Honkai, Traversing Otto, Path to Godhood

It's not an increase in intelligence, it's just… you're stupid.

Yeah, no matter what, Dr. MEI of the Previous Civilization invented this AI to serve humanity. If she'd made it too smart, with the Void Archives backing it with supercomputing power, all of humanity would be helpless.

The man sighed and closed his eyes.

—But not stupid enough to be this bad, right? That outburst just now was basically telling Otto that she's no different from the Third Divine Key. If he finds a way to deal with the Seven Thunders of Repose, then he can completely handle her?

These days, do people self-destruct so sincerely?

He understood, but was shocked.

Getting back to the point, he'd take the Seven Thunders of Repose for himself and train it first. It could at least serve as one of his trump cards.

Otto had plenty of weapons of this caliber, so he naturally wouldn't rely on them too much, or even need them at a critical moment.

—As for letting others research it? How could that be possible? The Thousand Worlds Samsara has people inside it, but the Seven Thunders of Repose is an unowned divine artifact. How could it not be in my own hands?

He hadn't forgotten his original intention—to be able to survive safely in the Honkai world.

To ensure this, he needed to quickly build his defenses externally, making the strongest Valkyries completely subservient to him, loyal and unwavering. Internally, he needed to become powerful, so he would accept any divine artifact offered.

If it weren't for the fact that the Key of Blank, which carried the Flame-Melt core, was a life-draining item, he wouldn't have minded modifying it a few times and carrying it on his person. Speaking of which, wasn't that still Dr. MEI's original armor?

That would be even more stimulating.

"I'll have to try it later to see if the Soul Steel body is compatible with the Key of Blank," Otto decided in his mind. "If it is, then I'll essentially have a Herrscher clone…"

At that point, he'd stand in front of Kevin and shout that this was what MEI took off—as for getting beaten up? Hah, could Kevin's capture reach his consciousness?

"Sending out operational Divine Keys for research—that's already impossible. The Gem of Serenity must also be retrieved from those people, creating a second Black Abyss Hundred Flowers…"

As Otto continued to plan in his mind for weapons Schicksal could use solo, he pressed the communicator.

"Lord Bishop, your milk tea."

A moment later, Rita walked out from behind him, placing the cup on the table and standing at attention.

"The World Serpent's base in the London branch—how much have you collected?" Otto asked casually, inserting a straw into the cup.

"We're still calculating for now," Rita replied. "Currently—Schicksal has obtained all their data on artificial Honkai Beasts."

"Artificial Honkai Beasts?" Otto mused. "Mmm-hmm… Is Durandal undergoing the S-rank Valkyrie exam?"

Rita was taken aback for a moment, then caught up with the man's erratic train of thought after a while. "Yes, Lord Bishop."

"If I recall correctly, among the Honkai Beasts captured from the World Serpent, there was a large group of cats," Otto said, pressing the tip of the straw against a pink bubble. "Help little Kiana pick out a cat first."

"Little Kiana?" Rita was a little confused.

"Little Durandal," the man explained. "After all, in front of her mother, I can't still call her Dudu, right?"

"Dudu" was a nickname many Valkyries in Schicksal privately used for Durandal, derived from the dodo bird. In Western cultures, elders sometimes gave such nicknames when a child seemed a bit silly.

Of course, that wasn't the real reason—it was mainly because Kiana had gotten used to calling her "Goose Baby" or "Buggy," and switching nicknames wasn't easy.

Chapter 43: Gray Serpent, you really came.

"…Alright, Lord Bishop."

Rita blinked, then her delicate eyebrows curved into a smile.

She liked any nickname for Durandal, and her smile was simply due to the meaning behind the change.

Lord Bishop seemed to value Durandal even more now.

And it wasn't the look of an experimental subject, nor the admiration reserved for the strong. Rita could tell that Otto's words held no ulterior motive, but rather the care of an elder for their junior.

It even seemed to surpass the care he showed for Theresa.

It was as if Lord Bishop truly considered Durandal his student now.

Perhaps… this was the influence Cecilia had on Lord Bishop.

Rita instinctively speculated.

She never thought that the Saintess of the past held such an important place in Lord Bishop's heart.

She couldn't help but recall what Amber had said about Lord Bishop taking the Saintess on trips every year.

Perhaps… Lord Bishop truly had once considered Cecilia family.

So now, with her mother's return and the Bishop gradually becoming as kind as a teacher, Durandal would have two elders—powerful elders who could shelter her from storms.

Rita was genuinely happy for her silly, close friend.

Little Kiana… what a nice nickname.

"Choose one with high intelligence," Otto said, sensing the joy emanating from the person beside him, a slight smile playing on his lips as his eyes narrowed. "One that knows how to please its master, one that will obediently follow even if little Kiana treats it like a dog and throws a collar for it to chase. Oh, and it needs to be long-lived, at least able to live for more than a decade, so little Kiana doesn't have to worry about its health and safety."

"As you command."

Rita's voice sounded much more cheerful.

"Alright—is our only gain artificial Honkai Beasts? Anything else?"

"The only thing fully absorbed is this, Lord Bishop," Rita replied. "Additionally—Schicksal discovered three scepters in the World Serpent base. Researchers are working tirelessly to study their functions."

Oh?

Otto was a little surprised.

The World Serpent's scepter...

"Staff of the Underworld?"

"Schicksal's intercepted World Serpent data names the scepter as such—but the data doesn't detail its specific usage."

Rita raised her hands. On the black lace gloves covering her delicate fingers, a golden scepter was quantum-teleported to her fingertips.

"Then this haul is quite significant."

Otto was a bit taken aback.

