Deep in the forest crater, Lars climbs out with deep wounds streaking his body. A glowing ice wand materializes in the air, releasing a surge of magic that heals his injuries.
Gilga lands nearby, his eyes sharp.
"Impressive," he says. "You've managed to obtain the power of another Chosen. But you still lack the brains of a noble. You always need a beating before you can hold a proper conversation. A simple-minded brute who only listens to an alpha."
Lars clenches his fists, anger burning in his chest, but he doesn't fire back. Deep down, he knows Gilga speaks the truth. To reach the final stage of the Star Games, he needs someone like Gilga by his side.
"You're right," Lars admits. "I'll set my pride aside. It's clear now—we'll work together until the last stage."
A smirk crosses Gilga's face.
"Finally, you're starting to think like a noble. Now imagine this—if we had continued our fight, it would've dragged on for another day. By then, we'd have only hours left before the third wave of doom. Do you really want to enter that wave at a disadvantage?"
Lars suddenly slams his fist into a tree, launching it skyward.
"Yeah, but don't fool yourself. You would've died. The only reason it would drag on is because of the mystery factor of your powers. I know you've been spying on me with your tech. Also this Taeo would of also join the battle, in which I would die after."
Gilga claps, clearly pleased.
"You are correct. Taeo has eyes across the entire world and he wouldn't let my death go to waste. Our group is steps ahead of everyone else. We'll secure the most points—and we'll be the ones to survive every wave of doom."
Lars stretches his arms.
"I'll keep gaining points my own way. If I kill the other Chosens, I'm sure I'll take the number one spot on the leaderboard."
Gilga tilts his head, amused.
"That could be the case. You are indeed growing stronger. Go ahead, chase them down—but leave Taeo for last. Once we're done with the grand plan, I'll even help you."
Lars turns to leave, but Gilga's voice stops him.
"Remember, you carry noble blood in your veins. Focus on mastering all of your powers—your mind as much as your strength. Because right now, the others are climbing. Sooner or later, they'll catch up to you."
Lars spins around, his glare sharp.
"Where are they? Tell me—I'll kill them before they even have the chance to get stronger!"
A sly smile spreads across Gilga's face.
"Pay attention, young noble. The answers are already with you, beside you'll need to grow stronger to be able to kill the chosen that carries a shovel."
With that, he opens a portal and steps through, vanishing without another word.
Lars stands in silence, his thoughts racing. Then his eyes harden. He summons the Power Dragon's Core, the artifact pulsing in his palm with a steady rhythm. Suddenly, a beam of energy shoots from the orb, pointing toward the direction of the dungeon.
A grin curls on Lars's lips.
"Ah… so that's where you all are hiding. I'm coming for you all… once I'm ready."
Summoning his ice wand, Lars activates his gauntlet, preparing for relentless training.
Meanwhile, deep inside the dungeon, Gaia and Hopper regroup at their base near the massive gate. Streams of people carry ores and other resources, depositing them into a giant swirling portal.
Hopper approaches, bowing slightly.
"My lady, here's what we've mapped so far."
He taps a button on his helmet, projecting a glowing digital map of the dungeon. Only part of it is revealed, the rest still shrouded in darkness.
Gaia studies the display with narrowed eyes.
"So this is all we've explored today… Ortis, Yuri, and Rose have been teleported to another section and we can't make contact with any of them."
"I'm sure we can track them faster with the diggers," Hopper suggests.
Gaia shakes her head.
"It would be faster, but we've already lost thirty-eight percent of the diggers to monsters and traps. We can't afford to lose anymore —they're too valuable for mining ore. We'll need to be cautious."
Hopper bows again, his voice firm.
"Then I'll do my best to find the others."
Gaia places a hand on his shoulder, steady but reassuring.
"Don't worry. We'll find them together."
Moments later, in another section of the dungeon…
Rose awakens inside a massive treasure chest, her body half-buried in piles of gold coins and gleaming bars. She pushes the lid open, sitting up with a groan.
She taps the comms on her headset—only to hear static. Cracked and useless. With a sigh, she rips it off and tosses it aside, then begins wandering the treasure chamber.
