A New World

The sound of applause echoed across the sky after Lucian finished his sentence, reaching every corner of the world. The most unsettling part was that not a single soul was seen clapping.

While Han Juho was still trying to process what had just happened, a blank blue screen suddenly appeared right in front of his face.

He looked stunned, a flash of panic on his face as his gaze darted around to the people nearby, perhaps wondering if they saw it too.

"Excuse me, did you see that.. blue blank panel in front of you right now?" Juho politely ask to a man wearing a mask, who standing not far from him.

The man cast a glance at Juho, his eyes widening slightly as if he hadn't expected to be spoken to. But then he quickly nodded with a serious expression. "Yeah, I saw it. I think everyone did just by looking at their faces," he replied.

Lucian, with an unreadable expression, looked down calmly to observe the reactions of the humans below. His long, dark hair fluttered gently in the wind, the hem of his tattered robe swayed with a grace.

Their confused and frightened faces amused him every now and then, though he made no effort to hide the faint curve on his lips. Not that he would complain, of course.

He clapped his hands to bring their attention back to him and said. "Enough with the chitchat and listen carefully. That is, if you don't want to die..."

He paused dramatically, a wide smile tugging at his lips, before continuing. "To my dearest audience, I'II dedicate this performance to you. And so, allow me to introduce the system, a mechanism that shall dictate the fate of every living soul."

Lucian extended his hand. Then-

Snap.

The blank screen in front of Juho flickered like a broken television, and a strange message appeared on its surface.

...[Ding!]...

...[Authentication in progress....

...Please wait for a moment.]...

...[Loading... 33%]...

...[Loading... 99%]...

...——[System Alert]——...

...Link to Planet Earth has been successfully initialized....

...Welcome to the trials, the chosen players....

...You have been selected as one of the participants in the Trials....

...[Player ID: Player_ke9QSgPF]...

...Identity Verified. Access Granted....

.......

.......

...Preparation phase complete....

...Stage One will commence shortly....

Juho's eyes darted up and down as he tried to make sense of the system message that appeared in front of him.

He chuckled nervously. "Trials? Players? Are you kidding me..." he muttered under his breath, running a hand through his hair, struggling to keep up with the absurdity of the situation.

Before he could even process it, another set of panels spawned next to the system alert. This time it was different, not like before, but something resembling a... live chat?

[Your.Distant.Brother]: "...Huh? Why's everyone around here so tiny? Have I joined the land of the mini humans by mistake?"

➥[LucidLunatic]: "Nope, that's just your ego making you feel taller than you are."

↳ [Your.Distant.Brother]: W.H.A.T?

[♡TheEsteemedAdmirer♡]: "WAIT WAIT WAIT, is this the new survival trials? And one of the hosts here is our Lucian, AND he's in East Asia?! Ooo~~~ where do I sign up？？？"

[Hail_the_king57]: "Just hoping I don't get bored out of my mind... Is there anyone interesting here?"

Juho and the masked man beside him exchanged frowns, both too baffled to say anything in the face of what looked like utter nonsense.

His eyes twitching the longer he read their comments. He held back a groan, realizing he'd somehow landed in... what, exactly? Some twisted game set up by Lucian himself? Or a system straight out of some fantasy manhwa?

He shook his head and sighed, a little chuckle escaping his lips as he thought about how ridiculous all of this seemed. Next thing he knew, he'd be seeing power levels flashing above people's heads.

Still, this wasn’t how he remembered it, at least not in Villain Overkill. There had been only Lucian back then, orchestrating chaos with that hauntingly voice of his... and someone else, hidden in the background.

No system, no this thing similar to live chat, just Lucian and his hauntingly twisted game. So why was he getting system vibes now?

Juho sighed again, eyeing the air around him. "...What exactly is going on here?"

. . .

The noise around him momentarily faded as a familiar voice spoke right beside his ear. 'What's wrong, my dear player?'"

Juho turned to look up and was startled to see Lucian, who had seemingly appeared from nowhere.

For a moment, Juho could've sworn Lucian was studying his face. But when he met Lucian's gaze head on, that unchanging smile was all that remained, like nothing had happened at all.

Lucian spoke again, adding to what he said before. "I see you have a lot on your mind, huh?" He chuckled lightly, a sound that sent a mix of fear and embarrassment through Juho.

"Don't worry about trivialities, and just keep those beautiful eyes on me. Watch closely. Everyone here is excited, just like you. Isn't that true?"

Juho swallowed hard, trying to shake off the dread within him. Excited? Sure, if excited it means terrified out of their minds. Unless he meant...

...[System Alert]...

...Warning: The Trials are about to begin. All players are advised to pay close attention to the upcoming system display....

Juho's heart skipped a beat after reading the warning, and he tried to calm himself. It's starting now? he thought, panic beginning to set in. But Lucian had said this would involve a question, so why did it feel like something far worse was coming?

"?!"

..._________________________________________...

