The next morning, Kiana woke up early, even without a bed. She carefully climbed down from the wooden treehouse she had built herself and immediately felt a good mood bubbling up. Today was the day she would draw the guaranteed supply—why wasn't she bouncing with excitement?
She pulled the phone from her chest. After completing the daily task of collecting gold coins from the refinery, she slipped it back into her pocket and wandered a few steps away.
"Here… Ai-chan shouldn't be able to see this, right?" Kiana whispered, her expression betraying a sense of mischief.
Yes, it was that favorability system she had gotten addicted to—her daily self-indulgence. After a month of training, she had finally maxed out Crimson Armor's favorability. Now, she was brushing up the realm armor's stats, and… well, Kiana's hands found their own fun.
She could feel herself getting carried away, cheeks flushing hot as her body shivered. The sensation built until she finally collapsed weakly against the tree, panting.
"Captain seems… to be having a good time! Ai-chan came over to say hello, but I'm heading back to my elder sister!"
Ai-chan's voice rang suddenly from the tree above, and Kiana's face went pale. She'd been caught!
"Mingming Ai-chan warned the captain. If you keep this up, Ai-chan will just leave. Seems like your memory isn't that long, huh?"
"No, don't leave, Ai-chan! I… I promise there won't be a next time!" Kiana cried, fumbling for her phone. Naturally, her sticky hands left marks all over it.
Zzzii! A flash of electricity shot from the phone, and Kiana yelped, letting go as a puff of black smoke escaped her mouth.
"You idiot. Wash your hands first, then wipe Ai-chan down with a handkerchief!"
"Following orders, Aijiang-sama!" Kiana muttered, groaning as she obeyed.
Half an hour later, Ai-chan finally forgave her and settled back in Kiana's chest.
Kiana was ready for today's mission. She would fight using White Training Armor—the Kiana series armor. It would have been great to have other Kiana series armors, but sadly, she only had the one.
From a previous supply, she had acquired a basic three-star pistol: Fire Fairy Type II. It had saved her countless times when she needed to start a fire. High attack power, some elemental potential—though not amazing, it was more than enough. Its main strength was its skill.
Flame Burst: consumes 12 SP, 250-second cooldown, fires explosive grenades dealing 48% of attack power in physical damage within the blast radius, and inflicts fire elemental damage every few seconds for three seconds. Can be charged twice.
This gun had been a lifesaver. Without it, Kiana had burned through an entire month of crystals just trying to keep a fire alive. Wood wasn't always easy to find, and bad weather—ten days of light rain in a month—kept putting out her flames. Raw meat wasn't an option either; after all, she came from a civilized world. When she finally replaced the thermal cutting blade with Fire Fairy II, Kiana nearly cried. Sixty crystals gone… a prodigal expenditure.
The Fire Fairy II had already been upgraded to level 25. Unlike the Pulse Taidao, a dual-wield weapon like this could be generally useful and easily strengthened.
The Pulse Taidao itself had reached four stars. As a fully maxed initial three-star weapon, it could no longer improve, but its attack power was more than sufficient for now. No creature on the island could withstand its strike, and any enemy locked in a skill attack would inevitably perish. Though, she still wondered about the super-level threats deeper in the island—the red dots on her map had already reached 35. If any of them hit her, it could be fatal.
As for stigmata, Kiana had only managed a set of low-level, two-star stigmata. Useful for a tiny boost in HP or attack, but basically negligible. No three-star stigmata yet—a real handicap.
She had gathered fragments, though. Four more for Bailian armor to reach A-level. Crimson Armor needed just one more fragment. Chariot Armor… fifteen more fragments. Upgrading B to A required X fragments; A to S, Y fragments; S to SS, Z fragments; SS to SSS, W fragments. Exceptions existed, like the Yae Sakura series. Upgrading armor unlocked more skills and improved basic stats such as attack, speed, and weight.
With the Fire Fairy II in hand, Kiana located a lone red dot and unleashed its explosive power.
Bang! The grenade detonated near the enemy, blowing a nearly three-meter-deep crater within a five-meter radius. Flames roared, consuming the foe instantly—no screams, no mercy.
"Done. Two more to go."
Kiana scanned the surroundings, seeking the next red dot.