“Alright, anyway, it’s just you and me here, so even if I make a fool of myself, no one will see it.”
With that, Selia unhesitatingly pressed the option for assistant recruitment.
The next moment, a row of avatars appeared on the light screen in front of her.
“Wow, so many?”
Selia was startled by the sudden appearance of a long string of avatars.
She really hadn’t expected to be so unexpectedly popular.
“See?
I told you not to underestimate yourself too much.
Host, when will you change that personality of yours…?”
Selia looked closely.
Among the row of avatars, most were students from her class specializing in support and drawing aggro.
Selia even found a familiar face among them.
“Eh, why is Yaya here?” Selia was a bit puzzled, “Can Yaya be considered a heavy-duty unit?”
“Yaya can definitely be considered a heavy-duty unit!
Although The Trio haven’t obtained their Valkyrie armors yet, even without the armor, Bronya’s Project Bunny would definitely be counted as heavy-duty.
After all, the name itself includes ‘heavy-duty’.”
“Hiss, now that you put it that way, it makes a lot of sense.”
Selia nodded and immediately drew an analogy: “Then if I try a few more times, will I be able to get Theresa or Himeko?
If they lead me, not to mention the fifth layer, at least passing the third layer would be easy.”
“I’m afraid not, Host.
On one hand, the operators recruited as assistants also need to be advanced, otherwise they can only exert their E1 stage abilities.
On the other hand, the abilities of assistant operators will not exceed the strength level of the Host’s current highest-level body.”
“So, even if the Host recruits Himeko or Theresa, you will only get an operator equivalent to a B-rank Valkyrie.
Although they will exert slightly stronger abilities due to their rich combat experience.”
“I see.
In that case, there’s no need to force a change.
I’ll go with Yaya.”
Selia selected Bronya’s avatar and decisively clicked to confirm recruitment.
Looking at her team, which finally wasn’t just herself, Selia shed tears of emotion: “Finally, finally I have a teammate!”
With the team selection complete, Selia skillfully retrieved the backpack containing 36 originium shards and a detector from the left tent, then looked expectantly at the right tent.
“Sister Selia, is this your weapon?
I’ve brought it out for you.”
A moment later, Selia’s familiar flat, childlike voice came from the right tent.
Bronya pushed aside the tent flap and walked out, holding Selia’s Crescent Rose in her arms.
“Eh, System, does Yaya have her own consciousness?” Selia was a bit taken aback by Yaya’s question and immediately asked the System in her mind.
“Uh, more or less.
The System’s assistant recruitment principle is actually quite complex.
It’s not a simple simulated intelligence like a Shield Guard, but rather directly links to the assistant’s mental world.”
“For the assistants, this trial will probably become a dream they forget upon waking.
During the assistance period, besides their impression of you, they will also be implanted with some basic knowledge of the trial.”
“A dream?
So, there’s a possibility they might remember?”
“No, unless they are a psychic perception type or a mental type Herrscher like the Herrscher of Sentience.
However, if the Host wishes, the System can slightly modify this dream and allow them to recall it.”
“What, does the Host have an idea?”
“I just think that doing so seems a bit risky… But never mind, since you can control and modify the content of this dream, then it’s fine.
Perhaps, to some extent, it can further corroborate the background story I’ve created for myself.”
Taking the weapon from Yaya’s hand, Selia pulled out the detector and looked at the foresight prompt on the screen.
“Upon clearing this layer, you will receive Foldartal: Doubt.”
As she fiddled with the detector, Selia asked nonchalantly, “Bronya, do you remember our objective?”
“Of course,” Bronya replied expressionlessly, “We need to explore as deep into the Schicksal ice field as possible to provide more routes and data for the expedition team.”
What a convenient ability… Selia silently grumbled about the System’s assistant system, then slung on her backpack: “That’s good.
Let’s go, it’s time to depart.”
Bronya nodded silently, floating behind Selia.
“Oh, right, Bronya, which weapon did you bring?”
“Bronya usually relies on Project Bunny for close-quarters combat,” Bronya answered unhurriedly, “For long-range, I mainly rely on this.”
As she spoke, a heavy cannon appeared in Bronya’s hand.
“Oh, it’s that one, the SU-22 Grenade Launcher.” Selia suddenly understood.
Although she hadn’t used this item much, it was definitely familiar because it was the starting equipment for heavy cannon characters and the only green-tier heavy cannon.
Wait, speaking of which, if we follow Arknights’s classes, Yaya’s class is currently heavy-duty, capable of both melee and ultra-long-range attacks.
Then her sub-class would be… Fortress?
Damn it, the episode where the module block increases damage.
Looking at the detector in her hand, the path ahead, as usual, split into two forks: one leading to the Deep Pool camp, and the other to a prison.
“Fourth Time’s the Charm” and “Death Row”… Selia continued to look at the subsequent nodes.
The path after “Death Row” again branched into two roads.
One path was empty, likely a random encounter, while the other was a combat node.
After “Fourth Time’s the Charm”… Good, a red emergency operation.
As for the third column of subsequent nodes, nothing was displayed, which was the so-called “ominous premonition.” Both forks led to this.
“Then there’s no choice,” Selia, now with a teammate, was brimming with confidence.
“We’ll take ‘Fourth Time’s the Charm’ and then directly confront the emergency operation afterward.”
“The Host is so brave this time?”
“Because the goal this time is the third layer.
I must collect as many collectibles and Foldartals as possible in the first two layers.”
“If I avoid all the early emergencies, there’s a high probability I won’t be able to beat the boss battle.”
Selia replied as a matter of course.
Following the detector’s guidance, Selia slowly approached the Deep Pool camp below, though unlike before, a similarly petite companion floated beside her.
After walking along the lakeside path for about seven or eight minutes, Selia and Bronya could already see the outline of the Deep Pool camp in the distance.
“Wait, Sister Selia.” Bronya stopped Selia, who was about to move forward.
“We don’t have to rush down.
The camp’s location is now within my firing range.
We can launch a round of long-range attacks first.”
“Long-range attack?” Selia looked at Bronya’s giant cannon.
“Is your range enough?”
“Don’t worry, Sister Selia, it’s more than enough.”
“Good, then we’ll stay here.
This spot can already be called a vantage point.”
“According to my impression, this stage shouldn’t have any enemies capable of reaching here from the camp.” Selia flicked her scythe back, and the Crescent Rose immediately expanded into a giant scythe.
“I will intercept high-threat enemies that break through the firepower blockade and rush towards you.
Of course, the remaining miscellaneous soldiers will be up to you to deal with.”
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”