When Chen Li heard the "dreadful news" of Vill-V becoming an Emanator of Elation, he thought that had to be the limit. He never expected the messages that followed to be even more absurd, one after the other.
You Thirteen Flame-Chasers, every damn one of you is a real piece of work! To stir up this much trouble in a single day, I have to hand it to you!
He thought back to his own first day in the Honkai: Star Rail world... it wasn't this chaotic...
Even though upon his arrival, the Aeon of the Hunt had blasted him with a rocket and wiped out an entire planet's worth of Abundance prey, but... alright, Chen Li had to admit, they were six of one, half a dozen of the other.
"When I was chatting, I casually mentioned that Vill-V can learn anything she believes she can learn. I was trying to explain to the Aeon of Elation that Vill-V was a woman who could potentially become a member of the Genius Society. The point was to get the Aeon of Elation to mess with the Aeon of Erudition, not to turn Vill-V into an Emanator of Elation!"
Although, it had to be said, Vill-V, the original Confounder, was indeed a perfect fit for the Path of Elation.
Despite possessing endless talent, she insisted on believing she could do nothing and was just an ordinary person, yet the personas she fabricated for herself could accomplish anything... In a way, wasn't that a form of elation?
The difference between Vill-V and an ordinary Masked Fool was that the Fools deceived others for fun, while Vill-V deceived herself.
Vill-V's self-deception naturally didn't bring her elation, but it certainly brought elation to others who understood her. Of course, simple self-deception wouldn't have piqued the interest of the Aeon of Elation. Aha must have also noticed Vill-V's potential and talent... but regardless, this whole situation was just too ridiculous!
Ermm... perhaps Chen Li's reaction was also part of the show the Aeon of Elation wanted to see.
"What? Elysia embarked on the Path of Beauty just one day after arriving in this world and has already started something called the Trial of Pure Beauty?"
Even more flustered than Chen Li's disbelief over Vill-V becoming an Emanator was the doubt expressed by Herta, who was standing right next to him, about the possibility of Elysia becoming an Emanator of Beauty.
"Is it that you don't believe Beauty can have an Emanator?" Chen Li turned his head to look at Herta, who seemed to be a kindred spirit in his shock. Both of them had been hit hard by this series of news.
"You're an outsider, so it's normal that you don't know. The birth of every Aeon signifies the opening of a [Path]. Once a Path is opened, it cannot be closed. Even if the Aeon presiding over it falls, the Path remains open. Just like how the Astral Express can still traverse the stars even though the Aeon of Trailblaze has fallen. Back then, if the Aeon of Erudition hadn't glanced at me first, perhaps the universe would have one more Emanator of Beauty by now," Herta sighed.
"So you're saying Elysia's actions in this world caused her to resonate with the Path of Beauty, allowing her to draw a small amount of power from it? And as her resonance with Beauty grows, she'll naturally become an Emanator of Beauty?"
"Perhaps. Who can really understand the affairs of Aeons? It might be precisely because the Aeon of Beauty has fallen that Elysia has the opportunity to become an Emanator," Herta said with a shrug.
Different Aeons had different attitudes towards Emanators, so the degree to which they shared their power varied greatly. Some Aeons saw their Emanators as extensions of their own will, generously opening their Paths completely to them. Other Aeons had no intention of creating Emanators and had no interest in worldly conflicts. And then there were Aeons who acted on a whim, doing as they pleased. Some Aeons didn't care at all—the power was just there for the taking, if you had the ability!
"By the way, did Elysia say what this Trial of Pure Beauty is about? What does she have to do? And how did she even get on the Path of Beauty?" Herta asked curiously.
Herta was confident in her own beauty, so she felt the reason the Aeon of Beauty hadn't glanced at her first and made her an Emanator had absolutely nothing to do with her appearance, but some other factor.
"According to Elysia, she didn't do anything strange. She just chose to join the Divination Commission, and the people there took her on a tour of the entire Central Starskiff Haven, and then she embarked on the Path of Beauty. Along the way, Elysia would occasionally deliver letters for pharmacies, send flowers to bookstores, and arrange seeds for flower shops out of interest," Chen Li said after glancing at the chat log.
It was worth mentioning that the person who took Elysia on a tour of Central Starskiff Haven was Qingque. After choosing the Divination Commission, Elysia's first target had been Fu Xuan, but Fu Xuan was busy and pawned the task off on Qingque.
"..." Herta had to admit, she felt a little triggered.
On what grounds? This Elysia was quite a character. Just like that Sushang who didn't even know how to write the four characters for "Gubo Algorithm," she was quite a character!
