In Honkai, But Integrated Strategies Activated

Flame Willow Xia Ling, her eyes now filled with a lively spirit, crouched beside her original body and poked Xia Ling's cheek with a finger.

"You don't need to... you should be able to feel my thoughts, just like I can feel yours..."

Xia Ling responded weakly.

"But, it's such a strange feeling." Looking at her own limp body on the ground, Flame Willow Xia Ling's playful side took over, and she reached out to rub her original body's soft cheek.

"Is this what it feels like to rub myself? Don't get me wrong, it feels really good..."

"It really does feel good, especially when I can feel the soft touch in my hand while my face is being rubbed... Is this empathy?"

Xia Ling also became interested, sat up from the ground, and began to test the situation face-to-face with her "other self."

"Hmm... vision and senses can be shared, but they can also be turned off. It's indeed a convenient ability."

"Thoughts can also be synchronized in real-time, and currently, there's no noticeable delay." Xia Ling, who had tied Flame Willow Xia Ling ten times in a row at rock-paper-scissors, silently put her hands down: "Otherwise, with my current level of enhancement, if acceleration were on, I should have won ten games straight."

"It's a shame there's no third person right now, otherwise, we could consider playing landlord against ourselves when we have nothing else to do."

"Don't worry, there will be soon." Flame Willow Xia Ling said confidently: "Next week, I'll show you the true value of opening Flame Willow in Sami's Roguelike."

"I think the value of what I open myself is already high enough, at least better than Old Zhou, who didn't get stuck on the third floor."

"Then, let's finish all the enhancements at once, and then we can figure out what to do next." A card appeared on Xia Ling's finger. It was the compensation she had received earlier: an Advanced Senior Operator Training Invitation.

"Come on, let me feel the power of Elite 2!" Flame Willow Xia Ling took the invitation and directly chose to use it.

Then, a burst of flames erupted, completely engulfing her.

[Host, Elite 2 requires some time. Would you like to claim the collectibles you obtained after clearing the third floor first?]

"Ah, right, I almost forgot about that."

Xia Ling, who was still experiencing the feeling of Elite 2 through empathy, quickly came to her senses. She opened the system interface, and sure enough, an email with a question mark was quietly waiting there.

Chapter 31: Xia Ling: I See Everyone As a Shooting Star Now

[By the way, Host, just a reminder, the scope for drawing collectibles here is not limited to the collectibles in Sami's Roguelike, but includes all normal collectibles from the three Roguelikes.]

"Speaking of which, what if I draw collectibles that directly increase stats or Originium Ingots?"

[You don't need to worry about that. The stats attached to the collectibles have corresponding conversion relationships with the host's physical fitness in the real world.]

[For example, Hope and Originium Ingots will be directly added to the host's assets, while HP and HP recovery correspond to the host's physical fitness, and so on.]

"I see. Then, give me some high-level collectibles, Hope. I don't have high demands, as long as they're usable." Xia Ling closed her eyes and prayed, while her finger clicked on the claim button.

[Uh... well, it's not that it's useless, exactly.]

Xia Ling opened her eyes. In front of her was a black box, but inside, apart from an indentation shaped like a gun, there was nothing else.

"Huh? The King's Set?"

The King's Set, a mediocre collectible that was mostly useless, and even when it was occasionally useful, it was difficult to salvage the situation.

Especially with the setting of automatic HP recovery for perfect clears at low HP in Sami's Roguelike, the King's Set seemed even more ridiculous.

[King's New Gun: When the user enters a near-death state, pain is automatically suppressed, and they gain complete freedom of action for a certain duration, along with a +50 attack speed bonus.]

"It looks like it's been strengthened quite a bit?"

[That's right. According to the game's description, the effect only triggers when HP is 1. However, in the real world, such a near-death state would basically leave one with no combat effectiveness. Therefore, the system has adjusted the practicality of the King's Set.]

"You know, it's actually quite suitable for someone like me who can revive. Worst case scenario, I'll blow myself up with you." Xia Ling sighed.

"Yes, and if you don't want to blow yourself up, I can help you."

Beside her, Flame Willow Xia Ling had finished her Elite 2 and was stretching her body.

"It's over?" Xia Ling looked over: "By the way, why didn't your clothes get damaged at all after burning for so long?"

"You're asking me? I don't know either?" Flame Willow Xia Ling shrugged: "Maybe that's the true value of the initial outfit?"

"Damn it, System, I want that treatment too."

[If the Host transfers the character card's abilities to the main body once, you can also have your own initial outfit.]

"Fine." Xia Ling pouted: "Right, what did you mean by helping me blow myself up? Isn't Flame Willow's ability fire?"

"Hmm... you can actually think of me as Chen Gong right now. If I wanted to, each of you would be a great hero."

"?"

