The Anti-Intellectualism Demon King’s World Invasion

Chapter 14. The Most Vicious and Ruthless Predator

Time that had stopped began to flow again. I spoke urgently.

“Give me the reward for winning the world collision.”

“For players who advanced instead of exiting at the exit section, the points are doubled right after the exit section. Isn’t it fun?”

The angel showed me three characteristic cards. They were three cards essential to my world.

『Higher Species: Ordinary creatures can choose the 〈Excellent〉 grade characteristic at level 5 instead of level 6.』

『Nectar Spring Enhancement: The Nectar Spring grows significantly.』

『Combat Mastery: Creatures gain more experience in the 〈Combat〉 field.』

“I choose the Higher Species.”

The others were also very attractive, but nothing is better than raising the basic specs of my ecosystem.

By pulling the excellent characteristic even one level, the competition in the ecosystem can change fundamentally.

I quickly adjusted the desert environment. Rather than the newly acquired desert, it is important to control the creatures of the current dessert desert, especially the carnivorous puddings.

“What are you doing?”

“Preparing for the application of the game theory I mentioned earlier. Originally, I was going to prepare slowly after experiencing a few more collisions, but given the environment, I have to prepare right now.”

Game theory is not a theory about how to play games well.

Mathematics, science, sociology, biology, political science, economics. It is a comprehensive logic that can be applied to all environments where mutual dependence and rational decision-making can result in gains and losses.

In short, given an environment and the choices I can make, what choice will benefit me the most?

This is what game theory explains. Since the conditions, rules, and balance of gains and losses are different for each environment, different theories must be built according to the given environment.

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Until now, I thought it was just a 1:1 survival, but that was because I was too hasty and didn’t know the conditions.

But now I know the conditions. All the players except me actually understood the essence of this game and made rational judgments accordingly.

From now on, I become the most vicious and ruthless predator who exploits those rational judgments maliciously.

“How do you do that?”

First, let’s see what a ‘predator’ is.

Let’s take my dessert desert as an example.

Initially, there were no predators at all. It was a paradise of jellies that only ate sunlight, minerals, and nectar.

In such an environment, the best strategy is to ‘eat a lot, grow quickly, and reproduce a lot.’

So, in an environment without predators, the jellies thrived madly and leveled up the Nectar Spring.

And the jellies filled the ecological gaps by consuming minerals that others didn’t eat, and even then, the best strategy was still to eat a lot, grow quickly, and reproduce a lot.

That was until I introduced the puddings.

Puddings are predators that eat jellies. The strategy of eating a lot, growing quickly, and reproducing a lot was still valid, but since they were eaten more, the jellies had to develop other strategies. Growing bigger, escaping, burrowing, shells, poison, etc.

A predator is, so to speak, an entity that counters the opponent’s strategy, takes unilateral advantage, and forces ‘another strategy.’

The ecosystem is an infinite repetition of such strategic confrontations. If one gets faster, the predator gets faster. If one gets tougher, the predator gets stronger. If one carries poison, the predator strengthens its internal organs.

Eventually, the predator becomes specialized in hunting specific prey, and the prey becomes specialized in defending against specific predators. Another predator comes out and counters again. Then, another strategy must be devised.

If they fail to respond, they go extinct, and if they succeed, they thrive.

“So what?”

However, there is a significant difference between an ecosystem and a game situation.

In an ecosystem, even the organisms themselves don’t know what mutations will occur or what strategies they will develop. But in a game situation, the player knows perfectly, or at least partially, what will happen due to their choices.

And in this game, almost everyone except me probably knew these conditions.

From there, I deduce.

What is the best strategy in this game, where there is only one winner and the vast majority are eliminated along the way?

“As I said before, it’s a ‘good defeat.'”

“Correct. So what is a good defeat?”

My third opponent was a typical example of someone aiming for a ‘good defeat.’

Most of the players in this game are probably similar to the third player. They cooperate at first, then betray each other later, or continue to cooperate until they are satisfied and drop out.

