Helier gripped the opponent’s right arm tightly, and without hesitation, forcibly disassembled it into dazzling fragments of light. The shimmering dust gathered into a single sphere. He swallowed it in one gulp.

  The shadowy figure retreated swiftly. Its right arm, which held the majority of its energy, was taken. Its form grew vague and flickering.

  “…Need allowance for candy, huh? Like sweets that much? Fine, next time I’ll bring a whole box.”

  Realizing its plot had failed, the shadow spat a cruel parting line before withdrawing all the dark mist and vanishing completely.

  As it departed, Helier collapsed to the ground, panting lightly.

  That was close. Fortunately, he’d managed to reclaim two stars and dumped all his energy points into Soulcolor Strength. It was now close to one hundred—far beyond what the enemy had expected.

  Otherwise, he would've had to rely on Mister System for a last-minute save.

  Speak of the devil, here came the System—symbolized by a drifting green maple leaf.

  “Watching that thing eat dirt was pretty satisfying.”

  Helier glared at it. Watch, watch, watch—couldn’t it help out even once?

  “No time.” The System, as always, read his thoughts and replied heartlessly.

  It wasn’t lying. It had just been busy compiling data and uploading it to the Association.

  Besides, the current level of avatar the Star-Devouring Will could sneak in here with wasn’t much stronger than a Level-2 Devourbeast. Weak as hell. No need to worry at all.

  More importantly, based on calculations, the Will had shown up at the perfect time—delivering a juicy burst of EXP and boosting Helier straight to LV.2. That made up for what he’d missed during the first trial. If the System had interfered, he’d probably be stuck just short of the level-up.

  “So, how did it feel—facing the Star-Devouring Will head-on?” the System asked with a rare trace of curiosity.

  Helier thought for a moment, then touched his reddened neck. “My neck hurts.”

  “That’s it?”

  “That’s it.” He blinked, puzzled. What else did it expect?

  The System stared into those pure, unclouded eyes and sighed. What a fearless calf. The final boss of the entire game had literally shown up at the starter village’s gate, and this kid thought it was just another Tuesday.

  “Oh, right. Mister System—earlier, why couldn’t I use Paint Techniques or Support Cards? What happened?”

  “The entire game is constructed from remnants of starlight. To a black hole like the Will, distorting and capturing light is effortless. Naturally, your Paint and Card abilities failed under its influence.”

  “That sounds kind of… bad. Is there any way to beat it?”

  The System paused for a moment. Well well, this little village NPC was already poking the cookware, seeing what might work against the final boss.

  “There is.”

  “Really? What is it?”

  “Dream on,” the System said lightly.

  Helier responded with a deadpan “Ha.” He’d asked sincerely, and this was the attitude he got? Rude.

  Fine, whatever. He wasn’t curious anymore!

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  . . .

  At the teleport gate, Helier poked his head out cautiously.

  The plaza already had a few hundred players who’d cleared the second round, resting in the open space.

  Almost every one of them was battered and bruised, chugging healing potions like there was no tomorrow. The ground was littered with empty vials.

  When Helier stepped out—completely unscathed—hundreds of eyes turned to him instantly. The chatter began.

  He panicked and quickly found a quiet corner to sit down, pretending not to notice while sorting his backpack.

  Luckily, three more players emerged after him, drawing attention away. It was the beastkin team he’d watched earlier.

  The three walked shoulder to shoulder, casually chatting about how they’d conquered their respective stars. The vibe was relaxed, even cheerful. Their bodies bore almost no signs of injury.

  They ignored the burning stares around them and searched for a spot to sit. The falcon youth spotted Helier in a flash and headed straight over.

  “Hey there, Helier!” Philio greeted him with a warm smile.

  Helier flinched so hard his whole body trembled, cold sweat trickling down. What was this? They didn’t even know each other, right? Why was this guy walking up to him?

  Could it be… his secret spectating had been discovered and this was the reckoning? No way. He’d hidden super well.

  But then—how did the guy even know his name?! Terrifying. A hundred times scarier than the Star-Devouring Will.