"Haha, I only realized this after reaching Elite 2." Flame Willow Xia Ling flicked her tail, which was burning with flames, and handed the file from the Operator Recruitment Pack to Xia Ling: "We used Flame Willow for so long back then, but we never even read her file. Actually, her file also explains the essence of Flame Willow's abilities."

"Strictly speaking, Flame Willow's fire is just a manifestation of her abilities; it has nothing to do with fire."

As she spoke, Flame Willow Xia Ling placed a finger on Xia Ling's chest: "You'll know if you experience it yourself. You don't mind, do you?"

Xia Ling rolled her eyes: "If I minded, you wouldn't even have had the thought."

"You're right. Then, first, this."

A strange wave of Honkai Energy spread from Xia Ling's chest, and then Xia Ling felt as if all the energy in her body was surging.

"My Honkai Energy activity has increased several times?" Xia Ling was startled by the heat and restless energy emanating from her body: "No, it's not just Honkai Energy, but every cell in my body is becoming more active?"

"Yes, this is the result of me deliberately slowing down. In fact, this process could be dozens of times faster. So, what about now?"

In an instant, Xia Ling felt an explosive sensation in her left arm. In fact, her left arm had indeed begun to spontaneously combust.

"This activation process accelerates the metabolism of biological tissues, and this process will unleash energy you simply cannot control. The reaction accompanying this process is burning and explosion, just like now."

"Of course, I can accelerate this metabolic process to cause an explosion, and naturally, I can also weaken this process to achieve normal healing."

As Flame Willow Xia Ling finished speaking, the spontaneous combustion in Xia Ling's left arm quickly stopped. In its place came waves of numbness. On the burnt wound of her left arm, new flesh and blood grew continuously. Soon, apart from a more tender skin tone, Xia Ling's left arm had completely returned to its original state.

"This is truly miraculous..." Xia Ling curiously moved her left arm, marveling at it.

"Similarly, I can activate your body into that hyper-metabolic state, which is also a form of enhancement. The degree of activation depends on individual tolerance," Flame Willow Xia Ling said, playing with the flame on her tail. "This ability is the same for myself, but my tolerance is much higher."

"Then you could say you're perfectly suited for this thing," Xia Ling said, raising the King's New Gun she had just drawn. "You can directly activate yourself to a near-death state and still use this thing to fight without being affected."

"Indeed, but it can only be used as a trump card," Flame Willow Xia Ling said, looking at the description of the King's Set and shaking her head. "The activation requirement for this item is a near-death state. Activating to that extent would be irreversible, even for myself."

"Alright, then how do you feel your strength is now?"

"Very strong, I feel full of power." Flame Willow Xia Ling looked at the fiery red flames generated by the externalized Honkai Energy, and said with a smile:

"I feel that even in my current state, before I've fully mastered my abilities, I can easily defeat opponents like Yunna. In fact, due to the deceptive nature of my abilities, even a first-time opponent might suffer a great loss."

"Then, can we..." Xia Ling narrowed her eyes.

"Of course, I think my strength is enough for me to go back and cause some trouble in Changkong City. At least Raven wouldn't be able to do much to me if she didn't bring the Seven Thunders of Retribution."

[Speaking of which, I need to remind the host.]

The System spoke up at the opportune moment. Seeing both Xia Ling's gazes turn to her, the System continued:

[The host should have noticed, although all three themes of the Roguelike can now be accessed, there is still a black locked theme at the very bottom of the System's screen.]

[That black box is actually the trial for the Elysian Realm theme.]

"Hmm?" Xia Ling's eyes lit up. "The Elysian Realm theme you're talking about, is it the current World Serpent's Elysian Realm?"

[Of course not. The System will copy some of the source data from the Elysian Realm and create a simulated trial version of it for the host.]

[However, after the host clears the trial Elysian Realm, you will be able to enter the true Elysian Realm through the trial version.]

The two Xia Ling's exchanged glances, seeing the excitement and longing in each other's eyes.

"So, does this mean I can see Ai-chan?"

[That's right, but before that, the host must first find a way to activate the Elysian Realm Roguelike theme.]

"Then what's the solution? System, you're reminding us now, so it's not just a casual remark, is it?" Flame Willow Xia Ling pondered.

[Of course. I'm reminding you because this condition is something you are about to encounter.]

Chapter 32: Island-Blowing Raven Feels a Chill Down Her Spine

[The condition to unlock the Elysian Realm trial is to complete a battle with someone who has entered the Elysian Realm.]

[The intensity of the battle is not limited; it can be a sparring match, a fight to the death, or even killing the other party or being killed by them.]

"No wonder the System reminded me at this time. So it's to let us go and cause trouble for Island-Blowing Raven..."

Xia Ling mused, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"That's right, System, your reminder is quite timely. It seems we'll have to adjust our original plans regarding Changkong City accordingly."