If he remembered correctly, besides their grand Stigmata Project, the World Serpent's "Staff of the Underworld" research was their only other noteworthy endeavor.

According to Jackal's explanation in the story, the Staff of the Underworld was also known as the Imaginary Interferometer. This weapon could significantly disrupt the connection between a Herrscher's core and Imaginary Space, distorting their "channel" for a short period and causing the Honkai Energy within the Herrscher to become chaotic.

The World Serpent possessed only eight of these weapons.

"Kallen be with us... little one, heaven's not leaving you a way out."

Otto muttered to himself, though no one knew the meaning behind his words.

He grasped the golden scepter, his fingertips glowing with the same color. The First Divine Key, Void Archives, activated, quickly analyzing its structure.

"Magnificent," the man soon retracted his power, his eyes gleaming, "Staff of the Underworld—I like that name."

He put away the Staff of the Underworld and ordered the brown-haired woman, "Rita, proceed to the laboratory and halt its research under my name."

This weapon was still too advanced for Schicksal, who hadn't yet developed the fourth-generation God-Slaying armor.

They did possess the basic materials to create such a thing, but Otto didn't want anyone besides himself to master its core manufacturing method.

The fewer people who knew a way to cut off a Herrscher's retreat, the better.

In the future of Schicksal, Herrschers would be a constant presence.

"If Herrschers could be easily banned, then it would be better to just use Stigmata Warriors and Fusion Warriors..."

The man tapped his fingers on the table. The latter part of his sentence was spoken louder, so those around him could hear:

"Alright, Rita, once you have the Staff of the Underworld, hand it over to Amber for safekeeping—tsk,"

He suddenly paused and stood up.

"—Never mind."

A flash of golden light, and Otto vanished from the room, leaving behind only a new command:

"Cancel the previous order. Now, prepare my return trip immediately."

"Clang!"

Cecilia's lance flew out, striking a dark shadow.

"You finally showed yourself," the silver-haired woman took a step back, looking at the entity that was struck by Black Abyss Hundred Flowers but showed no signs of bleeding. "The Bishop anticipated your arrival and ordered me to wait here."

"Oh?" the dark shadow emitted a sinister synthesized voice, "Is that so? To have you, who hasn't recovered, continue fighting?"

"Provocation is useless," Cecilia remained unfazed, "It is a Valkyrie's duty, sir."

"Ha, I know that—how much sway does Otto have over the name Schariac," the dark shadow's voice seemed to carry a hint of helplessness, "Heh, Otto, Schariac. Schariac." His tone seemed to carry a touch more helplessness.

"I don't understand what you're saying," the silver-haired woman shook her head, twirling her lance, "But right now—you won't be taking anything from here."

"Sigh," the dark shadow let out a long sigh, "I actually don't intend to clash with Schicksal at the moment, but I apologize—the Staff of the Underworld and the Seven Thunders of Repose are burdens Schicksal should not bear."

"Oh, really?"

A voice different from the one confronting them rang out, and then, Otto appeared before Cecilia.

"Schicksal can't bear the outcome of defeating the World Serpent?"

"Bishop."

A flicker of joy flashed in the silver-haired woman's eyes. She silently took a step forward, intending to shield him—but Otto stopped her.

"He poses no threat."

Cecilia nodded, but still moved a little closer to her Bishop, ready to instantly lunge and leap to her designated position.

Otto turned back, giving the woman a smile, then looked at the dark shadow, his pupils flashing:

"Staff of the Underworld... I was just about to use it as a spare move, and unexpectedly, the piece has come to me."

"I feel no shame in being treated as a pawn by you, Mr. Otto," the dark shadow's mechanical synthesized voice carried a hint of solemnity, "In fact, the Serpent places the highest importance on you, second only to the Sovereign."

"Yes, importance," Otto scoffed, "So important that the moment they detect my trace outside headquarters, they immediately attempt an ambush; so important that during the sniping, they use the Third Divine Key that decomposes everything against me, right?"

"Importance does not equate to respect," the dark shadow replied, "Your existence is the greatest hidden danger to the Sovereign's Doomsday Plan."

"..."

Why are all of you from the World Serpent and the remnants of the Previous Civilization so good at being suicide bombers?!

Otto rubbed his forehead. Self-destruction was a good thing, of course, but couldn't you at least reveal something I don't know, like Void Archives does?!

"Alright," he shook his head helplessly, "sometimes knowing too much makes it feel like all the riddle-tellers are just blowing themselves up."

"Senior cadre of World Serpent, follower of the Serpent, Mr. Gray Serpent. It's our first meeting, but I've heard so much about you."

Chapter 44: This Isn't Something You Need to Know

"…?"

The shadow did not reveal itself, but it visibly froze for a moment.

How did he know… him?!

"You think World Serpent is very secretive, don't you?" Otto's eyes twinkled with amusement, a hint of playfulness in his voice. "You think you hide in the darkness, wielding the truth?"

"Creation of little MEBIUS, don't think that just because you've lived a few thousand years longer, you can act mysterious in front of me. The pride you gain from hiding in the gutters, covered in mud, is a joke in my eyes."

The man stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the shadow with seemingly no defenses.

Unbeknownst to them, the psychological perception of light and darkness had already shifted between the two parties.

"...As expected of Schicksal's Bishop. To know so much about us..."

Gray Serpent's aura was clearly suppressed, his words laced with a hint of uncertainty.

"But the Serpent has no intention of being enemies with Schicksal."

"Heh,"

Otto let out a cold laugh.

"Artificial Honkai Beast swarms, Armed Puppets, Divine Keys, Emperor-class Honkai Beasts. You call this 'no intention of being enemies with Schicksal'?"

"The Serpent has also paid the corresponding price..."