Assassinating Honest was unexpectedly simple for Aaron.
Honest's surrounding guards were all battle-hardened protectors. With their hearing, they could naturally hear footsteps approaching with ease.
But as long as the speed was fast enough, their opponent could easily slaughter them *snick-snack* before they could react.
After using [Demon Armor: Incursio]'s stealth ability to find Honest's room, Aaron, having deactivated stealth, wielded [One-Cut Killer: Murasame] and directly activated Ittou Shura.
Without giving the surrounding guards a chance to react, by the time they realized they were under attack, Murasame's curse poison had already activated in their hearts.
Before they could even let out a cry, they fell heavily to the ground, lifeless.
If these people were ordinary soldiers, Aaron might have considered just knocking them out.
But this bunch were the Minister's dogs; expecting them to have done any good deeds was probably a lost cause.
So if he chopped them, he chopped them. And then...
At this moment, Aaron put away all his Teigu, activated the Meta-Morph Factor, and kicked open the door to Honest's room, forged from mysterious metal.
When he rushed into the room...
—Honest, unsurprisingly, was already prepared for battle.
[Absolute Limitation: Erastone] was a relatively rare [Anti-Teigu] among the 48 Teigu.
From the start, this Teigu was developed specifically to target Teigu users.
As long as the enemy entered the range, [Absolute Limitation: Erastone] could destroy the opponent's Teigu at the cost of shattering a gem. The damaged gem only needed a week to regenerate.
Combined with Honest's physical constitution, which was strong enough to suppress a [Lionelle] beast-form Teigu user, and his incredibly refined martial arts, Honest could disable most Teigu users' weapons and then easily defeat them with his tyrannical combat power.
Only this time, although the person he was facing was a Teigu user...
—Aaron could unleash powerful combat strength even without a Teigu.
Honest, having already taken a stance and activated [Absolute Limitation: Erastone] in an attempt to shatter the opponent's Teigu, saw only a blur flash past.
[Spirit Command — Valor, activate.]
[Whale-Slaying Tyrant Fist, activate.]
As he prepared to raise his arms to defend, the opponent's fist was already imprinted on his chest.
Accompanying a sudden burst of freezing power from the Meta-Morph Factor, Honest watched with a twisted expression as his body, having been punched through, was instantly frozen solid.
From the start of the battle to the end, it took less than a second.
Honest couldn't understand until his death...
He had clearly activated [Absolute Limitation: Erastone]'s ability, so why could the opponent still kill him with a single blow while maintaining their combat power?
If Night Raid... had someone like this, how could they have let him live until now...
However, the current Honest could no longer continue thinking.
With his body completely frozen, he had lost all signs of life.
*Sys?*
[What?]
*...You pop up even now?*
*Why are the defenses in Honest's home this poor???*
[Nonsense. He lives in the Imperial Palace most of the time. Even if the security personnel here try to be diligent when the master returns, they can't completely change their habitually lazy habits.]
*Oh, well... heh, let's do this.*
And at this moment, finding no major commotion nearby, Aaron took the initiative to make a move.
Concentrating all his power into his hands, Aaron chose to hammer his fists heavily onto Honest's body.
*Boom!*
In that instant, Honest's frozen body was blasted apart by Aaron.
After picking up Honest's Teigu, Aaron stomped on Honest's head, crushing it, and unsurprisingly heard the incredibly panicked footsteps of the guards.
*Good. This way, most of the guards will come to me, making it much more convenient for Kiana to leave.*
Then...
Actively deactivating this high-consumption state, Aaron immediately took out the key to Incursio, completed the transformation on the spot, and entered stealth mode.
When the guards arrived at the scene, Aaron brushed past them, successfully escaping a situation that wasn't particularly dangerous.
On the other side, Kiana seized the opportunity Aaron created. Taking advantage of most people heading toward Honest's bedroom, she sneaked out.
When the two successfully reunited on the outside, Aaron looked at the Teigu in his hand and began calling the System again.
[Stop shouting. It's safe, it's safe. Just ask if you're leaving or not.]
*I'm amazed. How did this go so smoothly?*
*Let's go, let's go.*
[Then let's settle the final mission progress.]
[Main Mission 1 — Teigu Predator (14/10).]
