Skybound Throne

In a lush green forest, Isaac was trying to locate the rogue Lights his father had hired to help him safely clear the first level of the Battle Royal—using the tracker in his hand.

"They are so far from me… At this rate, it'll take days just to reach them. We only have one month—I can't stay stuck on this level forever. I need to reach the 2nd level before Skyler and Charles move on without me."

He sighed and slowly shook the tracker in his hand to initiate contact. Immediately, a few voices crackled through, assuring him they were on their way and warning him to stay put—because they had seen an angry dragon currently patrolling the skies.

"A dragon?"

Isaac muttered under his breath—only to recall what Charles had told him. Right… Skyler had stolen from a sleeping dragon and enraged it enough to unleash havoc.

"Just great... just great."

He wasn't even sure anymore if he could rely on the rogue Lights to protect him. He just hoped his father had chosen the right people—and that they wouldn't run off due to the dragon instead of doing their job.

"Well, at least they can't leave the Battle Royal. The rule to exit has changed."

Isaac knew these rogue Lights had never actually set foot in the Battle Royal before.

Their strength came from exploring the floating crystals that had begun appearing in their universe long ago—each one linked to a different dimension filled with valuable resources. But now that those crystals had vanished from their universe, they had no choice but to take on this dangerous job.

Ultimately, it was only a matter of time before every Light who had made a living off those crystals would be forced to enter the Battle Royal, seeking new ways to find resources to sell or grow stronger. Their universe had changed once again—truly. And just when they had gotten used to it.

"Luckily, I'm on the protagonist's team."

Isaac giggled to himself—a rare sight.

He had read many novels, and honestly? Skyler fit the role of a protagonist perfectly.

The guy showed up out of nowhere, did everything with dramatic flair, and always knew stuff that regular folks like him didn't.

Sure, his personality was a bit off—very far from heroic—but if one just squinted past that... yeah, definitely protagonist material.

If only Isaac knew he was on the team of someone who had stolen the protagonist role—and was actually the main cause of all this chaos—he would be rethinking his life choices, while screaming into a pillow.

He stifled his giggles and, in an instant, returned to his calm, composed persona.

"I shouldn't waste time."

He muttered with a straight face. With that, he set off toward the nearest signal on his tracker—only to be ambushed just an hour later by a group of strangers who wasted no time in pointing their weapons at him.

"Alright, kiddo."

One of them sneered.

"Drop everything you have got and run along… if you want to leave in one piece."

Isaac scanned the group surrounding him carefully. Some of them were human, but a few bore animalistic traits—likely members of the Beast Race. He gave a small nod.

"Okay."

Without fuss, he quickly began removing his storage rings and the powerful armor worn over his clothes. Better to cooperate.

After all, his talents lay in potion-making, not combat. Besides, as a 6-star, he knew he would lose if he tried to fight them. He had only been offered a place at Starlight Academy because of his good potential.

And yeah, he always skipped training.

All in all, there was a very good reason his father was bawling his eyes out when he heard he wanted to enter the Battle Royal.

Yet, his cooperation only seemed to fire up the strangers. One of them smirked.

"He's cute. Obedient, too. How about we capture him and sell him to the Villains?"

The one next to him laughed.

"Good idea. I hear the Dark Lights' secret bases here have been gathering people for some grand sacrifice since the sky in our world cracked. He'll fetch a good price."

Isaac froze. Just how bad was his luck today? He usually wasn't this unlucky.

These people were likely from his planet—otherwise, they wouldn't have known about the Dark Lights. And judging by how much they knew about the villains' movements in the Battle Royal, it was clear they had been on the first level for quite some time. No newcomer would be that well-informed.

Still, Isaac placed his storage rings and armor on the ground without protest, then stepped back—only to bump into the man who appeared behind him. Isaac frowned, doing his best to keep his voice steady.

"I did what you guys asked."

"So let me go."

Yet, they all just laughed.

One of them advanced toward him with an evil grin, rope in hand—but before he could make a move, a loud voice echoed across the entire first level of the Battle Royal.

"Mic testing... mic testing... Hello! This is the main system—ahem—I mean, Skyler! Bringing all participants an amazing deal—one you definitely won't regret accepting!"

"Help me find a human—a short male with dark, curly hair and maroon eyes—named Isaac Brown, and safely bring him to the mountain where the blue light is falling."

"In return, you will be rewarded with the location of the Dragon Jewels! Yes, those Dragon Jewels. I'm sure many of you are dying to complete the mission of finding the Dragon Jewels and finally shake off that pesky dragon once and for all."

The group surrounding Isaac exchanged bewildered glances—just like everyone else in the first level. But Isaac was even more shocked than the rest. Skyler was here??

How??

Still, no one had time to react before the echoing, loud voice chimed in again.

"Hurry up! This offer won't last forever!"

One of the people surrounding Isaac glanced up—just as a beam of blue light descended onto a distant mountain. His voice was filled with disbelief.

"What the hell is going on?"

The others looked just as confused—until their eyes landed on Isaac, who perfectly matched the description they'd just heard.

Then came their boss's decision.

"Guess we'll find out. Grab him!"

Isaac cried out. He wanted to run, but there were too many of them. He was effortlessly captured, tied up, and then dragged away.

***

Meanwhile, far away, Skyler sat atop the mountain where the brilliant blue light was falling, a slowly fading dark mic in hand as he casually glanced around himself.

"Shhh… golden light looked cooler."

He muttered.

And 505 cried out in virtual agony.

("Host!! Y-You just wasted 2,000 system points on a limited announcement mic that vanished after a minute, and another 3,000 on a water Evol shower! And now y-you are saying the golden one was better?! No one—literally no one—in the entire Battle Royal would waste that many precious points on such nonsense! But you... you—Aaaargh!")

Skyler glanced off in a random direction.

"But 505, you're the one who gave me the idea. And I have to say—a genius idea. Now, I will be able to find Isaac in no time."

That was the final straw.

505 couldn't take it anymore and promptly fainted. How could 505 forget that its host was the very same person who once spent the system's precious points on…

Ordinary gems?!