Kaslana's Survival Guide in Honkai

Looking at the two unidentified creatures shaped like suits of armor—one thin, one fat—gathered around the table, along with a toy goose beside them, Kaino could not help wondering once again what kind of bizarre World Bubble this was.

Wait, no. That goose seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary toy and was not actually taking part in the card game.

"Hm? Is that you, Boss—... Huh, who are you?"

The chubbier suit of armor turned at the sound, instinctively greeting Kaino at the door. But halfway through, it froze after getting a clear look at him.

"Huh, you're not the Boss? You're not the Boss? By the way, who are you? Why did you come here?"

The thinner armored figure turned around as well, joining the other in making a fuss.

These two things did not seem very bright...

Kaino blinked, and a smile that Xiao Shi would probably find familiar appeared on his face:

"Well then, shouldn't you give your own names before asking someone else for theirs?"

"That... does seem right."

"It feels like something's off, but also like there's nothing wrong with it."

The two armored figures looked at each other, then nodded.

The fatter armored figure: "I'm King!"

The thinner armored figure: "I'm Queen!"

"We're the Boss's underlings!" x2.

"Whew..."

Kaino slowly drew a breath.

"So, who is your Boss?"

The two armored figures pointed at the toy goose in the middle at the same time, their synchronization impeccable.

Spring Cleaning

Kaino's gaze shifted to the toy goose, and he fell silent.

Sure enough, this World Bubble was deeply abnormal.

"It's not that it's our Boss. Our Boss is a person."

That was King.

"Though she's a person, the Boss looks just like it."

That was Queen.

"Fine. I won't ask for now why a person would look like a goose. At the same time, I hope your Boss is gentle enough not to dismantle you for talking about her behind her back."

Kaino sighed, feeling exhausted.

"My name is Kaino. I'm a contestant in this Beastmaster Challenge. Is your Boss the manager of this ranch? Is she the judge for this competition zone?"

King: "You mean the Boss?"

Queen: "She really is the manager here."

King: "And as her underlings, we are the guards here."

Queen: "It's just not work hours yet."

King: "As for being a judge, the Boss does seem to be one."

Kaino pressed his temples.

"Then could you tell me where your Boss is right now?"

King and Queen looked at each other.

Queen: "The Boss recently went out. She should be back today or tomorrow."

King: "You can try your luck at Houmu Happy Restaurant. After the Boss comes back, she'll sit there for a while."

Queen: "Come to think of it, the food at Houmu Happy Restaurant is really good. You should try it too."

King: "Boss Rita is a very nice person too."

Queen: "If you can, bring us back some food. The Boss will reimburse us for it."

Kaino shook his head. The way the two took turns talking was giving him a headache. Still, there was a great deal of information in their words, so he had to keep listening.

At the very least, suffering through a headache with these two was better than spending half a day deciphering riddles with Xiao Shi.

"What does your Boss... look like? Please don't use that toy goose as an example, thank you."

Seeing the two suits of armor about to pick up the goose, Kaino hurriedly stopped them.

He truly did not have the ability to identify appearances across species.

At Kaino's words, the two fell into deep thought.

King: "Long, curly golden hair?"

Queen: "?? ...?? Very beautiful?"

king: "Straight, slender legs?"

queen: "And large Front Armor?"

"Why are they all questions... and what the hell is Front Armor?"

Realizing there might be some cognitive gap between himself as a human and the armored people, Kaino decided not to pursue the matter any further.

Still, while the armored people's standards of beauty could not be compared wholesale with those of humans, golden curls and long legs should not have been a problem... right?

"Also, could you tell me how to get to Houmu Happy Restaurant?"

king: "Go out through the main gate and keep walking straight. It's very simple."

queen: "But there are lots of side paths, so remember not to get lost."

Kaino nodded, preparing to leave.

"Ah, right."

Remembering the strange situation in the ranch, Kaino decided to ask about it first.

"Why is the ranch such a mess? Where did all those Honkai Beasts go? And why are there humanoid targets in the ranch?"

The two armored people looked at each other again.

By the way, could you communicate through those peeping slits?

king: "Honkai Beasts? The boss told us to keep the ranch quiet and not let those Honkai Beasts make too much noise."

queen: "But we couldn't do that."

king: "So we drove them away! The ranch became quiet!"

Kaino frowned. "By drove them away, you mean?"

king: "We drove them out of the ranch?"

queen: "They should be in the suburbs between the ranch and the city now, right? They might reach the ci—"

Without listening any further, Kaino hurried away.

"What, the examiner wasn't there?"

Seeing Kaino frown, Red Seele spoke up.

"If we guessed wrong, then so be it. Let's find somewhere to eat first. No matter what, we're still in the lead—far ahead of the other groups."

"That's not the issue. We'll talk about it later."

Letting out a breath, Kaino suddenly looked at Bella.

"Bella, let me ask you something. Regardless of temperament, lower-ranking Honkai Beasts should obey the orders of higher-ranking Honkai Beasts, right?"

