The sound of pounding footsteps echoed through the area, a region where most of the trees were dead, their trunks blackened and leaves scattered across the ground.
Smoke rose high into the sky, replacing the clouds and blocking out the sunlight.
The flames from thousands of burning trees created a tense situation humanity had never witnessed since Trial Planet began fifteen years ago.
"You're finished, Amon!"
Someone called out to him, cursing his name. Aamon Viremont opened his eyes and looked down from the top of a hill made of piled human corpses.
The man approaching him wore gleaming armor, a sword plated with gold and jewels, and a winged helmet like Thor.
The typical golden boy—everyone's favorite, their hope of escaping Trial Planet.
"Gerrard?"
"Are you insane?! You killed thousands of people. That makes you worse than a monster!" Gerrard shouted.
Amon kept staring at him, then burst into loud laughter—a villain's laugh, chilling enough to make the hairs on someone's neck stand up.
"HAHAHAHA!"
"You're naive, Gerrard," Amon said. "That's why Trial Planet… will never end!"
"You're the crazy one, Amon! I knew there was something wrong with your head!"
A woman arrived riding a white horse. She wore white armor without a helmet, her sword gripped tightly in her hand.
She wasn't alone. Tens of thousands of people stood behind her, all wearing the uniforms of their factions or guilds.
Every class had gathered in one place, surrounding the hill of corpses where Amon sat at the top.
"Silvie?" Amon asked. "I don't want to hear anything from Gerrard's little bootlicker!"
"AMON!"
Gerrard drew his shining golden sword and stepped forward, his eyes filled with resolve. "You've gone too far, Amon!"
"We can't let you live any longer. Someone has to kill you to bring peace among us!"
Amon let out a breath. The long black shirt he wore was stained with the blood of the All-Seven members. But that wasn't all.
He rose to his feet and stretched out his hand, summoning his sword from swirling purple void particles.
The blade manifested instantly. Amon charged downhill toward Gerrard, who was already running toward him.
Their swords clashed, creating an explosive burst of energy between light and darkness. Silvie raised her sword high, activating her skill and casting buffs over the tens of thousands gathered there.
[Debuff: STR -25% || AGI -20% || Void Energy Purification 15%]
A system panel appeared before Amon, explaining the debuffs he received from Silvie's support skill.
His body was thrown backward, dragged across the ground and slammed into falling trees. But he did not give up.
He refused to give up.
The trees ignited in purple flames. Amon rose to his feet, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. His eyes locked forward as thousands charged at him, screaming and cursing.
Purple light flared along his blade. A terrifying aura surged through his body as he prepared to use his skill.
[Void Skill: Soul Void Gate Slash]
Amon swung his sword sideways with tremendous force, coughing up blood and dropping to one knee the moment the skill was unleashed.
A massive purple slash shot forward, its crescent tail tearing through space itself, opening a void realm where countless souls were trapped in emptiness.
BLAST!
The attack exploded upon impact. The people struck were not physically injured—but their souls were forcibly ripped from their bodies.
The sky split apart. A giant scythe tore through the heavens, ripping open a dimensional wall. Demonic hands emerged, sucking in the thousands of souls caught by the void skill.
Their lifeless bodies collapsed to the ground while their souls were dragged into the tear in the sky. Gerrard watched in shock, his face pale.
His determination to kill Amon grew even stronger. He knew allowing Amon to live would spell disaster for humanity.
Gripping his sword tightly, Gerrard dashed forward through the corpses, dodging the demonic hands and arriving before Amon.
Amon was powerless. The Void Skill had drained too much of his energy, and he had already endured a long battle before this.
The purple void sword in his hand vanished. He lifted his head and stared at Gerrard.
STAB!
"Ugh!"
Without hesitation, Gerrard thrust his golden sword into Amon's stomach. Blood poured from Amon's mouth. His face turned pale, his eyes reddened.
There was no meaningful resistance. He knew he would die if he didn't defeat Gerrard immediately—but that was impossible in his current state.
"You are a calamity to humanity, Amon!"
Amon leaned forward, pushing himself deeper onto Gerrard's blade. He did not scream—only grimaced through the pain.
"We… are not enemies," Amon whispered softly. "It's… All-Seven."
"Don't be ridiculous! All-Seven saved humanity. You're trying to turn me against them!"
"You're… naive, Gerrard."
Gerrard pulled out his sword. Amon collapsed in a pool of blood on the blackened earth scorched by endless wildfire.
His gaze turned toward the smoke-filled sky.
Why… does fighting alone feel so exhausting?
Why… is revealing the truth in a world full of evil so difficult?
Amon slowly closed his eyes, letting himself fall into a long, cold… silent death.
***
"Amon!"
The loud voice calling his name shocked him awake. He opened his eyes instantly, stood from his chair, and looked forward.
"What?"
"If you fall asleep in class again, you're meeting your homeroom teacher this afternoon!" the man said firmly, standing neatly dressed at the front of the classroom.
Amon looked around. High school students were staring at him—some with amused expressions.
"What the—"
"Sit down and pay attention, Amon!" the teacher ordered.
What happened? Wasn't I supposed to be dead?
