Chapter 10 ~ The end of the first fight
A gentle breeze stirred the grass stretching across the Stonefield Edge, its blades swaying softly under the touch of the evening wind.
Yet amidst this tranquility, something else stood out—
A sharp, crackling sound came from a single point: the tips of Hikari's fingers.
From her right hand, two fingers extended forward, small sparks dancing between them and a faint buzzing filling the air like a warning.
Crreeeaaak—!
A roaring bolt of blue lightning fired outward, tearing through the sky with a blinding flash.
The air rippled violently as the concentrated lightning bolt screamed across the battlefield—directly toward Kazuki.
Kazuki stood frozen, unable to move, caught at the worst possible moment—the effects of his Blue Bolt elixir had already worn off.
His blue eyes widened in horror, pupils shrinking as the incoming bolt reflected brightly in his gaze.
This is bad... I have to think of something...
That was the only elixir of its kind I had left.
Think, think...!
His trembling hand gripped desperately at the only thing he held—three small shurikens.
But his fingers were shaky, unsteady.
The weapons slipped slightly from his grip as he whispered under his breath:
"...Useless... My mind's... blank..."
His golden-blue hair whipped violently backward from the force of the approaching attack—
KRAAAASH!!!
The bolt struck the ground with a devastating explosion.
An eruption of lightning and dust blasted into the air, a concussive shockwave flattening the grass around the impact zone.
A gaping crater now marred the earth where Kazuki had stood.
Across Hikari's vision, a notification flashed:
Damage Dealt: -700 HP
Target Remaining HP: 700 / 1400
Blue sparks floated lazily upward from the center of the crater, dissolving into the sky.
The battlefield remained eerily silent... but only for a breath.
Hikari smiled faintly, his right hand still raised.
The air around his fingers shimmered dangerously, the blue electricity gathering once more.
He wasn't about to give his opponents any second chances.
"That's great," Hikari said aloud, smiling as sparks danced between his fingers.
"That's the best damage I've landed so far."
From the sidelines, Asaka gritted his teeth.
"That idiot Kazuki..." he muttered furiously.
"Did his elixir really expire at the worst possible time?!"
His mind raced.
Because of the game's physical rules... his nervous system must be overloaded.
It'll take him at least three seconds before he can move again... damn it, that damned brat!!
He gripped the Water Fox Fang tighter in his hand.
Water droplets began to swirl and ripple around the blade, glowing with an intense blue hue.
"Water Fox—!"
But before he could finish the attack name—
Asaka's face twisted slightly, his brown eyes widening in sudden realization.
Hikari had caught him in the corner of his sharp blue gaze.
Without a word, Hikari shifted his hand slightly, forming an imaginary gun with both fingers—one aimed toward Kazuki...
...and the other now pointed straight at Asaka.
It was a silent, deadly warning.
Come any closer... and you're next.
Asaka's face contorted with rage.
"You think you can threaten me, you flea?!" he roared, clenching his blade tighter.
[Skill Activated: Wrath of the Water Fox]
With a roar, a blinding wave of cutting, glowing water surged outward from his blade—racing toward Hikari like a living tsunami.
But Hikari was unfazed.
He whispered under his breath, almost too softly to hear:
"...Game over."
Without hesitation, he unleashed two bolts of lightning at once—one from each hand—like twin bullets fired from phantom pistols.
One bolt shot toward Asaka.
The other aimed directly at the helpless Kazuki.
The bolt racing toward Asaka struck first.
The cutting wave of water collided with the lightning bolt in a fantastical clash.
The elemental physics of the game took effect instantly—
Lightning, superior to water in conductivity, tore through the wave like a spear through cloth.
The glowing water was shredded into thousands of sparkling droplets, scattering into the air in a dreamlike cascade.
Blue sparks danced between the floating droplets, weaving intricate webs of electricity through the mist.
It was a breathtaking, deadly spectacle.
But the bolt did not stop.
It continued straight toward Asaka.
He stared, frozen, his brown eyes wide with shock as the blue flash painted his features in light.
This is the end again...
No matter what role I play in this game, there will always be someone more skilled to crush me.
Before, it didn't matter... I accepted defeat quietly.
But this time... this time... being humiliated by a fresh nobody—!!
ZAAAAP!!
BOOOM!!
Two simultaneous explosions rocked the field.
One at Kazuki's position.
One at Asaka's.
The twin blasts sent shockwaves rippling across the Stonefield, leaving only smoking craters behind.
