Jiang Mo's eyes snapped open. A burning itch rose in his throat, and he coughed violently. His vision filled with the familiar dirty, narrow alley of Belobog's Underworld. The immense power of the Aeon of "Unification," which had commanded trillions of insects and devoured stars, had vanished completely, without a trace.
In its place, the familiar gnawing hunger once again burned his stomach. A single piece of moldy bread was far from enough to fill the belly of a child who hadn't eaten in three days. The stark contrast between the two realities left him feeling dazed.
"Damn... that was intense," he cursed under his breath, pressing his temples.
But he had to admit, the first simulation was incredibly satisfying. He had experienced what it was like to be an Aeon, even if the style became a bit strange at the end. The result was good. Although he was beaten down once by those cheating protagonists, he managed a comeback from the brink of death, fused with the power of Propagation, and fed them all to his insects! That's what a villain should be! So satisfying!
Of course, the most important thing was the Villain Points!
"System, settle the rewards!"
The cold, mechanical voice promptly sounded in his mind.
[Overall Rating for this Simulation: Cosmos-Ending Level!]
[Evaluation: You conquered the universe but ultimately lost yourself. When the locusts of Order became an inevitable plague that swept the cosmos, your role as a villain became meaningless. Whether people resisted or not, they could only accept that ending. You brought them into a beautiful dream, yet they did not thank you. Your sister, Robin, came to despise you for becoming an Aeon... When people were reunited with their families in the dream, she was the only one who had lost her brother forever.]
[Evaluation Reward: Villain Points +1000.]
[Final Tally: A total of 3000 Villain Points were obtained in this simulation.]
[Simulation rewards have been calculated.]
[Based on the simulation's rating, the Host will receive one opportunity to permanently redeem one of the three initial Traits [Gold or below] for free, and can use Villain Points to redeem other Traits or items that appeared in this simulation.]
[View reward list and redeem now?]
"View!" Jiang Mo said without hesitation. The translucent interface before him refreshed, displaying the reward list.
[Free Trait (Choose One of Three):]
[Genius on the Left (Purple): A genius on the left, a madman on the right. You perceive the world differently from ordinary people, making it easier for you to see through the logic and loopholes behind rules, contracts, and systems. You excel at identifying and exploiting the weaknesses of others.]
[Redemption Cost: 4500 Villain Points.]
[Silver-Tongued (Blue): You are a natural at charming people with your words and excel at twisting black into white. It is easier for you to incite others, and harder for your deception to be seen through.]
[Redemption Cost: 2500 Villain Points.]
[Trait Devourer (Gold): When you personally kill a target, you have a certain chance to capture one of their random Traits. Captured Traits are temporary (lasting several hours to several days), but there is a chance they can become permanent. You can choose to equip the captured Trait to your own template.]
[Redemption Cost: 20000 Villain Points.]
Is this even a choice? [Silver-Tongued] and [Genius on the Left] were great, one blue and one purple. But compared to the golden [Trait Devourer]? They were small fry! Killing, looting, and stealing others' abilities to grow infinitely! How could a villain go without this? It has to be this one!
[Selection confirmed. Gold Trait [Trait Devourer] has been permanently loaded to the Host's template.]
A strange sensation flowed through his body... as if something new had been added. Jiang Mo nodded in satisfaction and turned his attention to the paid redemption list.
[Redeemable Traits from this Simulation:]
[Gambler's Luck (Purple)]
[Captured from: Aventurine]
[Effect: When undertaking high-risk actions, you can forcibly increase the success rate by 50%. However, the consequences of failure may be doubled. Note: The original success rate cannot be lower than 10% (Cooldown: 48 hours).]
[Redemption Cost: 5000 Villain Points.]
[Ambush (Blue)]
[Effect: Enhances the next attack, dealing very high additional damage with a chance to apply a defense-down debuff.]
[Redemption Cost: 2000 Villain Points.]
[Stellaron Essence (Purple)]
[Captured from: Stelle]
[Effect: You have a Stellaron in your body. Specific abilities are unknown, but if you die, you can blow up the surrounding planet with you.]
[Redemption Cost: 10000 Villain Points.]
[Severing Slash (Red)]
[Captured from: Acheron]
[Effect: Drains 99% of your stamina and mental energy to deliver a slash that tears reality itself, with a high probability of directly erasing the target's existence (Effect is reduced against Emanator-level beings and above).]
[Redemption Cost: 30000 Villain Points.]
[The Swarm (Red)]
[Source: Propagation]
[Effect: Summons a limitedly proliferating swarm of Imaginary insects (Initial: 50, Max: 500). The swarm's attacks apply 'Infection.' Unlucky souls killed by the swarm have a 10% chance of becoming new insects.]
[Redemption Cost: 40000 Villain Points.]
Jiang Mo's eyes were glued to the list, especially the two glaringly red Traits. Holy crap! Severing Slash? Acheron's ultimate?! And The Swarm? A Trait from Propagation is available too?! But... one is thirty thousand, the other is forty thousand... My points aren't even enough for a down payment!
He reluctantly tore his gaze away from the red Traits and looked at the others. Including the 30 points he got from the thugs earlier, he now had a total of 3030 Villain Points. He couldn't afford the red ones. Even the purple [Stellaron Essence] was a pipe dream at ten thousand. The only ones he could afford were the blue [Silver-Tongued] for 2500 and [Ambush] for 2000. [Ambush] was good for a surprise attack, but that was it. [Silver-Tongued], on the other hand, didn't seem to have a usage limit or cooldown, making it more like a passive skill. Hmm... in terms of practicality, this one seems far more useful and frequently applicable than Ambush. I'll take it.
[Confirm redemption of Blue Trait [Silver-Tongued]. 2500 Villain Points consumed.]
[[Silver-Tongued] has been permanently loaded to the Host's template.]
[Host Status Panel:]
[Name: Jiang Mo]
[Physique: 2]
[Strength: 3]
[Agility: 3]
[Charisma: 4]
[Loaded Permanent Traits: Trait Devourer (Gold), Silver-Tongued (Blue), Berserk (Blue)]
[Remaining Villain Points: 530]
Of course. Here is a professional translation of the provided chapters, adapted for a smooth and natural reading experience in English. The translation maintains the specific terminology and nuances of the Honkai: Star Rail universe for an international audience.
Looking at his meager remaining Villain Points and his pathetic physical stats—apart from a slight boost in Charisma—the corner of Jiang Mo's mouth twitched.
One redemption had sent him right back to square one. With only 530 points left, he couldn't afford any of the other Traits.
Still, successfully redeeming two permanent Traits, one Gold and one Blue, made it all worthwhile. Especially [Trait Devourer]. As long as he could keep killing, he could keep getting stronger. It was a god-tier Trait.
Next up… Now that he had these abilities, he was different. He had to find something to eat, and fast.
Jiang Mo licked his chapped lips, pushed himself off the cold wall, and staggered to his feet. A chilly wind blew through the alley, carrying the stench of blood mixed with rust and mold. He frowned. He couldn't stay here long.
But just then, one of the figures on the ground began to stir!
My patreon.com/BOB_Davinchi
Honkai: Star Rail: I the Major Villain 45
Type-Moon Demon King, Wrecked Ereshkigal for Loot Right from the Start 47