketed the human city.
A colossal dragon, covered in thick scales, glowed with fiery heat under the sun. It let out a deafening roar as it descended upon the human city. Magic, knightly combat skills, and summoned creatures emerged one after another in a fierce battle against the beast.
This was a magical world.
A paradise for all game lovers. The ultimate experience.
A holographic virtual game.
At the highest point of the sky city stood a colossal tower, open to the sky and stretching thousands of meters wide like a medieval fortress. Its roof, made of massive stone slabs, was shaped like a giant city wall.
A majestic throne stood atop the staircase. In this game, the one-of-a-kind throne was designed by Hera to exude extraordinary majesty. The cascading Milky Way served as the backdrop, emphasizing the nobility, greatness, and uniqueness of the person seated upon it.
The stairs were lined with red carpets inlaid with golden trim, stretching for hundreds of meters in grandeur.
A burst of data distortion and flickering mosaics condensed into the figure of a robust man in his fifties. He appeared, stunned by the sight before him. Gasping slightly, he looked at the throne, held his breath, and walked to his designated position, beginning to examine the holographic world with curiosity.
One after another, mosaics flickered and solidified, and people materialized here, each moving to their assigned place, chatting and getting to know those nearby.
From now on, regardless of skin color or race, they would belong to the same country—Barmulodi.
Everyone here was a member of the Barmulodi Empire, the backbone of the city. Only those at least at the mayoral level were qualified to appear here.
Conversations buzzed continuously, voices mingling.
"I used to be from Asia, now I'm part of the Seventh District Continent, mayor of the second-tier city Haidu under Lord Xia Ya."
"I was the mayor of Cairo in Africa. Now I'm in the Twelfth District, second-tier mayor of Cairo under the Deathstroke Continent."
"I'm the first-tier mayor of London under Lord Leon's banner, now in the Third District of Europe."
"I was from North America, now part of the Sixth Continent..."
"I was from Oceania, now part of the Fifth District..."
The introductions continued endlessly.
After unifying the world, Bardi divided the Earth into seventeen continents. The division was calculated by Bardi and Raven, with Hera, the artificial intelligence, installing massive magic-tech arrays across the planet to facilitate transformation, interconnection, and protection of large-scale interstellar infrastructure.
Each location housing a major magic-tech array was assigned a continent ruler, tasked with construction and executing Bardi's orders, all under Hera's unified planning and supervision.
Soon, under the gaze of 12,098 city mayors, the 17 Continent Lords logged in one after another. Some were even among the first to enter this holographic platform.
Following designated instructions, they met, greeted one another, and formed two lines.
Naturally, not all Continent Lords were on friendly terms. Some harbored grudges.
For instance, Leon and Deathstroke were known rivals.
Deathstroke had once severed the tip of Leon's brother Andy's tail. Although it had since healed, Leon still held a grudge and refused to show him any goodwill.
"Quiet!"
Hera, dressed in regal robes, appeared beside the throne and shouted.
At that moment, the throne flickered with mosaic effects, which gradually stabilized.
Bardi appeared seated on the throne. His eyes were sharp and piercing. As he stared at the swirling streams of data, he was momentarily dazed.
A gentle breeze brushed his face, like a veil fluttering against his skin.
He inhaled deeply, breathing in a fresh, oxygen-rich air.
Bardi slowly lifted his eyes and saw a sky of pure blue, white clouds drifting as though it were all real, reflected clearly in his view.
He clenched his hands and could feel this body was extraordinarily weak.
Of course, as the GM, he was invincible here, regardless of his physical state.
"Not bad."
Bardi nodded to himself. This virtual magical world was more than enough to quell the global unrest that had just begun.
"Your Majesty!"
Bardi was pulled from his thoughts by the scene before him.
Nearly ten thousand people were kneeling in front of him.
Seated on the magnificent throne, he was receiving their homage.
For a brief moment, he was startled.
Then he regained his composure.
He hadn't intended to stage such a grand display. He merely wanted to inspect the virtual power simulation Hera had created and handle official affairs through it. With the coming interstellar era, a virtual network would be essential to manage global operations from space.
However, he hadn't expected Hera to go so far—constructing a throne and summoning city mayors from all over the world to kneel before him.
This spectacle made him look like a true emperor.
Bardi quickly accepted the situation. He leaned back against the throne with imperial dignity and said calmly, "Rise."
"This virtual world is excellent. It can be used as a channel for the youth to release their energy. Distribute the holographic helmets across all continents as soon as possible."
He gazed around the virtual world with admiration. Using his GM privileges, he scanned the lively, dynamic world that was thriving with activity.
In this game world, the chance to gain superpowers was something no one would refuse.
If you did refuse, you'd always remain ordinary.
The future of Earth was decided through countless subordinate reports and detailed policy discussions.
"The magic world will enable the circulation of both virtual and real currency."
"Outstanding players will be rewarded with genetic medicine and superpowers."
"Tax rates across regions and continents will be adjusted downward."
"Resettlement of refugees, development of impoverished areas, and construction of housing will proceed…"
"Global engineering projects and employment will increase…"
"Racism, outdated nationalism, and rebellious elements will be incarcerated and reeducated."
"…"
"…"
One national policy after another began to drive the transformation of the entire Barmulodi Empire.
With Earth's unification, individual nations no longer existed. The power and momentum that could now be unleashed was overwhelming, reactivating the entire planet and marking the start of a new era.
(To be continued.)
***
This book is completed on P/treon. Support me on P/treon to read ALL advanced chapters:
https://p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves
(Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)