A sharp blade, glinting with a cold light, now rested before Chen Li. The Guide to Forging Curios's evaluation and notes on this new item were a pleasant surprise.
[Pale Justice]: When you use this Curio, you can resonate with it through words. Knights who respond to your ideals or are moved by them will appear by your side as projections to fight for your shared beliefs. After the battle, the knight has the right to ask you to perform one reasonable task, which you may call a "knight's trial."
PS: Besides saying nice things, foul language can also arouse a knight's "desire." You can try it if you're not afraid of death.
(Miracle: Ahem, I know this is a little sudden... but, Master, did you miss me? While this feeling of only being able to communicate through notes is a bit strange, it's better than disappearing completely.
As for whether I'm the 'more functions' you unlock after reaching Curio Forger Lv10... I don't know either.
Also, remember to do the beginner quest after this fight. It's part of the miracle that was [Forging the Miracle System into the Guide to Forging Curios], and it's also the Miracle System's parting gift.)
"Erm…" Chen Li's expression was complicated as he read the notes.
What was this? A pixie who could only live in the commentary section?
The final effect of this Curio was similar to what Chen Li had initially envisioned.
However, his original plan was to summon knights from this world, but now it had changed to summoning knights from any world.
This enhancement was likely related to the buff in the guide: [The brightness of Entries is additionally increased during the first Curio forging].
Forging such a powerful Curio in the future would probably cost far more Crystals.
While forging this item, Chen Li had removed most of the side effects from the two Relics, but he had to leave some. This wasn't his preference, but it was part of a "reasonable configuration."
Want a Curio with only positive effects and no downsides?
Sure, if you have enough Crystals.
But Chen Li didn't.
Configuring a Curio's Entries was like a game of addition and subtraction, similar to the "cost" system in some turn-based games.
You start with a point budget (or cost) of 10. Choosing positive Entries deducts points, while choosing negative Entries adds points.
Everything in the world is a trade-off. Only a miracle can alter this balance.
Using more Crystals could increase the initial point budget.
Chen Li had received 30 Crystals for getting his first Miracle Card when the [Encounter] triggered, but he spent 10 constructing the purification space. (Balance: 20)
Just now, chasing down the Herrscher of the Void had earned him another Miracle Card and 15 Crystals. (Balance: 35)
Igniting the Flames of Miracle cost 2 Crystals, with another 4 to maintain it. Maintaining the miracle shield cost 1 Crystal… (Balance: 28)
With only 28 Crystals left, Chen Li had to leave some side effects in place to avoid burning through his reserves.
He spent 20 Crystals to increase the initial budget for this Curio by 20 points. He spent another 3 Crystals to store three Entries: [Heroic Spirit] and [Communication] from the broken sword, and [Forced Transaction] from the conch. (Balance: 5)
Entries could be stored, but not every Entry was worth the cost.
However, the Entries from these two Relics were almost all "golden legendaries," and they required very little of the Flames of Miracle to modify, so it would have been a waste not to save them.
The other unused Entries weren't wasted either; they were sent to the recycling bin to decompose and merge on their own.
Checking it occasionally might lead to a pleasant surprise.
With an initial budget of 30 (10 base + 20 paid), the Entries used a total of 28 points. Chen Li used the remaining 2 points (equivalent to 2 Crystals) to make [Sharpness] and [Durability] enhancements to the knight's broken sword.
As a result, the rather wide half-sword was reforged into a complete, sleeker longsword, which was much more comfortable for Chen Li to wield.
If Chen Li had been able to forge a suitable carrier beforehand, he could have saved those 2 points.
In the end, Chen Li had obtained one Curio and was left with 5 Crystals.
He also successfully gained 26 experience points (equal to the number of Crystals spent on forging). His Forging skill proficiency increased by 52 points.
Curio Forger: Lv1 (26/100)
Furthermore, after successfully forging the Curio, the profession characteristic that enhanced his base stats from any forging activity took effect. Chen Li now found it much easier to swing Pale Justice.
