CHAPTER 22: CHAPTER 22: ENTERING THE ETERNAL CONTINENT, CLASS ADVANCEMENT

Ding!

---

[You have entered the "Eternal Continent"]

[A vast and corrupted world, where chaos and strength reign above all else.]

---

A bright light filled Stark’s vision.

When it finally dimmed, his feet landed on uneven stone.

The air was heavy, and a faint smell of ash lingered.

He had arrived.

Even though Stark already knew what was coming, he still turned his head and looked around.

The sight was the same as his memories, ruins everywhere.

He stood in a small square at the center of a shattered city.

Broken buildings leaned to the side, half of them collapsed into piles of debris.

The streets were cracked, weeds pushing up through the gaps.

The sky above was dim, covered in thick clouds that refused to move.

Ding!

---

[You have entered the "First Ruined City"]

[The outside world is too dangerous for now, prepare as much as you can in this city to go out and explore this new world.]

[The "First Calamity" is coming in 29 days.]

[Lives loss rate: 5]

---

"Hm."

Stark’s eyes narrowed as he read the panels.

Most new players that appeared here would be overwhelmed, staring blankly at the ruins while fear crept in.

It was only natural, this place looked nothing like the novice towns.

Only ruins, silence, and the faint echoes of monsters in the distance.

But Stark wasn’t confused.

He knew exactly where he was. The [Eternal Continent].

The way it worked was simple: the moment someone crossed over, they would spawn inside one of a hundred similar ruined cities.

Each of these cities was massive, almost the size of a capital, and each was its own battlefield.

There were zones to clear, bosses lurking in forgotten corners, and opportunities hidden among the rubble.

And the reason players were forced into these ruined cities instead of being dropped directly into the outside world?

Stark glanced back at the second panel.

[The outside world is too dangerous.]

It was true.

The ruins were protected by a barrier, one that prevented monsters from entering.

Inside the cities, at least, people could prepare, regroup, and train.

But the moment someone stepped outside that protection...

"The minimum level of monsters is twenty-five," Stark muttered.

He shook his head.

Even for him, fighting outside right now would be suicide.

Not only that, the [Lives loss rate] outside the cities was one hundred, and it only climbed higher the deeper you went.

In other words: reckless players wouldn’t last a second.

And then there was the last line.

The [First Calamity].

Stark exhaled slowly, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

"Didn’t expect I’d actually have to go through this again. But fine. I’m ready."

He remembered it vividly.

Exactly one month after [Eternal Sou] opened, the first wave arrived.

A flood of monsters poured into the world.

Cities burned. Humanity nearly collapsed. 95% of the population was slaughtered.

But in that destruction, survivors rose.

The ones who lived rebuilt something stronger, using resources torn from the monsters that had once tried to wipe them out.

It was cruel, but it was the start of humanity’s rise.

’Level twenty-five monsters for the first wave,’ Stark thought, ’It’ll be tough, but I can manage.’

Of course, Stark had considered it before, whether he could try to save everyone, stop all the deaths.

But the truth was brutal. He couldn’t.

Even with his knowledge and power, there was no way to stop a calamity of that scale alone.

He would do what he could, but his real focus was clear: save the people close to him, survive, and grow stronger.

The rest... he couldn’t carry it all.

For now, his eyes scanned the ruins.

Unlike the novice towns, there was no safe zone here.

Even the starting square had monsters wandering close.

The [Lives loss rate] was five, not one, meaning every death here carried a heavier price.

In the distance, Stark caught a glimpse of movement.

Shadows slipping between alleyways.

Faint growls echoing through broken walls.

He also spotted something else, a massive statue at the edge of the square.

It depicted a tall, eyeless man, his face hidden beneath a cracked hood, his hands folded together as if in prayer.

Stark’s lips curved faintly.

This thing was actually a boss, but he couldn’t activate it yet.

That was fine.

He would deal with it later.

But before he could move deeper into the city...

Ding!

[You have fulfilled the condition for your "Class Advancement"]

"Oh?" Stark’s grin widened.

"Here we go."

Ding!

---

[Your "Mage of Oblivion" class has evolved!]

[Tier: 0 → 1]

[Class Passive #1: All your magic damage is multiplied by 10 → 15.][Class Passive #2: Your MP recovery is multiplied by 10 → 15.][Class Passive #3: All your spells’ cooldowns are reduced by half.]

---

Stark blinked.

"...That’s better than I expected."

His magic damage and MP recovery had both risen significantly, and his cooldowns were still halved.

This was absolutely huge!

More power. More endurance. More control.

He clenched his fist, feeling mana surging through his veins.

His magic felt heavier, sharper, more alive.

Of course, this first advancement was technically the weakest.

Every player who entered the [Eternal Continent] received it automatically.

But even so, it was progress.

As for his [Infinite Evolution] talent, it currently couldn’t be evolved.

"The real big milestone is level twenty-five," he muttered.

By then, he would unlock the next advancement, be ready for the [First Calamity] and finally step outside the ruined city to face the real world beyond.

For now, though, there was something else beside his [Class Advancement] he was allowed to do after entering the [Eternal Continent].

Ding!

---

[You are now able to extract your abilities to the real world by using Lives!]

[1. Extract Class and Talent][2. Extract Level][3. Extract Skills][4. Extract Equipment][5. Extract Bloodline (Not available)][6. Extract ??? (Not available)]

---

Stark stared at the panel.

"...Finally."

Since the [First Calamity] happened in the real world, this was the only way to get your powers and fight back.

It had been a long time, but he still remembered how much it the starting extractions cost.

---

[Do you wish to use 300 Lives to extract your "Mage of Oblivion" class to the real world?]

[Do you wish to use 300 Lives to extract your "Infinite Evolution" talent to the real world?]

---

It was always recommended to extract your class and talent first.

Without them, your body in the real world was just an ordinary human.

But together, they cost six hundred Lives.

Stark checked his total.

[Lives: 606]

"...Just enough."

He let out a soft laugh.

He had more Lives than anyone else right now, but even so, extracting both would leave him nearly broke.

Levels cost even more.

It took a thousand Lives just to synchronize up to level twenty-five.

And afterward? The cost scaled higher and higher.

As for equipment and skills, the cost depended on their rank.

---

[Do you wish to use 50 Lives to extract your "Revenant Staff" (Elite) to the real world?]

[Do you wish to use 1,000 Lives to extract your "Curse Flower" (Legendary) skill to the real world?]

---

Expensive, but necessary.

The only saving grace was that the more dangerous the zone, the faster Lives were earned.

And here, in the ruined cities, the gain rate would be much higher than the novice towns.

’I’ll wait,’ Stark decided, ’No need to spend yet.’

He would return to the real world soon enough, he couldn’t afford to starve himself there, but he wasn’t ready yet.

By the time the [First Calamity] came, he wanted to have enough to extract everything important.

His gaze drifted toward the distant streets.

"The first level ten players should be appearing soon. No point standing still."

Step by step, he moved forward.

The closer one went to the edge of the city, the barrier that separated it from the outside, the stronger the monsters became.

But here, near the middle, they were still manageable. At least for him.

He took one more step—

Fwish! BOOM!

The ground cracked. Dust burst upward.

A shadow leapt into view.

Stark’s eyes narrowed, his body relaxing into a stance.

He raised his hand, mana already flowing.

[Ruined Sentinel (Level 11)]

The first monster in the [Ruined City] of his new life stood before him.