That rock sits at the center of the Earth, buried deep underground, watching this moment. wait. Because it just appeared, the information finally filled up. What will the mission bring to it?
It has put so much effort into it.
Processing tasks…
Distance to the bottom of the mountain = 0
00000000000000000000000
mistake!
No location found!
solve……
mistake!
Location Tartus>Not Found!>
solve……
mistake!
The location in cannot be found!
solve……
mistake!
The location on was not found!
mistake
Error! Not found!
ERROR_TOO_MANY_ERRORS
solve……
Vague……
finished
tutorial quest
roll out
Arrive at the foot of the mountain.
Current altitude:????
Difficulty:Legendary
Reward:? ?(Legendary)
Status: Unresolved
The rocks looked at the final mistake and trembled, the newly forged planet shook
No.
It cannot accept it. This shouldn't be the case.
It's been hard work for so long, and this is the result? In the darkest moment, the hero finally despairs, because now he has lost two things.
Those are the only two things it has.
Just like that, the planet exploded. With powers it doesn't know yet and abilities it hasn't yet tried to discover, it begins to crush itself further. The rock activated the [Gravity Cannon], throwing the moon far away as its gaze felt like a glare of judgment and the ocean shifted.
It roared, the earth shook, and all the mountains were shattered, because they reminded the rock too much of its pursuit.
The broken mountains reminded it of itself, so it threw chunks of rock into outer space.
It rages and the ocean boils.
Then the rock stopped being angry—because it didn't feel any better. It had never felt like this before—and it didn't like it.
Will waiting make it go away?
It wanted to wait, but felt too uneasy. Something nasty buzzed at it for a moment, but quickly disappeared. The stone was full of energy, but had no purpose. Everything is gone. Apart from……
It still has its levels. It has grown - even bigger now. Will it solve this problem? This was smart before.
Rock decided to give it a try and see some of its new skills. There's a lot of it. Can they solve this problem?
It began to use [Building Mountains] and [Sculpting the Earth] to shape a new mountain from the broken ground, a copy of the one it still remembered.
It had flown over this mountain before and rolled down the slopes. It waited on the mountain for hundreds of years, but rolled down in an instant. It is familiar with this mountain.
Taking advantage of its new authority, the rock named the mountain "Mountain." Connect it to the task. It waits, waiting for the system to solve the problem.
It did.
tutorial quest
roll out
Current height: 0
mistake
You are Mount Tartus, distance is invalid.
Status: Unresolved
But it failed again, and its destination fell out of reach of the rocks. It finally despairs, for a brief moment, because the golden goal it strives for finally becomes out of reach.
Could the system be retaliating against the rock? Being stingy because the rock has caused it trouble before?
Maybe, but the rock doesn't care anymore.
After trying and failing again and again, I feel more comfortable accepting the unresolved problem. Waiting there, like a permanent itch.
It's easier to wait when you have no hope.
But a stone cannot wallow in self-pity forever. Adventure was only one of two things the Rock lost. It still has levels. It still has statistics.
It has grown up. Be the biggest rock.
Because the rock traveled around the solar system for some time, discovering that many of the things it thought were of its kind were just imitators, giant gases masquerading as rocks. There are no real stones. They have no spark.
Even if there's a bigger one...does it matter? Does its size really do it any favors?
It didn't succeed at scale. At the beginning of its exploration, the humble pebble wanted to be the greatest rock, and all it considered was size. But now Planet knows better. Size is one thing, easy to measure, and as long as it rolls forward crushing everything in its path, the number gets bigger.
But what about beauty?
The rock looked at its surface and saw a broken planet with no signs of life. No music. This is the only beauty it knows.
The rocks can see it now - imagine that.
When it sat on the top of the mountain for a thousand years, did the birds sing there all the time, but the rocks couldn't hear it? When the wind blew through the cave, did it play a soft melody, as if played by the air itself? Huge organ? It reminded me of that ancient mountain, thinking that maybe... there had been beauty there.
Rocks themselves do not create beauty. It just rolls forward and destroys, seeking pursuit and growth. What does it plan to do after it completes its mission?
So focused on the number it once was that the stone forgot everything else. Maybe because numbers are its only companion. Maybe because it is truly alone, clinging to the digital screen that follows it, as timeless and patient as stone, no matter what the circumstances.
But is there beauty in these numbers?
Diameter: 12 747 201 meters
It looks at the number and captures the satisfaction that once came from seeing the number grow. But now it feels nothing. It had reached its peak, and the satisfaction was so short-lived. That melody still echoes in my mind and will never be forgotten. But the numbers... they all start to come together eventually. There may have been brief satisfaction, but now, seeing the top, they have lost all meaning.
