Honkai, Kaslana's Way of Survival

Considering the other party could stamp their approval, Kaino temporarily abandoned his plans to tease her and decided to show some respect.

So, he took out the instruction manual and handed it to the Spirit of the Spring.

"Here, the manual is here. Stamp it."

The Spirit of the Spring furrowed her brow.

"Are you misunderstanding something? To get the stamp, you must first obtain the appraiser's approval... Wait."

Halfway through her sentence, the Spirit of the Spring suddenly stopped. She moved closer to Kaino, her nose twitching incessantly.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Kaino was startled by the Spirit of the Spring's actions and took a step back.

Is this appraiser trying to pull something?

"Cough, no, it's nothing."

The Spirit of the Spring stiffened and quickly retreated. Her golden eyes darted around before finally settling on Kaino.

Yin Qi Yin Shan Er? Cunning? She swallowed.

"Have you guys been to Houmu Cold... No, it's nothing."

Stopping mid-sentence, the Spirit of the Spring patted her cheeks.

Spirit of the Spring, Spirit of the Spring, abusing your power is wrong!

"Since you're the first team to come looking for me, you wouldn't mind if I gave you a slightly more difficult task, would you?"

"If possible, it would be best to just stamp it directly."

The honest Kaino expressed his opinion.

Glancing at Kaino, the Spirit of the Spring ignored him and continued:

"Legend has it that there is a mysterious and powerful Honkai Beast, Benares, constantly wandering along the southern coast. Every day from noon to afternoon, she likes to soak in the nearby sea for a lazy nap."

"Find her and tame her. That's the content of your trial."

Kaino: ???

He seems to have seen that name before?

"Wait, let me look it up."

Quickly taking out the Honkai Beast illustrated guide he bought, Kaino found the relevant information about Benares recorded on it.

"Benares is a Judgment-class Honkai Beast, right? You're telling us to tame it?!"

Kaino stared wide-eyed at the Spirit of the Spring, constantly wondering if he had offended her in some way.

Or are all beast tamers in this world at Herrscher-level strength, suppressing Judgment-class Honkai Beasts with ease?

"Yes, it's true that she's Judgment-class. But since you're the first team to arrive, you can naturally handle a more difficult task."

The Spirit of the Spring nodded, then took out a piece of paper and tossed it to Kaino.

"To prevent you from getting lost, I've even drawn a map for you—after taming Benares, remember to bring her here. I'll only give you the stamp after seeing her with my own eyes."

"Ahem, of course, this task is a bit difficult. I'm acquainted with the appraisers in the advanced competition area. If you really complete it, I'll introduce you to her. How about it? Does that give you some motivation?"

"No, not at all."

Holding the map given by the Spirit of the Spring, Kaino felt complicated.

She's giving benefits even after the appraiser's trial is completed… Could that Benares be a Honkai Beast that you've always wanted but couldn't get?

Glancing at the Spirit of the Spring, who had resumed eating her instant noodles, Kaino sighed and began to examine the map.

Then he frowned.

Compared to the swimsuit shop owner's square and easy-to-understand map, the Spirit of the Spring's map couldn't be called bad, but it could only be said to be beyond human comprehension.

"What is this? A ball of yarn?"

Red Seele moved closer to Kaino, looking at the map and couldn't help but complain.

"Did we offend her?"

"I agree with your point. But it's okay, I can understand it… I think."

Kaino tossed the map directly into the Imaginary Space and replied.

"You can understand it?!"

Red Seele was shocked.

"Barely. When I was little, my sister and I used to play treasure hunt games, and she drew maps that were about the same. But after all, they aren't the same person, so I'm not sure if my interpretation skills can be applied to this."

Kaino shrugged, extended his hands in front of him, and after a flash of blue light, a black motorcycle appeared in place.

Although the volume was relatively large, the technology content was not very high. In addition, Kaino's Honkai energy reserves were constantly recovering, so a motorcycle was not a burden for him.

After putting on a helmet, Kaino straddled the motorcycle and pointed his thumb behind him.

"The road is a bit far, get on, Seele—there are handles behind the seat, you don't need to hug me."

"Ah, ah, okay."

Blue Seele nodded in a fluster, and also straddled the motorcycle.

He hastily materialized a helmet and turned back to press it onto Seele's head, then Kaino looked at Red Seele beside him, who was watching him:

"Will you be able to keep up with the motorcycle's speed? Should I go a little slower?"

"Huh? Are you kidding me?"

Red Seele floated next to Blue Seele, pointing to the Stigmata on her chest:

"I'm essentially Seele's Stigmata consciousness. Although I usually float around, I'm actually moving relative to Seele."

"Ah, I almost forgot."

Kaino patted his head, a slightly apologetic smile on his face.

"Let's go then!"

He twisted the motorcycle throttle hard, and Kaino sped off.

"Hey, Kaino, are you going the wrong way? Didn't the Spirit of the Spring say Benares was to the south?!"

