"Are you really the Class Monitor from the future?" Kiana asked, looking the Herrscher of Sentience up and down with disbelief.
"Of course, guaranteed authentic," the Herrscher of Sentience replied.
"Even though I've only been at St. Freya Academy for a few days, I feel like you're a little different from the current Class Monitor," Kiana said, stroking her chin.
Kiana had truly just enrolled.
Her only impression of Fu Hua was that she was hard to understand, constantly using all sorts of idioms that made people's heads spin.
Although Kiana wasn't very familiar with Fu Hua, she vaguely felt the person before her was quite different from that somewhat rigid individual.
"Hmm, so you want to say I'm not Fu Hua again?" The Herrscher of Sentience nodded, then looked at Kiana with an extremely dangerous glint in her eyes.
Kiana, you really are asking for a beating.
"Uh, what does 'again' mean?" Kiana asked, instinctively taking a step back in fear.
"Oh, it's nothing. I just remembered something unpleasant," the Herrscher of Sentience said, shaking her head with a smile.
It's not like Kiana denied I was Fu Hua and then beat me up, right?
It's fine. I'm not angry.
"Then, Class Monitor, how can you prove you're the Class Monitor from the future?" Kiana couldn't help but ask.
"I know what's on tomorrow's history exam," the Herrscher of Sentience said.
"Huh?" Kiana tilted her head.
"Really? Tell me, quick!" Kiana's eyes instantly sparkled with anticipation, stars practically shining in them.
"Kiana…" Raiden Mei tugged at Kiana's clothes.
For a good student like Raiden Mei, leaking exam questions was something rather hard to imagine.
"Hey, Mei, don't stop me. This isn't for myself; it's to verify if this Class Monitor is the real deal!" Kiana declared righteously.
"This…" Raiden Mei was at a loss for how to refute Kiana's reasoning.
"So, Class Monitor, please tell me all the history exam questions you know. If possible, tell me all the subjects' questions too," Kiana said, stepping forward and grabbing the Herrscher of Sentience's hands.
"..." The Herrscher of Sentience was momentarily speechless.
Before I time-traveled, I went to such great lengths, yet I couldn't get her to sincerely call me 'Class Monitor.'
Now, for some useless exam questions, she's addressing me so affectionately.
Have I overestimated Kiana?
The Herrscher of Sentience found herself questioning life for a moment.
"Want to know all the questions for the next exam?" the Herrscher of Sentience asked after a moment of silence, placing her hands on Kiana's shoulders.
"Mhm, mhm! Please tell me, Class Monitor!"
"In your dreams," the Herrscher of Sentience said, rolling her eyes at Kiana.
"Huh?"
"But I can tell you the first question of each subject's exam. And this is just for testing purposes, so telling you all the questions is absolutely out of the question."
"Huh? Just the first question?"
"What? Don't want to hear it?"
"I do, I do! Why wouldn't I?" Kiana shook her head so vigorously it resembled a rattle-drum.
…
After being told the questions, Kiana pushed open the bar door at lightning speed and rushed home, presumably to jot down all the first questions from each subject.
After seeing Kiana off, Raiden Mei turned her gaze back to the Herrscher of Sentience.
"Class Monitor… how many years in the future are you from?" Raiden Mei asked hesitantly after a moment.
"Just speak plainly. You want to ask why I still remember the exam questions after who knows how many years, right?" the Herrscher of Sentience said, crossing her arms and looking at Raiden Mei.
"..." Raiden Mei nodded after a moment of silence.
"Emmm, maybe you don't know this, but I have a special ability: hyperthymesia."
"Hyperthymesia?" Raiden Mei was taken aback.
"It's hard to explain. But if you still don't believe me, why not go to the current 'me' and mention 'Immortal Phoenix'? She'll have a… special reaction," the Herrscher of Sentience suggested after some thought.
"Immortal Phoenix… I think I've heard of that. Class Monitor, what's your connection to Immortal Phoenix?"
"That's outside the scope of answers I can give," the Herrscher of Sentience shook her head, not revealing the truth to Raiden Mei.
"What you should be worried about right now is that person from the past that A'Luo mentioned," the Herrscher of Sentience reminded her.
"You mean that Mobius?" Raiden Mei carefully recalled what Kiana had said earlier.
"Exactly, Mobius. You'd better not let her find out you're from the future. Otherwise, who knows what Mobius might do? If the past changes, will the future change too? That's the issue you need to focus on most right now."
"What about you, Class Monitor?" Raiden Mei couldn't help but ask.
"Didn't you tell us not to reveal our identities as people from the future? Then why did you reveal your own identity as a future person?"
"Why? Because the world I come from isn't a comedy—it's more of a tragedy. If possible, I don't want certain future events to happen. But I can't tell you what those events are right now," the Herrscher of Sentience said mysteriously.
