But fortunately, Void Archive after its upgrade can reach his level, and its upper limit of what it can replicate is even higher.
Based on the information Chen Luo currently knows, S-rank corresponds to 5-star, but 5-star isn't necessarily only S-rank; it could also be SS-rank.
As for that elusive 6-star, perhaps that is also SS-rank.
Of course, this is just Chen Luo's speculation and hasn't been confirmed by the Talent Panel.
The Talent Panel only makes its presence known when Chen Luo accepts commissions or spends money; it never explains this kind of knowledge to Chen Luo, who can only rely on himself to figure it out.
And perhaps Void Archive after upgrading can also reach that "I reckon so" level.
But this doesn't stop Chen Luo from first painstakingly copying the blueprints of the Third Divine Key.
And the Welt before Chen Luo is merely a clone created by Cocolia using cloning technology, a replica of the first Herrscher of Reason.
And her current cloning technology isn't advanced enough, so the replicated First Herrscher, Welt, only possesses the ability to manipulate gravity.
This gravity manipulation ability originates from the First Herrscher's most frequently used Divine Key, the Star of Eden.
It's just that his gravity manipulation is really quite mediocre, not only inferior to Welt Joyce but even inferior to Welt Yang.
Of course, since it's a clone, it's impossible that only one was created.
This Welt should just be the first Welt to appear; that vixen Cocolia has cloned plenty of Welts.
But Cocolia's cloning technology clearly has flaws, and these flaws are almost impossible to remedy. That's why, in Post-Honkai Odyssey, Welt Yang once mentioned that almost all Welt clones developed mental problems and almost all committed suicide.
In short, very few met a good end, so they could only be used as consumables.
Among the two Welt replicas Chen Luo knows, one likes to wear a big gold chain – that's the one before him – and the other likes to lick things.
And the one before him is undoubtedly Welt-One, not Welt-Two.
"Clone? What nonsense are you talking about? Forget it, there's no point talking to someone like you who can't be reasoned with. Surrender quietly! Hand over the knowledge of other worlds in your mind! I, the Herrscher of Reason, the one who controls the laws of gravity, submit before me!"
Welt, standing not far in front of Chen Luo, laughed arrogantly, his body slowly levitating. A black sphere the size of a fist suddenly appeared before him, and a terrifying, overwhelming force was applied to his surroundings, including Chen Luo and Sin within the range.
Gravity. Extremely terrifying gravity. This force made even Chen Luo crouch down to resist.
Chen Luo's physical strength wasn't enough to remain completely unmoved under such multiplied gravity.
"Tch." Chen Luo was extremely displeased.
You call yourself the Herrscher of Reason? If my Void Archive wasn't in the process of upgrading, I'd show you what the real First Herrscher is like!
And since when is the First Herrscher's power gravity control?
Did your brain get messed up during cloning?
Currently in a half-kneeling position, what Chen Luo was thinking about wasn't how to defeat Welt-One, but how to defeat him without killing him.
"Hey, First Herrscher Welt, right? Let me ask you, do you know what 'Herrscher of Reason' means? Is gravity the true authority of the Herrscher of Reason?" Chen Luo suddenly looked up and asked.
"What a shallow understanding! Controlling gravity is just one form of expression of my ability! My true ability is... is... is what?" Just as he was about to mock Chen Luo arrogantly, the Herrscher of Reason, Welt, suddenly stalled for some reason.
My true ability... what is it again?
"Tch." Chen Luo made a disdainful sound.
Then, the countless threads that Chen Luo had already densely spread throughout the corridor became visible, showing their black-red form, instantly entangling Welt who was momentarily dazed.
Of course, when using this move, Chen Luo also turned off the "execute" skill of his "Honkai Terminator" ability.
Actually, this move was originally prepared for Sin. Because Chen Luo had never fought Sin before, he had put a lot of effort into preparation.
Otherwise, Chen Luo wouldn't have wasted so much breath talking to Sin, delaying her actions.
But Chen Luo didn't expect that before he even used much force, Sin was already down.
This was the invincible Miss Sin!
And now, this suddenly appearing First Herrscher Welt got to enjoy the full treatment.
Moreover, because Welt-one is a Herrscher, the damage received is increased by 60%.