"Now, it's time for the counterattack!" Chen Li retracted the forging table and hammer into the guide. Wielding the sharp longsword, he looked toward the Herrscher of the Void, who had grown bored after being unable to break the miracle shield for so long.
The Herrscher of the Void had actually been on high alert, but within the vision of her countless Honkai Beasts, the only strange thing in the entire ruined city was Chen Li.
That pink-haired girl was still being swarmed by a large pack of beasts.
Although the Honkai Beasts were often killed in return, the one thing the Herrscher didn't lack was more Honkai Beasts.
"Finally making a move?" The Herrscher of the Void, held aloft by a 60-meter-tall Templar-class Honkai Beast with a giant shield, let out a yawn.
While Chen Li was hammering away, she hadn't figured out how he was sealing her Herrscher authority, but she had managed to probe out the rule: as long as she maintained a certain distance from him, her abilities would not be sealed.
If she could still lose knowing this, she would die on the spot for Chen Li to see!
"Go! Kill him!" The Herrscher of the Void said excitedly, seeing Chen Li about to step out of the shield.
Once that detestable shield was gone, capturing this human would be as easy as reaching out her hand, wouldn't it?
"…" Chen Li stood at the edge of the shield, watching the Honkai Beasts converge on him, and tightened his grip on the Curio in his hand.
Next, it was time to summon a knight!
The two Relics had many negative effects. The reason Chen Li had chosen this particular one was because he already had a target in mind for the summoning.
A righteous knight, who would resonate with a single sentence, and who wouldn't make an excessive demand…
The choice was already made, wasn't it?
"I acknowledge, the goddess of Pure Beauty, Idrila, her beauty is unparalleled in all the world!" Chen Li shouted.
The longsword in his hand began to hum.
The next moment, the countless Honkai Beasts, hand-picked by the Herrscher of the Void, were turned to ash by a spear as crimson as a rose.
Then, a fiery red figure stood tall before Chen Li.
His form was not immense, yet it gave off an overwhelming sense of security, like a great city wall, or a blade that could shatter all obstacles!
The pupils of the once-confident Herrscher of the Void contracted.
His terrifying instantaneous destructive power and range made even her leap to her feet from her beastly perch, on full alert.
"I am Argenti of the Knights of Beauty. Here, with all the gravitas of a single rose, I salute you." Looking at the knight in silver armor who was offering him a rose, Chen Li accepted it and returned a knight's salute.
It was a gesture a heroic spirit of a knight had taught him.
The moment he gripped [Pale Justice], the images of many knights flashed through Chen Li's mind.
Including, but not limited to, the King of Knights, Lancelot of the Round Table, even Gawain who was invincible under the sun, and he could even summon the unorthodox knight, Darkness.
Given his sufficient understanding of their stories, Chen Li was fairly confident he could summon any of them.
But who could possibly refuse a Knight of Beauty, a man so upright and noble, whose honorable nature was truly admirable?
"Greetings, esteemed Knight of Beauty. It was not my wish to interrupt your journey, but as you can see, I am currently besieged by vicious beasts. I hope you can forgive the intrusion," Chen Li said to Argenti.
"To meet you by chance today is truly a fortunate event. To encounter one another here, across countless spans of time and space, must be a blessing of Pure Beauty. I shall help you sweep away these foul beasts and cleanse the filth from this land!" Argenti declared, gripping his silver spear and turning his gaze to the dozens-of-meters-tall Honkai Beasts surrounding them.
Although Argenti could sense that this place was vastly different from the worlds he had once traveled, his knightly intuition told him that the beasts before him, and the girl controlling them, were existences that needed to be purged.
"Kill them!" The Herrscher of the Void uttered a single word to the countless Honkai Beasts under her command.
Countless behemoths, stirring up clouds of dust and sand, charged toward the two "insignificant" figures!
Though they were at an absolute numerical disadvantage, Argenti happened to be an expert at handling large-scale brawls.
Argenti, who had been tempered through countless trials and had vanquished innumerable vicious beasts and even world-devouring leviathans, charged toward the Honkai Beasts without another word.
The light radiating from his spearhead blazed, illuminating the entire battlefield.