Clown Alpha: You Have to Lose Something Before You Learn to Treasure It / Asking for Death? Lv. 5!

Gwen nodded slightly at that and looked at Anna.

Meeting Gwen's gaze, Anna took a deep breath, exhaled sharply, then shouted:

"Everyone, abandon the camp and retreat toward headquarters. Maintain formation and be ready to engage at any time."

"Yes!"

Having received their orders, everyone answered in unison. Following Anna's instructions, they abandoned the camp and retreated in an orderly fashion.

At the rear of the group, Gwen had already sensed the dangerous aura blooming nearby. His expression turned solemn as he tightened his grip on the greatsword in his hand.

Clown Alpha: Only After Losing Something Do People Learn to Cherish It

Inside a building that, after only a few hours of Honkai ravaging it, already carried an air of abandonment, stood a man utterly out of place in his surroundings—

He wore a pristine white tailcoat, a blue rose pinned to his chest, a white clown mask over his face, and a white hat atop his head, like a clown on his way to entertain at some banquet.

Yet in the mind of this clown with dazzling golden hair, who was watching the rapidly withdrawing team at the distant camp, a teasing voice suddenly rang out—

"As expected, an accident still happened..."

"Isn't that exactly why I'm here?"

The expression beneath the white-clad figure's mask remained calm as still water. Looking at the figure at the rear of the group, he spoke faintly.

Destiny was no stranger to the sudden appearance of powerful Honkai Beasts during the later stages, or even near the end, of a Honkai outbreak. Their database contained more than one such record.

However, for such unpredictable disasters, Destiny had no especially effective countermeasures. All they could do was keep their forces more vigilant and equip them with more powerful weapons to improve their ability to handle emergencies.

Yet an emergency was still an emergency. Even if they made use of the equipment provided, or waited for reinforcements to arrive and eliminate the suddenly appearing High-tier Honkai Beast, Valkyrie units could not avoid casualties.

And that was one of the reasons Destiny worked so hard to cultivate S-Class Seeds—

Even a suddenly appearing Emperor-class Honkai Beast could not act recklessly before an S-Class Valkyrie.

But with no active-duty S-Class Valkyries in Destiny at present, such a crisis had become an unavoidable disaster.

Therefore, when Gwen went on missions, Otto had specifically sent out his combat Soul Steel body as a precaution.

After all, although Otto understood that Gwen had to experience real battlefields and hardships in order to grow into what Otto wanted him to become, that did not mean Otto could rest easy while Gwen faced danger—

No one understood the fragility of human life better than Otto, who had witnessed life and death countless times over five hundred years.

"True."

Hearing Otto's words, Void Archives said in a deliberately serious tone,

"If you weren't here to play nanny, you wouldn't have followed him all the way here...

Aren't you going to make a move?

That's a Ganesha, the uncrowned king among Emperor-class Honkai Beasts.

Once the battle begins, with that child's fighting style, he might not make it out alive..."

"That child isn't as fragile as you think..."

Otto watched the figure guarding the rear of the team and spoke faintly,

"And he's special...

Just like little Bianca, not because of his identity or experiences, but simply because of what makes him special..."

"I admit that child is a once-in-a-generation genius. Even back then, that person's rate of improvement wasn't nearly as absurd as his.

But..."

Void Archives instantly understood what Otto meant. It did not deny it, but merely reminded him,

"Right now, he is only a genius.

He still has a long way to go before becoming truly strong.

And a genius who has not become strong is nothing more than a corpse."

"Of course I know that. Otherwise, neither of us would be here."

Otto nodded in complete agreement, yet showed no intention of acting.

"But for him, the proper amount of pressure isn't a bad thing...

Perhaps he has already made his resolve, but I was the one who pushed him onto this path.

Only when he truly moves forward of his own accord can he fully unleash all his potential.

Just like Bianca back then..."

