Chapter 07 ~ Vs Stone Monkeys.
In the vast field known as the Edge of Stonefield, bathed in rippling green and sunlit silence, Hikari held the vial of Amber Stamina between his fingers. The trio of ninjas stood behind him, calm and steady—surrounded by a tightening ring of stone monkeys with glowing red eyes, growling low, their intent obvious.
Hikari uncorked the golden-orange elixir and downed it in one clean tilt of his head.
The glass vial clinked against his teeth, emptied—and then, without ceremony, he tossed it to the ground.
The moment it touched the grass, it disintegrated into glowing blue sparks—digital ash carried by the system's laws.
His blue eyes pulsed.
A subtle flash of orange-yellow energy swept up from his feet, enveloping his body in a thin, radiant aura. It didn't blaze—it clung to him like a warm sheath of light, barely lifting the edges of his clothes and golden hair with a shimmer of windless motion.
Elixir Activated: Amber Stamina
The notification faded, replaced by a timer icon at the lower edge of his vision. It showed the elixir's image with a countdown clock:
00:30
00:29
00:28...
He blinked at it. "Only thirty seconds?"
The stone monkeys began to growl louder—an angry churning sound, guttural and sharp, like wild dogs posturing before an ambush. Their eyes burned red, but their claws had yet to fall.
Hikari scanned them all, voice calm.
"It's fine. There's only twenty of them."
Then, he moved.
Alone.
He dashed forward—his body glowing faintly, feet pressing firm into the grass with each stride. Behind him, the ninja trio didn't budge.
Miryana tilted her head, her scarf catching the breeze like a streamer. "There he goes…"
Asaka's arms were crossed, expression unreadable beneath his black ninja garb. His brown eyes stayed locked on Hikari's back.
Each step landed with muted weight, rustling grass and stirring fragments into the air. His momentum wasn't lightning fast—but it was firm. Controlled.
Suddenly—the monkeys lunged.
All at once.
A swarm of jagged limbs and snarling stone fangs filled the air, leaping at him in a synchronized arc of fury.
Hikari's eyes narrowed.
He saw everything.
Each monkey.
Each leap.
Each projected landing path.
"Their movements are wild… too obvious. Their low intelligence makes them predictable."
Without warning, he bent low—hands slamming onto the grass.
Then—he flipped.
His legs shot into the air—open wide, like a martial artist stretching into a perfect 180° arc. His form turned upside down, torso rotating, his body spinning like a wheel.
And then—he twisted.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
His legs became a slow-moving orange blur—a two-bladed propeller of glowing power.
The grass around him kicked up in swirling eddies. The monkeys reached him.
CRACK!
CRUNCH!
SHHHH-TOM!
Stone burst into clouds of gray dust.
The spinning kick shattered everything in its radius.
Monkeys slammed into the ground like sacks of broken tiles—eyes dimming from red to black.
Their bodies collapsed into chunks, then smaller shards, then nothing but digital rubble across the grass.
Some of the survivors froze mid-leap, stunned. Others scrambled backward.
Still spinning, Hikari came to a clumsy stop—and dropped flat onto his backside, dazed.
"Did I just get dizzy?" he thought, blinking rapidly. "Seriously? They added post-movement disorientation? How deep is this game's realism system?"
All around him—stone carnage.
Cracked, broken bodies of monkeys lay scattered like failed pottery.
Enemies Defeated: 13
XP Gained: 1400
Level Up: Level 4
A quick green flash passed over his body—an almost weightless flicker—and vanished.
Still sitting, Hikari raised one gloved hand and stared.
"So I leveled up. Which means… my HP must've increased too. But this isn't the time to check menus."
He glanced around warily, expecting more attacks.
But none came.
Instead, he watched, puzzled, as seven monkeys slowly backed away—none dared turn their backs on him. They shuffled with small, trembling steps, maintaining eye contact, their red eyes slowly shifting—becoming yellow, wide, soft. Fear.
"Are they… afraid of me?" Hikari murmured.
Behind him, the ninja trio stood speechless.
Miryana's eyes were wide. Her voice cracked faintly. "He… he crushed thirteen of them. In less than ten seconds?"
Kazuki, usually quiet, whispered, "No way. I remember… I used all three of my starting elixirs just to survive this fight."
He looked at Asaka. "What do we do? I don't think he's going to die."
Asaka didn't blink. "Then this will be his grave, regardless."
Hikari placed one hand on his knee and looked toward the bottom corner of his vision.
The icon still flickered:
Amber Stamina – 12 seconds remaining.
He stood quickly.
"Hope that's enough."
He burst forward again.
The remaining monkeys shrieked—a distorted sound of fear—and ran in opposite directions, instinctively spreading out.
"Ugh—seriously? Now I have to chase them?" Hikari muttered, annoyed.
He pressed down on his thighs and launched himself forward in a wide lunge—landing between two of them.
WHAM!
A sweeping kick caught both creatures mid-run—they exploded into stone fragments with a dusty thud.
One by one, he hunted the rest.
A leaping punch here, a spinning heel there—each hit connected with solid weight, the orange aura around him amplifying the force of every strike.
Another monkey shattered under his fist—eyes dimming, body breaking.
Enemies Defeated: 19
Level Up: Level 5
The interface blinked away.
Hikari stopped, breathing evenly, his back to the others.
The battlefield behind him was quiet—only crushed rock, grass, and stillness.
Suddenly, the orange glow surrounding him vanished—snapped out of existence like a switch turned off.
He looked down at his hands—bandaged and gloved.
"The glow's gone. Back to normal."
He glanced at the screen corner. The elixir icon had vanished.
"Elixir window," he commanded.
The interface appeared.
Only two bottles remained.
