Knowing Fu Hua would not leave her, Amber's mood instantly improved. With what Navigator had said, it seemed she could safely pull from Fu Hua's banner.
Still, erring on the side of caution, she asked, "My next world won't be incredibly, incredibly difficult, right? There won't be any crises I can't handle yet, will there? Come to think of it, why did the Main Control Consciousness send me to this world in the first place?"
The host's first three worlds, as well as the banners for those first three worlds, have already been set by the Main Control Consciousness. The worlds and banners were chosen by the Main Control Consciousness with "ease" as the core principle. Even if the host only uses the gifted ten-pull in the first three worlds and does nothing else, she will still be able to pass through them safely. However, without obtaining recognition, she will be unable to travel to the next world. Furthermore, the worlds selected by the Main Control Consciousness make recognition exceptionally easy to obtain.
"Huh? Is that so?"
Amber scratched her head. She had not expected the Main Control Consciousness to arrange things like that... but it suited her just fine.
Being able to survive until the end without doing anything was amazing, wasn't it?
Everything being arranged for her made her feel incredibly secure, while also intensifying her desire to pull the Core of the Herrscher of Reason.
Navigator had apparently learned how to throw awkward shade from someone. Once she pulled the Core of the Herrscher of Reason and opened the Imaginary Space, she had to make the system understand that it was not that she could not bring out the Immortal's full strength—it was Mana, the deadweight, holding her back.
Navigator: ...Fine.
After thinking about it with great indignation, Amber asked, "Does this gacha have pity? I don't even have the full Border Stigmata set, and... the Core of the Herrscher of Reason feels really hard to pull..."
As she spoke, she thought of something else. "Oh, right. Is Xiao Shi inside the Core of the Herrscher of Reason? I want Xiao Shi from after the battle on the moon."
You were quite good at making demands.
Navigator's electronic voice remained devoid of emotional fluctuation.
There is no pity system in the gacha. The items drawn by the host are determined by the Main Control Consciousness. Navigator merely serves as a guide AI to help the host understand the system and cannot influence the period from which drawn items originate.
So she could not decide which version of Xiao Shi she got?
Amber was a little disappointed. Fu Hua already had to worry about her; if they got a newly born Xiao Shi too, would Fu Hua not completely break down?
But after thinking it over carefully, it seemed not to matter. Fu Hua had lived for so long—she would surely find a solution.
Besides, the battle with the Feathered Serpent God had made both Fu Hua and Amber feel a little tense. Some rules in this world were far more unsolvable than those in Honkai Impact 3rd. If they kept using Mana, they might encounter another opponent like the Feathered Serpent God, one they had no real way to deal with.
They therefore needed more methods.
Having found herself an excuse for her actions, Amber grandly waved a hand in her heart. "Mr. Navigator! Pull!"
Confirming gacha pull. Please draw cards.
The last gacha pull had given her considerable confidence. Looking at her recognition, Amber decided to stick with quality over quantity. Rather than pulling a pile of decent and useful items, she would rather get one or two exceptionally powerful ones.
"All in!"
Watching all her recognition plummet wildly before finally hitting zero, Amber looked toward the Gacha Interface with both anticipation and nervousness. The very first item that appeared made her breath catch—
"Core of the Herrscher of Reason!?" she said in disbelief. "I got it on the first pull!? Is this fate!?"
Last time, an investment of four or five thousand had netted her Feathered Dust and the extremely useful Severe Wound Curio, Noisy Superior. This time, she had gotten another utterly invincible start.
Amber was delighted and expectant. She felt that this haul would probably be even more surprising.
Navigator: The host is celebrating too soon.
Star Stone x2,987,891
...?
Amber froze. So many Star Stones? Could she even use them? Still, it was pretty good. She could give some to Ishtar later. As expected of more than seven thousand recognition invested—this utterly crushed the total Star Stones from her previous two pulls several times over!
Growing even more excited, Amber waited for the next item to appear. Yet the screen remained motionless for a long while.
?
"Mr. Navigator? Did it freeze?"
Identical items have already been automatically categorized. Host, your gacha pull has ended.
???
"Huh?"
The excitement and joy froze on Amber's face. She repeatedly tried to decipher what Navigator meant, yet refused to admit the truth as she deceived herself.
