Honkai: Star Rail, Marry Acheron First Upon Landing Chapter 7

Acheron nodded, putting away her phone. She looked at the screen again and again, then decisively set the photo as her wallpaper.

As long as the screen was lit, Acheron could see that comforting smile.

Of course, Lin Shuang didn't see any of this.

She was currently biting into a peach to hide her embarrassment.

Just as Lin Shuang finished her peach and found herself at a loss for words, Acheron's voice reached her.

"Speaking of which... you don't seem to have a phone?"

Following the sound, Lin Shuang looked over. Acheron's phone screen was off, but she was holding it up as a signal.

Phones in this world came in all sorts of styles, with different names, but the one in Acheron's hand was similar to what Lin Shuang remembered.

"I really don't."

"I have a spare one here. I'll give it to you for now. The account is also loaded with some credits, which you should find useful after we leave here."

As she spoke, Acheron pulled another phone from her pocket and handed it to Lin Shuang.

"Thank you."

Lin Shuang thanked her and didn't refuse. She really needed a phone and credits; otherwise, leaving here would be a huge hassle.

She couldn't just follow Acheron around forever; that would make her a complete burden.

Acheron waited until Lin Shuang was familiar with using the phone before standing up and gripping her sword sheath again.

The atmosphere instantly shifted to a combat-ready state.

"Our break time is over. It's time to get serious about training."

Lin Shuang, who had been struggling to control her wandering thoughts, immediately sprang to her feet, gripping her greatsword once more.

"What kind of training are we doing next?"

"Next, I'm going to let you experience real combat. Void creatures and the Anti-Matter Legion are everywhere. Go and clear out all the ones in this ruined city."

Volume 1: Chapter 9 - How could her 37°C lips utter such cold words?

In a world destroyed by a Stellaron.

There were countless monsters.

Among the ubiquitous Void creatures, members of the Anti-Matter Legion would occasionally appear.

Once Acheron stopped intervening, Lin Shuang felt the immense pressure of facing the entire world alone.

Especially since Acheron insisted that Lin Shuang use a sweeping mode everywhere they went.

For the first two days, she wasn't sweeping monsters; she was being chased by them in a grand escape!

Lin Shuang almost ran herself to death.

But fortunately, Acheron would actively put pressure on Lin Shuang, forcing her to turn back and fight.

Or, when Lin Shuang was about to reach a safe distance, Acheron would walk over, grab her by the collar, and toss her back.

As long as she didn't die, she would be pushed to her limits.

After about ten days of this 'happy' time.

One day, in a frozen open-air area of unknown purpose.

A white figure was locked in combat with a giant blue monster.

"Sometimes I see a dying bird fall to the ground~"

Accompanied by the melodious singing, small flames attached themselves to the crimson greatsword. Lin Shuang held the greatsword in one hand, crouched, and spun, dodging the sharp ice shards.

Then, with a powerful swing of her body, she slashed her blade towards the Outer Void Ice's legs.

The collision of intense heat and extreme cold ultimately saw Lin Shuang's condensed flames prevail. The blade sliced through the Outer Void Ice's armor as easily as cutting butter.

With one sword strike, she severed the monster's legs. Lin Shuang slammed her palm on the ground, rolling forward. In the instant the monster wailed and counterattacked, she successfully broke free from the frost.

Standing up, she swung her greatsword upwards behind her!

"I thought I were no more than a bystander Till I felt a touch so real~"

This time, it was a clean cut, from bottom to top. Following the mournful melody, the Outer Void Ice's life was finally extinguished.

Sheathing her sword, Lin Shuang quickly retracted her flames. The sound of "moon halo" gradually faded.

By now, Lin Shuang had long since learned to ignore the BGM that automatically played once a fight officially began.

She could even launch attacks in rhythm with the song.

After all, they were all monsters she couldn't understand, and Acheron had said that such BGM could also help Lin Shuang focus.

The melodious singing gradually dissipated into the air.

Lin Shuang, following the tune, flicked her wrist and dissolved the greatsword in her hand. It turned into a handful of flames and returned to the Herrscher Core.

Lin Shuang herself quickly retreated in the direction she came from.

Feeling the remaining energy in her Herrscher Core, Lin Shuang pursed her lips and sighed.

Because the Herrscher Core had no energy replenishment, its power was consumed one portion at a time, so Lin Shuang used it extremely sparingly.

She fought almost entirely relying on her body, which had been enhanced by the Herrscher Core.

Only when necessary would she release a small amount of power to attach to her blade, using flames to kill troublesome enemies.

And that damn background music would automatically trigger when Lin Shuang released her power. It would continue until the flames dissipated.

It was ridiculously over the top.

Acheron approached, also holding her sword.

She looked at Lin Shuang with approval and handed her a peach as a reward.

"You've improved very quickly, and your control over energy has advanced significantly. Perhaps you're truly born to fight."

