System: We'll Win / A System That Doesn't Proactively Dig Up Its Host's Embarrassing Past Isn't a Good System

"Eh? There aren't any corpses?"

Of course not. On one hand, these enemies were simulated by the system, so they had no real bodies. On the other, this was for the host's sake, to keep her from vomiting from the stench of corpses when facing a sea of monsters.

"I see. Then I'm not scared anymore." Xia Ling eagerly dropped to one knee, released the sniper rifle's safety, and assumed a rather unstandard kneeling stance.

"I remember the videos teaching it like this..." Holding her breath and focusing, she aimed the crosshairs at the largest target ahead—the Butcher Veteran wielding a massive axe.

Then—she fired!

The sniper rifle erupted with a thunderous blast, and Xia Ling's body jolted violently. Though she had prepared herself, the powerful recoil still nearly knocked her over.

As for the bullet? Looking at the Butcher Veteran's bewildered expression, perhaps it had hit some ghostly squad leader in midair.

"Ow, ow, ow..." Xia Ling practically threw down the sniper rifle and clutched her right shoulder, where the stock had just been pressed. With tears in her eyes, she asked, "Why is the recoil so strong? QWQ."

Host, that weapon was made for Terrans. Think about the Rainbow Squad's physical capabilities, then think about yours.

The system's helpless voice sounded in her mind.

If it weren't for your maxed-out cognition strengthening your physical abilities quite a bit, the best-case scenario from that shot would have been your right arm snapping on the spot.

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

Um, Host, is it possible that even if I gave you a melee weapon, you'd still have a hard time beating the minor enemies?

The system gave a "kind" reminder.

According to my assessment of your physical capabilities, Host, your combat strength is roughly equivalent to an Originium Slug.

"Uh..." Watching the shieldguard fight with effortless ease up ahead, Xia Ling grew a little dejected. "I want to get stronger too. Otherwise, what was the point of coming to Honkai Impact 3rd if I can only watch those tragedies happen without being able to do anything...?"

Don't worry, Host. Physical enhancement can be achieved through Elite promotion and changing bodies. But combat experience can only be gained through repeated battles at the edge of life and death.

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

"W-Wait?" Xia Ling immediately panicked. "What do you mean by that? Isn't roguelike mode something you can quit whenever you want?"

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

A hint of mischievous amusement seeped into the system's energetic voice.

But once you're inside a node, you can't quit—not in combat nodes, nor in the encounters within Unexpected Encounter.

So, Host, if you want to clear the trial by taking shortcuts, you'll inevitably have to take plenty of non-combat nodes. Which means that if your clear fails, there's a high chance you'll encounter a battle within nodes like Unexpected Encounter.

"But didn't you say the bodies in here aren't real?" Xia Ling still clung to a sliver of hope.

The monsters aren't real, but you are, Host. You nearly cried from the recoil just now.

"I'm done for... I feel like my corpses are going to form a line around Sami." Xia Ling looked like she was about to cry. "Before I can become an Integrated Strategies expert, I'm going to become Yakumo Yukari first. Can you give me a peach? At least make it hurt less when I die."

Then you'll need to fix that gambling addict personality of yours. Don't say I didn't warn you. I remember one of Duck Duke's stages having dozens of rabid hunting dogs. Host, you wouldn't want...

Xia Ling imagined being surrounded by dozens of hunting dogs and shuddered violently. "Don't worry. Now that you've said that, I won't touch that stage even if you beat me to death!"

System: We'll Win

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

But for the shieldguard, that was merely a matter of two shield swings—one to smash through the door, and one to smash the people behind it.

"Tsk, tsk. So shieldguards fight this violently? It's like smashing doors in Arknights."

Xia Ling clicked her tongue as she hid behind a wall and watched the distant battle, rubbing her aching right shoulder.

Having a powerful expert carry you feels great, doesn't it? But you'd better be careful at the next Unexpected Encounter, Host.

