[CONGRATULATIONS! You met your future love— Siegfried Kaslana. You obtained a dragon core. No mana? Don't worry, you have Honkai energy to spare.]
[You don't have a weapon to defend yourself!? Don't worry, now you have a sword that shoots laser beams!]
[You received Caliburn, the sword of selection, although to be honest, I wouldn't select you even if you were the last man standing.]
Dragon Core, Caliburn?
Well, that was good, Dragon Heart. Superhuman strength, incipient mana... although according to the system, it was now "Honkai energy," not mana. But hey, it was power after all.
Caliburn, a weapon at last...
But couldn't you have given it to me sooner?
Silence....
Not a word?
[It has been detected that the host has already received the complete beginner's package. Now he will not receive rewards easily.]
[The mission list has been unlocked.]
And then they appeared.
One after another, the lines flashed in his consciousness like daggers stabbing at his hope.
[Defeat an Emperor-class Honkai beast.]
[Defeat a Judgment-class Honkai beast.]
[Defeat a Vipralopa-class Honkai beast.]
[Defeat a Planetary-class Honkai beast.]
[Defeat a Herrscher.]
[Achieve a happy ending.]
The silence in his mind was deafening....
Planetary class?
"Arthur, what are you thinking about?"
Arthur blinked, returning to reality. Kiana stood before him, her blue eyes filled with a mixture of curiosity and concern.
"Just our next destination," he replied.
XXX
After finding Emilia, who was quite angry at us for abandoning her, we decided to return to the hotel. Although I managed to convince Kiana not to travel to Italy, we can't really stay in this place forever. She wants to go find her father.
Maybe we could continue exploring Siberia? It really wouldn't be a bad idea, plus Emilia doesn't have Kiana's physique for long journeys.
Arthur lay down on the bed, staring at the cracked ceiling of the room. Next to him, Kiana had already fallen asleep, of course, in her bed, because for her personal boundaries did not exist, and from the other bed came Emilia's steady breathing.
But he couldn't sleep.
The list was still there, burned into his consciousness.
Defeat an Emperor-class beast.
Defeat a Judgment-class beast.
Defeat a Vipralopa-class beast.
Defeat a Planetary-class beast.
Defeat a Herrscher.
Get a happy ending.
"What the fuck," he muttered in a barely audible whisper.
Planetary class. What the hell was that?
The name said it all. Planetary. Like something capable of destroying worlds.
And the system expected him, someone who didn't even know how to wield a sword, to defeat such a monster.
"Great," he whispered. "Just great."
He brought a hand to his chest. The Dragon Core. It had given him superhuman strength and that strange Honkai energy he still didn't know how to use. But was it enough? Would it be enough when he had to face beasts that could crush buildings as if they were made of paper?
Caliburn, a famous sword from the legend of King Arthur, but he clearly remembered that the only thing he knew about how to use it was to swing it around. No fencing. No technique. No experience. In his previous life, he had been many things: a student, a worker, a friend, a son. But he had never wielded a sword.
Kiana moved closer to him, murmuring something unintelligible in her sleep, and snuggled closer to him. Arthur looked at her. Her white hair was messy on the pillow, her features relaxed, that expression of peace that only appeared when she was unconscious.
She trusted him. Emilia was also beginning to trust him. And he had no fucking idea what he was doing.
He had to learn to use the core like the sword. The dragon core was like an extra organ, wasn't it? Would it be something like breathing? The sword... well, that could wait.
Tomorrow, he decided. Tomorrow he would start training.
Kiana moved again, and this time her arm became entangled with Arthur's. In her sleep, she smiled slightly, as if she had found something comforting.
Arthur looked at her. That smile.
For her, he thought. For her and for Emilia.
Or I'll die trying.
With that thought, and with the warmth of the core beating softly in his chest, Arthur closed his eyes and let himself drift off to sleep.
XXX
Focus, he told himself. Like a muscle. Feel the core. Let the heat spread.
He felt it. That little ember in his chest, beating with a rhythm of its own. He tried to expand it, push it into his arms, into his legs. The heat obeyed, slow but docile, filling his limbs with a strange sensation.
Warm.
Feeling something warm flow through all your limbs and then...
