Awakening (Continued)

Looks like that really was the case.

Just moments ago, after defeating the Herrscher of Thunder, Lin Yu had inevitably gotten a little carried away.

After all, his enemy had been a Herrscher. He felt that beating such an opponent... did give him the right to be a little proud.

But the system's words were like a bucket of cold water dumped over Lin Yu's head...

No, that had been far too stimulating. It was more like a truckload of ice being smashed onto him.

No matter how inflated Lin Yu had been, he calmed down immediately.

Part of his victory had indeed come from his own strength, but that did not mean he could ignore the other factors.

Siegfried had weakened the Herrscher's power and, to a certain extent, disrupted her state of mind.

The HSN Serum developed by Dr. Mags and delivered to Lin Yu by Rita under Otto's orders had weakened some of the terrifying Honkai Energy inside him, strengthened his Honkai Energy Resistance, and given him the qualifications to face the Herrscher of Thunder.

If he ignored those factors and started getting full of himself, treating defeating the Herrscher as his achievement alone...

Ha. The faster he swelled up, the worse he would die.

Which of the people the system had mentioned was not a uniquely gifted genius and powerhouse? Which of them was not an outstanding warrior hardened by countless battles and brimming with combat experience?

Treating them like the Herrscher of Thunder, a powerful rookie with nothing but strength and lacking the proper mindset and experience... only an idiot would do that.

This world was still dangerous. He needed to watch his words and actions in the future.

Otherwise, if he died somewhere along the way, the others might not even get the chance to collect his body.

Additionally, the rewards have been sent to your mailbox. Please collect them yourself.

Ha... I just remembered, there really is a mechanism like that.

Now he was completely relieved. With that "reminder," he had indeed survived a life-or-death crisis.

Completely at ease, Lin Yu opened his mailbox.

Ding! The rewards collected by the host this time are: (Special Item—Special Ten-Consecutive Draw Ticket), (Special Item—Advanced Skill Book Lottery Ticket).

(Special Item—Special Ten-Consecutive Draw Ticket)—A special item obtained upon completing a difficult mission. The holder may consume this item to conduct one ten-consecutive draw. This ten-consecutive draw is guaranteed to produce three advanced items.

The moment Lin Yu saw this item, bitterness welled up in his heart.

It was not that the item was bad. Honestly, it was far better than the previous beginner's ten-consecutive draw, which had only one guaranteed reward.

But the problem was...

System!

Explain yourself!

Why are there two rewards again?

Well... ahem, wait a moment.

After raising your question, smart, handsome, dashing, and charming you have already discovered the truth.

You're suddenly praising me. That just makes me more nervous.

The Special Ten-Consecutive Draw Ticket is an item only obtained by completing difficult missions, while the Advanced Skill Book Lottery Ticket is already an old friend that needs no introduction, so...

That's enough. You don't need to say any more.

Already drained of strength, Lin Yu looked at the two items and felt his legs go weak.

Ah, this is really enough.

I just survived one crisis. Why has another crisis appeared already?

Although you were dissatisfied by the emergence of a new survival crisis, you quickly pulled yourself together.

Having always relied on yourself, you told yourself—the system was unreliable. The only thing you could rely on was yourself!

No, even if you try to encourage me this way, I...

Forget it. Let's draw.

After listlessly using the Special Ten-Consecutive Draw Ticket, Lin Yu saw ten streaks of white light appear before him.

Then, before his eyes, three of those streaks suddenly erupted with purple light, and the final item changed from purple to gold.

Let me look at the earlier ones first... aaah, it's another pile of junk.

But seriously, why does expired milk from three years ago and spoiled raw meat still say, "Special ability users can recover stamina by consuming this"? Are you sure this stuff can even be eaten?

It can. One host trained by a senior system of mine possessed a related ability that allowed him to consume such food without suffering side effects.

Did he eat it?

Of course not—he was a Magnetic Field Expert. He could restore his own health and stamina, so why would he eat that stuff?

Then what the hell was the point of saying that?

I really don't know whether you're doing this on purpose or by accident.

After finishing his rant, Lin Yu looked toward the final three items.

The first item was a purple Skill Book: Advanced Honkai Energy Resistance.

Advanced Honkai Energy Resistance (World-Exclusive Skill)—After use, replaces the prerequisite skill. It ensures that the skill holder's body will not be eroded by Honkai Energy when encountering a large-scale Honkai outbreak.

Very good. It isn't an active skill, but this is exactly what I need.

The reason I succeeded this time, in the end, was still because I got lucky. Otto actually gave me a vial of HSN Serum.

The next time I go out, I won't be this lucky.

And Changkong City... damn, I had been wound up too tightly before. I just remembered that there seem to be other powerful enemies there.

Not counting the awakened K423, both Herrscher of Poison Yunai and Corrosion Herrscher Ling of the Previous Era are in Changkong City.

And now that I knocked Mei unconscious, won't the remaining Honkai Energy become theirs???

I think I know what crisis I'll have to face next...

Forget it. I'll look at the second one first.

A Skill Book: Energy Conversion?

Energy Conversion—After using this skill, various types of special energy can be converted into another type of special energy.

