A String of Quests

"System, what the hell are Xiao Yun's shield, wind, sword, and that water thing? Why don't I feel anything?"

"If you were an unconscious Stigmata host, you could feel it, but the problem is Xiao Yun is awake now. These are her abilities, not yours."

"How can I, a Herrscher, not have my own Stigmata? System, you know what I mean."

"Host exclusive Stigmata, 1,000,000 Honkai energy."

"...Uh, about my second title, can you cancel its effect? I want to farm some Honkai energy."

"Of course. But I must remind you, host, even if you clear out every Mortal and Honkai Beast in Changkong City, you won't accumulate that amount. Also, defeating the Third Herrscher rewards 100,000 Honkai energy, and killing it rewards the Herrscher Core - Gem of Conquest."

"Cancel the Herrscher title effect and lure all the nearby Honkai Beasts and Mortals here." It was clear he hadn't taken the system's last sentence to heart. Joke's on him, how could he, a rare growth-type Herrscher, go around chasing girls for such a "small" amount of Honkai energy? What was the difference between that and living off a woman?

"Miss Yae, I have something to take care of, so let's part ways here." To avoid unnecessary trouble, it was better to send Yae Sakura away.

"Alright, then Lord Wuming, please take care." To avoid sounding too unfamiliar, she referred to the young man as Wuming, which solved the awkwardness of names and provided a title. "I hope when we meet again, you'll have a name."

"Don't worry."

After bidding farewell to Yae Sakura, the young man sprinted in the opposite direction, a large white "tidal wave" trailing behind him.

"System, why didn't you tell me there were so many enemies nearby! They could drown me with a single mouthful of spit!"

"The host underestimated the enemies. Some Mortals and Honkai Beasts don't drop Honkai energy when killed. I've prepared some surprises for you. Rest assured, they are definitely good things."

"Good things?" The young man immediately stopped. Using the power of Kiana Kaslana, he controlled lightning, and spears of electricity circled around him. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's kill as many as we can!"

After fighting for a short while, the young man realized that the system had only lured weaklings for him, all of them ordinary Mortal-level. Even the Honkai Beasts were the weakest types; none of the Rush-type or Chariot-type Honkai Beasts he had encountered earlier were present.

Even if that were the case, these Mortals and Honkai Beasts only dropped single-digit amounts of Honkai energy, and some dropped nothing at all.

"Are you kidding me, System?"

"No... this is an accident, my host. The strongest enemies in Changkong City just now have already been lured away."

"Yae Sakura?"

"Yes, and the three people you met earlier."

"System, can I date Yae Sakura?"

"Of course. The conquest reward is 1,000,000 Honkai energy, Divine Key - Jizou Mitama, and a special dungeon - Stigmata World: Sakura Cycle. There are no rewards for killing her. Additionally, there is a favorability system for dating. After this, there will be a perfect conquest. At a certain level, there will be a surprise."

Perfect conquest... Heh. And with such a huge difference in rewards, coupled with what he vaguely knew about Yae Sakura... he could already imagine how difficult it would be.

"System, turn on the text box, I want to accept quests!" His future depended on this system's guidance. The more quests he did, the better he could support himself.

"Quest 1: Rescue the trio of Bronya (twin-tailed loli), Kiana (white-haired bun-head twin-tails grasshopper), and Raiden Mei (purple-haired wife material max);

--Quest Reward: 10 Hybrid Supplies, +5 favorability for each of the three.

--Quest 2: Defeat the Third Herrscher;

--Quest Reward: Queen of Thunder's Kirin upgraded from S-rank to SS-rank, 10 Hybrid Supplies, +10 favorability for Raiden Mei.

--Quest 3: Escape Changkong City (Quest Condition: Both of the above quests fail);

--Quest Reward: 10 Hybrid Supplies, 5000 Honkai energy (If both of the above quests succeed, this reward can be obtained directly).

--Quest 4: Before leaving Changkong City, acquire a name, become friends with Yae Sakura, and obtain Yae Sakura's 'good person card';

--Quest Reward: +10 favorability for Yae Sakura, 3 Yae Village Special Rice Balls.

--Failure Penalty: Quests 1, 2, and 4 have no penalty for failure. Quest 3 failure results in the host's death."

"Where are those three now? And where is Yae Sakura?" He knew the system definitely had a map function, and he could just spend more Honkai energy.

"This system comes with a map. Host, please look at your left wrist."

As expected, a watch-like device appeared on the young man's left wrist. A light touch projected a... world map.

After repeatedly tapping the "+" symbol in the bottom right corner of the projected virtual image, the world map finally zoomed in to the terrain of Changkong City.

There were clearly three points, silver, white, and purple, gathered together, while the host's location was indicated by an arrow pointing down. In the opposite direction was a pink dot. In addition, there was a red arrow at the edge of Changkong City.

"These three points are those three girls. The pink dot is Yae Sakura, and the red arrow... Schicksal?"

"That's correct. Please complete the quests as soon as possible, host. This system can summon some Honkai Beasts to help you stall for time, but it can only last for two days at most. Even if I can stall for more time, who knows if the Third Herrscher will cause any changes? Please hurry."

"Thank you, let's go."

The young man killed the attacking enemies along the way, searching for food and water. Although the system could provide these, it required Honkai energy, and he didn't think his Honkai energy could support his meals, let alone saving three people.

He found a single-shoulder bag and a backpack in an abandoned store, hung them on himself, and put the food and water he found inside.

"So heavy..." The young man had run through more than half of Changkong City, collecting all the food and water he saw. As a seasoned shut-in, his physical condition wasn't great. Things like fighting monsters and leveling up were all thanks to Valkyrie armors. Using Kiana Kaslana's power for a backpack was a waste.

"Host, this system has storage space. You don't need to do this, do you? Storage space doesn't cost Honkai energy, only expansion does. There are 50 initial slots. If the host divides the food and water into two bags, I can count it as just 2 slots."

"You should have said so earlier!" So he took off the bags, put the food in one, and the water in another.

"Bang!" Bad luck struck, and a Chariot-type Honkai Beast leaped up, intending to crush the young man.

The young man chose his own life. Chariot-type Honkai Beasts were generally much stronger and more cumbersome than large mosquitoes, but that also meant their hides were thick.

However, this choice led to a small accident