03:17 AM.
Daniel had officially lost track of what day it was.
Three monitors glowed in the dark room.
Monitor one: lines of code.
Monitor two: fleet simulation battle.
Monitor three: production efficiency spreadsheets.
Normal people worry about rent.
Daniel worried about carrier overproduction ratios.
"If alloy output doesn't scale with reactor efficiency," he muttered, "fleet collapse by Year 6. Unacceptable."
On screen, his fleet was surrounded.
Enemy numbers: three to one.
AI probability:
Victory chance: 12%
Daniel cracked his knuckles.
"Production wins wars."
He rerouted supply chains.
Overclocked industrial nodes.
Forced enemy carriers into poor alignment.
Ten minutes later—
STRATEGIC DOMINANCE ACHIEVED
Daniel leaned back.
"See? Industry over protagonist luck."
He reached to save the file—
The screen went white.
Not crash white.
Not an error white.
Existence white.
He was standing.
Endless white space.
No floor. No sky.
Just infinity.
"…Okay."
A presence formed.
Tall.
Humanoid.
But inside its body were stars, galaxies, and collapsing suns.
Very dramatic.
Very expensive special effects.
Daniel stared.
"Did I die or is this some high-budget hallucination?"
The being spoke.
The voice didn't echo.
It simply existed.
"You have been observed."
"Oh, good," Daniel muttered. "My FBI agent finally leveled up."
"Your simulations demonstrated advanced industrial warfare cognition."
"…You watched me nerf carriers for three hours?"
"Correct."
Daniel sighed. "That's mildly terrifying."
The void shifted.
Visions appeared:
Four galactic superpowers.
Massive armadas.
Trade coalitions.
Hive civilizations.
Pirate empires.
Political assemblies.
Worlds burning.
"The galaxy approaches imbalance."
Daniel squinted. "Space drama."
"You will be inserted."
"Inserted where?"
"A closed domain."
"Tutorial zone?"
"Isolated system."
"Starter fleet?"
"No."
"Invincibility?"
"No."
"Overpowered cheat?"
"No."
Daniel nodded.
"…Good."
The being paused.
"Before insertion, you may request conditions."
Daniel thought.
Then snapped his fingers.
"My project."
The void flickered.
His room appeared.
His monitors.
His blueprints.
His files.
The being asked:
"What kind of project?"
Daniel straightened.
"Space L.O.R.D."
"Define."
"Space — Logistics, Operations, Research, and Dominion."
Holographic diagrams formed:
Fleet hierarchies.
Multi-core ship systems.
Production scaling trees.
Command authorization matrices.
Economic warfare models.
Hidden shipyard vaults.
"It's not about brute force," Daniel said.
"It's about production supremacy."
They are studying everything.
"Your project is incomplete."
"Of course it is. I built it with caffeine and insomnia."
The being raised its hand.
Reality shifted.
Code became law.
Blueprints became physical constructs.
Production models optimized.
Energy cores stabilized.
▣ SPACE L.O.R.D — TRANSCENDENT INTEGRATION COMPLETE
Full Access: Granted
Closed Domain Link: Established
New modules appeared.
• Summon Authority (engineers, commanders, specialists)
• Skill: Multiple (multiplicative scaling under stability limits)
• Production Ascension (factories evolve)
• Technology Evolution Framework
• Universal Leveling Matrix
Everything would level.
Him.
Ships.
Factories.
Infrastructure.
But capped by sustainability.
The being spoke again:
"Select your personal skill."
Panels appeared.
Combat.
Strategy.
Production.
Authority.
Evolution.
Daniel shook his head.
"I don't want easy power."
Snow's voice appeared beside him — calm, precise.
"Recommendation: choose scalable adaptation."
Daniel smirked.
"I want this."
He looked up.
"When I'm under pressure, I improve."
"When I'm outnumbered, coordination increases."
"When resources are low, efficiency rises."
"I want adversity to make me stronger."
The void trembled.
▣ PERSONAL SKILL ACQUIRED
▣ ADVERSITY ENGINE
Effect:
External pressure increases optimization rate and system evolution speed.
Artificial self-sabotage will not trigger the effect.
Snow was analyzed immediately.
"Synergy with production doctrine: optimal."
Daniel nodded.
"Good."
The being leaned closer.
Galaxies are spinning violently.
"One final addition."
A new presence formed beside him.
Soft blue light.
A composed figure.
"Designation: SN-0W. Personal Strategic AI."
Daniel blinked.
"…Snow?"
"Affirmative. Primary function: strategic optimization. Secondary function: prevent user incompetence."
"…Excuse me?"
"Your caffeine history suggests monitoring is required."
The Supreme Being spoke one last time:
"Your project is now a reality."
"Grow."
The white void shattered.
Daniel fell.
Darkness.
Cold.
Silence.
Then—
Metal.
Endless fields of drifting wreckage.
Broken hulls.
Shattered stations.
Ancient war debris.
A junkyard the size of a solar system.
A blue interface appeared.
▣ CLOSED DOMAIN INITIALIZED
External Hyperlane Access: Disabled
Galactic Detection Mask: Active
Operational Facilities: None
Scrap Density: 98.7%
Population: 1
Daniel looked at the endless debris field.
"…You gave me trash."
Snow replied calmly:
"Correction. You were given raw material."
Daniel smiled slowly.
"Good."
He stepped toward a broken cruiser hull.
Information flooded his mind.
Alloy composition.
Structural mapping.
Refinement potential.
Production Skill activated.
Snow spoke:
"System Lord. I recommend beginning with energy stabilization before attempting fleet construction."
Daniel exhaled.
"Alright."
He looked at the graveyard of forgotten warships.
"Let's build an empire."
Far beyond the domain boundary—
A faint signal flickered.
Unnoticed.
For now.