Someone in Honkai, But Integrated Strategies Activated

"Huh, there are no bodies?"

[Of course not. For one thing, these enemies are just simulations, they don't have real bodies. For another, it's for your own good, Host. We don't want you puking your guts out from the stench of corpses if you run into a horde.]

"I see, then I'm not scared anymore." Xia Ling excitedly knelt on one knee, flicked the safety off her sniper rifle, and struck a less-than-perfect kneeling pose.

"I remember the video showed it like this..." Holding her breath, she focused her sights on the largest target ahead – the Butcher veteran wielding a giant axe.

Then – fire!

As the muzzle roared, Xia Ling's body violently jolted. Despite being prepared, the powerful recoil almost knocked her to the ground.

As for the bullet? Just look at the Butcher veteran's bewildered expression. Maybe that bullet hit a phantom squad leader in the air.

"Ow, ow, ow..." Xia Ling practically threw down her sniper rifle, clutching her right shoulder where the stock had been. With teary eyes, she asked, "Why is the recoil so strong QWQ."

[Host, that's because it's a weapon meant for Terra's people. Think about the physical capabilities of the Rainbow Squad, and then think about yours.]

The system's helpless voice echoed in her mind.

[If it weren't for your maxed-out cognition and the significant physical enhancements you've received, in the best-case scenario, your right arm would have been directly shattered by that recoil.]

"Damn it, doesn't that mean I basically have no combat power for this trial?"

[Um, Host, is there a possibility that even if I gave you a melee weapon, you'd still struggle against the regular mobs?]

The system offered its "kind" reminder.

[According to my evaluation of your physical condition, your combat power is roughly equivalent to an Originium Slug.]

"Ah, this..." Looking at the Guardian fighting effortlessly in front, Xia Ling felt a bit dejected. "I want to get stronger too. Otherwise, if I transmigrate to Honkai and can only watch those tragedies unfold, then what was the point of coming here..."

[Don't worry, Host. Physical strength can be improved through Elite Promotion and body replacement. But combat experience? That can only be gained through countless life-or-death struggles.]

[But it's fine. Dying in the trial just means starting over. I'm sure you'll get used to the feeling of death soon. Maybe you'll even become someone like Yang Woqizuo or Fu Wocheng.]

"Wait... wait a minute?" Xia Ling wasn't calm anymore. "What do you mean by that? Can't you just quit Roguelikes whenever you want?"

[As long as you haven't entered a node, of course you can.]

A hint of a mischievous smile crept into the system's cheerful tone.

[But you can't once you're inside a node, including combat nodes and random encounters during Unexpected Events.]

[So, Host, if you want to take a shortcut to clear the game, you'll inevitably have to go through many non-combat nodes. That means, if you fail, you'll most likely encounter a random combat encounter in nodes like Unexpected Events.]

"But you said this isn't a real body in here?" Xia Ling still held onto a sliver of hope.

[That's for the monsters, but you, Host, are real. You were almost crying from the pain just now because of the recoil.]

"It's over... I feel like my corpses will be able to circle Sami." Xia Ling said with a dejected face. "I haven't even become a master of gambling yet, and I'm already becoming Yakumo Yukari. Can you give me a peach at least, so I don't die so miserably?"

[Then, Host, you'll have to change your gambling habits. Don't say I didn't warn you. I recall one of Duke Duck's stages having enemies that were dozens of enraged hunting dogs. Host, you wouldn't want to...]

Xia Ling imagined being surrounded by dozens of hunting dogs and shivered violently. "Don't worry, now that you mention it, I'll never touch that stage, even if I'm beaten to death!"

Chapter 5 System: You'll Win

While Xia Ling and the system were talking, the Guardian had silently cleared more than half the enemies in the settlement. Only a few Siracusan family crossbowmen remained, stubbornly resisting from within buildings.

However, for the Guardian, this was just a matter of two shield slams – one to break down the door, and one to smash the person.

"Tsk, tsk, is fighting really this violent for Guardians? It's just like smashing doors in Arknights."

