Jayden bursts forward at blinding speed, his body moving at near-mach velocity as the air around him ripples from the sheer force of his acceleration, his voice booming across the battlefield with unwavering conviction.
"Evil-doers… your path of preying on hard-working Stars who fought for their rewards ends here!"
Without slowing down, he draws back his arm
"Shining Punch!"
And unleashes a devastating strike that collides with a cluster of six incoming Stars, the sheer force of the impact sending them flying high into the air as if they weigh nothing.
A Warrior Star rushes in immediately after, gripping his massive great sword as he swings with full force, the blade crashing directly into Jayden's shoulder.
Only for the impact to rebound violently, the weapon trembles and the Warrior's arms shake, his eyes widen in disbelief.
"What…?! His defense stats is off the charts!"
Before he can react, Jayden moves with a single punch.
The blow connects cleanly with the Warrior's jaw, sending him spinning hundreds of times through the air before crashing hard into the ground, his body bouncing once before going completely still.
Suddenly, four assassins emerge from all sides, moving at lightning speed as they close in around Jayden, their daggers aimed precisely for lethal strikes but before they can land a single hit
Shadows move and Vesper appears.
From behind a nearby tree, he slips into the battlefield like a phantom, his shadow daggers flashing as he cuts down two assassins in the blink of an eye, their bodies collapsing before they even realize what happened.
At the same time, Pax rockets forward, thrusters igniting on his back as he accelerates into the fight, his mechanical arm transforming into an energy blade that slices cleanly through a third assassin.
A moment later, A sharp gunshot echoes across the field.
From a distant cliff, Ambros fires at the final assassin who drops instantly.
Jayden puffs out his chest with confidence.
"Nice timing, everyone… now let's finish this!"
He charges forward again, throwing another Shining Punch, the explosion from the impact sending even more incoming Stars flying into the air as the battlefield erupts into chaos.
But then the momentum shifts, from behind a nearby tree, a towering, muscular woman steps forward, as dozens of Stars gather behind her, forming a far more organized and disciplined force than the scattered attackers before.
She watches Jayden calmly.
Then speaks.
"As expected… a top ten Star lives up to the reputation."
Her gaze sharpens slightly.
"These weaklings never stood a chance."
She turns slightly.
"Hunter… assess them."
A woman with a bow steps forward, her eyes glowing faintly as she prepares a high-level scanning skill, her expression tightening as she senses the power difference.
"This will cost a significant amount of mana… their levels are much higher than mine."
She activates
"Advanced Eagle Eyes."
Her vision expands and data floods in.
As Jayden launches yet another Shining Punch, she begins reading out the results in real time.
"Jayden — Level 45… Unique Class: Special… Hero."
Pax fires a massive energy blast from his robotic arm.
"Pax — Level 41… Unique Class: Special… Robo."
Vesper vanishes into a Star's shadow, reappearing behind another and eliminating them instantly.
"Vesper — Level 39… Class: Rogue… Shadow Dancer."
Ambros reloads calmly from afar, lining up his next shot.
"Ambros — Level 40… Class: Ranger… Arcane Sniper."
Rudi continues casting support spells, her staff glowing with divine energy.
"Rudi — Level 39… Class: Cleric… Life Domain."
The muscular woman nods slowly.
"Two Special Classes… interesting."
Her expression hardens.
"Prepare yourselves… we're taking them on directly."
Her entire party shifts into formation instantly, their movements coordinated and disciplined as the surrounding Star parties begin retreating, recognizing the difference in power and stepping aside to avoid getting caught in what is about to unfold.
Jayden notices.
He watches as the battlefield clears.
And then he sees her.
"They must be the strongest group here…" he mutters.
Pax scans quickly.
"Party leader identified: Elinor. Level 42. Class: Druid — Circle of the combined Moon… a shapeshifter specializing in adaptive combat forms."
A brief pause.
"Her team consists of mixed classes, fighters, mages, rangers, and clerics, all within the mid-thirty level range."
Elinor steps forward.
Stopping just a short distance away.
"You've proven your strength," she says calmly. "You're the second group to make it this far… let's see if you can match the ones before you."
She raises her hand.
Her team moves instantly.
Clerics summon glowing orbs of light.
Warriors form a defensive front around the Clerics.
Wizards begin channeling high-level spells from their spell books.
Archers draw their bows.
Vesper narrows his eyes.
"They're prepared for me… the light sources will disrupt my shadow movement and slow my reaction time, while their Warriors are protecting their backline."
Rudi's voice comes through the comms.
"We can bypass that… I'll create a barrier that shields your shadows from their light… just give me time."
Ambros follows up.
"I'll support Vesper and eliminate their clerics and their defenders."
Pax adds
"I'll deploy barriers to intercept incoming ranged attacks."
Then
Jayden steps forward.
"No need."
Everyone pauses.
"Stay back… I'll handle this the way a Hero should."
And without waiting, he walks forward alone.
Spells and arrows rain down upon him, explosions erupting across the battlefield as attacks collide with his body, engulfing him in smoke and destruction.
Pax steps forward instinctively.
