Lemuel—players affectionately call her Angel.
Most players who didn't choose the Sankta race would only encounter her during the main storyline of Version 3.0. By that time, players would have already explored the mobile city of Lungmen. Strolling through its streets at night, they might catch sight of a transport truck bearing a penguin logo being chased and blocked by a dozen police cars.
This angelic young lady had captured the hearts of players of all genders. Every player, after all, is a loyal fan of beauty. Even Felix, who never once engaged in online romance during his time in the game, had to admit—this little angel, Lemuel, possessed a charm all her own.
Some players even drew their own fan versions of her… Well, Felix had seen those too.
But let's put that aside for now. There was something more pressing that made Felix hesitate. He recalled certain documents stored in his memory.
In 1091, Andoain rebelled—and Mostima fell from grace.
In 1093, she left Laterano altogether.
Mostima was around one or two academic years senior to Exusiai.
One year after Mostima left school, Lemuel graduated and went off to Lungmen to chase after her.
The timeline was a bit confusing. Mostima participated in team missions while she was still in school. She fell before graduation, remained at school for another year, and then left. Lemuel graduated and set off for Lungmen a year later.
Summarizing the timeline:
1091: Mostima falls.
1092: She remains at the Laterano school.
1093: Mostima graduates and leaves Laterano.
1094: Lemuel graduates and heads for Lungmen.
Felix's current body was 16 years old. In Laterano, students typically graduate at 23—though early graduation was allowed. By this calculation, Mostima was roughly his age, and Lemuel was a year younger.
Age, however, wasn't a restriction for the Sankta race the way it was for others. Sanktas could live up to 300 years, and their appearances changed little with age. Some even chose to accelerate their aging appearance deliberately. When their goals were fulfilled, they would return to the stars.
Felix set down the Black Hawk in his hand. He finally understood why his homeroom teacher had turned a blind eye to his actions. With the explosive-maniac Lemuel in the picture, his own behavior was trivial in comparison.
As for the Laterano Academy's graduation age of 23... Felix clearly didn't plan to stay that long. If he waited until then, the main plot would have already started—and it would be too late.
He was planning a trip to Siracusa to acquire a valuable secondary profession notebook.
But before that, he needed to gain more experience.
During the summer break, the library was fully booked. Only a few Sankta were willing to sit down and read. Most would rather run, play, and shoot under the sun.
Felix found several reference books and memorized their locations before continuing deeper into the library.
The fact that the original body's identity was already tied to the school was a huge advantage. For a player to enter the library, they would first need to join the academy and earn a massive number of loyalty points—a process that was far more complicated than most were willing to endure.
"—Found it."
He spotted a book titled Basic Analysis of Guns on the shelf and reached for it.
[You are currently learning. Your Intelligence has been successfully determined. Your Expertise has been successfully determined. Current progress: 1.14%. Gunsmith secondary occupation unlock progress: 2%.]
Felix had no classes in the afternoon, so he stood in the library during summer break, reading quietly. Once he finished one book, he immediately started another. His progress rose quickly.
Finally—
[You have acquired a new secondary occupation: New Pistolsmith. Dexterity +2. You have gained 1 free attribute point.]
[You have obtained a new feature: Basic Gun Weapon Understanding.]
[You have finished reading five books related to the Gunsmith secondary profession and gained experience—]
Basic Gun Weapon Understanding meant that he could now comprehend gun blueprints previously decipherable only by Gunsmith players.
As for free attribute points, upgrading a main profession granted two points, while upgrading a secondary profession gave one.
Felix smiled and applied all of this new experience directly to his secondary profession: Gunsmith.
[Skill tree is now open. You have gained 3 skill points.]
Each main and sub-profession had its own set of skills. There were no branching paths—only a linear progression. When a main profession was maxed out, players could then start investing in sub-professions. Theoretically, a player could unlock countless sub-professions.
Felix ignored his auxiliary main profession and assigned all three skill points to his Gunsmith path. That was only enough to unlock one skill.
[You have mastered the skill: Basic Gun Manufacturing.]
Phew. With that skill, he could finally make a firearm.
He glanced at his dashboard.
