Starborn and the Burnt World
High above the stratosphere, suspended beyond the winds and the reach of any fallen nation, a colossal orbital ship floated in silence. From one of its panoramic windows, the view was devastating: a quarter of the Earth was blackened, covered in scars of destruction that would never heal. What was once the deep blue of the oceans now glowed with a toxic green hue, as if the sea itself had been poisoned. The natural divisions of the continents no longer displayed green forests or fertile brown lands; only shades of gray, ochre, and ash remained—as if the entire planet was rotting slowly beneath a crust of death.
A man watched that image without blinking. He slowly swirled a crystal glass, the liquid inside glowing with a pure blue radiance: distilled mana, extracted from the vials humans desperately collected to pay their tribute to the elves. A clear symbol of who were now the masters—and who the cattle.
The man was plump, with long, perfectly styled blond hair. Although his physique was that of a sedentary, pampered individual, his facial features were so refined and harmonious that it seemed the gods themselves had sculpted him. His ears were only slightly longer than a common human's—just enough to betray his lineage. On his wrists and fingers, he wore glowing magical rings and bracelets, and his clothing was made of a fabric unknown to Earth: so fine, so unreal, it seemed to capture light itself.
"Lord Donovan," said a voice behind him. A soldier had stopped firmly at the door, his silver helmet hiding his face completely, and his uniform bore a distinctly futuristic military design. "The envoys from the Federation are here."
"Let them in."
Just seconds later, the doors opened with automatic precision. Two figures entered the room. The first, a man in a greenish-blue robe, walked with regal poise. His blond hair was tied in a low ponytail, his face even more beautiful than Donovan's. A metallic insignia hung from his chest—a symbol of the power he represented. Behind him walked an escort soldier whose uniform was more greenish than the others on the ship: a clear sign that he answered directly to the Federation.
"Greetings, supervisor of planet 1552-T," said the man in the robe. "You know why I'm here. Would you care to explain why, once again, one of the planets under your supervision is losing so many mana resources every year?"
Donovan smiled, as if hearing a joke he'd heard too many times.
"Char, always a pleasure. I'm starting to think your annual visit is just part of our protocol. You know the answer: I do everything I can to keep the tributes on time, but I always get the rebellious planets. If they won't pay willingly… then they'll pay by force."
Char stared at him in silence for a few seconds, then frowned.
"Five planets, Donovan. You've supervised five. Four of them ended up extinct. The Federation doesn't just want resources—it wants sustainability. We can't go exploring dangerous worlds every cycle just because you let the species go extinct."
"I send the mana on time, don't I? I've even sent scouts to locate new usable planets. What does it matter if the current ones collapse?"
"It matters because the energy of the universe is finite," Char said, barely containing his anger. "If you keep the species alive longer, we get resources for more cycles. It's common sense."
"You're the only one who cares about that, Char. The Federation has never complained about my performance."
"Do you really think your father will always be able to protect you? You know as well as I do his time as a general is almost over. I came only to give you a warning: if you keep destroying everything you touch, your sentence will be far worse."
Char turned sharply and left the room. His escort followed, but not before casting a silent look of disdain at Donovan.
Once the doors closed, the guard leaned toward Char.
"This idiotic pig is going to destroy another valuable planet," he muttered, clenching his fists.
"Can't they remove him? Fire him?"
"His father is a general. Even when he committed an unforgivable crime, all they did was assign him as a supervisor. And now, one of the Federation's most important mana sources is in his hands."
They walked quickly down the metallic corridors toward a transport platform.
"He doesn't even live on the planets he supervises. You know? At least the other supervisors try to protect their worlds. But him... he doesn't even pretend. He lives above them, looking down on them like trash."
They boarded a small blue vessel, and after a brief activation sequence, it shot upward in a straight line before vanishing in a bluish flash, as if it had opened a portal through the void.
Meanwhile, in the office, Donovan once again gazed at Earth. His face no longer showed contempt... but boredom.
He pressed a button on his desk.
"Increase the tribute by fifty percent. Anyone who doesn't pay on time... drain them."
"Sir... the humans on Earth are at their limit. We have the highest tribute in the Milky Way."
"I gave an order. You follow it. If you don't like it, find another job."
He cut the communication immediately. Then clicked his tongue with disdain.
"Stupid inferior creatures... Why should someone like me have to care for them? They should just turn into mana already and let me return to the Federation."
He stood, walked to a cabinet full of carefully aligned vials. He picked one of the highest quality, poured it into his glass, and took a slow sip.
"Although I must admit... their mana is excellent. It'll be a shame when they're gone."