"Waaaah! I don't want to get mauled to death by dozens of dogs!"

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

"Can't be helped. Maybe that's the fate of a lancer." Xia Ling looked deeply melancholy.

A sniper rifle counts as a lance, does it?

At that moment, Xia Ling noticed that the shieldguard had finished the battle and was walking toward her.

"Reporting. Mission complete."

After leaving those words behind, the shieldguard vanished into thin air. All that remained on the ground was a pile of loot from the node: several Originium Ingots and a Recruitment Voucher.

"Huh? It just disappeared?" Xia Ling looked at the shieldguard turning into motes of light and curiously reached out to touch the lingering specks in the air, but her hand caught nothing.

Of course. From another perspective, the shieldguard disappearing proves that you have successfully cleared this node.

"So these spoils... aren't really useful, right?" Xia Ling picked up the Supporter-Defender Recruitment Voucher from the ground. It immediately turned into a ray of light and entered Xia Ling's screen. Then, a blank recruitment selection appeared before her eyes.

That's not entirely true. If you can reach the final node, you can still save up some money and deposit it.

"Ah, right." Xia Ling suddenly remembered a detail from the system's earlier introduction. "System, didn't you say the reward for clearing the First Floor was an Originium Ingot? Is that the same thing as these?"

Of course not. The reward I mentioned can be used in the system shop. The Originium Ingots you obtain now are basically useless except for depositing them into Karnot's shop.

"Can't I buy collectibles?"

Of course you can, but the collectibles you buy can't be taken out. They'll be wiped at the start of the next trial. And with your current physical capabilities, Host, even with the help of collectibles, their effect in battle would be limited. So this system doesn't really recommend buying collectibles.

"So I basically don't need to pay attention to Hope and Originium Ingot values, right?" Xia Ling sighed and picked up the scanner. "Fine. Let's see if I have any chance of clearing this in one life."

I don't think you have a second life, Host.

"Let me see... Huh? That's strange. The scanner isn't showing the map ahead. It's only showing the path."

If there's nothing there, then it's an Unexpected Encounter. If it were another non-combat node, such as Safe Corner or First Step, the map would display a corresponding building marker.

"Damn, that really fits the node's definition. I can't even tell whether it's a battle."

"But at least it's not all bad news. As long as there's no fight, I can clear the First Floor on my first try."

Putting away the scanner, Xia Ling once again set off down the path ahead.

More than ten minutes later.

"Phew... phew... This snowy road is way too hard to walk on."

Setting her backpack aside, Xia Ling leaned against a massive ancient tree and breathed lightly.

"I remember walking for only ten minutes or so at the beginning. Why haven't I reached the node's area yet?"

Because this is an Unexpected Encounter.

The system answered as if it were obvious.

As long as you haven't left the node's area, events can occur at any time. You don't need to rush so much. If you're tired, you can take a break.

"Will taking a break affect whether an event happens?" Xia Ling stared blankly ahead with dead-fish eyes.

It will. For example, you might fall asleep and wake up to find the Khan's army formation right in front of you.

"Then why the hell would I rest?!"

Xia Ling hooked her arm through the backpack strap, exerted force, and swung the backpack onto her back.

But because her right arm was sore, the backpack slammed heavily into the ancient tree she had been leaning against, making a loud crash.

"Damn, I didn't knock down my interference resistance index, did I?" Xia Ling jumped in fright and hurriedly opened her backpack.

Yet at that moment, perhaps due to the impact just now, the bark of the ancient tree before her cracked and peeled away amid a thunderous sound, revealing an intricate pattern beneath.

"This, this is..."

Xia Ling froze for a moment, then reached out and touched the complicated pattern.

The instant Xia Ling touched the ancient tree, the markings on its trunk vanished. Her backpack suddenly felt heavier. Opening it, she found a brand-new Cipher Plate lying quietly inside.

"Ancient tree, First Floor, obtaining a stone plate..." Xia Ling pondered for a moment before immediately reaching a conclusion. "Is this Sami's Language?"

