Martial Online.

"Yeah, I'll be home soon." Jesse said while holding a phone against his ear.

He was currently on a phone call with his stepmother, Anna. They noticed their absence from the mansion, so they grew worried as this was the first time he was left alone anywhere.

After meeting with Terry, Jesse didn't return immediately to Rothsmith Estate and instead walked Nocklund's streets.

"Sebastian can come pick you up." Anna's sweet voice came from the other side of the phone.

"No need, I'll just walk back home." Jesse replied, as he still wanted to enjoy some of the night air in Nocklund.

"All right, be home soon. I have heard that the amount of criminal activity has increased lately because of the recent economic change."

"I'll be careful; there's no need to worry. See you soon." Jesse said and pocketed the phone once the call disconnected.

A recent crime wave occurred because of Martial Online. It was a result of the economic instability caused by the release of Reality Market. It would take a few years to stabilize again, but it was a necessary step towards a brighter future.

Even though Reality Market was a chance for wealth, it was also incredibly difficult. The silvers became scarcer than ever before in Martial Online as everyone was trying to get their hands on them.

The killing and robbing between players was all-time high, and the competition was fierce. The importance of dojos was more important than ever before.

For players to be able to keep their hard-earned silver, they needed the protection of a dojo. However, there was also a surge of dojo masters who were tricking their members into giving them their silvers.

It was currently a difficult era, and the ones who stopped their real-life job to try their hand in Martial Online almost all failed as they had to start from level 1.

The newer players rarely survived for more than a day before being killed and robbed. Therefore, most newer players settled inside cities to do work, where they could earn silver.

Still, it was possible for those players to be killed in some random alleyway, where the Watchmen wouldn't discover them.

Therefore, an alliance of New Players was created. They had sets of rules to follow, such as never logging in at night and avoiding slums and alleyways.

'I have been avoiding players for quite a while now, but I'll be now returning to Amaterasu, which has become the busiest hub among players.

'Some players have become very tricky and deceiving, using everything at their disposal to grow their wealth. I need to be careful, but I am not too worried.

'I don't know the limit of my current level of strength, but I believe there aren't many players who can beat me in a fair fight.

'However, I am still alone, and after players learn of my strength, I don't expect them to fight fairly and might ambush me with the force of fifty players, maybe.

'One thing is for sure: my time in Amaterasu will be quite eventful.'

After a short walk, Jesse walked past a store with a large square-shaped window that showed mannequins wearing the newest winter clothes.

At the same moment, he heard a loud scream reverberating from a nearby alleyway.

"Hmm?" Jesse looked in the direction of the sound; his curiosity piqued. He walked a little bit further until he arrived at the entrance of a dimly lit alleyway.

He could only see what was happening inside the alleyway because of the light from a nearby street lamp.

In the alleyway, a trio of black-masked figures were holding knives near a frightened-looking man's throat. They looked like they were robbing him.

The frightened-looking man panicked while trying to fish his wallet from his pocket, but since he was panicking, he accidentally dropped it.

"What the hell are you doing, fool?" A sharp-voiced man said and placed the knife on the frightened man's neck. "I don't like fools who waste my time!"

"I-I-I am sorry!" The frightened man said, "Please don't hurt me! E-everything is in the wallet, so please."

One of the robbers picked up the wallet and opened it. When he saw what was inside, he let out a pleased whistle.

"That guy was packing!"

"Heh, good." The sharp-voiced man patted the man's cheek with the knife. "You're lucky we're not going to kill you."

The frightened-looking man was instantly relieved, but he felt a deep pain in his heart after seeing the robbers take away his hard-earned money.

Today was finally his long-awaited paycheck day, and this money was supposed to last him the next month. He wasn't sure how he was going to survive now.

Tap, tap—at that moment, footsteps sounded from the entrance of the alleyway.

'Police?!' The robbers snapped their heads towards the entrance.

A black-haired man, with his hands slipped inside his pockets, walked towards them slowly but steadily. He looked like he was simply taking a night stroll through the alleyway.

"Who the fuck?" The sharp-voiced man turned to his friends, who looked equally confused, and then started pointing his knife at the man. "This is none of your business. Piss off, cunt!"

Jesse pulled his right hand from his pocket, then shot it forward and grabbed the knife-wielding hand by the wrist. He twisted it sharply, causing the man to yell in pain.

"Fucker!" The other two lunged forward with their knives.

"Mortal Style, Nachbilder…" Jesse whispered under his breath, and he suddenly disappeared from his current spot, only leaving behind some afterimages.

The robbers stabbed through the afterimages and laughed for a split second after thinking they had successfully struck their target. But then, the afterimages disappeared like a fleeting image.

Jesse reappeared behind the sharp-voiced man, grabbed him by the head, and slammed him into the brick wall. The man's body slumped to the ground, unconscious.

The two robbers turned around, but then Jesse appeared behind them and chopped his hands into their napes, knocking them unconscious. 

The two robbers fell to the ground like puppets who had lost their strings. They lay motionless, unable to move or fight back.

Jesse grabbed the wallet from one of the robbers, tossed it over to the shocked-looking man, and as he was about to leave the alleyway, he heard a voice.

"T-thank you!" The man's grateful voice sounded.

"Mm." Jesse nodded without showing his face to the man, and then left the alleyway.

'It hurts.' He thought as he looked at his trembling hands.

If he had used more strength, he would have most likely killed the robbers, but he would have also broken his hands.

His fighting in real life was a complete double-edged sword. If he fought with a weapon, he would be fine, but in unarmed combat, he risked injuring himself with each attack.

Jesse soon found a bench and sat down, trying to catch his breath and waiting for the pain to go away.

'You are hurt, my child.'

At that moment, a voice echoed in his mind.

'Who?!' Jesse looked around the street but couldn't find anyone. The streets were empty, with only a few pedestrians passing by.

'Hehe, look towards the stars.' The gentle voice giggled and said.

Jesse raised his gaze to the night sky, where stars shone brightly. His eyes widened in shock as he saw stars changing into faces before changing back to being bright stars.

'You are… a star?'

'Yes.' The gentle voice sounded. 'You are now Starborn, and you can communicate with us.'

'I am… Starborn even in here?' Jesse asked in shock. 'I am not human anymore?'

'That is indeed the case. Disappointed?' The star asked.

'No… just very shocked.' Jesse said and scratched his head. 'I didn't think even my real body would be affected like this.'