BOOM
Pieces of rock flew off when his fist struck a stone formation the size of a large dog. The rock simply... exploded. Fist-sized fragments flew in all directions, some burying themselves in the snow, others bouncing off the trunks of birch trees.
Arthur stared at his fist. Then he looked at the remains of the rock. Then he looked back at his fist.
He felt no pain. He felt nothing. It was as if he had punched a pillow.
"Unbelievable!" exclaimed Kiana, jumping up and down in the snow with shining eyes. "Did you see that? Did you see that? You smashed it to pieces!"
Emilia, a few steps behind, had her eyes so wide they looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets.
"It's just... that's impossible," she whispered.
Arthur closed and opened his hand several times. The skin was intact. No scratches, no bruises, nothing. It was as if he had never hit anything.
A month had passed since they left the city and embarked on a journey in search of a missing father.
The dragon core was no longer an unknown ember in his chest. Now he felt it as a natural extension of his body, a second heart beating with a rhythm of its own. He had learned to control the flow of energy, to dose it, to direct it where he needed it.
In this month, she had managed to control it, but unfortunately, it wasn't the same with the sword.
"It's incredible," Emilia said, sighing as they walked. "You two can do so many things that seem impossible, and I can barely run like an adult."
Arthur looked at her. The sad-eyed girl walked with a steady gait, but the effort was noticeable in her breathing. She had improved. But compared to Kiana, who seemed to have infinite energy, Emilia was... normal.
"Don't put yourself down," Arthur said, adjusting his pace so she could keep up more comfortably. "You've only just started. Besides, it's a big change considering you don't have Kiana's physique."
Kiana, who was walking ahead, turned around with a proud smile.
"Exactly! I was born for this. My dad is like this too."
Emilia smiled weakly.
"I'm just saying that sometimes I feel... like a burden. You two can fight, you can run, you can do amazing things. I'm just... here."
Arthur remembered that moment perfectly. It had been a few weeks ago, right after they encountered the first Honkai zombie on the road.
Emilia had frozen. Her eyes wide, her body tense, unable to move as the creature approached. Arthur and Kiana had protected her, of course, but the damage was already done. That night, around a campfire on an abandoned farm, Emilia had asked.
"What was that?"
And they told her everything.
The Honkai.
Emilia listened quietly, without interrupting. When they finished, she stared into the fire for a long time.
"I want to learn," she said at last. "I don't want to feel like that again. I don't want to be a burden."
From that day on, Emilia never stopped training.
In the mornings, Kiana taught her the Kaslana style of Kata. It was a simplified version, adapted for someone without warrior blood, but with the essence intact: quick strikes, precise dodges, that philosophy of "strike first, strike hard" that the Kaslana had been perfecting for centuries.
Emilia repeated the movements over and over again. Until her body ached. Until her hands trembled. She never complained.
In the afternoons, while they walked, Arthur trained her endurance.
SHHHH.
A cold wind blew.
"Ahh, it's cold!" said Kiana, rubbing her arms vigorously.
Arthur felt the wind hit his face and looked up.
The horizon, previously clear, was filling with thick gray clouds that were advancing at an alarming rate.
"We need to find shelter," said Emilia, following his gaze. "That doesn't look good."
A snowstorm was approaching. And no matter how resilient they were, it wouldn't stop them from catching a cold if they stayed out in the open.
"Over there!" Kiana pointed with her arm outstretched.
Arthur narrowed his eyes to focus through the snow that was beginning to swirl. A structure. Large. Imposing. With chimneys rising toward the gray sky.
A factory?
"Let's go," he said, breaking into a run. "Quick!"
The three of them rushed toward the building as the first snowflakes began to fall heavily. The blizzard hit them, blinding them, freezing their cheeks. Kiana, with her endurance, led the way. Emilia, despite all her training, was beginning to fall behind.
Arthur noticed. He slowed down, caught up with her, and offered her his arm.
"Lean on me," he said. "Come on, we're almost there."
Emilia looked at him for a moment, her sad eyes grateful, and accepted his arm.
They ran together against the wind, against the snow, against the cold that tried to devour them.
Until finally, panting and half-frozen, they crossed the factory door.
