It's 2025, the Earth is revolving as usual, the people are doing their work all day as usual, the students are fooling around as usual, and I... I am also currently enjoying my precious moment under the beautiful starry sky, on a campsite, far from Seoul.
"City skies don't give much... but sometimes, if you're lucky, they give enough."
This was anything but a Monologue from a black-haired, lean, tall, and a bit handsome-looking Boy who loves Camping, Hao Yun.
As he was relaxing, listening to some calming music, his Smartphone buzzed...
Beep-Beep... Beep-Beep...
Mob:
"Camping again on the roof?? You're so weird lol."
Hao Yun:
"How did you even find out??"
"Anyways, it's better than drinking in a loud room. Stars don't have two faces like Humans."
He leans back on his camping chair, once again shifting his focus to the Stars.
But continually looking at Constellations made him sleepy; his eyelids became heavy with each passing moment.
Before he could truly fall asleep, Hao Yun saw two sharp Lights flickering for less than a second in the sky.
"That wasn't lightning. That wasn't a plane."
He pulls out his phone and checks Social Media— nothing trending.
"...Could've been satellites… right?"
He rubs his eyes. Lies back down.
"Whatever it was… It's gone now."
Hao Yun dozes off, but the sky above him once again gleams. Two balls of light fusing into one and taking on a shape.
A New day begins, and Morning light hits Hao Yun's face. He wakes up on the rooftop, half-groggy. Packs up the tent, descends the stairs.
"['Yaaaawn…'] It's already morning, such a drag to work every single day!"
"To begin with, why would I even work for money? It's just a piece of paper created by humans."
Ring-Ring.... Ring-Ring...
"Why is this Guy calling this early in the morning?"
Mob: "Dude, did you see the news?"
Hao-Yun: "No, why? Did something happen?"
Mob: "Don't ask, just see it!"
(Call-Cut)
"What's wrong with this guy?"
"Anyways, there must be something, let's see it."
[Breaking News: A Massive Blue Screen has appeared out of nowhere in the center of Seoul!]
[We have no source to confirm its origin, but people believe it's some kind of hologram for Movie Shooting]
"What? A Screen floating in the Sky? A Movie Shooting?"
Hao Yun rushes to the roof of his Apartment building, clearly seeing a Massive Blank Blue Screen.
"Is it some kind of Prank?"
"Anyways, I'm not interested in movies that much."
"Better hurry and get Ready to earn those Pieces of Paper made by Humans."
That was the Time When Not Only Hao-Yun, but almost every single person chose to either ignore this news or use it as content to get some views and likes.
Meanwhile, the officials were secretly holding a meeting to discuss the screen.
They didn't give any permission to production houses, and it is not some kind of Technological experiment.
Then, what is it?
This question ate their minds for the next 100 hours.
The Common people continued their normal life without any interruption during that time.
Hao-Yun, who was on his way to work, took a glance at the Screen.
"It's been 4 days, and this Screen is still the same, what even is the use of it?"
"Kzzzk…kzzzk…KZKZK!"
"What's that?"
"Kzzzk…kzzzk…KZKZK!"
The Floating Screen begins glitching, and a sound coming out of it grabs everyone's attention.
[Basic Scan: Done]
[Area Scan: Done]
[Commencing Final Checkup]
[The Civilization Advancing System is rooting in this world...]
[Loading....]
[Loading....]
[Loading....]
Everyone is Confused. Some take Pictures, Some Record it, and some are a bit worried.
Hao Yun is a bit Excited since something different is happening in his usual boring Life.
[All Checks done]
[Launching Beta Version]
[Congratulations! Residents of this Remote Planet.]
[You have been chosen by the Civilization Advancing System.]
[From now on, all you have to do is complete the Tasks given by me and Advance as a Civilization at 100x speed.]
[There will be two types of Tasks:
1. Tasks Meant to be Completed by a Nation.
2. Tasks Meant to be Completed by an Individual.
]
[There will also be rewards for completing Tasks.]
[Warning: Those who don't complete the tasks before the time limit will face a penalty.]
[New Tasks will be listed in a short while.]
"It's gotta be some next-level AR campaign."
Hao Yun is Excited. If it turns out to be a game, he will go ahead and buy it.
"KRZZZZT!"
A small screen similar to the Massive one materializes in front of Hao Yun.
[NEW TASKS LOADING...]
[Welcome, Host!]
[This is the Individual version of the Civilization Advancing System, created for each individual's Convenience.]
"Well, this doesn't feel like a prank anymore!"
Hao Yun looks everywhere, but he isn't able to see a screen similar to this one.
"Aren't you lying? I can't see any other Screen."
"You can be honest and tell that I'm the Chosen One."
[Host, Please Don't flatter yourself!]
[The Individual Screens are created while keeping everyone's Privacy in Mind; other than the Host of the Individual Panel, no one can see it at all.]
"Oh! So that's how it is."
Hao Yun waits to see exactly what type of Task they will be given, but it doesn't get listed, even after 3 hours.
He gets bored and returns home.
Somewhere else, the President, Ministers, Army Officials, and Scientists are holding an Emergency meeting.
They are unable to detect the source of the Blue Screen.
At that point, A Junior official barges into the Meeting room.
"You, don't you know the situation, how dare you interrupt a Meeting of this level?" says one Senior Army Official.
