An endless, mist-shrouded sea spanned to the horizon, surrounding a solitary island.
High above the land, a woman in a long purple dress hovered effortlessly in mid-air.
Her dark hair whipped gently in the coastal breeze as her icy gaze remained fixed on the ground below.
Before her lay two massive sea monsters.
Neither bore any visible wounds, yet both had crashed straight onto the rocky shore, entirely lifeless.
Having slain the beasts, Hanna Raelene extended her hand and flicked her fingers.
Twin crimson crystals burst from the space between the monsters’ brows, shooting straight into her outstretched palm.
“Twenty-one sea monsters killed,” Hanna murmured.
Hanna hailed from Cypress Institute and currently held the top spot on the leaderboard.
She had always crushed her peers, accustomed to standing unchallenged at the summit.
Originally, she felt no pressure whatsoever.
That was until recently.
A shadow had fallen over her top position when an unknown contestant suddenly slaughtered fifteen sea monsters in rapid succession, vaulting straight into second place.
The sheer velocity of their rise sparked an acute sense of crisis within her.
Driven by that threat, she had deliberately taken a dangerous gamble, pulling and engaging two sea monsters simultaneously to drastically accelerate her point gathering.
I wonder how many sea monsters that person has killed by now…
Her mind racing, Hanna focused her concentration to contact the standings, using the communication technique taught back at school.
When the glowing leaderboard materialized in her mind, her breath hitched.
The second spot no longer belonged to the name “Reed Newt.” Instead, it held her own.
“How can this be?!” Her eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
She had pushed herself to the absolute limit, fighting multiple beasts at once, only to be overtaken anyway.
And worse, the person who knocked her off her throne was the very same underdog who had been sitting in second place just moments before.
Her gaze locked onto the new line at the very top of the rankings:
1st Place: Reed Newt | Valley View Academy | Kills: 59 | Score: 590
Hanna bit her lower lip so hard it nearly bled as a heavy wave of frustration crashed over her.
Fifty-nine! You are reading on g.com, the official source.
She had risked her life luring two sea monsters at once just to reach twenty-one kills, yet this Reed Newt had nearly tripled her score!
“No!” she whispered fiercely, her jaw setting into a hard line.
“I refuse to just admit defeat!”
Taking a deep breath, a fiery, unyielding drive to win flares within her dark eyes.
She was the chosen one, a brilliant genius admired by all; how could she meekly bow her head to an obscure rival?
“If pulling two sea monsters isn’t enough to beat you, then I’ll pull five at once!” Storing the two evolution cores in her spatial storage, Hanna turned abruptly and streaked through the sky toward the distant, bloodthirsty roars echoing across the coast.
Meanwhile, on another isolated island within the same endless sea.
“Ding!
Congratulations to the host.
Forty-three energy stones have been successfully exchanged for 430 survival points.”
Reed Newt stood amid a grim battlefield littered with the twisted carcasses of fallen sea monsters.
As the mechanical prompt echoed in his mind, the corners of his lips curled into a subtle smile.
Over the past two days, he had traversed every inch of this island, tirelessly unearthing rich deposits of raw gunpowder materials.
By refining them into high-potency explosives, he had finally wiped out every remaining sea monster roaming the terrain.
It turned out exactly as he had calculated.
Each monster possessed a core-like stone within its body that could be converted directly into 10 survival points through the system.
Adding in the single daily survival point awarded automatically for enduring another twenty-four hours on the island, his total balance now stood at an impressive 591 survival points.
Looking down at the mountain of monster carcasses, Reed’s smile faded into a thoughtful frown.
“These sea monsters…
they aren’t like the native wildlife,” he muttered to himself.
“They’re unnaturally aggressive, almost as if they are specifically hunting for human life.”
The island’s regular wild beasts generally kept to their own territories and avoided unnecessary conflict.
These sea monsters, however, crawled endlessly from the ocean depths, actively tracking down any sign of living prey.
“Even though I’ve cleared out the current wave, it won’t be long before more abominations pull themselves onto the shore.” Reed took a long, steady breath.
Prevention was better than cure; his top priority had to be upgrading his base.
His current cabin was constructed of simple timber, a flimsy defense that would splinter instantly under the weight of a three-meter-tall sea monster.
Sleeping soundly at night was impossible if a stray beast could break in and swallow him whole. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
“If I want absolute security, I need to build a fortified city!” With a thought, Reed summoned his system interface and began scanning through the catalog options.
The ultimate hallmark of an advancing primitive civilization entering the Neolithic era was the ability to construct defensive walls, organize group settlements, and repel wild beasts.
By erecting a massive fortress, he could also clear farmland within the outer ramparts, establish agriculture and animal husbandry, and permanently solve his food security issues without relying on dangerous hunting expeditions.
Besides, despite having slaughtered dozens of sea monsters, he didn’t dare consume a single bite of their strange, tainted meat.
Who knew what kind of toxins were coursing through their veins?
Accessing his newly acquired fortune, Reed began making rapid purchases:
“[Grandmaster City Construction Skill] – 100 Survival Points.
Exchange!”
“[Grandmaster Animal Taming Skill] – 100 Survival Points.
Exchange!”
“[Grandmaster Agricultural Planting Skill] – 100 Survival Points.
Exchange!”
“[Grandmaster Mineral Exploration Skill] – 100 Survival Points.
Exchange!”
“[Grandmaster Carpentry Skill] – 50 Survival Points.
Exchange!”
“[Grandmaster Smelting Skill] – 50 Survival Points.
Exchange!”
“[Grandmaster Pottery Casting Skill] – 1 Survival Point.
Exchange!”
Now that he was rich in survival points, Reed didn’t hesitate or hoard his wealth.
Any skill that promised to secure his future on the island was bought without a second thought.
In the next instant, brilliant cascades of ethereal light enveloped his body one after another.
Vast torrents of ancient knowledge, structural physics, and survival mastery flooded into his consciousness, instantly fusing with his memory until they felt as natural as breathing.
“To build a giant city, the first step is finding the ideal terrain…” Armed with the profound instincts of a grandmaster architect, Reed turned toward the island’s interior, stepping out to locate the perfect site for his future stronghold.