[Name: Felix Shawn Lanshem]
[HP: 51/51]
[MP: 33/33]
[Race: Sankta]
[Template: NPC (376 days, 19 hours, 19 minutes, and 18 seconds until the public beta begins)]
[Level: 5]
[Experience: 0]
[Main Occupation: Assistant Beginner Lv1 (1/200)]
[Secondary Occupation: New Pistolsmith Lv2 (40/800)
Student Lv2 (2/100)]
[Skill: Basic Gun Manufacturing Lv1]
[Skill Points: 0]
[Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 5, Endurance 2, Intelligence 7, Spirit 2, Charm 7, Luck 1]
[Allocated Attribute Points: 0]
[Features: Beginner Assistance Lv1, Squad Assistance Lv1, Team Assistance Lv1, Basic Gun Weapon Understanding Lv1]
[Talents: Genius, Gunsmith's Hand]
[Rank: 0.14 Stars]
[Evaluation: On par with ordinary passersby.]
Learning truly brought satisfaction. He closed the book.
He needed to finish reading all the books related to the Gunsmith profession as soon as possible. After all, across the entire Terra continent, only Laterano possessed professional-grade literature on gunsmithing.
More advanced professional books weren't available in the academy's library—they could only be accessed on the top floor of the National Library, and only with special permission from the notary office.
To assemble a gun, not only did one need materials, but also the blueprint—and both had to be purchased separately. It turned out that becoming a gunsmith was a money-burning side profession.
Fortunately, both of these problems were relatively easy to solve in Laterano.
Returning the book to its place on the shelf, Felix turned to the side. It was time to head to the marketplace.
For the Sanktas, using and crafting firearms was as natural as eating or drinking. Who could remember how many slices of bread they had eaten for breakfast? The same logic applied here.
The blueprints sold in the market were quite expensive. Felix's savings amounted to only 20,000 LMD, which meant he couldn't afford the higher-tier designs. Thankfully, the blueprint for a hand cannon wasn't costly. After some haggling, he managed to purchase the schematic for 10,000 LMD.
The gun in question was a standard-issue pistol—the very same Black Hawk he had used in practice earlier that day.
Thanks to his Gun Comprehension talent, he could easily understand the blueprint's contents. After tidying up the workspace, Felix began the polishing and crafting process.
[You are making a pistol: Black Hawk. Dexterity and Intelligence check initiated. Talent check: Gunsmith's Hand. Current manufacturing progress: 4%.]
After an entire night spent hammering and refining metal, Felix felt invigorated. The benefit of having the Gunsmith's Hand talent was evident—his movements were fluid, his focus unwavering. By morning, he had completed two Black Hawk pistols.
The quality rating, however, was gray—indicating the most basic tier. Even so, the market price for a pistol of that grade started at 30,000 LMD.
To put it bluntly, the Gunsmith secondary profession was essentially a mobile arms dealership. His plan was to stockpile equipment and leave Laterano before the public beta began.
---
Two months later.
"Teacher Farma asked me to let you know—your application materials have been approved."
One afternoon, just after class, Felix was packing up and preparing to head to the library when a classmate stopped him.
After living in this world for a while, Felix had long stopped seeing these people as mere NPCs. They had goals, responsibilities, dreams—just like real people. They were no longer just lines of data in his eyes.
He turned toward the girl, a flicker of surprise crossing his expression.
"…Mostima?"
Mostima blinked her clear, icy-blue eyes, noticing the unusual look on Felix's face. She glanced down at her outfit—neat and clean, without a speck of dust.
"…Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing," Felix replied, quickly averting his gaze.
Just as he had suspected—Mostima, the time-managing prodigy who would one day play a pivotal role in the future storyline, was now his classmate.
In his previous life, he had seen her fallen from grace—horns on her head, her black tail swaying gently behind her. Seeing her now, before that fall, gave Felix a sense of freshness and unfamiliarity.
"Is Felix interested in making firearms?" Mostima asked with curiosity.
No matter what kind of enigmatic Riddler she would eventually become in the future, right now she showed none of it. She was still a young girl—untouched by tragedy, untouched by fate.
Two months ago, Felix had submitted a request to Mr. Farma, the firearms instructor, asking for access to firearm components stored in the school warehouse. He had expressed his intent to pursue gunsmithing as a secondary profession. Mr. Farma had been supportive—after all, Felix was a gifted genius, excelling in all academic fields. To him, it was almost certain Felix would enter the notary office someday—perhaps even catch the attention of the Pope himself.
But gunsmithing was an expensive path. Spare parts cost a small fortune, and as an orphan living in Laterano, Felix relied solely on the minimum living allowance. He could barely afford to buy any parts on his own each month. Left with little choice, he turned to the school for support.
"I want to be a gunsmith," Felix said. "Do you want to come see?"
Mostima smiled and nodded. "I'm curious how guns are made."
The two made their way to the workshop. Upon entering, Felix nodded in greeting to a few students busy maintaining firearms, then walked over to his workstation. Mostima stood beside him, silently observing his every movement.
