How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game Chapter 280: Trial



Веер! Beep!

The blaring horns of cars jolted my senses, filling the air with a cacophony of city life.

"Ah, what should we get today?"

"Huh? We need to get them ready then."

"Mom? Yeah, I'll be ho late tonight."

"Hey! Stop the bus!"

Everywhere I turned, voices of people busily going about their lives filled the atmosphere. Lively chatter echoed from all corners of the street.

It was... a busy street?

The traffic lights flickered between green and red, dictating the flow of pedestrians and vehicles.

People crossed the road in waves, a constant ebb and flow of movent.

The sight was almost overwhelming.

My eyes squinted as a strange sense of disorientation washed over .

This is...

-PUCK!

Sothing small and solid struck the side of my left leg.

"Ah, I'm sorry, mister!"

I looked down to see a young boy, holding a ball in his hands, bowing in apology. His friend stood beside him, mirroring the gesture.

"Hey, I told you not to throw it too hard, right?" his friend scolded.

Before I could respond, they darted off toward a nearby park, their laughter fading into the distance.

-Bark! Bark!

A familiar sound reached my ears, pulling further out of my daze. I turned toward the source, my heart skipping a beat.

Below stood a young German Shepherd, wagging its tail excitedly.

"Bear?" I whispered, my voice trembling.

-Bark!

The dog barked again, confirming my suspicion.

I raised my head, scanning my surroundings in growing confusion.

What greeted was a forest of towering skyscrapers stretching toward a bright, cloudless sky.

Glass windows glinted in the sunlight, reflecting the bustling energy of the city.

This is...

'My previous world?'

....

"As always, thank you..."

"No, it's fine. Walking Bear was fun."

"Hoho, you really are a kind young man," the elderly woman chuckled warmly, her wrinkled face glowing with gratitude. "Why don't you join us for dinner? My husband is quite the cook, you know."

I scratched the back of my head, smiling politely. "No, no, it's fine. I actually have so other plans, you see..."

"Is that so? That's too bad..." Her smile faltered briefly, but she quickly masked her disappointnt. She leaned down to pet Bear, "Let's get inside now, shall we, Bear?"

-Bark! Bark!

The dog wagged its tail and barked enthusiastically, clearly ready to follow her.

I waved goodbye as they disappeared into their modest ho.

My gaze lingered for a mont before turning toward my own destination-the door to my apartnt.

It wasn't much to look at, a place that could only be described as "functional."

Situated on the fourth floor of an aging apartnt complex, the exterior bore the scars of ti-peeling paint and rusted railings.

The view from up here wasn't what anyone would call breathtaking, but it served its purpose.

The city stretched out below , a maze of bustling streets and neon lights.

The distant hum of life carried through the cool evening air, punctuated by the occasional laughter or honking horn.

Above, the stars peeked through a thin veil of clouds, their faint glow competing with the artificial lights of the city.

It was dark now.

People were retreating into their hos, ending their day as the night began to settle in.

'This really was my old world...'

Everything I'd seen today confird it.

The familiar streets, the faces of my neighbors, even the mundane daily routines-it was all exactly as I rembered.

Walking through this city during the day had stirred a strange mix of nostalgia and unease.

But as I stood here, staring at the faint glow of my apartnt's window, a nagging question weighed heavily on my mind.

Why am I here?

"System...?"

[...]

"Other ?"

[...]

No answers, huh? I sighed, shaking my head.

Well, it wasn't like I expected much to begin with, but it wouldn't kill them to at least inform

what the hell I was supposed to be doing here, right?

A little heads-up would've been nice.

Letting out another sigh, I headed to the fridge.

Inside, I found the usual-a few cans of energy drinks, a carton of fresh milk, and so

leftovers from the last al I apparently cooked.

I stared at the food, a wave of self-reproach washing over as I rembered just how

terrible I was at cooking.

Most of what I made was edible-barely-but the presentation?

A disaster every single ti.

The chicken curry sitting in its container didn't sll bad, but... well, let's just say it looked

like sothing that shouldn't be served to humans.

-Grumble-

Not that I had any room to complain.

My stomach didn't care about appearances, and I wasn't exactly in the mood to whip up

sothing new.

I grabbed the container and tossed it into my almost-dying microwave, setting the tir with

a resigned sigh.

"This might take a while..."

While the microwave buzzed faintly, I made my way to the small couch in the center of the

room.

It was worn down, with a suspicious stain on one of the armrests, but it was mine. Grabbing

the remote, I turned on the TV, hoping to kill so ti.

