The Friendship Token gifted by Aha was a full 1600 Crystals. The excitement in Caelus's heart surged like a torrent, rushing straight to his brain, jolting him awake from his "unconscious" state and pulling him out of the soul space.
He hadn't managed to complete the gacha draw.
But he hadn't forgotten.
Learning from the tragic lesson of his past life—"The person died, but the money wasn't spent!"—Caelus resolved to live by the principle of "Spend today's money today, Get more tomorrow" in this new life.
He absolutely would not let his Crystal count exceed 1600!
"Here goes!"
His golden eyes, burning like molten gold, gleamed intensely.
"Give me something good!"
The Genshin Impact gacha interface materialized in his mind, and Caelus's will slammed decisively onto the 10-pull button.
His eyes fixed unwaveringly on the dazzling light that pierced through the blue sky and white clouds, his expression gradually grew tense.
Do you understand the pain of hitting the hard pity at 100 pulls every single time, with every pull going over 90?
The pain pierced his heart!
The pain seeped into his bones!
The pain shot straight through his soul!
The system's gacha pool was an absolute mess—a chaotic mix of weapons, Stigmata, outfits, and other random junk. Caelus had zero confidence in his luck.
A deep purple meteor trailed flames as it descended from the clouds. Without waiting for the drawn items to fully reveal themselves, Caelus's will tapped repeatedly on the system screen.
A succession of colorful lights flashed, with the last four turning into dull gray.
Only when he caught a glimpse of a character card flashing by did Caelus's mood ease slightly.
Within 20 pulls, a character card was guaranteed, with a 50% probability. If he had kept the same luck from his past life, there was an 80% chance he wouldn't get a character card.
It seemed that crossing over, resetting his account, and starting fresh did have some effect.
As the gacha animation ended, the 10-pull summary screen popped up. The first item displayed was the character card.
Shoulder-length indigo-blue hair, a face with a hint of baby fat, and a blue-and-white dress.
As a veteran Captain, Caelus was all too familiar with this.
Seele Vollerei—Butterfly of Delusion.
At one point, she was considered a newbie's best friend. Pulling her meant you could breeze through story stages with ease.
Although she was the lowest star-rated character card, she was still quite decent among the 4-star characters.
It seemed the system had reclassified characters based on their strength in the real world and other factors.
Most A-rank characters from Honkai Impact 3 were categorized as 4-star cards here, and some S-rank characters from the game had even been downgraded to 4-star.
Caelus hadn't had the chance to ask the system about the detailed criteria for these ratings yet.
His gaze shifted to the items that followed.
"I thought I didn't hesitate at all, so why are you still here?"
[Item: Stigma – Hannah]
[Rank: ★★]
[Effect: An artificial Stigma created by Schicksal. Increases the wearer's resistance to Honkai energy and slightly boosts defense and damage.]
[Note: Hannah loves you~!]
"Thank you so much!"
Genuinely expressing his gratitude to Hannah, Caelus shifted his gaze further.
[Item: Basic Learning Chip]
[Rank: ★]
[Effect: Imprints the most fundamental combat techniques and weapon usage skills directly into the user's brain, providing some guidance for practical combat.]
[Note: Please do not use this in the middle of a battle. If you absolutely must, please leave a positive review first~!]
Caelus's eyebrow twitched violently.
In the game, even the lowest-tier learning chips were Advanced Learning Chips. Damn system, turning them into Basic ones in the gacha pool.
Since it was only a 1-star item, Caelus decided not to complain.
The next item was two yellow fragments with orange patterns engraved on them.
[Twin Soul Fragment]
Any captain would be familiar with this—it's a material used in the game to enhance weapons and stigmata.
"Three-star rating? Why is there still only one? And it's just a fragment?"
Caelus couldn't hold back when he saw the quantity of the fragments.
Damn this dog system!
The enhancement materials, from lowest to highest grade, are Soul Fragments, Twin Soul Fragments, Soul Crystals, and Twin Soul Crystals.
For veteran players, these things stack up in the thousands, or even tens of thousands.
[Host, the effect of this item is to nurture and strengthen the soul. Do you really think such an item would hold the same value in reality as it does in the game?]
The system sounded aggrieved.
"Oh, I see... My bad."
As his thought process shifted with the system's words, Caelus instantly realized the value of the soul fragments and nodded in understanding before continuing to look further.
