Near the floating city of Oasis, a mid-commoner city rests just below, its skyline shadowed by the grand metropolis above. This city is under strict noble surveillance, as its commoner inhabitants are called Pawns instead and they are bred and trained to serve as pawns in the infamous Star Games.
Among them, a 17-year-old boy named Boa stands in the crowded streets, his gaze fixed on the towering city screen. The 107th Star Game is in progress, and his eyes are filled with awe as he watches the intense game unfold. On the screen, a Star player named Mesh Rubyfire fights his way through Stage 2, his skill and determination unmatched. Boa idolizes him—not just for his intelligence and strength but for the honor and pride he carries, even in moments when his choices seem questionable.
Day after day, Boa rushes to the nearest watch station, eager to witness each new stage on screen, hoping to see Mesh advance further. Inspired, he dedicates himself to training in combat and studying relentlessly, determined to become the best pawn he can be.
Then, the final stage arrives. Boa stands before the big screen once more, his heart pounding as he watches Mesh among the top thirty Star players. The battle is brutal—Mesh slashes through countless skeletal knights, his strength slowly waning with each kill. Yet, his spirit never falters. At last, he cuts down the summoner responsible for the undead horde, but his wounds are too severe. Kneeling with his arms outstretched, he lets the sunlight bathe him as he breathes his final breath, dying with honor.
Tears stream down Boa's face. "At least he died with his honor intact," he whispers.
With renewed determination, he continues his training at the Pawn Academy. A year later, his efforts are rewarded—one day, a butler of Gilga Rubyfire arrives and selects him as an official pawn of Gilga for the next upcoming 108th Star game.
Boa continues to train relentlessly, pushing himself for days and nights while keeping up with his studies. Around him, other pawns struggle to match his pace, determined not to fall behind. Yet, as time passes, he begins to notice fewer and fewer of them attending training sessions.
One years later, at the age of 19, Boa is finally selected as one of the elite training pawns for Gilga. Alongside a dozen others, he steps onto a high-tech city bus. The vehicle ascends a glowing digital road, carrying them upward toward the magnificent floating city of Oasis.
As they arrive, Boa's eyes widen in awe at the breathtaking cityscape. Towering structures of light and glass stretch endlessly, radiating a futuristic brilliance. The bus glides through the vibrant streets before coming to a stop in front of a grand building with a bold, illuminated sign: "RUBYFIRE."
Stepping off the bus, Boa and the other pawns make their way inside, where they are immediately greeted by Gilga's butler. With a refined demeanor, the butler gestures for them to follow. "Welcome. This way to Gilga's training room."
As they walk through the long halls, Boa and the others witness a grim sight—injured pawns being carried away on stretchers by robotic workers, their bodies battered and broken. The tension in the air is heavy, but they press forward, eventually arriving at the training room.
Inside, Gilga stands at the center, using a towel to wipe the sweat from his hair. Boa's excitement surges—after all, Gilga is related to Mesh Rubyfire. Without hesitation, he bows respectfully.
Gilga, who is the same age as Boa, turns to face his new pawns. His sharp gaze scans them before he speaks. "Don't disappoint me like the others. If you want to be on my pawn team, you must prove yourselves—through combat and intelligence. No matter the cost."
Boa and the rest of the pawns respond in unison, their voices strong. "Yes, sir!"
Moments later, the room erupts into chaos. Several pawns lay groaning on the ground as Gilga stands tall, unfazed. He looks down at them with disdain. "If this is all you've got, then you don't deserve to be on my pawn team. Come on—attack me all at once! Use your tiny brains together and fight me!"
Boa watches intently as the remaining pawns rush in, but Gilga moves effortlessly, deflecting every strike with precise counters. His movements are calculated, his reflexes sharp.
Boa grits his teeth and charges forward, throwing a sharp leading jab. But in an instant, Gilga sidesteps and counters with a powerful punch to Boa's body, sending him crashing into the other pawns. A sharp pain shoots through him as he gasps for air.
Gilga steps forward, his presence towering over them. "I only want strong pawns—ones who can survive every stage of the Star Games. It's my best chance at winning because the other nobles are even better than me." His eyes burn with an unsettling intensity. "I know what you're thinking. 'Why not just train more and join a future Star Game when I'm at my peak?' But you all don't understand—I am already great the way I am, and greatness cannot wait!"
He clenches his fists, his voice rising with conviction. "I can feel it in every inch of my body—the holy power of a god calls to me! You mere weak mortals could never comprehend it. When you reach the next level of humanity, you can almost hear the voice of God!"
