The final day of the first game break arrives. Only a few hours remain before the second stage begins.
In a golden lobby, Tomi gathers the last of his team. His expression stays calm, but his voice carries weight.
"This is your final chance to leave the Games before it's too late."
A handful of his team glance at each other. Then, one by one, their mini polar bear guides raise their paws, and flashes of divine light whisk them away. Throughout God's Kingdom, more Stars make the same choice, vanishing in bursts of magic.
Kayle spots Tomi staring quietly at a golden wall. She walks up beside him.
"What's wrong?"
Tomi exhales.
"It's nothing… I just miss my old bonus powers. They always made me laugh. Strange thing to miss, but it was…quite unique."
Kayle nods.
"Yeah… me too. Feels weird losing all of that."
She raises her hand and mimics pulling back a bowstring, releasing an imaginary arrow before turning to her remaining teammates to which is only twenty-five of them left.
"Alright, same plan as before. Stick with us, and we'll make sure every one of you clears the next stage."
Her team cheers and follows her out of the glowing lobby.
Near a massive golden fountain, Gaia gathers her own group, Hopper, Ortis, and nearly forty Pawns. She steps onto the rim of the fountain and calls out
"Stay strong! This is only the beginning. Do your part, and I'll do mine when I become God!"
Her team roars with excitement.
Across the street, Boa and Crank stand with their small group, only seven remain. Boa lifts his chin.
"Don't falter. We carry our honors high, no matter how small our numbers."
Crank raises his fist. The others mirror him.
"FOR HONOR! FOR JEN!"
Ignis and Tobias jog up and join the formation, fists raised.
Meanwhile, Jayden and his team ride a flying golden platform toward God's Arena. Pax leans over the railing and looks down at Kingdom Square.
There, he sees Gilga, Lars, Khaos, and Baron standing together as their massive Pawn team, over a hundred gathers behind them.
"They joined a high-ranking group… that's odd," Pax says.
Jayden shrugs.
"I'm sure Baron talked him into it. She's a mastermind, after all."
Their platform descends to the colossal front gates of the arena, where Nox, Corvex, Voytek, and Hans meets up with them. Ambros, Rudi, and Vesper bow respectfully to Corvex.
Corvex smiles.
"Good luck to all of you. I hope we meet again at the next game break."
Jayden steps forward toward Nox.
"The self-proclaimed King… I've heard stories about your feats. And I respect the choice to take a child onto your team. Not many would protect one during the Games."
Nox then takes a glance at Hans
"The Hero of Courage. Didn't see much of you last stage, but you gathered your own crew. Let's see how far a hero like you can go, I have high expectations for you."
Their eyes lock, two heavy, confident stares.
Then they clasp hands in a firm, almost crushing handshake.
More and more Stars flood into the colossal God's Arena until everyone arrives. A soft hum of anticipation rises across them all.
Suddenly, God's Avatar materializes above the Arena, his glowing, ethereal form drifting effortlessly in midair.
"For those who stayed behind," he announces, his voice echoing with divine resonance, "you have my utmost respect. Welcome to the second stage."
He claps his hands lightly, and thousands of shimmering magic screens appear around the arena, each displaying rankings, charts, and numbers.
"At the start of the first stage, over nine billion Stars entered the Games. After the 1st stage concluded, only 2.2 million survived," he continues. "After the game break, many chose to leave… but thanks to a certain talented Star singer, 1.4 million Stars decided to remain. This is the greatest retention ever recorded after the first stage in the history of the Star Games!"
A massive cheer erupts.
Crowds then begins to chant a single name:
"GAIA! GAIA! GAIA!"
Gaia looks around, stunned for a moment, then lifts a hand in acknowledgment as the roar grows louder. Fame washes over her like a tidal wave of golden light.
God brings his hands together again, and a swirling vortex forms between his palms. It expands outward until it becomes an enormous portal that floats above the arena.
"Step inside. Once you enter, you will have two hours to learn the rules and prepare yourselves."
His avatar raises one hand dramatically.
"The name of the second stage is… MONSTER DUNGEON!"
A surge of excitement sweeps through the Stars. Tens of thousands rush through the portal at once, swallowed by spirals of magic.
Moments later, everyone finds themselves standing in a shimmering realm of drifting clouds and stardust. A massive dungeon towers in the distance, encircled by a glowing magic trail that loops around it like a divine racetrack.