"Is he insane?!"
But Vesper stops him.
His voice calm and certain.
"He's our leader we have to trust him and those eyes…"
A slight pause.
"…they belong to someone who has unbelievable confidence."
The smoke clears as Jayden emerges, walking forward. His HP slightly reduced to 4/5 remaining and slowly regenerating.
Elinor smiles faintly.
"Such confidence… you flatter me, Hero."
She raises her hand.
"Stand down."
Her team halts.
"Even without saying it, from the looks of it, he's inviting me to a duel, The strongest against the Strongest," she says calmly. "And I accept."
She steps forward alone.
"Jayden… was it?"
She flexes slightly.
"Our builds are quite similar."
Jayden smiles and flexes his muscles in return.
"I'm impressed… not many can match this physique."
He pauses and then squints.
"Wait… I've seen you before."
Elinor nods.
"Taeo City… First Stage of the Star Game… we fought on the same side."
Jayden's expression softens briefly.
"You were one of the Beacons of Light…"
Elinor's tone sharpens.
"Enough talk."
Jayden steps into position.
"Then let's begin."
Elinor charges.
"Shapeshift: Kanga Bunny!"
Her form transforms into a hybrid creature, combining the powerful legs of a kangaroo with the agility and softness of a rabbit, her speed increasing drastically as she dashes around Jayden, leaving trails of wool that quickly begin to cover the battlefield, obscuring vision and muffling sound.
Jayden watches carefully.
"A terrain-based disorientation strategy…"
He closes his eyes and focuses.
"Then I'll rely on what can't be hidden…"
His Hero Aura expands outward into a massive dome.
Elinor strikes, a kick enters the field and Jayden counters instantly as their attacks collides with each other.
Then suddenly Hundreds of kicks and punches.
Each strike meeting perfectly in rapid succession as their movements blur together, even as wool piles around them and begins covering Jayden's vision entirely, he continues to react purely based on the subtle disturbances within his aura.
Elinor leaps upward.
"Shapeshift: Basanix!"
Her form transforms again, becoming a fusion of a phoenix and a chicken, her wings unleashing waves of fire that burn the wool instantly, igniting the battlefield.
She then dives downwards spinning, creating a fire tornado.
Jayden counters
"Shining Punch!"
Their attacks collide mid-air.
Then during mid clash another transformation.
"Shapeshift: VenusMoth!"
A massive mammoth-like form emerges, combined with a Venus flytrap, its enormous foot crashing down and slamming Jayden deep into the ground, followed by the plant on the mammoth's back consumes all surrounding fire as it's body turns blue until it releases energy towards it's foot that is crushing Jayden.
As that foot then releases ice, covering the battle field into ice.
The Mammoth's trunk then absorbs the surrounding Ice turning it's body yellow as it then hops into the air as the Venus Flytrap on it's back releases a massive energy blast into the crater causing a huge explosion.
Elinor returns to her human form.
"Flawless…"
But then she senses that something is wrong as she has not yet received any EXP or loot.
Her eyes widen as she jumps into the crater as she then sees a hole at the bottom.
"He must had dug underground…!"
The ground trembles.
Jayden's voice echoes.
"A true Hero never falls when his determination burns the brightest!"
The earth shatters.
Jayden erupts upward—
Landing a massive Shining Punch that sends Elinor flying into the sky, being carried by a heavy energy that is continuously moving upwards.
Elinor struggles to get out.
"Was he holding back all along?! There's no way he's still this strong when our level difference isn't even that much! What is this?!"
Suddenly a Hero symbol appears and glows on her chest.
"Hero's Calling."
Jayden appears beside her instantly, pulling her out of the rising energy,
Teleporting both of them back to Pax who also has the same Hero symbol on his arm.
Elinor collapses to the ground as her HP is at 2/5.
Jayden steps forward.
"You are strong… but my story doesn't end here."
Elinor stares.
"How did you…?"
Jayden puts his chest out
"Your attacks were strong but all I did was convert your negative energy into my own power of positive energy and threw it back at you."
He pauses.
"Also being a Hero of Courage I too can sense the purity of someone's heart. And I felt a tiny bit in yours so I decided to save you because anyone with the lightest of a good in their heart deserves to do better in my story."
He turns to the crowd.
"Stop this… Stop attacking hard working Stars who've earn their loot and Keys.!"
His voice echoes.
"This is the Star Games, prove that you're better than that! I.... once kept the Star Games a secret from my people but when I did join I suddenly had a different purpose..... "
He puts his fist against his chest
"It's to save any many as possible from these cruel games! This doesn't have to be your end! We can still survive this stage and after that you can be proud how far you all came!"
All of the attention of the Stars draws in closer to Jayden
"And head back home knowing that you saved yourself! There's so much to enjoy in life than this maniac dream of Godhood! I will save you all I promise you that!!"
There was silence for a moment until Elinor stands.
"you heard the man, stand down.... We are no match for them."
Her team and all of the other Stars lowers their weapons.
"The strong will always win at the end.... but this so called saving... is quite something else that I've never seen before in all the Star Game I've watched... you are different from anyone I known."