If the opponent is tough, they surrender or negotiate to become a subordinate.

This is the best strategy in this game.

“Interesting…”

In that sense, the first and second opponents were somewhat irregular.

They had prepared strategies to counter those aiming for a ‘good defeat.’ Because, in hindsight, both had relatively strong ‘military power.’ Considering that the third players were significantly lacking in military power, it’s quite peculiar.

Why? To achieve a ‘good defeat,’ you need to appear attractive to your opponent.

To be attractive? You shouldn’t build up military power. Those with high military power seem too dangerous.

If both have high military power, they fight and perish together. If both have low military power, they can cooperate peacefully.

So, the ideal strategy is to build just enough military power to defend against the opponent, while focusing on internal affairs and increasing scores in ＜culture＞, ＜industry＞, and ＜technology＞.

Then, since neither side has enough power to completely destroy the other, they naturally cooperate.

“Sounds plausible.”

However, the first player, Os-whatever, took advantage of this gap and deliberately built up military power. If there had been a half-hearted internal affairs player, they would have been crushed.

The second player, Teimong, was a bit different. He probably prepared a strategy similar to Os-whatever.

But? Unfortunately, Teimong’s first opponent was the same. So they fought each other and barely won, only to face my dessert army in a weakened state.

So I was a bit confused. I thought that strategy was normal. After all, I had encountered players who risked their lives in 1:1 matches three times in a row, directly or indirectly…

But in reality, the cooperation strategy is generally superior in this game. The strategy of destroying the opponent to squeeze them out is somewhat delicate. If both use military strategies, they perish together.

“It’s a famous game theory on Earth, right?”

Yes, it’s the most famous.

If both cooperate, they each get 3 points.

If one cooperates and the other betrays, the betrayer gets 5 points.

If both betray, both get -1 point each.

In this environment, when the game is repeated hundreds of times, the most ideal strategy is Tit-for-Tat.

Cooperate at first. Then, infinitely repeat the action that the opponent took in the previous turn.

If both sides cooperate infinitely, they score infinitely. If the opponent strikes, retaliate. If the opponent extends a hand of reconciliation, reconcile again.

In that sense, I brought a strategy like ‘regardless of whether the opponent betrays or cooperates, I get 5 points.’

In other words, I became the top predator that eats both predators and prey amicably.

If the opponent had made a clumsy internal decision, my dessert corps would have scorched the enemy’s farmland, and if it was a relationship where we couldn’t attack each other at all, the opponent couldn’t attack me either, so it was the same.

If the opponent is actively aggressive, they rather wither and die.

“It wasn’t intentional, but you brought the most ideal strategy in this environment.”

That’s right. And in fact, I was trying to compete more slowly and stably based on this. Because I thought it was a 1:1 survival.

But I found out that the environment is very lenient to losers, in other words, players ‘do not’ assume elimination at all, and rather, if they treat the opponent harshly, they fear their soul might be annihilated when they lose, so it’s a non-aggressive environment…

I’m aiming for that.

“Specifically?”

To attempt that, I need to clearly understand my ecosystem now.

Because I need to figure out what is actually possible among the various strategies that come to mind.

My ecosystem is now divided into three parts.

The first is the Nectar Oasis. Freshwater and nectar layers are separated, and it is the source of all life and the very power of my ecosystem.

Thanks to the increased organisms, the surface and the inside reflect like glass, creating a very beautiful scene, but unfortunately, there are no intelligent beings, so the cultural score does not go up.

“Sigh.”

The creatures inhabiting the Nectar Oasis are nectar jelly, toppings. And based on that, aquatic plants and coral reefs. Fish. And various types of benthic and aquatic creatures evolved from jellies.

Some were eliminated, and some developed. The Anomalocaris pudding, which once dominated the oasis, strangely had its eyes, which brought it success, degenerate.

“Huh. Why did its eyes degenerate?”

“Simple. Because the toppings in the water are emitting too much light.”

“Oh!”

