In an endless expanse of white, the figure of an old man dressed in simple farmer's clothes, with a white cloth draped around his neck, sat motionless and unconscious. In front of him was a strange lantern emitting a black light that shimmered and spread across the white space, turning it into a field of darkness. The black light contracted and expanded on the white surface like black ink swirling and spreading on water.
The old man's body trembled slightly before he slowly opened his eyes.
His eyes opened slowly. The reflection of the white ground made him squint slightly. He frowned and looked around cautiously. He wondered why the intense pain he once felt had disappeared, and now he found himself in this strange place.
He shook his head lightly. This was not the time to dwell on other thoughts — he needed to hurry and help the villagers escape. He knew what he faced was something the ordinary villagers could never fight. Slowly, he stood up from the ground. His black eyes changed into vertical golden-yellow slits. He scanned the surroundings with his golden eyes.
Frowning deeply, he saw nothing but endless white space and the strange lantern emitting black light on the ground. He looked down at the black lantern — the only object he had found in this strange place. It was a golden lantern stained with black marks. Inside, a black flame flickered. The black "light" radiating from the lantern was strange. He couldn't even call it "light." It was like placing a lantern in front, with another light source behind it. But the black "light" didn't affect the lantern at all; it did not change the dark golden surface of the lantern as if the black "light" was just an illusion.
As he gazed at the lantern, it suddenly began to float from the ground. The black "light" around the lantern slowly dimmed. When the lantern floated in front of him, the black "light" disappeared. The black flame inside the lantern went out, and a translucent black window appeared before him. White patterned lines appeared on the black window, weaving and connecting to form strange written characters.
[Welcome to the Game of Hope]
The old man stared at the strange letters on the translucent black window. Although he did not know what the letters were, he understood the meaning of these strange symbols.
"The Game of Hope," he murmured quietly, frowning slightly.
[Congratulations, you are player number 96 of the Game of Hope.]
[Since you are among the first 100 players of the Game of Hope, you will receive special equipment.]
[Special Notice: The special equipment will be delivered when you enter the mission.]
He stared at the changing words on the black window with confusion at the strange terms. Though he didn't fully understand the vocabulary, he at least grasped the words "game" and "mission." Stroking his beard lightly, he concluded that he had to complete a mission, and the mission was to play a game.
But what kind of game?
He didn't play games much. Mostly, he liked watching villagers and children play. Still, he understood some rules of certain games, such as chess, stone-rolling, and kickback. These were games he had played before.
He shook his head lightly. The strange things before him almost made him forget the most important thing — helping the villagers, not wasting time on nonsense thoughts. He looked around again. The endless white space remained unchanged.
He looked at the translucent black window in front of him. This might be the only thing that could help him leave this place. He had a feeling he could ask the black window questions.
Clearing his throat softly, he whispered,
"Hello."
The white letters on the black window shattered into many white lines before reforming into the word "Hello."
He raised an eyebrow slightly. It seemed it could communicate. Although he did not know what it was, at least it could understand him. But before he could ask, the white letters on the black window scattered again, then gathered into a message.
[You can call me Number 96 or simply 96. I am your assistant in the Game of Hope. You can ask me questions. There are 9 minutes and 6 seconds left before the game starts.]
9 minutes and 6 seconds?
Though he did not know what 9 minutes and 6 seconds meant, he understood he could ask the black window questions and that his time was limited. How long was that? Longer than sunset? Or 9 fingers? Or 9 toes? Or 9 rounds of the mule cart?
He did not know how much time he had left, so he decided to ask the most important question.
"How can I go back to help the villagers?" he asked politely. He didn't know what or who was in front of him, so it was better to use polite language he had learned in the city rather than his usual village speech.
Though he thought this was the most important question, deep inside he knew the villagers might all be dead with no survivors. But he still had a small hope that his thought would be wrong.
[You cannot help the villagers right now.]
He frowned, staring at the white letters on the black window.
"Why?"
[Your village has been destroyed by pollution. All the villagers are dead.]
He clenched his fists before sighing deeply. Though he had prepared himself for this, he couldn't help but feel sad. He took a deep breath and exhaled several times. He knew this was not something ordinary villagers could survive, and in the end, everyone would die.
A small tear rolled down from the corner of his eye. He wiped it away with his hand and looked at the black window. Though he was not in his village, he was not foolish. The one calling itself Number 96 told him he couldn't help the villagers now, which meant he might still have hope to return and save them.
"You, Number 96, you said I can't go back now, so does that mean I still have a chance to return?"
[When the flame of hope is fulfilled, you can use it to make your hope come true.]
"Fulfill the flame of hope?....."
[Complete side missions to fulfill the flame of hope and complete the main mission to perfect the Lantern of Hope, and you will be able to make your hope come true.]
[Time remaining: last 3 minutes]
[Entering the career selection phase]
[You can ask questions when entering the mission world]
[Career is important. Without a career, how can you live?]
[Career is the foundation of civilization and industry.]
[Career is the foundation of humanity.]
[Please choose your career….]
As if worried that the man wouldn't understand, the message fragmented and changed to new words.
[…Please choose the job you want to do]
[Grocer] [Garbage Collector] [Antique Dealer] [Detective] [Director] [Shaman] …....