"Oh my, oh my! Kevin just won-"

-Beep!

"The city of 1-"

-Beep!

"Would you look at this-"

-Beep!

"Luminous stars discovered near-"

-Beep!

"For today's trending news: King Dun of Mars has now publicly announced his ruling heir

-Beep!

I turned the damn thing off.

As always, nothing but convoluted nonsense spewed from that screen.

Politics, celebrity drama, sensationalist headlines-it was all noise.

The kind of noise that made you feel more tired than entertained.

Leaning back into the couch, I stared at the ceiling, my thoughts drifting. This mundane scene

-this life-felt so... disconnected. Like I was here, but not really.

Let's set the facts straight for now.

One thing was clear-this was a trial. The initial system notification was proof enough of that.

While the exact mission remained unclear, the very nature of a trial ant there was an objective, sothing to achieve in order to proceed.

In the ga, trials like this were structured as challenges presented by legendary figures or

beings from the world's past.

Each challenge served as a test of your abilities, a gauntlet to be overco.

Winning ant reaching the end of the road-a path that symbolized not only your

perseverance but your worthiness.

And at the end of that road?

A wish granted by the goddess herself.

Of course, in the ga's lore, these so-called "wishes" were more of a narrative device, with

the actual rewards implented as predetermined options within the gaplay. Players could choose from over a hundred potential rewards, ranging from legendary

weapons to massive stat boosts, or even unlocking cheat-like abilities that perfectly complented your build.

For anyone playing, it was a guaranteed way to power up.

Even if the rewards varied, the road ahead always resulted in so kind of significant improvent-whether it was a critical item, an ability, or a stat upgrade.

That was why I had chosen to cross the road that led to the [Tempest Sword].

A cheat-like item, the Tempest Sword was a no-brainer for .

It guaranteed a solid stat boost without compromising my current build and, more importantly, was a weapon capable of dealing damage to most of the epilogue bosses. Given its utility and power, it was the best option available.

Besides, I was expecting to face the trial of the world's first ascended being right off the bat.

But... looking around now, that clearly wasn't the case.

The surroundings were nothing like what I had envisioned for the Tempest Sword's trial.

No ominous arena, no overwhelming divine presence—just an eerie, misplaced normalcy.

It was also becoming more obvious that the other Riley might have sothing to do with this

divergence.

His cryptic remarks and the system's silence only confird that theory.

Still, I doubted I'd get a clear answer from him, even if I asked.

His tendency to withhold information was becoming a frustrating habit. Which ant one thing: I'd have to figure this out on my own.

That said, there was still the possibility that the goddess herself was involved in all this.

After all, she had briefly made contact with before, and considering the peculiarities of my

situation, it wasn't out of the question that she had a hand in this deviation from the expected trial.

"Haaah..."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, I scratched the back of my head as the microwave dinged in the background, signaling that my "dinner" was ready.

Walking over, I retrieved the sowhat edible dish I'd heated up. It wasn't gourt cuisine by any stretch of the imagination, but right now, I'd take what I could get.

But then, as I absentmindedly glanced around, my gaze fell upon my reflection in the broken,

large mirror.

A jagged web of cracks ran across its surface, remnants of a punch that had left its mark long

ago.

The shattered glass distorted the room around , scattering fragnts of my tiny

apartnt in chaotic patterns.

Yet, despite the cracks, my face was reflected with unnerving clarity-almost as if the mirror

was mocking by preserving just that part intact.

I stood there, wearing the sa black jacket I always wore, with a plain white shirt

underneath and black pants to complete the look.

My eyes widened in surprise as I really looked at myself.

"Ah..."

I muttered softly, the sound barely leaving my lips.

Having lived in the other world for more than ten years now, I'd completely forgotten about

this.

The man staring back at had long, black hair cascading down to the nape of his neck, disheveled but sohow neatly framing a face that told a thousand stories of exhaustion.

His blue eyes were dull, lifeless-devoid of the spark of ambition or hope.

Dark circles beneath them stood out, bruised and heavy, each one a silent testant to the

stress and depression that had long since claid him.

This was the original .

A man who looked like he was on the brink of collapse-desperate to die, yet still sohow

clinging to life.

"Haah..."

I was once again reminded of who I really was...

I exhaled shakily, staring into the reflection of a life I thought I'd left behind.

It was strange, almost surreal, seeing this version of myself after so long.

"Han..."

The na escaped my lips like a forgotten relic of another ti.

This was .

The original .