"S-Sir... No, you get me wrong, I'm from the foreign affairs department, we have received an Emergency Call from America's President."
"What? President of America!"
"Why, didn't you say so from the beginning?"
"Hurry up, connect us with them."
"Y-Yes, Sir!"
The Junior Official Connects the Video Call with a Large Screen.
There was not only America, but Russia, China, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, and dozens of other Nations' Presidents were present.
A Meeting of this level is something that can only show the graveness of the situation.
"A-Ahem!, I Assume Everyone Attending this Meeting has seen the Blue Screen, right?" Says America's President.
"According to Our Investigation, Those Blue Screens Emerged Out of Nowhere around 4 days ago, we don't have any lead about where did they came from and who's behind it, but we know that There is One Large Screen in the Center of each City, and also small Screens that can be summoned by any person."
"Professor Smith, what do you think? Who could be behind this?"
"From My Team's Research over the past days, all we could see is that the Screen isn't something that could be created by any human, or should I say, it can't be created on Earth."
"It's very likely that some kind of Extraterrestrial Life form is behind it."
"I recommend we take it very seriously and prioritize those so-called Tasks above everything else."
Uninterested in these troublesome matters, Hao Yun is curiously exploring his Personal System.
"Hmm... There's still no task, but it looks Like This thing can be really cruel if not given any attention."
PING-PING...
[Host, Your First Task has been Listed.]
[Please complete it before the time limit.]
"It Finally Came!"
"Let's see what kind of task this thing has assigned me."
[
Name: Hao Yun
Age: 20
Race: Human
Job: None
Task Completed: 0
Penalty Taken: 0
Next Task Update: 23:41:05
Strength: 2
Speed: 3
Vitality: 2
Endurance: 1
Intelligence: 3
Willpower: 1
Charisma: 3
System Affinity: 0
Luck: 1
[OBJECTIVE:
LIFT 100 KG WEIGHT FOR 10 SECONDS]
[TIME LIMIT: 24 HOURS]
[REWARDS:
INCREASE STRENGTH: +3, CLOAK IDENTITY ]
[PENALTY ON FAILURE: LOSE 50% OF CURRENT STRENGTH]
"What! I'm not a bodybuilder."
"I don't even exercise. How am I supposed to lift 100 kg for 10 seconds?"
"And what's with this Penalty, isn't it too cruel?"
"Wait, weren't there two types of Tasks?"
"What happened to the national-level Task?"
"Let's see... Nation Tasks"
["Task Assigned: South Korea"
Objective:
Construct a fully functional, renewable energy infrastructure capable of powering the entire nation without relying on fossil fuels or nuclear sources.
Deadline: 7 days.
Conditions:
All major cities must be connected to the green grid. Backup systems must auto-activate during peak hours. Energy loss tolerance: 0.5%
Penalty:
"For every 5 minutes of system downtime after the deadline, 100 citizens will be selected at random and permanently neutralized.]
"It's Impossible!"
"Isn't this basically saying you are doomed?"
"Maybe, it's just to scare us, the real penalty shouldn't be this cruel."
"Still, let's first focus on this personal task. Is there any way I can lift 100 Kg of Weight?"
"If I only trained before or had more Muscles..."
"Wait, Muscles! There isn't written anywhere that I could only have to lift this Weight with my hands."
Hao Yun had a brilliant idea. He rushed to a nearby Gym and took a free trial of it.
Inside the Gym...
"Look, Trainer, I want to try the Leg press. Can you add Weight to it after I get ready?"
"It should be 100 KG, but just remove it after I say so, can you, please..."
"Uhh... Well, sure!"
"Hey Trainer, what are you waiting for? I'm Ready!"
"What?"
"Oh! What a Weirdo! Didn't even bother to warm up."
"Okay, I've put 100 KG weight, are you ready?"
"Yeah, sure, just pull the pin!"
"Okay."
"Uhh... 1... oohh... 2... ahh..."
"Seeeven... Eeighht... Nyaaine... Teennn..."
"I'm done, I'm done, stop this Machine right now!"
"I warned you already, this isn't something an amateur does."
"Haah... Haah..."
"Are You All right?"
"Yeah, somehow!"
PING-PING
[Congratulations to the Host for being the first person to complete the first System Mission.]
[DETECTED HIDDEN TASK COMPLETION]
[Host will receive an Extra reward]
[CONGRATULATIONS ON RECEIVING:
NORMAL REWARDS: STRENGTH +3, CLOAK IDENTITY
EXTRA REWARD: ALL STATS +3 ]
"Whoa... is it true!"
"Am I dreaming?"
"Let's try it!"
"Hey Trainer! Let me show you a trick."
"Trick? You kid, don't go doing dangerous things to show off."
"Ha Ha Ha, Just Believe me."
To try whether what this System has said is true, Hao Yun put exactly 100 kg on a Barbell.
"Kid, don't blame me for not warning you."
"Don't worry, Just Watch it!"
"1... 2... 3... and UP! Whoa..."
"Y-Y-You...The Heck I'm seeing now!"
"Don't tell me... You were some Hidden Expert pretending to be taking a free trial."
"Hidden Expert Huh... Something Similar to it."
With This Experiment, Hao Yun confirmed that the Civilization Advancing System is a real thing with real rewards.
There is no better proof for an average boy who didn't work out in his life to lift 100 kg without breaking a Sweat.
"Looks Like My Life's Going to Change From now on..."