For several seconds, no one moved.
Six people lay scattered across the endless white floor, trying to catch their breath.
"Hah... hah..."
Ethan stared upward, chest rising and falling rapidly.
Then, unexpectedly—
"Heh..."
A laugh escaped him.
"Hehehe..."
Everyone looked toward him.
Ethan covered his face with one hand before breaking into full laughter.
"We actually did it."
"Hahaha... We actually killed that thing!"
Ruby's exhausted expression slowly turned into a smile.
Karl chuckled under his breath.
Even Violet's had relief face.
Eris looked at Ethan like he had finally lost his mind, she sigh from exhaustion too.
Nex watched them quietly.
They had taken a risk.
A stupidly dangerous one.
The quest had only required them to survive for five minutes. They could have kept running, avoided unnecessary confrontation, and completed it safely.
Instead, Nex and Karl had chosen to fight.
But Nex didn't regret it.
Even if we failed to kill it, we wouldn't have lost our life's , it was gamble.
The system had already made its purpose clear.
It wanted them to become stronger.
So merely running away probably wasn't the best way to approach its trials.
And if defeating the monster counted for something extra...
Nex smiled faintly.
Then taking the risk was worth it.
Ding!
As if responding to his thoughts, the familiar sound echoed throughout the chamber.
Everyone immediately sat up.
A white panel appeared.
[First Quest Completed.]
[All Hosts successfully survived.]
[Reward Granted: Personal Status Window.]
"Status Window?"
Ethan immediately stopped laughing.
Before anyone could ask—
Several translucent panels appeared.
One floated directly in front of Nex.
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Nex Abyssel
Bloodline: Locked
Realm: Human
Core Stage: Low-Tier
Strength: 5/20
Agility: 5/20
Intelligence: 5/20
Energy: 100
Nex stared.
"...What?"
Similar panels appeared in front of the others.
"Strength?"
Ruby looked over her own Status Window.
"Agility... Intelligence..."
Ethan's exhaustion seemed to disappear as curiosity took over.
"This is literally like a game."
Karl ignored him and studied every line carefully.
Eris focused immediately on one particular section.
"Bloodline..."
Violet's attention went elsewhere.
"Core Stage."
Before any of them could start questioning the system—
Ding!
Another notification appeared.
[Hidden Quest Completed.]
Everyone froze.
[Hidden Quest: Hunt the Hunter.]
[Condition: Defeat the Wild Wendigo instead of surviving.]
[Reward: Basic Attributes ×3.]
Ethan's eyes widened.
"Hidden quest?!"
Nex stared at the notification.
There it is.
His gamble had paid off.
Their Status Windows changed.
Strength: 5/20 → 15/20
Agility: 5/20 → 15/20
Intelligence: 5/20 → 15/20
"Fifteen?!"
Ethan immediately jumped to his feet.
And was dumbfounded how high he jumped.
"WHOA—!"
He stumbled on ground before barely regaining his balance.
Karl instinctively stood as well.
His expression changed the moment he moved.
"...My body."
Nex clenched his fist.
He felt it too.
His exhaustion hadn't simply disappeared.
His body itself felt different.
Lighter.
Stronger.
More responsive.
Even his thoughts felt unusually clear.
It feels like something lift off from my body, like a chain.
Eris stared at her hands before suddenly clenching them.
"So those numbers actually affect us."
"Obviously!"
Ethan turned toward her excitedly.
"Did you not see how far I just—"
"Yes. Unfortunately, I did."
Nex ignored their argument and looked back at his Status Window.
Fifteen out of twenty.
If five was their original strength...
Just how powerful was twenty?
And more importantly—
What happened afterward?
Ethan apparently had the same question.
"Hey, System!"
He looked upward.
"What exactly do these stats mean?"
"And what's Bloodline?" Eris immediately added.
"Why is ours locked?"
"Energy," Ruby said. "What does one hundred mean?"
Violet stared at her own screen.
"Core Stage."
Everyone looked toward her.
Violet remained expressionless.
"What is it?"
For several seconds, the System gave no answer.
Then—
Light gathered before them.
The floating white panels dissolved into countless glowing particles.
The particles slowly moved toward one another.
A silhouette began taking shape.
A head.
Arms.
Long flowing hair.
A slender body.
The light faded.
A woman now stood before them.
Pure white hair flowed down her back, and beautiful white clothes covered her body, their fabric moving gently despite the complete absence of wind.
Her skin appeared almost flawless.
There was something strangely unnatural about her beauty.
Too perfect.
Too precise.
Everyone stared.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Ethan's mouth opened before his brain could stop him.
"What a beauty."
Smack!
"OW!"
Eris slapped the back of his head.
"What the hell?!"
"Pervert."
"I just called her beautiful!"
"You were staring!"
"EVERYONE IS STARING!"
"Not like you!"
"How was I staring differently?!"
"Would you two shut up?" Karl sighed.
Nex rubbed his forehead.
Ruby tried not to laugh.
Violet simply continued staring at the woman as if the argument wasn't happening.
The woman showed no reaction whatsoever.
Instead, she gently placed one hand over her chest.
[Greetings once again, my Hosts]
Her voice was the same as the Guidance System.
Calm.
Emotionless.
[I am your Guidance System.]
Ethan immediately forgot about Eris.
"Wait. You're the System?"
[Correct]
[So you're actually alive?]
[Incorrect]
The woman raised her hand.
Nex noticed something strange.
Her fingers were slightly transparent.
[I possess neither a biological body nor a soul.]
[This form is merely a projection created to make communication with my Hosts more comfortable.]
"So you're still just the System," Karl said.
[Correct]
Violet raised her eyes.
"What was that monster? "
The System replied.
[A Wild Wendigo.]
