I stood at the edge of the clearing, staring at my little house as the last rays of sunlight turned its wooden walls into a glowing palace. It wasn't grand, not by anyone else's standards, but to me it shimmered like something out of a dream I'd never dared to have.
"I can't believe I actually built a base… here."
The words slipped out, half-laugh, half-prayer. Back when I was just a carpenter's apprentice, my master used to spin tales about bases while we planed boards and fitted joints. He'd lean on his hammer, eyes distant, and say, "Listen up, Leopin. A true base needs walls, gates, and a total level above fifty. Only then does the world acknowledge it." Then he'd chuckle, wiping sweat from his brow. "But don't get ideas. Only fortresses, real strongholds, earn that title. A regular house? Never in a lifetime. Unless, maybe, a legendary craftsman poured his soul into it."
I'd nod, thinking it was all fairy-tale nonsense. Something for kings and heroes, not a kid with callused hands and a dexterity score that barely scraped double digits.
Yet here I was.
I flicked open my status window, heart thudding against my ribs.
There it was, glowing faintly beneath my stats:
Base
LV1
Size: Rustic house
Base Skills: Activity Support
Gain a status bonus for all activities within the base.
A base. My base.
"They say only the chosen get these," I whispered. "Kings. Generals. The royal class."
The skill was tied to the leader, the King, they called it. Appointed administrators could tap into a fraction of its power, but the core belonged to the one who'd claimed it. A privilege reserved for the elite, the untouchable. And now… me.
Before I could process it, warm light poured from the house, wrapping around me like a living thing. It sank into my skin, and my status window flared.
Name: Leopin
Occupation: Carpenter
Lv 8 → 9
HP: 1810
MP: 1810
Status
Life 181 | Endurance 181 | Toughness 181 | Spirit 181 | Resistance 181
Agility 181 | Concentration 181 | Strength 181 | Magic 181 | Dharma 181
Intelligence 181 | Liberal Arts 181 | Five Senses 181 | Sixth Sense 181
Charm 1 | Luck 2
Dexterity 180 → 280
Changeable occupations
The jump hit me like a physical blow. Level nine. Dexterity nearly doubled. I flexed my fingers, steady, sure, like they'd always belonged to someone braver.
"Guess being lord of the manor has perks," I muttered, a grin tugging at my lips.
A new occupation slot blinked, waiting. I didn't hesitate.
Leopin
Occupation: Carpenter → Trapper
Occupation Skills
- Pit trap: Able to set up pitfalls
- Wire trap: You can set a trap using wire
Perfect.
"Time to make this place a fortress."
I switched to Stonecrafter and got to work. The forest provided, chunks of gray stone, veined with moss. I chipped, shaped, and polished until a shovel took form in my hands.
Forest Stone Shovel
Quantity: 1
Quality Level: 12 (Material 1 + Dexterity Bonus 2 + Occupation Bonus 9)
A shovel carved from forest stone. With bonuses, it can dig through soil and rock twice as hard as your level.
I stepped through the gate, shovel over my shoulder, and surveyed the yard. First: a pit trap. I dug deep, the earth yielding like butter. At the bottom, I planted a cedar spear, sharpened to a wicked point with my knife. Branches and leaves camouflaged the top.
Pit of Gisu Wood Spear
Quantity: 1
Quality Level: 23 (Material 12 + Dexterity Bonus 2 + Occupation Bonus 9)
A pitfall lined with a Gisu wood spear. Bonuses make it nearly invisible and impossible to climb out of.
One down.
Next, near the old oak, I strung Dijazuru thread, thin, strong, and nearly invisible, between a stone weight and a bent sapling. A trigger stone completed the snare.
Dijazuru Thread Wire Trap
Quantity: 1
Quality Level: 28 (Material 17 + Dexterity Bonus 2 + Occupation Bonus 9)
A snare combining stone and Dijazuru thread. Triggers hoist the victim into the air. Bonuses render it undetectable and inescapable.
I stepped back, hands on hips. Primitive? Maybe. But level twenty-plus primitive. I'd take it.
I eyed the fence line, tempted to extend the defenses, but stopped. Monaka would be back soon. She was too polite to vault the fence, but still, I hammered a rough sign into the dirt: DANGER! TRAPS!
Monsters wouldn't read it. At least, not the ones dumb enough to wander this far.
The sun dipped lower, painting the forest orange. I leaned against the gate, shovel at my side, and let the quiet settle. My house glowed behind me, walls sturdy, gate latched. For the first time since exile, I felt… safe.
Meanwhile, in the principal's office, chaos erupted.
The crystal board on the wall chimed, a sound neither the principal nor vice principal had heard in years.
BASE REACTING. STUDENT HAS ESTABLISHED A BASE.
The principal froze, teacup halfway to his lips. "Impossible."
The vice principal lunged for the board. "Two days. Two days since term began!"
"I had a curriculum," the principal croaked. "Two years to break the record. Seven hundred ninety-three days, that was the fastest ever."
"Malfunction," the vice principal declared, jabbing at the glowing dot. "The device is broken. I'll summon the technicians—"
The map materialized. A single light pulsed in the forest, far beyond the residential zone. The dump. The exile zone.
Both men stared.
"No," the principal whispered. "It can't be."
He tapped the dot. Selected SURVEILLANCE.
The feed shifted.
There I was, stretched out in the fading light, shovel propped beside me, house gleaming like a beacon. Walls. Gate. Light pouring from every seam.
The vice principal's knees buckled. "Kieeeeeeeeeee!!!!"