Then, his expression froze abruptly, a mix of confusion and astonishment flashing across his face.
A golden and silver eight-pointed star overlapped, with lifelike silver wings spread on either side. In the middle was a small silver disc, imprinted with a pattern—a hand gripping the handle of a baseball bat.
"Holy shit!!"
"System, didn't you say your gacha pool only contained items related to the Honkai game...?"
His words gradually trailed off as Caelus came to a realization, his expression turning incredibly vivid.
[That's right, Honkai Impact 2 is also part of the Honkai series.]
The system's tone was filled with a sense of obviousness.
[Item: Badge – Martial Arts Expert]
[Grade: ★★★☆]
[Effects:
Melee Mastery: Increases damage of melee weapons by 28%.
Health Boost Mastery: Increases maximum HP by 36%.]
Staring fixedly at the golden badge, Caelus was completely stunned.
At that moment, he finally understood why the items in the system's gacha pool were graded from one to seven stars.
You even included *this* version of Honkai!?
Badges!
Badges!!!
Out of love for the series, Caelus had once tried Honkai Impact 2, though he only played casually and never reached level 100.
Even so, he knew just how overpowered badges could be!
They were the perfect fusion of mechanics and stats!
[Item: Obsidian Cutter (Scythe)]
[Grade: Three Stars]
[Description: An experimental prototype of a giant scythe weapon developed by ME Corp, utilizing their patented particle vibration technology. The seemingly blunt scythe head can slice through steel plates in a single strike when activated.]
Being able to pull a weapon that matched his character card from the ultimate mixed pool meant Caelus had gotten somewhat lucky in a way.
Just as Caelus was about to check out the items in the Gray-Black Meteor, a sudden thought flashed through his mind.
He clicked into the detailed description page of the Obsidian Cutter, his eyes scanning the interface rapidly, as if searching for something.
Finally, his gaze settled and his pupils contracted when he spotted a certain option.
"Holy shit, you even stitched this in!?"
Caelus leaped up instantly.
[Of course. Otherwise, host, why do you think fragments that 'strengthen the soul' can be used to enhance weapons? Not just any weapon can be strengthened with those, you know.]
Staring in disbelief at the [Divine Awakening] option beside the weapon slot, Caelus gradually stood there, utterly dumbfounded.
So... so that's how it's explained?
After a weapon's divine persona awakens, it gains a soul—is that why it can be strengthened with soul fragments?
Hiss~!
Somehow, that makes perfect sense.
"This system of yours really delights me."
Feeling invigorated, Caelus's impression of the system underwent another qualitative shift—from a grade-schooler on Hedgehog Cat to a high school girl on Hedgehog Cat.
[However, host, don't get too excited just yet.]
The system poured cold water on Caelus's enthusiasm.
[For a weapon to undergo divine persona awakening, there's a prerequisite: the host and the weapon must reach a certain level of intimacy.]
The fire in Caelus's heart gradually died down. Vaguely, Caelus remembered that weapons in Honkai Gakuen 2 did indeed have an "intimacy" setting.
"How do I increase intimacy?" Caelus asked eagerly.
[At the most basic level, frequent use is enough. Special weapons have unique methods, which the host will need to figure out independently.]
"Use it more often, huh."
It was an intuitive and straightforward method, yet Caelus gradually sank into deep thought.
Time is the cheapest and most expensive cost!
This meant that Caelus couldn't awaken a bunch of weapon girls to embrace left and right; from the very beginning, Caelus had to choose a main weapon.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Caelus temporarily suppressed the inner conflict and turned attention to the Gray Meteor.
As it turned out, these items truly caught Caelus off guard—each one had its own unique skills.
[Bowtie Voice Changer], from the world of Detective Conan, ★★★☆.
The seemingly exaggerated rating wasn't a system error.
This gadget possessed a passive ability from the Conan conceptual system.
Within a certain range around the voice simulator, if the user hides while using it, even beings at the level of an Emissary wouldn't be able to pinpoint the user's location.
If worn around the neck and used openly, it would make others perceive the simulated voice as the user's real voice.
Although some psychological suggestion tricks or even simpler voice imitation skills could achieve similar effects, the term "conceptual system" alone might make the three-and-a-half-star rating seem a bit low.
[Smooth Stone], ☆.
Caelus fiddled with it for a while; its smoothness was comparable to the front armor of a star, just a bit harder.
