New Phase of the Trials

As the sunlight slowly enveloped the surroundings, Kalyira, who had been in a deep slumber, awoke. The moment she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a blue screen window filling her vision…

[You have completed the Trial.]

[Your performance has been evaluated.]

[Choose one of the following rewards:]

5000 coins Pureheart Elixir Healer's Oath

[Choose wisely. This decision cannot be undone.]

[A ranking list for this Realm will be available from the Third to Tenth Trial…]

[Generating Ranking List…]

[You can view the Ranking List anytime by using the command.]

[The Fourth Trial begins in 20 minutes… Prepare yourself.]

Kalyira ignored the blue window that had appeared in front of her and glanced outside the convenience store. The sunlight was now spreading across the streets, and the corpses she had seen the previous night had completely disappeared, with no trace left behind.

At the same time, she noticed Jiho, who was training under the sunlight, his clothes still damp from his workout.

Meanwhile, a series of thoughts began to form in her mind.

Kalyira's gaze lingered on Jiho as he moved through his exercises. His sharp, focused expression, the way his body moved with practiced ease—it was all unfamiliar. And yet, deep inside, she couldn't shake the feeling that the man before her was someone she had once known.

Zaelric.

The name surfaced in her mind like a whisper from the past. A boy who once stood between her and a pack of stray dogs, shielding her without hesitation. That fearless, kind-hearted boy had vanished from her life after transferring schools, leaving behind only a cherished memory. She had searched for him for years, all while working as a nurse, yet no matter how much time passed, she never found a trace of him.

But when the world changed and the system appeared, she finally met him again… only to find that he didn't remember her.

And he no longer bore the name Zaelric.

Kalyira's fingers curled slightly, gripping the fabric of her sleeve. Just who are you now, Jiho? 

Her thoughts were interrupted as Jiho noticed her awake and approached, a teasing smirk playing on his lips. 

"Sleeping Beauty is finally up. Were you having a nice dream?" he asked, stretching his arms. 

Kalyira rolled her eyes but smiled faintly. "Something like that." 

Jiho walked over and stopped near her, taking a sip from his water bottle. "You were out cold for a while. Feeling alright?" 

Kalyira hesitated for a moment before shifting the topic. "Have you checked your ranking list?" 

Jiho blinked. "Hmm? What ranking list?" 

Kalyira tilted her head, confused. "You don't know? I saw a system message pop up earlier about it." 

"First time hearing about it." 

"Let me check mine." 

With that, a blue screen materialized before her. 

[Realm Trial Rankings] 

Current Rank: 2623 (Kalyira) 

Top Ranking: 

Azrath – Rank 1 

Ciaran Voss – Rank 2 

Tarin Valmor – Rank 3 

Solus – Rank 4 

… 

Kalyira looked at her rank and then continued to search for any information related to Jiho. However, after scrolling through many name lists and surpassing rank 2500, she still couldn't find him. 

She understood the reason she was ranked above 2000, but Jiho seemed far stronger than her. So, why, despite all her searching, had she still not been able to find him in the rankings? 

Kalyira's gaze fell upon the young man standing before her, his eyes unreadable. 

"Who exactly are you...?" 

Her mind raced with questions, and she stood there in silence, lost in thought.

...

He had heard a saying in his past life: "You only live once, so do the things you love..." Since he had been given the chance to live a second life, he was determined to double his efforts and do all the things he had always wanted to do.

However, in order to achieve all that, he first needed to be strong enough. Back in his previous life, he had been the kind of person who stayed in bed, avoiding everything. But now, he couldn't afford to do that. With the upcoming trials looming, he had no choice but to begin training as soon as the sun came up.

"We should take a walk around the city... I've already run into a few people earlier... I think now that the third trial is over, we can leave the safe zone," Jiho said when he saw that Kalyira was still silent.

"I have something I want to ask you..." Kalyira said, her tone suddenly serious, her eyes fixed on him.

Jiho raised an eyebrow. "Sure... ask away."

For a moment, Kalyira hesitated, her gaze wavering as if she was about to say something important. But then, just as quickly, her expression shifted. "You... never mind... it's nothing."

Jiho stared at her, slightly taken aback by the abrupt change in her demeanor. He couldn't help but wonder, Why do girls always do that? He had always been straightforward about what he wanted, so why was it so hard to understand what she was thinking?

"Shall we go?" Jiho broke the silence.

Kalyira glanced at him before nodding. Without another word, they began walking side by side, their footsteps steady against the cracked pavement. The city around them had transformed in the past days, no longer the familiar urban landscape they once knew.

Along the way, they encountered other survivors—each one carrying a different story in their eyes. Some were huddled together in small groups, whispering among themselves, their gazes darting around in fear, as if expecting another trial to descend upon them at any moment. Others sat slumped against the walls, eyes hollow and lifeless, resembling corpses that had merely forgotten to stop breathing. Despair clung to them like a second skin, as if the weight of this new world had crushed all will to fight.

Yet, many had already adapted.

Fighters honed their skills, swinging makeshift weapons with increasing precision. Some even exchanged information, their voices hushed but firm, discussing strategies, allies, and potential threats. The fear had not disappeared, but it had been buried beneath necessity. The city had become something unrecognizable—an unforgiving expanse where survival was the only law.