  “Uh, hello, sir,” Helier responded cautiously, looking the stranger in the eye. “Is there… something you need?”

  “I’m here to thank you.” Philio smiled again.

  “Thank me?”

  “Mhm.” Philio unfurled his broad, ash-black wings, shielding them from all prying eyes. Then he opened his system interface and pulled up a transaction record.

  “See? You really helped us out.”

  Helier leaned closer to look. The player name: “TrustMe, HawkIsRight.” His eyes lit up in sudden realization, the tension melting away.

  “So you’re Mr. HawkIsRight.”

  “Hawk… Is… Right… Mister,” Philio stifled a laugh so hard his whole body shook. He barely managed to keep a straight face. “Ahem. Thanks to your Support Card, the three of us made it back without serious injuries. Much appreciated.”

  “No problem. And thank you for your… enthusiastic purchase.” Helier smiled in return.

  “Actually, I was wondering—do you plan to restock the Support Cards? If so, I’d love to buy a few more in advance. I can pay five hundred Dustglow per card. How’s that sound?”

  Helier’s eyes widened. “Five hundred? That’s—no, it’s too—”

  Before he could finish refusing, Philio placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

  “Don’t go lowering the price. If I paid anything less, my conscience wouldn’t let me sleep at night.”

  “Besides, we’re battle comrades now, aren’t we? I never nickel-and-dime my comrades.”

  Those words struck straight at Helier’s heart. Comrades—how gloriously heroic that sounded. He couldn’t refuse even if he wanted to, so he could only nod dumbly.

  “I’m really glad you agreed. Oh, right—let’s add each other as friends. Easier to stay in touch.”

  “Okay.”

  They exchanged contact cards and parted for now.

  Helier looked at the name card in his hand, feeling a flutter in his chest. Was this… his first real friend?

  On his chest, the maple-leaf brooch trembled softly. The System was trying not to laugh.

  Same script, different actor. The Star-Devouring Will couldn’t get a sliver of goodwill from Helier, and this guy? Total success. Hilarious.

  . . .

  Philio ran back to his teammates and waved the name card like a trophy.

  “See? What’d I tell you? Trust me, Hawk is right!”

  “Well done, Mr. HawkIsRight,” Agalia said calmly. She’d heard the entire conversation.

  She had to admit—Philio did have a talent for luring people in. If it had been her, the whole thing would’ve been awkward as hell.

  “That human kid’s the one you two want to recruit as our new teammate? Then I better go get a closer look,” said Ted, intrigued, starting to walk over.

  But Philio immediately yanked him back.

  “If you wanna look, look from here. You’re way too huge—you’ll scare the kid!”

  Ted pouted. Fair. He was a bit on the big side. “But hey, the guy didn’t get a scratch on him. Think he even needs teammates?”

  “He will,” Agalia said. “Some players will make sure of that.”

  “You mean you?” Ted asked, all innocent.

  “No,” Philio replied, already fuming. He gestured with his eyes.

  All around the plaza, several players were already casting hostile glances—at them and at Helier.

  With Agalia by their side, most wouldn’t dare try anything. But Helier? A solo player with zero backup? Different story.

  If possible, Philio really didn’t want anything to happen to the kid. Healing Blooms like that weren’t easy to find.

  After a moment’s thought, he sent Helier a quick message:

  Be careful.

  Ding!

  Helier looked at the short message, puzzled. Careful of what?

  Just as he was about to ask, the plaza rang out with the toll of a bell!

  Time’s up—the second trial has officially ended.

  Witch Enna descended from the sky once more, her voice brimming with youthful enthusiasm.

  “Congratulations, everyone! From this moment on, you’re official players. Let’s strive together for the great dream of painting a new world!”

  “And—don’t leave just yet! Look behind you!”

  With a clap of her hands, the ground trembled.

  Behind the plaza and commercial district, six massive towers suddenly shot up into the sky.

  “The Trial Towers are now open! Players, feel free to challenge them as you wish!”