Unsurprisingly, the banquet hall quickly became as noisy as a marketplace.

“I need to go out for a while.”

“Me too! Am I seeing things…?”

Everyone must have had countless questions in their minds.

What was the blue window that suddenly appeared, and what did it mean by the first trial?

As the ‘remaining time’ dwindles to ‘0’, what will happen to them?

Just then, a resonant voice echoed from one side of the hall. It was the Marquis Lycaon.

Wearing a robe like a mage, Marquis Lycaon, a loyal aide to the Emperor, continued to speak.

Also, although most people don’t know, he was also the head of a mage family.

‘Hmm… Let’s wait and see.’

Rosha, who hesitated to step forward, changed her mind.

To prevent major casualties, the madness overtaking the people needed to be calmed.

Even though it was unsettling that both the Emperor and Marquis Lycaon seemed aware of the current situation, she felt that the Marquis’s words would be more persuasive.

“Some of you may already know, but strange things have been happening on this continent recently. Strange phenomena and grotesque creatures are appearing.”

Marquis Lycaon paused as he took a sweeping look around the banquet hall.

“Our family noticed this crisis early on and tried to stop it. However, our power was insufficient, and we even lost our son in the process.”

“He lost his son?”

“That’s right, I haven’t seen the Marquis’s second son.”

Geoffrey looked sad, but to Rosha, who knew the truth, it was infuriating.

Marquis Lycaon continued, seeing everyone focused on him.

“I understand your confusion, but now is not the time for that. You all must’ve seen the blue window. A severe trial is coming. We all need to gather our strength.”

“But how do we gather our strength?”

A nobleman with a cane spoke, as if he had been waiting for this moment.

Duke Feriel.

He was one of the two Dukes in the Empire, was an elderly man with white hair but once a powerful knight.

His presence was immense even when he was just standing.

“I’m just a powerless old man. If what the Marquis says is true about the creatures, then not only me but most of us here will die.”

“Don’t worry, Duke Feriel. We are prepared, and great beings will also help us.”

“Great beings?”

“The age of gods and magic, which we only read about in books, will begin again from today.”

“Gods…”

“Do you mean the gods from the myths?”

The crowd tilted their heads, finding the Marquis’s words hard to believe.

But at that moment, as if on cue, a notification sound rang in everyone’s ears.

– 60 seconds before the trial, intervention of the gods is permitted.

At the same time, shimmering orbs of light appeared above some people’s heads. It was the power of the gods.

‘Do the gods choose those they favor? But… it seems there are more than half a dozen chosen ones at a glance.’

Orbs circled above notable figures like Duke Feriel, Marquis Lycaon, the Emperor, a cute young lady, an old noblewoman, and a reticent knight.

It seemed like there might be something special in the bloodline of the nobles of the Empire.

But then.

‘…What?’

Strangely enough, they weren’t looking up at the orbs above their heads but were staring intently at Rosha with wide eyes.

Not just them, everyone was doing the same.

It was then that she realized something was off.

“…Hey.”

Perhaps because of the fight the previous night, Cassis, who had been silent all day, whispered in shock:

“Did you do this too?”

“Oh, no.”

It really wasn’t her doing. Rosha looked up at her head, sweating nervously.

No wonder, there were easily more than ten orbs of light floating above her head!

‘Uh…? This wasn’t my plan?’

Everyone’s gaze felt piercing.

The gods, oblivious to her feelings, were buzzing around her head as if they were at a reunion.

The ‘God of War’ is demanding why weapons aren’t drawn yet.

The ‘God of Prophecy’ whispers that there’s something important to say.

The ‘Guide God’ claims that I’ve always had my eye on this human and asks the others to leave.

Guys, can you please restrain yourself?

She knew that when the trial began, the gods’ restrictions would be lifted. But she didn’t expect this kind of event.

‘If they find out I have this power, it’ll restrict my actions. I planned to hide it until the trial began…’

It seems that plan has failed.

“Rosha… what’s going on?”

Cedric, who was next to her, whispered seriously.

But Rosha, unable to tell the truth amidst prying eyes, twisted it a bit.

“Well… I woke up one day with this strange ability. Maybe that’s why?”

“What?”

Cassis glared at her with skepticism, and Cedric looked unconvinced. Only Koko laughed silently, holding his stomach.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, there wasn’t much time to validate her statement.

– 5, 4, 3.

The system voice counting down to 5 seconds rang in everyone’s ears, and in an instant, the banquet hall turned into chaos.

Some panicked nobles tried to leave through the entrance, but the doors were locked.

“Why are the doors locked?”

“Open it!”

“Calm down! Everyone, calm down!”

Marquis Lycaon shouted. In the meantime, Rosha took a deep breath of the last peaceful air.

Sigh.

And finally.

– 2.

– 1.

The world changed.

From a seemingly peaceful world, to a world where life is as light as a feather.

Whooosh-

A massive gust descended.

Though it was just daytime, the sky suddenly darkened.

Rosha slowly closed and opened her eyes.

She had enjoyed peace for the last month. Now, she was back in the world she was all too familiar with.

A blue window popped up in front of her determined eyes.

Ding!

Guidelines for the Returnee (Hard Mode Exclusive)

– The difficulty of the trial has increased, so rewards have also increased.

– The appearance and abilities of the demonic beasts are enhanced.

– There may be sudden quests with additional rewards.

– A death penalty is applied to all quests except for optional ones.

– The chance to discover hidden truths has significantly increased.

Everyone had anticipated this since they found out about Hard Mode.

But that last line.

Rosha stared intently at that one sentence as if it was written in translucent font.

– The chance to discover hidden truths has significantly increased.

‘…Hidden truths?’

What could it be about?

But she had no time to ponder.

The sun disappeared, and a strange event occurred in the darkening sky.

Whoosh-

A massive crack tore open in the sky above the city, and an immense amount of magic power poured out like a waterfall.

And it wasn’t just magic power.

“Ah, ah, ah!”

People looking out of the windows screamed in unison.

Demonic beasts, especially the winged ones, were flying towards the palace.

“Everyone, move away from the windows!”

Marquis Lycaon quickly stepped forward and stretched out his hand. The magic from his fingertips turned into sharp ice spears and ruthlessly impaled the leading beasts.

Nobles, who had seen the power called magic for the first time since birth, opened their mouths in shock.

“Marquis…! Where on earth did you get that kind of power…?”

“If you have time to say that, get out of the way!”

The ice spear was visually a great technique, but sadly, its efficiency was lacking.

In a short time, demonic beasts took advantage of the gap in the magic and broke into the banquet hall, screaming as they sat on the terrace railing.

Compared to the monsters Cassis dealt with, these were insignificant, but they were extremely threatening to ordinary people.

However.

Whoosh-

Suddenly, blue flames rose, enveloping and burning them in an instant.

The time it took for them to appear, engulf, and vanish was mere seconds.

After dealing with them quickly, Rosha, feeling Cedric’s piercing gaze, fidgeted with her fingers.

“Rosha, you…”

Ahem. I should get out of here quickly.