Upgrade
It was the evening of the sixth day.
After spending two straight days traveling back and forth between resource islands, Rangga stood in the middle of his home island, staring at the enormous piles of materials that now occupied nearly every corner around his hut.
Neatly stacked before him were:
Wood ×200
Stone ×200
Plant Fiber ×300
Copper Ore ×80
Mechanical Radar ×2
Rangga scratched the back of his head.
"Damn... My island looks like a construction warehouse now."
He opened his island status screen.
Level 1 Island
Upgrade Requirements
Wood: 200 / 50 ✔
Stone: 200 / 50 ✔
Plant Fiber: 300 / 150 ✔
Status: Ready to Upgrade
A faint smile appeared on Rangga's face.
"Finally."
With a hint of hesitation, he pressed Upgrade Island.
Instantly, all the required materials glowed before disappearing. The ground beneath his feet began to tremble.
Rumble...
Rangga instinctively stepped backward.
"Whoa..."
The tiny island became enveloped in brilliant white light. Moments later, the shoreline slowly began moving outward.
New land continuously emerged from the sea, expanding the island in every direction.
Several minutes later, the light finally faded.
Rangga stood frozen.
His island had become dramatically larger—roughly the size of one and a half soccer fields.
"It really... Got bigger."
He slowly looked around in amazement.
Back on Earth, millions of viewers witnessed the transformation live.
The comment sections immediately exploded.
"The island can expand?!"
"So it's not just about building houses!"
"Can it eventually become a huge island?"
"Look at the coastline! It actually expanded!"
"So upgrading your island is really important."
"I think Rangga's only the fifth Pioneer to upgrade an island."
Inside the Garuda Nation's Presidential Palace, President Prabu and General Suryo watched the transformation intently.
Not only them. Governments around the world immediately instructed their analysts to record every visible change.
They had just learned another crucial piece of information. A Pioneer's island could actually grow.
Rangga turned toward the dock. His simple wooden boat still rested quietly beside the shore.
Walking over, he opened its status window.
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Level 1 Boat
Upgrade Requirements
Wood ✔
Plant Fiber ✔
Mechanical Radar ✔
Status: Ready to Upgrade
A small smile spread across Rangga's face.
"Your turn."
Without hesitation, he selected Upgrade Boat. The required materials immediately glowed before disappearing.
The small boat was engulfed in brilliant white light, even brighter than before.
Rangga stepped back while shielding his eyes. A few seconds later, the light gradually faded.
The tiny wooden boat had changed. Its hull was now reinforced with metal framing along both sides.
The bow looked much sturdier. It had also grown noticeably larger.
A new window appeared.
Level 2 Boat
Rangga nodded with satisfaction.
"Now... That actually looks like a boat."
Back on Earth, the reaction was immediate. The comment section exploded once more.
"The boat changed!"
"Upgrading actually changes its appearance!"
"Is he the first?"
"No other Pioneer has upgraded their boat yet!"
Not only ordinary viewers.
Government analysts around the world immediately stopped discussing everything else and focused entirely on Rangga's broadcast.
Inside the Garuda Presidential Palace, General Suryo frowned.
"Mr. President... Major Deri actually has more resources than Rangga... So why hasn't he upgraded his boat?"
President Prabu silently watched the screen.
"Perhaps... he's missing a certain material."
A researcher immediately pulled up reports on every Garuda Pioneer.
"Sir... Major Deri has already gathered large amounts of wood and Plant Fiber."
"But we've never seen him obtain a Mechanical Radar."
The room immediately fell silent. President Prabu slowly nodded.
"So resources alone aren't enough. There are still special materials that must be discovered."
At the same time, governments around the world reached similar conclusions.
Why was Rangga the only one able to upgrade his boat?
Was it luck? Or had he simply found a rare material that no one else had obtained yet?
Nobody knew the answer but everyone knew only one thing.
Rangga had become the first Pioneer in the world to unlock new information about the Boat System.
After finishing his inspection of the upgraded boat, Rangga returned to the center of the island.
His attention immediately shifted toward the island status panel, which now displayed far more options than before.
"...Please tell me there's a warehouse."
The moment he opened it, several new buildings appeared.
New Buildings
House Upgrade
Warehouse
Weaving Station
Kiln
Drying Rack
Rangga's eyes immediately lit up.
"Yes! Finally—a warehouse."
Without hesitation, he selected it.
A new panel opened.
Level 1 Warehouse
Materials Required
50 Wood
30 Stone
5 Copper Ingots
Rangga scratched his head.
"Huh? Copper Ingots?"
He turned toward the pile of Copper Ore beside his hut.
"So ore alone doesn't work?"
Curious, he reopened the building list and selected Smelting Furnace.
Level 1 Kiln
Materials Required
30 Stone
50 Clay
Rangga frowned again.
"Damn it... Now what's Clay?"
He stood quietly, thinking.
"...The swamp? It should have clay, right? It's muddy."
The more he thought about it, the more logical it sounded. Rangga slowly nodded.
"I'll look for clay tomorrow."
His gaze shifted toward the Composite Alloy Bow leaning beside the hut, along with the thirty Alloy Arrows that had become his most reliable weapons.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"If I run into a crocodile now... I don't think I'll be as scared."
He closed every System window. The warehouse could wait. So could the smelting furnace.
That night, Rangga simply sat beside the campfire.
He skewered a piece of chicken onto a wooden stick and slowly roasted it over the glowing coals.
While waiting for it to cook, he squeezed the juice from a ripe mango over the meat.
The sweet liquid dripped slowly onto the sizzling chicken, mixing with the fat melting into the fire.
"Hmm... Hope this tastes better."
Before long, the aroma of grilled chicken filled the cool night air a small reward after surviving six days in a completely unfamiliar world.
At the same time, inside the military housing complex. Putri sat quietly in front of the screen, watching her brother roast chicken over the campfire.
Seeing Rangga finally able to enjoy meat again after several difficult days, a gentle smile never left her face.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
A soft knock came from the door.
"Come in."
The female officer who had been looking after Putri entered the room carrying a sheet of paper and a pen.
"Putri."
"Yes, ma'am?"
The officer smiled warmly.
"Tomorrow is Day Seven. Every Pioneer will receive one message from Earth... So we'd like you to write a message for your brother."
Putri's eyes widened instantly.
"Really?"
The officer nodded.
"Yes... Messages from each Pioneer's family will be sent tomorrow."
Putri eagerly accepted the paper and pen, unable to hide the excitement on her face.
"Yay! I can finally talk to Mas."
The officer smiled at her reaction.
"Try not to make it too long... We don't know if there's a character limit yet. So write only what you most want him to hear."
Putri nodded firmly.
"Okay, ma'am."
She immediately sat down at the small desk beside her bed. Every so often, she glanced toward the screen.
Rangga was still carefully turning the chicken over the fire and Putri smiled to herself.
"Mas... What should I write?"
At last, her pen touched the paper. Still smiling, Putri began writing her very first message to her beloved big brother.