Jayden then walks towards her and says
"That symbol on you, whenever you're danger, just call out for the Hero of Courage and I will come to save you."
Elinor then watches as Jayden walks away with his team to the far distant of the pink grass field.
Meanwhile, within the giant house region, on the giant kitchen table, Boa's team continues navigating their way across the massive wooden surface, their bodies appearing no larger than ants as they carefully move toward the edge, where the true scale of this region finally begins to reveal itself.
As they reach the edge of the table and look outward, a vast and overwhelming sight stretches before them, a massive house interior, where countless Star Parties scatter across the ground floor below, each one running, climbing, or searching desperately for objectives while navigating a world that dwarfs them in every possible way, turning everyday household items into towering structures and dangerous terrain.
Hans suddenly stops.
His eyes widen.
"Here it is!"
Everyone turns toward him instantly, their attention locked as he quickly flips through his monster analysis book, scanning the information at high speed before reading aloud with urgency.
"Boss identified: The House Owner, Level 66… primary Desire, maintains cleanliness within her house… combat restriction, unable to deal damage until all listed objectives are completed."
Tobias raises his trembling hand, pointing toward the far distance.
"I… I think that's the list…"
They follow his gaze.
Across the massive living room wall, far beyond their current position, a gigantic sheet of paper is pinned in place, its surface filled with more than twenty listed objectives, written in bold markings, with several already crossed out, clear evidence that other Star Parties have begun progressing through the trial.
Hans continues reading, his tone more serious now.
"When the Owner returns, all Stars must hide… survival becomes the primary objective until she leaves again… this cycle repeats until the Boss has been slain."
Ignis frowns slightly, his voice filled with concern.
"…How do we know how much time we have left before she gets back?"
Boa looks around carefully, his eyes scanning the environment with sharp awareness, until he spots something, a clock, mounted high on the wall.
"3:55 PM…" he mutters.
Then his expression shifts.
"If everyone is actively working on the list, that means the Owner is still out… and if this follows a normal work schedule, first shifts usually end between three and four…"
He pauses briefly.
Then looks back at the team.
"Which means… we don't have much time left."
Crank exhales sharply, clearly unimpressed as he cracks his neck slightly.
"Hiding is for the weak… I'll face it when it gets here."
Voytek immediately responds, his tone firm.
"Don't be foolish… didn't you hear what my grandson said? The Boss cannot be damaged until the list is complete."
Crank scoffs, his grip tightening as his aura begins to flicker faintly.
"I'm tired of puzzles… and I'm tired of running… my honor demands a real fight."
Boa glances at him calmly before speaking.
"You won't be convinced right now… he'll understand when the time comes."
Hans quickly interjects, urgency returning to his voice.
"We need to find a hiding spot immediately! The Owner could return at any moment!"
Without wasting time, Boa raises his hand and channels his Warlock magic, summoning his Imp familiar in a burst of dark energy.
The small creature appears, immediately looking around in shock.
"Whoa… Master, this place is completely different… we're so small!"
Boa nods.
"Stay on watch… alert us the moment the Owner returns."
The Imp bows respectfully.
"As you command, Master… I shall witness all of your greatness once again."
With that, the Imp takes flight, soaring toward the massive front windows of the house to gain a better vantage point.
Tobias trembles slightly, fear clearly visible in his posture as Ignis places a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down, while Hans rushes off toward the table's far side in search of a hiding location, with Voytek following closely behind to assist.
Crank, however, remains standing at the edge of the table with his arms crossed.
Facing the massive front door of the house, waiting.
Boa steps beside him, his voice calm but firm.
"I've got your back… but if things go wrong, we run… because dying in a one-sided fight has no honor."
Crank nods as below them, on the ground floor, the scattered Star Parties begin to panic, rushing toward furniture, shadows, and narrow spaces in a desperate attempt to hide before the inevitable arrives.
Then, the comms activate, the Imp's voice comes through.
"Master… I can see the Owner… she's pulling up to the house!"
A deep, heavy presence begins to approach as the house trembles with a thud.
Each step sends vibrations through the structure, shaking the very ground beneath the Stars as the front door slowly unlocks with a loud, echoing click.
The door opens.
A massive figure stands in the entrance.
"I'm home…Time to clean up this mess."
Her eyes shift as she notices movement, a Star Party running across the living room floor.
She steps forward, Each step shakes the floor.
The Star Party panics, unleashing attacks in desperation, their spells and weapons striking her but compared to her size, they are nothing.
The attacks barely does any kind of damage as she raises her foot and brings it down, instantly crushing them.
Back on the table, Boa watches carefully.
"Now do you see… we don't stand a chance against it like this."
Crank steps forward.
His aura erupts violently, energy surging outward as his presence sharpens.
"We are not like them! We… are much stronger!"
His voice lowers.
Filled with pride.
"I'll show her… who the real Boss is."
The Owner pauses as her attention shifts to the side towards the kitchen to see a tiny spark of aura, burning slightly on the edge of the kitchen table.
She then begins walking toward him with a evil grin.