A few survivors began whispering among themselves.
"So we can buy weapons?"
"Maybe medicine too."
"Ten items per day..."
Faust listened without joining their discussion.
'Group rewards for defending the village, individual rewards for killing enemies.'
The arrangement was reasonable enough.
However, there was already a potential problem.
People who contributed to the village's defenses would not necessarily be the same people who earned the most individual points.
And since the group reward required a majority vote, the largest group could potentially control how those resources were spent.
'That could become troublesome.'
Impish looked around.
"Well? Any questions?"
The older man sitting on the crate raised his hand.
"What happens after the three days?"
Impish turned toward him.
"Hmm?"
"I'm asking about the final reward," the old man continued. "What do we get if we survive until the end?"
"Ah! An excellent question!"
Impish grinned.
"Every survivor who completes the tutorial will be given the opportunity to select a profession card!"
"Profession card?"
"That's right! You'll be offered three different options, and you can choose one of them."
The creature's wings fluttered excitedly.
"Of course, the quality of your choices will depend on your performance."
"The more contribution points you accumulate, the rarer the profession cards you'll receive!"
The crowd immediately became interested.
"A profession?"
"You mean like those games?"
"Can we become mages?"
"What about warriors?"
Impish laughed at their reactions.
"Who knows? You'll have to earn your cards first!"
Faust rubbed his chin.
'Profession cards.'
He remembered the system interface Agony had connected him to earlier.
His profession was currently listed as None.
'So that's how players are supposed to obtain their professions.'
Considering how much importance the guide placed on the cards, they likely played a major role in the system.
However, Faust was more interested in how those professions actually worked.
Did they directly alter the user's body?
Or did they grant some form of additional ability?
'I'll have to examine one.'
Before he could think further, a rugged man from one of the groups raised his hand.
"Wait. What about food and water?"
Impish turned toward him.
"What about them?"
"Are we supposed to survive here for three days without supplies?"
The man gestured toward the village.
"I don't see any food being distributed. Are you going to provide it?"
Impish stared at him for a moment.
Then it burst into laughter.
"Pfft! Hahaha!"
The man's expression darkened.
"What's so funny?"
"Are you children?"
Impish spread its arms toward the forest.
"Look around you! There's an entire forest out there!"
It pointed toward the trees.
"If you're hungry, go hunt something! If you're thirsty, go find water!"
"Do you expect us to feed you too?"
The rugged man clenched his jaw.
A few survivors looked equally displeased, but nobody tried to argue further.
Impish shook its head.
"Really, humans are always expecting someone else to solve their problems."
Faust glanced toward the forest.
'So food and water aren't provided.'
That meant the survivors would have to divide their time between gathering supplies, preparing defenses, and resting before the nightly invasions.
It would become more difficult if they suffered injuries or lost people along the way.
'Three days might be more troublesome than it sounds.'
Just then, another voice came from the side.
"I have a question."
A man standing beside one of the buildings stepped forward.
His expression was serious.
"What happens if a conflict breaks out between the players?"
Impish tilted its head.
"A conflict?"
"Yes. Suppose two people fight, and one of them kills the other."
The man paused.
"Will the system punish the killer?"
The surrounding conversations gradually stopped.
Several survivors turned toward Impish, waiting for its answer.
For a moment, the little creature simply stared at the man.
Then its mouth slowly stretched into a grin.
"Oh?"
Its eyes gleamed.
"Now that's a good question!"
Impish clasped its hands behind its back.
"Well, the answer is simple."
"If you kill another player, you will receive all the points and items belonging to your victim!"
The village fell silent.
"What?"
Someone spoke in disbelief.
"Did you just say we can take another player's points?"
"That's right!"
Impish nodded cheerfully.
"Everything they have accumulated will become yours!"
The man who had asked the question frowned.
"And there's no punishment?"
"Punishment?"
Impish looked genuinely amused.
"Why would there be?"
A few survivors exchanged uneasy glances.
However, the creature wasn't finished.
"In fact, you'll even receive an additional reward!"
It raised one finger.
"A special token called a refresh chance!"
"Refresh chance?"
"Correct!"
Impish smiled.
"A refresh chance allows you to refresh your profession card options!"
The announcement caused another wave of murmurs.
Some survivors immediately looked toward their companions.
Others took a few steps away from the people standing nearby.
The young man with the makeshift spear tightened his grip on his weapon.
His eyes moved across the crowd again.
This time, however, the people he examined seemed to notice.
One of the survivors standing alone quickly moved closer to a nearby group.
The bandana-wearing man exchanged a glance with the muscular woman beside him.
Neither said anything.
The older man sitting on the crate stopped cleaning his gun.
He looked up at Impish before slowly turning his attention toward the other survivors.
Even the young man playing with his lighter had stopped.
Click!
He closed the lighter and slipped it into his pocket.
Faust watched their reactions.
'There it is.'
The rules had finally revealed their true nature.
Players needed to cooperate to defend the village, yet killing another player would allow them to steal everything that person had earned.
There was even an additional reward for doing so.
'Points, items, and a chance to obtain a better profession.'
Faust glanced toward the people around him.
'And no penalty for killing another player.'
The incentive was obvious.
A player who had accumulated a large amount of points would become an attractive target.
The stronger their rewards, the greater the benefit someone else could gain from killing them.
Even worse, since the reward included all the victim's accumulated points, someone could potentially avoid fighting monsters and steal another player's progress instead.
'What a troublesome system.'
Faust continued examining the crowd.
Just a moment ago, most of the survivors had been discussing how to prepare for the invasion.
Now, they were watching each other.
Nobody had drawn a weapon, but the atmosphere had changed considerably.
'Cooperation is necessary for survival, but they've deliberately made betrayal profitable.'
He looked at Impish.
The creature appeared delighted by the reaction it had caused.
'Whoever designed this game understands human behavior rather well.'
By offering rewards for both cooperation and betrayal, they had created a situation where every player had to consider the possibility of being attacked by their own allies.
Even if everyone initially agreed to work together, that trust could easily collapse once individual rewards began accumulating.
'Especially toward the end.'
Faust considered the final profession reward.
If killing someone allowed a player to gain enough points for a rarer profession, there would be people willing to take that risk.
He remembered the announcement made by the self-proclaimed Gods.
They had openly declared that the game was meant to entertain them.
'So this is how they intend to do it.'
Faust gave a faint smile.
'Not a bad arrangement for spectators.'
Meanwhile, the bandana-wearing man raised his hand.
"Hold on. You mentioned profession cards."
Impish turned toward him.
"Yes?"
"Does that mean we don't receive our professions directly?"
The creature nodded.
"Of course not!"
It looked at him as though the answer should have been obvious.
"Getting a profession isn't as simple as picking a card and suddenly becoming stronger."
"You'll need to collect certain materials first."
"Materials?"
"Yes. Every profession card requires specific ingredients."