After a long while, she finally came back to her senses. "...Mr. Navigator... is there any way to spend Star Stones?... Come to think of it, I still have some Weapon Resonance..."
The Main Control Consciousness is dormant. The shop and additional functions cannot be opened at this time.
Navigator's words made Amber's vision go dark, but she quickly adjusted her mindset.
Getting the Core of the Herrscher of Reason was already an enormous profit... In fact, was that not why she had pulled on the banner in the first place? Think about it: even if she had gotten other good things, Divine Keys, or even Five-Star Curios or blessings, would any of them really make her happier than obtaining the Core of the Herrscher of Reason?
After comforting herself over her dashed expectations, Amber directly equipped the Core of the Herrscher of Reason.
"Xiao Shi! Come out and put on a show for Fu Hua!"
It's here, it's here. This has been so damn hard to deal with, everyone. This matter still isn't over lately. When I post a poll later, I'll mention it there too instead of putting it in the author's notes. It's not just an explanation—I need to vent too.
There'll probably only be one update today as well. I'm seriously coughing blood here. I clearly got recommended and should have seized the opportunity, but my family completely ruined it qaq.3
Xiao Shi: I'll Fight the Feathered Serpent God!
Amber had not intended to hide that shout from Fu Hua. On one hand, she wanted to prepare Fu Hua mentally so she would not get startled upon seeing a third person suddenly appear inside Feathered Dust. On the other, she wanted to immediately show off her "good luck."
Although she had not pulled anything besides the core, she had pulled the core!
If she did not say anything, how would Fu Hua know she had practically gotten nothing else?
Yet several seconds after her words fell, nothing changed within Feathered Dust. She could only sense Fu Hua's confused gaze.
"..." Where was Xiao Shi?
Navigator's mechanical voice rose considerately.
The Core of the Herrscher of Reason is classified as a "weapon" by the system. The host's currently equipped weapon is Hundred Birds Ask Heaven. Would you like to change weapons?
"Mr. Navigator... next time, you can just change it directly..."
Feeling embarrassed, Amber's face reddened slightly. She murmured softly in her heart, "Change it."
As if to emphasize the visual effect of changing weapons, the previously hidden Hundred Birds Ask Heaven reappeared in Amber's hand before dissolving into blue motes of light.
But soon, crimson motes gathered in Amber's hand and ultimately became... a red brick.
Amber: ...
Fu Hua: ...
"Eh, I was wondering where I'd ended up. Looking closely, isn't this the old place?"
Just as neither of them knew what to say, a third figure appeared in that blank world. That familiar outfit, familiar gray hair with white highlights, and those familiar red eyes—Amber and Fu Hua recognized her identity at a glance.
"Xiao Shi!" Amber said in delight.
"Hey, hey! Don't try getting friendly with me yet!"
Looking at the black-haired girl before her, who resembled Shier somewhat, the Herrscher of Reason made a stopping gesture. She then looked at Fu Hua. "Old antique, what's going on now? Is she your newly accepted disciple? How is my core under her control?"
Fu Hua: ...
She opened her mouth, unsure how to explain it for a moment. She could only say, "The situation here is rather complicated. I'll explain it to you through Feathered Dust."
"Feathered Dust? Fine. Feathered Dust again."
The Herrscher of Reason crossed her arms. After first sensing the powerful strength within her that she had not felt in a long time, she was no longer in a hurry and simply waited for Fu Hua to act.
She had actually felt quite a bit of crisis just now. Although Herrschers did not absolutely need their cores, losing one would still severely weaken them. The moment she came back to her senses, someone else was controlling her core. She had almost thought the Herrscher of a Thousand had come back to life.
Fortunately, after discovering that she was currently inside Feathered Dust, with the old antique beside her, and that the person controlling her core did not seem hostile, she gradually calmed down.
However, this old antique felt somewhat different from before. Perhaps because... she seemed more relaxed than ever? But that clumsy way of speaking had not changed. No, it had even gotten worse.
Thinking this, the Herrscher of Reason loosened some of her defenses over her consciousness and allowed Feathered Dust's power to enter her memories.
Herrscher of Reason: Fuck.
"No, where the hell did this send me? Is this still Honkai Impact 3rd?" She directly quoted the classics. "So I count as having transmigrated now too?"
