Starting with Firefly, Speedrunning Worlds — Part 3

Even drawing an Immortal Divine Fruit, or having the power of an Aeon descend, would not have been surprising. But the odds were too low; after checking, exchanging directly for Path power was more worthwhile.

Exclusive to gambling addicts!

A ten-pull cost 1,600 points, with one random gold-quality item guaranteed within 90 pulls.

Even gold-quality items could include useless junk.

"I wonder what's in the newbie gift pack. Since it's the Pro version, it shouldn't be too bad, right?"

Thinking of the gift pack the system had given as compensation, Firefly opened the newbie gift pack with some anticipation.

[Newbie Gift Pack Pro Version opened.]

[Congratulations! You have obtained 3,200 points, Light Cone (The Fall of an Aeon), and a Sealed Stellaron.]

"A Light Cone... and a Stellaron!"

Looking at the items that had come out of the newbie gift pack, Firefly's eyes widened. Judging by the purchasing power and exchange rate of points, the value was exceptionally high.

It was enough to exchange for a huge amount of Destruction Path power, or to perform twenty draws.

The Destruction Light Cone, The Fall of an Aeon, was an even more useful weapon, capable of taking the power of Destruction a step further.

But what drew even more attention was the Stellaron.

As one of the Stellaron Hunters, Firefly knew this thing all too well.

A Stellaron was a mysterious object that caused the "cancer of all worlds." Not only did it disrupt the flow of Imaginary energy, it was also extremely invasive.

In the form of this mysterious object known as a "Stellaron," it continuously contaminated neighboring worlds—spreading throughout the universe like cancer cells.

No matter the planet, the appearance of a Stellaron was an extremely terrifying event.

And now, she had directly obtained one.

Though Stellarons were dangerous, Firefly felt reassured at this moment. This counted as one of her trump cards, and it gave her even more confidence in clearing this world.

"First, let's see how much the Path power improves..."

Without taking out the Stellaron or the Light Cone, Firefly first tried exchanging for Path power. After all, she still did not know what level a Path power value of 1 represented.

After checking the available Path powers, there was no need to think further. She chose Destruction, which had the highest ratio.

One point directly gave her 100 Destruction power.

Then Firefly felt her strength increase little by little. Though it was not obvious, still...

That was only one point. It was already remarkably impressive.

Without the slightest hesitation, Firefly exchanged all her points for Destruction Path power. Then she clearly felt the change in her strength.

Although it had not reached the level of an Emanator, it was still quite a substantial improvement.

"With such high value for money, it seems that while clearing worlds is important, I can't miss out on points either."

Firefly had not forgotten that after seven worlds... all the power and characters she obtained would permanently belong to her.

Improving Firefly's strength now would not be a waste in the slightest.

Next, she only had to wait for the Desire Grand Prix to begin.

Achievements and missions were hard to predict, but the specific enemies would certainly be related to Kamen Riders and the Jamato.

Firefly stood up and left. Before then, she might as well take a look around. Neither she nor Firefly herself had often wandered around like this.

Especially Firefly. Because of entropy loss syndrome, she had not had the chance for a long time to walk and run so freely as her true self.

Chapter 4: Firefly's Looks Were "Perfectly Ordinary"

"Tanuki Ramen Shop."

Firefly looked at the ramen shop ahead and rubbed her little stomach. She really was a little hungry.

But after checking the cash on her, she only had one thousand yen, which she had picked up by the roadside earlier.

Still, that should be enough for a bowl of noodles, right?

Firefly was not a picky eater. She even liked oak cake rolls, which ordinary people could not stomach, and ate one almost every day.

This thing absolutely could not be called delicious. On certain fringe planets, impoverished people added sawdust to bread to make sure it filled their stomachs.

The practice later became an eccentric habit among the wealthy, meant to remind themselves of hardship and cherish the present.

Oak cake rolls contained a large amount of plant-based additives, making them resemble a piece of oak wood in both appearance and composition.

Only those with the greatest ambition and perseverance could successfully swallow one.