The room has only one exit: a giant metal door sealed from the other side. She looks up and spots a floating silver key drifting above her, and higher still—a golden key shimmering in the darkness. Beyond that, only a void of blackness.
Rose crosses her arms and mutters under her breath.
"Tch… those two idiots are the reason we got teleported away. Teaming up with Gaia and the others was easy enough, but now that I'm alone… guess I've got no choice but to actually use my brain." She sighs. "What a drag…"
Rose braces herself, eyeing the floating silver key. She sprints forward, leaping onto the side of a towering pile of gold coins. The mound shifts beneath her, but she uses the bounce to spring onto another heap, then another—zig-zagging her way upward.
She stretches her arm out, only five feet away from the key she goes as high as she can go but fails to reach the key. Rose crashes back down into a cascade of gold, coins clattering around her. Above, the silver key drifts higher, followed by the golden one, both rising another five feet out of reach.
Rose groans, shoving a coin off her face.
"So they move up every time I try… Fine. I'll get at least one of them on the next attempt."
Her eyes sharpen with determination. She steadies her breathing, then launches herself upward again—bounding from pile to pile with precision. This time, when she reaches the peak and sees the silver key still just out of reach, she smirks.
Pulling a coin from her pouch, she flicks it with a sharp snap of her fingers. The coin rockets through the air, striking the golden key above. The coin then ricochets downward, smacking into the silver key and sending it closer toward her.
Rose twists midair and snatches the silver key before falling back into the treasure piles with a heavy thud.
She lies there, panting, clutching the key to her chest.
"Hah… got it!" She exhales, then looks toward the sealed metal door. "But… how the hell am I supposed to get out of here?"
Suddenly, the massive metal door groans open. A rush of stale dungeon air fills the treasure chamber.
Rose sits up, gold coins clinging to her hair and shoulders. She brushes them off with a scowl, only to hear a loud laugh echoing through the doorway.
Tomi steps in first, still chuckling, followed closely by a horned woman—Vel. Behind them, a few dozen Stars trail in, their boots clinking against scattered coins.
Vel sighs, her voice sharp.
"I can't believe you managed to solve another impossible puzzle. But honestly, Tomi—can you stop laughing already?"
Tomi struggles to stifle his laughter, clutching his stomach.
"I'm trying not to, but the powers I've obtained… it's hard to restrain. Every little thing makes me laugh."
Vel notices Rose across the treasure chamber. She instantly drops into a battle stance—only for Tomi to burst out laughing again when he spots two gold coins stuck in Rose's hair, sticking up like bunny ears.
Vel narrows her eyes.
"How did another Star get in here before us?"
Rose brushes off her shoulders and stands tall.
"Thanks for opening the door. Otherwise, I'd have been stuck in here a lot longer."
Tomi manages to control his laughter, wiping a tear from his eye.
"It's fine. She's a noble from my home planet—Rose Diamondfuel."
Rose tilts her head, recognition sparking.
"Oh, that's right—you're Tomi! A former Star player from the 109th Star Games."
Vel lowers her stance.
"I'm Vel. But please—answer the question."
Rose finds herself compelled, Vel's words wrapping around her with a strange charm. Without thinking, she blurts out:
"I was with another group, but we failed a puzzle and got teleported away—"
She suddenly blinks, shaking her head.
"Wait… what was that? Your words, they had some kind of magic."
Tomi smirks.
"Vel has a small bonus—she can charm anyone. But if your mind's strong enough, you can break it."
Rose exhales, intrigued.
"That's… interesting. I'd like a bonus like that too. Maybe these keys can lead me to that kind of power too."
She shows them the silver key.
Vel's eyes widen.
"Ah, you've got the key to a silver gate! Hurry—let's open it together."
Rose grins slyly.
"Oh, how lucky am I, meeting such incredible Stars who've already done half the work for me." She tilts her head. "But… have you seen a golden gate?"
Both Tomi and Vel shake their heads.
Rose points upward. High above, the golden key floats in the air, shimmering faintly in the darkness.
