A Person in Honkai, But Integrated Strategies Activated

Flame Willow complained during their contact, still queuing obediently.

"More than that, I'm more curious if Chijie can actually cook. It's hard to imagine what motivates Chijie to learn this."

(Actually, Chijie really can cook. This cute pixie had the honor of tasting Chijie's cooking once, and I must say it was excellent!)

(As for the reason, it might be related to Chijie's time in the orphanage. Ah, it's rare to encounter a piece of knowledge that little Xia Ling doesn't know. Too bad she can't hear the pixie's answer.)

"Hmm, a new face. Little girl, are you new here?"

Chijie, who was busy at the grill, paused and looked up at Flame Willow.

"Hello there, Master Chien," Flame Willow greeted with a smile. "I've heard a lot about your amazing barbecue skills. I came specifically to try it today."

"Little girl, my surname isn't Qian! Who taught you that title!"

"Okay, Master Chien, no problem, Master Chien."

"Are you civilization's expletive deliberately looking for trouble?"

Although his words were harsh, Master Chien's barbecue efficiency remained as high as ever. Soon, a large platter of various grilled items was placed before Flame Willow.

"Little girl, since you've heard of my name, you must know the rules."

"Don't waste food, or I'll make sure you can't handle it!"

Hearing this, Xia Ling, who was in the Elysian Realm's reception hall, couldn't sit still.

"Quick, Flame Willow, pack some for me! Look, Master Chien already agreed you can't handle it!"

"Are you sure that's what he meant... Besides, my race is Dracul. Do you think I'd be unable to finish it?"

"Oh right... You're also a big eater. I don't care, I don't care, I want to eat, I want to eat, I want to eat~"

"Are you some kind of Spring Sprite!" Flame Willow sighed helplessly.

(Mmm, a pouting Xia Ling is also very cute.)

Elysia, standing nearby, watched the scene with a smile.

Chapter 9: Trial Elysian Realm (×) Black History Dealer (?)

In the end, Flame Willow asked Chijie for an extra portion of barbecue.

Of course, this extra portion would have to wait until Xia Ling's next assist to be brought back.

Having truly achieved the ability to "handle it," Flame Willow found the portal to the next node appearing before her after finishing the barbecue.

"Let's see which lucky Herrscher is going to have their image ruined this time," Flame Willow muttered as she walked. "Speaking of which, with all the things I know, will I be silenced later?"

"I can't say for sure," Xia Ling replied through their communication. "Maybe just knowing won't be a problem, but if I were to assist you with Elysia's little megaphone, then you might really be silenced."

"That would be terrible." The thought of Elysia using her little megaphone in the Elysian Realm to spread embarrassing black history about various Herrschers sent a shiver down Flame Willow's spine. "Those three crystal flowers were really worth it to sell to her for that little megaphone."

"Yeah, but fortunately, Elysia isn't here. Otherwise, with this leverage, we'd probably be completely at her mercy."

[What if there's a possibility that you'd be at her mercy even without this leverage?]

(What if there's a possibility that the cute pixie is watching right here?)

(Hehe~ Cute little Flame Willow, you wouldn't want... Then hurry up and let the pixie touch your horns and tail?)

"Hmm? That's not right, where is this place now?" Flame Willow entered the portal, but what met her eyes was a prosperous town.

"Based on previous situations, it's usually best to find the most crowded place," Xia Ling strategized through their contact.

"Don't rush, I see a child. Let me catch them to make soup, no, let me catch them to ask."

Flame Willow flashed forward, crouching in front of a child with a friendly smile. "Little one, can you tell big sister what you're all going to do?"

The child was quite enthusiastic, pointing in the direction of the plaza and saying to Flame Willow:

"In the plaza ahead, there's a pixie sister giving out red envelopes. You must be a tourist, so hurry if you want one, or there won't be any left later."

"Pixie sister, red envelopes?" Flame Willow blinked, then heard Xia Ling excitedly shouting through their contact: "This is the part where Elysia is giving out red envelopes! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, go get one quickly!"

(Eh, is it my turn this time? Let me see what the pixie sister in the trial will be like~)

"!" Flame Willow also reacted. Without bothering to reply to Xia Ling, she activated her Activation and sped towards the plaza.

Indeed, a dozen people had already gathered in the plaza. Amidst the crowd, a pink-haired girl, as radiant as flying blossoms, was sitting by the edge of the plaza, adorned with peach blossoms and branches, handing out New Year red envelopes to the children lining up.

[Data Turbulence]

[Amidst a torrent of data, you are swept into an unknown realm. This place may originate from a Herrscher's fantasy or memory, or perhaps from a parallel world observed by Su. In any case, this area is highly abnormal.]

