The air tightened before anyone saw the change. Light thickened along the inside of the dome. The purple crystal caught it on every facet and held it, and then every panel in every eye blinked alive at once.
[Ancient Gods' Trial — Commencing Soon]
[Countdown: 10:00]
A second frame slid open beneath the first. The letters were simple and cruel.
[Trial Rules]
• Defend the central crystal from incoming monsters.
• There will be three waves total. Each will have 60 mobs and 2 Bosses. The next wave begins only after all enemies in the current wave are defeated.
• Those who are part of the trial cannot damage the crystal.
• Death during the trial: Respawn near the crystal after 10 s and lose 60% of current TLE and NTLE.
• TLE and NTLE gained from monsters are credited at the end of each wave.
• If the crystal is destroyed: The trial fails, all present die, and each loses 90% of possessed TLE and NTLE.
[Rewards]
• Upon successful defence of all waves, each participant receives a personal reward chest.
• Rewards scale with contribution. Unique skills and items may drop from the chests.
The frames lingered for a breath, then folded into a single ticking timer in the corner of everyone's vision.
Silence stretched one heartbeat too long. Then fear spilled out of the gaps.
"Wait, wait, does that mean we fight now without getting the NTLE? That means we can actually die if killed too many times."
"I did not sign up for this. I was just walking and then that wall closed."
" Isn't 60 a little too much, and we have to fight the bosses too?"
Somewhere behind the first ring of onlookers, a woman put both hands over her face and tried to cry quietly, "I can't do this ".
The dome hummed like a drawn wire. The crystal turned as if none of it mattered.
'Well, I expected this reaction," Loki thought and turned to his group.
Faces had gone tight or blank. Sera pressed in close to her mother and grabbed for calm like it was a handhold.
"Mom, I can't even kill one. What am I supposed to do," she whispered, and tears made her voice slippery.
Mira bent to her, one palm to the back of Sera's head, hair under her fingers, cheek to crown for a second. "Breathe first," she said. "It will be ok."
Choi Min-seo looked from the panel to the crystal to the ring of strangers, then to Han Ga-yoon. "This is not funny," Min-seo said, clipped and low. "If we try to clear this, there is a real chance we die here." She pointed at the loss line. "But if the crystal breaks, we only lose ninety percent and not our life. We could choose to end it before it starts."
"That is the only rational answer," Ga-yoon said. "We have about 30-32 people. And against 60 monsters, yeah no way."
"Cowards talk like that," Han Tae-yang snapped. His near-grin had died when the rules appeared; now his jaw set hard. "Why plan your funeral when we have not even seen what we are facing. Maybe the monsters will be easy to kill. Also, did you forget there are rewards for winning?"
Yoo Mi-kyung gathered a fluffy white summoned creature in her arms as if it were a cat and not a stitched thing with a mind. "Oh, Miso, what are we supposed to do," she murmured into the top of its head.
The small creature tilted its head at her voice and blinked slowly.
The mood fell heavy. People started measuring the distance to the wall with their eyes and the distance to their courage with their hands.
Sera looked up sharply, a thought cutting through her fear. She turned and put her voice where others could find it. "Wait," she said. "We have Mr Loki with us."
Heads tipped as if pulled by the same string. Eyes landed on him and stayed there.
"Oh, right, Mister Loki is here," Park Ji-yeon said, relief climbing into her face. "He is level seven. He can surely keep us safe."
Sera faced him fully, trying to keep her breath from climbing away from her. "You can do it, right, Mister Loki," she asked. "You can protect us, right?"
The dome hummed. The crystal turned. The countdown struck 06:41.
Loki told them the truth in simple and honest words.
"I cannot protect you all."
The panic he had smothered by standing there came back in a rush.
"What do you mean you cannot," Min-seo shot back, eyes flashing. "We followed your calls because you know what you are doing. Now you are telling us we are on our own."
Ga-yoon's lip lifted, half anger and half fear made into poise. "So we put our lives on you in good faith and you bow out when it is inconvenient."
"Convenient," Han Tae-yang muttered, incredulous. "He has been the only one talking sense for hours."
Someone else pushed forward from the second line. "We left some of our guards at the hall because this was supposed to be a safe trip. If you cannot do it, at least say it straight."
More voices layered.
"Just let the crystal break."
"I am not losing my life for some rewards."
Loki lifted one hand. He did not raise it high, he did not ask for quiet. He only waited for the shouts to run out of space to echo in.
"I am not protecting you," he said, steady. He watched the sting land, then gave them the other half. "You are going to protect yourselves."
Confusion folded over the anger like a blanket thrown onto a blaze. The room did not calm, but it changed.
Sera frowned, trying to meet him in the middle. "We cannot fight like you, Mister Loki," she said, and did not try to hide the shake.
"This time you have a way out, but what about next time?" Loki said, "If you keep this kind of attitude, if not today, you will eventually die in this world."
Faces tightened as the words landed.
"I have a plan to clear this trial," he said, and people's heads turned." I just need to know how many of you will follow it," he said.
Ga-yoon huffed a breath that was almost a laugh. "I am not following any plan," she said. "The only clean solution left is to make space for the monsters and let them take the crystal. We eat the loss and go back to town."
Do-ha shook his head so hard his hair moved. "No," he said, voice breaking and then finding itself. "I worked for my TLE. My team and I fought for days to get it. I am not throwing it away before we even try."
Yong-hun bumped his shoulder once. "Same," he said. "We will not make a habit of quitting before trying."
"Then you can fight all you want," Ga-yoon said, flat. "I will find somewhere to sit out of the way."
Ryu Hye-jin looked at Ga-yoon for a long second, then at Loki, then back to the crystal. She did not add her voice to either side. The set of her shoulders said she had already chosen what to do with her hands.
Sera turned to Loki again, eyes bright with hope and panic both. "Then what is the plan," she asked.