"Are you excited to see me, Captain? Ai-chan is super excited too!"
Kiana froze, her mouth hanging open. Of course he recognized her — the perky, mischievous beginner guide from Honkai Impact 3rd.His beloved Two-Dimensional angel.
"Hehehe… as expected of a 2D girl! Ai-chan, come give me a kiss!"
Kiana puckered his lips and leaned toward the screen—Ai-chan's expression instantly shifted into one of pure disgust.
CRACKLE!
The phone suddenly discharged electricity straight through his hand. A jolt ran across his entire body, and Kiana's hair exploded upward again like a fluffy dandelion.
"C—cough—pffft!"
Black smoke puffed out of his mouth as he twitched on the branch.
Ahh… Ai-chan's love is so passionate…He could feel it deeply. Very deeply.
"No licking the screen, Captain!"
"Waaaah! Ai-chan doesn't love me anymore!"
Ten minutes later, after recovering from another divine electroshock therapy session, Kiana finally calmed down enough to talk properly.
"Well then, Captain," Ai-chan said sweetly, "don't you think this game is a bit too hard?"
"Too hard? Try impossible! You need at least thirty million Berries for a recharge? And you only get 200 crystals for that? That's not even one single pull!"
Kiana groaned. Ai-chan's eyes glinted mischievously.
"Captain, think carefully. Is it even possible to become stronger without paying?"
Hearing the words of a true capitalist prophet, Kiana could only slump in defeat.He wanted to recharge…But his wallet was empty. Completely, utterly empty.
"Actually," Ai-chan continued, "the Captain should understand something. Poverty only exists because your strength is too low. If you were strong enough to catch a few big-bounty pirates, money wouldn't be a problem at all."
Easier said than done.
Right now, he didn't even have a single decent hair on his body, let alone strength.Weak → no money → can't get strong → still weakHe was trapped in a vicious cycle straight out of hell.
"Don't be discouraged, Captain! Besides recharging, there's also the mission system to earn crystals!"
"…Oh yeah. I… completely forgot about that."
In his past life, whenever he ran out of crystals, he would just recharge instantly. He had never once done missions. No wonder he forgot they existed.
"And Captain, don't forget the Home System! You can get gold coins there. Not many… but enough for your current beginner needs."
"Ah! Right! There is a refinery!"
He hurriedly opened the Home icon.
"…Phew. Looks like that bastard—Ahem, Elder Sister—didn't completely screw me over."
Normally, the Home System unlocked only after reaching a certain level.But here? It was already open from Level 1.
Not only that — the furnace core inside was already max level.
"Uuuuhhh… Elder Sister… thank you for your mercy!"
His eyes misted a little.Even though she was the reason he ended up like this.
Kiana quickly activated the refinery and watched the gold coin counter slowly tick upward.
A smile spread across his face.
"Mmm… check back in a few hours. I should have enough gold to learn some skills."
"Next up… the mission system!"
Kiana tapped the button nervously.He was terrified that the quests might be impossibly difficult.
The mission window popped up.
Mission 1:Use "White Comet" battlesuit to defeat one enemy.Reward:
1,000 gold coins
"Pulsed Crimson" battlesuit
10 mission points
"…This isn't too bad."
White Comet, Pulsed Crimson, and Chariot — the legendary "Three Starter B's" that every Honkai player knew. They were the lowest tier B-rank battlesuits, below A, S, SS, and the God-tier SSS.
"Ai-chan, why is there only one mission?"
"Judging by the Captain's current strength… one is more than enough. You can't handle any more."
"…"
Oof.Right in the ego.
"Actually, Ai-chan… who exactly is my enemy?"
The mission just said "defeat an enemy."That was way too vague.The difference between killing an ant and slaying a sea king was massive.
"The enemy is already marked on the map, Captain!"
Kiana looked down.The mission interface had turned into a map.
His location was a small green dot in the center.The visible area covered roughly 100 meters.There were no enemies in sight.
"I don't see anything."
"Captain, you have to zoom out!"
"Oh! Right!"
He pinched the screen outward—And the map expanded to show the whole island.
Instantly…
COUNTLESS RED DOTSpopped up across the map.
Dense.Clusters.Absolutely horrifying for anyone with trypophobia.
Even Kiana, a normal person, felt his blood freeze.
"S-SO MANY ENEMIES?!"
"Calm down, Captain! You only need to defeat one!"
"Right… right. By the way… what does the system use to decide who counts as an enemy?"
"It marks any creature with enough power to kill the Captain."
"…Oh."
Kiana stared at the thousands—THOUSANDSof red dots covering the island.
Are they too strong…Or am I too weak…?
"Don't worry, Captain! For your safety, Ai-chan has color-coded them. Darker red means more dangerous enemies. Lighter red means less threatening."
Kiana looked again.
The darkest red — almost black — was deep inside the island, at least ten kilometers away.
Okay. Good.As long as he didn't wander too deep, he probably wouldn't die immediately.
"Then Ai-chan will cheer for you from here! Captain, go get that victory!"
A chibi victory pose popped up on the screen.
And Kiana felt…absolutely no confidence whatsoever.