[After a period of disorientation, you arrive at a town celebrating a certain festival. In the town, you learn that in the center of the plaza, a cute pixie sister is distributing red envelopes. Faced with this scene, your thoughts begin to stir. What do you intend to do?]

[Join the queue to receive a red envelope from the pixie sister (I'm a child, v me 50)]

[Snatch red envelopes from other children (I'm the killer of brats! But it might trigger unknown consequences)]

[I'm an adult, I don't need red envelopes (No one can really refuse Elysia's red envelope, right?)]

(That's right, that's right. Can anyone really refuse the pixie sister? I'll cry~)

"I'm curious, what are the unknown consequences of option two?" Xia Ling pondered. "Does it mean it might provoke Elysia's hostility? I remember this part with Elysia should have been a stalemate."

"No, it's not related to that." Flame Willow was already in line. She turned her head towards the entrance of the plaza, where a white-haired figure could be vaguely seen:

"You forgot, at the end of the story, Elysia and Theresa gave Kevin red envelopes. If you chose option two, it would most likely turn into a situation where you're fishing for a shark instead of a fish."

"Trying to snatch Kevin's red envelope, huh? That's the boldest episode yet," Xia Ling leaned beside Elysia and quipped.

"Wow, what a cute girl! And a new face too. Are you a tourist visiting for the first time?"

As the line slowly moved forward, Xia Ling finally arrived in front of Fairy Sister.

"Fairy Sister, I'm your fan! (Leaps forward)"

"Huh? You're my fan? Oh my, this is truly..."

Fairy Sister showed a surprised expression but quickly returned to her sweet smile.

"Then, would you like some New Year's money?"

"Of course I do!" Flame Willow's eyes were practically shining.

"Watch your image!" Xia Ling looked at Flame Willow on the screen and felt her own integrity shattering.

"Can you remain calm in front of Elysia?"

Thinking about how she had blushed and her heart had raced just now from a few words from the Elysia beside her, Xia Ling's voice became guilty. "Uh, maybe?"

"You wish!"

Meanwhile, Elysia had already taken out a red envelope.

"Then, if you obediently say, '[Thank you, cute Fairy Sister],' you can have it."

"Thank you, cute Fairy Sister!"

Flame Willow didn't care at all about the mismatch between her height and image and the line; she was all about being socially confident.

"Mhm, Fairy Sister has received your love~ Then, I wish you that all your wishes come true in the new year."

With that, Elysia handed the red envelope to Flame Willow.

"Ohhhhh, a red envelope personally given by Elysia!" Xia Ling and Flame Willow cheered together in the channel.

(Hmm... So little Xia Ling likes me this much? I did sense it earlier, but seeing it from a third-person perspective, it really feels different.)

(Then, as a return for this affection, perhaps I should prepare a gift for little Xia Ling in the Elysian Realm?)

Unknowingly, Elysia's attitude towards Xia Ling and the system had shifted from initial wariness to acceptance.

It couldn't be helped, as Elysia possessed the ability to see through a person's essence to a certain extent. Moreover, the history of the previous civilization could prove that Elysia's unique judgment had never been wrong.

She could tell that this girl was definitely not a bad person. Although she didn't know why she was trying so hard to reach the Elysian Realm, her affection for her and for everyone else was genuine.

What's more, even towards Sakura, Aponia, and Vill-V, who were somewhat wary of her, Elysia had managed to offer her genuine affection in a very short period.

For such a cute girl who liked her so much, Elysia truly couldn't maintain her guard.

Chapter 10: Heimdall: I Request Friendly Fire Damage

Reluctantly bidding farewell to Elysia, Flame Willow looked at the boss stage portal that appeared before her, symbolizing dangerous paths and fierce enemies, and fell into deep thought.

"How come I feel like the scene transition is too fast? One second we were celebrating the New Year in a small town, and the next I have to fight Schicksal's Heimdall."

"You're right, so remember not to use assists. This thing only cares about the number of hits when it enters overload state. At my current attack speed, it'll be red-hot in minutes."

Xia Ling recalled the painful memory of using Teacher V to fight Big Fatty Heimdall and having him instantly overheat.

"Don't worry, I can directly conjure a Big Boom for the boss. High frequency attacks, nuclear explosions, that's what a healthy fight looks like!"

Flame Willow showed no concern despite the near disaster with Huodou earlier. In fact, she had no reason to worry.

