[A group of refugees has entered the premises of your island]

Hearing this, Simon nodded inwardly. He had been expecting this for a while, after all.

"Joe, it seems like that time has already come. The first batch of refugees are here." Simon said, continuing to eat nonchalantly.

Hearing this, Joe immediately replied, "Sir, I'll follow your plans and greet them accordingly!"

"Good. You can go ahead."

Joe quickly pushed the door open, and strode out with a reserved, yet confident stride to the airship docked outside.

The refugees who were disembarking from a 20 meter long airship wore worn out rags and looked around curiously upon stepping onto the island. Seeing Joe, they showed a hint of fear and reverence.

After all, as a bonafide general, his aura was truly valiant and intimidating.

"Welcome, refugees. This island is called the Soaring Celestion Realm." Joe said majestically, gesturing to the island behind him. But then he glanced around at the bare island, which had hardly anything celestial to speak of…

"Ahem."

He coughed awkwardly and cleared his throat, seeing the confused glances of the refugees.

"It may not be much now, but our island already has two mages! One is talented beyond compare, while the other is an experienced expert. I can swear to the system on the spot that this is the case." he followed up confidently.

Hearing Joe, the eyes of the once dispirited civilians lit up and they visibly became more excited.

Hesitatingly, a middle aged man in the front of the crowd spoke up with hope clearly written in his expression. "Please, there is no need to swear an oath over this matter sir, we will take your word for it. I'll introduce us humble fellows" he beckoned to the group of refugees, before continuing.

"We were previously workers of an island, but it was destroyed in a raid. We were forced to flee, and though none of us are particularly talented, I can guarantee that we are certainly hardworking."

"I wonder… If we could join the island?" he asked, unable to contain his eagerness.

The man's enthusiasm was not unfounded. After all, mages were esteemed figures that could single handedly fight armies! Being under the protection of not one, but two mages was definitely a desirable situation for these war ridden refugees.

Plus, despite the island's small size, the state of the healthy looking crops and the intimidating aura of Joe himself was enough to convince these people.

"Mm, as you are the first group of refugees, we'll make an exception and let you all in." Joe said with a magnanimous nod. They were in need of manpower, after all.

-----

In the blink of an eye, many long and productive days had gone by, as the island continuously progressed.

In these past few days, the knowledge that magic from Island Ascension Online transferred to reality slowly gained traction as more and more public figures announced the authenticity of the "rumor" in the news and media.

People naturally found it hard to accept, but it was an inevitable truth - and soon, considered an accepted fact.

As a result, demand for professional gamers was sky high, and the supply of players was similarly soaring! The world was in an uproar and seemed to be in a craze for the game. Office workers and their bosses alike quit their jobs in droves to play. Even the elderly and young showed up in never before seen numbers to partake in this once in a lifetime opportunity as well!

In fact, as of now nearly half of the planet's population of 20 billion people had played Island Ascension Online at least once… It was actually that earth-shattering.

At the same time, certain mysterious phenomena began occurring on all corners of the planet.

The strength of gravity, tidal flows, earthquakes, and other forces of nature were actually increasing overtime. Not to mention, reports of strange scenes such as toppled forests, unnaturally large disturbances in wildlife, and entire regions disappearing or appearing were gradually becoming commonplace...

Very few people knew the cause of such phenomena. But what everyone did know was that an earth-shattering change was certainly taking place on the planet!

Perhaps, only the higher ups of the Gamer's Truth corporation and Simon himself knew of the actual cause of the phenomena.

Indeed, Simon was extremely familiar with these "planetary symptoms"...

In his old world, beasts and humans alike were born stronger than in this one. However, it was not only creatures that were different; even the forces of nature and the planet itself were unrecognizable when compared to this current one!

Naturally, the happenings on this planet could only mean one thing…

That the changes occurring on the planet were actually a transition phase, from being devoid of mana, to full of mana!

However, the status of the planet was still far from comparable with his old world; it was clear that such monumental changes would not happen overnight.

After all, this was most likely due to the mana which had escaped from players who were mages in Island Ascension Online. And as of now, there were only so many players who were already mages. Naturally, the process would be quite gradual.

Sometime in the last few days, Simon also had revealed to Kenny that he had beaten him in the race to island level three. Though, he obviously did not mention that he was the first one there.

As a result, he had an entire week off to play Island Ascension Online. But even so, he made sure to fulfill his duties with the company from his laptop at home. With the help of his enchantments, doing so was no issue at all.

And he certainly did not let that week go to waste!

...

Currently, Simon was leisurely sitting on a bed that resided in a room of the island core, absorbing mana while reflecting on his progress throughout the past few days.

The Island core was now a manor that was even larger than his original island, made almost completely of white stone and glass windows. When the brilliant sun shone upon this magnificent white manor, it was almost blinding to the residents of the island.

Not to mention, there were over a dozen rooms in this particular manor; some were for servants, while others contained core resources and secrets of the island. The mana density within this manor was even especially dense, which brought great joy to Simon.

Naturally, this manor was rather impressive as it cost a whopping 15 gold worth of materials to upgrade to! If it weren't impressive, then the system would have just been fraudulent.

However, the next upgrade would take well over 100 gold coins in resources, which even included materials which could only be found in ruins. Without question, pursuing the fourth island core upgrade would not be an easy task...