Boa wipes the blood from his mouth and pushes himself up. He and the remaining pawns charge at Gilga once more, but despite their numbers, they are no match for him. He dismantles their attacks with ease, proving exactly why he stands above them.
Moments later, Boa and the other pawns sit in a tense room, answering rapid-fire trivia questions. Each time someone answers incorrectly, they are jolted with electricity. Boa flinches as a shock courses through his body after a wrong answer, but he endures it, determined to continue.
As the months pass, the brutal training sessions push Boa to his limits. Many of his teammates have already quit, unable to withstand the relentless regimen. But Boa refuses to back down—he believes this is the only way to earn honor among the nobles.
A year later, now at the age of 20, Boa is presented with a different kind of challenge. Gilga gathers his remaining pawns and leads them onto a digital city bus, taking them down from the floating metropolis to a commoner city below.
The bus pulls up to a massive stadium. As they step inside, Gilga strides onto a stage while the pawns gather in the center of the arena. He smirks and addresses them. "I've arranged another team of commoners for you all to compete with. Don't disappoint me. Those who pass this test will no longer be trainees. They will be official pawns of my team, heading with me to the Star Games."
At his signal, a dozen commoners step onto the field, dressed in their casual clothing. Gilga turns his attention to them. "Commoners! Those who pass shall be rewarded with a large sum of digimoney—one million digidollars. Enough to feed an entire family tree line."
A wave of excitement ripples through the commoners as they prepare themselves, eager for the chance to change their lives.
Boa exhales deeply, steadying himself as Gilga snaps his fingers. Instantly, a giant digital board game materializes beneath them, its glowing tiles stretching out across the arena. Each participant stands on the starting tile, anticipation thick in the air.
Gilga gestures toward the board. "The team that reaches the end with all its members shall be declared the winner."
A digital coin flips in the air, landing on heads. "Team Pawn goes first," Gilga announces.
One of the pawns steps forward and rolls two glowing digital dice, determining the number of tiles they can advance. As that pawn hops forward, the tile beneath them suddenly shines, and a massive digital card materializes above him.
The card displays the rules of minigame challenges. " You must win these minigames to get free tile advances without playing the next tile minigame. If you fail, you'll move backward, depending on your performance," Gilga explains.
The game begins, and soon, one challenge after another unfolds—basketball, baseball, math problems, trivia, duels in a digital fighting game, card games, golf, football, soccer, guessing games, deduction challenges, target shooting with digital guns, obstacle races, chess, bingo, arm wrestling, and more.
However, Team Pawn struggles. Many of them fail their minigames, forced to move backward or stay in place. Meanwhile, the commoner team dominates, proving their skill and luck as half of them advance far ahead on the board.
Moments later, Gilga grows increasingly furious as more commoners reach the final tile. The pawn team catches up, leaving only Boa and one other commoner on the board. The commoner loses his minigame of juggling balls and is forced to move back to the tile where Boa stands. Suddenly, the tile beneath them glows, and a different digital card appears.
Gilga smirks and announces, "Now this will decide the game. The winner of this minigame will advance to the final tile." The digital card reveals the challenge: "Rock-paper-scissors, first to three." Both competitors lock eyes and shout, "Rock, paper, scissors!" Boa throws scissors. The commoner throws rock. Disappointment washes over the pawns and Gilga. They go again. "Rock, paper, scissors!" This time, the commoner shows paper, and Boa shows rock. Gilga face palms, visibly more annoyed.
Boa takes a deep breath and smiles. "I can come back. But even so, it's been an honor to play with you all!" They prepare for the next round. "Rock, paper—" Before they can finish, a laser beam pierces through the commoner's chest. Boa's eyes widen in shock. He turns to see Gilga holding a smoking laser pistol. The commoner collapses, lifeless. The other commoners erupt in outrage.
"Sorry," Gilga says casually, twirling the pistol. "I got a little impatient. This game has dragged on longer than necessary. Oh well." The commoners scream in fury. "Cheater! You killed him!" Gilga waves them off and declares, "Pawns, redeem yourselves with this final minigame, or be cast out with the rest of these commoners." His grin widens. "The final minigame is… kill the other team." The commoners freeze in horror. The pawns, however, roar in approval and immediately charge at the commoners, beating them mercilessly.
