"Yawn~" It was a peaceful morning in Nagazora City after the bombardment from the two gods. Li Xuan, holding a cup of tea, leaned against the balcony of his room and yawned, calmly watching the still-gray sky and the rising sun. This was one of the few moments of leisure he had in this city overrun by Honkai Beasts and Honkai Zombies.
In reality, it was just a boring morning of drinking water and spacing out. However, for some reason, he had recently become fond of drinking tea, so much so that he couldn't stop.
"..." I'm a little hungry~ Li Xuan thought, holding the teacup in his right hand. He raised his left hand and reached into the sleeve of his chest, rummaging around until he pulled out a sausage. Li Xuan didn't want to keep it in his chest, but he had no choice. After all, where would you find pockets in ancient-style clothing?!
"Ptoo~" Li Xuan bit down on the metal ring at the end of the sausage, tore it off with his teeth, and spat it out. Since coming to this Honkai world, he felt his body growing stronger with each passing moment. Sometimes, the red mark on the back of his hand would even grow slightly warm. Li Xuan could feel himself constantly getting stronger, as if some unknown energy was gathering within him. But this was a good thing for him, so he didn't bother to investigate it further. Research was exhausting!
"Chomp~" With one bite, Li Xuan devoured half of the sausage. "Chew, chew~" He narrowed his eyes and mentally connected to the silver ring on his finger. The next moment, a round, flat stone appeared out of thin air in his right hand. It was covered with patterns of the moon, water droplets, flames, leaves, and pentagrams, each pattern a different color. This was the 5-star material, the "Stone of Stellar Resonance," that Li Xuan had unintentionally summoned through a vow.
The patterns on the Stone of Stellar Resonance were exquisite, yet they lacked any sense of artificial craftsmanship. It was as if it were born from the masterful hands of nature itself.
"..." Staring at the Stone of Stellar Resonance in his hand, Li Xuan was still a little curious. Although he couldn't be entirely certain, he believed the stone was the culprit behind the summoning of the two problematic gods, Sol and Lucian, which had nearly destroyed Nagazora City, or rather, the world. He also believed the stone was connected to how Mjolnir and Lucian's Secret transformed into gods and eventually evolved into 7-star weapons.
Li Xuan ate the other half of the sausage in his left hand, peeling the wrapper and swallowing it in one go. He placed the Stone of Stellar Resonance in his now-empty left hand. Another object appeared in his right hand—his very first weapon, the one he had pinned his initial hopes on—the
Rifled Flintlock!
"..." Li Xuan looked at the gun and the stone in his hands, a little hesitant. After all, who knew what would happen if the two touched? If it summoned two gods who started fighting like last time, that would be a huge mess. This building would definitely be torn down by hand! Li Xuan had great faith in the power of gods; each one was a terrifying existence capable of dismantling a Gundam with their bare hands.
If this building were also demolished because one of those godly ancestors got upset, Li Xuan wasn't confident he could withstand tens of thousands of tons of steel and concrete with just his shield.
"Sigh~" Li Xuan sighed and ultimately placed the gun on the edge of the small table in front of him.
The risk was too high. Power was indeed important, but what was the point of having power if you lost your life? It's not like you could take it to the grave.
"Knock, knock~!!" There was a knock on Li Xuan's door. "Hey! Li Xuan! I brought you the delicious breakfast Mei-senpai made!" Kiana's distinct, energetic voice came from outside.
"Oh! Coming, coming!" Li Xuan quickly placed the Stone of Stellar Resonance under the small table. It was the great Miss Kiana herself delivering his food! He hurriedly stood up. However, as he turned to walk towards the door, he carelessly bumped the small table.
The Rifled Flintlock, which was already on the edge of the table, rolled off. And as fate would have it... the gun landed right on the Stone of Stellar Resonance underneath. The Rifled Flintlock was drawn to the stone like a magnet, and its silver-white body began to glow faintly.
"What took you so long?!" As soon as Li Xuan half-opened the door, he was met with Miss Kiana's complaint. "...Sorry," Li Xuan said helplessly. He figured that for Kiana, anything less than him opening the door the instant she knocked would be considered slow.
"Here! For you~" Kiana, still sporting a large bump on her forehead, unceremoniously shoved the breakfast into Li Xuan's hands. Then, she put on a lecherous expression. "You weren't doing something indecent in your room, were you?!"
"..." Li Xuan's face instantly darkened. What utter nonsense! At that moment, his heart felt like it was being trampled by ten thousand mythical grass-mud horses. As a good student with a normal moral compass, how could he possibly be doing that so early in the morning?! Besides, there wasn't even any material in this godforsaken place to use for that! Was he supposed to do it to thin air?! This was too much!
"I—" Just as Li Xuan was about to defend his reputation and dignity, Kiana suddenly pushed him aside, along with his door.
"What's this?!" Kiana said, looking at the faintly glowing humanoid figure in the center of Li Xuan's room, completely bewildered.
The white light suddenly dissipated, revealing what was inside. And then, Li Xuan and his companion were utterly stunned!!
It was a young woman. She had a beautiful, delicate face, lips like cherries, and an exquisite, petite figure clad in a simple long dress with a white, frill-decorated apron that had a red border. She had shoulder-length black hair and wore a maid's headdress with a playful black floral pattern along the edge.
The young woman slowly lifted her eyelids, revealing a pair of eyes as brilliant as rubies. She looked around in confusion, her gaze finally landing on Li Xuan, who was behind Kiana. The maid-clad girl smiled and walked towards him.
"Hello~ Master~" The maid smiled, curtsying gracefully with her slender legs crossed in a medieval greeting.
"..." Li Xuan stood there, dumbfounded. Kiana, beside him, shot him a look as if he were scum.
Under the sunlight, the girl's smile was as enchanting as a flower, capable of toppling cities.
(End of chapter)