Being a Cosplay Big Shot in the World of Honkai Impact 3rd

Chapter 12: Kiana's Mom

"Have you made up your mind?" The System's confident tone made Li Pu feel like it had been waiting for him to return.

"A prodigal son's return is always welcome."

If he could see more than just a simple interface, Li Pu felt he would surely see a face that might be a little arrogant, believing its calculations to be irrefutable.

"Are you so sure I want to cross-dress?" Li Pu retorted. "I just want contact information."

"Also, I want to know about that character quest, 'No One Understands King Arthur Better Than I Do'."

"If I cosplay King Arthur from the Old Sword, or learn about the real King Arthur."

"Would that count as completing this character quest? At least it would improve the completion rate."

As Li Pu said this, the System fell silent.

The System interface didn't change much, but Li Pu felt his guess was correct.

It was just as he had imagined. According to the general plot progression of novels, although the protagonist would be tricked by the System, they wouldn't necessarily be completely outmaneuvered.

The System would set traps for the protagonist but also leave some minor details incomplete, giving the protagonist a chance to make a comeback.

In this new generation of unconventional System novels, the mutual game between the System and the protagonist is also a highlight.

Now that he was the protagonist in a System novel, this seemingly laid-back System and its quest settings...

Didn't they also leave him some capital and loopholes to play against the System?

It seemed that way now.

"If you put it that way..." The System finally spoke with some hesitation, even mixed with awkwardness and forbearance. "You're not wrong."

"Because it's labeled King Arthur, the King Arthur of historical records, Arthur Pendragon, Artoria Pendragon, are all King Arthur."

"It even includes various King Arthurs represented by the King Arthur from Transformers."

The System really hadn't expected Li Pu to bring these points up.

"So, there will be some improvement in the character quest completion progress," the System said sulkily. "You can do it this way too."

"Not 'can do it'," Li Pu said confidently when he heard the System's voice become weaker. "It's 'definitely can', because the quest gives me 'I understand King Arthur very well', not 'I understand Artoria Pendragon very well'."

"So, understanding means a specific, three-dimensional, complete character."

"From the prototype to its derivatives, you need to know everything."

"Therefore, Nasu Kinoko's King Arthur is just one part of the scope of understanding, not the entirety."

"Right?!"

"Yes..." The System never expected Li Pu to be able to analyze these things. This guy was so quiet. Why did it feel like his intelligence had suddenly come online?

"Well, that's good," Li Pu nodded and said. "What I want is not just those cosplay group chat groups."

"I also want research groups."

"I can give you that," the System said. "You should be able to join the cosplay groups, but the research groups are harder to say."

"Why?" Li Pu felt a bit surprised. Didn't the System say it could help him? Why was it creating difficulties now? But he quickly realized his question was uninspired.

Why would the System wholeheartedly help him? It wouldn't create difficulties for him!

How could that be!

"The threshold! The entry threshold," the System said. "The entry thresholds are different for cosplay groups and research groups."

"The entry threshold for the former isn't too high; if you have looks, money, or skill, and if you lack all three, then passion will do."

"As for the latter, being research groups, it's about solid knowledge in professional fields."

"Putting aside the Bed King, a character from fan creation, for the real King Arthur."

"And the historical period, historical background, and cultural background of King Arthur."

"Do you understand?!"

The System's question left Li Pu unable to answer. Apart from the Bed King, Li Pu didn't really understand the real King Arthur. And even for the Bed King.

Li Pu wasn't particularly knowledgeable either.

"So, if you want to join a cosplay group, it's relatively simple," the System said. "But for research groups, I can tell you directly."

"You can't! At least not in your current state of knowing nothing when asked, you definitely can't!"

"Of course, if you're willing to start poring over materials and reading historical texts from now on."

"There's still a chance."

"Oh..." Li Pu thought about it. Research groups would indeed be troublesome.

He wasn't even an enthusiast right now, so it would be very difficult to join their professional groups. However, since the System said that cosplayers could also complete the character quests.

"Then I'll join a cosplayer team first," Li Pu said. "I'll look into the professional knowledge later."

"Okay," the System said. "I've already selected three cosplayer groups for you. The QR codes and group numbers have all been sent to your phone. You can decide when to join."

"Mhm," Li Pu planned to exit the System and check out these groups.

"Also, congratulations," the System suddenly spoke, calling out to Li Pu. "Congratulations. The completion progress of the hidden quest 'No One Understands the System Better Than I Do' has increased by 1%."

"Quest reward: 'One Lucky Draw Opportunity'."

"Oh?!" Li Pu became a bit excited. "A hidden quest? There are quests like that?"

"Of course," the System replied. "If you understand the King, you should naturally understand your own System. This is a hidden quest that began the moment the System matched with you."

"Then why didn't you say so earlier?" Li Pu retorted. "There's actually a quest like this."

"If I had said so, it wouldn't be a hidden quest," the System said. "Now you can choose to draw once. Do you want to draw for a character? Equipment? Or a side quest?"

"Hehehe~" Li Pu rubbed his hands together. "Looks like my luck is finally turning around. Am I starting to get lucky?"

Regardless of what this hidden quest was all about, at least he had a chance to draw now.

