On a warm morning, at XXX High School in class 11A1's classroom, the atmosphere was strangely tense. On the board, complex physics formulas about gravity, photons, and the speed of light were making many in the class dizzy. But not everyone felt the same. In the middle of the class, Lan and HoĆ ng were arguing heatedly, drawing the attention of the entire class.
"Lan, no matter how much energy we have, humans can never reach the speed of light. With an ordinary human body weight, we'd definitely be shredded by friction. As of now, photons are the only thing that can travel at the speed of light," HoĆ ng said loudly.
"Photons are the only thing we've discovered that can travel at the speed of light because we haven't explored everything else yet. For instance, the theory about tachyonsājust because we can't see them doesn't mean they don't exist. If we could harness and utilize the energy of tachyons, humans might achieve the speed of light," Lan retorted.
They continued their debate.
"Hey Tuįŗ„n, what are they arguing about again this early in the morning?" a girl named Hoa asked Tuįŗ„n.
Tuįŗ„n replied, "Oh, apparently they watched an anime together last night, where a character reached the speed of light. HoĆ ng argued that normal organic beings can never achieve such speed, and Lan insisted the opposite. They got upset and are still arguing about it now."
Hoa, exasperated with the two, stepped in to mediate: "Alright, alright! You two stop it already. We're here to study, not to watch two great physicists argue!"
Suddenly, the classroom door slammed open, and the English teacher walked in, her face stern.
"What are you all doing?" the teacher scolded, her eyes scanning the class. "The bell rang five minutes ago. Cut out this commotion and get ready for the English lesson."
The class instantly fell silent, no one daring to say a word. HoĆ ng and Lan also returned to their seats, quiet as mice.
During the English lesson, the classroom atmosphere became subdued. Everyone silently worked on their assignments, but Lan couldn't help feeling bored. She slumped on the desk, sighing.
"Ugh, this subject is so dull," Lan muttered to HoĆ ng, who sat beside her.
"What do you mean? You're the best at English! It's the subject you've won the most prizes in," HoĆ ng replied.
"But the problem is, every time there's an English competition, the teacher targets me. She always calls on me to read, test, or go win prizes. It's exhausting," Lan complained.
HoĆ ng chuckled and mumbled softly, "But seeing you confidently speak English like that makes me like you even more."
Lan: "Huh? What did you just say? I couldn't hear you."
HoĆ ng: "Nothing, I was just mumbling to myself."
Suddenly, Lan noticed that a classmate sitting nearby had vanished.
"Uh, HoĆ ng... HoĆ ng. I just saw Minh disappear," Lan said in panic.
HoĆ ng: "Huh, disappear?"
Lan rubbed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she found herself in a vast, unfamiliar space of endless whiteness. HoĆ ng stood next to her, bewildered and looking around.
Lan and HoĆ ng stared at each other, confused. Around them was nothing but blinding white. But as they observed closely, Lan was shocked to see all her classmates were also there, except for the teacher.
"What the hell is going on?" Lan whispered, her eyes wide with horror.
"It's not just our class," HoĆ ng realized. "Look, there are more people over there."
Indeed, besides the students from their class, there were many other young people around, all seemingly the same age as Lan and HoĆ ng but clearly from different schools.
Suddenly, a voice rang outāauthoritative and cold.
"Humans, listen closely. I am the god of creation and destruction, the beginning and the end of all things. I am everything in this world."
The voice echoed through the space, silencing everyone. No one dared to breathe too loudly. All eyes turned to a point, though no one knew where the voice was coming from.
HoĆ ng whispered to Lan, "Man, even the introduction is ridiculously long-winded with so many titles."
Lan: "Agreed. What kind of god gives themselves such a lengthy introduction?"
"All three million young people aged 16 to 18 in Vietnam have been gathered here. You have been chosen to become heroes to undertake a great mission: defeat the Demon King and return to your world. The hero who succeeds will be granted two wishes."
Lan: "Summoning... the Demon King?! Is this like those isekai anime?"
A wave of astonished murmurs rippled through the crowd. But the god continued speaking, unfazed.
"Only those who directly defeat the Demon King will receive this reward. You will be given crystals, and your powers will be reflected through the color of the crystal."
Crystals suddenly appeared in the air, and each person automatically received one.
"The light from the crystals will show one of five colors: Red, Blue, Green, Purple, and Orange. Additionally, there is Gray for those unable to awaken any abilities," the god explained.
"Red š“ is the rarest: Possessing all the abilities of the other colorsāonly four people will receive this color.
Blue šµ: Enhanced speed, much faster than normal humans (Speed: 100m/5s, which can increase with development).
Green š¢: Abundant mana reserves, double that of ordinary individuals.
Purple š£: Enhanced physical strength (Punch, kick force: 2 tons. Lifting capacity: 800 kg, which can increase with development)..
Orange š : Greater durability (Can withstand a force equivalent to 4 tons, which can increase with development).."
Lan stared intently at the crystal in her hand, her heart pounding. When the crystal emitted light, it shone brilliantly in bright red.
"Red..." Lan whispered, unable to believe her eyes.
She looked at HoĆ ng beside her, her eyes glowing with excitement: "HoĆ ng! Look, I got red!"
But when Lan glanced at HoĆ ng, she was shocked to see the crystal in his hand glowing whiteāa completely different color.
"What... white?" HoĆ ng mumbled, astonished.
Lan looked at him, trying to reassure him: "Maybe the god mixed up white and gray. Don't worry, HoĆ ng. You'll be fine."
The god spoke again, his voice devoid of compassion: "Those with gray are useless and will be eliminated immediately."
Lan, horrified, turned to look at HoĆ ng, a deep fear rising within her: "No... that's impossible! HoĆ ng isn't gray!" She screamed and rushed to hug him.
But before she could touch him, HoĆ ng vanished before her eyes, disappearing as if he had never existed.
Lan stood there, stunned, tears streaming down her face. "HoĆ ng... no... he can't be erased like this!" she cried out, devastated.
The god, unfeeling, continued speaking: "To motivate the rest of you, I have erased the existence of one million individuals who had no abilities. This is to make you understand that this is no game."
"Why don't you, a so-called all-powerful god, just defeat the Demon King yourself? Why us?" Lan shouted.
"Yeah, that's right!" the crowd screamed in despair, realizing the gravity of the situation.
"Have you humans ever asked why cows, insects, and animals must fight each other just for your entertainment?" the god's cold voice responded.
Everyone fell silent.
Before Lan could react further, the god declared: "Those who received red are special. Lannah Nguyį» n, VÅ© Äį»©c Hįŗ£iātwo from Vietnamāalong with three others: Chen Yulong from China and Sakurai Aiko from Japan. You will each be sent to one of the four different universes out of the twelve designated universes."
"By the way, The crystals have the ability to help translate almost all languages, so you don't need to worry about communication."
Chaos erupted as people realized they would be separated into different universes. The magnitude of the situation grew increasingly severe.
Suddenly, a beam of light descended from the sky. Seven angels emerged from the light, each holding a trumpet, and they played a majestic melody.
"May all of you have an extraordinary journey, my heroes," the god declared.
Then everyone was pulled into different spaces, vanishing from the white world.
Lan, tears streaming down her face, looked up at the god: "I swear I'll destroy the Demon King and save HoĆ ng. And then, whether you're a god or whatever, I'll punch you so hard it hurts, you bastard."
Clenching the red crystal in her hand, Lan's heart burned with determination. Then she and the others disappeared from that space.