In the vast underground palace, silence reigned.
The pale silver Ruin Hunter, its rusted cracks flaking and falling away, gradually lit up at the core—its single eye.
Unlike the Ruin machines Ji An had seen before, its eye wasn't yellow but emitted a crimson glow.
Man and machine stared quietly at each other.
Ji An didn't speak.
The Ruin Hunter certainly wouldn't either.
"Um, well..."
Ji An scratched his head, unsure what to say. He really had no experience communicating with robots.
He had recognized it now—this Ruin Hunter, called 'Princess', was the prototype model from the simulator life, the one the artisan had created using his daughter's flesh and blood.
Just then, the system's prompt tone sounded.
[Ding. Due to the 'Perfect' overall rating achieved in the previous simulated life, the system has been upgraded to LV2.]
[Talent Panel function unlocked.]
[Special Geographic Scan function unlocked.]
The system upgraded?
Ji An's spirits lifted. "System, view the Talent Panel."
A virtual panel appeared in his mind:
[Host Name: Ji An
Talent Skills:
Hilichurl Storm Axe Art (Gray)
Hilichurl Language Primary Proficiency (Gray)
Ancient Mechanism Specialization (Purple)
Ancient Alchemy Specialization (Gold)
Exclusive Bonds:
[I Feel Like I've Seen You Somewhere Before: ...] (Purple)
[The Mechanical Princess Won't Be Hurt: The maiden who became a machine will not be hurt by anyone anymore—except for you.] (Gold)
In the previous life simulator game, the talent colors represented rarity.
Although the system mechanics were somewhat different, Ji An—having played many gacha mobile games before crossing over—understood roughly at a glance.
Gray was probably the weakest, equivalent to the junk items included free in a ten-pull summon. Then Purple was rarer than Gray, and Gold rarer than Purple.
But he didn't know yet if there were other rarity levels in between.
Ji An's gaze fell on the two talent skills.
Ancient Mechanism Specialization and Ancient Alchemy Specialization were the rewards he received for entering Immersion Mode.
He focused his thoughts, and related knowledge of the skills appeared in his mind.
A moment later, a look of pleasant surprise spread across his face.
As expected of Gold and Purple skills, their practicality and power far surpassed the Gray ones.
Damn it, what kind of trash is the Hilichurl Storm Axe Art Method!
The effect of Ancient Mechanism Specialization mainly involved knowledge of various mechanisms and machinery, which wasn't easy to test for now.
But Ancient Alchemy Specialization could be used immediately.
The information in his mind indicated that Ancient Alchemy Specialization was at LV 1 and had a sub-skill: Arcane synthesis.
"Synthesize!"
Ji An raised his hand; elements and matter gathered within his palm.
Then, a delicate white flower with pale yellow stamens materialized out of thin air in his hand, swaying slightly and emitting a faint fragrance.
Ji An's eyes widened involuntarily. He might not understand this world's alchemy well, but he knew quality when he saw it.
This was... creating life from nothing.
This Ancient Alchemy was way too overpowered.
After his excitement calmed, Ji An looked at the special bond [The Mechanical Princess Won't Be Hurt]. The description wasn't very straightforward.
But based on the wording, he could infer that this Ruin Hunter might obey his commands.
A thought occurred to Ji An, and information about it surfaced again:
Prototype Ruin Hunter (Princess)
Special: Heart of Man [Upgradable Core (Lv1)]
Talent: Mechanical Princess (Max)
Energy Status: 13%
Special Energy Reserve: None
Energy was still at 13% better than Ji An had expected, considering how long it had been dormant.
He just didn't know how to replenish its energy.
Then, Ji An's gaze shifted to the Ruin Hunter's crimson eye.
The Human Heart... So this was the core created by that artisan using his daughter's heart.
Ji An pondered for a moment, then tentatively reached out a hand toward the Ruin Hunter.
"..."
"No reaction."
The silver Ruin Hunter hovered dumbly in the air, completely ignoring him.
Ji An frowned.
"Strange, I can clearly feel a connection to it, a very special sensation. I can even sense its subtle emotions..."
