A Person in Honkai, But Integrated Strategies Activated

(Wow, that's really bold, to just... But she looks like a child with a story, so I won't hold it against you for suddenly climbing onto me, okay?)

At this moment, Elysia was surprised to find that her arms seemed to be able to move a little. However, after feeling it carefully, she realized that the range and movements were quite limited.

(Can I only provide some feedback when they actively interact? Then... as a reward for showing me so many new things today...)

Elysia raised her arm and slowly hugged the small girl in her arms.

Then, she felt the girl in her arms instantly tense up as if startled. But after realizing it was Elysia, she quickly relaxed even more.

(What a cute child?)

Chapter 5 Elysia: I'll be waiting for you on Elysian Realm Street

During the trial, the flames that constantly rolled and spread around Flame Willow suddenly paused.

"What's wrong, visitor?" Klein asked, looking up curiously from beside Flame Willow's leg.

"No, it's nothing." Feeling the soft touch transmitted from her main body through the empathic link, Flame Willow's face flushed slightly. However, due to the surrounding fiery light, Klein didn't notice anything unusual.

Activating her body's active state, Flame Willow's flames intensified, and she quickly dealt with the remaining few Imaginary Void Remnants.

"Honestly, don't do this to me while I'm fighting..." Flame Willow muttered softly, but her expression suggested otherwise.

"Thank you, visitor. If you hadn't helped me just now, things would have gotten very troublesome today." Klein tugged at Flame Willow's clothes, expressing his sincere gratitude.

"With your help, the workload for today will be significantly reduced..."

"It's nothing, really, it's all part of the job." Flame Willow waved her hand with a smile. "So, Klein, where are you going next? Do you need my help?"

"No, visitor, you have your own things to do, don't you?"

Klein shook his head. "As a reward for earlier, where do you want to go next? I can give you a ride."

At the same time, options popped up on the screen in the lounge.

[Klein is very grateful for your help and has decided to use her authority to give you a small ride. So, where is your destination?]

[Take me to the depths of the Elysian Realm (This advance will directly skip the next two nodes)]

[Take me to the outer layers of the Elysian Realm (This advance will directly skip the next node)]

[No need, I'll just start from here (This advance will not skip nodes)]

"Take me to the depths of the Elysian Realm," Flame Willow said softly. "Thank you, Klein. Don't work too late."

Then, with a few operations by Klein, a green portal slowly opened in front of Flame Willow.

"Gains and Losses?... By the way, can't Klein's skip function choose nodes freely?"

Without overthinking it, Flame Willow stepped directly into the node. After the previous battle, Flame Willow could roughly judge that at a safe difficulty level, as long as it wasn't a boss stage, there seemed to be no danger to her. Naturally, her actions became bolder.

With a flash of white light, she opened her eyes again to find herself in a luxurious room.

This room seemed to be a reception room for guests. In front of Flame Willow was a long table made of superior materials and decorations. Opposite the long table was Eden, the Herrscher known as the Golden among the Thirteen Herrschers.

(Huh? Eden was pulled in too?)

Elysia quickly looked at the screen. At this moment, Flame Willow had already started a conversation with Eden, and text simultaneously appeared on the small screen next to it.

[Gains and Losses]

[It seems you've entered the data area of a certain Herrscher this time. Fortunately, this Herrscher is quite approachable. Hearing that you are training in the Elysian Realm, she pushed two wine glasses towards you and expressed her willingness to offer some small help. However, the gifts of fate are often marked with a price. Whether to accept this gift depends on your choice.]

[Drink the wine in the golden goblet (Honkai Energy storage will be halved in the next three battles, but doubled in the three battles after that)]

[Drink the wine in the silver goblet (Honkai Energy recovery speed will be doubled in the next three battles, but enemy HP will increase by 20% in the subsequent three battles)]

[Sorry, I'm underage and cannot drink alcohol]

At this moment, Flame Willow had already made her choice.

"Then I'll respectfully accept," Flame Willow said, picking up the silver goblet and draining it in one gulp.

"Surpass the little island-exploding crow, starting from every moment!"

(Phew, it seems it's not Eden. I thought someone else had discovered the anomaly. But looking at this Eden, she's probably also simulated by this system. She really looks quite similar?)

(Little island-exploding crow? Who is that poor child's nickname? Ah, I remember Eden told me that the last person she gave an imprint to was Raven, right? I heard her goal was to buy an island?)

