With the system's assistance, building the novice village became a relatively easy task.
Like assembling building blocks, the players of Sakura Island No. 1 Novice Village quickly constructed their residences.
Some creative players had already begun building walls and arrow towers at designated locations based on the terrain.
After all, the system had hinted that the sturdier the novice village, the better. Who knows what unexpected events might occur after seven days?
"Thank you so much, Higashizaki-kun. If it were just me, I wouldn't have been able to build the arrow tower so quickly."
"You're welcome, Murata-kun. By the way, this game is truly incredible."
"Indeed. Now I believe there's a god watching over us. Long live the Emperor!"
...
While the players were busy discussing and exploring in groups, Haruta Motono was quietly working on his own in a remote corner of the novice village.
[Congratulations on constructing an arrow tower by yourself. You have earned 1,000 Invasion Points.]
[Congratulations on constructing a section of wall (10m) by yourself. You have earned 500 Invasion Points.]
[Wood and stone resources have been depleted.]
Wiping the sweat off his brow, Haruta Motono let out a small sigh of relief. Fortunately, his body had been digitized; otherwise, his overweight frame would never have managed all this work.
"With this, plus building my house, I now have 2,500 Invasion Points. Let's see what I can buy..."
With that thought, Haruta Motono opened the Invasion Points Shop. The items were divided into ten tiers, but only the first tier was currently unlocked. The shop was further categorized into Equipment, Enhancement, and Daily Necessities sections.
He first opened the Equipment section, which contained only five items:
Militia Standard Armor Choice Box
(Common) (500 Invasion Points)
Militia Standard Weapon Choice Box
(Common) (500 Invasion Points)
Staff
(Common) (500 Invasion Points) (Requires Mage Class)
Robe
(Common) (500 Invasion Points) (Requires Mage Class)
Priest's Hammer
(Common) (500 Invasion Points) (Requires Priest Class)
The first two items seemed to be universal for physical classes, with no restrictions—they could be used even without a class change.
The latter three, however, were class-specific. Without the corresponding class change, the staff was just a wooden stick, the robe was merely a piece of coarse cloth, and the Priest's Hammer was essentially just a hammer—completely useless.
But what caught Haruta Motono's attention wasn't the equipment itself; it was the fact that this world had magic.
This meant he had a chance to become one of those exalted mages from novels, casting Fireball with one hand and Lightning Storm with the other!
How could Haruta Motono not be thrilled?
With an excited heart, he opened the Enhancement section of the shop. As expected, the three class changes—Warrior, Mage, and Priest—were listed there.
Each class utilized a different power system: Warrior used Battle Qi, Mage used Magic, and Priest used Faith Power, each forming their own skill systems.
Class change required reaching Level 5 and spending 1,000 Invasion Points.
"Level 5?"
After building his house and arrow tower, he had already reached Level 5.
Without hesitation, Haruta Motono immediately changed his class to Mage and redeemed a staff.
His character stats changed as follows:
[Name: Haruta Motono]
[Level: 5]
[Class: Mage Apprentice (Tier 1) (0-10)]
[Health: 500]
[Mana: 200 (Spirit x20)]
[Strength: 5]
[Constitution: 5 (Armor: 50)]
[Spirit: 10 (Attack: 150 (Spirit x15))]
[Skills: Fireball, Light, Identify]
It was clear that with each level-up, Mages gained one point in Strength and Constitution, while Spirit increased by two points directly.
He checked the class description and found that as Mages advanced, the attribute points gained per level would gradually increase, perfectly aligning with the "stronger the strong" trope of fantasy worlds.
After figuring things out, he also redeemed a set of Militia Standard Leather Armor to wear.
This was mainly because his Strength attribute only allowed him to wear leather armor. If he wore the robe, it would come with an extra Cleanse spell, but its defensive capabilities were poor.
Finally, Haruta Motono redeemed a loaf of bread and a clay jug of water from the Daily Necessities section. After eating and drinking to his fill, he embarked on his adventure in this otherworld.
"I'll definitely become the strongest Mage! Then I'll marry a succubus wife, an elf wife, and maybe even a human princess... Hehehe."
Muttering with glee, Haruta Motono stepped out of the novice village and into the safe zone.
The temporary safe zone around the novice village was a vast plain, dotted with occasional bushes and wooded areas.
It was spacious enough to accommodate all 5,000 players, allowing them to explore without frequently running into each other.
The safe zone was also home to various creatures, but they all seemed like ordinary animals, which didn't pique Haruta Motono's interest. His mana was limited, so he decided to save his skills for critical moments.
After wandering around for a while, he finally arrived at a small hill surrounded by woods as dusk approached.
The hill had a half-human-height cave on its side. Haruta Motono cast an Identify spell toward it:
[A cave inhabited by a black bear. For some unknown reason, the black bear will not return for another seven days.]
As expected of the all-encompassing Identify spell.
It was simply too useful.
Haruta Motono couldn't help but praise his own good luck.
The black bear's absence was likely due to the temporary safe zone mechanics. If the bear were here now, it would probably be an elite monster in this area.
Elite monsters' lairs often contained treasure chests.
With this expectation, Haruta Motono cautiously approached the cave wall and cast a Light spell as he entered.
It wasn't that he was overly cautious; he just didn't want to risk encountering a pair of venomous snakes inside.
As a seasoned gamer, he wouldn't let himself fail in such a trivial way.
Under the bright glow of the Light spell, everything inside the cave came into view.
The cave was about five meters in diameter, with a damp and moss-covered floor littered with animal bones—clearly the remnants of the black bear's meals. Deeper inside, on a waist-high rock platform, sat a neatly placed black metal chest.
[Black Iron Chest]
"Awesome!"
Haruta Motono clenched his fists in excitement and hurried over to the chest. The mossy ground was so slippery that he nearly fell.
[You do not have a key for the Black Iron Chest. Would you like to spend 200 Invasion Points to redeem one?]
"A key? So hardcore??"
Haruta Motono smacked his forehead in frustration but quickly realized it made sense.
Normally, he would have to kill the black bear to obtain the chest, and the bear would likely drop the key.
"Fine, I'll redeem it."
Reluctantly, Haruta Motono spent 200 Invasion Points to obtain an ancient-looking black iron key.
He eagerly inserted the key into the lock, turned it gently, and with a creak, the chest emitted a burst of white light. The rewards shot out and hit him squarely in the face.
[Tier 1 Ice Mage Skill Book: Ice Spike]
"Impressive! A skill book right off the bat?!"
Haruta Motono's chubby hands trembled as he held the scroll.
He was tempted to take a screenshot and show it off in the chat channel, maybe even trade it for some Invasion Points. But then he remembered that the game hadn't explicitly prohibited player-versus-player combat.
A chill ran down his spine, and he quickly learned the skill from the scroll.
Looking at the newly added Ice Spike in his skill bar, Haruta Motono took a deep breath:
"The world is on the brink of destruction. Forget about making money; only by becoming stronger can I survive and live a better life."
"Don't be a coward anymore, Haruta Motono!"
With this determination, Haruta Motono left the black bear's cave.
Not far ahead lay the edge of the novice village's safe zone.
He hesitated for a moment, but with the resolve to grow stronger, he stepped forward without looking back. """
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