Mini polar bear guides appear beside each team, forming tiny councils of fluffy authority. They speak in perfect unison:
"Monster Dungeon contains three massive circles: the Outer Circle, the Central Circle, and the Inner Circle. Each is filled with monsters of all kinds, Minions, Mini-Bosses, and Monster-Bosses."
More floating screens appear, showing maps, monsters, and gates.
"All Stars may choose whichever gate they wish to enter. Pass each circle, reach the final area in the inner circle, and you will complete this stage."
The guides pause, then bow slightly.
"In honor of our Game Master, she will explain the remaining mechanics herself."
A sudden distortion warps the sky. A portal tears open, and a spaceship rockets through before the portal snaps shut behind it.
The ship lands with a gentle hum. Its doors slide open, releasing waves of sparkling magic dust. A radiant figure steps out, her entire body glowing as if forged from starlight.
She spreads her arms.
"Never before in the history of the Star Games has a Game Master revealed themselves," she says, her voice elegant and steady. "But after witnessing the first stage and the first game break… I must say, this year's Star Games is the greatest in all one hundred and ten generations."
She bows gracefully.
"My name is Junavale, one of the Game Masters."
A divine spark flashes across the clouds behind her.
"Seeing how many of you remained, and the brilliance you displayed during the first stage… you all have impressed the divine."
She raises her hand, and thousands of holographic screens expand across the realm. Magic weapons materialize from the dust. Armors assemble themselves midair. Stats, diagrams, and rules float in glowing formation.
"Now," Junavale declares, "it's time to explain the mechanics of Monster Dungeon."
She smiles as the magic screens rotate around her like constellations.
"If you've played RPG games before, this will feel familiar," she says. "At the start of this stage, everyone begins at level one. You may choose your starting class, there are over a hundred options. Some classes will only appear under special conditions."
Everyone's personal magic screen flashes open. Their basic stats appear:
LVL – HP – STR – SPD – AMR – MR – LCK
A second menu unfolds beneath it, displaying an enormous library of classes: Fighter, Knight, Archer, Mage, Healer, Rogue, Summoner, Monk, Berserker, Paladin, and many more.
Junavale continues, "Your starting stats depend on how you've lived your life. Choose your class carefully, it determines your abilities, your growth path, and your starting weapon."
Rudi scrolls through the list, her eyes sparkling. She taps Healer.
A small, glowing staff instantly materializes in her hand.
Gasps ripple through the crowd.
Junavale nods. "Good. Exactly like that. To grow stronger, you must level up by earning EXP. You can gain EXP by slaying monsters, killing others Stars, or through unique scenarios that occur throughout the dungeon."
Ignis checks his stats. His eyes widen.
His LCK stat shows a 7.
He glances around to other screens as most Stars only have a LCK stat of 1–3.
Ignis whispers, "Tobias… I think I've got the best luck here."
Tobias quickly hushes him. "Not now. We have to listen to the Game Master. We don't want to miss a single detail."
Ignis nods fast. "Right!"
Junavale raises her hand for the final mechanic.
"Parties. You can form parties with no limit on size. Parties share EXP equally. Choose your team wisely or go solo and keep everything for yourself. The rest of dungeon knowledge, you'll learn inside. Study your classes, choose your allies, strategize. When the timer ends, you will automatically be transported to the nearest gate."
She bows deeply.
"Good luck to you all. May the greatest Star survive. I leave the rest to God."
She vanishes in a burst of glittering dust.
God's Avatar appears in her place.
"One last thing."
The entire realm quiets.
"The Stars who ended the first stage in the top ten rankings will receive level bonuses."
He raises his hand, and the names project across the sky.
"Rank ten, Jayden, and rank nine, Hans will start at level 3."
Jayden's and Hans's level counters jump upward.
"Rank eight, Ignis. Rank seven, Nox. Rank six, Gilga will start at level 4."
Ignis smiles as his level flashes upward. Nox and Gilga stand proudly.
"Rank five, Tomi. Rank four, Gaia. Rank three, Boa will start at level 5."
Gaia taps the back of her neck with a confident smile.
Tomi celebrates clearly thrilled for Kayle.
Boa nods solemnly.
"Rank two, Lars will start at level 6."
Lars cracks his knuckles as he then turns to look at Kayle.
"And rank one… Kayle will starts at level 7."
Kayle watches her level climb higher than anyone else's.
A swirl of awe and tension spreads across the realm.
God raises his hand once more.
"With that… let the second stage begin. Monster Dungeon!"
God then explode into spirals of radiant dust, vanishing from sight.