Vel gasps.
"Wow… that's really high up there."
Tomi's eyes sparkle.
"We should grab it. It might lead us to another bonus power—like mine."
Rose frowns.
"Yeah, but I could barely reach the silver key. How are we supposed to get the one that high?"
Suddenly, Tomi crouches and rockets upward with incredible speed. He nearly reaches the golden key—but just as he gets within five feet, it jerks higher into the air. Tomi crashes back down into a pile of coins with a heavy thud.
He groans.
"Ugh… it hurts. The key moves whenever I get close."
Rose crosses her arms.
"That was a fast jump, but not fast enough. We'll need to be faster than that."
She leans close to Vel, whispering her plan.
Vel nods with a giant smile.
"That could work. Let's try it!"
Tomi, still dusting himself off, calls up.
"What's the plan?!"
Moments later, Tomi leaps again, the key beginning to rise higher—until a gold coin smacks into his back. He flinches, laughing through the sting. Then thousands more coins shoot upward, striking him from below, bouncing him higher.
From below Rose, Vel, and the other Stars flick coins into the air with rapid snaps of their thumbs.
"AAAHHH—HAHAHA—OWW!" Tomi screams and laughs at once, helpless as the barrage launches him skyward.
Below, Rose and Vel roar as they flick even faster, creating a makeshift platform of swirling golden coins. Tomi lands on it, then springs off with one final push.
He rockets upward, snatching the golden key before plummeting back down.
The chamber falls quiet. Everyone watches as Tomi descends slowly, spinning his magical umbrella to soften the fall. He lands shakily, blood trickling from his forehead, but the golden key clenched in his fist.
He laughs weakly.
"That was amazing, everyone… but couldn't you have gone easier on me?"
Blood sprays from the wound on his head, and he collapses flat onto the gold pile.
For a moment, the room is silent—then laughter erupts from Rose, Vel, and the rest of the Stars.
Moments later, the group gathers their strength and approaches the silver gates.
Rose slides the silver key into the gate. With a heavy rumble, the massive doors swing open, revealing a long stone stairway spiraling upward.
As they climb, a blaring alarm echoes through the dungeon. Red pulses flash across the walls, bathing everything in a warning glow.
Vel grips her weapon tightly.
"What's going on?"
Tomi shakes his head.
"I don't know—but we'll need to reach the top to find out."
Rose groans, dragging her feet.
"Why do these stairs have to be so damn long?"
The group ascends, step after step, until finally they reach the top.
Before them stretches a massive opening, stairways weaving across the cavern like spiderwebs. At the very center stands a towering silver castle, surrounded by tens of thousands of armored knights.
Tomi quickly ducks behind a nearby stair rail, motioning the others down.
"They haven't noticed us yet."
Vel's eyes widen, her voice echoing in awe.
"This place is… huge! Like, unbelievably huge!"
Rose squints.
"Wait—the knights are moving."
They watch as the endless ranks of knights march in unison, their armor clanking like thunder. Suddenly, glowing bows materialize in their hands. Thousands of arrows made of pure magic form at once and fire in a massive volley toward the far end of the battlefield.
Vel gasps.
"There must be others here!"
A towering wall of dirt erupts, shielding against the deadly barrage.
Tomi narrows his eyes.
"That's Nox's magic!"
Before anyone can respond, a green arrow whistles across the battlefield, slamming into the knight army. A colossal explosion of emerald energy tears through their ranks.
The dirt wall shatters, collapsing into thousands of stone golems that charge forward, colliding with the knights. In an instant, the battlefield erupts into chaos—knights summoning glowing swords, golems smashing through their defenses, magic flaring in every direction.
Without hesitation, Tomi and Vel rush into the fray. The other Stars follow, their weapons blazing.
Rose stays behind at the stairway, crossing her arms with a deep sigh.
"Are we insane? To go up against that many knights? "
She leans casually against the railing, watching the war rage on .
"Well, they can do the work. I'll jump in when the time's right."
With a smirk, she relaxes, letting the battlefield unfold in front of her like a grand show.