After his brief exchange with Kiana, Aaron glanced at Leone, who was trussed up on the ground.
*Hmm, she looks like she's unconscious. She's putting on a good act.*
*Whatever, I'll ignore her for now. It's not like she can stir up any trouble.*
System! Add points!
[Tester, I must clarify. Please do not confuse this System's abilities with those of other systems.]
[This System does not offer designated point allocation.]
Oh, I just said it casually. I just needed you to show up.
Now I can relax. It seems there are no enemies around for now.
[As per protocol, this System will now incidentally update the mission progress.]
That "incidentally" feels a little... off.
[This System has already explained why it is "incidentally"—after all, these trivial matters are not this System's primary function. Besides, Tester, you should be able to estimate your own mission progress.]
[Main Mission 1 — Teigu Plunderer (6/10). Progress detected past halfway. Rewards will be issued after the mission progress update.]
[Hidden Mission — Slay Teigu Users (3+1+1+3+3+3+1+1/???).]
Hmm, why is it showing the numbers like this this time?
[This way, it's more intuitive to see how many the Tester has killed versus how many were defeated. In any case, you're not so hopeless you can't handle elementary school addition, are you?]
Hmm. Zank the Beheader and the Three Beasts were killed by me. Seryu, Bulat, Leone... Oh. This means Mine isn't dead, right?
Four killed, four defeated. Sixteen points total.
[Ding! Tester 233 detected to have completed the first stage of the hidden mission. Rewards will be issued after the mission progress update.]
The first stage, huh... Is ten points considered one stage?
[Guess yourself. Since it's marked with ???, it's outside the scope of what this System can disclose.]
[Distributing rewards—Tester 233 and Tester 233's teammate have passed the halfway point of the main mission and reached the first stage of the hidden mission. You will receive two standard rewards. Please choose two from the following four options.]
[1. Randomly enhance one skill—Note: Only skills you personally possess can be enhanced. Skills temporarily granted by the System upon entering the dungeon cannot be enhanced.]
[2. Randomly acquire one skill—Note: This skill is not temporarily granted by the System, but permanently owned. Subsequent skill enhancement rewards may randomly apply to this acquired skill.]
[3. Randomly acquire one piece of equipment—Note: Includes equipment such as crowbars, bricks, steel-toed boots, and torn cotton jackets. The lower limit for this option is extremely low. Please think thrice.]
[4. Randomly acquire one character template for fusion—Note: The probability of drawing a powerful character template from a standard reward is extremely low. Please think thrice.]
[Two reward chances. You may choose the same option twice. Please begin, you two.]
After hearing the System's prompt, Aaron thought for a moment before asking.
"I have a few questions I'd like answers to."
[That depends on whether it's information this System is permitted to disclose.]
"First, about the skills. I forgot to ask last time. Is it possible for one skill to have multiple effects?"
[Naturally. However, composite skills are mostly high-tier skills, so the probability of drawing one is relatively low.]
"That's normal... What about the lower limit for the template draw? Can you give me a hint?"
Upon hearing Aaron's second question, the System immediately displayed a template.
[Vagrant Template]
[Trait 1—Homeless. The template fuser cannot own a fixed residence (including rented or purchased homes).]
[Trait 2—Penniless. The template fuser cannot possess money exceeding a certain amount.]
[Trait 3—Increased Survivability. The template fuser will be adept at enduring hunger and illness.]
[Trait 4—Frail Body. Although the template fuser is adept at enduring hunger and illness, due to chronic lack of food and sleep, they will most likely enter a weakened state.]
[Evaluation—Only an idiot* would fuse this. If you draw this, it's recommended you just forget about it.]
[Basically, that's it. This is the worst one in the prize pool. By the way, the worst piece of equipment is (Rusted Thumbtack), and the worst skill you can randomly acquire is (Improved Sleep Quality).]
Damn it, damn it, damn it! Why is the difference so huge????
The worst skill at least helps you sleep well! Why is the template so awful????
[First, the upper limit for templates is also very high. If you draw a powerful template and fuse with it, steamrolling the Honkai won't be a problem. Second, you can choose *not* to fuse with a template after receiving it. So, no sane person would fuse with such a trash template.]
"A sane person, huh... What about those unlucky predecessors of mine?"
[Tester 213, after drawing the 'Mental Patient' template, insisted that it must have some hidden trait. Despite this System's repeated warnings, he fused with it anyway. And then...]
"Okay, you don't need to pull out the emoji. I get it."
Wow. In short, I can't touch this option.
Aaron didn't think he had god-tier luck.
Putting aside everything else, if he had god-tier luck, would he be an orphan?
Analyzing the current situation.
In reality, Aaron already possessed decent combat power. As for equipment, the Teigu he had were temporarily sufficient.
But facing Esdeath or Budo, he still had no confidence.
Mine only managed to defeat Budo by using an explosive-type Teigu combined with an aura burst.
And Esdeath was only taken down by the Revolutionary Army overwhelming her with numbers.
To him, those two were final bosses. And having provoked the Empire, the probability of facing them had increased dramatically.
Ah, whatever. I'll pick 'acquire skill' once.
[Drawing skill... Loading...]
[Ding! Acquired support skill—Spirit Commands!]
[Spirit Commands—Automatically learned.]
[Description: A common skill possessed by pilots from the 'Super Robot Wars' universe. Learning this skill will increase your mental energy to a certain extent and grant six Spirit Commands. Using a command consumes a certain amount of mental energy based on its strength, providing a corresponding special effect.]
[Drawing commands... Loading...]
[Commands drawn.]
[Focus (Low Cost)—Increases accuracy and evasion rates to a certain extent for one minute.]
[Scan (Low Cost)—Scouts all information on a designated target. Time required is determined by the target's resistance; higher resistance means more time.]
[Wall (Moderate Cost)—Damage taken is reduced to 25% for one minute!]
[Intuition (Medium Cost)—Greatly increases attack accuracy and evasion for a short time.]
[Valor (High Cost)—The next attack deals double damage to the enemy.]
[Guts (Extreme Cost)—Completely restores own health and energy (does not include consumed mental energy).]
[Friendly Reminder: Teigu are also items that consume mental energy. Tester, please be mindful of your mental energy consumption when using this skill and a Teigu simultaneously.]
[Note: Overdrawing your mental energy can lead to a coma in mild cases, or a persistent vegetative state in severe cases. Remember to pace yourself when using it.]
........................