Wait a minute—emotions...?
An idea struck Ji An. He walked up to the Ruin Hunter and gently stroked its eye.
He called out softly, "Herloxia."
Hearing his words, the silver Ruin Hunter finally reacted.
Its red eye flickered, bright and dim, like a young girl just waking from a dream, bleary-eyed.
After its focus wandered for a moment, it settled on Ji An.
"Chirp... chirp chirp."
A faint, almost inaudible chirping sound came from its body, as if trying to tell Ji An something.
Even though it was a machine,
Ji An could sense the sorrow and attachment in its sound.
For some reason, his nose tingled with unshed tears.
Ji An took a deep breath and saw the small white flower in his hand.
An idea came to him.
"Herloxia, come closer to me, um... lower your head."
He gently placed the small white flower on the Ruin Hunter's head.
The Ruin Hunter's chirping grew quieter.
It seemed somewhat at a loss.
Ji An smiled. "Herloxia, it's time for us to leave."
Before the great door of the Nine Pillars of Peace underground palace.
Ji An withdrew his hand.
"Arcane Synthesis isn't working. The palace's materials seem to have some kind of restriction."
He looked at Herloxia beside him.
"It seems we can only break the door physically. Herloxia, it's up to you."
"Chirp!"
Herloxia moved before the stone door, its red eye glowing brightly as two cannon barrels extended from its back.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ji An watched, dumbfounded.
Herloxia's cannons, carrying terrifying force, fired like machine guns—relentlessly.
The ultimate expression of violent artistry!
In the blink of an eye,
The heavy stone door, imbued with restrictions, was left pitted and scarred a miserable sight.
"This is... true artillery bombardment, isn't it?"
When Ji An had traveled with Shenhe before, he had witnessed Ruin Guards in combat.
But their cannons fired a maximum of six shots at a time and required a long reload period. Their combat style was completely different from Herloxia's.
No wonder that artisan back then, even after creating the Field Tillers and Ruin Hunters, was still far from satisfied with their power.
So, this was the prototype of the ultimate weapon he envisioned.
Ji An marveled inwardly.
And most importantly, Herloxia had the The Human Heart core and could be upgraded further.
Given time, it might truly be able to rival the gods, as the artisan had said...
Just then, A loud crash came from behind.
Ji An started, turned, and saw that the shockwaves from the earlier bombardment had cracked the palace's stones, causing three Ruin Guards to fall down.
Moreover, they were slowly activating—their yellow single eyes gradually lighting up.
"Herloxia, behind you!"
Ji An couldn't help but warn.
Although Herloxia's firepower was strong, the Ruin Guards' strength lay not only in their cannons but also in their immense mechanical power and incredibly sturdy bodies.
Unless absolutely necessary, he didn't want Herloxia to take risks.
"Zzzzt—"
The Ruin Guards behind emitted the grating sound of gears as they advanced menacingly.
"Arcane Synthesis!"
Ji An took a deep breath, and a long axe materialized in his hand. Against such large machines, blunt weapons were more effective.
Using the Hilichurl Storm Axe Art, even if he couldn't defeat the Ruin Guards, he could at least help Herloxia by drawing some fire.
He hefted the axe only to find Herloxia positioning itself in front of him.
The three aggressively approaching Ruin Guards slowed their pace as they neared Herloxia.
Their yellow eyes flickered, bright and dim, as if confused.
Herloxia hovered quietly in the air, its red eye fixed on them. Because it was flying, there was a sense of it looking down upon them.
Then something happened that surprised Ji An.
The Ruin Guards actually began to bow, lowering their heads toward Herloxia, as if paying homage to their King.
"No...More accurately, their Princess."
Suddenly, Ji An understood, realizing the effect of Herloxia's other talent.
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A/n: Hey over on my patreon there are currently two for the time being exclusive books which are
Zenless Zone Zero: Loving Daily Life Starting in New Eridu
Honkai Impact 3rd, I Can Transform into a Valkyrie!
patreon.com/deadlygoober