A citizen turned his head and glanced at Caelus and Dan Heng. "You two are…? Those unusual clothes, and an accent I've never heard… Oh! You must be the warriors His Excellency Phainon brought back from the frontier, right?"
"We have an accent?" Caelus looked at Dan Heng in confusion.
Dan Heng pondered for a moment and filed the question away in his mind. "Compared to that, the real mystery is how communication even works here."
In the ensuing conversation, Caelus and Dan Heng learned that the invasion by the Lance of Fury legion had caused quite a bit of damage to the marketplace. For example, a shattered pillar was currently blocking the entrance to the home of the citizen they were speaking with.
Just then.
Tribbie popped out from who-knows-where. At her gesture, they could use the power of Oronyx to repair the giant stone pillar.
Ultimately, at Tribbie's suggestion, the Express duo tried employing Oronyx's miracle.
Dan Heng clearly lacked any talent in this area, but Caelus was different. Not only did he handle it with ease, he even seemed to feel a profound sense of familiarity with Oronyx!
He raised his right hand and very simply completed the restoration of the pillar.
"Wow… Trailblazer really is gifted—one lesson and you've got it!" Tribbie couldn't help praising from the side.
The nearby citizen who witnessed the scene couldn't hold back his admiration. "A miracle… a living miracle! Spread the word—quick, tell that bard the story: heroes from the frontier arrive in Okhema and perform great deeds here…"
Caelus gave a thumbs-up. "Amphoreus has journalism too?"
"I seem to be no good at this." Dan Heng stared at a small stone he had spent ages trying—and failing—to restore.
"No problem, it happens all the time. It just means you're better suited to being a warrior." Tribbie comforted him. "By the way, you've spoken with Agy, right? How was it?"
Caelus flashed a bright smile. "I've already figured out your whole deal…"
"Oh? That's actually quite impressive. To be serious, we all feel that the two of you descending… ahem, arriving in Okhema was no accident. A priest who can resonate with Oronyx right away—even Teacher Tribbie is seeing it for the first time.
Once you've mastered it, you can move freely across Amphoreus. Well… mostly.
Ah, right, almost forgot the main thing… We came to find you two to confirm whether you have a Message Slate. Without one, getting around Okhema is practically impossible."
Dan Heng's face was full of question marks. "Message Slate…?"
Hearing this, Caelus immediately pulled out his phone. "You mean this thing?"
"That's the one! As expected… even in the outer… your city-state has priests from Janusopolis too!" Tribbie took Caelus's phone. "Let me see… the appearance is a bit different, but the function is about the same. Maybe through resonance… mm…
All done! From now on we can contact each other through the slate. But only within Okhema city limits, okay? Once you leave the golden threads Agy wove, messaging won't work anymore."
After taking the phone back, Caelus checked it over. There didn't seem to be any major changes—except that in the status bar, the signal indicator suddenly had bars. Full bars?!
[I get it now—this is like arriving in a foreign country and getting a local SIM card!]
[Bro, the second you said that it clicked.]
[So does that mean Dan Heng and Caelus can contact Pom-Pom now?]
[Probably not. Sounds like there's a regional restriction.]
Even Dan Heng couldn't help clicking his tongue. "This is… unexpectedly impressive."
"Hehe, you didn't think we were some kind of primitives who know nothing, did you? You can also freely use whatever currency you brought with you. Talanton's Scale will measure the value of all things—no need to worry about being penniless and unable to live in the holy city."
Caelus's mouth twitched twice. "Titans really are something else…"
"Yeah. Titans sure are mysterious, huh?" Tribbie waved goodbye to the two. "Then I'll go handle other things. See you later—have fun!"
— —
"Things that defy common sense… there are just too many."
After Tribbie left, Dan Heng recalled how, from the moment they entered Amphoreus, everything had been filled with irrationality.
Still, he shook his head. The information on hand was far too scarce. To truly unravel Amphoreus's secrets would take much more time.
Dan Heng stopped thinking about it for now. He looked up at the sky and happened to spot someone sitting on a rooftop. "Look—there's someone on the roof."
The next moment, something seemed to occur to him. "The view from up there looks pretty good. You can probably capture the whole district. Let's find a way up too."
