Lan Sol immediately took out the class ticket from the storage box, as all rewards were saved either in the player's inventory (if they were out of the territory) or in the territory storage box.
A fluttering, glimmering piece of golden paper fell into his palm. As he tore the paper, a hologram popped up in front of him.
[Polar Warrior]
[Aurora Knight]
[Blizzard Assassin]
[Frost Mage]
[Snow Hunter]
[Frozen Engineer]
[Arctic Marksman]
A list of classes appeared before him. There weren't many classes in the game, but most of them revolved around specific stats and roles.
For instance, warriors excelled in battle but were weak defensively.
Knights were strong defensively, but their attack power was lower than that of warriors.
Assassins were quick and stealthy but lacked normal attacks, making it difficult to kill weaker enemies early in the game without sneaking up on them.
Mages specialized in magic and were strong in both early and late stages; however, they had little defense, low speed, and their spells had cooldowns.
Hunters were balanced, excelling in attack, defense, stealth, and speed. However, they were a jack-of-all-trades, master of none, with limited development potential.
Engineers built robots and thrived in the late game, capable of creating explosives, powerful robots, and automation systems. However, they were weak by themselves, consumed resources for everything, and were difficult to develop early on without support.
Finally, marksmen were ranged fighters. They excelled at sniping from a distance and were quick on their feet, but they had poor defense, couldn't handle head-on combat, and required ammunition or arrows.
"Let's go with Frost Mage. I like magic," Lan Sol decided. He had played the game multiple times as a Frost Mage. In the game, players could have a default character to control and explore the world with, which made it more fun.
"Well, every class requires cooperation from other classes. No wonder this game was designed as cooperative multiplayer," he muttered. One class's weakness was covered by another's strengths.
However, since he was alone, he had to manage his class weaknesses himself. That wasn't terrible, though, as he could recruit NPCs in the future, and there would eventually be more people in his base.
In this world, players and NPCs were essentially the same, both possessing unlimited development potential.
[Do you really wish to choose the class 'Frost Mage'? After the decision is made, there's no way to revert it.]
[Yes] / [No]
"Yes," he confirmed without hesitation.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations on choosing your class!]
[Name]: Lan Sol
[Race]: Earth's Human
[Level]: 1 (0/100)
[Class]: Frost Mage
[Health]: 100
[Mana]: 50
[Strength]: 5
[Agility]: 7
[Spirit]: 5
[Constitution]: 5
[Skills]: Frost Ball, Cold Healing Touch
[Current Status]: Cold
[Current Temperature]: -45℃
"Now that I've taken the class, it's time for my talent," Lan Sol said, taking out the talent ticket. It was a golden ticket that overflowed with divine light.
As he tore the ticket, golden light enveloped his body.
[Ding!]
[You have received SSS+ ranked Talent: Spell Hack!]
[Spell Hack (SSS+ ranked Talent)]: Completely removes cooldowns and chanting time for all spells, allowing the user to cast any spell repeatedly without waiting.
"Oh my god! This talent is amazing! Won't I be overpowered with this?!" he exclaimed. Just imagining it—a mage who could repeatedly cast high-level spells without chanting or cooldowns—was exhilarating.
If one frost bolt couldn't defeat an enemy, he could cast dozens or even hundreds until his mana ran out. He couldn't wait to get his hands on multicast, a spell that would make him even more powerful.
Excited, Lan Sol turned his attention to the new tab bar that had appeared in his status.
[Territory], [Building], [Resources], [Communication], [Personal], [Territory Force]
He clicked on [Territory].
[Territory]: Unnamed (You can name your territory!)
[Size]: 30 meters (Size depends on the range of the campfire)
[Population]: 1/50 (Upgrade the Territory Lord's Hut to increase population size)
[Defense]: 0 (Build walls, add defensive structures, recruit soldiers, etc to increase the territory's defenses.)
[Allies]: None (Form alliances with fellow survivors or nations for support in times of need.)
[Enemies]: Zero (The fewer enemies you make, the lower your chances of death and destruction of your territory.)