"Even if he might lose an innocent affection because of it, regret it for the rest of his life, and shed tears over it in the dead of night someday?"

Void Archives understood Otto's intentions and offered the reminder with no small amount of malice.

"Heh... Only after losing something do people learn to cherish it..."

Otto, who had once again taken out the Clown Alpha outfit after a long time, spoke calmly as he watched the chestnut-haired girl rapidly fleeing with the group.

The eyes visible through the holes in that mask were utterly calm, showing not the slightest ripple at the possible death of an S-Class Seed, as though it were merely an insignificant weight on a scale.

At that moment, a terrifying surge of Honkai Energy erupted. Distorted purple light illuminated the horizon as a colossal creature suddenly leaped from the rolling dust into the air, its mountain-sized body appearing savage and terrifying beneath the glow of Honkai Energy.

Boom!

With a deafening crash, the giant beast landed, smashing several surrounding buildings into ruins. The rising dust even obscured the glow of Honkai Energy in the sky. The earth trembled, and the heavens seemed to tear apart.

Even Gwen's group, already far from the camp, had to slow their retreat because of the trembling ground.

Amid the strange movement beneath their feet and the deafening noise, someone instinctively turned to look back. What she saw was the enormous figure, still clearly visible even from such a great distance, like a mountain.

The physical characteristics that had been emphasized in class made the girl's face turn pale. Her feet faltered, and she nearly fell.

"Aino, are you all right?"

Martha caught her comrade and asked with concern.

"I'm fine..."

Aino, pale-faced, shook her head hard and tried not to look back again. Though fear and despair now filled her heart, she knew that if she let them out, everyone would die with her.

Just then, the earth trembled again, making the already unsettled girls shudder.

But before the girls, who had begun to guess what was happening, could turn around, they heard Anna's command—

"Everyone, form combat formations! Spread out and prepare to engage the enemy."

Watching the colossal creature leap high into the air again, its vast shadow nearly covering an entire district, Anna's heart pounded madly. She fought to suppress her anxiety and fear as she raised the lance in her hand.

"Everyone, follow Anna's command."

Gwen also drew the greatsword strapped to his back. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the terrifying mountain-like beast.

Unlike the monsters in games that were at most twice a person's height, the Honkai Beasts of the real world were each larger than the last. A Ganesha like the one before them was as immense as a mountain.

Still, though cold sweat seeped faintly from his forehead, Gwen was not as despairing as the girls behind him, who were mechanically following orders to form up—

For one thing, Gwen had already witnessed a Ganesha being killed last year.

It had been a Ganesha that appeared near the end of a Honkai outbreak in India. It had caused the deaths of twelve Valkyries, including two A-rank Valkyries. Gwen's squad had been on a mission nearby at the time and headed over as a support unit.

Seeking Death? lv5!

Though he had only provided support, that experience had allowed Gwen to face the might of an Emperor-class Honkai Beast for the first time and understand clearly that even a mountain-like giant beast was not invincible.

The other reason was Gwen's own strength—

Although Gwen had just told Anna that his brave performance on the battlefield was to earn merit and facilitate an early promotion, that was not a lie, but neither was it the whole truth.

Besides earning military achievements, fighting on the battlefield also allowed Gwen to gain massive increases in his ability values—

The many missions he had completed over the past year had brought Gwen tremendous progress, allowing him to exceed the goal he had set for himself last year—

Gwen—lv5

Strength—SSS1879

Endurance—SSS1901

Dexterity—SSS1922

Mind—SSS1999

Energy—SSS1999

Energy System: None

Development Abilities: Nourish Body with Soul, Nourish Soul with Soul, Ten Directions Bearing, Scorching Infinity

Through the adjustable virtual training room available at any time and the frequent missions over the past year, Gwen had risen three levels in just over a year. He had now reached the peak of lv5, and even the words "lv5" were slowly flashing, indicating that he could level up at any time.

