The Boy from the Raven Nest

Behind-the-Scenes Boss Starting in the Honkai World Author: Cat on the Roof

Synopsis

Having landed in the Honkai World, Shi Hen said he was not panicking in the slightest.

In this day and age, who wasn't a player with cheats?

Newbie Mission: St. Freya's Gate: You have already caught a glimpse of this world's madness. It is time to join a secret organization fighting Honkai and find a group of like-minded companions to save the world.

Glancing at the guidance on his system panel, Shi Hen resolutely pushed open the doors of the secret organization, World Serpent.

Main Quest: Path of Destiny: ...

Got it. This meant he was supposed to become Destiny, right?

Thus, while putting on a White Mask and mercilessly tormenting the girls, tempering their bodies and wills, Shi Hen also became their close friend and guide, giving his life time and again for their growth.

Then, when the dawn of Finality appeared and discordant voices arose within the team over how to divide him up, Shi Hen stood at the very front of the stage, one hand smoothing his hair with gel:

"Sorry, but the kind of thing you have been hoping for never existed.

"From this day onward, I shall stand above the heavens!"

The Youth of Crow's Nest

Autumn, 2012. Somewhere in Northern Europe. Crow's Nest Bar.

A speaker installed in the corner played the theme song of a currently popular film. Under the orange-yellow lights, every furnishing in the tiny bar was plainly visible.

The dark wooden tables and chairs were somewhat old, yet not a speck of dust lay upon them. It was clear that their owner cherished them greatly.

Perhaps because it was hidden deep within an alley, even though it had been open for quite some time that day, the spacious hall remained empty, without a single customer.

Yet the gray-haired woman dressed as a bartender seemed unconcerned. She continued wiping the wineglass in her hand, which was already spotless and gleaming, humming an unknown tune as though she simply enjoyed the process of polishing glasses.

Creak—

It was the sound of the glass door's hinge turning.

The bar welcomed its first customer of the day.

"A Death in the Afternoon, please."

The bartender looked up, her rose-red eyes narrowing slightly as her gaze naturally fell upon the doorway.

The newcomer was a youth no older than fifteen. His delicate face still retained a trace of childishness, carrying the rich warmth of sunlight, like a quilt freshly aired in the sun. Yet the eyes framed by his black hair held an ink-dark depth, like an abyssal black hole that irresistibly drew people in.

A smile curled across her lips. The bartender set down the cleaned wineglass, turned around, took a large glass bottle from the cabinet, and poured out its white contents. "Selling alcohol to minors is illegal. This one's on me, so drink it and hurry home. Don't keep your family waiting."

Though the bar had never had many customers, she was not desperate enough to solicit business from children.

"What a shame. I heard Senior Raven was exceptionally skilled at mixing drinks..."

He sighed at that, though Shi Hen showed little disappointment. He calmly took a seat at the bar.

"Oh? So you're a customer from that side."

Hearing the name "Raven" from the youth's mouth, the bartender's smile did not fade, but her body quietly tensed.

Besides being a bar, Crow's Nest was also one of the contact points of the underground world. Mercenaries, assassins, hunters... most of those who came and went here were dangerous people who treated the law as dirt beneath their feet.

Though the youth before her looked harmless enough, Raven did not doubt that he could pull a high-explosive grenade from his pants at any moment.

Of course, as the owner of Crow's Nest Bar, Raven herself was no saint either.

In that sunless world of shadows, she was a legendary mercenary who had received countless five-star reviews. The people wanting to hire her could line up from one side of the Earth to the other. She was absolutely one of the biggest names in the mercenary world.

In a sense, merely finding this bar was enough to prove that the youth was no ordinary nobody.

Noticing the scrutiny in the bartender's gaze, Shi Hen's expression did not change. He picked up the glass with one hand, gently swirled it, and took a small sip before frowning. "Senior Raven, could you change this to milk tea? Bubble tea, thirty percent sugar. I don't like it too sweet."

Raven: "..."

Could he not read? Did she have to smash the Crow's Nest Bar sign into his face?

