"Chen Li, Chen Li, you seem really interested in the materials these Honkai Beasts leave behind when they die, right?"
"Yeah."
"Need my help?"
"No need. Just help me keep an eye out for any Honkai Beasts and Honkai Zombies in the city. Thanks for the trouble."
"No trouble at all. Chen Li, Chen Li, you introduced yourself as an outlander, right?"
"That's right. A wanderer who drifts between different worlds, and also a forger. If you have suitable materials, perhaps I can craft something for you. But miracles are not free; I must receive appropriate payment," Chen Li said, chatting with Elysia while collecting the materials dropped by the Honkai Beasts she had killed.
While luring away the vast majority of the Honkai Beasts, Elysia had also slain a great number of them.
Chen Li had already figured out how to introduce himself long before he even started forging his first Curio.
Simply concealing everything was not a viable strategy. One needed to have value to gain the investment of others.
Elysia's interest in Chen Li seemed to be remarkably high, and her questions were nonstop along the way.
Although Chen Li was initially a little wary of her, he couldn't hold out against Elysia's relentless charm offensive.
After all, what bad intentions could a pure girl like Elysia—who lived freely by the whims of her heart and embraced each day with sincerity and passion—possibly have?
But The Flame-Chasers could.
Therefore, Chen Li did not reveal his situation completely, only sharing some necessary information.
"Craft something for me? I also want a rose that never withers and can scatter countless petals at any time!" Elysia said, raising her hand.
"Erm, if you truly want a special item, I wouldn't recommend a rose," Chen Li said.
"Eh, why not? Don't you think a never-withering rose is a perfect match for a beautiful girl?"
"Because that doesn't create a miracle, so I would charge you more for it," Chen Li explained.
"A miracle?"
"Mhm. Out of the vast sea of people, I arrived in this world, and at the perfect time, I fell on the perfect Herrscher. Isn't that a miracle? I journey in pursuit of miracles, and I will only forge Items of Wonder."
To put it in simpler terms: forging a rose for Elysia wouldn't grant him any Crystals.
"Hmm… is that how you see it?"
"So I suggest that even if you gather enough materials, you shouldn't be in a hurry. For the sake of our friendship forged in battle, I will help you craft a Curio that suits you best," Chen Li said.
For the sake of the friendship where Elysia didn't steal his kill on the Herrscher of the Void…
"Then thank you!" Elysia seemed very happy with Chen Li's special consideration.
People often assume that the overly enthusiastic Elysia always harbors some kind of ill intent.
But if you were to cut through that pink exterior, you'd find it's still pink on the inside.
The reason Chen Li was willing to forge a Curio for Elysia was not only because she helped him kill Honkai Beasts and gave him the materials, or because the harmless Elysia was the most suitable first contact for him in this [Encounter] world. An important goal was also to harvest more "miracles."
A Curio wouldn't produce a miracle just by being held.
If Chen Li gave a suitable Curio to a suitable person and let that person use it to create a miracle, he could also gain Miracle Crystals.
This was the most conventional method of acquiring Miracle Crystals described in The Guide to Forging Curios.
Who ever heard of a forger going out to fight life-and-death battles to create miracles?
Since he had convenient things like Curios, of course he should give them to other people and let them create the miracles!
A qualified forger, even without leaving home, can have a 100% teamfight participation rate!
This was the true meaning behind the Curio Forger profession.
Otherwise, if Chen Li always had to personally create miracles, what difference was there between this system and the "unforged" Miracle System?
However, while this sounded simple, if a Curio was entrusted to the wrong person, it would naturally lead to disaster.
Just like the Miracle System of the past.
Therefore, in the process of a Curio Forger acquiring Miracle Power, forging the Curio isn't the hardest part; selecting a suitable user for it is.
However, the character of both Argenti and Elysia could be trusted.
Of course, the final right of interpretation for all Curios crafted by Chen Li belongs to Chen Li.
He could recall these Curios to the [Curio Vault] at any time.
Perhaps this function was also a result of the former Miracle System's frequent mistakes in entrusting its power to the wrong people.
"Oh, so this is your first time wandering to other worlds," Elysia said, nodding as if she understood, as she continued her conversation with Chen Li.
"Mhm."
"Answering my question so honestly, aren't you afraid I'll do something bad to you? Like, lock you up and make you forge Curios for me every day!" Elysia tried her best to put on a mischievous, ill-intentioned smile.
"Even I don't know where I'll be the next time I open my eyes, let alone you," Chen Li said casually.
According to The Guide to Forging Curios, his passive ability of accidentally ending up in another country just by walking might not have disappeared.
In fact, after being upgraded by the Miracle System, Chen Li might just walk his way into this world's distant past or far future.
"How boring."
"Alright, Elysia, didn't you say you were taking me back to The Flame-Chasers? Where's your transport?" Chen Li asked after he had finished a rough inspection of the materials.
"Eh? Didn't I tell you? My transport is hidden right near where you and the Herrscher of the Void fought," Elysia said, feigning surprise.
"…You never said a single word about it!"
"Ehehe~ I guess I just forgot."
"Then we have to go all the way back."
"No need. The place where the Herrscher of the Void was討伐 is just ahead."
"…So you admit it! you deliberately led me on a huge detour!"
"I was just too curious about why you fell from the sky. Besides, didn't you get to pick up a lot more materials?"
"Ahem…" Chen Li couldn't refute that.
Elysia had indeed given him a lot.
From that perspective, the Honkai world was truly worthy of being an [Encounter] world, perfectly suited for Chen Li to gather forging materials and obtain Miracle Power.
And this world was indeed a world in need of miracles.
[Herrscher of the Void Authority Model recorded. Current proficiency: 2%. Not recommended for use.]
A notification from the guide caught Chen Li's attention.
This notification seemed to have popped up once during the fight, but he hadn't dared to get distracted.
A section in the guide mentioned that when Chen Li came into close contact with users of time, space, and fate abilities, he could analyze their powers and temporarily use those authorities by spending Star Stones.
Crystals couldn't be obtained from thin air, but Star Stones could automatically regenerate over time, acting as Chen Li's "mana," so this was perfectly reasonable.
This was perhaps the reason why the top-tier time, space, and fate aptitude of a "Transmigrator," which had no active abilities of its own, could still produce a pure concentration of spacetime and fate energy like Star Stones.
Originally, Chen Li didn't have this characteristic, likely because he had never transmigrated before, and his Transmigrator profession level was still 0.
"Watching others use the corresponding ability can increase proficiency. Practicing it yourself can also increase proficiency. I should practice this later. But practice also costs Star Stones…"
The more Chen Li thought about it, the more he felt that the original intention of this characteristic probably wasn't for him to defeat his opponents, but to build good relationships with them.
"Tsk, where am I going to find a dumb and gullible Herrscher of the Void? I guess I'll just have to practice on my own."