Chapter 12: Chapter 12: I Didn’t Mean It
Author: 鍩颯爱
Last updated: 2017/9/29 14:17:13
Word count: 2509
Kiana opened the home system interface, collected coins from the refinery, completed the second task, and used the ten mission points to open a treasure chest, obtaining five crystals.
"Ai-chan, don't tasks reward experience points? Didn't the original Honkai system have experience rewards?"
"The original Honkai system also had stamina, Captain! Now you have unlimited stamina—aren't you happy? You win some, you lose some!"
"…"
Kiana was speechless. She couldn't deny it; yesterday, she spent the entire afternoon grinding and gained more experience than from completing any task. In the original game, without spending crystals to buy more stamina, it would've been impossible to reach level five so quickly.
In this version, the lack of experience rewards for tasks didn't seem like a big deal. In fact, she was leveling up faster.
Kiana then prepared to tackle her first task, taking out her phone to locate the enemies.
"Only three enemies? Piece of cake."
Just yesterday, she'd taken down countless beasts, so three enemies seemed trivial. But when she checked her map, she found no red dots around her.
Zooming out, Kiana finally saw a few red dots, but there were significantly fewer compared to yesterday—almost a sixth of what she remembered.
"Ai-chan, what's going on? Why are there so few red dots?"
"Because those creatures can no longer be your enemies. They can't harm you."
"…"
So that was it. Creatures that couldn't kill her no longer registered as threats. Kiana finally understood.
"Looks like I'm pretty strong now!"
Kiana was pleased with her progress. In just one day, her strength had wiped out nearly a sixth of the island's enemies. It was a tangible sign of her growth, bringing her one step closer to becoming a man again.
"Maybe I should try a one-versus-many battle this time. One-on-one is starting to feel too easy."
Talking to herself, Kiana looked for clusters of red dots. She wasn't arrogant, though, so she ignored groups with dozens of enemies, opting for smaller clusters, ideally three weaker enemies to complete her task.
She soon found her target and began heading out, checking her equipment on the way. She had a level 25 Pulse Katana Type 17, a level-one rental weapon—the Thermal Cutter Blade—and her basic weapon in her White Comet armor.
The rental weapon would expire in 24 hours, and the Thermal Cutter Blade only had a few hours left. She had no intention of upgrading it; it was only a three-star starter weapon and would eventually be replaced. The Pulse Katana, too, was just a placeholder for early stages.
Each armor series only needed one shared weapon, like a basic handgun, until she could pull a four-star, maxed-out weapon later on.
As for the Thermal Cutter Blade, Kiana only rented it for its fire-starting ability. Initially, she wasn't even interested in upgrading her Pulse Katana, but after fighting a wild boar yesterday, she realized her current attack power wasn't enough. The boar had taken dozens of hits and barely showed any damage.
So Kiana decided to focus on strengthening a four-star weapon to get through the early stages. At the moment, she didn't have the resources for top-tier weapons, which would cost too much.
In summary, her situation could be summed up in one word: unlucky. Or, more accurately, two words—extremely unlucky.
"Becoming an ultra-lucky player is still a long road ahead!"
Kiana sighed, hoping her next supply draw would yield an S-rank armor, ideally the Moonlight armor, which she was most comfortable with. Though she wasn't sure if spinning around with the branch attack would make her dizzy.
The Moonlight armor's attack involved multiple 360-degree spins, like a top. Kiana wondered if her stomach could handle it, though she hoped that particular "problem" might be resolved by a certain someone.
Boom!
In an instant, Kiana lay on the ground, convulsing and covered in goosebumps. The terrifying shock of lightning had frightened all nearby animals away, leaving only Kiana in the clearing.
"Big… Sister… I didn't mean it, uh!"
Kiana was almost in tears. She had only thought it—she hadn't said it out loud! Did that twisted goddess have some weird habit of eavesdropping on people's thoughts?
"Just got off work and heard you cursing me in your thoughts, so I gave you a little jolt."
The sky above echoed with Vesta's playful voice, sounding delighted, as if she saw Kiana as a toy.
"…"
Kiana fell silent, not daring to think anything else, fearing Vesta might zap her again.
"Already at level five? You're leveling up fast. Keep it up—I look forward to seeing you turn back into a man!"
Vesta took a glance at Kiana's level before she stopped paying attention. Kiana silently sneered, thinking, If you're really looking forward to it, why not just turn me back into a man now? But I guess that's impossible.
Once Vesta left, Kiana climbed up, dusted herself off, and continued toward her target.
At the end of a narrow path, Kiana finally spotted her objective. In a lake surrounded by the island on three sides, three graceful figures were playfully splashing. Their chests were modestly covered with small seashells, and their lower bodies displayed vibrant colors in reds and blues. The scene was filled with a pink, enchanting charm.
"Mermaids?"
Kiana hid behind a tree, feeling hesitant. Mermaids weren't like animals. She didn't want to harm them, so she considered changing her target.
As she started to leave, having no interest in the mermaids' pale, graceful figures, she accidentally stepped on a twig, producing a loud snap that echoed around the lake.
"…"
Instantly, the lake fell silent. Beads of sweat formed on Kiana's forehead as she slowly turned to see the three mermaids approaching her, their faces wary. Her expression became awkward.
"Uh, let me explain—I wasn't intentionally spying!"
Yet as she turned to face them, the mermaids were momentarily taken aback. One of them murmured, almost in a whisper, "She's so beautiful…"
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
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