*Alright, since you're not offline, I have another question.*
*I didn't think about it much when I first arrived, but now that I think about it... a Honkai warrior's strength relies heavily on Honkai Energy, but this world isn't connected to the Tree.*
*Yet, the boost I got from the Attunement and Ittou Shura... even ignoring the parts I couldn't control due to my lack of skill and personal strength, the remaining boost was still way too exaggerated.*
[Ah, you're asking about that. You're both from the main Honkai world. Why would I throw you in here and then cut off your Honkai Energy supply?]
[Come, come, Tester 233. Since you're still interested in chatting, this System will tell you another story...]
*Let me guess: there was once someone from the main Honkai world, but you cut off their Honkai Energy supply, and they... and then you'll finish with 'Why do you think you're No. 233?', right?*
[Congratulations, you've learned to buzz in.]
[Okay, joking aside. This System can, to an extent, allow you to use Honkai Energy normally. As for that certain existence inside that little girl, when she appeared earlier, this System considered it a trial for you and didn't interrupt her Honkai Energy supply.]
*Even though it's called the 'Randomly Cobbled-Together Dungeon System', it's really buttoned-up on the details.*
[But since you asked, this System must also say: while the mission has no time limit, the longer you drag it out, the harder it will be for this System to deceive the Tree. And eventually, the 'amount' of Honkai Energy you can use will slowly decrease, finally reaching zero.]
[This System doesn't know if the Tree will interfere later, but without Honkai Energy, while you can still complete the mission by other means, the difficulty will definitely increase.]
*So, procrastinating really is just a slow death?*
*Sigh... where am I supposed to get the remaining nine Teigu?*
Watching Aaron's expression shift from understanding to grim, Kiana asked cautiously, "Aaron, we finally have time to rest. Why don't you stop thinking so much?"
"Oh, right! You're awake, so I can go downstairs and have the inn prepare some food..."
"Wait!"
Seeing Kiana reach the door in a few steps, Aaron immediately stopped her.
"You haven't eaten anything from this town yet, have you?"
"No... Is there a problem???"
Watching Aaron let out a sigh of relief, Kiana couldn't understand why he would even ask that.
"Didn't you say that woman who saw our faces is basically crippled? Even if news travels fast from the Imperial Capital, they couldn't have sent people after us this quickly, right?"
"No, that's not the problem."
Recalling the setting of this world, Aaron said slowly to Kiana, "The Empire is extremely corrupt. In other words, this Empire, whether in large cities or small towns, is obsessed with profit."
"You must not have been able to avoid the guards when you carried me in. So I bet... you had to bribe them with a lot of money, right?"
"Not that much..."
Kiana scratched the end of her hair, still looking confused, unable to follow Aaron's line of thought.
"Let's put it this way. A stranger the guards have never seen before, who looks like she's carrying a huge amount of money. Do you think you can get rid of them with just a small portion?"
Seeing Kiana's dawning realization, Aaron sighed softly and took out dry rations and drinking water from his storage space, opening the packages.
"Those guards taking your money to let you pass proves they're not exactly dedicated to their duty. With corrupt people like that, I'd rather err on the side of caution."
"It'll be dawn soon. Whether they're planning to pull something or not, they're unlikely to make a move in broad daylight."
"So, we still have time to rest until the day is over. But after a few hours' rest, we still need to leave early."
"Ugh... why is this place so much trouble!"
*This is even more trouble than when I wandered from Siberia to the Far East!*
*At least back when that damn old man disappeared, I didn't have a bunch of people chasing me with bad intentions!*
"Sigh, is everyone in this world so black-hearted?"
"No, I think people are pretty much the same everywhere. It's just that the people in this world are more blatant about it, while the people in our world are slightly better at pretending."
"Alright, let's not talk about this."
Ending the depressing topic, Kiana's gaze drifted as she looked at the rations and water Aaron had pulled out.
"Aaron, just how much water and rations do you have in your storage?"
"Enough for a normal adult to live on for three years, probably. After all, before I came here, I had no idea if my teammate would be a super glutton or not."
"...To be this meticulous, you're really something else."
"Oh, one more thing."
Placing the remaining food packages on the bedside table, Aaron took out two sets of men's clothing and put them in front of Kiana.
"Take these. And..."
"Promise me, next time I'm gushing blood, please put me in *this* kind of outfit, okay?"
.............................