Although her usual combat style involved throwing fireballs, Flame Willow's ability wasn't fundamentally about fire. The various flames that appeared were merely byproducts of her control over the slight Honkai Energy activation. Because of this, Flame Willow usually didn't have to worry about consumption during battles, and with Eden's buffs, she was even more unrestrained.

However, if enough Honkai Energy was used, the explosion caused by full activation would be far more powerful than the fireball itself.

Activating her complete form and applying an activation buff to herself, Flame Willow directly entered the node.

[Dangerous Path, Fierce Enemy · Divine Machine - Heimdall]

[A giant mecha independently designed and developed by Schicksal, possessing excellent combat performance. It enters overload state during high-intensity combat, and its outer armor turns red to warn of danger. As for why this thing is here? You should ask Mihoyo.]

As soon as she entered the node, the Divine Machine - Heimdall in the center of the arena immediately deployed its energy defense form.

When in doubt, play defensively. This was a crucial lesson Heimdall had learned from its long history of being beaten.

However, the expected attack did not come, because Flame Willow was also silently charging up.

Extracting a portion of Honkai Energy, preparing for activation, extracting a little more, preparing for activation again... While Heimdall hadn't started attacking, Flame Willow was racing against time to handcraft her Big Boom.

Now, Heimdall was the one in a hurry. Although the monsters simulated in the trial couldn't reach the intelligence of real people, they were definitely not stupid. It could sense the consequences of that purple-red energy sphere in Flame Willow's hand once it was thrown.

However, Heimdall before entering overload state... If you say it has no skills, then at least ten of its dozen or so skills can be used before overload. If you say it has skills, then you can't find any with a short startup animation among those ten skills.

Let alone Xia Ling, even Flame Willow, who wasn't particularly fast, could use the method of heating the air to propel herself a short distance to dodge Big Fatty Heimdall's skills in time.

"I feel like this boss wishes it could hit itself a few times to trigger its overload state."

Xia Ling, watching the show from the lounge, commented sharply on Big Fatty Heimdall's mechanics.

(Is this the mecha of the current civilization? It feels... not as good as what Vill-V makes.)

[Good idea, host. Next time you encounter Sentinels in high-difficulty roguelikes, be careful of them activating themselves.]

"?" Xia Ling nearly spat out the water she was drinking. "What kind of newborn are you? Even Isamar would praise your newborn status."

Feeling the Big Boom in her hand was getting difficult to control, Flame Willow stopped, and the energy sphere in her hand, which had already turned completely purple, flew out. At the same time, she fully released the control over the Activation ability she had already prepared.

After tossing this hot potato away, Flame Willow went all out, not towards the slow-moving Heimdall, but speeding away in the opposite direction. She gathered flames behind her, preparing to resist the shockwave from the impending explosion.

After all, the damage from this sphere might not instantly kill Heimdall, but it would certainly be more than enough to kill herself. Plus, this thing's range was shorter than its blast radius, so if she didn't run fast, she'd be bathing in the explosion along with Heimdall.

With a world-shattering explosion, Heimdall was completely paralyzed on the ground. Pathetically, even after the explosion ended, it still hadn't entered overload.

After a while, a soot-covered Flame Willow ran back from a distance. Due to the size limitations of the trial grounds, even though Flame Willow had fled outwards with all her might, she still took some of the explosion damage.

However, for Flame Willow, this kind of damage wasn't even considered minor. As long as it wasn't limb-severing damage, she could heal herself in minutes.

What can you do? This is our powerful healer, truly healing and healing.

Ai Li, who had been a little worried about Flame Willow's safety, was immediately relieved when she saw Flame Willow run back as if nothing had happened.

(Her combat style... is truly unique. She can't keep this up. When she comes to the Elysian Realm, I must discipline her properly. At least, she needs to learn to cherish herself, right?)

After adding a bit more damage to the still-paralyzed Big Fat Heimdall, the giant Schicksal Divine Machine also turned into light particles and disappeared, replaced by three portals.

Safe corner, combat, combat.

After a brief thought, Flame Willow decisively entered the combat node.

Combat, awesome!

It wasn't that she couldn't develop in the safe corner, but clearing combat stages quickly was more cost-effective.

Most importantly, the positive buff Eden gave her in the early stage had expired. The next three battles would come with a negative buff of a 20% HP increase.

Flame Willow didn't dare to carry this buff to the final boss stage. Little monsters with 20% more HP would still be instantly killed, but a boss with 20% more HP wouldn't be so easy to deal with.

Especially for the final Herrscher trial, she planned to choose Ai Li. If the buff wasn't used up by then, Ai Li's twenty-five health bars would instantly become thirty, turning her into a veritable Miss Pink Tank.