[It was human once.]
Ruby's expression immediately changed.
"...Human?"
The System continued without hesitation.
[A Wild Wendigo is a corrupted human creature created through prolonged consumption of human flesh.]
Silence.
Ethan earlier excitement vanished.
"...You're saying that monster used to be a person?"
[Correct.]
Ruby visibly paled.
Eris's face twisted in disgust.
"That's..."
She didn't finish.
Nex remained silent.
The knowledge made the thing somehow worse.
It hadn't been born a monster.
It had become one.
The System look at them.
[However, information regarding Wild Wendigos is currently irrelevant to your development]
[And]
[Status windows have all your answer related to your stats that are showing on them]
[Just click on specific tabs]
After hearing this information.
We were trying to click on their windows, then system interrupt them
[But before that....]
[I have an important notice for all Hosts.]
Everyone became serious again.
[We do not have much time remaining.]
Nex frowned.
"What do you mean?"
[I must extend a protection barrier across Earth.]
"A barrier?"
[One designed to conceal irregularities caused by my Hosts.]
The System looked at all six of them.
[As you become stronger, your existence will gradually become easier to perceive.]
"By who?" Karl immediately asked.
A brief silence followed.
[Gods]
The words alone changed the atmosphere.
Nobody knew what they meant.
They weren't something the six of them wanted noticing them.
"How dangerous are they?" Nex asked.
The System looked directly at him.
[Beyond your comprehension.]
Nex said nothing.
[Your probability of attracting their attention within the next three years is extremely low.]
Ethan sighed in relief.
"Good—"
[But it is not zero.]
"...You really couldn't stop at extremely low?"
Karl ignored Ethan.
"And the barrier?"
[It will further reduce that probability.]
[Maintaining it, however, will require the majority of my available functions.]
[Therefore...]
[I will be unable to appear before you for three Earth years.]
"What?!"
Several voices overlapped.
Eris stepped forward.
"You throw us into this mess, explain half of what's happening, and now you're disappearing for three years?"
[Correct.]
"Don't say it like that's normal!"
[I have no alternative.]
Eris opened her mouth.
Then closed it again.
Nex stared at the System.
Three years.
No Guidance System.
No one explaining what was happening.
And somewhere beyond Earth...
Things existed that could apparently notice them if they became too powerful.
The System raised her hand.
Ding!
A massive panel appeared.
[MAIN MISSION
Reach Peak-Tier Core Stage
Time Limit: 3 Years]
Nex's eyes narrowed.
Another notification appeared underneath.
[SIDE MISSION
Conquer Earth
Time Limit: 3 Years]
Silence.
Complete silence.
Ethan stared at the words.
Then at the System.
Then back at the words.
"...Excuse me?"
Ruby looked equally confused.
"Conquer... Earth?"
Karl's eyebrow rose.
Eris pointed toward the screen.
"What exactly do you mean by conquer?"
[Interpretation is left to the Hosts.]
"That's incredibly vague!"
[Correct.]
"STOP SAYING CORRECT!"
Nex barely heard them.
His attention remained fixed on the mission.
Conquer Earth.
What did that even mean?
Become the strongest?
Gain influence?
Stand above every powerful organization?
Control the world?
Or something else entirely?
Maybe that was the point.
The System wasn't telling them how.
It was giving them an objective and leaving everything else to them.
Three years.
Nex looked at his hand.
Only minutes ago, he had been an ordinary person.
Now his physical capabilities had increased drastically.
He had learned monsters existed.
Human limits could be surpassed.
And something called a Bloodline was sleeping inside him.
Three years...
For some reason—
Instead of fear alone...
Nex felt excitement.
The System raised her hand.
Then snapped her fingers.
Snap!
A massive timer appeared above them.
[SPACE CHAMBER CLOSING]
04:59
04:58
04:57
Everyone looked upward.
[You have five minutes before you are returned to your original locations.]
The System's body began dissolving into particles.
"Wait!" Ruby called.
The System looked toward them one final time.
[I wish all of my Hosts good fortune.]
[Survive.]
[Grow.]
[And complete your mission.]
Her lower body had already disappeared.
Nex stepped forward.
"What happens if we succeed?"
The System stopped.
[If you reach Peak-Tier within three years...]
[...I will tell you about the others.]
Nex frowned.
"Others?"
The System's eyes moved across all six of them.
[The heirs of other planets.]
Everyone froze.
Ethan's eyes widened.
"Other—"
The System disappeared.
"...planets?"
Silence returned.
03:46
The timer continued counting down.
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Finally, Ethan looked around.
"So..."
"We're just going to ignore the alien?"
"We have three minutes," Karl said.
"Right."
Karl reached into his pocket.
"We need a way to contact each other."
That immediately brought everyone back to reality.
"We're going back to different parts of the world," Ruby said.
"If we separate without anything..."
"We may never find each other again," Violet finished.
Karl nodded.
"Exactly."
He gave them his phone number.
Everyone quickly memorized it or entered it into their phones.
01:12
Nex looked around at the five people surrounding him.
People who had been complete strangers less than an hour ago.
Ethan.
Karl.
Eris.
Ruby.
Violet.
He didn't know whether he could call them friends.
Not yet.
But they had fought together.
Risked their lives together.
And now...
They shared something nobody else on Earth knew.
00:10
"Looks like this is it" Ethan said.
00:07
Ruby smiled.
"Until next time."
00:05
Karl looked toward Nex giving him smile.
Nex smiled faintly.
This guy.
00:03
Eris crossed her arms.
00:02
Violet quietly looked upward.
00:01
Ding!
White light consumed them.
And one after another—
The six heirs disappeared from the chamber.
The endless space became empty once more.
And for the first time since the six had arrived...
The chamber became completely silent.