Then she looked at Amber and once again revealed a healthy smile. "Not bad. The great Herrscher of Reason doesn't mind lending some power to her grand-disciple! Anyway, I have nothing else to do after leaving Honkai Impact 3rd, and following you will definitely bring more fun."
"Mm-hmm!"
Amber nodded immediately, wearing a motherly smile.
"Don't let fan creations rot your brain! Don't seriously think I need motherly love!"
The Herrscher of Reason looked speechless. "Besides, a little girl like you shouldn't make that expression. It hurts me just looking at it! And I'm technically your martial aunt, so show a little more respect to your elder, alright?"
"We do not have a master-disciple relationship," Fu Hua reminded her from the side.
"Oh, come on, old antique. You're not actually some cursed lone star. Why do you have to care so much about that mystical nonsense? Look at Kiana—did anything happen to her?" The Herrscher girl waved a hand. She had suddenly gained a grand-disciple and was in a good mood. She did not want to argue with this blockhead.
Hearing that, Amber looked at Fu Hua, expectation gleaming in her eyes.
She did not particularly believe in that sort of mystical matter either, but Fu Hua seemed to care about it, so Amber had never brought it up.
But in her heart, she had always regarded Fu Hua as her master.
"..."
Both of their attitudes were obvious. Even Fu Hua could tell that they wanted an answer from her.
Although people always said she was wooden and had low emotional intelligence, she had never felt that she lacked emotional intelligence. It was simply that everything had priorities. Sometimes, she had no choice but to set aside emotional matters and prioritize something else. When there was no difficult choice involved, however, she was not so rigid.
In truth, she had not established a master-disciple relationship at first not only because she cared about that mystical fate, but also partly because... she did not want to leave herself with too many attachments.
She had not intended to have such an intimate relationship with Amber. She had only planned to lend a hand when necessary.
But... she was not as cold-hearted as she had imagined. Or rather, because all her memories had completely returned without side effects, the Fu Hua who had now fully processed those memories saw everything differently.
Seeing Fu Hua remain silent for so long, Amber felt a little disappointed, though she did not take it too seriously.
Even without those words of acknowledgment, the way they got along had already placed reality above words.
Thinking that, she smiled and was about to speak when she saw the Immortal, who had been silent all this time, look at her.
"Perhaps... as you said."
Fu Hua's gaze was brighter than it had ever been, giving Amber an unprecedented sense of being watched. It felt as though she stood beneath a cluster of spotlights, filling her with the unfamiliar feeling of... being valued.
"Amber and I have long since become master and disciple."
The Immortal's tone was calm, yet the sincerity within it was unmistakable. Even Amber, who had not cared that much about the matter before, felt her heart race, her breath unconsciously catching.
"I did not consider things carefully enough, so I failed to say it sooner." Fu Hua did not stop speaking. "I'm sorry."
"...Ah..." It took several seconds after Fu Hua's voice fell for Amber to realize belatedly that she had finished. She had once been able to loudly call the other woman her paper-wife right in front of her, yet now she did not know what to say.
"Like master, like disciple indeed."
The Herrscher of Reason held her forehead and sighed before spreading her hands. "Alright, you're not going to start performing some disciple-acceptance ceremony too, are you? It's already modern society. Put that aside for now."
As she spoke, she walked over to Amber, took the brick from Amber's hand, and, using the Feathered Dust permissions Fu Hua had granted her, easily changed the brick's shape. A longsword appeared in her hand.
The longsword had a golden guard and a black hilt, its blade fading from black at the spine to red at the tip. It was precisely the sword she was most accustomed to using.
"More importantly, let your martial aunt win back some face for you. That Feathered Serpent God, right? Let me show you how easily your martial aunt can take her down!"
I didn't drop it, I didn't drop it! There's no way I'd drop it!
My family situation won't be over for quite some time, but I don't plan on dealing with it anymore. I stepped in once, and the very next day proved it had all been a waste of effort. I have my own things to do—I can't keep getting involved. 1
There'll be more later. I'll start making up updates tomorrow, though I also want to properly rest for a day. I feel mentally exhausted.
Gilgamesh's Death!
"...But Quetzalcoatl is already an ally. It doesn't seem necessary to fight her, does it?"
Amber thought Fu Hua had not received all the memories when using Feathered Dust, so she reminded her.
She was still a little dazed, and her tone sounded somewhat listless.
"Hey!"
Before you continue