"Thank you."

Lin Shuang, breathing slightly heavily, took Acheron's peach, not daring to look at her.

Although Acheron's intentions at the time weren't what Lin Shuang thought, it had still been incredibly shocking for Lin Shuang. To this day, whenever Acheron pulled out a peach, Lin Shuang would subconsciously recall that day.

Fortunately, her expression management had improved noticeably recently, and she discreetly popped the peach into her mouth, diverting her attention.

Actually, regarding her rapid progress in recent days, she wasn't sure if it was her own talent or the talent of the body the system had randomly assigned her.

Just a few days ago, she could only rely on her body's instinctive reactions to block Acheron's sword. Even earlier, she couldn't even stand steady when facing Acheron.

But now, with the increasing number of monsters killed by Lin Shuang, she could maintain her thoughts during extremely fast combat, consider the situation, and act accordingly.

Of course, Lin Shuang felt that a large part of her rapid progress was also due to Acheron directly throwing her into monster hordes.

They say people are pushed to their limits. Sometimes, without being pushed, Lin Shuang wouldn't have known how strong her learning ability truly was.

Recalling the very first practical combat training.

Lin Shuang had thought she would find a few isolated Void creatures to practice on first. Instead, Acheron directly grabbed her by the collar and dropped her into the center of a large group of Void creatures.

Acheron herself watched from the side as Lin Shuang took a beating and fled.

Apart from offering guidance on using the greatsword, she did nothing else.

In the midst of her frantic escape, Lin Shuang finally realized deeply that she shouldn't have expected anything from Acheron's teaching methods.

However, to be fair, in this adrenaline-fueled state, Lin Shuang did learn extremely quickly.

Although it wasn't yet a complete style, Lin Shuang's greatsword techniques, under Acheron's guidance, had become quite presentable.

"Speaking of which, why do I feel like I'm encountering these large monsters more frequently?"

While munching on the peach, Lin Shuang voiced her curiosity.

Acheron nodded and said, "Of course. We're heading towards the Stellaron's location now, so the monsters' strength will naturally become greater and more numerous."

"Pfft—"

She almost spat out the peach flesh in her mouth. Lin Shuang widened her eyes and looked at Acheron.

"We're heading towards the Stellaron? Didn't you tell me not to get close to it?"

"I just don't want you to go to your death, not to approach it. With your current rate of progress, by the time we get close, you should be ready."

Seeing Acheron's expression, Lin Shuang noticed she was very serious. For a moment, even the peach in her mouth didn't taste as good.

So Lin Shuang also sighed seriously.

She had thought her strength had improved significantly recently, even dealing with monsters like the Outer Void Ice as easily as slicing vegetables, and that approaching the Stellaron should be fine.

"I thought my strength had met the requirements."

Upon hearing this, Acheron actually nodded and walked over to Lin Shuang.

"In terms of strength alone, you are indeed sufficient. But don't forget, the ultimate purpose of training is to temper your will, and combat is merely a means to that end."

Sufficient experience could also temper a person's will, but time didn't permit.

Therefore, life-and-death combat, Acheron's killing intent, and even more radical training methods were accelerated processes.

"So what's the next stage of training?"

Although Lin Shuang didn't hold out any hope for Acheron's teaching methods, the results were undeniable, so she was somewhat curious.

Then, Lin Shuang learned what "unnecessary curiosity" meant.

Because Acheron revealed a very gentle smile.

"The next stage is to spar with me. I will attack with the intent to kill you."

How could her warm 37°C lips utter such chilling words?

Volume 1: Chapter 10: The Power and Price of the Void

Acheron, it turned out, was a woman of her word.

It wasn't until Lin Shuang stood opposite Acheron that she realized her own strength, which could easily slay Void creatures, was utterly insignificant against Acheron.

The whistling blade light continued even after Lin Shuang was sent flying nearly a hundred meters, smashing through who knew how many abandoned buildings, before the sharp shriek of it cutting through the air could finally be heard.

However, that wasn't all.

What was even more chilling was the killing intent Acheron unleashed when she truly considered Lin Shuang an enemy.

When Acheron crossed over a hundred meters in an instant, appearing before Lin Shuang, who had no time to even get up.

She lightly pushed the sword's guard.

Clang—

Acheron's eyes turned blood red.

That sliver of killing intent, tinged with the Void, descended, bringing with it a colossal pressure far exceeding anything before.

The moment Lin Shuang met Acheron's red gaze, this trace of Void power rendered her completely incapable of resistance.

Her body wouldn't even move according to her will.

Lin Shuang felt as if she had plunged into the deep sea, into a pitch-black abyss, devoid of light and sound.

It was as if everything in the world was slipping away.

It was only at this moment.

Lin Shuang finally understood the extreme power of a Path.

True nothingness could never be equated with "giving up"; it was a void that negated all existence, a 'nothingness' where even death and destruction did not exist.