Thrown Weapons

Look, look!

They were both geniuses, yet some geniuses were tsundere while others spoke so pleasantly, like a breath of spring air.

Herta gave the Trailblazer a speechless look.

Stelle's expression was far too easy to read. Even Peppy, the dog raised on the space station, would have known what she was thinking at a glance.

Let alone Herta, a genius herself.

So Herta raised her hand expressionlessly.

The next second, Stelle was thrown into the Simulated Universe.

Before Screwllum could meet Herta's gaze, he hurriedly and voluntarily slipped into the Simulated Universe's system.

The two of them could trade verbal blows all they wanted, but they had better not drag an innocent outsider mech like him into it.

"How nostalgic, truly nostalgic—!"

With her feet on the Simulated Universe's ground, Stelle spread her arms as though she had finally returned to her homeland after a long absence.

In reality, it had only been a little over a week since she last cleared the Simulated Universe.

Screwllum followed as well. The mech was tall with long legs; one of his steps covered the distance of two of the Trailblazer's.

With his arms folded, he wore a thoughtful expression, clearly calculating adjustments to the Simulated Universe's system in his mind.

The Trailblazer spread her fingers and clenched the empty air. The bat immediately materialized in her hand.

If this had been a fantasy cultivation novel, this weapon would already have developed a spirit and completely acknowledged the Trailblazer as its master.

Bat: I am the master's true love! That Flame Lance and that hat are merely the master's little toys. Only I am qualified to stand by the master's side. Her resounding title, "Galactic Trailblazer," is the best proof!

Flame Lance & Hat: Looks like this bat is about to suffer qi deviation. Let's all stay farther away from it...

The three monsters guaranteed to spawn at the beginning of the first stage stood not far away, glaring majestically at the Trailblazer and Screwllum.

Their eyes radiated a silent provocation, as if they were saying: Come at me!

Stelle was just about to go over and beat them senseless.

But at that moment, Screwllum stopped her.

The girl turned back suspiciously, only to see Screwllum snap his fingers. The enemies that would have taken her some effort to defeat immediately perished, their souls scattered and their spirits extinguished.

Even a string of synonyms could not convey Stelle's current shock and admiration.

That was incredible. That was amazing.

Stelle: Developer mode is way too overpowered! Help me, Mr. Screwllum! I want cheats too!

Herta's voice rang out coldly from offscreen. "If you entered developer mode too, then what the hell would the Simulated Universe even be testing!"

"Haha, true." Stelle scratched her head awkwardly.

"Next, Trailblazer, don't mind me. Just proceed as you normally would when testing the Simulated Universe."

Screwllum stood beside Stelle. Green streams of light flickered in his eyes as he calculated the code needed to alter the system.

"Alright, then I won't mind you, Screwllum."

For the next stretch of time, the Trailblazer truly let herself go.

Adventure Stage

This time, the Adventure Stage objective was to eliminate Trotters.

As an Emanator of Elation, Stelle's powers had all been granted by Aha. Since they came from the same source as the Aeon of Elation, there was no need to question their strength.

Besides, this was the Simulated Universe, a virtual world that could not be judged by real-world common sense.

The two watched the little Trotters snuffling and crawling about on the ground.

Stelle made her move.

At this moment, the bat in her hand had become a thrown weapon. Its area-of-effect damage never missed; after it struck, every Trotter within ten meters immediately turned into steadily rising points.

Screwllum watched Stelle's wind-up, as though she were about to throw a shot put.

He watched her throw the bat in her hand, smash it into the herd of pigs, then watched it obediently fly back into her hand before she threw it again.

After repeating this cycle, all the Trotters in the Adventure Stage had been successfully eliminated within three rounds.

Herta, who had been staring intently at the Trailblazer's actions on the screen, suddenly remembered that the bat was one of her Curios. During the chaos on the space station, she had given it to the Trailblazer as a weapon.

It was supposed to be a melee weapon meant for swinging, wasn't it?!

Why had it become an area-of-effect thrown weapon now? What the hell was that supposed to be?!

Herta was completely powerless to complain.

Still, since it was a Curio, perhaps the bat had suddenly upgraded while following the Trailblazer on her journey of Trailblaze.

Maybe it had become a Curio: Bat: Pro Max Upgrade Edition.

Even so, the sight of a bat flying back and forth through the air was just a little too beautiful.

So Herta lowered the probability of encountering Trotters in Adventure Stages during this Simulated Universe run.

What would the Trailblazer choose next?

Would she go to a Combat Stage, a Shop, an Event Stage, or stubbornly keep choosing Adventure Stages to the bitter end?

The Trailblazer's choice was!

She chose to open the three treasure chests in front of her first.

Watching Stelle skillfully crouch down to open the chests, then seeing how she hugged the large chest so fondly, Screwllum suddenly let out a very soft chuckle.

Organic lifeforms truly were fascinating beings.

Screwllum had spent quite some time in the Genius Society. Its members could no longer be described as "human"; calling them all lunatics would not have been inaccurate.

By comparison, the only one who seemed remotely normal was Madam Herta.

But Herta would never display such vivid emotions.

Screwllum watched the Trailblazer with great interest.

In truth, Herta was merely an observer outside the field, responsible for recording the Simulated Universe's updates.

But he was different. He was genuinely standing side by side with the Trailblazer.

Therefore, when the Trailblazer had used the bat to inflict area-of-effect damage just now, a trace of an aura that clearly did not belong to Trailblaze had surged through the air.

After all, Screwllum was the ruler of Screwllum's Planet and someone of broad experience.

Standing calmly beside the Trailblazer, he tried to recall it. At last, he remembered where that trace of aura had come from.

It came from—the Aeon of Elation.

This was the power unique to an Aeon, something only Emanators unconsciously leaked.

"I see."

Screwllum's gaze fell on the Trailblazer. He watched her finish sorting through the chest's contents, clap her hands, and stand up to prepare for the next stage.

"So the Trailblazer is actually..." An Emanator of Elation.

He withheld the words he had been about to say.

It seemed that, without realizing it, he had discovered something very interesting.

Screwllum had no intention of getting to the bottom of how the Trailblazer had become an Emanator of Elation. He simply had not expected Aha's gaze to fall upon her.

Could it be that the Trailblazer was especially good at having fun?

He could not tell.