The damage calculation for "Honkai Terminator" is just that simple and brutal.
The lower your position in the Honkai faction, the higher the total damage you receive.
Damage to Honkai Beasts and Zombies increased by 100%. Damage to Herrschers increased by 25%.
But for a special "Herrscher" like this Welt, who is neither a Honkai Beast or Zombie, nor a true Herrscher, the damage increase is 60%.
Speaking of which, even the pseudo-Herrscher Yae Sakura only had a 50% increase. Welt is even worse than a pseudo-Herrscher.
Under the combined erosion of the dual Herrscher authorities of Domination and Corruption, along with Honkai energy devouring, the small sphere in front of the opponent instantly shattered, and the gravity acting on Chen Luo was broken.
Seizing this opportunity, Chen Luo instantly disappeared from his original position and reappeared in front of Welt. Then, with one hand, he pierced through Welt's abdomen.
"Ahhh!!!" Welt let out a miserable scream.
When Chen Luo initially saw his Herrscher personality stab Yae Sakura in the stomach, he thought it was brutal, but now it seems this might be one of the most suitable methods.
Stabbing the hand or leg – not to mention whether it can pierce through – even if it does, it might not incapacitate the opponent. Stabbing the chest might kill them instantly.
So stabbing the stomach is the most suitable method.
Moreover, the stomach is almost the midpoint relative to the limbs and the entire body. In other words, eroding and dominating from this point towards other areas is the most efficient and convenient traffic hub.
As the opponent's screams rang out, more and more threads entangled Welt. These black-red threads not only could absorb Honkai energy but also carried the authority of the Herrscher of Corruption.
The authority of Corruption can control not only machinery but even beasts or humans, so it can erode the opponent's body. While eroding the body, it will inevitably cause physical effects, indirectly affecting the soul.
And taking this opportunity to dominate the body is very effort-saving.
The authorities of the Herrscher of Domination and the Herrscher of Corruption are indeed a perfect match.
But just as Chen Luo had eroded half of the opponent, he suddenly stopped.
"Is this guy really worth dominating?" Chen Luo suddenly felt doubtful. Now the opponent was half-eroded, belonging to a semi-puppet state like Rin.
"If he were the real Herrscher of Reason, it would definitely be worth it. But he's just a clone of the Herrscher of Reason... and a defective clone at that..." Chen Luo was truly extremely conflicted now.
If you kill him, he's still somewhat a combat asset, and if Chen Luo wanted to kill him, he would have used the "Honkai Terminator" ability just now.
But if you're talking about controlling him as a puppet, he seems a bit too mediocre.
Since becoming a Puppeteer and acquiring the Puppet Storage, Chen Luo felt as if he had awakened some strange collecting obsession.
At this moment, Chen Luo finally understood why his father collected three sets of things: one set to handle, one set to display, and one set to keep sealed away.
Currently, Chen Luo's Puppet Storage contains only Yae Sakura. Even Rin didn't count; Rin was only a semi-puppet and didn't qualify to enter the Puppet Storage, so she didn't occupy one of the 999 slots.
And Yae Sakura could easily defeat Welt—here referring to the replica.
So adding Welt-One to the Puppet Storage would undoubtedly be polluting the collection.
"But if I turn him into a semi-puppet, he definitely won't be obedient."
This Welt's situation was different from Rin's. Rin naturally had extremely high favorability towards Chen Luo, and Chen Luo didn't plan to control her either; he only made her a semi-puppet to sustain her existence.
"Fine, fine, I'll just store him in the Puppet Storage for now. If I'm not satisfied later, I can just kill him then. After all, once a slot in the Puppet Storage is freed up, it can be refilled immediately."
Finally, torn between his collecting obsession and the urgent need for combat strength, Chen Luo chose combat strength.
As Chen Luo firmly made his decision, more black-red threads began to appear in the void, surrounding and entangling the Welt before him.
Welt's screams gradually weakened within the endless coiling. His condition, like Yae Sakura's initially, gradually became wrapped into a cocoon. When he emerged from the cocoon, he would be another puppet.
Besides turning the target into a puppet, this cocoon also possessed a healing effect.
As for why the cocoon added a healing effect, it was probably because creating each puppet inflicted significant damage to the puppet's body.