Xia Ling clicked her tongue, hiding behind a wall and watching the distant battle while rubbing her sore right shoulder.

[It feels great having a powerful ally, doesn't it? You'll have to be careful during the upcoming Unexpected Events, Host.]

"Waaaaah, I don't want to be executed by dozens of dogs."

"I've already decided, System. If that happens, I'll just kill myself."

"Can't be helped, maybe it's the fate of a Lancer." Xia Ling said with a sigh.

[A sniper rifle counts as a gun, huh.]

Just then, Xia Ling noticed the Guardian had finished the fight and was walking towards her.

"Report, mission complete."

With those words, the Guardian vanished into thin air. Only a pile of loot from this node remained on the ground: a few Originium Ingots and a Recruitment Voucher.

"Huh? It disappeared just like that?" Xia Ling watched the Guardian dissolve into light points, curiously reaching out to touch the residual light in the air, but felt nothing.

[Of course. From another perspective, since the Guardian has disappeared, it proves you've successfully passed this node.]

"So these spoils of war... they're useless, right?" Xia Ling picked up the Auxiliary Heavy Defender Recruitment Voucher from the ground. The voucher immediately turned into a beam of light and entered Xia Ling's screen. Immediately after, a blank recruitment option appeared before Xia Ling's eyes.

[You can't say that. If Host can reach the final node, you can save some money to bring in.]

"Ah, right." Xia Ling suddenly remembered a detail from the system's earlier introduction. "Didn't you say the reward for clearing the first floor was an Originium Ingot? Are these the same as what I have now?"

[Of course not. The reward I mentioned is something you can use in the system shop. These Originium Ingots you have now are basically useless except for depositing them into Karnot's shop.]

"Can't I buy collectibles?"

[You can, of course. But the collectibles you buy can't be taken out. They'll be cleared at the start of the next trial. And given Host's current physical condition, even with the help of collectibles, the effect in combat is limited. So, this system doesn't really recommend Host buying collectibles.]

"Meaning, I basically don't need to pay attention to the Hope and Originium Ingot stats, right?" Xia Ling sighed, picking up the detector. "Alright, let's see if I have any chance of clearing this in one go."

"I'm guessing the host doesn't have a second life either."

"Let me see... Huh? It's not showing the map ahead on the scanner, only the path."

"If it's not showing, then it's an unexpected encounter. If it were another non-combat node, like a safe corner or an advance post, the map would have corresponding building markers."

"Great, this really fits the definition of a node. I can't even tell if it's a combat encounter or not."

"But at least it's not all bad news. If there's no combat, I can clear the first floor on my first try."

Putting away the scanner, Xia Ling once again set foot on the path forward.

Ten minutes later.

"Hoo—hoo— This snowy path is too difficult to walk."

Setting her backpack aside, Xia Ling leaned against a giant ancient tree, catching her breath.

"I remember I only walked for about ten minutes at the start. How am I not at the node yet?"

"Because it's an unexpected encounter," the system replied matter-of-factly.

"As long as the host hasn't left the range of this node, events can happen at any time. You don't need to rush. You can rest if you're tired."

"Will resting affect event occurrences?" Xia Ling stared ahead with dead fish eyes.

"It will! For example, you might wake up to find yourself right in front of Khan's army."

"Then why the heck would I rest!"

Xia Ling hooked the strap of her backpack and exerted force with her arm, slinging it onto her back.

However, due to the soreness in her right arm, the backpack hit the ancient tree Xia Ling was leaning against with a loud thud.

"Whoa, I hope I didn't just drop my interference resistance!" Xia Ling yelped in surprise and quickly pulled her backpack open.

At this very moment, seemingly due to the impact, the bark of the ancient tree before her cracked and peeled away amidst the loud noise, revealing intricate patterns.

"This, this is..."

Xia Ling paused, then reached out to touch the complex patterns.

The instant Xia Ling touched the ancient tree, the patterns on the tree vanished. Xia Ling felt her backpack grow heavier. Opening it, she found a brand-new Cipher Plate lying quietly inside.

