In the ruins of a city ravaged by Honkai, a beautiful young woman with long pink hair stood atop a dilapidated skyscraper. With a longbow in hand, she gazed at a girl floating in the distance, who was looking down upon the Honkai Beasts under her command.
"The Herrscher of the Void… is it?"
In this world named "Honkai," the phenomenon known as Honkai was born alongside civilization itself.
To curb the continued development of these civilizations, beings with human form but logic-defying power were born from the Honkai—the "Herrschers."
Every Honkai Eruption was inevitably accompanied by the death of countless organisms, and each major eruption heralded the birth of a Herrscher, each with different abilities.
Herrschers wielded the authority granted to them by the Honkai, and every single one was immensely powerful.
And The Flame-Chasers was the anti-Honkai organization founded by the United Nations of the current civilization era to save it from the crisis of annihilation.
After dealing with the First Herrscher, who was barely a threat, the appearance of the Second Herrscher brought immense trouble to The Flame-Chasers.
It was against this backdrop that Elysia, a newcomer who had joined The Flame-Chasers due to her extremely high Honkai energy resistance and excellent combat record, stepped forward, poised to act as the savior who would turn the tide!
"Mhm, this is the perfect background for a heroine, isn't it!" Elysia nodded in satisfaction, then carefully tucked away the No. 1 Flame-Chaser medal hanging from her chest.
This was a medal she had spent considerable effort and energy to finally scamm—...finally obtain from a certain green-haired beauty, a medal that celebrated her merits and great deeds!
Recalling that renowned doctor, Elysia smiled before shifting her gaze back to the distant Herrscher of the Void.
"Next, I just have to complete this mission beautifully!" Elysia drew her bow. A crystal arrow, imbued with mysterious power, materialized and took aim at the distant Herrscher.
---o---
The Herrscher of the Void, who was just feeling dissatisfied that her Knight-class Honkai Beasts were less than 60 meters tall, keenly sensed a wave of danger.
Looking up, her eyes met those of the beautiful girl, Elysia, standing atop the abandoned skyscraper.
A disdainful smile crept onto the Herrscher of the Void's face.
"Is it another one of those humans who love to throw their lives away? Fine, I'll play with her for a bit. I happen to be bored right now anyway." The Herrscher of the Void crossed her arms, her face a mask of arrogance.
As a Herrscher who could freely draw upon Honkai energy to manipulate imaginary space, forget about being defeated—if her opponent could so much as graze the corner of her collar, she would call them 'Mom'!
An arrow flew towards her. The Herrscher watched it with an amused expression. The space around it seemed to congeal, and the arrow's velocity slowed to a crawl. The Herrscher leisurely sidestepped, letting the arrow whistle past her.
In my hands, isn't space just a toy?
Then, with a blink, the Herrscher teleported, greatly increasing the distance between them.
With a snap of her fingers, the numerous Honkai Beasts left behind began to charge madly toward Elysia.
What era is this? Who duels one-on-one anymore?
You want to challenge me? Defeat my Four Heavenly Kings first!
But just as the Herrscher of the Void was reveling in her own cleverness, a somewhat panicked shout rang out from above her head. The Herrscher subconsciously looked up.
"A beautiful… boy fell from the sky?" Elysia glanced quizzically at the far distance, where the Herrscher of the Void seemed to have been slammed into the ground by a human figure. She then refocused her attention on the horde of Honkai Beasts surrounding her.
Although it was a good opportunity, she now seemed to be completely surrounded.
"Splat!"
"Cough, cough, why did I teleport into the air! That hurt… Huh? Why doesn't it hurt?" Chen Li sat up from a pile of rubble, looking around in a daze.
He was supposed to be near the Herrscher of the Void.
So where was the Herrscher of the Void?
"You! You bastard!" a voice ground out from beneath Chen Li.