"That is correct, Master."

Bella nodded. Yue Yi.

"Take me, for example—unless they have been tamed by a beast tamer, all lower-ranking Honkai Beasts will obey my commands unconditionally. Tamed Honkai Beasts, as well as higher-ranking ones below Judgement level, will tremble beneath my roar as well."

Kaino sighed in relief at that.

"That's good... Bella, all the Honkai Beasts in the ranch have run toward the city. Please call every one of them back."

"I don't know whether there are any higher-ranking Honkai Beasts in the ranch. In a little while, I'll ride my motorcycle around the area and bring back any higher-ranking ones that were missed."

Hearing this, Bella also realized the severity of the situation. If it was not handled properly, it could result in many casualties.

Bella immediately transformed into her dragon form, flapped her wings, and flew into the sky.

"ROAR!!!"

"Hey, what exactly is going on? Isn't it Honkai Ranch's responsibility to look after the Honkai Beasts? Why do we have to help catch them?"

Red Seele frowned in dissatisfaction.

"Is this another one of that examiner's tests? This is even more excessive than last time."

"It has nothing to do with the examiner... Honkai Ranch's manager isn't here, and the two guards had a brain fart and released every Honkai Beast. If we ignore it, the consequences will be serious. Let's help deal with it for now."

With a weary sigh, Kaino hesitated briefly before taking out his Judgement of Shamash and handing it to the Seeles.

"Seele, you two stay here for a while. If any Honkai Beasts are driven back, keep them under control. If they're only lower-ranking Honkai Beasts, you can handle them easily with the help of Shamash. Besides, Bella is helping too."

"And what about you? Who was it that said his body was in bad shape and would need a week to recover? You're giving us your weapon—are you going to get yourself killed?"

Red Seele's expression darkened, and she looked very unhappy.

Blue Seele was so frightened beside her that she did not dare say a word.

"Someone has to do it. If you went, you wouldn't be able to rest easy about Seele's safety either, right? So I'll go."

"And don't worry about me. My condition has already recovered by more than half. As long as it isn't Judgement-class, I can win for sure. Besides, I have Honkai Ball. Other than opponents on Bella's level, it's basically one ball per enemy."

Kaino took out his motorcycle and swung himself onto it.

"Food can wait a little longer. Let's deal with the Honkai Beasts first. I'll have to trouble you to stay hungry for a while—sorry."

Sakura

Kaino had not lied to Seele. The Honkai energy level within his body had indeed recovered to a great extent.

Perhaps it was due to the mutation of his Stigmata, or perhaps the World Bubble currently forming in reverse within him had brought some positive effect to his body. In any case, Kaino's recovery speed far exceeded Book of Xuanxuan's expectations.

By Kaino's estimate, his body's Honkai energy reserves would return to normal in another one or two days. At present, he had already recovered half of his original maximum reserves.

And that meant his strength had also recovered to a great extent.

Leaping up to evade the charge of the porcupine-like Honkai Beast before him, Kaino drew the Xuanyuan Sword. He then used Activate Sword: Rift Sky, transitioning into Open Sword: Mountain Collapse, leaving a massive gash in the Honkai Beast beneath him.

Several chains appeared out of thin air, temporarily binding the Honkai Beast. Kaino condensed a huge ice spike and braced it against the gash, then kicked hard at its end, driving it inside.

"Roarrr!"

Pain like a toothpick being stabbed beneath a fingernail was not something ordinary people could endure, and the Honkai Beasts of this world were not mindless killing machines without the ability to feel pain. The porcupine Honkai Beast went limp from the agony, collapsing to the ground without even the strength to resist.

Kaino took the opportunity to throw a Honkai Ball, striking it on the head. After a flash of light, only a slightly wobbling Honkai Ball remained where it had been.

Seeing this, Kaino let out a long breath.

"The twelfth one... There shouldn't be any more, right?"

"And just how ridiculous is this Honkai Ranch? There are clearly so many dangerous Honkai Beasts, yet the management is so lax. I really don't know what's wrong with its manager."

Parvati, Ashwatthama, Ganesha... He had ridden his motorcycle back and forth between the city and Honkai Ranch for nearly an hour, encountering seven Honkai Beasts around Emperor-class strength along the way.

But despite having so many Emperor-class Honkai Beasts, that ranch manager had dared to leave such a large ranch entirely in the hands of her two irresponsible subordinates. What was she even thinking...

How absentminded did she have to be?

"Still, no matter what, we've finally caught all these Honkai Beasts. We should go back and find Seele and Bella first, then get something to eat."

"And this time, Honkai Ranch owes us one, right? Forget stamping our passes—they'd have no excuse not to treat us to a few meals."

"Indeed, Your Excellency. That is quite reasonable."

A gentle female voice with a faint edge of sharpness came from not far to Kaino's side, causing his body to stiffen involuntarily.

He looked in the direction of the voice and found a pink-haired, blue-eyed woman standing in the shadows, dressed in a dark blue formal gown and wearing donkey-ear accessories.