Chapter 2: Golden Hell (1)

A sudden blue box flickered in front of my eyes, with a message I never could have expected. ~You have been chosen as a Player. I turned toward Ye-rin and my mother. They were both staring at the same message, a mix of confusion and curiosity in their eyes. My mother opened her mouth to say something, but before any words could escape, a voice began echoing in our heads—loud, almost manic, yet oddly detached. ~Congratulations! You have been selected! Welcome to the ***** world! You, foolish mortals, have been chosen for a greater purpose! You have been given the privilege of transcending your miserable existence. You are now to climb the great Ladder to Divinity! But... first, a test! A test to see if you are worthy of the gifts you seek. Strive! Struggle! And you may gain what your hearts desire! Immortality! Power! The return of the dead! All can be yours, but only if you are worthy! The voice spoke with wild enthusiasm, its words tumbling over each other in a frenzy. Ye-rin’s face contorted with disbelief as she muttered to herself, "Is this some kind of joke? A government thing? A prank?" Before I could answer, the voice continued, much calmer now, yet just as eerie. ~Can I return the Earth back to its original form? Yes! You can!But beware! Not all of you are worthy. Those who fail the tests will be discarded—nothing more than pawns to be forgotten. Only the strongest will rise. Only the cleverest will survive. Only those with a true desire for power can succeed. Choose wisely. The sky itself seemed to darken as a massive, eerie eyeball appeared overhead. Its enormous size spanned across the horizon, and it appeared to be watching us. The iris glowed ominously, and the pupil was a deep, unblinking black hole. It felt as though it was alive, studying every single movement below. As the eyeball loomed in the sky, the message in our ears continued: ~This is the Eye of Judgment. It will watch over all players. Only those deemed worthy shall proceed. Fail, and you shall be erased. The scene was so surreal that Ye-rin looked toward the sky in disbelief. "What in the world... is this really happening?" I knew better than to be so flippant. It was happening. A breaking news bulletin flashed onto the TV screen, interrupting the program. The news anchor, looking visibly distressed, appeared on the screen. "This just in. A massive, unknown object has appeared in the sky above the eastern region of the country. Witnesses report it as a massive eyeball, unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. Experts have not yet provided an explanation, but it appears to be emitting a strange energy signal. Authorities urge citizens to stay inside and refrain from panicking. More details as the situation unfolds." The camera zoomed in on the sky, showing the gargantuan eyeball pulsating with an eerie light. The image was too surreal to comprehend, yet it felt real. My mother, always the level-headed one, spoke calmly. "It’s not just an illusion. It’s real. The Eye of Judgment has appeared. This... this is what we were warned about." There was a heavy silence that fell over us. The bustling sounds of the outside world seemed to fade as the weight of the situation settled in. Ye-rin’s face flickered with skepticism, but something about the ominous tone made her hesitate. My mother remained still, eyes fixed on the blue box in front of her. I couldn’t help but wonder if there was something we weren’t seeing, something deeper at play. The excited voice of a child—tinged with the fervor of a preacher—grew quieter, almost like a whispering presence in our ears ~You are now given a choice. Choose the card that will define your fate. Choose wisely, for you may not get another chance. The message blinked and then dissolved, leaving behind a strange box of cards on the screen. I barely registered it before the timer began counting down. Only a minute. The pressure began to mount. Ye-rin was the first to speak again, her voice tinged with frustration. "This is nonsense! How can a stupid card decide our fate?" "You don’t have much of a choice now," I replied, my voice steady despite the growing tension in my chest. ~44200–44499.Buk-gu,Ulson,Box#23910 south-korea Earth. ~Choose One Card. In front of me was a box with a 7×6 grid of cards, all gray in color, their backs facing outward. Just as I was about to select the card, I felt a firm grip on my wrist. It was my mother. "Don’t act impulsively," she said, her tone calm but urgent. "You need to choose carefully. These things—whatever they are—are not to be taken lightly." "Don’t you know? Bronze cards are usually the worst in games," she said. "Yes, I know that. But... why are you mentioning bronze cards? Aren’t all the cards here gray?" I asked, confused. I raised an eyebrow, surprised. "You can see the card colors?" "Yes," she answered, nodding. "I can. I’ve seen this before. Your cards have a specific pattern to them. You should always choose based on that. Don’t rush." She told me that her display was filled with mostly silver cards, but there were two gold ones, and one platinum card still remaining. My own window was just as chaotic—one gold and several gray ones. Ye-Rin’s had a platinum card in her box selection. All three of us had different Box numbers. "Pick the 3th card from the 3th column." I hesitated for a moment, but her steady gaze convinced me. I selected the card she suggested, confirming my choice. Ye-rin, still skeptical, had picked hers quickly, and now all we could do was wait. The countdown clock kept ticking. The silence between us felt unbearable. I glanced at my mother again. "How did you know which card?" "It’s my nature," she said cryptically. "I can sense patterns in the chaos. It’s just something I’ve learned to do." Before I could respond, another sudden flash of light appeared. A red status window blinked into existence in front of me. Name: Shin Mi-Sun Race: Human Age: 56 Nature: Bloody Eyes Class: Under Evaluation Sub-Class: (Unlocks after Mission 5) Title: (Unlocks after Sub-class) Level: 001 Strength: 010 HP: 010 Agility: 010 Mana: 010 Stamina: 010 ~Nature: Bloody Eyes~ Can distinguish between good and bad. Truth and lies. Hidden and unhidden. It all clicked. "So that’s how you knew." Ye-rin let out a smirk, her pride evident. "Got a platinum card! I’m definitely on the right track." "Lucky," I muttered under my breath. The giant eyeball that had loomed in the sky above us vanished without warning, and the world seemed to return to normal. For a moment, everything felt like it was back to normal, like it was just another weird event we would forget by tomorrow. But I knew better. Another message popped up, confirming what we had suspected. ~Congratulations on selecting your Class. You are now officially a Player. ~Your Class is being updated to your Profile Window. The next thing we saw was our profile screens. Name : Shin Ye-Jun Race : Human Age : 26 Nature : primal Guardian Class : Druid Sub-Class : (Unlocks after Mission 5) Title : (Unlocks after Sub-class) Level : 001 Strength : 006 HP: 018 Agility : 003 Mana: 018 Stamina: 005 ~Nature: Primal Guardian~ Defensive stats increased by 50% when protecting an Ally. Increase in Mental Resistance. My heart raced. A primal guardian? It made sense. I was always the protective type. But there was still so much I didn’t understand about this new world we’d been thrust into. The moment I tried to process the information, a new message blinked into existence. ~Mission 001: Survive the Golden Hell