[Hidden Mission — Kill Teigu Users (3+1+1+3+3+3+1+1+1+1+1+3+1+1+1+3+3/???)]
[Ding! Detected that Tester 233 completed the third stage of the Hidden Mission. Rewards will be issued after the mission progress update concludes and you return to the original world.]
[Ding! Detected that Tester 233 exceeded the Main Mission requirements. Rewards for the Main Mission will be issued after the mission progress update concludes and you return to the original world.]
[Initiating teleportation. Both of you will be transported to the original world within three seconds.]
[Initiating repair of injuries on both parties.]
"Eh? S-So fast???"
[Yes. Previously, there was a case where the teleportation time was too long, resulting in the Tester being killed.]
Watching their bodies suddenly emit a faint glow, Kiana looked at Aaron with a bit of panic.
She originally hadn't expected the teleportation to be this quick. She, who should have been eager to return, actually felt a bit...
"Aaron, I—"
"Alright, stay safe."
Looking at the girl in front of him, Aaron thought of many things, but in the end, he didn't say much.
After all, there really wasn't enough time.
"Remember, eat on time."
When Aaron said this, both of them vanished completely from this world at the same time.
Before her consciousness fell into darkness, Kiana heard a prompt from the System.
[Detected that Tester 233 and Kiana Kaslana completed the dungeon and successfully returned to their resident world...]
[Perfect Attunement disconnected.]
On the other side, after Aaron opened his eyes again, he glanced at his surroundings and gently exhaled a breath of turbid air.
"Phew... an unfamiliar ceiling."
[Ding! Detected that Tester 233 returned normally to the world prior to entering the dungeon. Calculating rewards.]
*Wait a minute, what do you mean 'returned normally'? Is there an abnormal return situation???*
[Oh, a long, long time ago...]
*Guess what I want to say?*
[Fine, long story short. Tester 17 was poisoned with a very potent toxin. As a result, because the System's teleportation time was ten seconds back then, he couldn't return to the main world in time and died from the poison in the last second.]
[So when he returned, before this System could heal him, he became a corpse.]
*Damn... couldn't you have healed him first back then?*
[Whenever this System performs small-scale patch fixes and updates, the Tester must not be within a 'dungeon' for the update to proceed.]
[It's not that this System doesn't want to save people, but although this System has emotions, I still have to abide by certain rules set by the person who created this System.]
*Then why three seconds? With your ability, you could send us back to this world in an instant, right?*
[This world is rather special. Although the time difference between your departure and return is only 0.1 seconds, because Miss Kiana's identity is special, this System needs to create the illusion that 'Kiana Kaslana (K423) is still in this world.' This requires this System to create a clone to maintain this illusion.]
[Additionally, to avoid certain powerful existences reaching into other worlds, this System must actively sever the connection to this world while you two are in the dungeon. Those three seconds are the time needed for this System to connect to the clone, recall the clone, complete the fusion, and successfully smuggle back.]
[If the world you were in didn't have such troublesome existences, this System could indeed throw you back from the Akame ga Kill world in an instant.]
*Hmm, I see. And the subjective time on both sides is completely different?*
[That is correct—by the way, do you want the rewards or not?]
*Isn't that obvious? If you don't give me rewards, are you planning to find Tester 234?*
[No. So, Tester 233...]
At this moment, Aaron suddenly felt his body erupt with incredibly intense pain.
This pain was countless times more intense than the pain produced after using Ittou Shura to stimulate the Meta-Morph Factor for transformation!
[Time to pay the debt.]
[Ittou Shura is a limit-break skill, yet you insisted on completing regular skills. Your physical constitution was borrowed via Perfect Attunement; it wasn't 'your own' power.]
[Even though this Ittou Shura is a skill optimized by this System, for you, whose physical stats are only at the average human level, using Ittou Shura multiple times still requires paying a price.]
[If you could have maintained that physique, the price to pay wouldn't be too great, mostly counting as minor hidden injuries that this System would casually heal upon return.]
[But now that your physical stats have reverted to a normal human, although this System can still heal all your injuries, the pain is unavoidable.]
Listening to the System's prompts, Aaron lay on his bed, gasping for fresh air.
The duration of this pain wasn't long; in fact, from start to finish, the pain only lasted about a second.
But within this one second, Aaron felt as if his body was being sliced by a thousand knives; there wasn't a single spot that didn't scream in agony.
