"Come here, come here! This is a rare opportunity, let's take a photo to commemorate this!"
In a relatively intact section of Herta Space Station, March 7th pulled out a camera from somewhere and shouted enthusiastically at the newly acquainted Stelle and Stella (Clara), her face brimming with the passion of "if you don't take a photo, we aren't sisters."
Hearing this, Stelle cooperatively brought out her heavy-looking baseball bat, slung it gallantly over her shoulder, tilted her chin up slightly, and tried to strike a pose that looked a bit cool and carried a hint of "this girl isn't to be messed with."
Well, she truly had the style of a Trailblazer.
Stella (Clara) blinked, looked at Stelle's simple but deadly baseball bat, and then looked down at her own empty little hands.
Just transforming into Stelle's appearance to take a photo? That lacked creativity.
Her eyes darted around as her consciousness flickered.
A blue light surfaced on her body, and she transformed into Stelle.
With a flip of her small hand, a tiny, exquisite Tiara emitting a faint, soft golden glow appeared in her palm. She stood on her tiptoes, trying her best to place this extraordinary-looking Tiara on her head.
Immediately after, as if by magic, she produced a pure white pen decorated with soft feathers at the end, holding it solemnly in front of her like a sword.
"???"
Stelle, who was about to strike her pose, widened her eyes instantly, and the shoulder carrying the baseball bat slumped a bit.
She looked at her own plain bat, then at the shiny gold crown on Stella's head and the ethereal Feather Pen in her hand. An indescribable feeling of "being outdone" welled up in her heart.
Wait, sister?!
Shouldn't you have just transformed into my look so we could take a photo like twins?
Where did this gold crown and Feather Pen come from? Why don't "I" have them?! This is unfair!
Stelle's eyes were full of shock, confusion, and a hint of envy (but not hatred) toward the "skin and accessories."
"Alright! Everyone look at the lens! Hold your pose! Cheeeese—!"
Squeezed between the two and completely unaware of the complex emotions of the "Stelle" beside her, March smiled so widely her eyes crinkled shut. She held the camera high and pressed the shutter without hesitation!
Click!
The photo paper slowly slid out. The three of them couldn't wait to huddle together and see the result.
In the photo: March was squeezed in the middle, her smile so bright it almost overflowed the frame;
On the right was Stelle, carrying her baseball bat but failing slightly at expression management, wearing a look of shock and bewilderment that said, "Eh? Wait? Why is her equipment cooler than mine?"
On the left was Stella, wearing the small golden Tiara and holding the Feather Pen, her expression looking exceptionally innocent (even a bit dorky) because of her swollen eyes.
"Haha! This shot is great! It's just that Stelle, your expression is so funny!"
March pointed at the photo, overcome with laughter.
Stelle didn't care about her expression at all; her attention was entirely on Stella's... equipment.
She grabbed Stella's arm, her eyes sparkling like she had discovered treasure: "Quick! Let me see! What other treasures do you have! This crown! This pen! Is there more?"
Stella was startled by her enthusiasm. She protected her golden crown with her small hands, thought about it, and felt that showing off her "partner" should be fine.
She took the Feather Pen and lightly drew a simple yet mysterious symbol in the air.
"Mi!"
The next moment, a pink ripple with starlight appeared in the air, and a small pink elf about the size of a forearm appeared!
It flew in small circles, letting out a thin, high-pitched, energetic cry: "Mem! Mem!"
"Her name is Mem, she's my partner."
Stella introduced her, reaching out her hand to let Mem land on her fingertip.
"Wow—!! So cute! What is this! Is it a space elf?! Let me hug it!"
March's girlish heart was instantly struck. Hearts practically popped out of her eyes as she lunged forward, wanting to pull Mem into her arms.
"Mem!!"
The little elf was startled by this sudden "enthusiasm" and stiffened up, flapping its wings frantically to dodge March's "clutches." Finally, in its panic, it flew behind Stella's head, only daring to peek out half its little head to look at March warily.
Stelle looked at this little elf that could fly, chirp, and seemed full of spirit, then looked at the baseball bat on her shoulder. Suddenly, she felt that this bat, which had been through "life and death" with her, wasn't... quite as appealing anymore.
Her gaze toward Stella became even more burning, filled with an inquisitive desire of "just how many surprises do you have that I don't know about."
Stella felt a bit unnerved by Stelle's stare and quickly scanned her system panel with her mind.
Under the character column representing "Stelle," there were impressively four different Path silhouettes (Destruction, Preservation, Harmony, Remembrance) that could be switched freely.
"Better not show everything yet."
Stella's heart was thumping.
"If she finds out that 'I' (referring to the character Stelle) still have so many skins and skills of different Paths that haven't been unlocked, she'll definitely pester me to ask how to get them..."
It would be too troublesome to explain, and she hadn't figured it out herself yet!
She quickly diverted her attention, casting her consciousness toward a more realistic problem—how exactly was she supposed to obtain stellar jade?
Without stellar jade, she couldn't pull from the gacha; without gacha, she couldn't get stronger; without getting stronger, she could only be a bystander... It was a vicious cycle!
She looked at the stellar jade balance on the system panel with a long face. It should have been a lonely "0," but now...
"Wait!"
Stella's eyes suddenly widened, and she almost pressed her face against the virtual panel that only she could see.
[stellar jade: 254]
When did she get stellar jade?!
Stella was completely dumbfounded.
Could this system have hidden benefits?
Check-in rewards?
Or... did she do something and unknowingly complete some kind of "achievement"?
Her mind raced: Was it for helping clean the dust on the Express (Pom-Pom might give rewards)?
Was it for participating in the defense of the space station just now (even though she only waited on the train)?
Or... because her eyes were blinded by that "flashbang," the system judged it as "suffering a cosmic-wonder-level strike, Toughness +1, stellar jade Compensation 254"?
Whichever reason it was, it seemed a bit unreliable.
But the stellar jade had indeed increased!
Although the number 254 was still far from a ten-pull (1600), at least it wasn't a zero anymore!
A spark of hope ignited in Stella's heart with a "poof."
Maybe... the Path to becoming stronger wasn't as hopeless as she imagined?