[Ding! Starting simulator binding…]
[Binding successful!]
[Congratulations, host Lunelle, on successfully binding the "Seele Simulator."]
As the crisp notification tone echoed in his consciousness, Lunelle's previously disoriented spirit finally settled firmly into his body along with the simulator's binding.
His bodily sensations still lingering on the moment before death, Lunelle felt a cold sweat instantly soak through his clothes.
His eyes shot open in reflexive terror, and he bolted upright from the bed.
"Huh? An illusion? I'm clearly still alive and well. But why does it feel like… I've already died once?"
With the tangible threat of death now receding, the intensely anxious Lunelle gradually calmed down from his post-survival tension.
Feeling as if he'd just narrowly escaped with his life, Lunelle finally had the spare mental energy to survey his surroundings after steadying his nerves.
Realizing he'd suddenly appeared in a completely unfamiliar environment, and recalling the vague perception of some simulator binding notification earlier—
"Could it be… I've transmigrated?"
The thought of the legendary "isekai" experience naturally came to mind.
And it wasn't without reason.
Because in Lunelle's still-scattered memories, the recollection of having died not long ago was still vividly fresh!
Although Lunelle's cause of transmigration wasn't the classic "truck-kun's fault."
In his memory, just a few minutes ago, Lunelle—a devoted Seele fan—was pulling in the Herrscher of Life and Death gacha.
Playing his beloved Honkai Impact 3rd, he casually did a ten-pull, just building pity as usual.
Wanting to avoid hitting hard pity this time, he'd habitually declared in his guild chat: "If I get Seele in this ten-pull, I'll cosplay as her!"
But what happened next was something Lunelle never could've dreamed of in his wildest nightmares.
That ten-pull actually—unbelievably—yielded ten Seele cards in a row!!!
And they were all S-rank, not A-rank!
Perhaps this godly pull completely drained Lunelle's remaining lifespan…
The next instant, the phone he'd been playing on while charging suddenly—poof!—exploded violently, achieving a double kill right then and there!
This sudden explosion, replacing the yet-to-appear isekai truck-kun, instantly sent the lifespan-overdrawn Lunelle straight to another world.
Which is why, upon regaining consciousness in this new world, Lunelle immediately felt as if he'd just died all over again.
And as soon as Lunelle realized he'd transmigrated…
A somewhat childlike, milky electronic voice suddenly bubbled up in his consciousness.
[Hello, host! I am the simulator spirit, See-chan. At your service.]
"Hm? Simulator spirit?"
Noticing See-chan speaking in his mind—likely a basic ability that came with being bound to the simulator—Lunelle instantly and intuitively grasped how to communicate telepathically with the spirit, despite having zero prior experience.
"So… See-chan, is it? Can you tell me what kind of world I've transmigrated into?"
[The host is in the Honkai world. Current location: a modest residential area in the outskirts of Nagazora City, Far East.]
"Ah? The Honkai world? That's… a bit rough."
Learning the specifics from the system, Lunelle—who was decent-looking but not exceptionally handsome—felt a wave of bitterness.
As someone fairly familiar with Honkai's general setting, Lunelle knew all too well how hostile and malicious a Honkai-type world could be toward males!
In the Honkai world, unless a male character had some kind of elder or mentor halo, getting involved with the main cast almost never ended well for them!
After all, the series' reputation as "Honkai (yuri)" isn't unfounded.
He just didn't know whether he'd landed in Guns GirlZ or Honkai Impact 3rd.
"See-chan? Can you tell me if this is Guns GirlZ or Honkai Impact 3rd?"
With that thought, Lunelle promptly asked.
The answer made him incredibly tense…
Given the choice, Lunelle would definitely prefer Honkai Impact 3rd.
In the Guns GirlZ setting, even the main cast with their protagonist halos all died at least once in the first-round main story.
That tragic plot had been criticized more than once—apparently, the happiest ending was the main cast dying together!
Meanwhile, in Honkai Impact 3rd, although the story seemed to kill off characters left and right, strictly speaking, about seventy to eighty percent of those "deaths" were clearly fake-outs.
Aside from a few necessary sacrifices for the protagonists' growth, most "deaths" weren't truly final before the coffin was nailed shut—who knows, they might come back to life the next second!
Just look at a certain Mr. Welt Yang, famed for his "Yang Sit-ups," who died and came back who-knows-how-many times, and is now openly working a side gig in the Honkai: Star Rail production!
Or the latest Chapter 1.5 plot, which seemed to wipe out the whole team—but by the end, it only became "a world where only Hare gets hurt."
These are all classic examples of "fake-out deaths."
So comparatively, even if the Honkai Impact 3rd world is still pretty hostile toward males,
next to Guns GirlZ's "everyone dies in Round One" hellish difficulty, Lunelle couldn't help but feel the Honkai Impact 3rd world seemed just a tiny bit friendlier!
Considering he'd been exploded to death after pulling an impossibly lucky gacha in Honkai Impact 3rd, karma-wise, it felt more fitting for Lunelle to land in that world.
[Searching… Please wait…]
[The host's transmigrated world is categorized under the Honkai Impact 3rd partition.]
"Whew! Good… thank goodness it's Honkai Impact 3rd!"
Lunelle let out a sigh of relief upon hearing See-chan's confirmation.