It seemed Crow's Nest Bar did not provide milk tea service.

Regretfully setting down the milk in his hand, Shi Hen carefully examined the bartender before him and could not help smiling. "Before coming here, I heard many people mention Senior Raven's illustrious reputation. But seeing you is better than hearing about you a hundred times. I never expected Senior Raven to be..."

"Hmm?"

Hearing the youth's deliberate pause, Raven narrowed her eyes, and the air around them instantly turned cold.

"Cute, of course. Senior Raven." Ignoring the killing intent around him, Shi Hen gave a heartfelt sigh. "So tiny, just like a cat. Very cute."

Though her height of nearly one meter seventy was certainly not short for a woman, and even a bartender's uniform could not conceal her curvaceous figure, her face alone revealed a striking immaturity, like a teenage girl who had run away from home after arguing with her parents.

Unfortunately, though she looked young, Raven herself was a genuine legendary mercenary.

"Brat, didn't your family teach you what manners are?"

Without the slightest embarrassment, frost instantly covered Raven's somewhat youthful face, and her words carried an awe-inspiring killing intent.

Swish!

The moment she finished speaking, Raven gripped a fruit knife and stabbed toward the youth's throat with lightning speed.

As a mercenary accustomed to licking blood from the blade's edge, Raven's threats had never been mere words.

If he dared tug on a tiger's tail, he had to be prepared to pay the price.

"Senior Raven is cute when she gets embarrassed and angry too~"

As though he had expected it, Shi Hen smiled faintly. He raised his right hand and easily caught the narrow, sharp blade of the fruit knife between just two fingers. A thin white glow flowed around his fingertips, preventing the blade from advancing another inch.

"Honkai Energy? It seems you know quite a bit."

Recognizing the nature of the energy at the youth's fingertips at a glance, Raven was genuinely surprised this time.

Even in the shadow world of lawless lands, very few knew of Honkai's existence, much less wielded Honkai Energy with such proficiency.

"Still, with strength at this level, I suggest you behave yourself."

Raven spoke with a light smile, and a dark red sheen immediately spread across the fruit knife in her hand.

Rip—

Shi Hen's defense was instantly shattered. The sharp blade slashed across the palm covered by his black fingerless glove, raising a vivid spray of blood. Scarlet plum blossoms immediately bloomed across the bar counter.

"This time is only a lesson. Next time... believe me, you won't want there to be a next time."

Raven casually set the bloodstained fruit knife aside and smiled. There was not a trace of coldness on her youthful face, but her words were more threatening than any blade.

Shi Hen stared for a long while at the blood-soaked stain on the black glove covering his palm, as though unable to understand why his attempt to show off had failed. Only after a long sigh did he raise his head and look at the legendary mercenary before him. "I will remember Senior Raven's lesson.

"But could Senior Raven tell me what Honkai Energy is? This is my first time meeting someone who can use the same power as I can."

As he spoke, intense curiosity filled the youth's face, like a child who had glimpsed the doorway to a new world. There was none of the awkwardness of trying to show off and getting slapped in the face instead.

"Huh? You really don't know?"

Raven's pupils trembled slightly, and she was even more astonished.

If he knew nothing, how had this guy trained himself to this point?

As its name implied, Honkai Energy was a special form of energy with immense destructive power.

Take a lightbulb with a service life of one hundred thousand hours. If it were powered by Honkai Energy instead, its lifespan would probably be only one hour.

Yet during that single hour, it could emit a thousand times the brightness it would under ordinary electrical power.

Terrifying and powerful, yet immensely destructive.

That was precisely why Honkai Energy was feared and yet so alluring.

Though the human body was more adaptable to Honkai Energy than ordinary machinery, the damage this energy inflicted upon the body still could not be ignored.

Even within Destiny, the organization that currently possessed the most advanced applications of Honkai Energy on the human body, few among its Valkyrie forces met a good end.