"That's right, but before we catch the Honkai Beast, we should grab a bite to eat, right? That Spirit of the Spring's instant noodles have been tempting me for ages."

Chapter 55: Benares

Seaside City, by the South Sea.

Although Kaslana loves to eat and has a big appetite, she also eats quickly. However, the beginner's area was indeed quite far from the sea, and the map given by the Spirit of the Spring was indeed too vague. It was almost 3:00 PM when Kaino finally found the place with the Seeles on the motorcycle.

Blue Seele got off the motorcycle and stared blankly at the sea, silent and speechless.

"What's wrong? Homesick?"

Kaino walked to Seele's side, tilted his head, and asked softly.

Usually, in TV dramas or comics, when someone suddenly stares at the sea without moving, they're either homesick or watching the sunrise or sunset.

Red Seele shrugged beside her and snorted:

"Tch, homesick? More like longing for someone while looking at the sea, missing her Bronya, I bet."

"Longing for someone while looking at the sea?"

Kaino looked at Red Seele, puzzled.

Although the seaside is a popular spot in Seaside City, tourists are currently busy catching Honkai Beasts or looking for judges, so naturally, they don't have the leisure to come to the beach to play.

So, the beach was miraculously only occupied by Kaino and the Seeles. Kaino didn't have to worry about other people's strange looks and could freely talk to Red Seele.

Although he usually doesn't care much anyway.

"Yeah, Seele and her Bronya... Oh, Seele's back to her senses, let her tell you."

Seeing Blue Seele turn her head, Seele stopped talking halfway.

"After all, it's not very nice to talk about others behind their backs."

"Eh? Seele, are you telling Kaino something about me?"

Blue Seele looked surprised.

It seemed that she was indeed lost in thought while looking at the sea and didn't notice Kaino's conversation.

"Seele, do you like the sea a lot? You seemed lost in thought as soon as you arrived."

"Ah, no. I like the sea... perhaps that's part of it, but more than that, it reminds me of Bronya."

This wasn't the first time she had mentioned Bronya's name, but this time Seele's face showed a hint of sadness and reminiscence.

"Seele once made a promise with Bronya to go see the sea together... but until now, that promise hasn't been fulfilled."

Saying this, Seele looked a little disappointed and lowered her head slightly.

"Seele has seen the sea twice now, but Bronya probably hasn't seen it even once. Now Seele is playing here, looking at the sea, but Bronya is probably still tirelessly searching for a way to bring Seele back."

"Bronya..."

"Alright, alright, we'll be going back in a few days, and then you can see your sister."

Kaino reached out and ruffled Seele's hair, chuckling:

"Just bury your longing for family in your heart for now, and let it all out when you get back. For now, just have fun."

In terms of longing for family, Kaino believed that his longing for his father and sister was no less than Seele's longing for her sister.

In this way, the two were quite similar. They both had family they missed, and they both accidentally fell into the Quantum Sea...

"Ha."

Red Seele laughed beside him.

"What are you laughing at?"

Kaino was a little puzzled. He didn't think he had said anything funny.

"Laughing at what you misunderstood... longing for family? Is that how you understood it?"

"Is there something wrong? Seele, she's not yelling..."

"Okay, okay, other me!" Seele's embarrassed voice suddenly cut in, interrupting Kaino and Red Seele's conversation. "D-don't say anything more."

"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you. If you say not to say it, then I won't~"

Red Seele drawled out the last word, looking at Seele with a slight smile.

"So what exactly is... Seele, watch out!"

Kaino, who had found Seele's shy expression rather cute and was about to continue teasing her, suddenly noticed a flash of white on the sea. Remembering the purpose of their trip to the seaside, he pulled Seele behind him, instantly summoning Judgement of Shamash and remaining vigilant.

"Seele, let me take over."

Red Seele's voice sounded from behind, and then Seele, wielding a blood-red scythe, stood next to Kaino.

"Seele?"

Seeing Seele's drastically changed demeanor, Kaino spoke to confirm.

"...Sigh, I'm starting to regret taking the same name as Seele."

Seele sighed, glanced at Kaino, and then refocused on the sea:

"Be careful. I'm not confident I can beat that Honkai Beast."

"ROAR!!!"

The enormous creature that had only shown a hint of white on the surface of the sea had now fully emerged, the blue and white dragon revealing its true form. Its body, over a hundred meters long, stretched out on the water, and its massive head roared to the sky before slowly fixing its gaze on Kaino and Seele.

Its icy blue eyes shifted between Kaino and Seele, finally settling on Kaino, whose appearance and color were quite similar to its own.

"ROAR!!!"

With a howl, the dragon's claws struck the water, and its entire body lunged toward Kaino.

Who the dragon was aiming for didn't really matter; its massive body was large enough to include both of them in its attack range.

"Spirit of the Spring, you just wait!"