Caelus nodded and followed Dan Heng.
Not long after.
The two reached the rooftop. The massive Kephale lay spread out before them—an awe-inspiring sight.
Suddenly, a local named "Damionis" popped out from behind them.
As the saying goes, better late than never—just when they were worrying about having no one to photograph, someone delivered themselves right to them.
Dan Heng spoke politely, attempting to use language they could understand. "We're new to Okhema and wanted to keep some memories, so we came to a place with a wide view… um, to make… no, to capture? Anyway, we want to preserve this scenery."
Damionis thought for a moment. "Oh—you mean 'take photos,' right?"
Caelus covered his mouth with both hands.
Dan Heng suddenly felt a bit awkward. "Yes… that's what I meant."
[Hahaha, the primitive was me all along.]
[That embarrassed expression—Teacher Dan Heng captured it perfectly!]
[Is it possible this isn't acting?]
[Dan Heng thought the tech here was backward, but it's actually decent.]
[So even Teacher Dan Heng has moments like this?]
[This bizarre tech tree… so where exactly is Amphoreus's tech tree invested? Why don't they even have proper transportation?]
[Maybe Amphoreus has something like sophons that lock certain technologies?]
[It really is strange. They have networks, phones, but no decent vehicles.]
[Earth Beasts barely count as transportation.]
[Shut your mouth. You should be grateful an Earth Beast even lets you ride it—why are you being so picky? Did Honkai Impact 3rd stab you too hard?]
[Super mod, can you do something? The Earth Beast stan is back!]
[Super mod: Sorry, carry on everyone. I don't have permission.]
[????]
— —
"Haha! Looks like you two found the right person. The humble Damionis has quite the knowledge of travel and image-capturing—after all, my identity is that of Okhema's most famous explorer!" Damionis patted his chest.
"Come on, hand me your image-recording device."
Dan Heng looked helpless. "I don't even want to try figuring out their naming conventions anymore."
Caelus handed March 7th's camera to Damionis.
Damionis took the camera and fiddled with it eagerly. "Oho, a model I've never seen, but that won't stump me. It's here, right? And here… Ha! Easy—I've completely figured it out…"
His fingers slid left and right nonstop, but the next moment, he froze in place!
Caelus called out. "Why'd you stop talking?"
"N-nothing!" Damionis hurriedly raised the camera and pointed the lens at the two. "Alright, you two—stand still and look at me!"
Click. A fresh photo was born.
Caelus took the camera back to check. Kephale sat dead center in the background, with Dan Heng and Caelus positioned on the left side of the frame.
How to put it? It was almost there, but not quite.
"Include post-processing?"
Dan Heng shook his head. "Better leave that to March."
Seeing the two had no intention of reshooting, Damionis suddenly broached a highly sensitive topic.
He believed Caelus and Dan Heng came from the outer realms.
The moment he said "outer realms," the Express duo immediately recalled their agreement with Aglaea.
They could only brush it off with some random excuse.
Hearing this, Damionis looked a little disappointed and walked away deep in thought.
"That was close." Dan Heng let out a long breath. "I've got a bad feeling."
Caelus frowned. "Feels like he wasn't that easy to fool."
Dan Heng remained noncommittal. "After all, 'Thalassapolis' was something I made up on the spot. If he really is an explorer and knows Amphoreus's geography inside out, we'd probably have been exposed already.
Fortunately, we didn't leave any evidence. Still… even if the starry sky is taboo in Amphoreus, there will always be people who yearn for it. We need to be even more careful."
"So where to next?"
"We got interrupted earlier. Let's keep exploring the town."
— —
The two continued wandering the streets. Dan Heng led the way while Caelus, like a curious cat, kept looking around at everything.
Not long after.
Dan Heng brought Caelus to a forge, where Phainon was waiting inside.
After some talk, Phainon returned the repaired Cloud-Piercer to Dan Heng.
Dan Heng examined it closely. Visually, there was no difference at all.
Afterward, the three chatted a bit more. From the conversation, it became clear that Phainon intended to challenge Nikador and seize the Coreflame of Strife.
Caelus expressed support and understanding, and wished him success soon.
