Version Update

Han Jiang crouched on the ground and sulked for a while. Thankfully, they had only been monitoring the communication channel. If the fact that he had a system were exposed, he would probably end up being dissected for research.

There were quite a few Deadwalkers in the group Yae Sakura had taken out. With a single glance, Han Jiang spotted two Imperial Guard Deadwalkers.

Ever since evolving the Muramasa of Bizen, Han Jiang had developed a habit of collecting Deadwalker Claws.

What if the system rewarded him with another weapon someday? Wouldn't he then have materials for evolution?

The claws of Imperial Guard Deadwalkers were better than ordinary ones. Han Jiang walked straight toward the corpse of one.

The instant he raised his blade, a line of small text appeared on the Imperial Guard Deadwalker's body.

"Schicksal Soldier Core. Collect/Abandon."

Han Jiang's eyes lit up, and he tapped Collect.

The system inventory he had discovered alongside the weapon illustration changed. The number of Deadwalker Claws in storage rose from five to six.

So far, Han Jiang had only discovered two types of items that could be stored.

Deadwalker Claws and steel—both were materials he had used to evolve the Muramasa of Bizen.

"I can actually loot corpses?"

The first time Han Jiang obtained a Schicksal Soldier Core, it had directly "dropped" from a Deadwalker. He had instinctively assumed that cores could only be personally "dropped" from them.

Since he had killed too few Imperial Guard Deadwalkers, he could not determine whether the drop rate was one hundred percent.

Now, it seemed that Deadwalkers at the Imperial Guard level all possessed Schicksal Soldier Cores.

Han Jiang happily began searching for Deadwalker corpses with cores. The joy of finding cores washed away his regret over not receiving Evolution Points.

Among the Deadwalker group, Han Jiang happened to find four cores—just enough to meet the material requirements for evolving Stigmata: Hundred Refinements.

"Domain Gear (D-rank, Hundred Refinements). Can evolve. Materials required: 100 Evolution Points, ten Schicksal Soldier Cores."

Han Jiang happily tapped the evolution button on the system page. The ten Schicksal Soldier Cores began to spin, gradually merging into the Domain Gear before finally emitting a golden glow.

When the Domain Gear finished evolving, the system went completely dark.

System Version 1.0.1.

This update:

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Fixed several known issues.

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Illustration System unlocked.

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Inventory System unlocked.

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Supply System unlocked.

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Equipment Crafting System unlocked.

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System interface optimized.

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The remaining features are for the host to explore.

This update will undergo maintenance for 72 hours. Should special circumstances arise, the system may become available ahead of schedule. If the maintenance period is extended, further notice will be given.

"???"

Han Jiang's face darkened. This was what the system called evolution? Update maintenance?

After hesitating for a moment, Han Jiang turned serious.

This system was far too heartless. It updated whenever it pleased, without even giving notice. No matter how he tried, Han Jiang could not summon the system interface in his mind.

Then Han Jiang tried using Hokushin Itto-ryu. It was fine—there was not the slightest sense of unfamiliarity. The skill had already become something that belonged to him.

Stigmata: Hundred Refinements could not be activated. Only the academy-customized armor could start up, leaving him without part of his combat boost.

When he fully released his Honkai Energy, the "Burst" trait was still there. It had not disappeared just because the system was under maintenance.

"Wait?"

Han Jiang pondered for a moment, then summoned the armor's chip, which displayed a virtual keyboard.

Han Jiang remembered that after obtaining the academy-customized armor, Hundred Refinements had become something like a plug-in function. That meant the Hundred Refinements armor could transfer data and add some of its functions to the academy armor.

Han Jiang began operating the keyboard. Sure enough, he found core data related to Hundred Refinements in the chip.

"Begin transfer."

Following Han Jiang's command, the boost from activating both sets of armor at the same time returned, just as it had before the system update.

"Good thing it didn't disappear completely. If the system vanishes someday, at least I won't return to being an ordinary person." Han Jiang breathed a sigh of relief.

The practical combat training of killing Deadwalkers still had to continue. Han Jiang found a nearby Deadwalker gathering point on the virtual map.

He tried fighting without the system. It would be bad if he became too dependent on it in the future.

All afternoon, Han Jiang kept feeling that something was off.

It was not because he could not view the system panel, but rather a strange feeling in both body and mind that he could not quite put into words.

After returning to the dorm that night, Han Jiang fell asleep as soon as he lay down on the bed.

In his dream, Han Jiang walked through a void without a beginning or an end, as though he would keep walking until the end of time.

Meanwhile, in the dorm, Han Jiang was drenched in sweat. His body curled up as he tightly hugged his blanket like a patient with a fever.

Han Jiang did not know how long he had walked in the dream before he saw a faint light at the end of the road. Dragging his heavy feet, he continued toward it.

After an unknown amount of time, Han Jiang woke up.

The room's lights seemed to be on. Han Jiang shielded his eyes with the back of one hand while reaching toward the bedside table with the other.

"What the hell?"

Han Jiang shouted. Instead of touching the alarm clock on the bedside table, his palm was pricked by something sharp.

As his eyes adjusted to the light and his vision gradually returned, Han Jiang discovered that he was no longer in his dorm.

Above him was a tree canopy blocking out the sun, while his right hand gripped a battered fox mask.

No wonder Han Jiang had cried out. His mind was still muddled from waking up, and he had nearly mistaken the fox mask for half of someone's head.

"Where is this?" Han Jiang looked around. Could Himeko have thrown him into a forest to test his survival skills?

"Theresa?"

Han Jiang saw an unconscious Theresa beneath another tree.

Theresa's eyelashes trembled slightly as she slowly sat up from the ground. Rubbing one eye with one hand and yawning, she asked, "Where is this? Wasn't I asleep on the Hyperion?"

"You're... Himeko's student, Han Jiang?" Theresa asked when she noticed Han Jiang in the distance.

Han Jiang nodded. If he was not mistaken, the two of them had entered Yae Sakura's Stigmata Space.

"Why are you here? What is this place? Why can't we contact the Hyperion or Himeko and the others?" Theresa fired off three questions in a row.

"Why is the principal here? Shouldn't you be at the academy managing the students?" Han Jiang asked in return.

Theresa wrinkled her little nose. "Brat, how could I rest easy while you were out here doing practical combat training?"

"On the morning of your second day here, I flew the Hyperion out. It's still hovering directly above Changkong City."

"You students really don't give people any peace of mind. Over the past few days, I secretly landed several times and stopped large groups of Honkai Beasts outside the perimeter of your practical training area."

"Did you really think those Deadwalkers and Honkai Beasts just happened to gather together in exactly the right numbers?" Theresa crossed her arms, looking extremely smug, practically begging to be praised.

"Principal, you've worked hard. I'll train diligently and study hard. In the future, I'll join a Valkyrie squad and eliminate the Honkai!" Han Jiang said perfunctorily, while wondering why he had entered the Stigmata Space.

"Could it be because Yae Sakura and I had brief contact?" Han Jiang muttered, pinching his chin. "It's not impossible."

"What did you say?" Theresa asked loudly.

Han Jiang shook his head. "I said Principal Theresa is the best principal in the world. Principal, do you have a way to get me out of here?"

Theresa patted her chest and swung an arm grandly. "With me here, just relax!"

"There's nothing I can't solve." In order to establish a mature and dependable image before her student, Theresa made that very confident declaration.