One month later…
“Bang—”
This was the sound of a metal blade colliding with a greatsword.
Feeling the immense force coming from the scythe blade, Selia took a step back, used the force to backhand grip the scythe and spin backward.
Her rotating body drove the scythe blade, tracing a beautiful semicircle in the air.
The Sarkaz mercenary holding the greatsword was naturally no pushover; his rich combat experience allowed him to immediately prepare to pull back his blade and retreat to block.
However, the superiority of the weapons manifested at this very moment.
The young girl’s lips curled into a smirk of satisfied mischief.
She squeezed the trigger on the handle of her scythe with her right hand, and with a thunderous roar, a bullet fired from the tip of the giant scythe.
Using the recoil from the shot, Selia spun her body, gaining sudden acceleration.
She slashed the giant scythe across the Sarkaz mercenary’s body before he could raise his blade to block.
With a soft sound like tearing fabric, the mercenary in the training simulation followed in the footsteps of his predecessor, sliced into two pieces.
Watching the two halves of the corpse fade into particles of light, Selia satisfyingly flicked her scythe backward, reverting it to its portable state, and hung it behind her waist.
“Not bad, Host.
In just one month, your combat experience and adaptability have improved rapidly.”
“This Sarkaz mercenary, whose physical constitution was specifically enhanced in the training ground, possesses physical strength on par with a B-rank Valkyrie, yet you, Host, are already able to handle him with ease.”
“That’s only because I had to pile up my life to gain that combat experience!” Selia puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
“That is also due to the Host’s talent.
Moreover, being able to maintain such a healthy and sunny mindset after experiencing death so many times, in a way, the Host is truly gifted.”
Indeed, during this month, Selia had endured hellish torment within the system.
No, it would be more accurate to say that the roguelike trials were considered a relaxing option for her.
To quickly forge Selia from an ordinary girl into a qualified warrior, she had continuously sacrificed her life on the training ground throughout this month.
For the weak, so-called combat experience is fundamentally a method of survival summarized through life-and-death struggles.
And Selia happened to have had many such opportunities.
Thus, with the system’s help, in just one week, Selia went from someone who couldn’t even hold a gun steady to a warrior who could calmly thrust a gun into a beast’s mouth to trade injury for a kill.
Because she had already died several times on the training ground, Selia’s tactics in the trials became increasingly aggressive.
In the second trial, due to bad luck, Selia stopped at the second floor.
But in the third roguelike trial, Selia passed the second floor once again.
Relying on her own strength and a bit of luck, she cleared the second floor, successfully earning the capital to leave the System Space in just over half a month.
However, by this time, Selia was no longer in a hurry to leave.
The repeated experiences of death within the system had taught her the importance of strength.
Selia decided to follow her original one-month plan, using the remaining ten-plus days to familiarize herself with her body after the first phase of elite enhancement.
And to master her new weapon, the Crescent Rose—Modified, custom-tailored by the system.
As for why it was ‘Modified’, that goes back to Selia’s elite promotion.
After completing the first elite enhancement in the system, Selia also gained a certain degree of ability to control and use Honkai Energy.
At the same time, the system localized this ability, manifesting it externally as a Natural Stigmata.
However, being able to disguise itself as a Natural Stigmata meant the elite enhancement’s ability was clearly not that ordinary.
After the first elite promotion, Selia also gained two new abilities.
One was Acceleration, and the other was Honkai Energy Materialization.
The former was easy to explain; it was exactly what it sounded like.
Not only could it provide Selia with explosive bursts of speed, but it also helped her maintain control over her body while moving at high speeds.
But for the latter, Selia felt it was somewhat similar to telekinesis.
Selia could use and manipulate Honkai Energy in a tangible form; for instance, contracting it into a shield or condensing it into a tentacle.
In any case, because developing this ability required time, Selia did not focus her main energy on it.
After the first elite promotion, the method of using Crescent Rose and replenishing ammunition was also replaced by the system with Honkai Energy manipulation, though the traditional loading-style shooting was retained for emergencies.
After her body and equipment were fully enhanced, Selia spent a week adjusting, then confidently entered the trial again, swearing to clear the third floor.
And then she was punched back by Bear-bro on the third floor.
The trial stopped at the third floor again, but Selia was not discouraged, because the scheduled time to leave the System Space had almost arrived.
Selia’s current assets were 4 originium shards and 3 hope, leaving her 6 originium shards short of a five-star random recruitment ticket.
This meant that in two weeks at most, Selia could bring another version of herself to the third floor for revenge.
However, before that, the most important goal was to find a way to infiltrate St.
Freya Academy.
This way, Selia’s main body could gain two years of time to improve her strength in almost absolute safety, while also continuously using clones to explore other possibilities, such as the Sea of Quanta and World Serpent.
At Selia’s current rate of strength improvement, no matter how bad things get, she could at least produce two or three combatants rivaling the likes of that veteran before the main storyline.
As for what to do when combat power inflates?
That’s a problem for later.
At worst, she could recruit the Herrscher trio to assist, clearing the trial once a week, and her strength would grow rapidly.
In short, first find a way to enter St.
Freya Academy.
“System, I’m ready.
Start the transfer.”
“Understood, Host.”
The familiar snowy camp and white trial ground before her eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by blinding sunlight and the scent of gunpowder from the ruins.
Selia opened her eyes, and the scenery from a month ago appeared before her again.
“Host, what are you looking for, glancing left and right?”
“I’m checking to see if I left any Xia Ling-chan behind a month ago.” Selia scanned the ruins with a serious expression.
“Opportunities like this are rare.
I’ve wanted to make a peace sign in front of my own tombstone for a long time.
Even though no one has built me a tombstone yet, making one in front of Xia Ling-chan isn’t impossible.”
“I recall that you are not a yellow card from the river dam, Host.”
“Ahem, isn’t this just to liven up the atmosphere?” Selia clapped her hands and stood up.
Then, her gaze sharpened.
Her right hand skillfully took down Crescent Rose and flicked it backward.
Crescent Rose, which had quickly reverted to its scythe form, instantly deflected a speeding arrow.
Selia gripped the scythe’s shaft and pulled the trigger repeatedly toward a corner on a distant building’s roof.
Following a few gunshots, a Ranger Death Warrior in the distant shadows fell limply to the ground.
“Honestly, I wasn’t planning on seeking revenge on you yet, but you went and delivered yourself to my doorstep.” Selia blew on the barrel of Crescent Rose as if playing it cool, and revealed an expectant smile toward the center of Nagazora City.
“Nagazora City, here I come!”