As they stepped out of their waiting room, a breathtaking sight unfolded before their eyes.
Before them stretched a massive, perfectly arranged arena, far larger than any stadium on Earth. The ground beneath their feet was smooth and polished like dark crystal, reflecting faint lights from above.
Surrounding the arena were tall structures and platforms, almost like viewing galleries, yet no audience could be seen.
But what truly captured their attention was the sky.
Above them, countless stars shimmered brightly, far clearer than any night sky they had ever seen.
It did not feel like the sky of Earth.
Instead, it looked like they were standing on a floating island drifting through the endless universe.
Fragments of glowing rocks floated silently in the distance, slowly orbiting the island like lost satellites.
The whole place felt cosmic… mysterious… and powerful.
It was dangerous, yet unbelievably beautiful.
Sohag slowly turned his head, staring at the sky with wide eyes.
"Are we… in space?"
Tanvir didn't answer immediately. His sharp eyes moved around the arena, carefully observing everything.
"Looks like it," he muttered quietly.
As they walked further away from their waiting room, they began noticing something strange.
They were not the only ones coming out.
Across the arena, many doors were opening, one after another.
Players began stepping out from those rooms—people from different countries, different races, different appearances.
Some looked confused, some cautious, and some immediately began observing the surroundings like hunters.
Everyone seemed to be wondering the same thing.
Who are these people?
Where are we?
What is this place?
The arena slowly filled with murmurs and whispers as players tried to figure out what was happening.
But suddenly—
A familiar voice echoed throughout the entire arena.
It was loud, playful, and extremely irritating.
The moment that voice appeared, every player's attention was instantly captured.
And their expressions turned dark.
Because that voice…
Was the voice they hated the most.
It was Moon's voice.
"Helloooo everyone~!"
The playful voice echoed through the cosmic arena like a mocking laugh.
"Your host… Moooon~!"
A wave of irritation spread through the players.
Tanvir clenched his fist slightly.
Sohag muttered under his breath,
"That annoying witch again…"
Moon continued cheerfully.
"Congratulations to all the players who managed to make it this far!"
She stretched her arms widely in the air as if she were presenting a grand show.
"And therefore… all potential players will be rewardeeeed~!"
Everyone looked up.
This time something was different.
Moon was not appearing through the moon in the sky like before, where she used the moon's eyes and mouth to talk.
Instead—
She was physically present.
Floating in the air.
Her body looked human, but two elegant white wings extended from her back, gently flapping to keep her hovering above the arena.
Her long hair flowed in the cosmic wind while she looked down at the players like an amused host watching contestants.
"Now then," she said with a mischievous smile.
"Let's begin the Global Award Ceremony."
The moment those words reached the players, realization spread through the crowd.
Award ceremony…
That meant something important.
This place was where all the top players from every country had been gathered.
The strongest survivors.
Moon clapped happily.
"Now let's start with the country rewards."
She tilted her head playfully.
"I wonder… who is going to achieve the rewards~?"
The players looked at each other nervously.
Some crossed their arms.
Some stared silently at the sky.
But before anyone could say anything—
The ground suddenly trembled.
A deep vibration spread across the arena.
BOOOOM
A massive crystal cube slowly rose from beneath the ground.
The cube was enormous, glowing with a deep blue light, its surface perfectly smooth like polished glass.
Covering all four directions.
As it fully emerged, the crystal suddenly projected a large blue system screen into the air.
Lines of text began appearing across it.
Words.
Numbers.
Symbols.
The players tried to read them.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
But no matter how hard they tried, they could not understand the strange letters.
They tried again and again, staring intensely at the screen.
Then suddenly—
[DING]
Social language has been given to all players.
Players can communicate with each other ignoring all language barriers.
[]
The players blinked in surprise.
And then something strange happened.
The letters on the screen—once impossible to understand—suddenly became perfectly readable.
The reason was simple.
The system had just given them a new language ability.
Almost immediately, many players opened the skill description.
[DING]
Skill: Social Language
Rank: Common
Mana Cost: Zero
Cooldown: None
Description:
Created by the System to ignore all language barriers players may have.
Using Method:
Activate the skill while speaking or listening. Both the speaker and listener must activate the skill for proper communication.
[]
Adi stared at the description with amazement.
"This system just solved a global problem like it's nothing…"
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Translators in our world are good, but they still make mistakes."
