In an endless white space, the figure of an old man named Chai, 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 spread over the white space, covering it in darkness. The black light contracted and expanded on the white surface, creating a strange image like black ink shrinking and growing on water.
Chai's body trembled slightly before he slowly opened his eyes.
He opened his eyes slowly, the reflection from the white surface making him squint a little. He frowned and looked around carefully. He wondered why the intense pain he had previously felt had disappeared, and now he was in a strange place.
Chai shook his head lightly. This was not the time to think about other things; he had to hurry to help the other villagers escape. He knew what he was facing was something ordinary villagers could not fight. Slowly, he stood up from the ground. His black eyes changed into vertical golden-yellow eyes. He used those golden-yellow eyes to scan the surroundings.
Chai frowned deeply. There was nothing here; he could only see endless white space and the strange lantern emitting black light on the ground. He looked down at the black lantern. It was the only object he found in this strange place. It was a golden lantern stained with black. Inside the lantern was a black flame. The "black light" coming from the lantern was strange. He couldn't even call it "light." It was like placing a lantern in front of a light source behind it, but the black "light" didn't affect the lantern at all; it didn't affect the dark golden surface of the lantern as if the black "light" was just an illusion.
While Chai was looking at the lantern, suddenly it began to float above the ground. The black light around the lantern gradually dimmed. When the lantern floated right in front of Chai, the black light disappeared, the black flame inside the lantern went out, and a transparent black window appeared before him. White patterns began to appear on the black window. White lines slithered across the black window, weaving and connecting into strange text.
[Welcome to the Game of Hope]
Chai looked at the strange letters on the transparent black window. Although he didn't know what these letters were, he knew he could understand their meaning.
"Game of Hope," Chai murmured quietly, frowning slightly.
[Congratulations, you are player number 96 in the Game of Hope]
[Because you are one of the first 100 players in the Game of Hope, you will receive special equipment]
[Special Notice: The special equipment will be delivered when you enter a mission]
Chai stared at the changing text on the black window, confused by the strange words. Although he did not fully understand their meaning, he understood enough to know the words "game" and "mission." Chai stroked his beard lightly before concluding that he had to complete missions and that his mission was to play a game.
But what kind of game was it?
He didn't play games much; he usually just watched villagers and some children playing. But he could understand the rules of some games, such as chess, rolling stones, and kicking back. These were games he had played before.
Chai shook his head lightly. The strange things in front of him almost made him forget the most important thing: to help the villagers, not to waste time thinking about nonsense like this. He looked around again; the surrounding area was still endless white space with no changes.
Chai looked again at the transparent black window in front of him. This might be the only thing that could help him leave this place. He felt inside that he might be able to ask the transparent black window a question.
He cleared his throat softly and whispered,
"Hello."
The white letters on the black window shattered into many white lines before reforming into the word "Hello."
Chai raised his eyebrows slightly. It seemed this thing could communicate, even though he didn't know what it really was, but at least it could communicate. Before he could ask, the white letters shattered again into lines and then reassembled.
[You can call me Number 96 or 96. I am your assistant in the Game of Hope. You may ask me questions. There are 9 minutes and 6 seconds left before the game starts.]
9 minutes 6 seconds?
Although Chai didn't know what 9 minutes 6 seconds meant, he concluded that he could ask the black window questions and that his time was limited. But how long was that? Longer than sunset? Or 9 fingers? Or 9 toes? Or 9 rounds of the ox cart?
Chai didn't 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?" Chai chose polite words because he didn't know what or who was in front of him. Using polite language he learned from the city would be better than the everyday language he used with the villagers.
Although he thought this was the most important question, deep down he knew the villagers might all be dead and no one survived. Still, he had a small hope that what he thought would not come true.
[You cannot help the villagers now.]
Chai frowned deeply, staring at the white text on the black window.
"Why?"
[Your village was destroyed by pollution. All the villagers have died.]
Chai clenched his fist tightly before sighing. Though he was prepared for this, he couldn't help but feel sad. He took a deep breath and sighed several times. He knew this was something ordinary villagers couldn't escape from, and in the end, everyone would die.
A small tear ran down the corner of his eye. He wiped it away with his hand and looked at the black window. Although he wasn't in the city, he wasn't foolish. What Number 96 told him was that he couldn't help the villagers now, which meant he might still have hope to go back and help them.
"Number 96, when you say I can't return now, does that mean I still have a chance to go back?"
[When the Flame of Hope is filled, you can use it to make your hope come true.]
"Fill the Flame of Hope? …"
[Complete side missions to fill the Flame of Hope and complete the main mission to make the Lantern of Hope whole, and you will be able to make your hope come true.]
[3 minutes remaining]
[Entering the profession selection phase]
[You may ask questions when you enter the mission world]
[Profession is important. Without a profession, how can you live?]
[Profession is the foundation of civilization and industry]
[Profession is the foundation of being human]
[Please choose your profession…]
As if Number 96 feared Chai wouldn't understand, the text being written broke apart before changing to a new message:
[…Please choose the job you want to do]
[Grocer] [Garbage Collector] [Antique Dealer] [Detective] [Director] [Shaman] …