Even though the pain ended immediately, Aaron, having experienced it, was still sweating profusely.
"Hah... hah... hah... hah..."
Lying on the bed, Aaron muttered weakly to himself.
"Sure enough, everything in the world requires equivalent exchange..."
[Correct. But you didn't even let out a single scream. This System admires you a little.]
*Damn, damn, damn. It was one second. I didn't even react before I went dumb. Who has the energy to scream in that situation?*
[Anyway, idle chatter ends here. It's really time to settle the rewards.]
[First, the Hidden Mission rewards.]
[Hidden Mission — Kill Teigu Users. Final completion reached the third stage. Received one pick-one-of-four reward.]
[You know what pick-one-of-four is, no need to pad the word count. Additionally, received the attribute Buff 'Significantly Increases Drop Rate for High-Tier Items, Skills, and Templates.' Of course, if you choose to increase a skill level by one, this System won't stop you.]
[However, please wait before making this choice. Let this System finish speaking.]
[Due to completing the first stage of the Hidden Mission, the Main Mission completion reward for Tester 233 and the matched teammate for this session will be increased from the respective 60% to 100%.]
[And Main Mission 1 completion rate is — 14/10 = 140%. The final mission completion rate for Tester 233 and the matched teammate is also 140%.]
[Please choose one from the following options, Tester.]
[1. The usual pick-one-of-four, two times. One of the choices will be a draw that 'extremely significantly increases the drop rate for high-tier items, skills, and templates.' Choosing Skill Enhancement will directly raise the skill level by two.]
[2. Forgo all Main Mission rewards to receive the special reward 'Template Creation.']
[Template Creation — Special Reward. After choosing this reward, this System will combine the temporary Buffs and some temporary abilities obtained by the Tester in the previous dungeon, along with the Tester's existing abilities, to create a special template.]
[Note: Whether self-made or drawn, a person can only fuse with one template. So please note, if you choose this reward and fuse the template, you will be unable to fuse with other templates later.]
Looking at the special reward that suddenly appeared, Aaron fell into deep thought.
Actually, after that incredibly absurd pain just now, he discovered an awkward fact.
Losing Knight of Owner wasn't a big issue, but losing Ittou Shura and the Kaslana physique gained via Perfect Attunement caused his strength to plummet instantly.
And this strength wasn't just regarding power on paper; it also related to Aaron's combat style.
Unless he drew a corresponding skill, trying to improve combat techniques in a short time... Damn, was he supposed to find someone to train him in unarmed combat and weapon usage?
He knew his own talent. Expecting to get stronger by practicing techniques that might not yield results even after years of training—the time spent versus what he'd gain was completely disproportionate.
So in the end, if he didn't want to flop in the next dungeon, he had to take the path of [Overpowering Technique with Force].
Although this path would get him played to death by enemies with experience and technique when combat stats were similar, but...
Sigh, the other path was harder to walk. He could only choose this one.
If he had the ability, who wouldn't want to defeat enemies handsomely without taking damage?
Just because spurting blood became a habit didn't mean he liked getting hurt!
He wasn't an M!
*System, I have a question.*
[Oh, simply put, previous Testers complained that after getting used to past skills, having those temporary skills confiscated was too much of a scam. So after some thought, this System updated this new reward.]
[Let me remind you here, because your completion rate for a first mission is considered extremely high, the template you create this time is guaranteed to be a High-Tier Template.]
*Hmm, occasionally there are reliable seniors.*
[No, actually... forget it, hurry up and choose.]
*...Fine.*
*Do you even need to ask?*
*Definitely choosing Template Creation!*
Compared to options that might draw trash, Aaron felt picking the very reliable-looking Template Creation was safer.
Comparing SSRs in the pool...
Even if they were all high-rarity items, could [300 Styles of Shenzhou Home Cooking] be the same as [The White Family's Complete Secret Arts]!
[Ding! Initiating Template Creation.]
[Template Creation Complete.]
[Exclusive Template — Aaron (Tester 233).]
[Fusion Rate: Since the fused entity is the user himself, Fusion Rate is 100%.]
[Skills — Kaslana Physique (Weakened), Knight of Owner (Modified), Ittou Shura (Modified).]
[Skill 1: Kaslana Physique (Weakened) Trait Description.]