Meanwhile, outside this towering manor of stone resided a series of neatly lined up buildings. These buildings came in a variety of forms, but each had one thing in common: They were considerably extravagant and specific in their appearance.

Indeed, the buildings were almost exact replicas of buildings of a certain town that Simon used to live in, a long time ago… The town of Oakengulch. Just seeing the town of his childhood was enough to incite his memories.

The recreation of the town was not completely faithful. Doing so would simply be inefficient and limiting after all. To Simon, all that mattered was if his island was highly reminiscent of his previous world and so long as it did not pale next to the original.

To the residents of the planet that he was on, even something close to the appearance of his old world was bound to come across as grand and majestic! Let alone one with an appearance on par with it.

After all, as a planet that had been introduced to mana for a long time, the geography of his old planet naturally looked like something straight out of a fantasy story.

Once such example is the behemoth-like canyons that spanned from the deepest depths of the planet to heights above even the highest of clouds: The Gorges of Heavenly Descent.

Another such example is the vast underground ocean that spans over three continents in size, filled with countless vortexes, storms, and mysterious creatures: The Ocean of Resplendent Darkness.

One final example is the seemingly endless complex of mazes and tunnels beneath the surface of the entire planet, containing countless dangers and treasures: The Caves of Obscurity.

From just these few landforms, one could see recreating the world would truly be a behemoth task! Just thinking about the logistics of such a task made Simon shudder.

However, he took solace in the fact that with every passing moment, he only advanced on the journey, not digressed. If he kept on improving and continuing on, eventually, it may not prove to be an impossible feat...

Meanwhile, there were currently about 40 buildings that formed a semicircle around the manor in the middle of the island. The roads of cobblestone that lined the town were rife with activity, as residents happily moved about and fulfilled their duties.

The current island was governed in a communal way. Work could be traded in for food and resources, and no currencies of any sort were propagated. Moreover, residents were provided housing free of charge. Such a way of society was the best for a small scaled island.

With the help of groups of refugees, Simon's town had also reached a population of approximately 40 residents.

Other than Joe and Jake, there were 35 F-Tier, 3 E-Tier, 1 D-Tier, and 1 C-Tier NPC residing on his island. Their talents ranged from farming and gathering, to warfare and history. However, most of them ended up doing manual labor anyways.

Naturally, with the help of so many workers, Simon's rate of progress in leveling up his island multiplied, and he was inching ever closer to the milestone that was a level 5 island.

Behind the manor in the direction opposite of the town, there was no lack of busy mineshafts and woodlands, which resources constantly flowed out of.

Typically, players would be given quests to help them on their path of island development. However, as someone with Expert mode activated, Simon received no such guidance. As a result, this was all due to his work and planning.

On the opposite of the mines, large fields of verdant crops and healthy livestock filled the land, and a handful of figures could be seen tending to the livestock and crops. By now, there were dozens of crop species spanning several fields, and even a few pens for rearing livestock.

It has to be known that livestock, just like crops, grew at an astronomical rate. Thus, by now, his island was easily populated by domesticated livestock such as cows, chickens, and pigs.

At this moment, it just so happened that in the middle of a certain field in this area, a boy in his early teens and a middle aged, yet astute lady were conversing in hushed tones while pulling up potatoes from the ground.

"Ma, might it not be impossible to abandon the mission?" The boy asked as he pushed a spade into the ground with his foot. He looked hopefully up to the manor and continued, "This island owner is quite powerful and lenient, so we can probably get away with staying here, right?"

The woman sighed and gently gazed at the boy as she continued to work. Her wrinkles seemed to deepen as she replied solemnly. "Jacob, you're still new to this but you will soon learn that it's not nearly that simple."

She sighed, pausing to put her thoughts into words, before continuing helplessly. "You should know that his power is no blessing, but rather a curse."

"I can see it in his eyes; the mayor is supremely confident and has great aspirations. However, that is not necessarily a good thing! Men like him who are too proud to submit will inevitably have to face off with organizations beyond their scope of understanding… I have seen far too many brilliant stars rise rapidly, only to get crushed like ants before the various organizations."

Hearing these words, the boy quickly understood the essence of it and felt that it was rather unfortunate. But nonetheless, his gaze grew cold and distant when looking at the manor.

-----

Meanwhile, inside the Island Core…

An otherworldly, and yet average looking man was currently sitting on a bed, and his body exuded a multicolored glow.

Woosh!

With every passing moment, the aura surrounding him intensified, and a turbid vortex of mana continuously rotated around him - but the aura was mysteriously kept from leaving the room.

Meanwhile, inside his heart, seven resplendent stars of light gradually rotated around an orb of energy faster and faster, until they were indistinguishable from the others!

Eventually…

Boom!

An inaudible explosion occurred and for a moment, this figure's aura skyrocketed, before becoming suppressed once again.

Indeed, this man was Simon, who had just broken through to the first star core!

He took a deep breath and chuckled, now one step closer to regaining his strength.

'Hahaha, everything is going smoothly!' he thought with a joyful expression.

Over the past week, he had continued accumulating mana until he reached the point of breakthrough. With tier one magic, he could now touch upon the intricacies of specialized magic, and would no longer be limited to the simplest of spells.

But just a moment later the smile was abruptly wiped from his face.

'What?!'