For a few lingering seconds, only the faint screech of fading electricity remained in the air.
The field was still again.
Hikari stood quietly amidst the drifting dust and static, his golden hair rippling in the breeze stirred by his final assault.
Another notification pulsed into view:
Notice:
Blue Bolt Elixir effect has expired.
He glanced down at his hands, watching as the faint glow of power faded away.
"Looks like I'm out of potions," he murmured.
"Good thing... I calculated every second perfectly."
He lifted his gaze again.
In the distance, Kazuki's body was dissolving into blue digital fragments, his form flickering away into shards of light.
Damage Dealt: -700 HP
HP: 0 / 1400
On the far side, Asaka's body was vanishing the same way—slowly being eaten away from the feet upward, pixel by pixel.
Damage Dealt: -700 HP
HP: 0 / 1700
The remains of their bodies faded into nothingness.
All that was left behind were two glowing loot bags filled with Diamos (the world's currency), a few potions, and the weapons they had wielded—dropped exactly where they had fallen.
The wind picked up once more, stirring the grass and lifting the dust into golden spirals.
Hikari tilted his head back slightly, gazing at the orange-tinted sky.
It was almost sunset inside the game world.
He exhaled softly.
"Looks like I got a little too into it," he whispered.
"But it's only sunset in the game... I bet only an hour or two passed outside."
Another notification flashed across his screen:
Notice:
Players Defeated:
Kazuki (Lv. 14)
Asaka (Lv. 17)
Penalty Triggered: Player must suffer a curse.
Hikari raised an eyebrow.
"A curse?"
Another line followed instantly:
Notice:
Player Name Color Changed:
Rising Star → Rising Star (Name Color: Crimson Red)
Curse Status Applied.
A faint glow enveloped his in-game name overhead.
The pure white hue of Rising Star shimmered... then deepened into a bloody crimson.
Hikari sighed, a small amused frown tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Well...
That's not exactly something to celebrate."
Hikari exhaled softly, his breath blending into the cooling air as he gazed up at the painted orange sky above.
The gentle evening breeze stirred his golden hair, making the locks ripple like silk threads under the fading light.
His ocean-blue eyes reflected the sky's colors, calm and endless, like a silent sea untouched by storms.
There was a rare, unspoken peace within him—a stillness that only came after chaos.
A soft, almost thoughtful voice echoed inside his mind:
"You seem sad, Rising Star..."
Hikari kept his eyes on the vast sky, his expression unreadable, and replied quietly:
"And how would you know the difference between my sadness and my happiness?"
"Am I wrong?"
Hikari slowly lowered his gaze, the softness of the moment folding back into him.
He began to walk across the slightly charred grass, his steps slow and measured, heading toward the place where Asaka had fallen.
The grass brushed against his boots, each step stirring faint whispers through the ground.
"I don't really know, Seniora" he said, voice light but introspective.
"I entered this game with a single purpose:
To study the statistics, the systems, the numbers—everything.
I thought I'd need... at most three days to break it apart, to understand how it was engineered."
"How fascinating.
I didn't expect that to be your goal...
But does that mean... you admit defeat to the game's design?"
Hikari gave a small chuckle under his breath, shaking his head slightly.
"No," he said.
"But I'll need more time than I thought.
There are too many strange things here...
The way the characters behave—it touches something deep inside you."
He paused, his hand brushing lightly across a bent blade of grass.
"Are they acting this way from instinct...?
Or are they crafted... to manipulate the human heart?"
He narrowed his blue eyes slightly, still walking slowly toward the loot left behind.
"What kind of worlds... and players... are waiting for me beyond this?
I think I finally understand why they named it this way.
It really is a perfect fusion between fantasy and battle royale."
"By the way... have you looked at your level?"
Hikari blinked, as if realizing something for the first time.
"No... I wasn't paying attention."
With a light mental command, he opened his personal status window.
The digital interface shimmered quietly into view:
Name:Rising Star (Crimson Red Color)
Level: 9
HP: 900 / 900
He stared at the display for a moment, then gave a soft, neutral nod.
"Not bad," he muttered under his breath.
"Since you've reached this level, I've been granted access to more information from the game's algorithms.
It'll be a long conversation, but... you need to understand the rules—especially now that you've become a player killer."
Hikari knelt down near the spot where Asaka had disappeared.
He extended his hand slowly toward the loot, murmuring calmly:
"Alright, Seniora... let's hear what you have to say."