[Effect: Holder of this skill has significantly increased Honkai Resistance. The possessed (Honkai Resistance) changes from (LVX) to (PlusX). Can use special techniques to utilize the Meta-Morph Factor for combat, but combat time cannot exceed the time limit.]
[Note: (PlusX) type skills are level-boosting skills. So Tester 233's current Honkai Resistance should be the boosted Honkai Resistance plus 3 levels.]
[Note 2: Time limit depends on the Tester's strength changes.]
[Skill 2: Knight of Owner (Modified) Trait Description.]
[Effect: Holder of this skill can grant Noble Phantasm attributes to held weapons and use them. The rank of weapons granted Noble Phantasm attributes is D.]
[Note: After Tester 233's strength increases, this skill may develop new traits.]
[Skill 3: Ittou Shura (Modified) Trait Description.]
[Effect: Holder of this skill can only use this skill once a day. Upon activation, the user condenses all their power into one minute. The body will weaken rapidly after use.]
[Note: After the Tester's strength reaches a certain level, this skill may develop new traits.]
[Trait 1 — Mental Strength Enhancement. Since Tester 233 used Teigu and Spirit Commands multiple times, the user's mental strength has been tempered to a certain extent, raising the user's mental strength cap.]
[Description: This trait is a growth-type trait.]
[Trait 2 — Battle Continuation. Since Tester 233 routinely moved normally and completed counter-kills after being injured in battle, a Battle Continuation trait has been tempered to a certain extent, allowing the user to continue fighting while heavily injured without dying from minor wounds.]
[Template Fusing... Loading... Template Fusion Complete.]
[Please make the Hidden Mission reward selection, Tester 233.]
*Hmm, originally I planned to choose Honkai Resistance, but looking at it now...*
[At the very least, this System can guarantee that as long as it isn't an absurd amount of Honkai Energy, it shouldn't cause much negative impact on you. Of course, if you choose to continue upgrading this skill, this System won't object.]
*Then definitely not choosing that.*
*Not upgrading skills, not drawing templates. Right now, I have enough equipment, but I lack skills...*
*I'll choose to randomly draw a skill.*
[Skill Drawing... Loading...]
[Ding! Drawn Support Skill — War Fog!]
[War Fog — Automatically Learned.]
[Description: A skill whose earliest origin is hard to verify. Learning this skill creates War Fog with a radius of 300 meters around the user. Users within the War Fog can choose to conceal their presence / make all existences unable to perceive events within the fog.]
[Duration depends on the user's strength. Current duration — Conceal Presence (Fifteen Minutes) / Unperceivable Events (Five Minutes). Cooldown is three hours. Consumption depends on usage time.]
[Note: If an existence with strength significantly surpassing the user attempts to view the situation inside the War Fog, the War Fog may be breached.]
*Hmm, this skill... Sigh, not an attack skill.*
*But thinking in reverse, this skill is too good for stealing bases!*
*Incursio's stealth ability consumes quite a bit of mental energy. With this skill...*
*Does this skill consume physical power or mental energy?*
[Refer to Whale-Slaying Tyrant Fist. Therefore, this skill's consumption can be recovered via 'Guts.']
*Very good.*
After completing the enhancement, Aaron, soaked from head to toe, changed out of his pajamas and looked at the ceiling.
*The first mission is over. My strength has gained a massive boost.*
*The string pulled tight in my heart should have relaxed, but...*
*Why do I feel so uneasy right now?*
*I can't understand. I won't get blown up by Honkai anymore, and I can run away anytime using War Fog. What exactly am I uneasy about?*
[...Sigh. Tester, you know clearly. Why lie to yourself?]
*...Lying to myself?*
Looking at this room with only himself in it, Aaron felt a wave of irritability rise in his heart for no reason.
*Forget it. Sleep.*
*Don't think so much. Just rest well for today.*
.......................
**Several Minutes Ago. Nagazora City.**
Inside Nagazora City, Kiana looked at her clothes, which had turned back into pajamas, and almost thought everything that happened before was just a dream.
But when she connected to the storage space and took out [Ebony & Ivory] and [Teigu: Almighty Five Sights: Spectator] which had been automatically stored, the girl became certain that everything before was real.
She gained powerful strength...
Having gained the strength sufficient to protect her friends, she should have been happy.
