Herta Explains, Welt: So It Was You! (cont.)

Gwen, of course, knew who did it, but without pressing for details, he changed the subject and asked—

"Speaking of which, in your eyes, Herta, what level is that insect?"

I'm referring to combat power or destructive capability; how significant is the gap between them and a true Emanator?

Gwen's understanding of the Star Rail universe largely comes from the game before he traveled there. Izanami Underworld's situation is extremely unique and not enough to serve as a sufficient reference.

However, the Herta, this Envoy of Wisdom, should be able to give Gwen a certain understanding of his strength in this world.

"This..."

Upon hearing Gwen's question, the Herta pondered for a moment, then connected to an android inside a Space Station and retrieved previous recordings.

After a moment, the Herta shook its head—

Without specific details, I cannot give you a definitive answer, but I can provide a rough assessment.

"I would like to hear the details."

Gwen readily agreed.

"Based on the information I collected from inside the Space Station and the information observed by one of my dolls, the bug itself can only be considered a failed experiment. That guy should have discarded it, but I don't know why it was left behind."

It seems that it previously consumed the Dark Matter Engine of the Doomsday Beast, and with the energy it provided, as well as the power originating from the Destruction Star God Nanook, it began to mutate—

Yes, although it is growing towards becoming an adult insect king, its path has deviated from its original copying target. So unless Nanook chooses this insect, it will never become a true Emanator.

As for its destructive power...

If the enemy and its Swarm Propagation be captured and destroyed immediately, their destructive power against conventional civilizations will exceed that of many unprepared Emanator.

But this is more about Propagation characteristics; as for direct combat capability...

As you said, it really is just a little bug.

Having defined the fake Insect King, Herta lightly tossed his long hair and looked at Gwen with a smile—

Are you disappointed?

"Perhaps a little, but that's just an instinct stemming from the desire for a strong opponent."

More than anything, there's relief that the Propagation Swarm won't reappear because of this accident, repeating a corner of the Universal Locust Calamity of the past.

Gwen's voice was calm and steady, showing little emotional change.

Anyway, he wasn't going all out, and he still had a lot of "experience points" in his body waiting to be digested.

"Hmm, good mindset..."

A casual compliment added a touch of satisfaction to Herta's smile.

"Although that little insect could not become a true Emanator... and was far from the insect king at the peak of the Universal Locust Calamity when the insect emperor was still alive, its own survival ability was extremely excellent."

If you don't eliminate it along with the entire Swarm, it's possible that the opponent might try to escape by shedding its tail.

After all, when the Universal Locust Calamity ravaged the universe, Nanook was far from appearing. The Propagation and destruction was indeed a... very creative development.

Cough..."

Realizing he had gone off-topic, Herta coughed lightly and steered the conversation back on track—

"Overall, the little bug you killed could only be considered to be close to the level of Emanator, but being able to deal with it cleanly and efficiently shows that your strength is quite good in this starry sky."

"Um...

I have some battle data from that time; would you consider it useful for reference?

As he spoke, Gwen was already standing on the support module of the Herta Space Station, but he did not cancel the summons to Apollo—

The computing power provided by Apollo can accelerate Gwen's absorption of the gold coins—those powers—that burst from the cocoon.

"Oh?

Send it to me so I can take a look.

Upon hearing this, Herta showed interest, tossed his staff aside, and began receiving the signal.

But the next moment, a storage unit with a rather girlish exterior suddenly appeared in front of the Herta.

"Um?

"So you used to like this color?"

Herta raised his handsome eyebrows slightly, looking at the storage unit in his palm. He placed it on his staff to read it while teasing him.

"I don't have the communication methods of this world. I happened to have a memory device copied from Asta before, so I can use it now."

Gwen explained casually.

"Um...

Um?"

The Herta made a casual remark and began receiving the information transmitted by Gwen, but after a moment, it glanced at Gwen with surprise—

It wasn't that Gwen was playing a trick on her because the information he gave her was too rudimentary.

On the contrary, the information Gwen provided, while not complete, was far more detailed than the Herta had anticipated.

Moreover, we can get a glimpse of the whole picture through this information...

It seems to be a system I've never encountered before...

Interesting.

People are interesting, and things are interesting too.

Herta's eyes shone even brighter.

"Um...

Although it only lasted for a moment, the energy peak was not low.

Moreover, there's this physical strength, and this unknown effect..."

Having become more interested, the Herta watched even more intently, and when he looked at Gwen again, his expression became even more serious—

"Revised preface: When you kill that little bug, it's roughly equivalent to killing a dying, crippled bug king."

"Rounding it up or down, I'd probably be considered Emanator- level official?"

Gwen was somewhat surprised by the result.

"Puff...

What, Emanator- level? Do you think this is a game?

Upon hearing Gwen's words, the Herta couldn't help but chuckle.

"Emanator is not a character level title in the game. You can be called Emanator level when you reach level 100 or 200. There are also Heavenly King level, Heavenly Emperor level, and Star God level after that."