Moreover, thanks to the characteristics of Nourish Body with Soul, every time Gwen leveled up, he had raised all his attributes to the maximum value of 1999, giving this "lv5" an extraordinary level of substance.

Although he still could not beat You Lan Dai Er, who was likewise practically a cheater, in their usual sparring matches, Gwen's pure physical foundation had already reached the current standards of an A-rank Valkyrie, and even exceeded them.

Over the past year, Gwen's shop had also refreshed several amazing items that nearly made him drool—such as a Bronze Divine Light Rod that had a chance to transform its user into Ultraman Tiga, or the Gengnu Vajra, which could continuously strengthen one's spirit and willpower while reconstructing molecular structures and genes.

However, their astronomical prices left Gwen, who received only a little over ten thousand points each month from some unknown source, staring at them helplessly.

Yet aside from those things he could only look at but not buy, Gwen had also refreshed an item he could afford—

Fire Shadow Stone—one of the Light Shadow Stones formed from the power of light cast by the Sun to protect Earth from the Shadow Emperor. It possessed a special magnetic field. Prolonged close contact might alter the human body's genes and grant the Scorching Infinity power of blazing fire.

Though he had wanted to save enough points to buy another gold-rarity item, Gwen knew he only had a few years. He had not truly been stingy, and had still bought the second Light Shadow Stone—

If he could buy all five, they would at least count as purple-rarity items, perhaps even gold-rarity ones. It was guaranteed profit.

After purchasing the second Light Shadow Stone, Gwen had also found the answer for his development ability upon reaching lv5—Scorching Infinity. That was also why his Energy attribute had been able to reach its maximum right after Mind.

It was precisely because he possessed such a solid foundation at least equal to an A-rank Valkyrie's, along with these characteristics, that Gwen had the confidence to contend with Ganesha.

After taking one last glance at the status panel in his vision, Gwen closed it. He calmed his breathing and focused his narrowed eyes on Ganesha, which was rolling through the air.

The mountain-sized beast drew in its limbs, bent its body, and curled itself into a roughly cylindrical shape.

The next instant, amid the trembling earth, the mountain-sized Ganesha reduced building after building to rubble in the billowing dust. Like a boulder rolling down from a mountain, it came rolling toward Gwen's group with irresistible momentum.

The enormous shadow engulfed them in an instant. Before that colossal creature, even towering trees and skyscrapers were like roadside weeds, easily flattened away.

As for Gwen, who stood barely over one meter sixty, he was even more like a speck of dust before the giant beast.

Yet even as a speck of dust, Gwen still raised his greatsword before him. His feet stood firm upon the constantly shaking ground, his figure beneath the dim sunlight resembling a mythological hero standing alone against a monster in a classical oil painting.

Seeing Gwen's figure, the girls whose hearts had nearly been consumed by despair felt as though a beam of light had shone into them, restoring life to their eyes.

"Open fire!

Help Gwen distract Ganesha!"

At the sight, Anna's pink eyes nearly turned blood-red.

Yet knowing her own strength, Anna ultimately forced herself to suppress the urge to rush out. Almost gritting her teeth, she issued the command and fired first.

Several thin laser beams and rounds of ammunition struck Ganesha's mountain-like body without surprise, causing its rolling trajectory to veer slightly as it sought to crush the more distant insects instead.

As for the insect directly before it?

It could simply crush that one too!

Ganesha's brain, insignificant compared with its massive body, made that judgment.

Within a few breaths, Ganesha's enormous, earth-shaking body had destroyed dozens of buildings along its path and rolled before Gwen with unstoppable momentum.

Though Gwen had started running, it was clearly too late. Even if he escaped Ganesha's crushing path, he would still be swept up by the violent wind rushing toward him.

Seeing this, Clown Alpha, who had been sitting calmly in the nearby building, finally could not remain seated. With a flick of his hand, he pulled out a slightly illusory, ornate cross and prepared to step in.