CHAPTER 212: TO THE MOON

After the meeting with Daniel and Lucy, Liam found himself with an empty schedule for the rest of the day.

He had nothing pressing left to do. He wasn’t going to sign in today. Not yet. He was accumulating his sign-ins, letting them build up before using them together — either the day before his second weekly sign-in or directly on that day. He hadn’t decided yet, and that uncertainty didn’t bother him.

For now, he was free. So, out of curiosity, he decided to check on the streamers. He wanted to see how much they were enjoying Lucid and the games.

He picked up the smart glass from his desk and put it on. The interface came alive instantly, as the home screen bloomed before his eyes, filled with floating icons and subtle motion.

The Livestream icon blinked with a small gold badge. A number hovered above it: 48. Indicating the number of ongoing streams.

"Let’s see what the world’s up to," Liam smiled.

He navigated to the livestream page unfolded like a digital map — tiles displaying the channels currently broadcasting, their names, view counts, and the titles of the games being played.

As he scrolled through, he noticed the clear split between two titles: Frontline: Starfall Dominion and Eternal Realms.

But the real fire was in Eternal Realms. Most of the streamers — and most of the audience — were there. Viewer numbers were in the tens of millions per channel, comments racing faster than any human could read.

He selected one.

The feed opened instantly. A young streamer, one of the forty, was immersed in Eternal Realms. The man’s avatar was standing at the edge of a vast canyon, holding a glowing spear while surrounded by his teammates.

The chat feed beside the screen scrolled so fast it blurred into light.

HE’S GONNA DIE AGAIN LOL"

"Bro just dodge the flame strike!"

"WHERE’S THE HEALER???"

"THE AI NPCs ARE TOO REAL OMG."

Liam leaned back, amused. It only took him a few minutes to understand what was happening.

They were stuck on a group mission — one of the early Realm Challenges designed to teach coordination. The difficulty was adjustable, but these streamers had all set it to "Dynamic Adaptive Mode," which scaled the AI’s intelligence based on the team’s performance.

Now, the AI was learning their habits — predicting their attacks, countering their movements, and forcing them to adapt in real time.

He smiled quietly. They’re struggling already, and this is just one of the first missions.

He could have helped them easily. All it would take was a few voice commands through admin access to lower the difficulty or send them a hidden tip. But he didn’t.

Lucid’s worlds were meant to grow with the players. To feel alive, to test them, to make them earn progress.

He stayed for a while longer, watching their frantic coordination devolve into chaos, then closed the stream.

"Let them learn," he murmured.

Returning to the home screen, Liam opened the group chat he shared with his friends. He typed:

"How’s everyone doing with the trip prep?"

The replies came almost instantly.

Matt: "Done. Just waiting for tomorrow."

Elise: "Same here! Can’t believe we’re actually going!"

Kristopher: "Luggage ready."

Elise: "How long are we going anyway?"

Liam replied, "About a week. Maybe two more if we travel afterward. I’ve got some things I want to see."

Kristopher responded first: "World trip, huh? Sounds like a good reset for you."

Elise added a heart emoji.

Matt replied with his usual confidence: "You don’t need to ask if I’m coming. I’m already packed. You know me."

Liam chuckled softly as he typed back, "I do. And I trust you to always be there."

They kept chatting for a while — about the flight, the resorts, the private meetings Liam had planned, and the things they were hoping to see.

Elise mentioned wanting to ride camels in the desert. Matt joked about buying one. Kristopher said he’d stick to the cars.

***

Night came quietly over Bellemere.

After dinner, Liam was in his room, ready for bed. But his mind wasn’t on sleep — he was waiting for Lucy’s update on the spacecraft.

He didn’t have to wait long.

"Master, the spacecraft is ready."

"Already?" Liam’s eyes brightened

"Yes. Would you like to see it?"

"Of course," Liam smiled

The next second, he vanished from his room and appeared in the Dimensional Space, in the section of the industrial base where things like the spacecraft were being built.

But now, a new shape dominated the space. And when he saw it, he stopped breathing for a second.

