A colossal screen materialized in the clouds, spanning the entire atmosphere. From its ethereal depths emerged a man adorned in a peculiar headdress.
"Greetings, Earth inhabitants," the man spoke with a genial smile.
"We represent the Milky Way Association, an alliance of highly intelligent beings spanning the Milky Way Galaxy. When I say beings, it's not limited to humans; among us are what you'd call aliens. Now, let me elucidate the reason behind this occurrence. After millennia of cultivation, manipulation, construction, deconstruction, and repopulation, we find ourselves profoundly disappointed with the trajectory of your planet's progress." The man sighed, his expression reflecting a sense of dismay as he shook his head.
"Your DNA, RNA, and every cell within your bodies, or whatever terminology you use, are replicas of our own. This implies that you were meant to possess the same level of intelligence and wisdom as we do!" The man's tone shifted abruptly, his anger surfacing like a switch had been flipped. It resembled the stern scolding of a disappointed parent addressing their unruly children.
"We've invested our efforts in nurturing your planet, hoping to foster another highly advanced civilization. Yet, what have you done with it? Engaged in wars, succumbed to corrupt leadership, indulged in futile disputes, and pursued meaningless riches!" With each mention of these negative events, the man emphatically slammed his hand into something, coincidentally causing the world to tremble in response.
"You've squandered your intelligence on fruitless debates about gender, race, and numerous other trivial matters!" The man continued his tirade, berating everyone. Attempting to regain composure, he took a deep breath, but as he exhaled, a powerful wind swept across the entire world.
Panic spread among the populace, for every gesture the man made seemed to influence the very Earth beneath them. It was as though an omnipotent being scrutinized its creation, capable of obliterating everything with a mere whim. The fragile balance between fear and awe gripped the hearts of those who bore witness to this extraordinary display of power.
In every corner of the Earth — Asia, Europe, the USA, Africa, Australia — a collective awareness dawned upon humanity. Every soul, irrespective of age, found themselves tuned into the unfolding events.
A myriad of thoughts surged through everyone's minds, emotions mingling on faces like an intricate tapestry. Attempts to move proved futile, as an unseen force held each person firmly in place. A shared sense of vulnerability and uncertainty enveloped the globe, uniting the world's population in an involuntary pause, suspended in the grip of an otherworldly influence.
"Before all else, we shall take your children. Those aged 6 and below will be transported beyond your planet's confines, under our guardianship throughout the impending challenges. We do this because we can nurture them more effectively than you ever could." As he uttered these words, a radiant light enveloped every child cradled in mothers' arms, every kid in every room. With a soft pop, they vanished, leaving an eerie silence in their wake.
"Now, for the pivotal phase of this event." The man clasped his hands, and screens materialized before everyone's eyes. As if guided by a well-oiled mechanism, heads turned in unison, redirecting their attention from the sky to the screens before them.
The displayed message read as follows: "Welcome to the Zinomia Expansion Trial...."
In this Trial, all human being in earth is about to face many challenges that you must overcome, this is a win or extinct event... If you win, the top 10 humans with most contribution will be a part of the Zinomia Expansion team of Milky Way Association...
"If you fail, the extinction of your planet will be implemented instantly. I will be your system, recording your status, growth, acquired skills, missions, and delivering your achievements, tasks, and rewards."
"I wish your planet good luck, that every mission will be a great success." With those words, the screen closed like a television shutting down. Once again, the man's voice resonated through the atmosphere.
"Without further delay, you may now all start." With a resounding clap and a somewhat sinister smile, the man concluded, and the screen in the heavens simply vanished into thin air.
Once again, like a well-oiled machine, all human beings, in unison, walked back to their houses or to where they were before the announcement. As they strolled, in the periphery of their vision, massive monsters materialized in the world. It resembled a teleportation spell; dragons, giants, colossal golems, serpents the size of buildings, and every conceivable monster from the depths of human imagination appeared, one by one, scattered across the globe.
Unbeknownst to everyone, a magical energy had already been injected into the world, serving as the source for the spawning of these creatures.
The screen appeared again:
**Mission Title: Getting Familiar**
*Objective: Eliminate...*
The system assigned every individual around the world a mission to eliminate a specific monster. A timer in the top right corner commenced its countdown, signaling the start of this worldwide event. The challenge had begun.
As the timer reached its conclusion, another wave of monster spawning occurred. This time, the monsters materialized inside their homes, workplaces, plazas—every conceivable location worldwide. Chaos unfolded as the unexpected invasion invaded the most intimate spaces, turning the global challenge into a deeply personal struggle for survival.
"For your first mission.
