"This room... is it just for me, or can anyone who comes to your house stay here?" Kaguya Houraisan asked, her tone laced with resentment as she watched Chen Li expertly arrange the room and make the bed after bringing her home.
"Stay if you want, get lost if you don't."
"I was wrong, I'm sorry. Oh, right, give me money. I need to top up for my gacha." Kaguya shamelessly extended her hand toward Chen Li.
"You can ask for money so brazenly?" Chen Li looked at Kaguya, genuinely surprised.
"Asking for money directly is no good, but I'm asking for my wages! Didn't I help you produce dozens of doses of counterfeit medicine?" Kaguya declared self-righteously.
"Well... alright." Thinking about how these few counterfeit elixirs could be exchanged for more Entries from people in other worlds, Chen Li agreed and transferred the money directly to her.
Although Kaguya called it counterfeit medicine, what she helped Chen Li create could indeed extend a person's life by about ten years.
The Power of Eternity is truly useful.
But it will soon be mine!
[Model for the Power of Eternity and Ephemerality has been constructed. Current Proficiency: 10%. Can be attempted, but the effect will be poor.]
As expected, observing someone else use their ability was the most Crystal-efficient method for increasing proficiency.
However, considering his own lack of skill, the fact that making the medicine himself would cost Crystals, and that the results would be subpar, versus having Kaguya make it for the price of a single meal... indeed, using Kaguya was far more cost-effective!
---o---
"Chen Li, since you can forge Curios, can't you just forge one that can find the coordinates of other worlds?" Kaguya asked suddenly, content after receiving the transfer.
"Theoretically, yes. But I never had a need for something like that before I met you," Chen Li said.
Finding the Honkai: Star Rail world didn't require coordinates, as the Honkai Impact world and the Star Rail world existed within the same greater universe.
If Welt could travel between the two, there was no reason Chen Li couldn't.
And as for finding clients for commissions, he had the Miracle Commission function...
"What about now? Are you going to forge a special Curio just for me?" Kaguya asked, leaning in close to Chen Li.
[Go Home]: Help Kaguya Houraisan forge a Curio that will allow her to quickly return to her world.
Issuer: Kaguya Houraisan.
Reward: 30~100 Crystals
Risk: Medium ~ Extremely High
"???"
"What's wrong?" Kaguya asked curiously, seeing Chen Li's eyes glaze over.
"You know, maybe you just shouldn't go back to Gensokyo," Chen Li said, suddenly turning his head.
Originally, the little elf 'Miracle' had added a feature that showed the number of Crystals Chen Li could normally gain from completing a quest.
But considering that Chen Li never played by the rules, the feature was removed.
Why not just beat up the client after completing the commission? Wouldn't you earn more that way?
Don't let the reward amount limit the upper bounds of your imagination!
"Huh? If I don't go back to Gensokyo, are you going to give me a home?"
"The main issue is that sending you home is a bit... high-risk," Chen Li said, rubbing his chin.
Because the risk was so high, Chen Li had used his [Prophecy] ability in that brief moment.
This situation was different from Tonghua's. Kaguya's request was extremely vague, so Chen Li only saw two hazy images.
The first was the Dragon God chasing and beating Kaguya. The narration stated that the Dragon God detested Curios that could potentially disrupt the world's operation.
Considering Kaguya wanted a Curio that could traverse worlds, the Dragon God's reaction was perfectly normal.
The second was Yakumo Yukari using a gap to spy on Kaguya, who had already returned to Eientei. The narration explained that the danger stemmed from Yakumo Yukari's desire for control and her sense of crisis regarding anything that could potentially harm Gensokyo.
"High risk? How is it high? World travel has always carried this kind of risk," Kaguya said, getting a little anxious.
"But don't worry, it's not a huge problem. Just relax and be a moocher at home. I'll handle the rest," Chen Li said reassuringly.
The Dragon God was both a dragon and a god. With those two debuffs stacked, dealing with it would be easy.
Yakumo Yukari, on the other hand, was a bit more troublesome. Curios like a Youkai-Binding Rope had too narrow an application; creating one specifically for her would be a waste.
"That's a nasty thing to call me," Kaguya retorted.
"In any case, if I find suitable Entries, I'll forge the Curio. If not, just wait until I've made a name for myself as a Curio Forger! Once my reputation is high enough, it's only natural that commissions from Gensokyo might find their way to me." As he spoke, Chen Li casually opened The Guide to Forging Curios and glanced at his personal panel.
Fame: Lv1 (28/100)
PS: Your reputation is almost unknown.
This was a new attribute that had appeared after Chen Li refreshed the Miracle Commissions for the first time.
While the evaluation sounded a bit demeaning, there was a Lv0 stage before this. The evaluation then was—Your reputation is unknown.
Chen Li didn't quite understand the principle, but when he used Crystals to refresh Miracle Commissions, he gained Fame points. As his Fame level increased, there was a chance that "Miracles" would be attracted by his "fame" and proactively appear in the commission list.
Miracle Commissions that had some "connection" to Chen Li had a higher chance of appearing.
And since Kaguya had come into contact with Chen Li, a connection had naturally been formed.
The reason his Fame was at 28 points was because each Crystal spent to capture a Miracle Commission granted one point of Fame, while completing a commission granted a large amount.
Chen Li had refreshed commissions seven times in total, gaining 7 Fame points.
Completing the cat's infinite cat food commission earned him 10 Fame points, and Kikyo's commission earned him 21.
And it took 10 Fame points to go from Lv0 to Lv1.
"No problem, I can wait," Kaguya said, accepting his explanation.
She had already waited two years; she didn't mind waiting another two.
---o---
"Oh, right. If I do forge the Curio, you will only have the right to use it," Chen Li said, deciding to make this point clear in advance.
If he really managed to create a world-traversing Curio, he would probably use it often.
For example, he could summon knights with Pale Justice and then use the Curio to pinpoint their world's coordinates.
If there are no Encounters, then I'll create them!
Speaking of which, if I kill a Heroic Spirit, would it drop a Heroic Spirit Entry?
"No way. I'm offering myself to you and all I get are usage rights?" Kaguya was taken aback.
"If you keep talking like that, I might just take you seriously."
"Just kidding." Kaguya shrank back.
The thought that she now had to obey Chen Li's every word stopped her from continuing to tease him.
"Tch." Chen Li had seen plenty of all-talk experts in his time.
"Anyway, it's not like I plan on world-hopping anymore, so that thing is useless to me. Are we done here? Can I go play my games now?" Having not played for several hours, Kaguya was starting to feel an itch.
Compared to traversing worlds, Kaguya would much rather stay home and be a shut-in until she died.
"Go on, play," Chen Li said with a wave of his hand.
"See ya!" Kaguya scampered off excitedly.
Watching her retreating back, Chen Li contemplated a certain possibility.
What if he poked Kaguya with the Longbow of Peace, triggering its root-eradication effect? Could it track Eirin Yagokoro, who was countless worlds away?
"Even if I found Gensokyo's coordinates, I couldn't send Kaguya back... but maybe I could use the Longbow of Peace to send a messenger arrow across worlds to Eirin Yagokoro. It's just that... she might feel a little pain..."
"Forget it. What if the messenger arrow accidentally pokes a hole in the Great Hakurei Barrier? Wouldn't Yakumo Yukari come after me with everything she's got?"
Considering that possibility, Chen Li decisively abandoned the rather scummy idea.