...[QUESTION]...

...[TRIALS 1.0: EAST ASIA REGION - SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA LIVE BROADCAST]...

...Lucian Caelum, the mysterious man who descended from beyond the sky, has issued a question to the citizens of Seoul. Answer the question correctly before the timer runs out:...

...> || "What's 1 + 1?"...

...Rewards: Honor (scaled by speed and accuracy), EXP...

...Penalty: Death...

...Remaining time: 59 minutes 57 seconds...

..._________________________________________...

The question seemed simple at first glance. But the more Juho thought about it, the more something about it feels... off. As he stared, the possible answer appeared in his mind, could it really be "2"?

But he knows better. There's no way the question was that simple, it has to be a trap set by the system.

Juho folded his arms across his chest and lowered his head, a frown creasing his brow. One hand moved to his chin as he slipped into a thinking position, trying to understand the situation.

Lucian, who had been beside Juho just a moment ago, had disappeared. It was enough to keep him on edge. Lucian's watchful eyes were never far, even if unseen.

Around him, murmurs and panicked whispers could be heard as some people argued in low tones, others fidgeted anxiously, while a few shouted or ran around in desperation.

"But," Juho whispered to himself, letting out a soft sigh. "Didn't Seonwoo also read a novel with a system like this before... and then it became real, too?"

Could it be that he was now inside the same story Seonwoo once read?

No, that's not right. That story didn't even have a name. The thought was ridiculous. Absurd, even. But Juho knows that he need to concentrate on the trials first.

His eyes darted slowly to the masked man he had been talking to earlier, who looked equally lost in thought, his gaze fixed on the screen.

He seemed... confused, maybe even as unsure as Juho was.

'Why not discuss it?' Juho wondered, his expression brightening at the thought. His mind came up with possibility. That's allowed, right? After all, this is a matter of life and death.

But then, what if the man refused-

He quickly pushed the thought aside before it could make him hesitate, and stepped forward toward the masked man.

"Hello..." he greeted with a sheepish smile, already questioning his own decision, he shouldn't have done this. "I'm Han Juho. Do you mind if I make an offer... to discuss the trials with you?"

The masked man cast a glance at him, but didn't seem to mind Juho's straightforwardness. In fact, he seemed pretty cool with it. "Sure, I'm Park Hye-su, but you can call me Hyesu."

Juho nodded, feeling a bit more at ease now that someone knew him, even if they were still strangers.

With his family out of town, and even his neighbor, Uncle Seung-ki, who had always been close to his parents, now separated from him, it truly felt like Juho was completely on his own.

"Park Hyesu? I like it. Sounds mysterious." Juho chuckled softly. Maybe this guy wasn't so bad at all.

But Hyesu only tilted his head, the dark fabric of his mask hiding most of his face. "Mysteriousness can be dangerous, just remember that."

Juho's smile faltered slightly. He silently retracted his earlier statement, not expecting such a serious reaction. Looked like this guy wasn't someone to be taken lightly.

He cleared his throat and gave a quick nod instead.

...

After a moment of hesitation, he asked, trying to ease the awkwardness of not knowing each other yet. "Do you perhaps have any idea of what's going on here?"

Hyesu finally turned to Juho, a hint of tension in his eyes. "No idea," he admitted flatly. "But sometimes the simplest questions are the most dangerous. Looks can be deceiving, after all."

Juho's gaze returned to the screen, an uneasy thought forming in his mind.

"I guess we need to talk about it before the timer runs out," he muttered to himself. If this was a matter of life and death, every second counted.

As they debated possible answers, Juho's mind raced through countless possibilities.

"What if the answer is 11... or maybe a window?" Juho blurted out, half-joking.

Hyesu raised his eyebrows. "I don't think so," he countered. "A question coming from a shady system we barely understand wouldn't have such an easy answer."

Juho scratched his head, eyes narrowing slightly. "Yeah, you're right. But at the same time... maybe the answers are two. I mean, perhaps that was their intention to confuse us with a question that seems 'simple' but actually isn't—"

Before he could finish, someone suddenly stepped in, cutting off their conversation.

"Oi!"

Juho turned toward the voice, raising an eyebrow at the sudden interruption. A few people nearby also glanced in their direction, curious.

There, a handsome brown haired man who looked to be in his thirties walked toward them, wearing black sunglasses, his long coat fluttering behind him as if he had just stepped out of a movie. Someone followed behind him, keeping a close distance.

Hyesu looked in the same direction as Juho and met the speaker's eyes. "What's wrong sir?"

The man stopped a few steps away from them, scanning the two before him in silence. For a moment, he said nothing, just stared.

Then, he finally spoke, his expression serious as he. "This isn't just math. This has to be a code! If you said two, that's not exactly right. You should fight back!" the man declared, arms crossed as he stared them down. He then added proudly. "The answer is definitely four."

Juho frowned, eyeing him in confusion. "...What???"

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