…
After parting with Phainon, the two continued their stroll and ran into Castorice, who was observing an Earth Beast.
Rarely encountering a familiar face, Caelus and Dan Heng approached Castorice from behind and stopped about five steps away.
Castorice sensed the different presence. She turned, gave a slight smile. "Ah… it's the two honored guests. Welcome to the dwelling place of the Earth Beasts… though I suppose I'm just passing by myself."
"You're here to relax too?" Caelus asked.
"Mm. I like the scent here. Very sweet… the fragrance of life."
At this point Dan Heng interjected. "By the way, Miss Castorice—are you also one of the Chrysos Heirs?"
"Yes." Castorice's reply was concise.
"Sorry. If you don't want to talk about it, I'll stop there."
"Thank you, Mr. Dan Heng."
Dan Heng: "…"
Castorice: "…"
[Two NPCs.]
[I wish Moze were here too. Three NPCs together—maybe they'd trigger a technical revolution.]
[So awkward it's adorable. Super awkward cute Castorice.]
[If Caelus weren't here, I bet these two could stand together all day and barely manage five sentences.]
[This is so cringe my toes are curling.]
[Watching this makes me feel secondhand embarrassment. Do these actors not feel awkward during shoots?]
— —
"Let's liven things up!" Caelus pointed at the Earth Beast.
The Earth Beast let out a low grunt.
Dan Heng deadpanned, "It seems to have understood you. It's just too lazy to respond."
Earth Beast: "Bzzz!"
Only then did Castorice react. "Oh—looks like this child is a bit hungry. You two came at just the right time. Would you like to try feeding an Earth Beast? Their feed is very clean—dry red soil. There's some right over there."
Caelus walked to the feed trough. "Can I taste it?"
"Of course. But it's very bitter and not easy to digest." Castorice's serious tone instantly killed Caelus's wild idea.
[So how exactly do you know that?]
[Yeah, Miss Castorice, how do you know?]
[Have you noticed Castorice actually looks kind of airheaded?]
[miHoYo loves this gap moe. Comes out all domineering at first, then hits you with the little contrast so you can't quit!]
[She's so gentle.]
[Not killed—revived!]
Caelus gently picked up a piece of red soil from the container. The Earth Beast watched his every move with eager eyes… better not mess this up.
"Wuu bzzz…"
The Earth Beast let out a slow but delighted sound. Clearly, it was looking forward to the performance of this new feeder.
Should he just let it have what it wanted so easily? Or…
Caelus glanced at Dan Heng. If he made Dan Heng eat the feed, would that…?
"Don't even think about it."
Caelus felt a chill run down his spine from behind.
"Damn, when did he learn mind-reading?"
Caelus stared straight at the red soil cube in his hand, then looked up to check the Earth Beast's expression again.
The Earth Beast made a puzzled noise. "Bzzz?"
Caelus actually saw confusion… hesitation… and a faint hidden provocation in the Earth Beast's eyes.
The big guy loomed over him as if saying: "You got the guts, little guy?"
All his life—though it hadn't been very long—he had never been looked down on by an animal. Now, there was probably only one way to preserve his dignity…
Caelus bit off a corner of the red cube.
Beside him, the two eyewitnesses let out sounds of utter disbelief.
"Hiss…"
"Huh???"
Castorice hadn't lied—the red soil really did taste… intensely bitter.
This bitterness was unlike any strong medicine. It struck straight at the softest parts of the soul, making one question the very meaning of "Trailblaze."
Surprisingly, it wasn't hard, but that might not have been a good thing—after a few chews, the sticky red soil crumbs glued themselves to Caelus's teeth. No matter how much he scraped with his tongue, he couldn't get them off.
[Hahahaha, holy crap, I'm dying laughing.]
[This is how Aha discovered Amphoreus.]
[Dan Heng's sharp intake of breath shows he still isn't used to Trailblazer's abstract behavior!]
[That's asking a bit much. You can't judge a Stellaron host by normal standards.]
[Hahaha, the Stellaron host is still way too OP.]
[I'm actually crying from laughter. Gotta have some abstraction!]
[Isn't this also a form of Trailblaze?]