The Uncertain Start: Claiming the Ruined Mage Tower

[Due to force majeure, the world is destroyed. Congratulations on obtaining the game qualification of "Lord Era".]

[You are assigned to the server: Magic Continent No. 9527. The total number of lords on this server: 1000.]

[You got the binding item: Territory Stone.]

[Please note: Use the territory stone as soon as possible to obtain the territory. "Lord Era" will semi-data you and generate the territory. Otherwise, there is a chance of encountering monster attacks in the wild.]

[Please note: Territorial Stones will provide initial resources, such as buildings, units, etc., based on the region, terrain, and other external factors when the territory is expanded.]

[Please note: If the territory stone is not used within one hour, game qualification will be forfeited.]

Ethan opened his eyes and looked at the surrounding environment and the purple diamond-shaped stone in his hand. He was about to cry.

"The winning streak in my life just started, and it's gone before I can celebrate. What did I do to deserve this?"

"You couldn't have waited two more days, huh? You had to take me away just as things were getting good."

Ethan quickly adjusted his mentality. Since he couldn't change the world, he could only adapt to it.

He looked around and found that his starting location was quite good, with mountains, rivers, and plains. More importantly, he noticed a dilapidated ruin not far away.

It looked like some kind of tower, with two and a half floors remaining, and only half of the third floor left. It seemed as if something had smashed into it.

"The server I'm on is Magic Continent No. 9527. Could this tower be a Mage Tower?"

As memories from his previous life resurfaced, Ethan decided to take a gamble and place his territory at the tower.

Judging from the surroundings, the location of the suspected Mage Tower wasn't random. The environment was favorable, with a water source, plains, and a mountain behind it. At least in terms of resources, there was nothing to worry about.

So, from Ethan's perspective, there wasn't a better place. Changing to another location was possible, but time was short. He had only one hour, and as time ticked away, he didn't want to risk losing his game qualification.

Therefore, he decisively moved toward the suspected Mage Tower.

He jogged toward the Mage Tower, maintaining an even pace and steady breathing.

Since he rarely exercised, he knew his physical fitness was poor. He had to move at a constant speed, neither too fast nor too slow.

The Mage Tower seemed close, but the saying "the view from the mountain doesn't match the effort required" proved true. Combined with his physical condition, it took him a full fifteen minutes to reach the tower. Though not completely exhausted, he felt fatigued.

Fortunately, the path was clear, with no vegetation to obstruct his view. He was also wary of potential wild monsters but thankfully encountered none.

Along the way, he noticed some resources scattered on the ground. He didn't pick them up because he realized he couldn't carry them unless he wanted to lug them around. It was better to place the territory first and then return to collect the resources.

Upon reaching the entrance of the dilapidated Mage Tower, he saw only half the door remaining, as if it had been sliced by a sharp blade. Ethan entered through the doorway, finding a few scattered tables, chairs, and benches.

The lighting was decent, not too dark.

"There's nothing particularly special here, but the first floor alone must be at least a thousand square meters," Ethan mused.

The first floor appeared to be a hall, and following the stairs on the side led to the second floor. There were many rooms, but most were severely damaged.

There wasn't much of value except for two books he couldn't understand. The text resembled tadpoles, and trying to read them made him dizzy.

Checking the countdown, he had thirty-two minutes left. He wasn't in a hurry; he wanted to see if he could find something valuable.

After entering, he deduced from the scattered damaged equipment that it was likely a Mage Tower. If the tower could be restored after he placed his territory, maybe he could exploit a glitch or bug. With half an hour left, he didn't want to waste any time.

Despite searching for a long time, he only found the two unreadable books, leaving him disappointed.

In the end, he returned to the first floor and placed the territory stone down.

[Do you want to expand your territory here? Yes/No]

"Yes!" Ethan answered immediately when the prompt appeared.

[Expanding the territory for you...]

[Detected that your area is a Mage Tower (Broken). After the territory is expanded, your initial resources will be designated as related resources, and certain buildings will be inherited.]

[Digitizing and awakening the lord talent...]

Ethan was excited when he saw the notifications.

"Awakening the lord talent? I understand this. Maybe it's a hundred-fold increase or some special upgrade ability. I like the sound of that."

As he watched the territory stone melt into the ground, an invisible radiance spread, forming a protective shield.

[Territory expansion completed, semi-digitalization complete. Welcome to the "Era of Lords".]

[You receive: 7 days of novice protection (during these 7 days, neither other lords nor wild monsters can attack you or your territory; remaining time: 6 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes).]

[You receive: 30-day adaptation period (wild monsters will not proactively attack the territory within 30 days; primary reconnaissance granted for 30 days; remaining time: 29 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes).]

[Primary reconnaissance: Can detect information of enemies not exceeding your level.]

"Oh, so the barrier is protection. It's the novice and adaptation stage. Seems like the world is pretty dangerous."

Ethan opened his territory panel to check the status of his Mage Tower territory.

[Territory: Mage Tower (Broken)]

[Level: 1]

[Repair: 1000 units of ore, 1000 units of wood]

[Note: The Mage Tower is in a broken state and cannot be upgraded until it is repaired.]

[Buildings]

[Material Warehouse LV1: Used to store various materials (Capacity: 10 units of minerals, 10 units of wood).]

[Magic Pool (Dry): Energy core of the Mage Tower (Repair: Earth Elemental Core/Water Elemental Core/Fire Elemental Core/Air Elemental Core x1 each; 10,000 units of minerals, 10,000 units of wood, 100 units of gems, 100 units of crystals, 100 units of sulfur, 100 units of mercury).]

Ethan inspected the building section, especially the lengthy list of repair materials required for the dried-up magic pool. He was overwhelmed. Except for the four elemental cores, the rest of the materials seemed familiar.

"This primary reconnaissance feels more like a hero ability from a different game," Ethan muttered.

The magic pool couldn't be upgraded now, similar to the territorial Mage Tower—it required repairs first.

However, he estimated the difficulty would be significant. He was relieved to find that his effort in reaching the tower wasn't in vain.

[Common Resources]

[Food: 100]

[Minerals: 100]

[Wood: 100]

[Special Resources]

[Gem: 0]

[Crystal: 0]

[Sulfur: 0]

[Mercury: 0]

"Well, I guess everyone starts with similar resources. The next step should be construction."

Ethan looked at his inventory, which contained two architectural drawings, likely related to the Mage Tower.

[Farmland Blueprint: After learning, you can build farmland. Requirements: 10 units of food.]

[Spirit Workshop Blueprint: After learning, you can build a monster workshop. Requirements: 50 minerals, 50 wood.]

"Ah, this... it's a bit different from what I imagined," Ethan thought, feeling he might have gotten himself into more trouble than expected.