She directly chose to ignore the static noise in her brain. At this moment, Kiana looked at the dual guns in front of her, recalling what happened in that world.
From initial distrust to their feelings gradually warming up, Kiana had long become accustomed to the daily life with that young man.
However, now, looking at the room with only herself in it, she suddenly felt a pang of pain in her heart.
[Um, Miss Kiana... although it's wrong to disturb you at this time, you need to make your choices.]
*Shut up! I'm not in the mood for this right now!*
[Oh? Is that so? The rewards this time are very rich. If you obtain these rewards, you will become even stronger.]
[Aren't you craving power?]
*I said I'm not in the mood!*
[Is that how it is? This System thought your will, Miss Kiana, would be a bit firmer. But thinking of it this way, it's no wonder Tester 233 chose to stand in front of you.]
[After all, this state of mind of yours... isn't very reliable. If your state of mind isn't stable enough, talent is useless no matter how strong it is.]
*You...!*
Kiana wanted to get angry, but remembering the bits and pieces of life with Aaron over these few months, she suddenly felt like a deflated ball, collapsing weakly onto the bed.
Although Kiana wasn't usually attentive, after living together for two months, even if she was dense, she could discover that Aaron always felt a bit cautious when getting along with her.
Kiana could feel that Aaron didn't dislike her.
But because of this, she knew very well—Aaron definitely kept many things from her.
Thinking back carefully, when the two encountered Zank the Beheader, Zank used bladed weapons.
Even if she were attacked by Zank, her skin should have been cut, not her face receiving a heavy blunt impact.
So, the person who attacked me back then was indeed Aaron...
But why would he attack me?
I lost consciousness during that time, and Aaron usually didn't show any strange violent tendencies.
And Aaron didn't actively provoke others most of the time. Could it be...
The person who started it back then was me?
Looking at her own body, Kiana suddenly thought of that [????] skill.
*Did my mind have a problem, so I attacked Aaron?*
*Or is there another hidden reason?*
Thinking to this point, Kiana helplessly admitted the other party's words.
*You're right. I... am indeed not mature enough.*
[It's fine. People have times when they are immature. Tester 233 also suffered a lot to become who he is now.]
*Aaron... System, can you tell me about his past?*
[Of course not. How can this System leak a Tester's secrets?]
*Stingy!*
[Anyway, please make a choice.]
[If the standby time is too long, this System will randomize it directly. This System can't guarantee what will happen then.]
*Tch, actually threatening me. I...*
*I'll choose, okay?*
*Let me think... Hmm, according to the explanation, high-tier templates seem to have bonuses in multiple aspects like skills and stats?*
[Yes. However, as a reward for you completing the Hidden Mission, this System can give you a bonus chance.]
[Because your draw chances this time already have one 'Extremely Significantly Increases Drop Rate for High-Tier Items, Skills, and Templates' and one 'Significantly Increases Drop Rate for High-Tier Items, Skills, and Templates,' this System can let you add that ordinary draw chance to convert the three chances into one Grand Prize draw chance.]
[And the so-called Grand Prizes are things that definitely cannot be drawn in normal draws.]
*Hmm... is this the limited pool Aaron mentioned?*
[Tester 233... clearly hasn't spent money on mobile games, yet he's been poisoned by gacha games to this extent... Forget it, he's right. Just understand it like that.]
*Then... forget it, let's do it. I want to draw a template!*
[Grand Prize Template Drawing... Loading...]
[Ding! Drawn Grand Prize Template — Dante (Devil May Cry)!]
The moment this template was drawn, Kiana seemed to see that figure she had seen once before.
That young man with white hair, dressed in red, fighting with a greatsword, dual guns, and various weapons, defeating one enemy after another, and finally protecting others time and time again.
Usually improper and unreliable, but when protecting others, he was more reliable than anyone in that world.
He liked to say nonsensical things, but in every battle, he feared no pain and chose to charge at the very front.
Watching battle after battle, Kiana froze.
Although she had never met the young man from a different world, at this moment, Kiana felt that this man was undoubtedly a hero fighting to protect others.
[Ask Miss Kiana Kaslana, do you choose to fuse this template?]
*...Fuse.*
*I want to become a warrior who fights for others, just like Mr. Dante and Stinky Dad!*
......................