On the side of a road in Nagazora City.
The void suddenly rippled like a stone dropped into a calm lake. A figure suddenly fell from the sky and landed on the road, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
"..." It was a young man in strange clothes. His originally tidy attire was instantly covered in a thick layer of dust, making him as gray as the black stones scattered along the roadside.
"Ouch... where is this? Weren't we just in town..." The young man lifted his face, which was probably blacker than an African uncle's, and looked at the scene before him in a daze. These buildings were several times larger than the biggest ones he had ever seen in town. They must be worth a lot of money!
"That small shop up ahead is our target for today. Let's hurry," a man's voice suddenly reached the ears of the young man, who was still lying on the ground.
Eh!? There are people, thank heavens~ The young man felt a little relieved. Since there were people, he could ask them where he was. He also needed to find that idiot Melk.
"...Ugh!" Just as the young man was about to push himself up with his hands, an ornate, yellow-decorated boot suddenly stepped on his back, pressing him right back into the thick dust on the road.
"Why is this rock so soft?!" Li Xuan muttered to himself, puzzled. He lifted his foot... and then stepped on it a few more times. It really was soft!!
"Ahem, ahem." A coughing sound came from under Li Xuan's foot. "Big brother, could you please lift your noble foot?!" the young man struggled, grabbing Li Xuan's pant leg. He turned his head, on which only his eyes and teeth were white, and said with a tearful voice. The young man really wanted to cry. Stepping on him was one thing, but why did he have to keep stepping on him?
Kiana, standing to the side, didn't hear the young man's words clearly. She only saw a pitch-black humanoid creature suddenly grab Li Xuan's leg. Could this be a new type of Honkai Zombie monster?! Perfect, this young lady can show off her skills!
"Die, die, die!" Kiana's long leg shot up, and she transformed into the 'Foshan Shadowless Kick', stomping repeatedly on the black 'monster'.
"...Wait! Kiana!" A flustered Li Xuan hastily stopped Kiana's rampage. If she kept stomping, this person was going to die! Though, he felt like he was already close to death.
Li Xuan helped up the person who was nearly foaming at the mouth, and Liv used a towel she carried to wipe the person's blackened face, revealing the handsome, youthful face of a young man.
"What, so it wasn't a Honkai Zombie!" Kiana was greatly disappointed when she saw the young man's clearly human face. In contrast, Li Xuan was overjoyed.
"You nearly killed me! Can you not be so flippant about it!!" The young man, who had been playing dead a moment ago, leaped up from the ground and righteously pointed a finger at the white-haired girl before him.
"Now, calm down~ We didn't expect to find anyone who wasn't infected by the Honkai here," Mei said with a wry smile, playing the peacemaker.
"Honkai?" What the heck is that? The young man was completely bewildered. "This isn't the time for that. Do you know where this is? And have you seen a talking bottle of water?" the young man asked anxiously.
"Uh... that's a very profound question. Is it some kind of riddle?!" Kiana couldn't imagine what a "talking bottle of water" could be.
"Alright... I'll just look for it myself," the young man said with a helpless expression, seeing Kiana's reaction.
"Wait! Are you a guy?" Li Xuan, who had been silent until now, suddenly asked. "Yes," the young man replied with a complicated expression.
Do I not look like a boy?
"Hello! Brother!" Li Xuan enthusiastically grabbed the young man's hand. This was the first living male he had seen in this world! "Which country are you from?" Li Xuan added. With his emerald-green eyes, he was probably a foreigner, right?!
"...Aren't we all from the Desert Kingdom of the Mefertahane continent?!" the young man stared at Li Xuan as if he were a passport photo.
"..." Seven seas, eight continents. I may be a science student and bad at geography, but you can't just make up a name to fool me!
Li Xuan looked at him speechlessly.
"It's too dangerous to go alone. I don't know what you're looking for, but I suggest you come with us," Mei proposed from the side.
"Mhm, I'm not very familiar with this area, so I'll be in your care," the young man readily agreed. After all, he was just a 'Healer' and didn't have much combat ability against Monsters. He usually hired companions at inns for adventures anyway.
I'll just give them a few gold coins as payment later, the young man thought.
"Excuse me, what is the name of the thing you're looking for?" Li Xuan asked from the side.
"A talking bottle of water named Melk!" the young man replied earnestly.
"..." The group fell silent. What utter nonsense. How can water talk?!
Li Xuan's mental table was flipped over once again.
"K-Kiana! Look over there! There's a strange Honkai Zombie!" Mei suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
"Is that Melk?!" the young man turned his head and shouted in joyful surprise.
"...That's Melk?!" Li Xuan turned to look and felt his world turn upside down.
Are you sure she's not called Tentacle Monster?!
On the road, dimmed by the fog-obscured sunlight, a girl-like creature slowly approached. Its blue hair, which seemed to be made of liquid, danced wildly in the air like a writhing mass of tentacles.
(End of chapter)