The firearm he was about to build was the Vulture, a small-caliber, single-shot training pistol. He had purchased the blueprint himself, though the best possible quality he could produce with it was only white—still just a beginner's weapon.
But with the combined effect of his talent and traits, Felix was far more efficient than an ordinary gunsmith. His actions were smooth and unbroken—cutting, shaping, assembling—all completed in one seamless flow.
Mostima's eyes sparkled with admiration. She found herself thinking that Felix was the most gifted classmate she had ever seen when it came to firearms.
In less than an hour, Felix had finished assembling the pistol.
Holding the lightweight Vulture in his hand, he quickly loaded it, adjusted the safety bolt, and then removed the magazine. He handed the weapon over to Mostima.
"So cool," she murmured, gently running her fingers over the Vulture as if she could feel Felix's warmth lingering on the metal. She changed her grip on the pistol, reluctant to let it go.
"Thank you for your patronage. Forty-five thousand LMD," Felix said playfully.
"That's about the market price, isn't it?" Mostima laughed as she handed the pistol back. "Felix will definitely become a great gunsmith in the future."
"I hope so," he replied quietly.
---
Four months later.
Felix had gained a wealth of experience through the repeated disassembly and assembly of firearms. Not only that, he had also thoroughly studied every book in the academy's library. He had completed all the reading in the auxiliary department and fully mastered the [Basic Shooting] skill from Teacher Farma's course.
He had extensively analyzed the blueprints for single-shot pistols produced in Laterano, but he had yet to unlock blueprints for other types of pistols. Some particularly rare blueprints remained out of reach—either too expensive or simply unavailable for purchase.
Beyond Laterano, other regions across Terra also produced pistols. However, the majority of these were of subpar quality, and only a few gunsmiths' designs were truly worth collecting.
Aside from purchasing or reverse-engineering them, there existed a special event mechanic in which a blueprint could be instantly obtained while crafting with the gunsmith secondary profession.
Outside of these three methods, the only remaining way to acquire blueprints was to level up honestly and rely on what blueprints might drop based on the quality roll.
His daily routine had grown somewhat monotonous. After completing his classes, he would chat briefly with Mostima before heading to the library to continue his reading.
After half a year of steady progress, his pistolsmith level had reached 10, granting him +7 Dexterity, +8 Intelligence, and 10 free attribute points.
However, the books required to advance the gunsmith secondary profession were located in the National Library—and he still did not meet the qualifications for entry, nor the job change requirements.
Felix chose not to change his main auxiliary profession for the time being. Though he had met the advancement conditions, he still lacked the necessary experience. For now, guns remained his only source of income.
He distributed his remaining experience to the technician secondary profession, raising it to level 10 as well. In doing so, he gained +4 Strength, +4 Endurance, +2 Charm, and another 10 free attribute points.
As for the student secondary profession, it provided no bonuses. Once Felix left Laterano, it would likely disappear on its own.
While exploring the gunsmith path, he had also learned [Maintenance and Repair] and [Custom Modification], investing the rest of his experience points to level up these two skills—along with [Basic Gun Manufacturing] and [Basic Firearm Knowledge]—to level 10.
His overall level had now reached 23, with a class rating of 0.79—steadily approaching the 1-star threshold.
If his main profession wasn't Support, his current rating might have surpassed 1 long ago, and he would already be what players call a one-star Operator. However, the Support profession is incredibly powerful in the later stages. The drones and machines he could eventually manufacture can be deployed as an organized unit, and the team-wide bonuses from Support traits are nothing short of overwhelming. This is what it truly means for one person to be an army—one person who makes an army.
Some secondary professions are restricted by main profession. Gunsmith, mechanic, and craftsman, for example, can only be learned by those with the Support main class.
Though his level had reached 23, it was ultimately a nominal level. After subtracting the levels gained from his Student secondary profession, his effective level was only 21. Aside from his boosted HP and MP, Felix's only method of attack relied on the bonuses provided by his Technician secondary class. It was no surprise that his class rating remained relatively low.
In the past, many players eager for quick success had recklessly leveled up easy secondary professions just to raise their levels. However, they gained no meaningful stat increases, joined teams with overconfidence, and were quickly wiped out—becoming laughingstocks in online forums.
Now, as Felix approached the 1.0 rating threshold, he finally let out a sigh of relief. The past six months of effort had not been in vain.
The time ratio between Terra and the real world was three to one—a setting implemented so players could fully immerse themselves in this otherworldly experience. The internal test day was fast approaching. And in just half a year, the Fourth Catastrophe—known as the Sky-Descenders—would begin to fall upon this land.