It's better to get something for free than nothing.

"Draw for a character!" Li Pu said without hesitation. "I definitely need to draw a man this time."

Drawing a character was, in Li Pu's opinion, far more beneficial to his own improvement than equipment. After all, the scope of equipment draws was very broad, including aircraft, cars, tanks, individual combat equipment, sci-fi equipment, and a series of other things.

If he drew something he couldn't use, he might not be able to hide it.

Compared to that, characters, aside from the embarrassing transformation skill, were much more practical.

It was similar to last time; he casually drew a pentagram and waited to see what character card he would draw this time.

As the final white light flashed.

"Character: Cecilia Schariac."

"Character Quest Activated: No One Understands Cecilia Better Than I Do."

"Normal Quest Activated: Mother's Love."

Chapter 13: This is Role-Playing

202X, Month O, Day X. Nothing happened today.

Literally.

Li Pu finally had his first day of slacking off since coming to this world. He used to be either interviewing or on his way to an interview, day after day, year after year.

There was almost no time to rest.

Without a job, there was no source of income. Without income, his increasingly shriveled wallet and expenses like rent, food, internet, phone bills, transportation, water, electricity, property management fees, and a series of other fixed expenditures were like death knells, urging Li Pu not to stop. He was constantly trembling under the shadow of imminent starvation and homelessness.

Now that he finally had a job, and was fortunate enough to receive a bonus.

At least for a very long time in the future, he wouldn't have to worry about starving or not being able to pay rent.

Although he slacked off a bit at work today, it wasn't too blatant. He actually went to the cafeteria to see if he could find any opportunities for promotion and wealth.

Of course, there were none.

It was as if his good luck had been used up; this trip to the cafeteria yielded nothing.

Whether it was the cafeteria's food, its hygiene, or the kitchen's control over ingredients, everything was commendable, and Li Pu couldn't find any flaws.

As expected of a famous private aristocratic girls' school.

Judging solely by its hardware facilities, it truly lived up to that title.

There was nothing to do at work, but there was something to do after work.

Because he happened to run into the offline gathering of a COS group.

"So he went to attend an offline anime COS gathering?"

Otto, who had been watching Li Pu, held his coffee cup and tasted it elegantly. "Can't you tell from this? He's actually an anime fan."

"If I recall correctly," Otto seemed to have thought of something. "COSplay seems to be quite expensive."

Otto felt that his memory was correct; COSplay wasn't exactly a budget-friendly hobby.

COSplay costumes, shoes, props, and cosmetics – all of these things were not cheap. If COSplay costumes, shoes, and props could be found ready-made in reality, it would be fine.

If not, they could only be custom-made, and the price of custom orders was also not cheap.

If you also factored in hiring photographers, makeup artists, and hairstylists, it would be even more expensive.

Of course, if you were just doing it for fun and novelty, it was manageable and didn't require much spending.

But if you delved deeper, focused on accuracy, and did it often.

Then it wasn't just a matter of a little money.

"Is he just a shut-in, or is he just pretending to be one?" Otto couldn't quite tell. "Is he a veteran otaku, or is he just superficially interested?"

"If we were to create a Herrscher who is a deep anime otaku."

"This would be for our plan..."

It was hard to say. Otto was a bit hesitant. "The Herrscher plan that possesses a human heart – could a love for anime be considered one of those human hearts?"

"He's really a troublesome person."

"Go watch him, Rita," Otto finally decided. "I need constant updates on his every move."

"Yes, Lord Otto," a maid said with a slight bow. "Lord Otto, the World Defense Organization wishes to speak with you. They are quite displeased with Schicksal's recent actions."

"Have you decided how to handle this? Will our plan remain a secret?"

"The plan needs to remain a secret," Otto said. "Just connect the call."

"You don't need to worry about the rest, Rita!"

"Yes, Lord Otto." Rita said no more, bowed slightly, nodded, and quickly exited Otto's office.

Inside a maid cafe.

"What a rip-off! This Welfare Ji looks nothing like her photos!" Li Pu exclaimed in disappointment as soon as he entered. It wasn't the maid cafe he was disappointed with, but the people he was about to meet.

The first person he saw was the photographer who had posted the photos and selfies and was also the organizer of the event.

Besides him, the girls sitting next to him were likely the Welfare Jis.

Yes, the kind of Welfare Jis everyone understood.

The COS community isn't entirely clean. It's not that all COSers are Welfare Jis, but that there's no shortage of Welfare Jis within the COS community.

Li Pu wasn't someone with social anxiety, but he wasn't particularly enthusiastic either. Compared to social butterflies, his social skills weren't that strong; they were just passable.

If he had nothing else to do, he preferred staying home.

As for the matter of Welfare Jis, this wasn't Li Pu randomly guessing or maliciously speculating. The group the System had provided him with was precisely these people who were about to hold a new round of offline gatherings to discuss new COS activities.

That was the situation.

It wasn't just simple COS; those girls were Welfare Jis.

This wasn't Li Pu's speculation, nor a disappointed outburst. These were Welfare Jis whose IDs could be found on Blue Bird's special recommendations.

If it weren't for this, Li Pu wouldn't have come to participate.