Soon, Victoria loosened her hold and stepped back, her arms falling gently to her sides as a beautiful smile bloomed across her face.
For reasons Lex could not explain, the sight of that smile made his chest ache.
It was strange. Unsettling, even.
The expression she wore did not resemble playful teasing or divine amusement, but something far quieter and far more fragile, like the smile of a lover carrying unspoken regret. He did not know why that thought crossed his mind, nor did he understand why seeing her like this stirred a sudden sense of loss within him.
Had he not met her less than an hour ago?
Then why did she feel so familiar?
The question lingered at the edge of his thoughts, threatening to pull him into deeper confusion, but before he could dwell on it any longer, Victoria's voice gently broke the silence, drawing his attention back to her.
"So," she said softly, her tone calmer than before, "you asked me what that guide conveniently chose not to tell you, didn't you?"
Lex nodded, his gaze never leaving her face.
"As you have likely already realized," Victoria continued, "mana has entered Earth and begun transforming everything it touches. Your world has been chosen to awaken, just like many others before it."
She paused briefly, as if giving him time to brace himself, before continuing.
"What the guide did not tell you is that Earth is not the only planet undergoing this change. Across the universe, countless other worlds are experiencing the same phenomenon at this very moment."
Lex felt a chill creep down his spine as he listened.
"Three months from now, your planet will be forced into a trial against another awakened world. The two planets will clash, and only one will be permitted to continue existing."
Her eyes met his without flinching.
"The victor earns the right to survive a little longer," she finished quietly. "The defeated planet is erased from existence on the spot."
Lex's breath hitched.
For a brief moment, the weight of her words pressed down on him so heavily that it felt difficult to breathe. Earth was already becoming a dangerous place, filled with unknown calamities, monsters, and disasters born from mana. And now, on top of all that, humanity would be forced to prepare for battle against beings from an entirely different world.
Aliens.
Other civilizations.
Other species that had undergone the same cruel awakening.
The idea was terrifying, but Lex forced himself to stay calm. Panic would change nothing. He had already adapted once today, and he would adapt again.
He believed her completely.
"So what will these trials be like?" Lex asked after a moment, his voice steady despite the storm in his mind. "An all-out war between planets? I doubt that."
Victoria raised an eyebrow, amused. "Oh? And what makes you think it won't be an all-out fight?"
"Because not every planet has the same population," Lex replied honestly. "It wouldn't make sense. Eight billion people fighting against a world with only a few hundred million would be unfair, just as it would be absurd to pit Earth against a planet with tens of billions of inhabitants."
The logic seemed sound to him.
But Victoria's lips curved into a faint, knowing smile.
"What makes you think this was ever meant to be fair?" she asked gently. "It never was."
Lex stiffened.
"All of this," she continued, her gaze drifting slightly as though looking beyond the walls around them, "is happening for the sake of entertainment."
"Entertainment?"
"Yes, To amuse the Five Celestial Babies."
"The Five Celestial Babies?" Lex echoed, his confusion deepening.
"I cannot tell you much," Victoria admitted. "Even I know very little about them. But the eye you saw outside earlier…"
She lifted her hand and pointed toward the distant sky beyond the chamber.
"…is one of them."
Silence followed her words, heavy and oppressive, as Lex finally understood just how small Earth truly was in the grand scheme of things.
This was not a test. This was a game.
And humanity had been dragged onto the board without ever being asked.
"The starting few fights might be a 5v5 or something like that. But as you climb up the ranks it will very well turn out in an all-out war. Well it only matters if you actually survive that long."
Lex soaked in every bit of information. Now not only he had to defend himself but also grow strong enough to defend his planet. To play the hero.
Because lets be honest he would rather depend on himself than someone else. What if someone else went to take part and lost in the competition, wouldn't that be equivalent to showing middle finger to him as well as the rest of humans?
BANG!
BANG!
Just then, the sudden thunderous impacts against the door shattered Lex's thoughts. Each strike carried enough force to make it painfully clear that the barricade Lex had thrown together earlier after defeating the zombie would not hold for much longer.
"They are about to break in," Lex muttered under his breath as instinctively, his thoughts snapped back to the translucent screen he had seen when everything first began.
Without wasting another second, he called out sharply, "Status."
The familiar blue panel unfolded in front of him once more, hovering in the air as lines of information rearranged themselves with mechanical precision.
[Lex Wintoff –
[Status Points: 3]
[Level: 2]
[Race: Ghoul]
[Job: None]
[Title: None]
[Strength: 7 / Agility: 7 / Health: 6 / Endurance: 6 / Mana: 27]
Racial Abilities:
Blood Manipulation – Can control his own blood, shaping it into weapons or threads.
Blood Density (Passive)
The user's blood is unnaturally condensed and rich in essence.
A single drop of blood is equal to ten drops of normal blood for fueling blood-based techniques.
This time, Lex read every line carefully, his eyes slowing as he absorbed the details he had overlooked earlier. His level had increased by one, and both his strength and agility had risen, most likely as a result of killing the zombie that had attacked him earlier.
The system was clearly tracking growth through combat, just as one would expect.
But one line stood out far more than the rest.
Race: Ghoul
His brows furrowed slightly as his gaze lingered there.
"I am a ghoul?" Lex asked, turning his head toward Victoria. "What exactly does that mean?"
Victoria responded almost instantly, her tone casual as though she were commenting on the weather.
"Well, it seems you had some kind of unique blood, didn't you?"
Lex nodded slowly.
"That unique blood must have reacted differently with mana when it flooded your world. Instead of merely empowering you, it mutated you as well, reshaping your existence and turning you into a ghoul."
She paused briefly, then added with a hint of amusement, "From what I know, you are only the third ghoul in the entire universe. That should tell you how rare your condition is."
The weight of that statement settled heavily, even as the door behind him creaked under another violent impact.
"As for your stats," Victoria went on, absently twirling a strand of her hair around her finger, "I believe you can already guess how they function. They follow a structure very similar to the games you humans enjoy so much.
Strength governs physical power, agility dictates speed and reflexes, health governs how fast you recover and how hard you are to kill. Whereas endurance affect survivability, and mana fuels abilities tied to supernatural phenomena."
Her explanation flowed naturally, as though this knowledge were common sense to her.
BANG!
Just then, the door burst open as three zombies rushed in!