"I told you, the members in the Curio group chat are all talented people, and they're great conversationalists. You should be more active in the group," Chen Li said.
As far as Chen Li knew, among the Genius Society members he had pulled into the Friends Circle, only Screwllum occasionally participated in the Curio group discussions. Ruan Mei remained silent, only occasionally sending some pastries as red envelopes to mark her presence while lurking. As for Stephen and Herta, they had left almost no trace in the group chat.
Stephen was socially anxious, everyone knew that. As for Herta... perhaps because she couldn't tell if these people were interesting through a screen, she was too lazy to waste her time.
This "Pure Beauty shock" from Elysia could be a turning point for Herta.
Chen Li didn't care if Herta socialized or not; he was just after her "chat logs." Loading the chat logs of different people as barrage ammunition produced different effects.
"I get it. I'll go check out the group and see what kind of talents are in there." After the precedent set by Haruhi Suzumiya, Herta thought she had a deep enough understanding of the Curio group. She never expected there to be a subordinate as valiant as Elysia to shock her so profoundly.
"What are you going to do about these people?" Herta stood on her tiptoes, looking at Chen Li's chat screen alongside him.
To avoid looking like a fool standing there stunned all by himself, Chen Li chose to pull Herta into the shock with him, so he shared his screen.
"No need to worry about Vill-V. She has her reasons for willingly accepting the power to become an Emanator. No need to worry about Elysia either; becoming an Emanator of Beauty doesn't seem to be a bad thing, and it aligns perfectly with her path. The key is that the Aeon of Beauty has already fallen... And there's even less need to worry about Mobius, because the leader of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus is actually my subordinate. The same goes for Sakura, of course... what accomplished swordmaster comes to the Xianzhou and doesn't beat up Yanqing?"
"This Yanqing you speak of... sounds like quite a character."
"He certainly is. I'd like to have a spar with him myself..." Chen Li nodded.
"But after listening to you for so long, it feels like you don't plan to manage any of this."
"They're all just projections. What's there to manage? Worst case, they die," Chen Li said nonchalantly.
"Then will their powers as Emanators be inherited? For example, after Elysia's projection ends and she is summoned again, can she continue the Trial of Pure Beauty?" As a genius, Herta's professional habit of wanting to probe the truth of everything flared up again.
"How would I know? Like you said, I'm just an outsider," Chen Li blinked innocently.
"...Since you have nothing to do right now, you might as well help me forge my Curio," Herta said, tugging on Chen Li's sleeve.
"But I have to go home for dinner."
"What home? A bunch of your little companions aren't going home, so why do you have to?"
"Because there are still other companions waiting for me at home." While renewing the projections for his several friends, Chen Li also notified their real bodies.
[Because your projections have all gotten into trouble, they won't be coming home for dinner for the time being.]
"Let them wait a little longer. You probably haven't forged any Curios today, have you?"
"I did this morning."
"That was this morning. Your energy should be overflowing by now, right? You've been holding it in all day. Let me help you release it."
"???"
Theoretically, yes.
Because after Chen Li forged [What If], his Curio Forger level had risen to Lv. 4, instantly refilling his consumed energy. Coupled with not having forged any Curios all afternoon, his energy was indeed overflowing.
But... Herta, your words sound so weird.
"And this time, I'm not going for a random Curio. I want you to help me forge a Curio that can arrange a meeting with anyone. How about it?" Herta asked Chen Li.
"You want to combine this Curio with [Then I Ask You], don't you?" Chen Li instantly understood Herta's idea.
"Exactly!" Herta nodded.
"No problem." This time, Chen Li agreed readily.
Because once Herta had a clear goal, the commission system also kicked in, specifying the basic rewards for forging this Curio. Plus, Chen Li might have a use for this Curio himself in the future.
[Invitation]: Help Herta forge a Curio that can arrange a meeting with anyone.Issuer: HertaReward: 20~60 CrystalsRisk: Low~Medium
A purely random forging commission couldn't offer rewards because it was too random, but as long as there was a clear objective, there was no problem.
"And as compensation for changing the forging objective on a whim, I certainly won't be taking the 30 Star Stones. As for the materials needed for this Curio, you can pick anything you want from within the Herta Space Station," Herta said.
"I have to say, this is the most pleasant forging commission I've ever received," Chen Li nodded.
Herta was not only offering a hefty reward, but she was also providing the materials... the entire Herta Space Station could serve as his forge.
"Just you watch, Herta." Brimming with confidence, Chen Li began to survey the Herta Space Station.
Heh, let's go find our "Mickey Mouse tools" in the Herta Space Station!
---o---