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Novice Quest (V) Forge 15 Curios (20/15) Forge 1 One-Star Curio (3/1) Complete 10 Miracle Check-ins (7/10) Increase Professional Level to Lv.4 (3/4) Increase Fame to Lv.3 (2/3)
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"Just what in the world counts as a miracle? This is a real headache..." Chen Li lamented, sprawled across Qingque's "throne" in the Divination Commission's archives as he stared at his Novice Quest.
Although his Professional Level and Fame hadn't met the requirements yet, he knew he'd eventually get there just by continuing his work. But the Miracle Check-in was a different story.
When a person is pushed to the brink, they can do anything... except advanced math.
By the same token, no matter how many shenanigans you pull, if it doesn't count as a miracle, it just doesn't count.
"Making the Empire great again should count as a miracle. Although the Empire is only one part of the Akame ga Kill! world, as a place where fate converges, the probability of producing a miracle is higher."
"If I can solve the mara-struck problem on the Xianzhou, that should also count as a miracle. It's definitely a heavyweight issue."
"And the next Miracle Check-in might have to be aimed at the Current Era of the Honkai world."
Playing with the Miracle Crystal inscribed with the [Advertisement] Entry in his hand, Chen Li had a new idea.
No matter what, he had to forge a resurrection Curio first. Because in any world, resurrection counts as a miracle. Unless it's one of those game worlds where you can buy one revival coin and get one free.
The Miracle Forge once again appeared in the archives of the Divination Commission, and Chen Li tossed the [Advertisement] Entry into it without hesitation.
Next came the [Resurrection] Entry from Cirno.
He wanted to create a Curio that could revive a person just by watching a 30-second ad.
However, considering that a Curio with only two Entries would lack stability, Chen Li threw in a third one.
As everyone knows, a triangle is a stable shape.
...
"But then again, not all triangles are stable. For example, a love triangle."
When Chen Li finally finished forging the Curio, he saw its specific effects and fell into deep thought.
[The Revival Games] (1-Star): The grand stage for revival. If you want to live, you've got to play! Here, you don't have to revive, but you can't be boring!
Effect: Resurrection. The specific process for participating in the Revival Games is as follows:
Step 1: Obtain Resurrection Card Fragments by watching 30-second advertisements. Collect all 10 fragments with different serial numbers to synthesize a complete Resurrection Card.
Step 2: After obtaining a complete Resurrection Card, get it stamped by the game organizer to receive entry eligibility. Eligibility can be reserved for your future self or designated for another person to participate in the Revival Games.
Step 3: Upon entering the Revival Games, you will be pitted against a randomly selected deceased contestant from across the endless worlds. Victory means revival. Defeat means you must collect the Resurrection Card Fragments all over again.
Note 1: You may receive duplicate fragments. Please be patient when collecting the Resurrection Card. Note 2: The advertisements watched to obtain fragments have a chance to inflict mental confusion on others, causing the ad to get stuck in their heads and leading to comical and absurd behavior. Note 3: This Curio can be bound to an individual to become a VIP user. VIP users only need to watch one 30-second advertisement to be successfully revived.
P.S.: As everyone knows, when you've collected 107 cards in a 108-card series, the last card will become your eternal nightmare.
(Miracle: So, Master, what were you thinking, adding an [Elation] Entry to this Curio? Well, I must admit, the negative effects brought by the [Elation] Entry are obvious, but the enhancements are equally astounding.)
That's right, this was another one-star Curio, one that cost 60 crystals to forge. Chen Li's Curio Forger experience successfully reached Lv.3 (289/300).
And the third Entry he had tossed in was indeed [Elation].
There were two reasons for this.
First, Chen Li thought that adding the [Elation] Entry might allow him to forge it into a one-star Curio at a lower cost.
Second, he felt that if the resurrection Curio didn't reach one-star, its revival restrictions would likely be greater, and its effects weaker.
Now, the Curio's grade had indeed reached one-star, and its resurrection effect was outstanding—it could even designate people who had been dead for a long time to enter the Revival Games.
But... looking at the Revival Games Curio, which had more side effects than actual effects, Chen Li felt that a small problem might have arisen.
As for that VIP user status, Chen Li, of course, immediately bound it to himself. And the "game organizer" in Step 2 naturally referred to him, the Curio Forger.
With this Curio, he no longer had to fear wasting a blank Miracle Card after being killed. Still, there were differences between resurrections, and the revival mechanism of The Guide was by no means obsolete.
"Honestly, the moment I saw that I needed to synthesize a complete card from fragments, combined with that P.S., I just had a feeling... this is going to be bad," Chen Li grumbled.