But soon he remembered he was currently in Nagazora City—a high-risk zone in any Honkai world.
Knowing the general plot direction, Lunelle was certain there had to be some scheme behind reviving him specifically here.
Still, seeing the room intact with working electricity, Lunelle guessed the current timeline was likely before the opening events of Honkai Impact 3rd—specifically, before Cocolia's plan to artificially trigger the Third Honkai Eruption in Nagazora City to awaken the Herrscher of Thunder and retrieve it.
But exactly how long before wasn't something Lunelle could determine just by guessing.
So before danger came knocking, confirming the current story progression was absolutely crucial!
"See-chan? Can you determine how much time is left before Cocolia makes her move in Nagazora City?"
[Based on system calculations, approximately three days remain until the event the host is thinking of occurs.]
"What? Only three days!?"
Hearing that the Honkai outbreak was just three days away, Lunelle's previously active mind now felt a bit crushed.
When he realized his "starter village" was Nagazora City, Lunelle, knowing the general plot, naturally considered using his foreknowledge as a transmigrator to stir things up early.
For example, he clearly remembered that two to three months before the Third Honkai Eruption, Raiden Mei's father, Ryoma Raiden, was imprisoned.
And in the one to two months after that, the suddenly fatherless Mei endured school bullying and social isolation.
This triggered the awakening of her Herrscher persona while also indirectly starting her journey as the "dorm cook."
But precisely because the once-proud Raiden Princess was cast down by bullying, a certain white-haired cat-like girl found the chance to get close and eventually win over both Mei and her inner Herrscher.
So if Lunelle had arrived more than three months before the Third Honkai Eruption, he felt he'd have had a decent shot at raising Mei's affection.
Showing up to offer help when she was at her lowest might've raised some initial suspicion, but given Mei's somewhat saintly early personality, over time—even if he couldn't exactly steal Mei from Kiana—becoming a good friend should've been possible, right?
And with that friendship, when the Honkai outbreak happened, surely the kind-hearted Mei would've let him cling to her for protection, right?
As a certain Far East saying goes:
"Raiden Mei, you wouldn't want the friend who helped you at your lowest to die horribly in the Honkai, would you?"
Unfortunately, with only three days left, it was far too short.
He probably wouldn't even have time to get acquainted, and there was a high chance any approach would be seen as suspicious.
So Lunelle's "cling-to-the-main-cast" plan was pretty much scrapped.
After all, the current Lunelle wasn't even a "pretty boy" type.
Thinking of the original plot, Lunelle couldn't help but feel genuinely envious of a certain Bronya's circumstances.
Whether in Guns GirlZ or Honkai Impact 3rd, Bronya initially appeared as an enemy, directly fighting the main cast!
Yet despite being mortal enemies moments before, in less than an hour after meeting, the clearly hostile Bronya just… smoothly joined the trio's team.
She even gained the main cast's trust almost unconditionally.
Why?
Simply because Bronya was adorable—so adorable she stirred Mei's maternal protective instincts.
If you replaced her with someone not cute, and they lost the fight, believe it or not, that dumb "Paramecium" Kiana would probably smash their skull in with her bat!
"Forget it. At least it's not three hours or three minutes. Three days still leaves some room to maneuver."
Lunelle definitely couldn't replicate Bronya's "instantly join the main cast with just my face" move.
At most, he could only sourly sigh once more about the unfairness of the Honkai world toward males and leave it at that.
Still, Lunelle wasn't completely without other advantages.
After all, he did have a cheat ability, right?
"See-chan? What functions does this… 'Seele Simulator' have? Is it like those life restart simulators where you start with a ten-pull and keep talents?"
As an anime-loving otaku, aside from mobile games, Lunelle had read plenty of simulator-type novels and played similar games.
As long as this simulator wasn't from certain shady sources, and as long as he wasn't forcibly dumbed down by mysterious forces turning this into one of those wish-fulfillment novels, things should be fine!
Unfortunately, Lunelle, happily imagining the future, remained completely unaware that his simulator was indeed from that particular source!
Upon receiving Lunelle's inquiry, the simulator spirit See-chan began explaining the basics in a seemingly reliable manner.
[This simulator allows the host to don the guise of "Seele" and project their consciousness into various simulated worlds.]
[By successfully romancing or altering the fate of story characters for a high rating, the host will receive talent rewards related to the romanced characters, based on the simulation's evaluation level.]
"Wait? Play the role of 'Seele'? You mean I have to be Seele in the simulation worlds?"
[That's essentially correct, host.]
"Hah? I, Lunelle, a full-grown man! You want me to roleplay as my waifu 'Seele'? I refuse!!!"
Hearing the simulator spirit's reply, the devoted Seele fan Lunelle was immediately offended!
After all, as a dedicated Seele fan, Lunelle had always considered Seele his number-one waifu!
[Host, but…]
"See-chan, say no more! I, Lunelle, would rather starve to death, or jump off a cliff right now, than agree to play as my beloved Seele and romance other men!"
The thought of transforming into his most beloved waifu Seele and then using her identity to romance other men?
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
I'd rather cuck the world than let the world cuck me!
[But host, what if… among the romanceable characters arranged for you in the simulations, there are others you consider your waifus?]
"Ah? There's such a thing? See-chan, why didn't you say so earlier!?"
See-chan: ????????
--+--
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.