The rocky platform had been smashed into four or five craters by a spirit beast, its shape clearly marking the form of a giant wolf. The spoils of war lay quietly within.

  Helier tapped one-click collect and stashed the loot. There were still five hours left until the second round of selection ended.

  Fighting Devour Beasts and exploration weren’t the time-consuming parts—absorbing energy and recovering soulcolor was.

  “Sigh. Still too slow on recovery?” he muttered.

  The system was speechless. Too slow? Most players currently had soulcolor levels around twenty, thirty if they were lucky. They had to carefully calculate every brushstroke in battle, choosing the perfect moment to release a skill. And even then, once depleted, it was questionable whether they could recover within half a day.

  But him? With over sixty soulcolor? Tossing out skills like confetti? Eat a snack, take a walk, and boom—back to full in an hour. This freakish recovery rate... and he dared complain?

  If the system had a dark side, it’d leak his stats to the public, just to see him dragged away for dissection.

  But no worries—the system was a harmless maple leaf. Truly. Harmless.

  Helier shook his head, brushing the thought aside to focus on the trial. Time was short. Gotta move fast.

  In the center of the platform, a single bellflower bloomed between the cracks of the stone.

  “Interesting.” He leaned in to inspect it, gently poking the petal—it felt cool to the touch.

  The bellflower swayed softly, releasing a clear, ethereal chime.

  “Mr. System, is this the seat of a star’s will?”

  “Yes. You’ve now initiated the trial,” the system replied.

  “What? But I haven’t even seen the spirit beast yet!” Was it hiding somewhere, waiting to ambush?

  “Well, not all trials involve combat. Some... are escape games.”

  No sooner had the words left the system than something hard smacked Helier right in the face.

  He peeled it off—it was an orange sea horse.

  Wait, why a sea horse?

  Below, the ancient trees glowed faintly, and the tranquil river shimmered with ripples, as though raindrops had fallen.

  Suddenly, every hair on his body stood up. He looked up sharply—the sky, once calm and blue, was writhing and surging!

  No hesitation—run!

  A deluge crashed down from above, water gushing like a tidal wave down the steps. Its sheer force rivaled the beast Tingmanr’s rampage.

  Thankfully, the path he took to arrive had been uphill—now it was all downhill. Some of the water diverted into side waterfalls, easing the flow with distance.

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  Helier activated full speed, leaping across stone pillars and treetops, swift as a shadow. At some point, a herd of fuzzy rabbits had joined his escape, hopping behind him. They had fins on the backs of their heels and glided with ease.

  Out of ideas, he grabbed a bunch of exotic snacks from Tingmanr’s loot and flung them behind.

  Instantly, the rabbits understood. Grabbing the alien delicacies, they zipped forward, letting Helier hop onto their backs. Mutual benefit, as they say.

  At last, they reached the start of the grand stairway. A thin sheet of water flowed past his feet.

  Most of the floodwater remained midair, descending in elegant streams. It seeped into the earth, drawn up by the ancient trees, which exhaled a thick mist—rising once more to the heavens.

  Water mist filled the skies, rainbow ribbons unfurled. Creatures that had hidden in the rivers, fearful of Devour Beasts, began to emerge. The planet bloomed with life anew.

  At that moment, the trial was complete. Heaven and earth reflected a vague silhouette as the will of a star manifested.

  Dozens of translucent fin-like tendrils waved gently. Water-blue wings rippled like waves. A lithe, well-defined figure bent into an elegant arc, glowing with pristine brilliance.

  Its round, black eyes gazed at Helier. From its tube-like mouth, it blew a stream of bubbles that brushed past him.

  “It accepts you,” said the system.

  “I’m ready too. Let’s form the pact!” Helier gave a thumbs-up.

  The system sighed and activated an elaborate sequence of blinding calculations. Glowing runes encircled both.

  After a moment, the bond was complete.

  “Nice to meet you, Borcan.” Helier grabbed one of its fins and shook it like a hand.

  Borcan reached out with another fin, ruffling Helier’s fluffy hair. Then it dissolved into a mist, leaving behind a star card.

  Helier’s white orb gained a patch of water-blue. A new bead now orbited it. Tingmanr had a neighbor at last.

  Ding! The system chimed.

  Stellar Harmony: When three stars align, resonance occurs, restoring 3 soulcolor.

  He blinked. There’s a bonus effect? Fine print indicated the alignment occurred every 15 minutes. Not much, but not nothing.

  “Mr. System, so the more stars I gather, the more boosts I get?”

  “Mm-hmm. Keep going. Once you get over ten proper stars, you’ll unlock constellation skills. But that’s a long way off—maybe half a year.”

  “Constellation skills? What are they like? Crazy powerful?” Curiosity lit up his face. He didn’t have even one true star yet, but still!

  The system refused to answer. It zipped ahead into the portal, dodging the question.

  “Don’t tease me!” Helier chased after it.

  But once he stepped into the portal... the system was nowhere in sight.

  “Mr. System?” He called out softly, wary of being overheard.

  ...

  Silence answered.

  He walked on, still calling.

  After a while, a pitch-black maple leaf drifted from behind, floating before him. “I’m right here.”

  Its voice was low—not flat, but strangely theatrical.

  Helier narrowed his eyes, instantly pulling out two star cards. “And you are?”

  “My, my. Aren’t you sharp? You saw through my disguise so fast.” The black leaf sounded theatrically surprised.

  “You win. I’ll reveal my identity as a reward—”

  Darkness burst forth, blotting out the stars, enclosing him in a prison of shadow.

  “You can keep your reward!” Helier backpedaled and flung both cards. But—nothing. His skills fizzled. The spirits didn’t appear.

  His heart dropped. Eyes narrowing, he took a stance.

  No escape.

  Darkness swallowed everything. From the shadows, a tall, blurry figure emerged.

  “Hello, Helier,” it said, voice distant yet sharp, like a whisper right beside the ear.

  “Hello, Mr. Black Hole.” Helier cut straight to the point.

  The shadow paused, then clapped its hands.

  “Impressive. How’d you guess?”

  “System told me. Day one. Said the Will of Star-Devouring would come find me. Try to kill me.”

  “Ah. So you knew. Aren’t you scared?”

  “You’re stuck behind some cosmic wall, right? Best you can do is send a weak copy.” Helier quoted the system word for word.

  As soon as he finished, the figure lunged forward, faster than thought. It seized Helier by the neck and lifted him high.

  “Ghk—!” He clawed at the arm, to no effect.

  “Weak? You wound me. We’re family, you know. In a manner of speaking.”

  The shadow smiled—and began to squeeze.

  But Helier smiled back.

  His hands clamped tight on the figure’s arm.

  “Well then—if we’re family... you’d better give me some pocket money!”