Title: Getting Familiar
Eliminate 10 goblins
Rewards: Level up by 1 and a skill level up
Punishment: Death"
The man, still fixated on his screen, was petrified and panicked, unable to comprehend the unfolding situation. Unbeknownst to him, the timer had already expired, and goblins had materialized in his apartment. Without hesitation, the dagger-wielding goblins pounced on the man, who remained frozen, stabbing him mercilessly all over his body. The consequence of failure was swift and brutal.
Shrieks of pain echoed as the man suffered, mirroring the scenario playing out globally. Dragons unleashed fire, giants pursued fleeing humans, and different pitches of screams reverberated. The world descended into chaos, marked by booms and crashes in high-rise buildings, airplanes plummeting from the sky as bat-like monsters clung to them. It was a cacophony of pandemonium, a symphony of destruction heard in every corner of the globe.
In the midst of the chaos, in a nondescript location on the road:
"For your first mission.
Title: Getting Familiar
Eliminate 1 slime
Rewards: Level up by 1 and a skill level up
Punishment: Death"
In front of an elementary kid, a screen flickered to life. Confused and unsure, the child continued to scream for his mommy.
"Mommy, mommy!" The kid's frantic screams echoed, desperately searching for a mother who was nowhere to be found in the midst of the unfolding chaos.
Somewhere deep within the galaxy, the man with the weird headdress sat in his luxurious seat, observing a vast screen displaying various scenarios and situations of human demise. Among them, he witnessed the child with the slime mission, slowly succumbing to the grasp of the gelatinous creature, the innocence of youth confronted by a merciless fate.
"This is the real natural selection," the man uttered, shaking his head in disappointment. He observed the counter, projecting the Earth's population, which plummeted from 7.888 billion to a startling decrease of 5 billion, steadily declining at a terrifying rate. The consequences of the Zinomia Expansion Trial were exacting a drastic toll on humanity.
"Are the Earthlings settled?" the man asked someone, referring to the transported children.
"Yes, sir. All are ready and well-incubated," responded another man with a headdress, though of a slightly different color than the man addressed as "sir."
Somewhere in the middle of the Philippines, in the Visayas Region Here comes Jose Rizzer, a 24-year-old young man, a part-time worker at a 24/7 convenience store called Double Eleven in the heart of the small City of Tacloban. A college dropout with bleak prospects for the future, he resigned himself to persisting in minimum wage jobs. With little to no friends and no family due to a tragic accident claiming his parents at the age of 18, he abandoned his studies to focus solely on self-sufficiency.
Jose had been maneuvering through a series of jobs, hindered by his limited education that trapped him in a cycle of minimum wage employment. Familiar with the harsh realities of boss abuse, where his pay was slashed due to corruption, his initial protests proved futile against an indifferent owner.
As this month marks the end of Jose's grace period for his rental apartment, he finds himself five months behind in payments. His work pay falls woefully short of covering the rising costs of living, compelling him to subsist on low-nutritional-value meals and instant options. Despite these sacrifices, he remains unable to meet the demands of his rent. The weight of pressure, depression, and anxiety accumulates steadily, casting a shadow over every aspect of his life.
Jose is acutely aware that his pay is consistently siphoned off to his boss's pocket, a harsh reality of the dog-eat-dog world he navigates. Familiar with the principles of survival of the fittest, he views each day as a form of natural selection, and unfortunately, this relentless process has now caught up with him.
As Jose was on the brink of taking his own life, intending for it to occur precisely at midnight, he aimed to bring down the business with him. If he perished here, no one would ever purchase anything from this store again. However, as the appointed time arrived and the buzz resounded, something beyond his control intervened. In a surprising surge of strength, Jose instinctively pulled his own body out of the hanging rope. Astonished, he wondered where this newfound strength had originated. Simultaneously, he observed everything unfolding in the sky.
Mixed feelings enveloped Jose as the situation unfolded. A peculiar sense of relief washed over him, akin to the removal of countless needles embedded in his body. The pent-up stress that had accumulated over time seemed to dissipate instantaneously, leaving him in a state of bewildered liberation.
Upon reentering the convenience store where he worked, Jose found himself fortunate that it was a small establishment, and he was alone when the screen popped up once again.
"For your first mission.
Title: Getting Familiar
Eliminate 75 skeleton warriors
Rewards: Level up by 1 and a skill level up"
"I must survive this," Jose vowed, a newfound determination surging within him. He recognized this as a second chance, a miraculous reprieve from the dark path he had contemplated.
"This is my second life," he affirmed, rushing towards the axe nestled in the corner of the store, ready to face the daunting challenge ahead.