Flame Willow Xia Ling nodded in agreement.

[...You two, I didn't create your clones for you to team up and speak in riddles to me!]

"Ahahaha..." The two Xia Ling's exchanged glances and chuckled awkwardly.

"Regarding this issue, it's mainly because I haven't fully figured it out yet... Flame Willow, what's your plan?"

"First of all, the main body definitely cannot move, and we should try to avoid any abnormalities."

Flame Willow Xia Ling gestured for the System to generate a blank sheet of paper and two pens, and began to draw and write on it.

On the paper, she first drew the island where St. Freya is located, and a chibi version of the main body Xia Ling.

"Before the main story begins, especially in the year leading up to it, it's best for the main body not to make any moves. You should also try not to get involved in those plot points, except for the Schicksal invasion and Welt's entry into the Sea of Quantum."

"I understand. This is to minimize any changes to the main story's trajectory," Xia Ling nodded. "As a transmigrator, our greatest weapon is our knowledge of the plot."

"Exactly. Our ultimate goal is to turn this imperfect story into the one we desire. Therefore, before the main story begins, we must lay sufficient groundwork without significantly altering the subsequent plot."

"First, before the main story starts, our primary objective is definitely the Elysian Realm," Flame Willow Xia Ling drew a line from Raven and the System, leading towards World Serpent. "For the current civilization, the power of the Elysian Realm is like a dimensional reduction attack. Just the backdoor related to all Divine Keys that Ver did mentioned is a huge bargaining chip."

"So, we can't be careless about this." Xia Ling looked at her other self. "This is where you, currently the strongest combatant, come in."

"Unfortunately, it's still not enough," Flame Willow Xia Ling sighed. "The strength of a regular S-rank Valkyrie is only enough for the early stages of the plot. In late-game dungeons like the Elysian Realm, it's truly hell difficulty."

"There's no other way. Whether it's me or you, growth takes time, and what we lack now is precisely time. Two years isn't too long."

"I will do my best," Flame Willow Xia Ling said solemnly. "Regarding the Academy, we can appropriately establish contact with Welt. Our persona is that of wanderers from the Sea of Quantum. We can provide Welt with some information about Kevin. On one hand, this will increase the credibility of our identities, and on the other hand, it will put Schicksal in our debt."

"Next, regarding our characters, I intend to exchange the remaining two half-price four-star and five-star characters, and at most add one to three six-star character cards."

"I think so too," Xia Ling agreed. "Abilities are about quality, not quantity. Blindly increasing the number will slow down our pace. Even a hundred Elite 0 characters would struggle to defeat any fully developed Elite 2 character."

"Any excess assets can be used to stockpile some Cipher Chips or Collapse Paradigms."

"As for the characters I've already decided to buy... it depends on my luck at the time," Flame Willow Xia Ling said, scratching her head with a bit of a headache.

"The gap between different abilities is quite large, but I'm leaning towards prioritizing arrangements in two areas: one is to make advance preparations regarding Wendy, and the other is to find a way to infiltrate Schicksal."

"And also, precautions against Kevin," Xia Ling added. "Don't forget, we aren't true traversers of the Sea of Quantum, and that identity won't hold up with Kevin."

"Perhaps Kevin wouldn't deign to explain it to others, but the possibility of him clashing with us isn't zero, in fact, it's quite high."

"Even though the system allows us to revive, as our strength increases, the assets required for revival and the characteristic of only being able to revive on the spot mean we can't act completely recklessly."

"Seriously..." Flame Willow Xia Ling slumped onto the table. "I thought I could relax for a while after getting into the academy, but now it seems there are so many things to consider."

The next morning, Xia Ling emerged from her room, looking groggy with sleep.

She had stayed up late last night making a series of plans with another version of herself. Although her body had rested during sleep, Xia Ling's spirit was indeed somewhat fatigued.

After washing up, she greeted Mei, who was already in the kitchen, and began helping her prepare breakfast.

Since Xia Ling moved in, she had taken over some of Mei's cooking duties, partly to find something to do and partly to lighten Mei's burden.

After all, Kiana alone eats as much as several people, and it took Mei several hours every day just to prepare dinner.

At first, Mei felt a bit embarrassed, but after Xia Ling used the excuse that an assistant teacher should help reduce the students' burden, Mei accepted Xia Ling's help.

"Hmm? Bronya, what's up?"

As usual, Xia Ling prepared to grab a little glutton lurking by the kitchen door, but to her surprise, she didn't catch Kiana today. Instead, she caught a Bronya.

Bronya: (? ? ?)

Under Xia Ling's rather oppressive gaze, Bronya reluctantly revealed the answer: "Because I seemed to have had a nightmare last night, so I came to take a look."

"Is this a side effect of 'assisting in battle'?" Xia Ling wondered inwardly.