The rock closed its only loyal partner, the screen, and thought of the jade statue again, and the song it had sung for it, and looked at the ruined surface.
The rock realized... that was an ugly rock. No music can emerge from this barren surface. Even it knows so much.
Then it sat down and waited resignedly, lost in eternity as on a mountaintop. It didn't see beauty then and it doesn't see beauty now. But now that it knows, that's completely different.
For a long time, it stared blankly at the large piece of broken rock rotating around the earth. Slowly, the earth's surface calmed down. No more hellfire. Just silence.
It watches the rocks in orbit spinning in endless patterns of gravity...
It remembered something.
Experimentally, almost on a whim, it reached that familiar feeling—the tapestry of gravity—and began to paint patterns in the sky. Gradually, the rock began to come together, forming three familiar shapes.
Ringed.
They twirled and danced, and the rock realized that it felt the faintest spark of beauty from the dance. There was almost a rhythm now, as if they were moving to a song. The song is still playing in my head.
As the dance of rock and roll continues...the song in rock's heart changes. Become something new. A song it had never heard before.
The planets moved. Maybe...rocks can also create beauty?
It looked at the mountain it had carved and discovered that there was also a kind of clumsy art there. Beginner's work. But... maybe there is a beginning of beauty in it too?
It has many new skills. There are many new paths to explore. There's still plenty of time.
Can it make stones sing?
It was then that the rock decided on a new purpose for its life. It has become the largest rock, has seen what is on the top of the mountain, and found that relying on strength alone is meaningless. What's the point of being the strongest if you leave nothing but destruction in your wake? No, strength itself means nothing. It has no goal to pursue, so it needs a new goal. No more blindly rushing forward to destruction.
The stone is separate from the path. Now it wants to be beautiful.
Now it's a planet. A great man with equally great talents. To truly be the best rock…
It will be the most beautiful of all planets.
And the rocks began to form.
Slowly, slowly, over thousands of years, it experimented and learned. and razed to the ground. New abilities, but most importantly, new skills.
Its first attempts at plant life were clumsy, misshapen things, like melted candlesticks. But in the end... it carved trees out of precious stones, their emerald green leaves ringing like bells in the wind.
It lifts and sculpts the mountains for these trees to live in, and shapes them so that the wind can travel just right through the maze of peaks and hit the trees…
Then the tree began to play a song. The three rings were still high, dancing to the new melody, their patterns becoming more and more complex and beautiful.
But the music was still missing something. It needs singing.
So the rocks, the newly terraformed planets, thought of humans. It creates a world of playing melodies in the wind, but to sing with people...you need people.
What kind of people should it cultivate? Rock looked back on his "Natural Selection" and "Origin of Species" techniques and remembered the beauty of jade. That form, it wants to capture it. Take it back. That golden dream even captured the edge of its image.
The rock digs deep into itself, drags out the lines of the jade, begins to carve people, and then gives them life.
Clusters of jade slowly rose up, and the jagged little figure was far from the figure carved in [Planet]'s mind. It starts to guide them forward, to do things just right, and slowly, people evolve and start to shape themselves. It took on shapes that rocks never dreamed of.
But they're all beautiful, rock people. They used the finest gemstones to make their hair and polished their jade skin so that it sparkled in the sun. A united people, for the rocks do not know men and women, nor the differences between them.
The Rock doesn't need to teach them, because people see the world around them and start singing it themselves.
Slowly, slowly, slowly, the rock looked at a planet teeming with life. More and more life. People, animals, plants. Mountains, lakes, forests.
Songs, so many songs, and the earth listened to them, spinning a ring around each tune.
It feels satisfied.
This beauty was not as fresh as the original flame of beauty, for what could surpass the flame of first love? But the rock was content with what it had created. A world of emeralds, gems and stones sings. There were conflicts and wars, but the rocks did not care, for the warriors sang amid the battle and bloodshed. It's a wonderful world. Fits the greatest rocks.
However.
One thing still bothers it.
pursuit. Damn exploration.
It's still there, waiting, unrealized. Rock wants to solve this problem. It wants to know! It needs to know!
The years haven't made things easier. At first, it tried to ignore it, but the more satisfied it was with the beauty, the more restless the rock became. Once the hook is in, can it really be fished out?
What is the reward for this mission?
What happens when the number reaches the end?
Can it really ignore it and leave it unanswered? Of course not!
But that rock is now big and significant. A planet teeming with life. It can no longer escape the system’s gaze. It was too closely monitored to be able to carry out its mission covertly by any simple measures.
Rock hatched a plan. Because it's a cunning rock that has fooled the system many times before. You just have to know where to look, how to distract yourself, and then sneak in a small piece and cut it off...
So the rock carried out its plan.