"I see now, I get it. One person to distract me, another to launch a sneak attack! Very good. You humans have finally managed to harm me, but you have also angered me! Prepare to be exiled into endless space!" The somewhat hysterical voice startled Chen Li, and he was then violently shoved aside by a powerful force.
"Ah, my apologies… Pardon me for asking, but you wouldn't happen to be the Herrscher of the Void, would you?" As a polite youth of the new century, Chen Li's first reaction was to apologize. But upon hearing her words, he quickly put two and two together.
Teleporting near the Herrscher of the Void?
No one said it would be this near!
It wasn't supposed to be this close, but his teleportation aim wasn't as good as the Herrscher's catching skills.
"Shut up! Die!" The Herrscher of the Void struggled to her feet and made a crushing gesture at Chen Li with her hand.
Nothing happened.
Only a gust of wind swept through the ruins, making Chen Li feel a little chilly.
"Eh?" The Herrscher of the Void froze.
The scene of shattered space and rivers of blood that she had imagined did not occur.
Chen Li tilted his head, then snatched up The Guide to Forging Curios in his left hand and a wilderness survival knife in his right. Taking advantage of her momentary stun, he charged.
The Guide to Forging Curios was both an external manifestation of Chen Li's soul and a usable weapon.
The good part was that it was indestructible, and the more Curios stored in the [Curio Vault], the higher its attack power.
Moreover, no matter how far the book was from him, Chen Li could recall it instantly.
The bad part was that blunt-force attacks were often not lethal.
But among Chen Li's other items, the [Knight's Broken Sword] was indeed a broken sword and not very sharp. In another world where he couldn't freely summon the heroic spirit of a knight, it was just a decoration.
Chen Li took it out and immediately put it away.
The alchemy pistol he used to shatter the shield operated by drawing spiritual energy from the air, but this world had no spiritual energy…
Chen Li glanced at the alchemy revolver in his left hand, which was charging extremely slowly, and decided to stick with the guide.
As for his travel bag, it contained no weapons, only useful transmigration goods like small mirrors, salt, spices, glass beads, a militia training manual, and a barefoot doctor's handbook. The wilderness survival knife was already his best weapon.
If he hadn't transmigrated to another world, his Relics would have been enough for self-defense.
"You! You dare hit me!" After dodging the knife only to be smacked hard by The Guide to Forging Curios, the Herrscher of the Void staggered, pointing a trembling finger at Chen Li.
Since gaining her Herrscher authority, this was the "heaviest" injury she had ever received.
And it was the most humiliating one!
"I hit you, so what? You're the Herrscher of the Void, right?" Chen Li raised his weapons and started chasing the Herrscher, beating her down.
This was the bravest Chen Li had ever been!
He had a free revive, so what was there to be afraid of!
An easy-to-bully boss like the Herrscher of the Void was a rare sight!
The Herrscher of the Void was incredibly powerful, but unfortunately for her, Chen Li was her natural counter.
Chen Li's original passive ability, which could nullify time, space, and fate abilities upon contact, had not only been enhanced by the Miracle System to work on the Herrscher of an alternate world, but it had also been upgraded to an area-of-effect influence—an ability he would have only gained after leveling up his original Transmigrator profession.
It could be said that running into the Herrscher of the Void was Chen Li's greatest [Encounter].
He had found the one Herrscher he was perfectly equipped to counter!
[Click!]
A photograph abruptly materialized in front of Chen Li.
On it was the very scene of Chen Li chasing and beating up the Herrscher of the Void.
[Miracle Card: The Upsetter]: Overcoming a Herrscher with the body of a mortal.
Effect 1: You can choose to increase your chances of encountering Herrschers after arriving in this world.
Effect 2: When a Herrscher is hostile towards you, they will feel a slight sense of pressure, making them more prone to unwise actions that are inconsistent with the situation.
Effect 3: Can be used to forge a Curio.
The photograph flashed and then floated into the [Journey Log] page within The Guide to Forging Curios.