[By the way, Host, where did this habit of yours of persecuting Raven anytime, anywhere come from?]

"It's due to my resentment from using Raven as a fire support."

[But Flame Willow is also a fire DPS... Maybe there will be a situation where Raven assists you in the future.]

"Is that so? Miss Flame Willow is truly decisive." Eden gently swirled her wine glass. "In that case, I wish Miss Flame Willow a smooth journey ahead."

"Of course, I wish Sister Eden happiness every day and to be close to Elysia all the time!"

As the words fell, Flame Willow plunged into a portal representing battle without looking back.

(Wow, this child is too bold with her words.)

Elysia, with high attack and low defense, holding Xia Ling in her arms, thought shyly:

(Speaking of which, isn't Xia Ling's ultimate goal to go to the Elysian Realm too? Hmph, I'll get my revenge then, Fairy Lady will get her revenge?)

Arriving at the sixth node, Flame Willow finally encountered a battle again. However, the enemies this time were a bit special: some Stardust-attribute Alien Sentinels. Although Flame Willow wasn't perfectly suited to fighting these troublesome guys, for Flame Willow, whose damage was severely overflowing, it was merely a matter of burning them a few more times.

"Speaking of which..." Xia Ling yawned lazily from within Elysia's embrace, "How many nodes have we gone through? System, is the boss almost here?"

[Correct. In the trial Elysian Realm, bosses are located at the eighth, twelfth, and seventeenth nodes. The other nodes are mostly random three-choice selections.]

"So, just one more node then?" Xia Ling raised an eyebrow. "Looks like I'll need to assist soon. What a shame, it's so comfy in Elysia's arms, I don't want to move..."

(Mmm? While Miss Fairy's embrace is indeed warm, you can't get too lost in it.)

(Little Xia Ling seems like a very shy type. How about...)

Elysia accessed her voice library, searched for a moment, then gently blew a breath towards Xia Ling's ear, softly saying, "You can look at me more openly. After all, I've been watching you too. Come, let's get to know each other better?"

Following that, Elysia saw the girl's face instantly turn as red as if it were about to bleed. She looked like she was about to steam.

(Oh my, so shy? Is this her natural personality, or is Miss Fairy's charm just too great?)

Seeing the effect far exceeding her expectations, Elysia sighed with a hint of distress.

Chapter 6: Tentatively Touching the Merchandise.jpg

"Sys-System, are you sure this Elysia isn't the original?" Xia Ling, who had turned into a steam engine, asked hazily.

[Rest assured, Host. This is absolutely not the original. You have to trust my technical skills.]

The system vowed with great conviction.

"Ugh, is this Elysia's destructive power?" Xia Ling let out a mournful cry and silently tried to shrink back. Unfortunately, because she had been lounging in Elysia's arms for too long, this movement didn't free her at all. Instead, it looked like a pout, and she was hugged even tighter.

[Sigh, completely dominated.]

The system, from the sidelines, critically commented on the host's pathetic weakness.

Meanwhile, Flame Willow had easily dealt with the current wave of mobs. However, the three portals that appeared before her were all identical cat paw patterns.

"Huh? No choice this round? Cat paw patterns usually mean it's the cat's shop."

Flame Willow stood before the portals, hesitating on which one to enter.

[Actually, you can enter any of them. The differences between these shops are minimal, except one has Pardo in it. The other two do not.]

"So... is there a difference?"

[If Pardo isn't there, you can purchase Collectibles based on the number of floors you've cleared. You get one for every three floors cleared. I took a shortcut here and directly took the Collectibles from the Roguelike mode. If the cat is there... you'll find out when you try it yourself.]

"Why so mysterious..." Flame Willow was a bit bewildered. After a moment of thought, she chose the middle portal.

Perhaps it was due to it being the first time or good luck, but as soon as Flame Willow entered the node, she saw Pardo basking in the sun next to a small shop.

Seeing Flame Willow had entered, Xia Ling quickly refocused her attention on the screen, waiting for the text to appear to distract herself.

[Felice's Shop]

[After a series of battles, you have finally arrived at a relatively peaceful node. There is no combat here, no events, only a small shop.]

[Fortunately, you find the shop owner lazily sunbathing by the shelves. Seeing a customer, she quickly sits up and starts to solicit business.]