There, standing on the launch pad, was the spacecraft. Massive, sleek, and powerful. Its silver-black hull gleamed under the artificial light, its form both graceful and brutal.

Its wings were short and swept back. The nose was angular but smooth, the glass of the cockpit tinted and seamless. Underneath, the ship’s belly shimmered with faint lines of light.

It looked like the ship from one of those sci-fi movie.

Liam stared at it for a long moment, silently admiring the craftsmanship.

Lucy stepped forward beside him, pride in her eyes.

"This," she said softly, "is the first interplanetary vessel. It’s the first of many to come."

"It’s perfect," Liam said, took a slow step forward.

"I optimized the design for both atmospheric and vacuum flight. Hybrid propulsion: gravitic stabilizers for lift, plasma-field engines for space travel. Capable of cruising to the moon in under forty minutes at top speed," Lucy smiled.

"Wow! Cool!" Liam let out a low breath.

As they approached the ship, a small platform detached from its underside, descending slowly with soft blue light surrounding it. The pad hovered just above the ground, before them.

"After you," Lucy gestured with a faint smile.

Liam stepped onto the pad. She joined him, and they rose together, the hum of the platform almost musical to his ears.

When they reached the entry hatch, it parted silently, folding away into the hull.

Inside, the air smelled faintly metallic, clean, new. The walls glowed softly with embedded light. The cockpit and cabin were designed in smooth, minimalist lines — seven seats in total, enough for his team or his friends.

The pilot’s seat was slightly elevated at the front, facing a transparent forward screen that doubled as a HUD.

"This is..." Liam began, then stopped, unable to finish. "This is incredible."

"I modeled part of it from the sci-fi films I know you’ve watched," Lucy said with a teasing smile. "But the systems are completely mine."

"I thought it looked familiar," Liam laughed softly.

She walked beside him, pointing out panels and modules. "Every system is autonomous. Life support, shield regulation, trajectory adjustment — all can be managed manually or by thought through Lucid synchronization."

Lucy also transfered everything about the spacecraft to him, through Lucid, making sure that Liam knew everything about the spacecraft.

Liam nodded, as he absorbed the information. From the information Lucy give her, he can see that she really outdid herself. She made sure to pull no stop when she was building the spacecraft.

He smiled and decided to fly the spacecraft. He didn’t need to learn that because with his Pro-level Vehicular Operating skill, he can fly it and the information Lucy just sent to him, helped too.

He sat down in the pilot’s seat and pressed the activation pad on the right armrest.

The ship responded instantly.

A deep hum filled the cabin, followed by a soft vibration. The control panels lit up — lines of data flowing like liquid light. The forward screen displayed environmental readings, spatial coordinates, and flight diagnostics.

But there was one oddity.

LOCATION: UNDEFINED — GEOREFERENCE

LOSS COORDINATE STATUS: NULL (NAV-404)

"Still can’t recognize the Dimensional Space,"Liam smiled faintly.

"Correct," Lucy said. "Navigation systems can’t define this realm."

"It doesn’t matter." He placed his hands on the controls. "Let’s take her out."

With a simple thought, the vessel followed his will, phasing seamlessly out of the Dimensional Space while he remained seated in the pilot’s chair.

Appearing on the island’s runway, the holographic display still showed the same coordinates as before — undefined, unregistered.

Liam knew why and didn’t mind. He wrapped his hands around the controls and guided the spacecraft upward.

The engines responded instantly, lifting it vertically into the air and flew out of the island.

Moments later, they were finally out of the island. The instant they crossed the boundary, the navigation interface flickered — data streams realigning, recalibrating.

LOCATION: CARIBBEAN SEA — EARTH.

Liam smiled, as he adjusted the throttle, and the ship angled upward, and set course for the moon.

After he did that, he switched to full thrust and shoot up into the sky. The acceleration pressed against him gently, but the stabilizers compensated instantly. Through the cockpit glass, the world fell away, quickly shrinking into a blue ball.

The moon, here I come.