Inside, it was dark and cold, but at least there was no wind. Arthur closed the door behind them, feeling the silence envelop them.
"Are you okay?" he asked, looking at the two of them.
"Yes," replied Kiana, shaking the snow from her hair. "But it was close."
"Me too," said Emilia, letting go of his arm and slumping against a wall. "Thank you."
Arthur nodded. Then, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he began to survey the place.
A factory. Abandoned, from the looks of it. Rusty machinery, stopped conveyor belts, shadows dancing in the corners. But something didn't fit.
There was something else.
Honkai energy. Since obtaining the dragon core, Arthur had become quite sensitive to it.
"Be careful," he whispered. "I sense Honkai energy around here."
Emilia tensed beside him.
"Are there zombies in this factory?" she asked, her voice low but firm.
"Nothing a Kaslana can't handle," said Kiana, flexing her arms with a confident smile. "I haven't fought anything decent in days. It's about time."
Arthur shot her a warning glance.
"Don't get cocky. This energy is... strange. It's not like the zombies we've seen."
They moved stealthily, stepping carefully so as not to make noise on the metal floor. The light grew brighter with each step, revealing outlines: a half-open door, cables hanging from the ceiling.
Footsteps.
There was someone inside that room.
Through the half-open door, Arthur could see them: a tall figure, dressed in dark clothes and wearing a mask.
In their hands, a weapon.
"Why do we have to guard this place?" said the figure, in a bored and tired voice.
TSTSTS.
A radio crackled, and a distorted voice responded from somewhere.
"Because that mad scientist pays us well."
The masked man sighed audibly, dropping his shoulders theatrically.
"Yeah, but we could go into the basement, you know. It's not as cold there as it is here."
The radio crackled again.
"And who would come to this abandoned factory? No one in their right mind. Besides, the boss wants us to guard the main entrance. Orders are orders."
"Stupid orders," muttered the masked man, though quietly enough that the radio couldn't pick it up.
What are these people doing here?
"You know what?" said the masked man suddenly, straightening up. "I'm going to take a walk. Stretch my legs. You keep watch."
"What? You can't leave your post!"
"Relax, I'll be back in five minutes. Besides, if anyone comes, shoot first and ask questions later. It's not that hard."
Before the radio could protest further, the masked man headed for the door.
Straight towards where they were.
Arthur didn't hesitate. He grabbed Kiana and Emilia by the arms and pinned them against the wall, hiding in the shadows, just as the door swung open.
The masked man came out, stretching his arms lazily. He passed so close that Arthur could see the details of his mask, the seams of his uniform, the metallic gleam of the weapon hanging from his belt.
He didn't see them.
He kept walking, moving away down the hallway in the opposite direction, muttering complaints about the cold and low-paying jobs.
Arthur waited until his footsteps faded completely before exhaling.
"We have to get out of here," he whispered, loud enough for them to hear, but so low that it barely brushed the air. "Now."
Kiana frowned.
"Why don't we just knock them out?" she asked, her voice no longer a whisper.
"He has weapons, Kiana," Emilia said from behind her.
CLANG.
The sound was sharp, metallic, unmistakable. A door slamming open somewhere nearby.
Arthur felt his blood run cold.
"That bastard really left and isn't answering the radio," said a new voice, rough and tired, coming from the hallway where they had entered. "He's going to hear from me when I find him."
Footsteps. Heavy. Confident. Approaching.
Arthur grabbed Kiana by the arm and pinned her against the wall behind a rusty machine. With his other hand, he frantically signaled to Emilia to stay where she was, invisible in the shadows.
The footsteps stopped.
"Hello?" the newcomer's voice sounded confused. "Is anyone there?"
Silence.
TSTSTS.
The man's radio crackled.
"The stowaways must still be inside," said a different voice, more authoritative, cold as ice. "They don't seem to have left anywhere."
"Are you sure?" asked the one nearby. "There's no one here. Just old machines and cold."
TSTSTS.
"Find them and bring them back," ordered the cold voice. "We're out of test subjects for now. We need more."
Test subjects? Arthur felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cold.
"Understood," replied the man.
And then his footsteps resumed their march.
Straight towards them.