"Also, remember to keep an eye on Kiana. Don't let her tell the current 'me' about my existence, or something very bad will happen."
"What kind of thing?"
"Well, it includes, but is not limited to, you, the Herrscher of Thunder, possibly being captured by Schicksal. After all, you know what a Herrscher represents to Schicksal, right? Otto isn't some good guy who cares about bonds or beliefs," the Herrscher of Sentience said, slowly spreading a malicious grin.
"!!!" Raiden Mei's eyes widened instantly.
Realizing the gravity, Raiden Mei instantly dashed out of the Midnight Bar.
"You, always scaring people," Chen Luo said, shooting a sidelong glance at the Herrscher of Sentience.
"Ding Ling!"
"A'Luo, I'm here." A voice full of freedom and languor sounded.
"Whenever you arrive, I know it's time to open for business," Chen Luo said with a smile, looking at the newcomer.
"Since you're open, get me an apple wine first."
[Ding! You have a new commission!]
"Of course."
It was another peaceful day.
Well, except for the demolished Schicksal headquarters.
* * *
[Ding! Achievement unlocked. Congratulations on obtaining the achievement (Honkai Terminator)]
[Honkai Terminator]: Damage dealt to all zombies increased by 100%. Damage dealt to Honkai beasts increased by 100%. Damage dealt to Herrschers increased by 25%. All attacks become true damage, ignoring defense.
Special Skill: Attacks carry an instant kill effect. Attacks have a 1% chance to instantly kill all types of Honkai-faction creatures.
"Raven, take those two children back to the base first," Chen Luo shouted to Raven after shooting down a pursuing Honkai beast.
"Alright, be careful. I'll take them back first," Raven said. Then, grabbing the two little girls, she sprinted towards the survivor base.
On the afternoon of the 6th day, at 5 p.m. Chen Luo and Raven found two more little girls in a supermarket. After clearing out the nearby zombies and Honkai beasts, Raven took the two and ran back towards the survivor base.
Raven had completed her mission of hunting 2,000 zombies that very morning, then officially teamed up with Chen Luo. They had already rescued a little boy earlier in the day.
So far, once Raven brought these two little girls back to the survivor base, The Nest would have 11 survivors, meaning Chen Luo could unlock another 3-star achievement.
"Sigh, it took six days to finally grind out this achievement. Not easy," Chen Luo said, breathing a sigh of relief as he watched the five-star achievement complete.
With this, the two main goals Chen Luo had for this world were basically accomplished.
Crystals: 49420
Honkai Energy Adaptability: 199.65%
Five-Star Achievement Completion: 10001/10000
The five-star achievement was done. All that was left was to raise his Honkai Energy Adaptability to 200%.
To raise it to 200%, he needed to kill about 35 more of the weakest zombies.
"So what exactly are you worried about? Why specifically send Raven away?" The Herrscher of Sentience, who had somehow shrunk to the size of a figurine and was sitting on Chen Luo's shoulder, asked.
The tiny version of herself had been recalled by the Herrscher of Sentience.
The tiny version was essentially also the Herrscher of Sentience, much like a certain Hokage's shadow clones. Recalling it allowed for clearer absorption of the clone's memories.
The reason the Herrscher of Sentience asked this was that Chen Luo had just inquired about the coordinates of the two relatively safe children he had recently located through searching.
Clearly, Chen Luo was intentionally sending Raven away.
"Hey, it's just because I'm worried that once my Honkai Energy Adaptability reaches 200%, the Will of Honkai might give me a Herrscher core. I mean, raising adaptability to 200% can't come with nothing, right?" Chen Luo said, using his flight spell to soar towards a distant zombie gathering spot.
"Huh? You have that premonition?" The Herrscher of Sentience's expression turned serious.
"Then you need to be careful. Let me tell you, the Will of Honkai is no good. Generally, when someone becomes a Herrscher, a Herrscher consciousness aligned with the Honkai side develops—like with Kiana. My situation was special; I didn't develop one, but that doesn't mean becoming a Herrscher is safe."
"Just look at the Second and Third Herrschers, Kiana and Mei. After they became Herrschers for the Honkai side, they both developed a Herrscher consciousness. Those consciousnesses are really annoying. You must be very careful. If it comes down to it, just forget about this Herrscher core," the Herrscher of Sentience said nervously.
"Ah, actually, it's not that I have a feeling. I just guessed, based on novel logic, that reaching a height normal people can't achieve would naturally come with a reward," Chen Luo said, scratching his head awkwardly.
"...Could you please read fewer comics, novels, and play fewer games from now on?" the Herrscher of Sentience said after a long silence.
Wasting my emotional investment.
"Okay," Chen Luo nodded.
