In a way, Lunelle once again used his own insignificant little life as a male to personally experience just how difficult it was to merely survive—even by barely scraping by—as a boy in the Honkai world.
Yet what Lunelle didn't realize at that moment was that this taste of hardship as a "male" might, in some sense, also be the last time "he" would ever experience it in this lifetime.
'Damn it, my body's really starting to go numb. Is this it? Am I turning into a zombie?'
Right now, Lunelle watched as Honkai erosion patterns rapidly spread across his entire body.
His movements grew increasingly sluggish and difficult to control.
Even so, despite being covered in Honkai corruption marks, Lunelle found himself caught between tears and laughter—his consciousness remained oddly clear and sharp.
At this point, he seriously suspected that this darned Honkai Adaptability stat must have been poured entirely into his mental resilience instead.
However, having never directly faced Honkai before, Lunelle didn't understand the real reason he'd been corroded to this extent upon first contact.
It wasn't that the 21 points of Honkai Adaptability he'd worked so hard for were betraying him—it was just that the intensity of the Honkai Energy he'd encountered this first time was… well, a little too over-the-top.
After all, as mentioned earlier, Cocolia's arrangements were designed with absolute certainty to artificially create a cradle suitable for birthing a Herrscher.
So no matter how "low" the artificially guided Honkai discharge was, it still had to meet at least the minimum threshold required to catalyze a Herrscher's emergence.
And as luck would have it, the building Lunelle was staying in happened to be located right in the primary disaster zone—the area first and most heavily impacted when high-density Honkai energy spread.
To put it bluntly, Lunelle was now enduring Herrscher-level high-density Honkai corrosion head-on, with only a slightly annoying Honkai Adaptability stat to protect him.
Normally, a measly 21 points of Adaptability would have turned Lunelle into a zombie within three seconds upon exposure to this grade of Honkai energy.
But by chance, various permanent talents Lunelle possessed were now unexpectedly slowing down his full transformation into a zombie.
So, with his body not yet fully zombified and his mind still clear, Lunelle was actually given a slim chance to turn the tables.
After all, his golden-finger simulator resided deep within his consciousness—and right now, he still had one simulation run left unused!
'No matter what! Whatever terrifying price there might be—See-chan! Start the simulation!'
[Host command confirmed. Simulation starting…]
With his body teetering on the edge of zombification, feeling as if he might lose control at any second, Lunelle heard the simulator's prompt echo in his mind.
His consciousness smoothly slipped once more into the simulation's exclusive space.
Honestly, given the dire situation, Lunelle couldn't help but harbor a few unrealistic hopes after the simulation started.
Just like how protagonists in normal stories always manage a power-up at critical moments—even though he'd spent the last three days preparing only to face immediate failure over and over, surely this life-or-death simulation, this all-or-nothing gamble, would bring some special change this time?
Clutching this desperate hope, Lunelle once again took on the form of his beloved waifu, Seele.
For the seventh time, he arrived inside that shabby little cabin where, again and again, he'd been utterly overwhelmed a total of six times before.
And this time, straight after arriving, Lunelle truly did sense something unusual.
It was as if during the first six runs, he had entered Seele's body as a mere outsider, somewhat abruptly.
But now, Lunelle felt as though he had genuinely lived in this world for over a decade as Seele herself.
Of course, it might also have been because he'd died here six whole times.
But Lunelle was absolutely certain this time: upon landing, he felt an indescribable, strange sense of "belonging" in this place.
Afterward, just as in the first six runs, the all-too-familiar Cocoon of Finality and the Will of the Sea on the simulator screen once again fixed their attention on him…
'Since I really do see a difference this time, surely I can survive that first-death checkpoint that keeps wiping me out every run, right?'
Feeling that this simulation truly differed from any of the six instant-deaths before, Lunelle couldn't help but feel… just a little emotional.
Six times!
He'd been wiped out by that bullshit first-death mechanic a full six times!
Now, at last, he saw a tiny glimmer of hope.
Anyone in his shoes would have been moved to tears by now.
Too bad Lunelle, currently in a purely conscious state, couldn't shed actual tears—so all that emotion just had to stay bottled up for now.
The events that followed unfolded just as predictably as in the six previous failures: the Cocoon of Finality, ever the sneaky one, struck first, rushing forward to give Lunelle—disguised in Seele's form—a big, warm "hug."
And then…
[You died.]
Lunelle: ??????????
Well, yes…
Even though his real-world body was on the verge of zombification.
Even though Lunelle knew full well that failing this simulation would come with an unimaginably terrible price.
Even though Lunelle genuinely felt that his state in this simulation was clearly different from the previous six.
Even at this critical, no-room-for-failure moment, facing the embrace of the Cocoon of Finality, Lunelle still couldn't hold out for more than three seconds.
In the end, for the seventh time, Lunelle's consciousness was forcibly overwhelmed and erased because it wasn't pure enough.
Then the familiar simulation results screen popped up right in front of his face.
Especially when he saw the simulation summary description—now showing its true colors—Lunelle, who'd already seen it coming, couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.
'Heh, as expected… Things have reached this point. What was bound to come has finally arrived, hasn't it?'
--+--
[Simulation Evaluation: You once again went through the motions symbolically, changing nothing and no one. Yet at this moment, you do seem somewhat different from before.]
[Simulation Rating: F]
[Simulation Settlement: Host will pay the price—losing his little brother!]
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.