In the real world, five days before the launch of Version 1.7, at precisely noon, the official account released a video right on schedule.
Given the announcements during the preview live stream, it was clear that Lumina would have both a Myriad Celestia trailer and an animated short. Since the Myriad Celestia trailer had already been released, this video, dropping just five days before the update, could only be Lumina's animated short!
The players eagerly clicked on the video, eyes gleaming with excitement, and settled in to watch.
[Absolute medical arts, unwavering spirit, peerless beauty! She seeks no reward, selflessly traversing the cosmos to offer salvation to all life equally!]
[She helped Jarilo-VI regain its vitality, assisted the Xianzhou Luofu in quelling the Disaster of the Ambrosial Arbor, and rescued countless lives from fire and water!]
[That's right! The character we're introducing today is the noble and beautiful being, Lady Lumina!]
[Hmm? Something seems a bit off...]
As Owlbert's voice echoed through the video, a few sentences later, Lumina's character portrait appeared. Some players immediately noticed something was off and quickly checked the video's title:
[ Honkai: Star Rail ] - Keeping up with Star Rail: "Do Doctors Get Sick Too?"
[Huh? How did "Keeping up with Star Rail" come out before she's even in the gacha?]
[So, you'd rather release this first than an animated short? (Angry)]
[Forget it, whatever! This will do! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]
[Looks like we've got a little pervert lurking here...]
(Every character before Robin had their "Keeping up with Star Rail" segment released after their gacha release.)
Though the "Keeping Up With Star Rail" episode came out first instead of the Animated Short, players merely grumbled and joked about it, paying little serious attention.
[And now, let's welcome today's guest—the beloved genius girl, March 7th!]
The video continued, showing a chibi pink-haired girl and a particularly delicious-looking white-feathered chicken appearing on the screen.
"Hello everyone~ I'm March 7th, and I'm thrilled to be a guest on Sister Lumina's Keeping Up With Star Rail show!" Chibi March 7th sat on the sofa, greeting the audience with a bright smile.
She then pulled out her phone, her face glowing with excitement as she snapped photos of everything around her.
"Um... Miss March 7th, isn't this a bit much?" Owlbert remarked, watching her antics with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
"You wouldn't understand! Being on a show related to Sister Lumina is a tremendous honor!" March 7th retorted, dismissing Owlbert's comment with a wave of her hand.
Her fingers flew across the phone screen as she declared, "Just wait till I post these photos in the Saintess Support Club! They'll be green with envy!"
"Then, who knows? I, March 7th, might even be able to snatch that Vice-Captain position!"
"Um... the Saintess Support Club? What's that? How come I've never heard of such a thing?" Owlbert scratched his head in confusion, bewildered by March 7th's earnestness.
"With your beauty and wisdom, Miss March 7th, securing the Vice President position will be a piece of cake!"
Though Owlbert didn't quite understand, he still maintained due respect.
After all, the title "Vice President" sounded incredibly impressive...
Owlbert here loves expanding his network more than anything...
[What?! A Saintess Support Club? How did I not know about this? I need to join!]
[I want to join! I want to join! I want to join! I want to join! (Crying and fussing)]
[Mihoyo, hurry! I want in!]
Hearing March 7th mention the "Saintess Support Club," players in the real world immediately went into a frenzy, desperate to join.
After all... as a support club, it must have some "special photos" not circulating online, right? ԅ(o『oԅ)
However, this frenzy lasted only briefly. Everyone knew that even if such photos existed and they could join, there might only be one or two...
"Ahem, well then, let's get to today's main topic!" Owlbert declared, eager to avoid overtime and potential wage deductions.
[Lady Lumina is an Imaginary Attribute character on the Path of Abundance.]
[Judging by her various exploits across the Cosmos, Lady Lumina is undoubtedly a world-saving physician! She absolutely deserves the title of "Greatest Healer of This Era"!]
"Ahem, correction!" March 7th interjected with a cough, "Not just the greatest of this era, but the only one for all eternity!"
"With Sister Lumina's virtues, there will never be another like her—not in the past, present, or future!"
"Ha ha ha, March 7th is right! Lady Lumina is the only one for all eternity!" Owlbert chuckled in agreement, without offering any counterarguments.
[Lady Lumina's Basic Attack deals Imaginary Attribute damage to all enemies based on her own Attack stat, restores a portion of our allies' HP, ignores Weakness to reduce Toughness, and triggers her Talent, restoring two Skill Points to our team!]
"Hmph... Truly worthy of Lady Lumina, isn't she? Even her Basic Attack rivals others' Ultimates..." Owlbert couldn't help but scoff as he described the Basic Attack.
"As expected of Sister Lumina! So powerful, so beautiful, so elegant!"
On the other side, March 7th's eyes lit up like a devoted follower worshipping their deity...
"Uh..." Owlbert paused, taking in March 7th's fervent expression, but offered no comment.
[Her Skill when cast, restores HP to all allies and inflicts a Mark on enemies!]
[Additionally, when enemies with this Mark attack allies, there's a chance the targeted ally will receive a "Blessing" effect that grants certain attribute bonuses!]
"Uh... Another Ultimate in disguise..." Owlbert grumbled again, describing this Skill that far exceeded the power of a typical Ultimate.
Earlier, Owlbert had only been joking about the Basic Attack. But this Skill left no room for humor—it was blatantly overpowered.
No, I genuinely think this is just an Ultimate, right?
[As expected, this Skill is ridiculously overpowered in every aspect...]
[Without this Skill, Lumina's strength would be at least halved (laughing through tears).]
[Ultimates at least have a 240 Energy Value limit, but this Skill just does whatever it wants (facepalm).]
[I can't even imagine how strong the Version 2.x characters will be, considering we already have the overpowered monster Lumina...]