Blue Bolt (bright blue fluid)
Quick Rush (clear and colorless)
He dismissed the window.
Clenching his right fist, then slowly opening it, he stared at his palm.
"These elixirs… they give players incredible power. I doubt I'd take down even one of those things without them."
As the quiet settled over the broken grassland, Hikari's eyes narrowed.
The combat music was still playing.
"Strange… the battle theme hasn't stopped."
He glanced around, gears turning in his mind. "I took down nineteen. Which means—one got away?"
He turned his head slowly, golden strands of hair shifting with the breeze.
"But where—"
His eyes widened.
Asaka stood just a short distance away, gripping the final Stone Monkey by its cracked, stone tail. The creature squirmed wildly, yellow eyes wide with terror as it tried to claw at his arm, desperate to escape.
It scratched him—a shallow gash, red against the ninja-black sleeve.
-15 HP
Asaka didn't flinch.
Without hesitation, he lifted the creature high into the air.
"You're annoying," he muttered.
And then—SLAM.
The monkey hit the ground like a meteor of rubble. Stone fragments scattered, the body shattered beyond form, fading into a cloud of soft, gray dust.
The trio advanced—slow, measured steps toward Hikari.
He watched them.
The music finally faded.
No interface.
No words.
No system prompts.
Only the sound of the wind and the rustle of grass.
The breeze flowed through the clearing, brushing through Hikari's golden hair and the red scarf trailing behind Miryana's white ninja attire. Her short blonde locks danced beside it. Even now, the atmosphere felt suspended in something colder than tension—judgment.
Hikari noticed it first.
Their expressions had shifted—no longer casual, no longer friendly. Especially Asaka's: his brown eyes now darkened, filled with something bitter, something sharp.
"What's wrong…?" Hikari asked, voice calm. "You're all acting different."
They said nothing at first.
Then—Miryana exhaled.
Her smile was gone. Her golden eyes were empty.
"Yare yare... All the newbies we bring here die fighting the monkeys," she said flatly. "Then we collect the 500 Diamo they drop."
Kazuki, still in his blue ninja gear and soft cap, spoke next, voice low and tight.
"Maybe this bastard has another account. Logged in with a new name to pretend he's a noob."
Hikari's gaze hardened.
The pieces were coming together.
"What now, Asaka?" Miryana asked, eyes narrowed. "What do we do with him?"
Asaka didn't hesitate.
His voice was steel. "Isn't it obvious? We kill him ourselves. Take the Diamo directly."
Kazuki flinched. "Wait—seriously? That'll flag our names red. We'll be marked criminals!"
Miryana nodded. "Yeah. I'm not interested in being hunted."
Asaka shot them both a glare. "What the hell are you talking about? We are criminals. That's the whole point. We've always stolen starter loot from players like him."
Miryana looked away. "Yeah, but... we never got our hands dirty. The monkeys did the work. We just sold fake promises."
Kazuki jabbed a finger toward Hikari. "All because you knew how to play, you damn freak! Why you of all people moved like that? That precision, that speed—you're not a beginner!"
Hikari said nothing.
He just smiled.
All three froze.
Shock cracked across their faces. Then it shifted—into annoyance.
"You..." Miryana hissed.
"...You know exactly—" Kazuki growled.
"—what kind of trouble you're in now," Asaka finished, scowling.
Hikari raised his head slightly, eyes glowing faintly.
His voice was warm. Quiet. Unbothered.
"I was fooled. I'll admit it. My analysis told me you wouldn't betray me. I underestimated this game… and its players. I thought maybe, just maybe, I'd get a real adventure. Some fake friends. Maybe even a memory or two."
He closed his eyes.
"But no. Reality always wins. I should've trusted my instincts more than my hope."
Asaka lifted an eyebrow. "That's the longest speech you've given since we met."
He grinned coldly.
"I don't blame you. You're scared. Or maybe angry. Maybe desperate. But here? This place? This is your grave, Hikari. Or should I say... Rising Star."
Miryana laughed harshly. "Rising Star? More like Falling Comet. Crashed before it ever took off."
Kazuki snorted and turned away, stifling laughter with a covered hand.
Hikari simply looked down at his gloved right hand—bandages wrapped tight beneath the soft brown leather.
Then, he whispered—
"Quick Rush."
A long, glass vial shimmered into existence between his fingers—clear liquid inside, sealed with a cork stopper.
The trio's eyes widened.
Hikari's thumb gently brushed against the cork.
His voice, quiet yet piercing, broke the tension.
"Did you say I was scared? Sad? Desperate? That I'd need help from some townspeople in Maria? No... The only ones who need help here—are the three of you."
He flicked the cork into the air.
Kazuki took a half-step back, stunned.
"H-Hey! You're serious?!"
Miryana's eyes narrowed in real alarm. "We're the Shadow Ninjas! Your level's only five. You really think you can handle all three of us with two dumb elixirs?!"
Asaka didn't flinch. He raised his hand forward.
"Fang of the Water Fox."
In a burst of blue-gray sparks, a curved blade formed in his grip—short and twisted like a predatory fang, glowing faintly with wet steel light.
Kazuki stared. "He's insane. He really wants to die..."
"I'll honor that," Asaka muttered. "I won't go easy."
Miryana sighed, raising her hand. A glass vial with pure white liquid appeared in her palm.
"I really didn't want to waste my elixirs on someone like this," she said.
Kazuki stepped forward last.
His wrapped hands moved in a slow, ceremonial gesture, as if calling down something invisible.
Between his palms, a black shuriken appeared, silver-edged and razor-sharp.
"This is such a waste," he muttered. "We work hard for this stuff…"
Hikari stood alone.
Unmoving.
But in his hand—a weapon of time.
And his smile hadn't faded.