However, given that this Curio had saved him a large amount of crystals, he decided to find a way to get another [Elation] Entry from the Aeon of Elation. The one he had just used was from a mask Jing Yuan had given him. Who knew which unlucky Masked Fool had provoked the Xianzhou, gotten beaten up, and had their mask stolen. To dare provoke The Hunt... you might as well have picked a fight with a porcupine.
"I've decided. From now on, I will only believe in three Aeons: Elation, Equilibrium, and Pure Beauty," Chen Li declared loudly.
Then he glanced around.
Aha, Aeon of Elation, come on out and give me another Entry! Aha, I can't live without you! Idrila, Aeon of Pure Beauty, you can look at me now, too. After all, my handsomeness is enough to make others pale in comparison. HooH, the Aeon of Equilibrium? The Aeon of Equilibrium is the greatest in the world.
Chen Li was the staunchest supporter of the Aeon of Equilibrium. Even though the Curio he had just forged was equivalent to giving the Aeon a shoulder throw, putting it in a joint lock, and then dislocating its limbs... it's the thought that counts, not the action.
"These Aeons don't even know how to give me some good stuff as a reward. And here I am, being so pious..."
Forging a resurrection Curio was good news, but another piece of bad news was now laid bare before him.
Balance: 11 Crystals
For a Curio Forger, the biggest trouble was being broke.
Rationally speaking, with 71 crystals, Chen Li's best option would have been to forge Curios for existing commissions to earn more. But the Curio to suppress mara-struck symptoms was still missing a [Childlike Innocence] or [Purity] Entry, which would have to wait until his good brother, Argenti the Knight of Beauty, arrived on the Xianzhou. The Curio to transform other lifeforms into Vidyadhara was still missing a [Dragon] Entry.
And now, with only 11 crystals, even forging a novice Curio was cutting it close.
But Chen Li had come prepared.
"Sigh, my dear leek, my dear leek, today we must say goodbye." Chen Li looked at the leek in his hand with reluctance, took a huge bite, and tearfully delivered it to Hatsune Miku.
15 crystals, secured.
But that wasn't all.
Chen Li took out [Mom's Tablecloth] and sent it as a red packet to the Genius Society members' group chat in the Friends Circle. Since he was currently in the Honkai: Star Rail world, the handling fee was only 10 Starstones.
The next second, the red packet was snatched.
[The Great Herta]: Is this that [Mom's Tablecloth]? This thing produces food with the taste of a mother, right?
Herta, who had snatched the red packet in a flash, had successfully obtained the tablecloth.
[Dad]: That's right. Yurine isn't using it at the moment, so with her permission, I've decided to share it with the group members for a while. A little welfare for the family.
[Ruan Mei]: It seems quite interesting. A tablecloth that can create food and pastries containing the taste of a mother...
[Screwllum]: I am also very interested.
Ruan Mei's parents had already passed away, and creating delicacies and pastries was one of her greatest interests. As for Screwllum, as an Intellitron, he was very curious as to what the "taste of a mother" was. Was it like Emperor Ruperts Anti-Organic Equation?
The other Genius Society member, Stephen, remained silent as usual.
[Dad]: You can all pass it around and use it, but remember, DO NOT, under any circumstances, waste the food! DO NOT!
[The Great Herta]: Got it. No need to repeat yourself. We're not children.
[Ruan Mei]: Understood. As thanks for borrowing the Curio, would you like to try some pastries? I just made them.
[Dad]: Really? That would be great. By the way, Ruan Mei, could you put a little poison in the pastry?
[Ruan Mei]: ???
[Dad]: Don't misunderstand. I just want to increase my poison resistance. And don't worry about the poison affecting the taste; everything tastes delicious to me.
[Ruan Mei]: If that is your request, then very well. Perhaps I could introduce you to another member of the Genius Society, Yu Qintu.
Genius Society #55, Yu Qintu. She was well-versed in wine and opera and left behind many cocktail recipes, many of which were poisonous. She and Ruan Mei were close associates.
[Screwllum]: When using a Curio, strictly following the instruction manual is a fine virtue for any researcher.
Seeing the solemn promises from the three geniuses, Chen Li breathed a sigh of relief.
Twenty minutes later...
Chen Li looked up at the [Orphan Killer] Entry above his head. Its progress had already reached 53/100. He nodded in satisfaction.
As expected. Chen Li knew these three geniuses would absolutely not follow the Curio's instructions.
Strictly following the instruction manual is a fine virtue for any researcher. But being curious about everything is an inherent flaw of geniuses.
+10 Crystals.
Excellent. Now, please set the world to mute and listen to the sound of geniuses weeping...
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