[Upon hearing that you are a trial-taker in the Elysian Realm, Pardo generously offers to provide some assistance. You can choose one item and take it directly, but you keenly notice that the prices of other items seem to have undergone subtle changes.]

[Thank you, Kitty (Receive one item for free and continue purchasing other items at 1.5 times the price)]

[Sorry, I'm not one to take advantage of others (Purchase items at original price)]

[Tap to Refresh (Change the displayed items)]

[Tentatively Touching the Merchandise (Who would actually pick this? Commendation for Noble Morality -1)]

"No way, dude?" Xia Ling spat out a mouthful of water upon seeing the last option. "You're going to steal from Kitty too? System, this is too low."

(Right, right! Felice is so cute, how could anyone want to bully her?)

(And the nicknames Little Xia Ling comes up with are so interesting, 'Snake Snake,' 'Kitty,' so vivid~)

(When I get back, I'll spread all these nicknames. It'll be so interesting when Little Xia Ling personally comes to the Elysian Realm, won't it?)

[Ahem, because this node was modified from the Uncanny Merchant, this option couldn't be removed, so it was added in together.]

"Then, I'll just ask, what would happen if I actually chose this option?"

[If I recall correctly, you would fight a giant canned food, and Pardo would take the opportunity to pack up and prepare to flee.]

[Within the time limit, the faster you defeat the canned food, the more you can grab. After you defeat the canned food or time runs out, Kitty will take the canned food and open a portal to escape.]

"Even the escape method is opening a portal. You really went all out. Minus one point for Pardo laughing with you."

[However, if the Host robs the shop, it is not recommended to challenge the additional Herrscher trials. The reason... well, everyone understands.]

"Kitty will find helpers to get revenge, right? Okay, okay, you've got all the details covered on that front."

Xia Ling felt like she had used up her entire year's worth of complaints today. Feeling a bit drained, she jumped off Elysia and prepared to use the assist system to check the situation on the eighth floor.

After some selection, Flame Willow also chose her Collectibles. Because the prices were raised to 1.5 times, Xia Ling was still able to take away two Collectibles in the end.

[Emperor's Collection: All enemy units take 30% more Fire DMG]

[Dancer's Bracelet: All allied units gain 10% Physical and Elemental DMG Dodge]

They were all straightforward stat-boosting Collectibles, but for Flame Willow, who already had high base stats, they were a significant improvement.

The portal that appeared this time was more familiar. A blood-red portal slowly opened in front of Flame Willow, with the node name displayed as, unsurprisingly, "Dangerous Path, Fierce Enemies."

"Here we go! Our opponent is the ancient beast Huodou, mentioned in old records. Will we win?"

"Win your head! Xia Ling, who had just arrived via the assist system, heard Flame Willow tempting fate the moment she landed. She almost stumbled and then decisively smacked Flame Willow on the head."

"Ehehe." Flame Willow stuck out her tongue.

While the two were still bantering, the form of Huodou began to materialize in the open space beside them, accompanied by scorching heat and air currents.

"Uh... what do we do?"

"Don't look at me, I'm fire-element, I have damage reduction."

"Then you shouldn't look at me either, I'm only Elite 1, my damage is negligible."

"So, we just grind it down?"

"Yeah, what else? You want Elysia to freeze it for you?"

"That would have to be the Herrscher of Humanity's Elysia. The one in this space is a Pink Fairy Lady model, she deals physical damage."

The two Xia Lings, while complaining to each other, split up and began chipping away at Huodou's first phase health bar using various methods.

The main Xia Ling, using her speed, constantly dodged around Huodou, occasionally plunging her scythe in for a Heart's Delight before quickly retreating, giving Huodou no chance to hit her.

Meanwhile, Flame Willow didn't dodge Huodou's attacks. "You hit me, I heal you," was her strategy, focusing on trading blows while standing her ground.

Putting aside Xia Ling, who was enthusiastically grinding down the boss in her first experience with a large-scale boss, in the lounge of the Simulated Elysian Realm, Elysia, despite her usual smiling expression, was experiencing a storm within.

(What??? Herrscher of Humanity? The Herrscher of Humanity?! Little Xia Ling even knows about that? Who exactly is she? This secret, apart from the Thirteen Flame-Chasers and a select few, shouldn't be known by anyone else.)

Elysia, with formulas, brains, and cosmic patterns seemingly appearing above her head, felt her CPU starting to smoke.

The plan has changed. Prepare for an early launch.