Boa watches in shock as chaos unfolds around him. His hands clench into fists, his body trembling with rage. Without hesitation, he rushes forward, leaps onto the stage, and lands a powerful punch across Gilga's face. Gilga stumbles back, momentarily stunned, before quickly retaliating with a kick that sends Boa crashing off the stage. Fixing his hair, Gilga sneers. "Also, kill the traitor while you're at it." The pawns turn to Boa and lunge at him.
The pawns stomp on Boa again and again, his body crushed beneath their relentless blows. As the pain surges through him, a bitter thought creeps into his mind—"How is any of this even worth it? How is it worth being a pawn of Gilga, a so-called noble who has no honor himself? This isn't the noble I want to die for." The realization burns in his chest, igniting something deep within him.
Rage explodes inside Boa as he fights back with everything he has. He dodges, blocks, and parries the incoming strikes, countering with devastating punches, brutal kicks, and crushing headbutts. With each attack, his fury grows. "You have no honor, Gilga!" he roars, his voice shaking with fury. "How dare you call yourself a noble of Rubyfire?! You're nothing like Mesh at all!" His fists crash into pawn's face, breaking bone and shattering teeth, leaving a trail of battered bodies in his wake.
Gilga scoffs, watching the carnage unfold. "Mesh? Honor can only carry you so far. If anything, if his honor wasn't in the way, he probably could have won the previous Star Game." But as he speaks, his smirk fades—Boa is tearing through the remaining pawns with terrifying force.
Boa bites into a pawn's throat, ripping away flesh as blood sprays across his face. His strikes become monstrous, shattering arms and legs with bone-crunching force. Covered in blood, he glares up at Gilga with eyes filled with unrelenting rage. "If you have no honor, then you shall receive no honor!" he declares. With one final, brutal strike, he crushes the skull of the last pawn beneath his foot, leaving nothing but a mangled corpse.
Without hesitation, Boa charges onto the stage. Gilga barely evades the attack, smoothly countering with a sharp kick to Boa's face. As Boa stumbles back, Gilga grins. "I'm surprised. I didn't expect you to actually kill them all. I guess I triggered something in you and it pushed you beyond your limits. Can't you see it now? You're stronger!"
Boa doesn't respond. Instead, he spits out a tooth with such force that it slices through the air like a bullet. Gilga's eyes widen in shock as the tooth cuts deep into his cheek, leaving a sharp, stinging wound.
Boa dodges as Gilga takes out his laser pistol and fires. The blast misses, and Boa continues moving forward. Gilga fires again, but once more, Boa evades, his body weaving through the air like the wind. Gilga stares, wide-eyed, disbelief etched across his face as he mutters, "Impossible. A mere pawn like you can have ultra thinking?!" Boa doesn't even realize what's happening—his mind races at lightning speed, predicting every move Gilga makes before it happens. His body reacts on instinct, flowing with precision and power.
With a sudden movement, Boa kicks upwards, striking Gilga squarely in the jaw. Blood pours from Gilga's mouth as he stumbles backward, he then comments "What makes it even more weird… he's doing it without even knowing!"
Gilga, still reeling from the blow, tries to shoot again, but Boa moves with blinding speed, grabbing Gilga's arm and using his momentum to shoulder toss him over. With a sickening crack, Gilga's arm breaks, and his pistol clatters to the floor. Gilga's mind races—"I can't allow myself to be beaten by a mere pawn! Wait… these thoughts are getting in the way! My speed and reactions time aren't on point. Focus!"
Gilga quickly recovers and locks his legs around Boa's neck in a triangle choke. But Boa roars with defiance, muscles straining as he lifts Gilga up and slams him onto the stage with an earth-shattering crash. The stage cracks beneath the force of the impact, and Gilga's spine snaps.
In a final attempt to regain control, Gilga snaps his fingers as digital signals comes out of them. Outside the stadium, the worker robots spring to life, rushing into the arena. Boa, in the middle of his victory, smashes Gilga's face into the stage, sending blood flying. The robots grab him, their metal hands clamping down with mechanical precision. Boa struggles against their hold, but the robots respond by releasing an intense electrical shock, sending agonizing volts through his body.
Boa screams in pain, the shock overwhelming him, but the robots keep their grip firm, pinning him to the floor, intending to shock him to death. Gilga, still dazed, watches as the robots tend to his injuries, a sinister smirk creeping onto his face.
"Stop it!" Gilga commands sharply, glaring at the robots. "Don't give him the death he wants. He doesn't need a honorable death by the hands of us nobles! He needs to suffer!" His eyes burns with malice. "Lock him up in the slums! Let him rot in the cells or die in the mines. There's no honor in that!"