Some have said that if the actions of mortals who receive the inspiration of the stars and wield the power of destiny are seen as stirring up a single, fragmented droplet, then the magnificent feat of the stars driving their mighty forces to control destiny is like propelling a tsunami across mountains. And between this vast and immeasurable divide, a few mortals favored by the stars can also draw upon the energy of destiny with the stars' promise, stirring up giant waves that erode the coastline; these beings are called Emanator.

The so-called "Emanator" is not a system title that you can obtain by reaching a certain level; rather, it refers to someone who has been granted "authority" by the Star God.

Ordinary Pathstrider can draw power from their destiny based on their understanding and practice of it, but those Emanator are not limited to this; they can directly draw power far exceeding that of Pathstrider.

Even if one has not gone deep into the corresponding destiny path, or is merely an uncultivated Noblesse Bug, one can still use more destiny path energy than Pathstrider who has cultivated that path for thousands of years.

From this perspective alone, Emanator simply has an extra source of destiny energy compared to others.

Of course, the so-called Emanator is not simply someone who exercises power based on the authority granted by the Star God; they also possess some special qualities.

Moreover, generally speaking, those Emanator extraordinary abilities tend to go further in their destiny than ordinary people, and this process becomes the driving force for the continuation, extension, and broadening of their destiny.

"Well, the most important thing about the Emanator is the authority granted by the Star God and the destiny power derived from it. However, there is no clear standard for whether to convert it all into combat power, how much to convert, the conversion rate, or whether to carry out targeted specialization to adapt to and perform other tasks."

Listening to the explanation of the Herta, Gwen nodded, confirming some of his previous assumptions.

"Yes, that's right."

Herta nodded, revealing an expression that said, "This child is teachable."

"The so-called Emanator is just a key. Different Emanator can obtain more or less of the power of destiny from different destinies."

Whether it's used to arm oneself, destroy the universe, or for experiments, that's entirely up to the individual; it cannot be used as an assessment of combat capability.

"Speaking of which, you just mentioned the unknown effects of unclear data. Is that also one of the Emanator's abilities?"

Adhering to the principle of not bothering two people with the same matter, Gwen continued to press for answers.

"Yes, that's right."

Herta affirmed.

"Different destinies have different natures and powers. They are not simply names that distinguish factions in the game, but are essentially different or even conflicting."

Like the fake Insect King you killed before, due to the characteristics of its Propagation destiny, theoretically it would be difficult to kill if the creator did not leave a backdoor. It would require an equal level of power to successfully counteract it, or to increase the quantity, but the effect would probably not be satisfactory.

Like when you used the Quasi Black Hole to kill that bug, if it weren't just a failed experiment with only a few of the original characteristics of the bug king, it would probably have taken decades to finish it.

The power you displayed earlier was quite amazing; you should try it again.

Your map of Herta Castle is way too short.

Gwen chuckled inwardly, ignoring the question, and instead asked...

"Is there a universally accepted system for evaluating combat capabilities in the universe?"

"No."

Herta had anticipated this and flatly refused.

"Even before the Universal Locust Calamity, when Order covered the universe, there was none, let alone now."

The universe is vast. Not to mention different galaxies, even sister planets in the same galaxy, or even on the same planet, may have systems that are difficult to match completely due to their different origins and development directions.

This is even more true when viewed on a scale encompassing the entire universe.

A destructive maniac dedicated to destruction and a scholar devoted to microphysics—even if both could draw similar amounts of destiny energy from the destructive and Erudition destinies respectively, their combat abilities would hardly be equal. Moreover, many life forms possess uniquely localized abilities.

"Therefore, in this starry sky, never underestimate anyone."

A calm voice answered the Herta's words, issuing a warning to Gwen.

"Um?"

Herta rarely comes to talk about sex, but he didn't expect to be disturbed. His gaze swept downwards and he saw the middle-aged man with brown hair and brown eyes.

"Are you Welt Yang of the Stellaris Train?"

Herta was somewhat surprised, as she didn't recall the other person being the type to suddenly interrupt other people's conversations.

"Hello, Ms. Herta."

Welt Yang first nodded to the Herta, then shifted his gaze to Gwen, his eyes filled with anticipation.

"And... Gwen."

"Welt, is it really you?"

From Welt Yang's tone, Gwen had already gotten the answer, directly overturning his previous parallel universe theory; this was the worldline he belonged to.

The tone and the gaze clearly indicated that she recognized him and Apollo; the excitement in her voice was almost impossible to conceal.

Weren't you in charge of the backup plan for the North American region at the time?

What are you doing here?

Gwen was a bit confused. The Void Archives should still be working for Dr. MEI, so it was impossible for him to have created the Solar System for Welt Yang. How did he end up here?

"This...

Let's talk about it later.

Having received the answer he wanted, Welt Young completely relaxed and said with a smile,

"The opportunity to speak with Ms. Herta is extremely rare, so I won't disturb you any longer."

With that, Welt Young turned around, abandoning his cane, and strode briskly toward the train.

Go back and pack your things, making sure to bring all the gifts you've prepared over the years.

Welt Yang was well aware that Gwen possessed the ability to travel between the inner and outer Solar System.

The train was fine, but after being away for so long, he wanted to go home and visit.

"If you're from the same place..."