Jiho kept walking, his sharp gaze scanning the streets. The air was thick with a strange tension, a quiet before the storm. He could feel it, that subtle shift, an invisible hand winding the clock toward something inevitable.

And then, the world shifted.

The entire sky was suddenly illuminated by an overwhelming white light. It was so blinding that Jiho instinctively closed his eyes, as did everyone around him. For a fleeting moment, everything was silent, as if the city itself had been frozen in time.

Then, a shadow fell over them.

Even with his eyes closed, Jiho could feel the presence of something massive, something that blotted out the sun. As the light faded and he cautiously opened his eyes, his breath caught in his throat.

Suspended in the sky was a colossal entity, so enormous that it dwarfed everything they had seen before. Compared to the previous monsters, this was an elephant standing among ants. Its form was impossible to fully comprehend, shifting and twisting, as if reality itself struggled to contain its existence.

And then, it spoke.

A voice, deep and all-encompassing, echoed across the entire city, shaking the very foundations of the world.

"Within five minutes, every corner of the city will transform into a maze. The 4th Trial will commence..."

The words sent a ripple of terror through the survivors. Some let out hollow laughs, muttering, "Why does this keep happening?" or "When will I escape this hell?" Others gripped their weapons tightly, while a few stood frozen in place, unable to process what was about to unfold.

"A maze?..." Jiho thought.

Beside him, Kalyira steadied herself. "It's starting again..."

Jiho glanced at her before looking back up at the sky. "Yeah," his voice relaxed with a hint of a smile. "No need to stress. We've handled worse—this time, we'll just avoid the traps. Simple, right?"

4th Trial: The Maze of Deception

Trial Rules:

All challengers are placed inside a shifting maze filled with hidden traps and false paths.

Each challenger receives a unique clue that can help them escape—but some are lies.

The only way to find the real path is to gather information from others or deceive them.

Every 4 hours, a random, terrifying monster will appear somewhere in the maze, forcing challengers to keep moving or face certain death.

Those who cannot escape within the 24-hour time limit will fail the trial.

After speaking to ease Kalyira's worries, Jiho's gaze shifted to the black screen, where something appeared. The trial, though simple in concept, didn't seem as easy as it had first appeared. Even though everyone had their own clue, it was incredibly difficult to distinguish between what was right and what was wrong.

Even with a skill like [Lie Detection], which could tell the truth from a lie, how could challengers really know what was true? Furthermore, even if they gathered countless clues, time would slip away, and soon a terrifying monster would appear.

It seemed the system was cultivating one worthy challenger... Otherwise, why would these Trials be set up in the first place?

As Jiho's thoughts swirled in uncertainty, the city began to tremble. The very streets, once familiar, now seemed to come alive in unexpected ways. At first, it was just a subtle shift—an almost gentle ripple running through the air. But soon, the changes grew more noticeable, and the city began to feel different, though not threatening.

The buildings, once solid and steady, shifted in playful, twisting motions, as if they were stretching to see the world from new angles. Windows shimmered and sparkled, their glass catching the light in vibrant, fluid patterns. Streets that had once been routine now veered off into surprising new paths, almost as if they had been rearranged just for them. The ground beneath their feet seemed to pulse with energy, the cracks softly shifting as if the city was awakening and inviting them to explore its new form.

Jiho and Kalyira stood frozen, watching in awe as the world around them changed in ways they couldn't fully grasp. It felt as though they had stepped into a new, enchanting place where everything was alive, full of possibility and wonder. The once-familiar buildings now bent and twirled, creating new pathways that beckoned them forward, as though this transformation was a playful invitation.

"Is this... really happening?" Kalyira murmured, her voice barely audible over the strange sounds of metal shifting and concrete groaning. She took a step forward, her eyes wide, still not fully grasping what she was witnessing.

Jiho couldn't believe it either. His sharp eyes, usually quick to spot even the smallest details, struggled to make sense of the ever-changing scene in front of him. The air felt strange, like it was buzzing with a force he couldn't explain, and it pressed down on him, making it hard to breathe.

But it wasn't just the city that was changing. The sky above them was shifting too, as if someone were pulling and stretching it. The clouds twisted into swirling shapes, forming strange, almost beast-like figures.

"Jiho..." Kalyira's voice broke through his stunned reverie, her hand gently gripping his arm. She looked at him with a mix of awe and curiosity. "What do we do now?"

Jiho blinked, still taking in the strange happenings around them. His mind raced, trying to find some sense in the madness, but all he could do was shake his head with a half-smile. "I don't know, Kalyira... but we need to stay focused. We can't let the chaos throw us off track."

[The 4th Trial has begun]

The system window suddenly materialized in front of them, pulsing with a life of its own. The words flickered briefly before the countdown started to flash, the numbers growing steadily before their eyes.

[Time Remaining: 24:00:00]

For a moment, everything else seemed to fade into the background. Jiho and Kalyira exchanged a look, their faces a mixture of determination and concern. They had entered a new phase of the Trials.

The countdown screen blinked once more, its numbers steadily ticking down. The maze, the monsters, the shifting city—it was all part of the system's plan. And as the countdown continued its relentless march, they both knew one thing for certain: there would be no turning back now.

The 4th Trial had truly begun.

End - 22