• The Trial Master's Announcement
At the mention of a supposed trial master by the hovering system window in the middle of the cafeteria, everyone wore a look of astonishment mixed with disbelief. For a moment, there was absolute silence as they all slowly processed the system's words.
The fact that there was some sort of master to this event the humans referred to as the apocalypse suddenly caused most people present to brim with anger, for the simple reason - there was some bastard who had ruined their lives, twice!
"Wait.... so... your saying there's some messed up bastard that's behind all this? This... twisted game?"
"If there is someone responsible then... they are the reason our lives are in shambles."
"Who do they think they are? playing with our lives like this! What gives them the right!?"
"I want to see this trial master face-to-face. I have a few words for them."
"I won't let them get away with this. They needs to answer for what they've done to me."
As the system's announcement echoed through the cafeteria, Seo-Yeon's eyes showed a hint of anger, though she tried to hide it. She squeezed Ji-Hoon's arm tighter, pulling him closer to her chest, her nails digging into his skin as if searching for comfort in the pain she felt.
"Oppa, are you angry too?" she asked, as she tilted her head upwards slightly to look at his face, her tone seeming somewhat calm yet holding an underlining of turmoil.
Ji-Hoon's gaze narrowed slightly as he met Seo-Yeon's intense gaze, a small hint of intensity in his eyes. He turned his attention back to the system window hovering above them, wearing a calm expression as he thought about the full meaning of the announcement.
"Not necessarily," Ji-Hoon finally replied, his tone felt nonchalant yet somwhat cold, he then added, "It doesn't matter if there was a trial master or not; it doesn't change the fact that we all have to do our best to survive in the end," Ji-Hoon remarked, his voice steady despite the turmoil surrounding them.
"Getting angry at some invisible spectator who most likely just sees us as a source of entertainment is simply a waste of time and energy," he paused, allowing his words to sink in. "We can neither touch them nor speak disrespectfully to them, else they could make things worse than they already are due to their pride. At moments like these, you would be doing yourself a favor if you simply remained calm."
Seo-Yeon then mumbled, "You're right," she paused, turning her gaze back at the system window she added, "I'll try to calm down."
Suddenly, a man materialized on the system window, grabbing the attention of everyone present. The upper half of his face was shrouded in shadows, preventing everyone from seeing most of his facial featurs, only the playful curve of his mouth was revealed. Dressed in a finely tailored suit, he gave off an air of a gentleman yet at the same time his very appearence seemed to make the air hard to breath.
He spoke in a playful tone as he addressed the globe through system windows, "Well, well, well, what do we have here," he began, his voice echoing through the entire world. "Look at you all, it has only been thirty minutes and yet you are all having so much fun! It seems you must all be happy to have gained a second chance. Some of you have already gone to do things you wanted to do before you died, how cute."
As he spoke, everyone present who initially planned to give him a piece of their mind were suddenly frozen with fear. As people who had gone through all sorts of life and death situations, they all had the ability to somewhat know how strong something was, and the man before them was downright terrifying. They didn't dare speak up unless they wanted to throw away their lives.
A mischievous grin spread across the trial master's lips as he continued, his words teasing yet tinged with a sense of mystery. "Well enough of that, time to get down to business. As I'm sure you all know, you have all been sent back to the day the trials originally began, so you all practically know how to beat each stage in the trial that you have faced before. I mean, I'm sure that is what you were all hoping to do, right? But I can't have that," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"I mean how fun would it be to watch you all power through my trials without any difficulty or fear? It would be downright boring, and I doubt I would be able to entertain my new audience. Then I would have to throw this entire planet in the trash. So, to do all of us a favor, I will be changing things up a bit." He grinned sinisterly at the end, sending a chill down the spine of everyone who watched him.
"And now, to that end, the trials will be completely different from all the ones you all previously knew. And also, you are all not allowed to talk about what happened in the previous trial, or apocalypse, whatever you humans call it. If you do," his tone suddenly became intense as he added, "Your life would be forfeit."
He then suddenly smiled then said, "Well that's all! You all should do your best, okay? I will be seeing you all at the end!" In that instant, the system window suddenly disappeared.
Another system window reappeared with the message, [Initiating the first trial.]
[Trial One - Prove Your Worth:
Trial grade: F
Stage One - Survive:
Description: Following the descent of mana, monsters will now invade this world. Do your best to survive during the allotted time.
Trial Duration: 2 hours
Trial Rewards: The player will now be able to select a class.
Trial Failure Penalty: ???]
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Zurbluris
Zurbluris Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone