Aha's gift, a token of friendship worth a full 1600 Crystals! The excitement flooded Caelus's mind like a tidal wave, so intensely that it jolted him awake from his 'coma,' pulling him out of the soul space.
He hadn't managed to finish his pulls.
But he hadn't forgotten.
Having learned the bitter lesson from his past life – 'dying with money left unspent!' – Caelus was determined to live by a new principle in this life: spend today's earnings today; if tomorrow brings no money, he'd figure something out.
He absolutely wouldn't let his Crystal count stay above 1600!
"Let's do this!"
His golden eyes, burning like molten gold, flashed.
"Gimme something good!"
The familiar gacha interface, reminiscent of Genshin Impact's UI, materialized in his mind. Caelus focused his intent fiercely on the 'Ten-Pull' button.
He stared intently as the brilliant light tore through the blue sky and white clouds, his expression growing tense.
Did anyone understand the pain of hitting pity only after 90+ pulls, every single time, even with a hundred-pull guarantee!?
Heart-wrenching pain!
Bone-deep pain!
Pain that pierced the very soul!
Furthermore, the system's gacha pool was an utter dumpster fire, mixing weapons, Stigmata, outfits, and other random junk together. Caelus had absolutely zero confidence in his own luck.
A deep purple meteor, trailing flames, descended from the clouds. Without waiting for the pulled items to be revealed, his mind rapidly tapped the system screen.
Lights of various colors flashed consecutively, the last four fading into a dull gray.
Seeing the square silhouette of a character card flash by, Caelus finally relaxed slightly.
A character card was guaranteed within twenty pulls, a fifty-percent chance. If his luck was anything like his 'Praying Caelus' days, he probably wouldn't have pulled a character at all.
It seemed like transmigrating and resetting his account did have some effect.
The summoning animation ended, and the ten-pull summary screen popped up. The very first item was a character card.
Shoulder-length navy blue hair, a face with a hint of baby fat, dressed in a blue and white intersecting dress.
As an old Captain, Caelus was all too familiar with her.
Seele Vollerei—Swallowtail Phantasm.
For a time, she was considered a newbie's best friend, capable of steamrolling through story stages the moment you got her.
Although it was the lowest star-rating character card, she was still considered quite decent among the four-star characters.
The system seemed to have re-evaluated and re-ranked characters based on their real-world strength and various other factors.
Most A-rank Valkyries from Honkai Impact 3rd were designated as four-star cards here; even some S-rank Valkyries from the game had been downgraded to four-stars.
Caelus hadn't yet had the chance to ask the system about the specific evaluation criteria.
His gaze swept over the subsequent items.
"I didn't think I lingered that long, yet here you are."
[Item: Stigma - Hannah]
[Rank: ★★]
[Effect: An artificial Stigma produced by Schicksal. Increases the wearer's Honkai energy resistance, slightly boosts defense and damage.]
[Note: Hannah loves you~!]
"Oh, thank you so much!"
With genuine sarcasm directed at Hannah, Caelus's eyes moved on.
[Item: Basic Learning Chip]
[Rank: ★]
[Effect: Directly implants fundamental combat techniques and weapon handling skills into the user's brain. Provides some guidance for practical combat.]
[Note: Dear, please do not use this on the battlefield. If you absolutely must, please leave a positive review first~!]
Caelus's eyebrow twitched violently.
In the game, the lowest-tier learning chips were 'Advanced Learning Chips.' Damn it, in this system's gacha pool, they became 'Basic.'
Seeing it was only one-star, Caelus didn't dwell on it.
The next item was two yellow fragments etched with orange patterns.
[Twin Soul Shard]
Any Captain would recognize this – materials used to enhance weapons and Stigmata in the game.
"Three-star rating? Why is there still only one? And just a fragment?"
Seeing the quantity, Caelus couldn't hold it back anymore.
Damn this dogshit system!
The enhancement material tiers, from lowest to highest, were Soul Shard, Twin Soul Shard, Soul Crystal, and Twin Soul Crystal.
In the inventory of any old veteran player, these things numbered in the four, even five digits.
[Host, the effect of this item is nurturing and strengthening the soul. Do you really think such an item would have the same value in reality as it does in a game?]
The system sounded genuinely aggrieved.
"Oh, is that so... My bad then."
His thought process shifted with the system's words. Caelus instantly recognized the potential value of Soul Shards in this reality, nodding in understanding as he looked at the next item.
And then, the expression on Caelus's face froze, a mixture of confusion and shock spreading across it.
Interlocking gold and silver eight-pointed stars, lifelike silver wings spread out on either side, and in the center, a small silver disc bore an emblem—a hand gripping a baseball bat.
"What (softly) the (↗) hell (↗)?"
"What (↘) the (↘) HELL (↘)?!!"
"Sys... tem... didn't you say... your gacha pool... only had items... related to Honkai... games?"
His words became increasingly halting as realization dawned, his expression turning incredibly colorful.
[That's right. Houkai Gakuen 2 is also Honkai.]
The system's tone was utterly matter-of-fact.
[Item: Badge - Martial Arts Master.]
[Rank: ★★★☆]
[Effect:
Melee Mastery: Increases damage dealt by melee weapons by 28%.
HP Boost Mastery: Increases maximum HP by 36%.]
Staring blankly at the gleaming golden badge, Caelus was completely dumbfounded.
At this moment, he finally understood why the system's item ranks ranged from one to seven stars.
You even included that Honkai?!
Badges!
Badges!!!
Out of a sense of associated fondness, Caelus had once dipped his toes into Houkai Gakuen 2 (Guns Girl Z), though he only played casually and didn't even reach level 100.
Even so, he knew just how broken badges could be!
They were a beautiful fusion of mechanics and raw stats!
[Item: Obsidian Reaper (Scythe)]
[Rank: ★★★]
[Description: An experimental giant scythe weapon prototype developed by ME Corp. It utilizes ME Corp's patented particle vibration technology. Though seemingly blunt, the scythe head can slice through steel plates in one hit when activated.]
Pulling a weapon that matched the character card from this massive mixed pool... in a way, Caelus could consider himself somewhat lucky.
Just as Caelus was about to check out the items from the gray meteors, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
He clicked into the detailed description page for the Obsidian Reaper, his sharp gaze rapidly scanning the interface—up, down, left, right—as if searching for something specific.
Finally, his eyes locked onto a particular option, his pupils contracting.
"Holy crap, you even stitched this in?!"
Caelus practically jumped up.
[Isn't that obvious? Otherwise, Host, why do you think fragments meant to strengthen the 'soul' can be used to enhance weapons? Those things can't just enhance any weapon, you know.]
Staring incredulously at the [Divine Awakening] option on the side of the weapon panel, Caelus's jaw gradually dropped.
S-So, it could be explained like that?
Weapons gain a soul after Divine Awakening, which is why Soul Shards can be used to enhance them?
Hiss~!
It somehow made perfect sense.
"You know, System, you really know how to make me happy."
His spirits lifted, Caelus's impression of the system underwent another qualitative change, shifting from some random forum troll to... well, maybe a slightly more sophisticated forum troll.
[However, Host, don't get too excited just yet.]
The system poured cold water on his enthusiasm.
[There are prerequisites for a weapon's Divine Awakening. The Host's affinity with the weapon needs to reach a certain level.]
The fire in his heart slowly died down. Caelus vaguely recalled that weapons in Houkai Gakuen 2 indeed had an 'Affinity' setting.
"How do I increase affinity?" Caelus asked impatiently.
[The most basic way is simply to use it often. Special weapons might have unique methods, which the Host will need to discover on their own.]
"Just use it more, huh."
It was a straightforward and simple method, yet Caelus fell into deep thought.
Time was both the cheapest and the most expensive resource!
This meant he couldn't just awaken a harem of weapon girls to embrace. He needed to choose his main weapon right from the start.
After a few seconds of hesitation, Caelus temporarily pushed aside his dilemma and turned his attention to the gray meteors.
As it turned out, these items were quite unexpected, each possessing unique skills.
[Bowtie Voice Changer], from the world of Detective Conan, ★★★☆.
The seemingly exaggerated rating wasn't a system error.
This thing possessed a passive ability derived from the conceptual laws of the Conan-verse.
Within a certain range around the person whose voice is being mimicked, if you hide while using it, even Emanator-level beings wouldn't be able to pinpoint your location.
Wear it openly around your neck, and people will perceive the simulated voice as your natural one.
Although simple tricks like psychological suggestion magic or even mundane voice mimicry skills could achieve voice changing effects, the mere mention of 'conceptual' power perhaps made three-and-a-half stars seem a bit low.
[Smooth Stone], ☆.
Caelus fiddled with it for a moment. Its smoothness rivaled the plating on a certain Express member's chest, just a bit harder.
[Coin of Fate], ★★.
An embodiment of angel and demon. Using it randomly triggers one of two effects: either suffer divine lightning punishment or recover a certain percentage of HP.
[Go-Gamego-Re], ★★☆.
From the world of Kamen Rider Kuuga, a Grongi monster from ancient times. Inherently brutal with strong combat instincts, known in its world by human civilization as "Unidentified Lifeform No. 39".
"I pulled a lifeform... a Grongi?"
Thanks to the system's earlier explanations, Caelus wasn't surprised, merely thoughtful.
"Never heard the name. Who would know it just by the number!"
Even if the system added a personal name, he likely wouldn't recall a specific monster from Kamen Rider.
[No, Host, you definitely remember. It's the one who tanked Kuuga's Rising Mighty Kick in the series.]
"Holy crap, the real man Turtle Bro!"
With the system's hint, Caelus instantly recalled.
The monster who first witnessed Kuuga's 'nuclear kick' in the show. When Kuuga powered up and used his ultimate strength, Turtle Bro didn't dodge or evade; he puffed out his chest, spread his arms, and braced himself to take the hit head-on.
Subsequently, Turtle Bro successfully protected the city's lights, absorbing most of the force and limiting the explosion's radius to within five kilometers.
"Where is he now?" Caelus's expression turned slightly odd.
Did Grongi possess the ability to survive in space?
[Regrettably, he is within the space station.]
"Alright then..."
A Grongi of Turtle Bro's level was definitely stronger than the lowest-tier Voidrangers, though perhaps not up to par with a Trampler. But having nearly survived Kuuga's ultimate-powered nuclear kick meant he wasn't exactly weak.
"With the Legion invading, one extra Grongi won't make much difference. Good luck to him."
Caelus clasped his hands together, offering a sincere prayer.
Sharp pains shot through several parts of his body, causing Caelus's expression to flicker. It was the shared pain feedback from Stelle being attacked by Voidrangers.
Without hesitation, he immediately navigated to the Valkyrie interface, selected Seele, and clicked.
Wait!
Just before the light bloomed, a question arose in Caelus's mind: why did it say 'Use' instead of 'Deploy'?
In the next second, an impact hundreds of times stronger than his confusion swept through his soul.
Caelus felt like he was splitting apart!
This wasn't a metaphor for a mental breakdown; it was literally happening.
Intense dizziness accompanied by a slight tearing sensation. His vision, hearing, smell, touch, taste—all five senses, his entire perception—felt like puzzle pieces dropped and scattered everywhere.
It felt like hours had passed, yet perhaps not even a full second.
An unseen force rearranged the puzzle pieces, fitting them back together, only...
The single puzzle had become two.
'Caelus' slowly opened 'his' eyes. 'He' saw the grey-haired youth clutching his forehead, his handsome face clearly visible against the backlight.
Damn, I'm good-looking!
The narcissistic thought flashed by, immediately followed by horror.
As if transformed into a master B-boy with a decade of popping practice, Caelus controlled 'his' head to lower, frame by frame. 'He' saw the cascades of sea-blue hair framing 'his' vision, a darker shade subtly layered within the gradient.
'He' vaguely sensed what had happened but couldn't quite believe it.
Not until 'his' head was fully lowered, seeing the deep cleavage dividing the view from top to bottom, the faintly shimmering, snow-white jade peaks on either side, and nestled between them, a somewhat conspicuous crimson mark.
The saying goes, a woman whose beauty prevents her from seeing her own toes is a peerless sight.
He—no, she—
The lowered head of Seele saw a finger cautiously extend, touching the red mark nestled within her abundance.
Strangely, even as that finger moved freely, even landing on the northern hemisphere, the face of Seele, whose personality was usually as soft as sticky rice, showed not a hint of shyness.
From beginning to end, there was only overwhelming, disbelieving shock.
After a long moment, the navy-blue-haired girl slowly clenched her delicate, pink fist, while the grey-haired youth before her mirrored the exact same action with perfect synchronicity.
It was like moving a mouse connected via a screen splitter—both screens performing the identical action.
"Damn it! SYSTEM!!!"
A gentle, soft voice layered perfectly over a crisp, youthful male voice, the combined shout seeming powerful enough to tear the roof off.
________________________________________
I have a little challenge for you! For every 100 POWER STONES, I'll release ONE EXTRA CHAPTER!