Meanwhile, in Drunai:
Joe returned to the village accompanied by the group he had taken out for training. Every one of them had reached their first evolution… and the differences were striking.
Silver, the former kobold, now had the body of a lizardman. While his basic form remained, his scales were thicker, his tail longer and more muscular, and his height had nearly doubled. He looked tougher, wilder… and clearly stronger.
Steve, who used to be a beaver-man, came back completely transformed. His body was now made of compact, earthen material. He had evolved into a kind of clay golem, radiating a sturdy, magical presence—like a vessel designed to endure and absorb damage.
Julia, the harpy, had changed as well. Her body was now taller, her face more humanoid, and her wings—which also served as arms—had darkened until they resembled black obsidian. Her new race, Raven Witch, gave off a haunting but powerful aura. Her gaze held a latent force, as if every movement was laced with curses.
Alfred, on the other hand, looked almost exactly like he did in real life—except his skin was paler and his eyes glowed red. He had chosen an evolution called Lesser Vampire. Though his power dropped significantly under sunlight, once night fell, his stats nearly doubled. In his case, darkness wasn't a weakness—it was an ally.
Meanwhile, Rachel and Segler were still in the village. Night had begun to fall, and the two had spent the whole day hunting, which had also triggered their evolutions.
Rachel retained her spectral form but now belonged to a new race: Poltergeist. Her appearance hadn't changed much—still a translucent young spirit—but her powers had intensified, especially her ability to possess objects and weaponize them.
Segler, in contrast, had shed his zombie form to become a ghoul. At first glance, he still looked like an animated corpse, but his claws were longer, his teeth sharper, and his movements far quicker. Unlike his previous self, he now had a clear predatory instinct.
"Wow, Alfred… you look sexy," Rachel said the moment she saw Joe's group approaching.
"Thank you," Alfred replied with his usual gentlemanly tone.
"You really should stop reading those vampire romance books," Segler muttered, avoiding eye contact. "They're giving you weird ideas."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Someone's jealous because they picked a gross race," Rachel teased, spinning around him like a drifting leaf.
"Yeah, sure..." Segler grumbled, visibly irritated.
A few minutes later, Sig arrived with two new players who had recently joined the world. She had just guided them through their first evolution. Both were plain white skeletons, identical to the point it was impossible to tell them apart.
"Steve, perfect timing," Sig said. "Meet the twins, Tom and Tim. They'll be helping you starting tomorrow."
"Great," Steve replied with a slight nod. He already knew them from real life, so their addition was natural.
Meanwhile, Sig walked over to the campfire where Loli and Bert were sitting. Loli was chatting as Bert tried to create talismans using the makeshift scrolls they'd crafted.
"I did it!" Bert shouted as he stood up, visibly excited. The paper worked. The system recognized it as a valid material.
"Well, looks like it was worth it after all," Sig said with a smile.
"We can evolve now. I want to see what we turn into," Loli said eagerly.
"Sorry for the delay," Sig apologized, smiling. "I got a bit sidetracked."
They had agreed to evolve at the same time, but Sig had gotten held up helping one of her workers. Then Joe had sent her another beast core, so she repeated the process with the twins. That's why Tom and Tim were with her now.
"So, what did you pick?" Loli asked, excited.
"Succubus," Sig answered calmly. "My base race was 'lesser,' which annoyed me... and the other options were 'Witch' and 'Hypnotic,' but they didn't really click. 'Succubus' sounds better. Classier."
"I'm sticking to the astral path," Loli said with a big smile. "I have three options: Estellara, Solar Flare, and Moonwalker. They all sound amazing… but Estellara keeps a humanoid form and, according to the description, she's super pretty. So I'm going with that one."
They both turned to Bert, who looked pensive.
"I actually have two evolution options that would work for me, but there's one in particular that caught my eye... and it seems special," he said, a little more seriously.
"Which one?" Loli asked, intrigued.
"Remember when Dean showed up as a dark elf, and we thought he looked way too much like, well… the elven overlords?" Bert looked at them calmly. "Well, one of my evolution choices is exactly that: 'Elf.'"
"Those bastards?" Sig asked, raising an eyebrow.
Bert nodded. "It gives better bonuses for crafting magical items. In my case, talismans. And a stronger affinity for magic overall. It's clearly better than the other two… but yeah, it's an elf."
"I think if you pick that, all the human players will want to lynch you," Sig said, half joking, half serious.
"I know. But I can't deny it's the best option I have," Bert admitted, fully aware of why humans hated elves. After all, they'd conquered them, reduced them to tribute... to livestock.
"Just pick it," Loli said casually. "Worst case, you wear a bunny helmet until your next evolution."
"Yeah, exactly," Sig added. "Especially if it gives you a real magical edge."