With some hesitation, Firefly entered the noodle shop. When she checked the prices of the ramen on the wall, she relaxed. One thousand yen was enough for a bowl of noodles.

She found a seat and ordered a bowl of the shop's specialty tanuki soba.

While Firefly waited for her soba to arrive, she noticed a familiar man and woman...

Sakurai Keiwa?

And that girl who looked somewhat like him—she was probably his older sister.

Could it really be such a coincidence?

Seeing the two of them, along with this noodle shop, Firefly immediately realized something, somewhat surprised. If she had guessed correctly, this was the noodle shop Sakurai Keiwa often visited to eat tanuki soba.

As Firefly looked over at the two of them, Sakurai Keiwa also noticed her in the distance. He had been wearing a pained expression as he told his sister about his recent frustration with job hunting, but his words suddenly cut off.

What a cute girl...

He came here to eat often, but this was the first time he had encountered such an adorable girl. At first glance... her appearance and temperament were completely his type.

No, rather, Firefly was the kind of girl most men in this country would like.

Unlike other girls whose unique traits and charm were obvious at a glance, Firefly's looks might be described as "ordinary."

More accurately, she was the girl-next-door childhood friend type. The "white moonlight" in one's heart.

She would not make people feel impossibly distant, like those girls with boundless charm.

Cute and refreshing.

The perfect little girlfriend template...

And a girl like Firefly happened to be exactly the type most ordinary people liked best.

"Neon-chan is so cute!"

Holding her phone in both hands, Sakurai Sara watched the Kurama Family heiress's great escape and kept making delighted noises.

Whenever she had nothing to do, Sakurai Sara liked watching this young lady's streams.

Even setting aside her identity as a wealthy heiress, Kurama Neon was indeed very pretty and adorable.

However, Sakurai Sara soon noticed that something was off with her younger brother. He had stopped speaking halfway through his sentence. They had come here today to eat so she could cheer him up after his repeated failures at finding a job.

Sakurai Sara put down her phone and looked up at her brother in confusion.

"Keiwa, what's wrong?"

Only then did Sakurai Sara notice where her brother was looking. Following his gaze, she spotted the beautiful silver-haired girl.

"So... so cute!"

The moment she saw Firefly, Sakurai Sara instinctively blurted out that praise.

Because she really, really was adorable.

Calling Firefly's appearance "ordinary" earlier was only in comparison to the top-tier goddesses in Star Rail. In reality, no matter where she was placed, Firefly's looks could absolutely hold their own.

"She really is cute. Does she like tanuki soba too?"

Just as the owner placed a bowl of soba in front of Firefly, Sakurai Keiwa became even more interested. Anyone who liked tanuki soba was a good person.

"What? Did your heart skip a beat?"

Hearing her brother's words, Sakurai Sara could not help teasing him.

"N-No, it didn't."

Hearing his sister, Sakurai Keiwa panicked and hurriedly denied it.

"Don't say nonsense, Sis..."

They did not even know each other, so how could he talk about being smitten? Besides, he did not have time to think about that right now. Finding a job was far more important.

Though it was impossible to say he had not felt even the slightest flutter.

He was just being rational.

"Don't be shy. If your heart's moved, you have to seize the chance. If you miss it, it'll be too late. And my little brother is so outstanding—you'll definitely have a chance."

"She really is so cute. I don't want to admit it, but she's even cuter than Neon-chan."

"If such a cute girl could become my sister-in-law, that would be amazing."

She liked Kurama Neon very much, but she understood that a wealthy heiress like that would never have anything to do with people like them! But the girl before them might be different.

Firefly did not look like some young lady from a wealthy family, and no rich heiress would come to an ordinary noodle shop like this to eat.

So it was not as though there was no chance.

This girl was truly cute and beautiful. Even her own heart had skipped a beat—if only she were not a girl...

Still, having her as a sister-in-law would be pretty nice too. Then she could spend time with her often.

"Sis..."

Sakurai Keiwa called out helplessly. He had not even found a job yet, so why was she talking about chasing girls?

And he did not know anything about her at all.

"Alright! I get it, I was just joking."

"But she really is cute..."