Chapter 191: I Evaluate, I Liquidate, I Reclaim... All for the Amber Lord
In the game, Topaz's outfit was a near-perfect replica of the one she currently wore. And beside her, her little pet Warp Trotter, Numby, was present in all its adorable glory.
Topaz dragged the mouse to inspect the skill panel… "Mark a target, guiding follow-up attacks… When attacking a marked enemy, Numby will launch a coordinated strike?"
'So, I'm a core character for a follow-up team?' she mused. 'Or was I designed this way on purpose simply because I am Topaz?'
She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Here she was, still on a business trip in Belobog, but the game wasn't forcing her into a turn-based mode; it was real-time combat. And just like in her real life, her character's design revolved entirely around the core mechanic of "follow-up attacks."
She immediately added her digital self to the team and loaded into the combat trial.
On the screen, the virtual Topaz held a pistol in her left hand while her right gently stroked Numby. The little creature let out an excited oink, its hooves pawing lightly at the ground, looking eager for action.
"Professional team, standing by."
The corners of Topaz's mouth curled up slightly—the image possessed a unique and obvious charm.
She tried a basic attack first. Her in-game counterpart elegantly raised her pistol and fired a single, precise shot.
"Time to settle the account."
At her command, Numby moved, transforming into a streak of pink-gold light that slammed fiercely into the marked target, dealing a surprising amount of damage.
Hmm… Topaz vaguely felt that something was off.
Next, she activated her skill.
She watched as the Topaz in the game raised her right hand, but instead of issuing a command, she actually scooped up the round, bouncing Numby and hurled it forward with all her might.
Numby, now a projectile, slammed into the enemy like a living cannonball.
Topaz was speechless for a moment.
Although she was a high-ranking executive of the Interastral Peace Corporation and rarely visited the front lines to fight, even if she did… she would never throw Numby, right?
At that moment, the Ultimate energy bar filled. Topaz clicked the button.
In the next instant, her pupils contracted.
"I evaluate… I liquidate… I reclaim."
"I see the haze obscuring the sky, the storm sweeping through, clearing the clouds to reveal the warm yellow jade."
"All for the Amber Lord…"
Amidst the grand and solemn visual effects, the voice that rang out from the game was clear and powerful—and it was identical to her own.
'Ah, this… this is my foundation activation line.'
Topaz's eyes widened in stunned recognition. Each of the Ten Stonehearts possessed a corresponding foundation, and the one she held was, fittingly, "Topaz." When she used it, she could briefly access power that bordered on the level of an Emanator.
Now, that very dialogue had been lifted and placed directly into the game. A subtle sense of shame began to mingle with her dazed surprise.
Shouting those words on a real battlefield, as power erupted around her, was enough to make one's heart race with adrenaline. Hearing them in a game would surely make any player's blood boil with excitement.
But when the person hearing it was also the one shouting the line in the game… Topaz's mood became a complex cocktail of emotions. It felt inexplicably cool, yet she was also a little embarrassed. The two completely different feelings welled up in her heart at the same time.
Overall, however, she was actually… quite satisfied.
'Right, what about my skills in the turn-based mode? Are they the same?'
Topaz switched modes to check. The ability to swap between real-time combat and turn-based strategy at any time was a major feature of Honkai: Star Rail.
In the turn-based mode, her skill mechanics still revolved around follow-up attacks, and the Ultimate dialogue was exactly the same. Leon had indeed made some adjustments to the character of "Topaz." While the core mechanics hadn't changed much, the special effects were far more magnificent than the original version she knew from his past life.
After all, in the game from his previous world, most of Topaz's skill effects were concentrated on Numby. This wasn't visually prominent enough and didn't quite match the gravitas of her solemn dialogue. Leon had also planned to design similar exclusive lines for the other members of the Ten Stonehearts.
Of course, Topaz's skill mechanics had also been slightly tweaked. Numby's follow-up priority was raised to a normal level, so it wouldn't be so easily "cut in line" by other actions anymore. Leon had systematically canceled all the frustrating, intentionally restrictive designs from his previous life. As long as he didn't create extreme situations like a "Double Topaz perpetual motion machine," there was no need to deliberately annoy players with the mechanics.
He, for one, had certainly been disgusted by it in his past life.
Topaz was quite pleased with her character's performance, so she continued to progress through the story. She had been a witness to this next part of the content… after all, she was at the scene when it happened.
Sure enough, the plot soon progressed to the critical point: Stelle and Caelus, caught completely off guard, were pierced through the chest by a single massive ice spear. Impaled together, they fell straight down from the high precipice.
Immediately after, the two plummeted into the "Abyss of the Path." Topaz's interest was instantly piqued. She had been on-site, but she couldn't see what had transpired within that deep chasm.
Then, she saw the next scene play out.
"That brings up a question," Stelle chuckled, her voice carrying a hint of defiance. "Where exactly… is the orthodox Preservation?"
"The orthodox Preservation is, of course, on our Astral Express!" Caelus declared, holding his head high with absolute certainty.
Topaz: "…"
Her eye twitched slightly.
She could absolutely believe that Stelle and Caelus would say such things… but was it really appropriate to move those lines into the game verbatim?
But soon, the majestic, colossal figure of the Amber Lord vaguely appeared in the heavens above, casting a brief but potent glance downward.
In that instant, Stelle and Caelus simultaneously received the blessing of Preservation.
"Okay… pretend I said nothing."
Topaz silently took a sip of her coffee. With the Amber Lord's own "glance" as proof, even if someone within the Corporation had other designs on the Astral Express, they would have to think twice now.
After all, many tread the Path of Preservation, but those who could receive a personal blessing from Qlipoth himself… were few and far between.
Topaz's concern was not without merit.
There were indeed many people within the Corporation currently experiencing Honkai: Star Rail. Seeing the half-joking, half-serious dialogue between Stelle and Caelus in the story, many felt waves ripple through their hearts, their minds already churning with schemes. The higher-ups might disdain to personally "playtest" a game, but countless middle-level and grassroots employees seeking promotion kept their eyes wide open, desperate to capture any opportunity and accumulate "merit" from the smallest detail.
However… when the majestic outline of the Amber Lord vaguely manifested at the apex of the sky, when that "glance" that crossed the boundary between the virtual and the real truly descended, almost all of those hidden thoughts were quelled in the very same moment.
Flames of amber light rose into the sky.
Stelle, now holding a burning lance, descended from the Abyss upon a pillar of radiance. The scorching air currents evaporated the eternal frost and snow into a soaring white mist that blasted away to both sides.
Caelus gripped a greatsword that looked as if it were forged from heavenly fire, plunging down from the air like a burning mountain. The aftershocks of his landing swept across the wasteland, stirring up ice, sleet, and dust that blotted out the sun.
"…So cool!!"
At this very moment, the story progress of countless players was also reaching this key point.
Witnessing the heroic return of Stelle and Caelus from the Abyss of the Path, now clad in the blessing of Preservation, every viewer in front of a screen felt their heart surge with excitement.
Of course, what followed was a tide of envy and amazement that almost overflowed the screen.
"At Herta Space Station, they got a glance from Destruction…"
"How long has it been? And now in Belobog, they actually received the blessing of Preservation at the same time?!"
"This luck… no, is the journey of Trailblaze always like this?"
Discussions rose like a tidal wave.
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