Another glimpse into the system's past.
Not much time remained until Herta's performance concluded.
Fortunately, a small bottle of fruit-flavored candies appeared in Herta's hand. Sixty in total—a single piece could suppress the Nihility's erosion for an entire day.
The extra thirty were for emergencies.
More importantly, though they looked like candy, they were actually a form of solidified energy.
Even a soul could consume them.
With that pressing concern temporarily resolved, Herta began pondering her next move.
Accumulating enough draws for the gacha within thirty days was no easy task.
Back on the station, after days of data collection, it was only on the final day, during her encounter with Herta, that the numbers skyrocketed.
But this time, facing Acheron, hoping to track down the person herself and make a scene…
Bai Ming held no such illusions.
Unlike Herta, if you stirred up trouble on the station, you could always force your name into Herta's notice one way or another.
But with Acheron… she didn't even have a contact method.
Who knew if she was currently wandering lost?
Moreover, she didn't collaborate with other organizations.
Her memory was poor, too.
Even if she somehow heard through an Interastral Peace Corporation news broadcast, whether a meeting would happen still depended entirely on Acheron's whims.
Too many variables.
So… if there was no chance to confront her directly, then the only option was to stir up something bigger.
Something massive enough to shake the entire cosmos.
Like… say, slaying an Emanator of Destruction.
Otherwise, she probably wouldn't survive beyond the third thirty-day cycle. For now, best to check if Little Snake had identified their location.
"Little Snake."
"Here. Scans confirm we are on a planet where the Xianzhou Alliance's Luofu is currently docked. According to the latest news broadcast, an angry Emanator of Abundance is leading the Abundance's followers in an assault on the Luofu!"
"Heh, now that's dramatic~"
An inscrutable smile flickered across Herta's face.
What were the odds?
Arriving right as things heat up?
In that case, it seemed she had to thank Lady Herta for that final nudge.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have managed to bypass twenty thousand years of history in one go and land right in the middle of the Luofu's battlefield.
Just like that, the problem became much simpler.
Utterly destroying an Emanator of Abundance that plagued the cosmos—the emotional energy from the Xianzhou Alliance's gratitude alone should be enough for her next gacha draw, right?
She dismissed the Big Herta character card, whose time was nearly up.
Sigh—
The figure of Big Herta vanished.
This time, however, Bai Ming didn't end up in the black room.
Instead, she found herself in a peculiar state, able to observe.
Her sudden disappearance gave Little Snake a start.
But its scanners quickly informed it that its master was still right there.
This made the little device buzz with confusion.
Bai Ming glanced at the panel that had begun its countdown:
--+--
[Role-Playing System]
[Name: Bai Ming]
[Lifespan: 85:00:24]
[Transformable Characters: Big Herta (Charge: 1.1%), Acheron]
[Available Draws: 0 (13.5%)]
--+--
After the role-playing duration ended, a charge progress bar had appeared next to Big Herta in the transformable characters section.
Another progress bar with no explanation.
Bai Ming felt a headache coming on.
While a system that didn't talk was liberating, one this barebones without even basic instructions was just baffling.
Based on what the system had shown so far, it seemed to feed entirely on emotional energy.
Draws depended on it. Her lifespan needed it to increase.
So, the character card charging probably worked the same way, right?
It couldn't possibly require a different resource.
Bai Ming shook her non-existent head.
Setting that aside for now, just as she was about to activate the next transformation, a new dialog box suddenly popped up:
[Reward Settlement: Role-playing as Big Herta. Successfully collected a large amount of Emotional Value. Host may obtain a sliver of Big Herta's own talents.]
"...What's this about 'a sliver of Big Herta's talents'?"
While Bai Ming was still puzzled, a sudden change occurred.
A strange power flooded into her soul.
Accompanied by a cool, soothing sensation, she felt a transformation—as if her mind had switched from a horse-drawn carriage to a high-speed train, her intellect evolving from ape to homo sapiens.
Not only that, all the knowledge she had accessed while playing Big Herta—the Phase Shift Ring, the AllSpark, everything about Nihility suppression—came rushing into Bai Ming's memory all at once.
Now, even without playing Big Herta, Bai Ming could craft a new AllSpark with her bare hands.
"Heh, well I'll be… There are rewards? Seriously, if the rewards are this good, why didn't you say so earlier? If I'd known, I would've stuck it out under Herta's nose for another day!"
While appreciating the windfall, Bai Ming couldn't help but curse this silent system.
Honestly! Why didn't you mention such great rewards sooner!
If she'd known there were settlement rewards, she would have endured under Herta's gaze until the very last second of the playtime.
This system was really something else.
Bai Ming shook her head inwardly.
But then, a new worry surfaced.
Her next card was Acheron.
Please don't let the power of Nihility come along as part of the settlement.
"Aiyah~"
What's done is done.
There was no turning back.
Though filled with misgivings, Bai Ming couldn't just wait for death.
In her soul form, she swallowed one of the candy pills.
Steeling herself, Bai Ming began the transformation!
Use Acheron Character Card!
Soon, the familiar figure of the long-haired woman appeared before her.
Immediately, the familiar pulling sensation returned, and Bai Ming's consciousness was sucked into it once more.
Being no stranger to this, Bai Ming quickly adapted to the new body.
Though height, weight, figure, and even physical constitution were vastly different, they were both humanoid, so it was manageable.
It's just... the chest area was significantly larger.
She hadn't noticed it much when playing Big Herta.
But now, as Acheron, she glanced down and nearly lost sight of her own toes.
"Hmm… A bit cumbersome, but manageable. The real issue is…"
Even though she wasn't fully integrated, operating Acheron's body through a layer of separation, Bai Ming could still feel a heart-palpitating shadow vaguely probing towards her.
But it was being forcefully blocked by an invisible power.
"Hmm… This doesn't feel like the effect of the medicine, does it?"
Acheron's brow furrowed slightly.
She knew the exact effects of the medicine she made.
It shouldn't be able to so forcefully block the erosion of Nihility.
"If not the medicine… could the system be intervening?"
Acheron's eyebrow raised, a flicker of surprise crossing her features.
This system might not provide any explanations, but it seemed reliable enough.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.