Unexpected Encounter—Sami's Language, a node where you could obtain a Cipher Plate without any loss.

That's right, Host. Your luck is really good. Hurry and see which one it is.

There was a trace of surprise in the system's voice. It seemed that she had not interfered with this reward.

"Let's see... Hiss, Warrior?"

Cipher Plate: Warrior. Its effect was to select one combat node, then randomly designate another combat node.

Combined with Love's effect, it could directly turn two combat nodes into Unexpected Encounters.

My God, Host, this run has a chance!

The system grew excited as well.

If the shop on the First Floor happens to roll a Cipher Plate that can combine with Arboreal to skip a stage, then maybe you can clear the Second Floor without fighting too!

"Huh? The First Floor shop has Cipher Plates?"

Normally, it doesn't. But the enhancement system has made slight adjustments to many settings within the theme, allowing the trial to unfold more realistically.

If the shop has them, it can't exactly refuse to sell them.

"This really is a god-tier opening." Joy appeared on Xia Ling's face. "If I can clear the Second Floor this time, the progress will speed up by quite a bit, right?"

Of course! The reward for clearing the Second Floor is 2 Originium Ingots and 1 Hope, while your first-stage Elite promotion only requires 6 Originium Ingots. If everything goes smoothly, you can shorten the progress by a full half month.

"Alright. I'm filled with determination now."

"No matter what the next Unexpected Encounter node is, I'll get through it."

We'll win.

"Don't. Don't pick up that meme. I'm afraid I'll really turn into Xia Ling 2.5 later." Xia Ling firmly avoided every possibility of raising a death flag.

Some time later.

Host, I have bad news.

There's a cave ahead of you. It looks like there are more than a dozen people inside.

"Gulp." That was Xia Ling swallowing.

What should we do, Host?

The system sounded a little flustered too.

This might be a combat node.

A System That Doesn't Proactively Dig Up Its Host's Embarrassing Past Isn't a Good System

"..."

A silent stillness.

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

The temptation was even great enough to let her leave the system space half a month early, return to Changkong City half a month early, and contact the St. Freya Academy she had once dreamed of day and night half a month early.

But if she chose this node wrong, the price would be enormous—perhaps no less severe than the situation the system had mentioned earlier as an example.

More than a dozen people. There was absolutely no way she could beat them. If there had only been one or two, there might still have been a chance of trading injury for a kill. But such a huge disparity in numbers completely ruled that out.

More importantly, once she entered the node, there would be no way to leave. If she lost the gamble, dying once would be unavoidable. This would not be like that unconscious death in reality. She would have to experience the entire process herself. For Xia Ling, who had grown up in peaceful times, it was still difficult to suddenly summon the courage to face death.

Especially since Xia Ling had consumed a wide range of media before transmigrating, the thought of losing naturally made her think of defeat CGs... Even though she knew the system could not possibly impose such an absurd punishment, Xia Ling still felt her legs trembling slightly.

Host, should we retreat?

There was hesitation and reluctance in the system's voice as well.

I'm sorry, Host. Once you enter a trial, the help I can offer becomes extremely limited. If this really is a combat node, there's nothing I can...

"We're not retreating. Let's go."

Xia Ling, who had been looking down in silence for a long time, suddenly raised her head and spoke.

Eh, Host, think this through. Death isn't as simple as opening and closing your eyes!

"But I have to face it eventually, don't I?" Xia Ling put away her usual relaxed smile and said seriously, "Even if I avoid it this time, as long as my goal is to clear the trial, I'll inevitably encounter this situation again."

"I can't possibly have this kind of luck and this many choices every time, right?"

"If I run away this time, the price is only half a month. But what about next time? Or the time after that? Could there be a time when I have to pay a price I can't bear because of it?"

"Besides, I truly don't have power right now, and I'm working hard to gain it. But if I even throw away the courage to disregard life and death, then I really will have nothing left."