Apart from those who died in battle, Destiny's Valkyries either lost control of their Honkai Energy and became monsters that knew only destruction, or their bodies weakened and they died of various illnesses. Fewer than one in a hundred safely lived to retirement.

And that was the result Destiny achieved only after selecting the best of the best for its Valkyrie forces and supporting them with all manner of advanced technology.

For those following other, less orthodox paths, surviving their first contact with Honkai Energy was already exceptionally fortunate.

During their brief exchange just now, Raven had broken through the youth's defense with ease, but she was a legendary mercenary. Even within that secret organization coiled in the darkness of the world like a serpent, she was one of the strongest.

It could be said that Raven was among the very best fighters in the world, no less formidable than Destiny's top Valkyries.

Moreover, although she had held the upper hand in their brief clash, Raven could clearly sense that the youth had not yet used his full strength.

If they truly fought to the death, she did not dare claim victory.

So, sparring should end while it was still restrained.

Without sufficient profit, she was unwilling to conflict with an enemy like him.

It was not worth it. She would lose far too much money.

In response to the woman's shock, Shi Hen merely nodded slowly. "I only gained this power not long ago. I always thought it was some awakened superpower or spiritual energy revival.

"But it seems Senior Raven has a deeper understanding of these things."

"How long ago?"

Raven could not help asking curiously.

Shi Hen only smiled faintly.

He was not about to reveal all his cards so easily.

"Could Senior Raven tell me about Honkai Energy?"

Shi Hen handed over a thick stack of euros with a smile.

"Sure."

Feeling the thickness of the bills, Raven's mood immediately brightened.

Crow's Nest Bar also served as an intelligence exchange, so naturally she would not turn away business that came knocking.

Besides, this youth really was paying a lot.

"Listen up, brat. This strange energy we use is called Honkai Energy, and it is related to a disaster on Earth called Honkai.

"When Honkai Energy gathers, it causes Honkai outbreaks, which in turn give birth to mindless monsters that know only destruction. You should have seen them before, right?"

Since he could wield this power, the youth must have encountered an event related to Honkai before. Raven was completely certain of that.

"...Those monsters with white shells and red stripes?"

Shi Hen thought for a moment before answering.

"Their official name is Honkai Beasts," Raven corrected. "Even today, no one understands how Honkai Beasts are born. All anyone knows is that places where Honkai Energy is concentrated have a greater chance of producing these monsters."

Shi Hen nodded lightly and asked, "Then... what about those zombies?"

"They are called the Dead," Raven explained. "In this world, most people who come into contact with Honkai Energy become monsters that lose their reason. Only a very small number undergo a transformation through it, like us."

As she spoke, Raven opened her palm. A cluster of dark red light gathered above it, adding a touch of mystery to the bar.

Seeing this, Shi Hen also spread open his palm and summoned the energy within his body, causing a pale white glow like Raven's to appear.

For a moment, the two clusters of light reflected each other, like two stars answering one another in the night sky, or two hedgehogs huddled together for warmth in the cold wind.

This was not an especially advanced technique. As long as one's body had reached a certain level of compatibility with Honkai Energy, a little training was enough to materialize and release it.

Yet for the two of them at that moment, it was absolute proof that they belonged to the same world—the world hidden beneath the sunlight of order, a world even more insane and broken.

"The chosen ones... Heh~"

Staring blankly at the two clusters of Honkai Energy, each a different color due to their users' differing aptitudes, Shi Hen seemed to think of something. A deep sneer appeared at the corner of his lips.

This guy must have lost someone very important in that Honkai outbreak...

Seeing the complicated expression on the youth's face, Raven could not help recalling her own past. Something stirred in her heart for no reason.

Though Honkai had granted them strength incomparably greater than that of ordinary people, for them, Honkai also meant loss.

Not everyone could survive Honkai.

It was an extraordinary talent, but also a lonely curse.

And even those blessed with talent were often no different from ordinary people when they first faced Honkai.

Everything familiar had turned into ruins, while countless murderous monsters filled the surroundings... For most people, such a sight would become a nightmare that haunted them for life.