4. 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 blinked, a hint of surprise crossing his face as his gaze darted around to the people nearby, perhaps wondering if they had seen it too.

Juho hesitated. Should he ask someone? What if they didn’t see it? But his confusion was stronger than his fear of speaking up, so he decided to approach a person that stands not far from him.

"Hello..." Juho started, with a small smile, he continued. "Did you see that blue blank panel in front of you just now?" He asked politely to a man wearing a mask.

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

Lucian, with a serene yet distant 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 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 dedicate this performance to you. Now, 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... 1%]...

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

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

...——[System Alert]——...

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

...Welcome to the trials, 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 trial? One of the hosts is my Lucian, AND he's in East Asia? 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 twitched 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 haunting voice of his... and someone else, hidden in the background.

No system, no this thing similar to live chat, just Lucian and his 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 his head and looked up, startled to see Lucian seemingly appear 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 began 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 can't be 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 drifted slowly to the masked man he had spoken to earlier. The guy looked equally lost in thought, his gaze fixed on the screen with a rather focused expression.

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

'Maybe I should talk to him.' Juho thought, his expression brightening just a little at the thought. Discussing it... That's allowed, right? Because this is a matter of life and death.

But then again…

What if the guy thought he was being annoying?

What if he just straight up ignored him?

What if he’d completely misread the vibe and ended up looking like a total weirdo?

He clenched his clammy hands slightly, letting out a quiet sigh. He was restless, even as he tried to calm himself.

'Come on… you have to try. There’s no one else you know here. No one is going to talk you if you keep silent, and if  you don’t do this now… you’ll regret it.'

A minutes passed.

Juho ended up smiling resignedly to himself, accepting that situations like this were inevitable. After a moment of hesitation, he finally stepped forward toward the masked man, his movements a little stiff.

"Excuse me..." he said, voice coming out  softer than intended. He forced a sheepish smile, visibly uneasy, though he tried not to show it too much.

"I'm Han Juho," he continued, inwardly questioning his own decision. "Do you mind if I make an offer? To, maybe discuss the trials with you..?"

He waited. Slightly tense. Half-ready to bolt if it all went wrong.

...

The masked man glanced at him but didn't seem to mind Juho's straightforwardness. Turns out, he seemed pretty cool with it. "Sure," he paused, and continued. "My name is 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, was now separated from him. Juho felt completely alone.

"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.

...

And 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, a small smile on his face as he tried to lighten the atmosphere.

Hyesu raised an eyebrow. "I don't think so," he quickly replied. "A question coming from a shady system we barely understand wouldn’t have such a silly answer."

Juho scratched his cheek, his eyes wandering off. "Yeah, you're right. But at the same time... maybe the answer really is two. I mean, maybe they intended to trick 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 was a little bit taken aback by the sudden interruption and turned towards the voice.

There, a handsome, brown-haired man who looked to be in his mid-twenties 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?" he asked carefully.

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

Then, he finally spoke, his expression serious, though the glint in his eyes said otherwise.

"I'm sure this isn't just math," he said, his hand gesturing like it was some kind of grand conspiracy. "This has to be a code!"

His gaze briefly shifted to Juho, and to Juho’s surprise, he flashed him a grin that didn’t quite match his supposed 'serious' tone. "You're the one who said two, right? That’s cute. But let me say this, you’re wrong."

He crossed his arms with a smirk. "The answer is obviously four," he added smugly, as if he was the reasonable one.

Juho fell silent, dumbfounded, as he trying to process what had just happened. "What the...?" he muttered under his breath, massaging his forehead.

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