Chapter 1: The Beginning

I release a sigh as I leave campus ground. Man, that quiz is brutal. Not only did it come up so suddenly, but there were also many of them at once. I shake my head and walk to the subway station.

I need to get back home quickly to sleep for a couple of hours. I need to go to do a part-time job in the Konbini near my home. Even though I got a scholarship from the government to learn in Japan, it is only enough for my daily life and nothing more.

I need more money to buy something I want, like a new phone or a new game. After buying the ticket for the next train, I take a seat and take out my phone.

"Urgh. Another homework? Can't they let us take a break?"

I start to regret coming here. I know that Tokyo University is one of the best universities in the world, and we need to maintain that rank, but please give us a break every now and then. Sooner or later, I need to quit my part-time job and think of another way to earn some pocket change that I can use.

While typing something, my eyes see the light slowly surround me, and I stand up, trying to move away from the light. I can hear the others shouting and pointing their fingers at me. However, before I can scream for some help, my body slowly disappears, and my vision is engulfed with white light.

A second later, I see I am standing before a beautiful woman. She is at least four meters tall, and I can see a golden wing coming out of her back.

"Welcome, defender."

I look at her and say.

"Who are you?"

"You can call me Shul. I am the messenger from the Creator of All to inform you that the purging time has come, and all of you are the chosen ones to defend your universe. You shall fight all the devourers that will come to your universe if you want your race to survive the purging."

I raise my hand to say something, but my mouth cannot move.

"However, before you can claim the title of defender, you need to survive our little test. You shall be granted one random power and territory to govern. Raise your territory and become the strongest among your kind. You need it."

I wanted to ask some questions, but just like before, my mouth could not move, and I could see her finger. A second later, I arrived in front of a small house. I am about to move but stop when I see a blue panel appear in front of me.

|Congratulations on being chosen by the Creator of All! Say status to check your level and blessing|

I hesitate for a second before saying.

"Status"

A second later, I can see another blue panel appear in front of me with a real-time image of myself.

[Name: William Anders]

[Territory Level: 1]

[Blessing: {Child of Ebisu} {Gaia's Lover} {Student of Hephaestus}]

I blink at the sight in front of me. Is that three blessings instead of one? That woman says that I will only get one, right? Why are there three of them? I shake my head and look at the second blue panel next to my status.

|You can check what your blessing does by pressing it. As the Governor of this territory, you will be given a barrier that prevents the devourer in this world from killing you instantly.|

A second later, a dome appeared around me. I don't know the exact size of the dome, but by the look of it, the diameter is around a hundred meters. It is not big but not small either.

|After seven days, the barrier will be gone.|

Seven days, huh? I don't know what kind of danger is outside the dome, but can I use the dome as a cheat to hunt monsters? I don't know if this is a dream or not, but I will use this barrier to its fullest.

|To increase your level, you need to reach a certain requirement. Say 'Territory Status' to manage your territory|

"Territory Status"

A second later, I can see another panel appear in front of me. Instead of a real-time image of my body, it shows a real-time image of my house.

[Territory: Golden Sand Oasis]

[Territory Level: 1]

[Upgrade]

[Build]

The upgrade section is grayed out, so I pressed the build button. A second later, I see five lists appear before me. The lists are (Summoning Gate), (Housing), (Barrack), (Farm), and (Wooden Palisade).

I need wood, stone, and monster essence as resources to build most of them. I can see trees in my territory, but where can I get stones? Monster Essence is easy enough to understand, but stone? I did not see any stone quarry nearby. As far as my eyes could see, there was only sand.

|After you are done building all the options in the [Build] menu, you can upgrade your territory to increase your power of influence. As a starting gift, starting equipment is already delivered inside your house. Good luck, and grow stronger. Your race needs it.|

Seeing no new panel appearing, I look at my status and press all my blessings. I press the first one and see another panel appear.

{Child of Ebisu}

[You are the child of Ebisu, the God of Luck and Fortune. All devourers you kill shall drop one highest grade item they carry.]

This is fantastic! As long as I can kill one of them, I can get something good. However, there is a time when the highest grade item is not as valuable to you for that moment. In RPGs, you can get a rare item, but your level is not high enough to use it. So it is useless for you for that moment, and when you reach that level requirement, you have already found something better.

I shake my head and press the second blessing.

{Gaia's Lover}

[Gaia loves you and wants you to defend her from the invader. All the resource-type drops will be tripled up.]

Gaia? Do you mean Gaia from Greek mythology? She is the personification of the planet, right? Or is it something else?

I shake my head and look at the blessing once again. This is another good blessing to have. That means I can level up my territory faster than the others. However, there is one problem with these two blessings. They did not help me fight the monster in this place.

I hope there is something that helps me defend this place from that gift.

I take a deep breath and press the last blessings.

{Student of Hephaestus}

[You are the student of the God of Blacksmith, Hephaestus. You can upgrade two items by one grade every two days]

Perfect! With this, I will have a chance of killing the monster. I need to test this blessing immediately.

I run toward the wooden house, and as I enter, I can see an axe, pickaxe, and sword hanging on the wall. I take the sword and see a panel appear when I focus on it.

{Starter Sword} {Common Grade}

[An ordinary steel sword. It is average in stabbing and slashing. It is sharp]

[Do you want to upgrade this sword?] [Y/N]

I grin and press the Y button. My sword shines for a few seconds, and I can see it change into a new sword.

{Silver Mist Sword} {Uncommon Grade}

[A sword made from an ore that absorbs a mysterious mist. It is very durable, sharp, and will never dull.]

[Do you want to upgrade this sword?] [Y/N]

Good. It looks like I can do a double upgrade instead of one item, one upgrade rule. Perfect! I shake my head and look at the sword.

There is nothing new to the sword. It cannot shoot out beams of destruction or something, but I understand why. It is just above the common grade. Speaking of grades, can I press it?

"Oh!"

A list appeared in front of me, explaining how grades work. Basically, it goes like this: Common – Uncommon – Magic – Rare – Super Rare – Unique – Legendary – Mythical – Godlike.

I don't know if my third blessing can reach the Godlike grade, but I hope it can at least reach the Legendary grade. I put the sword back into its sheath and slip it into my belt. I take the axe and leave my home. I walk to a palm tree far away from my home.

I don't know the correct way to cut trees, so I only swing my axe long enough for the tree to fall down slowly. I run away from the tree and watch the tree hit the ground. As the tree hit the ground, I saw another panel appear before me.

[Gaia's Lover activated]

I widen my eyes when I see the tree change into wood logs. However, instead of only ten or so one-meter-long wooden logs, there are three dozen of them.

My second blessing is working, huh? That means it also works in any drop from non-monster like the tree and maybe a quarry if I can find one. That only leaves me with the first blessing. I put down the axe and walked toward the edge of the barrier.

I take a deep breath and step out of the barrier.

Let's test the first blessing.