"I didn't expect that character card wasn't a Stand."
After returning from Seele's room, Takatsuki recalled the recent experience. Seele was more shy than others; just a little contact made her turn as red as a cooked lobster.
Fortunately, installing the Stigma was quick, and the contact didn't take long.
When Takatsuki told Seele about the Stand ability, Seele didn't summon a Stand. Instead, she found that her own body had gained the Stand ability, and she could also see Stands now.
No wonder this character card was S-rank; a Stand user and a Stand are two different concepts.
Because Seele was still as red as a cooked lobster, Takatsuki didn't thoroughly research her ability and withdrew from her room.
"A Stigma, huh… I'll equip another one too."
Takatsuki looked at the Yonko Shanks character card he had just drawn. The maximum number of Stigmas a person could equip was three. He had already equipped the Sacred Lord's Stigma, so he could equip two more.
After 500 crystals were deducted from the system, Takatsuki equipped Shanks's Stigma.
"Supreme King Haki… why does it feel a bit strange?"
Among Shanks's abilities, Takatsuki was most interested in Haki, especially Supreme King Haki. But this was his first time using Supreme King Haki, and it felt somewhat odd.
"Could it be that I don't have the qualifications of a king?"
Supreme King Haki was proof of a king's qualifications. Conversely, only those with a king's qualifications could awaken Supreme King Haki.
However, theoretically, the system's power should be able to transcend this limitation.
As Takatsuki was thinking, his expression suddenly froze, and then he fell straight to the ground…
…
"Stelle, Seele, let me tell you, our group can go without sleep for several days during trailblazing, but when we come back, we have to sleep it all off in one go."
In the train corridor, March 7th stood with her hands on her hips, earnestly speaking to Seele and Stelle.
"But Takatsuki isn't a Nameless. Takatsuki and I got on the train on the first day."
Seele's words made March 7th scratch her head awkwardly: "Ahaha, but it's pretty much the same, right? After all, Takatsuki has also embarked on the Path of Trailblazing, and he's quite compatible."
March 7th led the two to Dan Heng's door and knocked. After a long wait with no response, Dan Heng's voice finally came from inside after a long time.
"Wait a moment, I'll be right there."
March 7th shouted from outside, "The Conductor told us to let you know, the navigation meeting is about to begin. Same old place, don't be late."
"Alright, next we'll go inform Takatsuki. I didn't expect him to oversleep either."
The three girls knocked on Takatsuki's door, but there was no response for a long time.
"Could he not be in his room?"
Stelle asked somewhat strangely.
March 7th was also a bit puzzled. Since she wasn't as familiar with Takatsuki as Dan Heng, she didn't know Takatsuki's habits.
"Then, let's go look for him elsewhere."
Saying this, the two, led by March 7th, began searching the train.
But after searching for a long time, they still didn't see Takatsuki.
"That's strange, where did Takatsuki go? He didn't use his ability to get off the train, did he?"
March 7th said, putting her hands on her hips unhappily.
"Could Takatsuki be in his room?"
"But we just knocked again, and there was no response."
March 7th considered for a long time before saying, "Forget it, let's go tell Uncle Yang and the others about this and let them decide."
The three arrived at the observation car, where Welt and Himeko were drinking coffee.
"What's wrong? Are you so eager to know the next stop?"
Himeko said with a smile.
"No, it's Takatsuki. He's gone somewhere, and there's no response when we knock on his door."
March 7th said dejectedly.
"Is that so? Have you searched everywhere else?"
"We have."
Yang, who was standing nearby, also frowned, "That shouldn't be. He isn't the type to leave without a word, and Seele is still here."
"Pom-Pom, please get the spare key."
Yang said to Pom-Pom, who was walking over.
"No problem, leave it to me. Passenger Takatsuki's safety is more important."
Pom-Pom scurried to the Conductor's Room, fetched the spare key, and, with everyone except Dan Heng, rushed to Takatsuki's door and opened it.
As soon as the door opened, they saw Takatsuki lying on the ground.
"Ah! Takatsuki!"
Several people rushed to Takatsuki's side.
Yang observed for a moment: "Breathing is stable, no injuries, no different from sleeping."
Except he couldn't be woken up…
"Could it be a mental attack? How could something like this happen on the train?"
No one present was skilled in mental issues, and they were at a loss as to what to do in this situation.
"This is troublesome. We can't solve this. We can only go to the next destination to see if there's anyone who can help, or wait for him to wake up on his own."
After a long period of study, Yang made his judgment.
"It seems Takatsuki is fine for now. Just in case, let's move Takatsuki to the Observation Car. We'll take turns watching him to prevent any accidents."
Everyone agreed to Yang's suggestion and moved Takatsuki to the Observation Car. As soon as they opened the door to the Observation Car, they saw a somewhat ethereal figure standing inside.
"Who's there!"
Himeko vigilantly looked at the person in the middle of the car.
"Long time no see, everyone on the Astral Express. I am Kafka."
The ethereal figure turned around, revealing it to be a projection of the Stellaron Hunters' Kafka.
"It seems I've come at a bad time?"
Kafka slightly frowned as she looked at Takatsuki, who was being carried on Stelle's back.
Someone outside the script… and he actually affected the script's timing.
"The charming self-introduction is quite unnecessary, Stellaron Hunters."
Himeko said to Kafka with a displeased expression.
"Himeko, right? I apologize for the bad timing, but I believe you'll understand my presumption after hearing my request. I want to ask you to… change your destination."
"Stellaron Hunters, I've seen you, but only on the Company's bounty list. However, we're not in the mood for idle chat with you right now."
Himeko said with a somewhat displeased expression.
"You've come to the wrong place, Kafka. We do not intend to accept your request, nor do we intend to get involved with the Stellaron Hunters. If you wish to chat, when we have time and you are willing to visit in person, we can then discuss it."
Kafka's gaze fell on the unconscious Takatsuki, then shifted to the others.
"In that case, I'll keep it short. Have you heard of the Luofu?"
"One of the Hexafleet of the Xianzhou Alliance, the Xianzhou Luofu. We know of it."
It was Yang who answered the question.
Kafka: "Hmm, but what you don't know is that this Xianzhou is very close to you now, a distance that can be reached with two warps."
"Forty-five system hours ago, a Stellaron erupted on the Luofu."
Yang: "Stellaron Hunters, what are you planning? The Xianzhou Alliance is not as easy to deal with as we are. If you're targeted by the Hunt, you'll no longer be hunters but prey. The Alliance will pursue you to the ends of the universe."
Kafka: "Yes, but this Stellaron has nothing to do with us, yet the Alliance has already placed the blame on the Stellaron Hunters."
"My companion, Blade, was taken by the Cloud Knights. I need to bring him back and clear his name."
"You can leave at any time, initiate the warp to the next world, but in due time, this Stelle Rail will be blocked by the Stellaron. I can tell you what the future holds: if you do not go to the Luofu, the Stellaron will eventually corrupt the entire Xianzhou, and half of the innocent people on board will perish."
"Brave trailblazers, Nameless who act for good, I imagine you won't Stand idly by."
"You seem busy, so I won't disturb you. I'm sure you'll make the right decision."
"Although our goals are vastly different, the orbits of the stars will eventually converge. Goodbye."
As Kafka's final words fell, she left only a message and then disappeared.
Himeko's face became slightly serious as she looked at March 7th: "March, find Dan Heng. Stelle, you can put Takatsuki on the sofa for now."