Immediately, the realm erupts into motion, Stars shouting strategies, forming parties, debating classes, and scrambling to prepare before the countdown ends.
Moments later, Kayle, Nox, Boa, Ignis, and Gaia gather near the magic trail. Ignis jogs up excitedly.
"Guys we should form a giant party with all of our teams!"
Gaia immediately shakes her head.
"That won't work. EXP sharing with that many people will make leveling painfully slow."
Boa crosses his arms and puffs out his chest.
"Even if it didn't, I'm not joining any party that involves him."
He shoots a look at Nox.
Nox barely reacts.
Kayle sighs.
"Yeah… I figured it would come down to this. Besides, Tomi and I already have a really solid plan."
Gaia nods.
"We'll form our own parties. The more we split up, the more EXP each group keeps. We can grow faster that way."
Nox adds calmly:
"We'll meet again at the inner circle. At that point, our parties will form an alliance and clear the final sector together."
Everyone nods except Boa.
"See you all at the end," Nox says.
They part ways, each leader heading toward their gathered teammates, merging into different sections of the glowing magic trail encircling the colossal dungeon. The gates ahead shimmer like thousands of mouths waiting to devour whoever enters.
In Kayle's Party-
Tomi meets her the moment she returns.
"We talked it over. We all agree that our plan is the best course of action."
Kayle nods with a bright smile
She squeezes his shoulder, then steps away from the group wave her hand at them.
Hans watches in confusion.
"What? Why is she going solo?"
Voytek adjusts his glasses.
"She's still in her party. But since she's the highest level out of all of them. If she farms EXP alone, all of that EXP will be shared with the rest of her level-one teammates."
Hans's jaw drops.
"So she's still helping her team… even by going alone."
Nox overhears and says simply
"That's Kayle for you. The rest of us aren't high enough to split off alone, so we stick together."
In Boa's Party
Ignis and Tobias rush over.
Ignis raises his fist.
"Boa, we'll join your party. We'll help you to the very end."
Crank steps forward, shadowboxing.
"Still the same as ever. Just don't hold us back."
Ignis smirks.
"No doubt about that. I've got honor too."
Tobias, nervous but determined, lifts his fist as well.
Crank eyes him.
"Carry yourself with confidence!"
Tobias straightens up instantly.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Boa rests a hand on Ignis's shoulder.
"You've helped us more than you know. We'll do our best together."
In Gilga's Party
Gilga finishes outlining his strategy.
"That's the plan. Any suggestions?"
Baron twirls her finger thoughtfully.
"You're a brilliant planner, and your Pawn team's really loyal to you. We'll breeze through this stage."
Lars cracks his neck.
"I'm going solo. I'm going to get as strong as possible on my own. We'll meet at the final circle."
He points sharply at Khaos.
"But don't you dare die. Consider yourself my rival!"
Khaos scoffs while examining his stats.
"I have the highest starting stats at level one. I'll catch up to you in no time. Don't overestimate yourself."
Their glares clash like sparks.
In Jayden's Party
Jayden is practically vibrating with excitement.
"I know death is still on the table but I didn't think RPGs could be this fun and complicated!"
Pax isn't listening.
He's staring at Khaos in the distance, eyes dark.
"This is my only chance," he thinks. "If I get strong enough… I can finally kill you once and for all."
Moments later as the countdown has 30 Seconds Left
Every party across the magic trail chooses a gate.
Hundreds of gates glow around the dungeon's circumference, each leading to different starting zone of the outer circle.
Nox's group stands at a crowded entrance, surrounded by other parties clearly waiting for violence.
Hans looks around nervously.
"Maybe we should pick another gate?"
Nox shakes his head.
"It won't matter. Every gate will still be the same."
Voytek tightens his gloves.
"They want fast EXP… so they're planning to kill other Stars the moment they get inside."
Corvex steps forward, pointing her sword at the hostile groups circling them.
"Who do you think you worms are? If you want to die so badly, come at us first! I'm happy to take EXP from lowly mortals!"
The surrounding parties erupt in anger.
Nox remains calm.
"Our group is small. They think we're easy prey."
He glances at Hans.
"Don't worry. Hans and I can handle them."
10… 9…
Magic trembles under everyone's feet.
3… 2… 1…
The moment the countdown hits zero
All Star parties standing on the magic trail are instantly teleported into their chosen gates.
Hundreds of gates flash simultaneously, swallowing millions of Stars into the depths of the Monster Dungeon.