[Fate Coin], ★★.
The embodiment of an angel and a demon. After use, it randomly produces one of two effects: either the user suffers divine retribution via lightning or recovers a certain percentage of health.
[Go-Gamego-Re], ★★☆.
Originating from the world of Kamen Rider Kuuga, this ancient monster, the Gurongi, is inherently brutal with a strong instinct for combat. In its original world, human civilization referred to it as "Unidentified Lifeform No. 39."
"I drew a lifeform... a Gurongi?"
Thanks to the system's earlier explanation, Caelus wasn't surprised, only contemplative.
"I've never heard of that name. Who would know it just by its number?"
Even if the system provided a personal name, Caelus probably wouldn't remember a single monster from the Kamen Rider series.
[No, host, you definitely remember—it's the one in the storyline who took Kuuga's Rising Mighty Kick head-on.]
"Holy crap, the real man, Turtle Bro!"
With the system's reminder, Caelus immediately recalled.
Turtle Bro was the first monster in the storyline to witness Kuuga's nuclear kick. When Kuuga ascended and unleashed his ultimate power, Turtle Bro didn't dodge or evade. Instead, he puffed out his chest, spread his arms, and struck a pose to take the hit head-on.
Subsequently, Turtle Bro successfully protected the city's countless lights, absorbing most of the explosion's force and limiting the damage to within a five-kilometer radius.
"Where is he now?" Caelus's expression turned slightly peculiar.
I wonder if the Gurongi creatures have the ability to survive in outer space?
[Unfortunately, he is inside the space station.]
"Alright..."
A Gurongi of Brother Turtle's level is definitely stronger than the weakest Void Grunts, though not as strong as a Trampler. Still, he nearly withstood the nuclear kick of Kuuga's Ultimate Form, so he can't be considered weak.
"With the Legion invasion, one more Gurongi won't make much difference. Good luck to him."
Caelus clasped his hands together and offered a sincere prayer.
Intense pain surged from several parts of his body, causing Caelus's expression to shift slightly. This was the shared sensation transmitted to him as Stelle was attacked by the Void Grunts.
Without hesitation, he immediately opened the Valkyrie interface, selected Seele, and clicked.
Wait!
Just before the light burst forth, a doubt arose in Caelus's mind: Why was it labeled "Use" instead "Deploy"?
The next second, a sensation hundreds of times more intense than his doubt swept through his soul.
Caelus felt as if he had split apart!
This wasn't a metaphor for a mental breakdown—it was actually happening.
A severe dizziness, accompanied by a slight tearing pain, overwhelmed him. His senses—sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste—felt like scattered puzzle pieces crashing to the ground.
It felt like several hours had passed, yet also as if less than a second had gone by.
An invisible force rearranged and reassembled the puzzle pieces, but now, one puzzle had become two.
'Caelus' slowly opened his eyes. 'He' saw a gray-haired young man supporting his forehead with one hand, his handsome features clearly visible against the backlight.
Damn, I'm really handsome!
The narcissistic thought flashed through his mind, followed immediately by horror.
As if he had become a master of robotics after ten years of immersion, Caelus controlled his head to lower frame by frame. 'He' saw strands of sea-blue hair cascading on either side of his vision, with hints of black subtly layered within the gradient.
He vaguely realized what was happening but still couldn't believe it.
Only when he fully lowered his head did he see the deep cleavage dividing his view from top to bottom, the faintly glowing, snow-white jade on either side of the cleavage, and the strikingly vivid red mark nestled between them.
As the saying goes, when a woman lowers her head and cannot see her toes, she is a peerless beauty.
He—no, it should be she now.
Lowering her head, Seele saw a finger cautiously reaching out and touching the red mark between her ample curves.
Strangely, even as that finger moved freely, even descending upon the northern hemisphere, Seele—whose personality was as soft and gentle as glutinous rice—showed no trace of embarrassment on her face.
From beginning to end, there was only an overwhelming sense of disbelief.
After a long moment, the young girl with navy-blue hair slowly clenched her delicate pink fist, while the gray-haired young man in front of her mirrored the action with perfect synchronization.
It was like using a screen splitter—moving the mouse would control both screens identically.
"Damn it! System!!!"
A gentle, soft voice and a crisp, youthful voice overlapped completely, their combined shout seeming powerful enough to lift the roof.