"Those mistakes often lead to serious cultural conflicts."
He pointed at the screen.
"But this system noticed that flaw and created its own universal language to avoid those conflicts completely."
Adi smiled in admiration.
"Genius."
"I wonder how many things this system is capable of."
Meanwhile, the crystal screen cleared again.
The strange letters were not English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Hindi, or any other language from Earth.
It was something completely different.
Yet everyone could understand it perfectly.
On the screen they read:
Rank: Country
Condition: Kill Count
1st: ----
2nd: ----
3rd: ----
Moon clapped her hands excitedly.
"Now let's start the spin-off~!"
Another window opened beside the ranking screen, showing rapidly increasing numbers.
It began at:
50,376,009
Then it kept rising.
Higher.
Higher.
Higher.
The numbers moved so fast that some players held their breath.
Finally, it stopped at its highest number:
75,600,583,891,097
At that exact moment, the empty ranking slots were filled.
1st: India
2nd: China
3rd: United States
Moon spun happily in the air.
"Wow~ what a fascinating turn of events!"
"The first place goes to India!"
"The second place goes to China!"
"And the third place goes to the United States!"
As Moon spoke, a bronze spotlight covered the five American players.
A silver spotlight covered the Chinese players.
And a golden spotlight covered the Indian players.
All the other players looked at them.
Some with admiration.
Some with jealousy.
Some with cold calculating eyes.
Moon raised her hand again.
"Now, now humans…"
"There are still continental rewards and global rewards left."
The blue screen changed once more.
Rank: Continental
Concept: Power House
1st: ----
2nd: ----
3rd: ----
Moon smiled widely.
"As you all can see on this screen, now every continent will receive rewards."
She paused for dramatic effect.
"But…"
"This time the whole continent will not receive rewards like the country ranking."
"This time only the worthy individuals will receive the reward."
She leaned forward slightly.
"In other words…"
"This ranking will reveal who is truly strong."
Immediately the atmosphere of the arena changed.
Players became serious.
This was a golden opportunity.
If they learned who the strongest individuals were, their countries could recruit them.
Powerful alliances could be formed.
Nations could dominate others.
Adi's expression darkened.
"That bitch said that intentionally…"
He muttered quietly.
"She's creating competition between
players… maybe even war."
His eyes narrowed.
"If something goes wrong here…"
"…this place could turn into a battlefield."
Moon continued.
"The third place goes to… the United States."
Many players looked surprised.
America was always expected to be powerful.
But third place?
That was unexpected.
Moon continued.
"Now for second place."
"This time… the position is shared."
Multiple countries appeared on the screen.
India...
China...
Russia...
Japan...
Mexico...
Colombia...
Saudi Arabia...
And
United States...
Players began looking around the crowd, searching for those individuals.
Moon smiled mysteriously.
"And now…"
"For first place…"
She paused dramatically.
"It goes to only one man."
"A legend himself."
"Korea."
Shock spread through the entire arena.
Players looked everywhere, trying to find the glowing winners.
But strangely—
No one was glowing.
No bronze.
No silver.
No gold.
It was as if those individuals were not present.
Adi's eyes widened slowly.
"First America appeared in both second and third place…"
"And no one here is glowing…"
"Then there is only one man who conquered first place alone…"
His face turned pale.
"Wait…"
"Could it be…?"
Moon suddenly sighed dramatically.
"What humans…"
"Let me finish my job first."
"Then you can continue your rat run."
The players clenched their fists in anger.
They wanted to kill her.
But they couldn't.
All they could do…
Was endure.
Moon smiled again.
"Now for the last reward."
The giant blue cube slowly lowered back to the ground.
From its center, a glowing crystal rose upward.
Moon flapped her wings and flew even higher into the cosmic sky.
She spread both her arms.
"For this reward…"
"Forget your country."
"Forget your continent."
"For this reward…"
"Only achievement matters."
Her voice echoed through the arena.
"Because this reward…"
"…is GLOBAL."
The moment she said that—
Something terrifying appeared.
A giant eye opened in the sky.
Then another.
Then another.
Soon the sky was filled with countless massive eyes and mouths, all smiling.
Each eye was as large as an asteroid.
Each mouth stretched wide enough to swallow the entire arena in one bite.
Every single one of them…
Was watching.