"Hmm, it's the same as I remember. I don't need to name my territory yet. I'll do that later. Next tab." He clicked on [Building].
Various items and buildings appeared on the hologram.
[Level 1 Saw Mill]
[Level 1 Healing Tent]
[Level 1 Cooking Stove]
[Level 1 Blacksmith Shop]
[Level 1 Arctic Men's Hut]
[Level 1 Ice Well]
...
Lan Sol glanced at the list and focused on the Arctic Men's Hut.
[Name]: Arctic Men's Hut
[Level]: 1
[Type]: Building
[Effect]: Summons 5 Arctic Men who will assist in gathering resources, building structures, and defending your base.
[Materials Required for Building]: 30 Wood, 30 Stones
[P.S.]: Do you wish to do all the work yourself, or have a group of skilled Arctic Men handle it for you? Seems like an easy choice, doesn't it?
What's more important—getting a group of workers or doing everything yourself? Of course, it's better to have workers and live an easier life!
"I should build this first, but I don't have the resources. Let's get to work."
Lan Sol looked around and began gathering stones. Each stone weighed around 8–10 kg, and lifting them was a struggle.
As he carried the stones to the storage box, they magically disappeared upon contact.
[Stone +10]
A notification popped up, immediately brightening Lan Sol's mood. The sound of the notification was pleasant, like the satisfying chime of coins dropping into an arcade machine.
Despite the backbreaking effort, he found some satisfaction in the rhythmic "clink" that accompanied each addition to his storage. However, for someone who had never carried anything heavier than 5 kg, it was an exhausting ordeal.
"Phew," he sighed, wiping the sweat off his brow. He quickly abandoned any thoughts of carrying logs, knowing it would exhaust him completely and likely leave his back aching for days.
"That's 5 points of strength for you," he muttered to himself. The average stats of a normal person were 5, and his 5 points in strength clearly reflected his average physical capabilities.
Fortunately, he still had a stockpile of wood left.
[Do you wish to repair the 'Arctic Men's Hut'? It will take 30 wood, 30 stones, and 5 minutes to build.]
Without hesitation, he began hammering at the marked blue area on the ground.
For five minutes, Lan Sol worked with manic energy, beating the materials with such fervor that it bordered on lunacy.
"Workers… Workers… Workers… I need… Workers… I hate labor…" he chanted like a madman, hammering the wood with a frenzy unmatched even by those with the most urgent tasks.
The rhythmic sound of hammering echoed in the air, creating a strangely pleasant cadence amidst the icy silence.
Five minutes flew by.
Lan Sol tossed the hammer aside and collapsed into the snow, ignoring the cold. He stared at his red, swollen palms, feeling the roughness of newly formed calluses. They weren't painful, but they were irritating and inconvenient.
"Can I use my healing spell to treat calluses?" he wondered aloud. He cast Cold Healing Touch, curious to see the results.
[Name]: Cold Healing Touch
[Type]: Spell
[Rank]: F
[Chanting Time]: 5 seconds (None)
[Cooldown]: 1 minute (None)
[Effect]: Restores 10 HP by healing minor injuries and soothing pain.
A faint snowy light enveloped his hands. It felt cool but soothing, like dipping his hands into warm water that was occasionally chilled by a gentle breeze.
He clasped his hands together, and the cold sensation overwhelmed his palms. It felt numb at first, but slowly the soothing effect kicked in, erasing the pain and healing the calluses.
The snowy light faded, signaling the end of the spell.
[HP +0]
His HP didn't increase since it was already full, but the healing spell successfully treated his calluses.
Feeling better, Lan Sol stood up and examined the newly constructed hut.
[Name]: Arctic Men's Hut
[Level]: 1
[Type]: Building
[Effect]: Summons 5 Arctic Men who will assist in gathering resources, building structures, and defending your base.
[Do you wish to summon the Arctic Men? Summoning the Arctic Men will consume 5 food per man.]
"Of course," he said without hesitation.