Primitive eyes can only distinguish between light and dark.

Well, even that is quite something. Even if they can only distinguish between light and dark, it’s good to have them. It makes it easier to find food.

Even Earth’s starfish had such eyes. At the end of the five branches that humans think of as starfish legs, there were such primitive eyes, eye spots, that could distinguish between light and dark, showing how important the function is.

But, inside the lake, because of the toppings that consume water and magic and emit light and heat, it’s always bright…

Then what is the point of the function that distinguishes between light and dark? So instead of developing weak eyes that only distinguish between light and dark, they just degenerated. An unexpected event.

But instead, there were creatures that developed eyes in reverse.

“Is that a jellyfish?”

Although it is a life form that evolved on its own without being named, it should probably be called a jellyfish. It’s a gelatinous life form that filters food.

It knew how to swim in its own way, and unlike jellyfish, it also had a mouth. Instead of an anus, it had several holes in its body. It would open its mouth wide, then close it, tighten its mouth, and expel water through the holes at the back, breathing and filtering organic matter while simultaneously propelling itself by jetting water.

This creature, rather, started chasing light because it fed on luminous toppings. So, it developed eyes that could distinguish between light and dark. The sun toppings were eaten by this jellyfish and naturally glowed, so all the jellyfish appeared to be glowing.

The Nectar Oasis is currently very dynamic yet stable.

Dynamic in the sense that the competition for survival is infinitely fierce, and stable in the sense that no crazy strategy has emerged to overturn the entire ecosystem.

Since Apjuice is managing it well, this place is fine. Let’s take a look at the freshwater area.

The freshwater area was similar to the wetlands on Earth.

The wetlands between the Taimong River and the Oswald Oasis were gradually being eaten away by the jellies, and if the movement accelerated someday, it seemed that the river and the lake would merge into one, which was also a strange thing.

Considering that there are so many wetland creatures living in that space, it seems like it would cause an extinction event due to submersion…

Come to think of it, another question suddenly arises.

That Taimong River… How does it flow? If the lake and the river merge, will the ‘flow’ still remain? Then it would be flowing on its own, defying the laws of physics.

“If you investigate, you’ll get the answer right away.”

So I investigated.

“River LV.2: A terrain that generates the ‘flow’ of the ‘water’ resource on the ‘surface’. It naturally grows as the world expands, and decreases if a lot is taken out.”

?

I looked into it a bit more closely.

“River LV.2: A terrain that generates the ‘flow’ of the ‘water’ resource on the ‘surface’. It naturally grows as the world expands, and decreases if a lot is taken out.

Detailed description: A terrain that generates the flow of the ‘water’ resource on the ‘surface’. It is a fragment of a being that was called a god, and even now, with its body shattered, it continues the flow of bodily fluids.”

…!

I looked again at the “Aquifer” I had seen before.

“Aquifer LV.3: A terrain that stores the ‘water’ resource underground. It stores rain falling from the entire world or ‘water’ attribute magic. It naturally grows as the world expands, and decreases if a lot is taken out.

Detailed description: A terrain that stores the ‘water’ resource underground. It stores rain falling from the entire world or ‘water’ attribute magic. It is a fragment of a being that was called a god, and even now, with its body shattered, it continues to store moisture.”

What is this?

“What do you mean, what is it? It’s the identity of the billion worlds. They are all parts of the body of a being that was called a god. You know, like the giant myths that created the world on Earth?”

“Then, the matching between entities with specific terrains…”

“Think of it as parts of the original god’s body sticking together. Don’t worry. Even if the final winner combines all the worlds, the god won’t be resurrected or anything like that.”

…

“No, no, don’t make a face like you were deceived. That’s why fairies can inhabit not only the Nectar Spring but also rivers and lakes. In short, everything in this world is made up of fragments of the god or the god’s power.”

Well. I see… Considering it’s a fantasy world, it’s not that strange. Rather, I should think about what comes next.

How can I apply this fact to my ecosystem?