[Hey, what if it's Lumina who's strong, not the other characters? I bet you five dollars that no character in Version 2.x will ever surpass Lumina in terms of numerical stats or mechanics.]
[Numerical stats? Lumina doesn't even have numerical stats! Does MAX even count as a stat?]
[Isn't the maximum value a stat?]
Although the official details of Lumina's Skill hadn't been released yet, some moles had already leaked all the information. As a result, players already understood the Skill's specific stats and mechanics.
A sigh escaped his lips involuntarily. Even without considering her Ultimate, Lumina's Skill stats and mechanics were still firmly within the realm of "Must Pull Units."
After all, while her Ultimate was undeniably powerful, its 240 Energy cost meant even a Lumina with Full Eidelons might only be able to use it a handful of times in their entire career.
[Ahem, Lady Lumina's Ultimate, consuming 240 Energy, releases an Immaculate and Beautiful Garden. Within this Garden, all enemy units gain additional weaknesses to all seven elemental attributes and suffer from various "Suppression" effects. Simultaneously, allied units receive blessings from the Eternal Garden!]
[Furthermore, under the Eternal Garden's influence, if an allied character takes fatal damage, they won't die instantly. Instead, the damage is reduced, preserving 1 HP until the Garden's effects expire, at which point they fully recover to full HP and Energy!]
[By the way, Lady Lumina's Ultimate, the Eternal Garden, is a Domain Skill!]
"Hiss... Did Lady Lumina write this Skill description herself?" Owlbert hissed, taking a sharp breath after reading the description.
It's reasonable to suspect that these skill mechanics were personally coded by Lady Lumina herself, after holding a knife to the developer's throat...
"Um... Teacher Owlbert, Teacher Owlbert, what do 'Suppression' and 'Blessing' mean? Aren't they just positive buffs and negative effects? Why use these fancy terms to describe them?"
Ever curious and eager to learn, Classmate March 7th naturally raised her hand to ask the teacher when faced with a difficult or confusing concept.
"Ah, excellent question, Classmate March 7th!" Teacher Owlbert praised her without hesitation.
[I imagine many have the same question as March 7th: Aren't these just positive buffs and negative effects? Why use other terms?]
[Because they're not just positive buffs and negative effects!]
["Suppression" isn't a negative effect; it doesn't trigger other characters' special Talents and is unaffected by enemy effect resistance!]
[Similarly, "Blessing" isn't a positive buff; it also fails to trigger other characters' special Talents and remains unchanged or unaffected by any attacks, skills, or mechanics!]
-
[Ah? I have a bad feeling... Could Version 2.x be introducing monsters that are immune to negative effects and devour our party's buffs...?]
[DoT Team: Crap, they're coming for me!]
[You buried all the Version 1.x characters alive! (Crying and laughing)]
[While we can't rule out that possibility, I still firmly believe Lumina is the one who's truly strong, not the other characters. I'll bet ten packs of spicy instant noodles that Version 2.x won't introduce such enemies!]
[Whatever. I'll just pull Lumina with Full Eidelons. One basic attack will shatter the heavens and obliterate the earth. Let them release whatever they want (smirking)]
[Great! A Lumina with Full Eidelons player! We're invincible now!]
After hearing Owlbert's explanation on "Keeping Up With Star Rail," a small group of players couldn't help but descend into anxiety, fearing that the characters they'd pulled in Version 1.x would all be "six feet under" by Version 2.x.
However, most players remained optimistic. Monsters come and go. If they're tough, I'll just pull new characters. If they're too much, I'll quit the game. No need to make such a fuss.
I'm pulling characters for my waifu anyway. You think you can control me?
"Wowwww! As expected of Sister Lumina—she's truly amazing!" Hearing Owlbert's explanation, March 7th's eyes lit up again, and she once more prostrated herself before Lumina's character portrait!
[Furthermore, as a Path of Abundance character, Lady Lumina possesses a unique resurrection mechanic!]
[When an ally takes fatal damage, Lumina will consume 50% of her maximum Energy (120 points) to revive them with full HP, granting them the "Blessing"!]
[Conversely, if Lumina herself takes fatal damage, the Energy requirement for her Ultimate will increase by 80 points (320 points total)! Afterward, she will restore herself to her maximum HP!]
[It's worth noting that while Lumina can resurrect allies infinitely as long as she has sufficient Energy, her own resurrections can only trigger twice!]
[Therefore, in high-intensity, high-pressure combat scenarios, remember to prioritize Lumina's safety above all else!]
-
[Owlbert, are you saying that in a fight, we should prioritize protecting a healer with over 10,000 HP and a Skill that can fully restore her health, while the rest of us have only 3,000 HP?]
[I heard [Eternal Samsara]...]
[Oh no, now we're really doing sit-ups! (laughs)]
[This mechanic is probably for the Simulated Universe. It'll give us a little more room for error, but remember: it's not invincibility. If the Boss stacks enough damage, you'll still get one-shot. (laughs through tears)]
"I'll protect Sister Lumina!" March 7th nodded earnestly at Owlbert's words.
"Um... March 7th, are you sure Lady Lumina isn't the one protecting you?" Owlbert muttered under his breath, making sure she didn't hear.
After all, March 7th was a guest, and if the IPC leadership saw him talking back to her, he'd likely be fired and left to scavenge through trash cans daily...
Because of the Preview live stream Event last time, his year-end bonus had already been docked completely! /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~
Owlbert could only silently weep in his heart about this.
After all, neither Lady Lumina nor Lady Topaz were the kind of people a lowly nobody like him could afford to mess with...
["Ahem, enough talk! Let's dive into live combat and see how Lady Lumina performs in action!"]
(Combat footage skipped)
[Honkai: Star Rail]
With the appearance of a train icon, the Star Rail Channel segment concluded...