His bread stock, which had been at 100, instantly dropped to 74. Each piece of bread counted as 1 unit of food. While a single piece was enough to fill a thin person like Lan Sol, the Arctic Men were hardworking and required more sustenance.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations on summoning five 'Arctic Men'!]
[Population +5]
[Feeding the Arctic Men daily is essential. Neglecting to provide food for an extended period will reduce their loyalty, and they may eventually abandon your territory.]
The door of the hut trembled, and one by one, five burly men emerged.
Each man had an innocent face, as though incapable of hurting a fly. However, their massive frames told a different story. They were over 2 meters tall, with bulging muscles and strong, imposing builds. Despite the freezing cold, they wore only thin woolen clothes.
"We greet our Lord! We, your humble Arctic Men, will serve you wholeheartedly!" they said in unison, bowing politely.
"Okay, okay," Lan Sol said, nodding in satisfaction. He wasn't surprised by the sudden appearance of the five burly men from the hut. Anyone who had played strategy games or read fantasy novels would be familiar with such events.
"Please give us work!" one of the Arctic Men urged.
Arctic Men were known for their endurance and strength. While they were the weakest in terms of combat abilities, they were unmatched in their dedication and work ethic.
Lan Sol nodded in satisfaction and began checking their statuses one by one.
[Name]: Phulsuk (Changeable)
[Race]: Arctic Men
[Level]: Level 1 (0/100)
[Class]: None
[Health]: 100
[Mana]: 0
[Strength]: 9
[Agility]: 4
[Spirit]: 0
[Constitution]: 10
[Skills]: None
[Current Status]: Cold
[Hunger]: 10
[Loyalty]: 89
[Traits]: Adaptive Resilience, Diligent Worker
[Adaptive Resilience]: Quickly adjusts to any environment and terrain. Can digest any food except poison.
[Diligent Worker]: Extremely hardworking, completing tasks diligently and efficiently without tiring easily.
He then skimmed through the statuses of the others:
[Name]: Willisan
[Level]: 1 (0/100)
[Click here to see the full attributes.]
[Name]: Kriklin
[Level]: 1 (0/100)
[Click here to see the full attributes.]
…
Lan Sol was pleased with their stats. They were strong—each one could easily overpower him in a fight. Yet here they were, worshiping him as their lord. The thought brought a smug grin to his lips.
"I'll name you all. From the first to the last, your names are Gong Yi, Gong Er, Gong San, Gong Si, and Gong Wu. From now on, forget your past and work for me. I'll treat you all well."
"Yes, respected lord!"
The five Arctic Men shouted in unison, their voices booming with enthusiasm.
[You have successfully named the polar people. Gong Yi's loyalty to you has increased by 5 points…]
[You have successfully named the polar people. Gong Er's loyalty to you has increased by 5 points…]
...
"Huh?" Lan Sol blinked. "This works too?"
He was pleasantly surprised. The names he had given them were lazy: *Gong* meant "worker," and *Yi* to *Wu* were numbers from one to five. Essentially, he had just called them "First Worker" to "Fifth Worker."
Yet, the simple act of naming them had boosted their loyalty.
"Maybe they don't understand the meaning," Lan Sol mused. "Or maybe they just like having new names better than their old ones."
Whatever the reason, he didn't dwell on it.
He glanced at the time.
[13:49:22]
[4 hours and 11 minutes remaining before nighttime.]
[The temperature decreases tremendously at night, and the chances of snowstorms are high. Be careful and prepare in advance.]
[Note: During the novice protection period, monsters will not attack the camp. The remaining novice protection period is: 6 days and 11 hours…]
"Four hours, huh? Not much time," he muttered. He decided to upgrade the campfire to a bonfire and craft some essential tools.
"Gong Yi, Gong Er, and Gong Si, go collect wood. Gong San and Gong Wu, gather stones," he ordered.
"Yes, Lord!"
Without hesitation, the Arctic Men shouted their acknowledgment and rushed off to complete their tasks.
Lan Sol stretched lazily, muttering to himself, "Life is so much easier now. Time to make my house warmer."
He walked into the Lord's Hut and shut the door behind him.