Impish waved its hand as it explained.
"You must gather those materials and infuse them into the card. Once all the required ingredients have been collected, the card will activate."
"And then?"
"Then the card will combine the ingredients and transform them into a potion!"
Impish spread its arms.
"Drink the potion, and you'll awaken your profession!"
The bandana-wearing man frowned.
"So we have to gather the materials ourselves?"
"Naturally!"
A few survivors began discussing the matter.
"Does that mean we might not get our professions even if we survive?"
"Where are we supposed to find the ingredients?"
"What if they're difficult to obtain?"
Impish ignored most of the questions.
Faust, however, had become more interested.
'A potion?'
That was unexpected.
'So the cards don't directly grant abilities.'
Instead, they appeared to function as some sort of processing device.
The materials were combined to produce a substance capable of awakening a profession.
'Another form of biological modification?'
He considered the possibility.
If the potion altered the body to produce new abilities, then its working principles might be similar to those of the liquid crystal Agony had consumed earlier.
'I'll have to investigate that too.'
A voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
"Wait!"
A survivor near the back of the crowd raised his hand.
"If the profession is contained inside a card, doesn't that mean someone else can steal it?"
Several people immediately stopped talking.
The question had raised another problem.
Impish looked toward the speaker.
Then it laughed.
"Of course!"
The little creature grinned.
"What kind of question is that?"
"If you can't protect your own profession card, then why should you deserve to keep it?"
It tilted its head.
"Or do you think you deserve an SSS-class profession just because you were lucky enough to receive the card?"
Nobody answered.
Impish chuckled.
"That's right! If you want something valuable, then you should be strong enough to protect it!"
Its wings fluttered as it looked around the crowd.
"So, any other questions?"
The survivors began talking among themselves again.
However, their expressions were noticeably different from before.
Some looked worried, while others appeared to be considering the possibilities.
A few had already begun examining the people around them more carefully.
Faust watched with interest.
'So even the final reward can be stolen.'
That added another problem.
A player could survive the entire tutorial, earn enough contribution points to obtain a rare profession card, and still lose everything before activating it.
And if the required materials were difficult to obtain, the card itself could become a reason for others to attack its owner.
'They've given players quite a lot reasons to kill each other.'
Faust glanced toward Impish.
The little creature was answering another question, occasionally laughing at the survivors' concerns.
'The monsters might not even be the greatest threat here.'
He looked at the people gathered around him.
Most had begun standing closer to their companions, while those without groups appeared increasingly uncomfortable.
'Of course, that depends on how dangerous the invasion will be.'
If the monsters were strong enough, the survivors might have no choice but to cooperate despite the risks.
However, if they managed to build sufficient defenses, internal conflicts would likely become a greater concern.
Faust folded his arms.
'Quite an interesting experiment.'
The situation reminded him of the many behavioral experiments conducted on humans.
Resources, rewards, fear, and competition could all influence decisions.
And here, the participants were being placed in an environment where those factors were deliberately arranged to create conflict.
'They want to see how far people will go when survival and personal gain are placed against each other.'
He had to admit that the designers had made the situation rather difficult.
Not because the rules were complicated, but because everyone now had a reason to doubt the people standing beside them.
'Still, that doesn't mean everyone will immediately start killing each other.'
Fear of retaliation, the need for cooperation, and the threat of the nightly invasions would all influence their decisions.
Faust looked around again.
'The question is how long those considerations will outweigh the rewards.'
While he was thinking, the young man with the makeshift spear stepped forward.
"I have another question."
Impish turned toward him.
"Hmm? Go ahead!"
"What happens if everyone dies?"
For a moment, the creature stared at him.
Then it threw its head back.
"Hahahaha!"
Its laughter echoed through the village.
"What do you think happens?"
The young man remained silent.
Impish spread its arms.
"Game over!"
It continued laughing.
"If every single one of you dies, then that's the end! It simply means you weren't worthy of surviving!"
Several survivors frowned.
The young man with the spear, however, didn't seem particularly bothered by the answer.
Instead, he looked toward the surrounding buildings.
"Then I have another question."
Impish sighed.
"Another one?"
"Yes."
The young man pointed toward the village.
"There are about a dozen buildings here, and I can see several other facilities."
He turned back toward Impish.
"You said our objective is to defend this village. How exactly is our performance calculated?"
Impish stared at him.
Then it rolled its eyes.
"Seriously? You don't even understand something that simple?"
The young man didn't respond.
The creature crossed its arms.
"Fine! I'll explain it so even an idiot can understand!"
It pointed toward one of the nearby houses.
"Think of the entire village as having one hundred points."
"One hundred points?" the young man repeated.
"That's right!"
Impish nodded.
"Every building and facility contributes to the village's overall condition."
It then pointed toward a damaged section of the wall.
"Whenever one of those structures gets damaged, you lose points!""
"Damaged! Chipped, broken, destroyed, whatever!"
The creature waved its hands impatiently.
"The more severe the damage, the more points you lose!"
A few survivors looked toward the buildings.
One of the men near the map began checking the markings again, while his companions pointed toward different parts of the village.
The young man with the spear frowned.
"So we're supposed to protect every building?"
Impish grinned.
"Well, that's for you to figure out, isn't it?"
Faust turned his attention toward the village.
'A hundred points for the entire village.'
He examined the nearest building.
Its walls were already damaged, and several sections looked too weak to withstand a serious attack.
If the village's performance depended on how much damage its structures received, then simply surviving the invasion wouldn't be enough.
They would also need to prevent the attackers from reaching the buildings.
'That changes things.'
A group of thirty people would have to defend an entire village against an unknown number of enemies.
They would need to divide their manpower, identify vulnerable areas, and decide which buildings required the most protection.
At the same time, they would need people to gather food and other resources during the day.
'And all of that has to be done while everyone is suspicious of each other.'
Faust glanced toward the crowd.
The survivors had already begun discussing possible defenses.
Some pointed toward the forest, while others examined the village's entrances.
The trio holding the map appeared especially busy.
However, the earlier tension had not disappeared.
Whenever someone suggested splitting into smaller groups, several others looked reluctant.
Faust understood why.
The rules had made traveling alone dangerous.
But staying in a group didn't guarantee safety either.
He looked back toward Impish.
The little creature was floating above the crowd, watching them with a satisfied smile.
'So that's the situation.'
Three days of defending a village against nightly invasions.
Limited time to prepare, no guaranteed food or water, and rewards based on individual contributions.
Players could steal one another's points, items, and even profession cards.
And killing another player provided an additional chance to improve their final reward.
Faust's gaze moved from the buildings to the armed survivors.
'They've provided every reason for cooperation and almost as many reasons for betrayal.'
He looked toward the young man holding the spear, then the older man with the handgun.
Both were carefully observing the people around them.
'And some of them have already started calculating.'
Faust smiled faintly.
'Well, let's see how this turns out.'