Note: The prerequisite for converting one type of energy into another is mastering the properties of both corresponding energies.

Note 2: Universal baseline energies shared across all dimensions, such as electricity, do not fall within the scope of this skill.

It looks pretty damn impressive, but the problem is...

How much special energy do I even have that I can use? (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

Didn't you say the things I drew would most likely suit me?

Why do I feel like this skill is completely useless to me right now?

How about you take a look at the third one?

Prompted by the system, Lin Yu looked at the third reward.

Before his eyes, a stone fragment slowly fell from within the golden light.

Simply staring at the emerald-green fragment, Lin Yu could feel...

The fragment before him was radiating waves that made people deeply uncomfortable.

Special Equipment—Void Magic Stone Fragment (11Eyes)

Equipment Description—A product created after the Void Magic Stone originally belonging to the witch "Liselotte Wulfmeier of Lust" was split apart. This fragment's former holder was Minase Yuka. Equipping it grants the corresponding special abilities.

Special Ability (Magic Supply)—Even after being split apart, the Void Magic Stone Fragment possesses considerable magic supply capabilities.

Special Ability (Mental Attack Resistance)—Due to this fragment's properties, the holder can resist most mental attacks. Those whose attacks are resisted will not realize that their attacks have failed.

Special Ability (Phantasm Lantern Barrier)—Through special magic, manifests all of the target's thoughts and past memories, then pulls the target into a special barrier.

Note: This ability can rewrite part of the target's cognition. The success rate depends on the difference in strength between both parties.

Note 2: Using this barrier can, to a certain extent, weaken the energy intensity of areas, people, and creatures within the barrier.

Note 3: Do not overuse this ability. Exceeding your limits for too long while using it will cause the user to vanish from the world entirely.

Staring at the fragment that continued to emit those unpleasant waves, Lin Yu fell into deep thought.

If I combine that Energy Conversion skill with this equipment, I can actively generate Honkai Energy for battle.

And if the other skills are used properly, they could be very useful as well.

That final note scares me a little, but the key issue right now is...

Mental attack defense, cognitive rewriting, ability nullification, energy intensity weakening...

System, isn't this fragment meant to let me counter Otto?

System, isn't this fragment meant to let me counter Otto?

The moment Lin Yu said that, he immediately heard the system's response.

If possible, this system hopes the host will not treat Mr. Otto as some comedic character who can be casually toyed with and killed.

I never treated him like that kind of comedic character—I'm still worried he'll find a chance to kill me.

As for why you drew this fragment, this system can only say that the lottery module judged this item to be relatively suitable for you among the prizes in the pool.

Give me a break.

The earlier skills came from martial artists, demon hunters, and mercenary fighters. Their entire focus was strengthening frontal combat.

And now some magic-based equipment pops up. Are you sure this thing really suits me?

Whether the initial skills determine the path you take afterward depends on you.

This system cannot explain that either—after all, this was an item selected by the lottery module's judgment. It is not under this system's control.

Fine, fair enough.

Then I have a question—can this thing block Feathered Dust's mental attacks?

Give me a break. This magic stone is merely one small piece out of the seven fragments of the original Emerald Tablet fragment, the "Voidpower Gem." You would need the complete magic stone and its holder here before that could even be discussed.

...I was thinking too much.

But it can definitely block that imitation thing Otto has, which is inferior to the original Feathered Dust.

After all, although this is only one of the seven fragments, it is the magic-enhancing fragment used to activate the Phantasm Lantern Barrier. One could say that part of the legendary witch Liselotte Wulfmeier's illusionary prowess is already attached to the fragment.

You deliberately scared me by only telling me half of it, didn't you?

But thinking about it carefully, that made sense. Otto's Feathered Dust had been broken before.

In the Otherworld manga, Muryotousuke, who had the alien Shoggoth ally Mint Candy, had easily broken free from Feathered Dust's control with his ally's power and deceived Otto.

And when Welt Yang met Muryotousuke, he sensed an oppressive presence from him equivalent to a Judgment-class Honkai Beast. Working backward from that, one could roughly infer that Muryotousuke and Mint Candy together possessed strength around that of a Judgment-class Honkai Beast.

But that did not mean one needed Judgment-class strength to break free from Simulated Feathered Dust's control.

Otto had used a golden feather against Muryotousuke, yet when Mint Candy devoured that golden feather, Otto—a powerhouse capable of suppressing Herrschers—had not sensed even the slightest energy fluctuation.

From that, Otto's Simulated Feathered Dust was, to Mint Candy, the kind of minor problem that could be easily solved without using much power.

Of course, it was also possible that Otto had viewed Muryotousuke as an ordinary person and therefore had not driven Simulated Feathered Dust at full power.

But the Void Magic Stone Fragment in Lin Yu's hands was powerful enough, and he himself was genuinely an ordinary person...

Well, without equipment and skills, he really was not much stronger than an ordinary person.

Under those circumstances, it was not strange that Otto's feather would be useless against him.

Additionally, although I have already reminded you, this system must say it once more.

Do not overuse this ability. Exceeding your limits for too long while using it will cause the user to vanish from the world entirely.

Yeah, I know.