After all, think about it carefully: whether it was the Herrscher Personality or Chen Luo himself, the method of creating a puppet involved first piercing the abdomen to incapacitate the target, then tightly binding them with threads to begin transforming them into a puppet.
If it didn't include a healing function, the puppet might die immediately after conversion.
Is this a case of demand determining supply?
"Then there's this Sing..." After dealing with Welt, Chen Luo walked over to Sin, squatted down, and tapped her head with the flat of his sword.
"How should I handle her?" Chen Luo was still quite troubled about this.
If Welt's replica had half the qualification to enter Chen Luo's Puppet Storage, then this Sin truly didn't even have half a qualification.
It's not that our invincible Miss Sin is very weak... well, alright, she is quite weak.
Killing her naturally wasn't an option either, since wastefulness isn't a good habit.
Moreover, the invincible Miss Sin is excellent material.
Time ability... If he could mass-produce puppets with time abilities after becoming a Puppet Master in the future, then...
Time bombs, ever heard of them?
Time ability users, especially ones this weak, are truly hard to find.
"Then... semi-puppetization it is." Chen Luo pondered for a moment, then gently placed his right hand on her neck.
Herrscher of Domination ability, activate.
She was currently unconscious, so transforming her into a puppet proceeded smoothly, even though a pained expression flickered across her face. But anyway, it wasn't Chen Luo feeling the pain.
Even though she indeed lost to him, if she had won, him breaking a rib or two would have hurt quite a bit too.
So Chen Luo felt absolutely no guilt.
There are also differences between semi-puppets. A 1% puppet and a 99% puppet, can they be the same?
Rin's type was about 5% puppet. Chen Luo only made her a semi-puppet to the minimum extent necessary to maintain her existence, his control over her being as minimal as possible.
For Sin, Chen Luo set a degree of 50%.
At this level, Chen Luo couldn't control her thoughts, but he could make her a tsundere. Her thoughts remained her own, but her body became Chen Luo's, obeying his commands.
If it exceeded 50%, it became easy for others to detect abnormalities.
Moreover, after exceeding 50%, even if Chen Luo didn't increase it further, she would gradually become Chen Luo's puppet over time. This was an irreversible process. So for someone he wanted to control but not completely control, 50% was just right.
"Ah..." Although he had acquired two puppets at once, Chen Luo couldn't feel happy at all.
If the quality of the puppets in Chen Luo's Puppet Storage were all at Yae Sakura's level, then of course Chen Luo would be happy.
But what kind of rejects were these two puppets he obtained this time?
Especially after detecting the level of physical deterioration in the other's body through his authority while modifying Welt, Chen Luo sighed even more deeply.
This Welt replica was the kind of mass-produced, but not fully mass-produced, cannon fodder.
It was riddled with flaws internally.
After gaining a combat asset intended for use as cannon fodder, Chen Luo still had to expend a Honkai Crystal to modify its body.
What kind of losing business was this?
Sighing, Chen Luo tossed a Honkai Crystal onto Welt's body.
If the Honkai Crystal given to Yae Sakura was to provide her with nutrients, then the one given to Welt was purely for healing purposes.
Cocolia's clone technology was really... hard to describe, at least in Chen Luo's eyes.
Chen Luo's [Furniture Mastery] had raised all his Puppeteer skills to the Proficient level, which included Human Body Modification.
Coupled with the boost from the Favorability Gift [Dr. Mobius's Scalpel], Chen Luo could now be considered a high-level scientific researcher from the Previous Era.
So Chen Luo could only sigh repeatedly while using his authority to perform surgery on Welt.
Damn it, this is such a loss.
"After modifying this Welt, I'll have him infiltrate Anti-Entropy as a mole, try to occupy a high position, and then take down the entire organization in one fell swoop. Stupid mortals daring to resist the Honkai deserve this outcome," Chen Luo muttered under his breath.
[Ding! The discount for exchanging items in the Honkai faction is 8% off.]
Hmm, another piece of news was that the favorability increase was starting to slow down.
Before, just saying nice things was enough. Now, he needed to actually accomplish something substantive to increase the discount.
Life is full of disappointments, but Chen Luo felt like he was encountering all of them.