[Actions of God XXXX have triggered the Conflict Protocol]
I looked at the notification and felt a faint smile form on my face.
Things were starting to get interesting.
"Uh... what is this?" Grace’s voice came from beside me, pulling my attention away as I turned to look at her. She was staring into the air, waving her hand in front of her face as if trying to touch something invisible, clearly seeing the system screen for the first time.
Before I could say anything, another notification appeared.
[Initiating teleportation to safe zones...]
A soft white glow spread outward, wrapping around all of us at once, gentle at first but quickly growing brighter until it covered every person in sight.
This time, everyone reacted.
"What is happening?"
"Is this magic?"
"Wait, what is this light—"
Voices rose all around as confusion spread, but I stayed where I was, watching, waiting as the process unfolded.
Then, one by one, people began to disappear. The glow around me intensified for a moment, then began to flicker.
I frowned slightly.
The light wavered again, unstable now, like a flame struggling to stay lit, and in the next instant, it vanished completely.
Then the notification appeared.
[Teleportation failed. Non-native soul detected]
[Hard Mode Activated]
[Access to safe zones and tutorial denied]
"What the hell?" I blurted out, the words slipping out before I could stop them. "That’s not fair."
[You being here is not fair. Just get on with it]
"WHAT?!"
That response hit me harder than anything else so far, catching me completely off guard as I stood there staring at nothing, my mind trying to process what had just happened. I had been with my system for a long time, long enough to understand how it behaved, how it responded, how limited it usually was in communication, but this was different in a way that didn’t fit anything I had seen before.
For the first time, it sounded like something was actually talking back.
I narrowed my eyes slightly, a faint smirk forming despite the situation.
"Well, well... you’re a cheeky one, aren’t you?"
[And you’re an arrogant one.]
I let out a small breath and shrugged slightly, even though no one else could see what I was interacting with.
"So no tutorial or safe zone for me," I said. "Then how exactly am I supposed to know what to do apart from the fact that the objective is ’save the world’?"
[Just check the objective in detail, idiot.]
That wiped the smile right off my face.
"...You’re really testing your limits," I muttered under my breath before focusing again.
I reopened the objective notification.
[Objective: Save the World]
I narrowed my eyes slightly and concentrated on it.
The moment I did, the screen expanded, the text shifting as a new window opened in front of me.
[Objective: Save the World
The world of Orien has, for countless generations, lived under the belief and authority of God XXXXX. Worship was not merely faith, it was order, structure, and power.
Over time, however, a new force emerged.
An organization calling themselves the Defiers.
Their ideology was simple yet dangerous, they placed humanity above the gods, believing that human potential was not inferior to divine authority. They rejected worship and sought independence.
This directly opposed the Believers, who upheld the will of God XXXXX.
Conflict became inevitable.
War spread across Orien, dividing nations, families, and the entire human race.
As the war progressed, the Defiers gained momentum. Their numbers grew, their influence expanded, and for the first time, the balance of power began to shift away from the gods.
This provoked God XXXXX.
In response, the Conflict Protocol was initiated.
Objective: Complete elimination of the Defier faction.
Purpose: Restore divine order and remove the perceived corruption from Orien.
The Conflict Protocol has been established to provide equal opportunity for all participants to prove the supremacy of their belief.
If you are a Believer: Follow the will of your God. Eliminate the Defiers and purge the world of rebellion.
If you are a Defier: Prove humanity’s worth. Stand against divine authority and liberate Orien from the control of the gods. ]
[Non-native participant detected]
[You are required to select a designation:]
→ Believer
→ Defier
It wasn’t something I needed to think about. There was no god I worshipped, and definitely not one from a world I had just arrived in.
I selected Defier.
[Designation Chosen: Defier]
A new set of lines appeared immediately, far more direct this time.
[Any and all living non-Defier entities in the world of Orien will act against Defiers.]
[All Believers will act against Defiers.]
[Any external forces aligned with God XXXX may invade Orien to assist in eradication.]
[Primary Objective remains unchanged for the Defiers: Save the World by overcoming all opposing forces.]
I stared at the screen for a second, then let out a quiet breath.
"Damn... that’s basically everything."
So the Believers had the same objective as well. For them, saving the world meant getting rid of us, because their god believed we had tainted it, while for the Defiers, saving the world meant breaking free from that same god’s control and liberating Orien entirely.
"Hey, system... is it just one god?" I asked, glancing at the blank space in front of me. "The one whose name I can’t see?"
[There are multiple minor gods present within Orien. However, the Conflict Protocol can only be initiated by the Primary God XXXX.]
The response came instantly.
[You are unable to perceive the true name of the Primary God. But within the world of Orien, he is worshipped as Goldius.]
"Goldius, that’s—" I began, but the words never came out as a low, unnatural growl rose from behind me, cutting straight through everything else.
I turned around.
The two grey horses I had seen earlier were still there, but something about them had changed. Their bodies looked slightly larger, the muscles beneath their skin more defined, the color of their fur darker, almost as if something had seeped into them.
What stood out the most, however, were the two curved sharp horns that had grown out of their heads, twisting upward in an unnatural shape, and their eyes... glowing red as they fixed directly on me.
They scraped their hooves against the ground, letting out another growl that didn’t belong to any normal animal.
A notification appeared above them.
[Monster Horse – Level 1]
[Monster – All creatures within the world of Orien are designated as Believers. Mutation protocol active. Entities will serve under divine command to eliminate the Defiers.]
I let out a quiet breath.
"Well... that’s bad," I muttered.
I loosened my grip on the sheath and let it fall to the ground, adjusting my stance as I tightened my hold on the sword, taking a step back while keeping my eyes locked on them.
The moment I moved, they reacted.