Amon sat down, listening. He turned toward the classroom window. Outside was a peaceful garden filled with colorful flowers.
A sight rarely seen during Trial Planet.
Did I… go back to the past?
The seventeen-year-old suddenly stood up straight, startling both the students and the teacher.
"What is it?" the teacher asked.
"Sorry, I need to step out for a moment."
He opened the door and ran out of class. Not toward the cafeteria or restroom—but to the rooftop.
He needed to confirm something. If Trial Planet had been just a daydream during class, it wouldn't have felt so real.
The rooftop door swung open. Amon arrived, breathing heavily. He pulled out his phone and checked the date displayed on the screen.
"November 17th, 2026."
His heart pounded harder. That was the exact date the Cosmic Authority appeared in the sky and opened monster-filled portals to Earth.
"Amon!"
He turned. A girl stood by the rooftop entrance. From her face and his memories, he knew exactly who she was.
"Silvie?"
"You've been acting strange today. Is something bothering you?"
"Don't come near me!" Amon shouted, memories of her betrayal flashing in his mind.
Silvie froze in shock.
"What do you mean?"
THUMP!
A massive booming sound echoed everywhere, forcing people across the world to cover their ears.
Amon looked up at the sky. He knew that sound well.
It was the beginning. The arrival of the Cosmic Authority. The start of Trial Planet. The beginning of Earth's destruction.
"What was that?" Silvie asked.
The noise slowly faded. Then a man's voice echoed from the sky, heard across the entire world.
The clouds parted. A gigantic face appeared above Earth—glowing red eyes, a blue, eccentric mask covering its head.
Its face was as vast as the sky itself.
Silvie stepped forward in shock, her face pale. Amon, however, knew exactly what this was.
"What is that?" she whispered.
"Cosmic… Authority."
The being spoke in its own language. A mysterious system panel appeared before every human on Earth.
[People of Earth!]
[It is time for Earth to evolve. Earth's evolution requires life energy from its inhabitants.]
[If you refuse planetary evolution, we will deem Earth unworthy and destroy its core.]
Red light shone from its eyes. Circular portals formed in the sky, linking Earth to another dimension.
Amon clenched his fists. He had nearly died at the beginning of Trial Planet before. Now he would have to relive it.
[Trial Planet is your test. Your task is simple: Gather as many Contribution Points as possible to serve as energy for Earth's evolution.]
"Contribution Points? What's that?" Silvie asked.
Amon looked at his own system panel. If this had appeared, then his individual system must have as well.
He traced the letter S in the air with two fingers.
[Individual System]
[Name: Amon Viremont]
[Level: 1]
[EXP: 0/1000]
[Class: None]
[Contribution Points: 0]
[Basic Attribute Status]
[STR: 10 || AGI: 10 || INT: 10 || CON: 10 || SPI: 10]
[AP: 0]
He narrowed his eyes. Balanced. Basic. Just as he expected.
[Now… you will decide the future of your planet yourselves!]
[Good luck!]
A giant teleportation portal appeared behind the Cosmic Authority. Within seconds, it vanished.
"Now what?" Silvie asked.
"Run!" Amon ordered.
Thousands of monsters poured from the portals and fell to Earth. There weren't just one or two portals—but tens of thousands across the planet.
Amon grabbed Silvie's hand and ran down from the rooftop. The school corridors were already in chaos.
"I don't want to die! I don't want to die!" Silvie cried.
"Don't run with the crowd," Amon said. "They're easy targets."
"Then what do we do?!"
"Hide."
They entered the science lab. Amon told Silvie to hide inside a large storage cabinet.
"Don't make a sound. Don't come out."
"If you hear three knocks, that's me."
"What are you going to do?" she asked nervously.
"I'll kill them. Get loot. Hopefully find a weapon."
He slammed the cabinet shut and locked it. Then he poured ammonia onto the floor—the strong smell repelled monsters.
He stepped out carefully. Mosquito-like monsters flew into the hallway through the rooftop entrance.
One entered the lab. Amon grabbed a broom handle and lunged forward, stabbing instead of swinging.
The monster screeched. He stabbed again and again.
After several strikes, its HP dropped to zero.
The monster collapsed, dropping glowing loot.
[Congratulations! You obtained your first loot:]
[+25 EXP || +10 Contribution Points || +10 Coins || 1x Monster Core]
[Congratulations! First Kill Reward:]
[1x Low Weapon Set || 1x Low Equipment Set || 1x Non-Mana Skill]
Amon immediately used them.
[You obtained:]
[1x Bone Sword || 1x Rookie Leather Set]
[You obtained skill:]
[Sword Skill: First Thrust]
The equipment fitted onto his body automatically. The Bone Sword floated before him until he grabbed it.
It was crude—but strong enough for level 1 monsters.
As he prepared to attack again, a mysterious purple-framed panel appeared.
[Notification!]
[You have returned from a dark future.]
[The offering of souls trapped in the Void Realm has been extracted into your new skill.]
Amon narrowed his eyes. He had never received such a panel before.
[Congratulations. You have obtained Main Skill: Upgrade Skill Effects 10x]
[Enhances skill effects and power. Ordinary skills become extraordinary.]