"But speaking of which, the issue you just brought up indeed needs some attention. After all, I was thinking about exchanging for a Herrscher core or something," Chen Luo said.
"Didn't I bring back a Herrscher of Flame core for you?"
"Mhm, but I actually want a Herrscher of Domination core too—no, wait, the Herrscher of Domination's authority," Chen Luo said.
"To match your Puppeteer talent?" the Herrscher of Sentience couldn't help but ask.
"Of course! Otherwise, what use would I have for that garbage authority?" Chen Luo ranted.
The Herrscher of Domination was, in some ways, really hard to describe.
The Herrscher of Domination core was the cheapest Herrscher core, bar none—there were literally 1000 of them. And the Divine Key made from it was a consumable.
The Herrscher of Domination's authority was pretty powerful, but its strength leaned more towards concealment—being cryptic in every sense.
Of course, the ability to dominate other Herrschers' authorities was also pretty broken.
But since Chen Luo had absolutely no intention of dominating others' authorities, the Herrscher of Domination's authority seemed even more mediocre.
However, the Herrscher of Domination had excellent compatibility with a Puppeteer.
Sigh…
"But it's a shame the Thousand-Herrscher event hasn't happened yet. We'll have to wait several years for it to appear," Chen Luo sighed.
"Then why not just buy my Herrscher of Sentience authority? Isn't my Herrscher of Sentience authority great? And my discount is 40% off! Combined with the current event's 10% discount, that's 46% off!" The Herrscher of Sentience, feeling looked down upon, lightly tapped Chen Luo's head three times in succession.
Though it was very gentle.
"Look at what you're saying. You're always by my side; we're always together. When we need the Herrscher of Sentience's authority, you can just use it. Why would I need an extra authority?"
"That… that's true too," the Herrscher of Sentience paused, then nodded.
Chen Luo made a lot of sense, and she actually couldn't refute it.
And for some reason, Chen Luo's blunt statement made the Herrscher of Sentience feel a strangely specific sense of happiness.
[Ding! Achievement unlocked. Obtained achievement (Redeemer of the Apocalypse)]
"Whew, another achievement done."
Seeing this, Chen Luo also breathed a sigh of relief. It meant Raven and the two other children had successfully returned to The Nest.
It was just a shame this achievement only went up to three stars. Promoting it to four stars required gathering 100 survivors; five stars required 10,000.
There weren't even 10,000 people left alive in all of Nagazora City.
At that moment, Chen Luo also spotted a new gathering of Honkai beasts and zombies.
"Hunting time is here." A happy smile spread across Chen Luo's face as he looked at the large crowd of zombies and Honkai beasts.
"Judgment of Shamash, unleash!" The pair of pistols in Chen Luo's hands transformed instantly after he clashed them together. Infinite flames erupted from Void Archives.
Amidst the flames, a greatsword gradually took shape.
Chen Luo swung the giant, flaming sword in his hand, slashing fiercely towards the zombies and Honkai beasts not far away.
Although the Seventh Divine Key simulated by Void Archives was weaker than the real one, the side effects of using the Judgment of Shamash were something Chen Luo could just barely withstand.
The endless flames instantly consumed the clustered Honkai beasts and zombies, also burning through several buildings in a straight line behind them.
[Zombie killed. Obtained 5 Primogems]
[Zombie killed. Obtained 5 Primogems]
[Zombie killed. Obtained 5 Primogems]
[Honkai beast killed. Obtained 50 Primogems]
…
[Primogem count has reached the upper limit. Automatically converted into an equivalent amount of Crystals]
[Gained 0.36% Honkai Energy Adaptability]
[Ding! Honkai Energy Adaptability has reached the upper limit. Cannot be increased further]
[Current Honkai Energy Adaptability: 200%]
[Killing Honkai-side enemies from now on will no longer increase Honkai Energy Adaptability.]
"Ah, power, surging up!" Chen Luo shouted after taking a bite of a Tricolor Dango to recover health.
Chen Luo felt a special fluctuation circulating incessantly within his body.
"What power?" the Herrscher of Sentience instantly asked, tense.
"Ah, uh… seems like… no power?" But after experiencing it for a while, Chen Luo himself was puzzled. Why did nothing happen?
He definitely had a special feeling just now.
"No power?"
"Uh, maybe perhaps… it was the special feeling from healing?" Chen Luo said uncertainly, looking at the Tricolor Dango in his hand.
"..."
"D-don't look at me like that. I've never eaten healing items while injured before either," Chen Luo said somewhat awkwardly.
"However, there is a special feeling now. I feel really comfortable staying in Nagazora City, and also…"
Chen Luo's right hand made a grasping motion. Countless purple Honkai energy particles in the air rapidly converged into his hand. As time passed, a small purple crystal actually began to form in Chen Luo's palm.