"I have to find a way out of here!" Mike's mind raced in desperation. The endless space was mostly empty, but one could encounter evil immortals if unlucky. Mike's luck was terrible this time—encountering such a powerful evil immortal was truly unfortunate. Based on his calculations, this Lana is likely an immortal above rank 10.
Even facing a rank 10 immortal, Mike would have absolutely no chance of escape, let alone against someone above rank 10. The only way to survive was to please her or to earn her pity. Unfortunately for him, Lana exuded a malevolent, psychopathic aura. She didn't seem like someone who had any compassion or other positive emotions.
"Lana, can you let me leave?" he asked. Despite being consumed with anger and sorrow over the deaths of billions, he had no thoughts of revenge—at least not in the short term. He is barely a quasi-rank 10, and Lana is likely a rank 11. The gap between them is vast—so vast that success is impossible. Mike is no fool, so he doesn't even entertain the thought of revenge.
"You are the hero! I need you in my world. There will be worldwide competition in a few months. If you win, you can earn a big prize!" she explained.
"I am truly thankful for your high opinion of me, but I failed to save anyone. Those mortals in my previous world all died, as you know. Please, let me leave!" Mike nearly begged. It was the first time in his life that he had felt so desperate and helpless.
"It doesn't matter that they died; you tried to save them, and that's what counts! Besides, their deaths were partly my doing, so I must make it up to you. I've already signed you up for the competition; get ready!" she said, then snapped her fingers.
Mike vanished.
...
"There's no running away," Mike thought as he strolled through the streets, sighing.
Unexpectedly, despite Lana's crazy and psychopathic demeanor, her world seemed quite normal. This city, for instance, is indistinguishable from an ordinary modern city. There are roads, cars, houses, schools, government buildings, people walking around, etc; there is no demon or monster.
"quite a few rank 1s and four rank 2s," Mike noted as he extended his divine sense, quickly assessing the power levels in the city. There are over a million people living in the city, but only a few possess magical strength.
"I should be very powerful in this world," he thought. The supernatural aura of this world is surprisingly weak. Considering Lana's immense strength, this is likely intentional—she probably reduced the aura because she didn't want too many powerful individuals to emerge.
"How can I help you?" the receptionist at a motel asked him. Mike had quickly learned the language, directly copying a passerby's linguistic skills into his brain.
"A room for a year," he said.
"A year?" the receptionist asks, surprised. They usually rent rooms for at most a few weeks; it is nearly unheard of for someone to rent a room for a year. If one intends to stay that long, they usually seek cheaper options.
Mike retrieved a red card from his pocket and handed it to the receptionist. After being teleported to this city, a city official gave him the card. It allows him access to seemingly endless funds; as long as he doesn't exceed the daily limit of 10 million RM, he can spend freely.
Ten million RM has considerable purchasing power. For example, a meal ranges from 10 to 50 RM, an ordinary car costs only 5,000 RM, and a house might be slightly over 1 million RM. It can be said that 10 million RM is enough for a family to live in luxury for years, and Mike can spend that much each day.
The receptionist took the card and scanned it; her looks changed after she saw the results on the monitor, and she bowed respectfully.
"My apologies, your honor. You are a distinguished guest of the royal palace. Please, choose any room you like!" the receptionist said, bowing.
The red card clearly held significant meaning to cause such a change in her behavior.
"Just give me an ordinary room," Mike replied. He planned to sit and meditate for a few months until the competition's start. He knew what the competition was about and wasn't at all interested in participating. Unfortunately, Lana had registered his name, and he didn't dare skip it. That crazy woman is very unstable; she might kill him in a moment of anger.
The receptionist gestured for him to follow. Even though Mike had asked for an ordinary room, she led him to the best and most expensive room in the entire building.
"Please call us if you need anything," she said respectfully before leaving.
Mike sat on the floor, closed his eyes, and began to meditate. He needed to clear his mind and think of a plan.
...
"Boss, we had a royal favorite guest today!" the receptionist said to her boss, excited.
"A royal favorite? Are you sure? I've heard of scammers faking the red card. Did you run it through the scanner?" the boss asked.
"Yes, I did! He really was a royal favorite," she replied, her excitement barely contained.
"Hahaha, great! Great!" The boss laughed loudly.
A worldwide competition is held every ten years; participants are youths between the ages of 20 and 40. The winners are granted a blue card called "Royal Candidate." If a participant wins two back-to-back worldwide competitions, their card will be upgraded to a red card named "Royal Favorite." Once they win three successive competitions, their card will be upgraded to a golden card called "Official Royal." From then on, they will be treated as princes and princesses, live in luxury, and are respected wherever they go.
Blue card holders have a lifespan of 200 years, can spend up to 10,000 RM per day, and have free access to all government buildings, labs, and libraries. Even if they commit crimes, their punishment will be much lighter. They are exempt from many laws, have access to exclusive lanes on the roads, receive the best health coverage, and have priority in organ transplants and other surgeries, among other benefits.
Red card holders could live up to 300 years, spend 10 million RM per day, and enjoy all the benefits of blue card holders.
Golden card owners can live up to 1,000 years, spend 10 million RM per day, have their exclusive royal court system—which is very lenient (even murder might be punished by a simple fine that can be paid with their golden card)—and have access to supernatural masters as bodyguards.
Despite being exempt from most criminal laws, cardholders very rarely commit crimes. Those privileges, such as getting away with murder by paying a fine, are primarily symbolic. In reality, golden card owners care deeply about their public image and wouldn't be so brazen as to commit murder.
There are a few catches.
First, if a blue card holder doesn't participate in a competition for over 20 years, their card will be revoked. If a red card owner doesn't participate in a competition for over 50 years, their card will also be revoked. Official royals with golden cards also have to participate in a competition at least once a millennium; otherwise, their lifespan will be exhausted, as their max lifespan is no more than a thousand years. Once they win the competition, their lifespan will be renewed for another thousand years.
There are also risks. If a blue or red cardholder participates and then loses in a competition, they lose their rank entirely. If a golden card owner loses, their golden card won't be revoked; once official, they no longer have to worry about sliding back. However, they lose 100 years of life as a penalty.
That said, even if blue and red card holder loses their ranks, their lifespan will remain at its previous level without change; once their life span's upper limit increases, they don't need to worry about it being reduced once they lose their rank.
The cardholders also have responsibilities, namely, pleasing Queen Lana. This is their sole official role. As long as they please her, it's even possible she could directly increase their longevity. If they truly earn her favor, she might even give them a diamond card, which has many more benefits than the golden card.
Nearly everyone in the world participates in the competition at least once. The cost of participation is very low, so even poor people can afford it, and there is no risk of dying or suffering great bodily harm. Once they win, their fate changes from snake to dragon, so there is no reason not to participate.
"Those red card holders are filthy rich! Offer him as many expensive foods and delicacies as you can. We must make the most of his stay," the boss ordered.
"Yes!" The receptionist bowed and nodded.
"How is your training going?" the boss asked, changing the subject.
"I'm studying the previous competitions in my free time. I think I have a chance," the receptionist replied.
"If you get the blue light… you can make up for my regret!" the boss sighed. He had also participated when he was younger but failed. The receptionist, Elara, is still only 25 and can participate.
"I hope so," Elara said, daydreaming about her potentially amazing future life. The pass rate for the competition was extremely low, but the girl still had hope.