"Ancient tree, first floor, obtained a stone tablet..." Xia Ling pondered for a moment and quickly reached a conclusion: "Is this Sami's Language?"

Unexpected Encounter—Sami's Language, a node that allows obtaining a Cipher Plate without any loss.

"That's right, host. Your luck is truly amazing. Quickly see which one it is."

The system's voice held a hint of surprise, suggesting it hadn't interfered with this particular gain.

"Let me see... Hiss, Warrior?"

Cipher Plate [Warrior]. Its effect is to select one combat node and then randomly designate another combat node.

Combined with the effect of [Love], it can directly turn two combat nodes into unexpected encounters.

"My goodness, host, this is a chance!"

The system also became excited.

"If we happen to find a Cipher Plate in the first floor's shop that allows us to skip a level with Arbor, then maybe we can clear the second floor without combat too!"

"Huh? Are there Cipher Plates in the first floor's shop?"

"Normally, no. But the enhanced system has made some adjustments to the settings in the theme to facilitate a more realistic trial."

"If it's in the shop, they can't not sell it."

"This is truly a heaven-sent start." A joyful expression spread across Xia Ling's face. "If I can clear the second floor this time, my progress will be significantly faster, right?"

"Of course! The reward for clearing the second floor is 2 Originium Ingots and 1 Hope, and the first stage of elite enhancement for the host only requires 6 Originium Ingots. If all goes smoothly, it could shorten the progress by a full half month."

"Okay, I'm filled with determination now."

"No matter what the next unexpected encounter node is, I will push through it."

"You will win."

"No, don't use that meme. I'm afraid I'll really turn into Xia Ling 2.5 later." Xia Ling firmly avoided any possibility of tempting fate.

A while later.

"Host, I have some bad news for you."

"There's a cave in front of you, and it looks like there are over a dozen people inside."

"Gulp." This was the sound of Xia Ling swallowing.

"What do we do, host?"

The system's voice also sounded a little flustered.

"This might be a combat node."

"..."

A silent pause.

Xia Ling hadn't expected the boomerang to come back so quickly. She had just said she would absolutely not take risks, and now an incredibly tempting option had immediately appeared.

In fact, this temptation was so great that it could allow her to leave the system space half a month early, return to Changkong City early, and… come into contact with St. Freya Academy, which she had longed for.

However, if she chose the wrong node, the price would be very high, possibly even comparable to the situations the system had previously cited as examples.

There was absolutely no way she could defeat over a dozen people. If it were only one or two, there might be a possibility of trading her life for theirs, but the overwhelming difference in numbers directly negated that chance.

Most importantly, once she entered a node, there was no possibility of retreat. If she gambled and lost, dying once would be unavoidable. This wouldn't be like the unconscious death she experienced in reality; she would have to personally experience the entire process. For Xia Ling, who was born in a peaceful era, it was still a little difficult to muster the courage to face death head-on.

Especially since Xia Ling had a wide range of interests before her transmigration, she subconsciously associated defeat with things like defeat CGs. Although she knew the system wouldn't have such an outrageous punishment, Xia Ling still felt her legs tremble a little.

[Host, do you want to withdraw?]

The system's voice also carried a hint of hesitation and reluctance.

[I'm very sorry, Host. Once you enter a trial, the help I can provide is very limited. If this is truly a combat node, I won't be able to…]

"I'm not withdrawing. Let's go."

After a long period of silence with her head bowed, Xia Ling suddenly looked up and said.

[Eh? Host, you need to think clearly. Death isn't as simple as opening and closing your eyes!]

"But eventually, I have to face it, don't I?" Xia Ling's usual relaxed smile disappeared as she spoke seriously. "Even if I avoid it this time, as long as my goal is to clear the trials, I will inevitably encounter such situations again."

"I can't possibly have such luck and choices every time, right?"

"If I run away this time, the price is only half a month's time. But what about next time? And the time after that? Won't there be a time when I pay a price I can't bear?"

"What's more, I truly lack the strength right now and am working hard towards it. But if I abandon the courage to cast aside life and death, then I will truly have nothing left."