"I really don't want to get lynched..." Bert muttered, though deep down, he knew he didn't have much of a choice. "Whatever. We need better evolutions if we want to collect more mana cores."
"Then, on the count of three," said Loli, glowing with excitement. "One… two… three!"
All three pressed their panels at the same time. It was time to evolve.
📜 STATUS PANEL – BERT
───────────────────────────────
Name: Bert
Level: 20 | Race Level: 2
Race: Elf (Magic-Focused)
Title: Artisan
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STATS
• Health: 635
• Mana: 490.0 (Base 100 + 7.5 × 52 INT)
• Damage: 5
↳ Physical: 5 | Magic: 52
• Defense: 5
• Strength: 48
• Endurance: 47
• Intelligence: 52
• Speed: 86
• Dexterity: 329
• Luck: 4 (static)
• EXP: 0 / 50,000
───────────────────────────────
ABILITIES
🌠 Profession Growth (Passive)
🌿 Keen Sight – Level 1
🌿 Mana Thread – Level 1
🌿 Whispering Nature – Level 1
🌠 Mana Control – Level 1
🌠 Inscription Hands – Level 1
───────────────────────────────
PROFESSIONS
🔹 Talisman Maker – Level 3 (Novice)
EXP: 50 / 1500
📜 STATUS PANEL – SIG
───────────────────────────────
Name: Sig
Level: 20 | Race Level: 2
Race: Royal Succubus (Illusion / Control Type)
Title: Manipulator
───────────────────────────────
STATS
• Health: 390
• Mana: 1557.5 (Base 200 + 7.5 × 181 INT)
• Damage: 7
↳ Physical: 7 | Magic: 90.5
• Defense: 8
• Strength: 65
• Endurance: 70
• Intelligence: 181
• Speed: 64
• Dexterity: 178
• Luck: 4 (static)
• EXP: 50 / 50,000
───────────────────────────────
ABILITIES
🌠 Body Swap – Illusion Magic
🌠 Fast Illusion Mastery – Level 1
💋 Kiss of Distraction – Level 1
💋 Allure – Level 1
💋 Mana Drain Touch – Level 1
🌠 Mana Control – Level 1
───────────────────────────────
PROFESSIONS
🔹 Puppeteer – Level 2 (Novice)
EXP: 0 / 1000
📜 STATUS PANEL – LOLI
───────────────────────────────
Name: Loli
Level: 20 | Race Level: 2
Race: Estellara (Stellar Magic DPS Type)
Title: ⭐ Goddess of Fortune ⭐
───────────────────────────────
STATS
• Health: 390
• Mana: 1925.0 (Base 200 + 7.5 × 230 INT)
• Damage: 3
↳ Physical: 3 | Magic: 115
• Defense: 3
• Strength: 24
• Endurance: 24
• Intelligence: 230
• Speed: 123
• Dexterity: 159
• Luck: 10 (max.)
• EXP: 0 / 50,000
───────────────────────────────
ABILITIES
🌠 Fairy Luck – Blessing Magic
Type: Active (Buff)
Mana: 20 | Cooldown: 60 s
Effect: Temporarily multiplies user's luck for 10 seconds.
Bonus: All rolls and drop chances are affected during duration.
🌠 Echo of the Star
Type: Passive (Astral)
Effect: Every time a star-type spell is cast, it leaves behind an illusory replica that hits a second nearby target for 20% of the original damage.
Bonus: Does not consume additional mana and cannot replicate itself.
🌠 Stellar Nova – Level 1
Type: Star Spell (Fire)
Mana: 30 | Cooldown: 3.0 s | EXP to Lv. 2: 50 / 100
Effect: Summons a miniature starburst that explodes on contact.
Damage: 0.5 × INT
Bonus: Burns target for 2 s.
🌠 Falling Star – Level 1
Type: Star Spell (Impact)
Mana: 20 | Cooldown: 2.5 s
Effect: Calls down a small comet that stuns light enemies.
Damage: 0.4 × INT
Bonus: 20% chance to stagger on hit.
🌠 Starfall Ray – Level 1
Type: Star Spell (Piercing Beam)
Mana: 25 | Cooldown: 2.8 s | EXP to Lv. 2: 0 / 100
Effect: Fires a concentrated beam of stellar energy in a straight line, piercing up to 3 enemies.
Damage: 0.6 × INT
Bonus: Pierced enemies lose -10% magical DEF for 5 s.
───────────────────────────────
PROFESSIONS
🔹 Cook – Level 5 (Novice)
EXP: 0 / 1000
Effect: Unlocks beginner-tier mana snacks, small buff meals, and special fortune-based cooking results.