It happened in the blink of an eye.

In one moment he was in his room, and in the next, he was floating in a place surrounded by darkness that seemed unending.

He could only assume he was floating because although he could feel his body, he could not control it at all.

And just before confusion could fully kick in, a red-coloured holographic window flashed before him.

[ You've selected the divine trial ]

"Divine trial?"

He repeated the words with a frown, unsure of what the system meant by divine trial.

But he was given only a few seconds to question it before another notification popped up. This time, it was blue — the colour he was familiar with.

[ You'll be sent to the first trial in 5..4..3..2..1.. ]

The moment the countdown ended, he felt a heavy, blood-pumping sensation, like falling from a great height as an overwhelming force plunged his body into the endless darkness at an alarming speed.

He could neither see nor scream. He could only watch helplessly as he travelled toward an unknown place without any control over himself.

Then suddenly, everything went blank once again.

===

"Where am I?"

That was the first question that escaped his lips the moment his eyes opened in a new place.

Unlike the unending darkness from before, this place had light. With it, he scanned his surroundings and quickly realised where he was.

It was a beautiful modern bedroom, the level of a five-star hotel.

Before confusion could settle, an electrifying pain shot through his body, followed by a splitting headache so strong it felt like his skull was being stomped by a horse.

Just as abruptly as it came, the pain vanished.

It was replaced by fragments of unfamiliar memories — memories belonging to a young man who shared the same first name as him.

The young man, Marlon Brando, was the son of the president of West Nation, one of the biggest countries in the world called Aerth — a carbon copy of Earth with only a few geographical changes and no fantasy-like changes like Arden.

In other words, it was Earth under a new name, and unlike the actual Earth, this place was a hundred times more peaceful.

There were no wars or conflicts amongst any of the nations, no crimes, and citizens of every country, including those considered low-class, lived peaceful and fulfilled lives.

'How can a peaceful world like this be the location of the most difficult breakthrough trial?'

He wondered.

Not only had he been sent to a peaceful world, but he was also in the body of a young man who had never experienced any negativity at all.

There was definitely something more behind this.

And as if that thought itself was the trigger, the trial finally revealed its true nature.

[ Your divine trial has begun ]

[ Title: Apocalypse Protector ]

[ Trials remaining: 10,000 ]

Details:

—The world will end very soon, and as the Apocalypse Protector, your divine task is to ensure the total death of its population does not exceed 50%

—Once it exceeds 50%, you fail the trial

—Your stats, talent and skills are locked for the first trial

[ You can access important information from the apocalypse panel ]

As Marlon read through the lengthy details, his eyes gradually widened until they were fully agape.

"T-this…"

How was he supposed to pull off something like this?

Stop an apocalypse and prevent the death of billions?

And worst of all, with his powers locked?

He began to panic.

This was not what he signed up for.

"What is this divine trial anyway? What I selected was the five-star breakthrough trial, not some god-level mission like this. And what does it mean I have ten thousand trials remaining?"

He murmured.

Without realising it, he began to panic even more as his usual confidence faded.

As his thoughts spiralled, trying to find a way through this impossible quest, his head began to ache badly.

But he simply pressed a hand to his forehead to calm it down. Right now, this situation was more important than the pain.

"Open the apocalypse panel," he commanded in a low tone.

[ Apocalypse Panel ]

—World: Aerth

—Population: 8,000,000,000

—Time remaining: 0 days, 23 hrs, 58 mins

"Just less than a day remaining."

He swallowed nervously.

What could he possibly do in that amount of time to prevent at least five billion deaths?

He wondered.

He pondered deeply for a short while—

And then realisation struck.

The mission wasn't as impossible as it looked.

He was intentionally spawned as the son of a president.

All he needed to do was convince his father to use his connection with the other nations and deliver the message quickly.

That was it.

There was no time to waste.

And as though fate aligned with his urgency, the door of his room opened. Two beautiful young ladies dressed in maid uniforms walked in, followed by a young man in a military uniform.

He recognised the three from the fragments of memory.

The two black-haired young ladies were Elara and Elana, the maids who took care of his basic needs while his parents were away. The young man beside them was his personal bodyguard, Brandon.

'Great.'

He rejoiced inwardly.

These people would serve as his navigators in this new reality since the memory fragments in his head were still a little fuzzy and incomplete.

Standing up from the bed, he turned to Brandon and demanded sternly,

"Take me to my father."

His tone immediately caught the three of them off guard, and they exchanged surprised looks.

Apparently, the original Marlon of this world was the typical goody-two-shoes — reputable, respectable, and known for treating everyone kindly. Using a stern tone naturally surprised them.

'But why should I care about formality when the world is about to end and I'm the one responsible for preventing it?' he shrugged inwardly.

"You guys heard me?" he repeated with an even colder tonw, snapping them out of their daze.

"Young master, your father is currently attending a very important meeting at the purple villa and cannot be disturbed," Brandon responded with a salute.

'The purple villa should be the equivalent of the White House,' he noted.

But he persisted.

"What I have to tell him is more important than whatever meeting he is attending. Take me to him right away."

Brandon hesitated, but he could not disobey the future president, so he immediately agreed.

Marlon put on a black overcoat from his wardrobe and moved alongside Brandon.

Walking outside the beautiful mansion that looked almost like a king's estate, they entered a large garage filled with various sophisticated cars.

The two of them entered a black car similar to the beast used by the president of the United States on Earth.

Dozens of other cars lined up, guarding the front and back as they drove out of the premises.

Marlon leaned back, shutting his eyes as he began to consider every possible way he could succeed.

Nonetheless, a faint voice inside him whispered how impossible the mission truly was.

And he believed it.

There were certain things he did not understand about everything.

Why was the 5-star breakthrough trial renamed divine trial and why did he have ten thousand left?

Was it how many times he had to repeat the same mission or does have ten thousand other missions to complete?

Thinking about it, he shivered.

This could explain why Axel storm spent over a year during his own mission.

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