Chapter 177: My Turn, My Turn, and It's Still My Turn
Bronya and Seele exchanged a look of mild surprise. The idea that Sampo had been deliberately waiting in a snowdrift for the Astral Express crew was an unexpected twist.
Still, neither of them dwelled on it.
When all was said and done, Sampo had, in his own convoluted way, helped resolve Belobog's crisis. As for his secrets… so long as they posed no threat to their home, they had no intention of prying.
"So, Leon split off from the rest of the Express crew before they ran into Gepard," Bronya murmured, watching the screen.
"And Gepard actually fought them? Looks like the crew was holding back a lot…" Seele added, leaning forward.
"Oh! Gepard is a playable character!"
As the story unfolded, the game naturally unlocked both Sampo and Gepard for them. In the version Leon had designed, character acquisition wasn't left to the whims of a gacha system; instead, they became available as the player progressed through the narrative.
"If Sampo and Gepard are both playable… does that mean we can be, too?" Seele asked, her voice brimming with excitement. She was already picturing what her in-game model would look like.
A small, thoughtful smile touched Bronya's lips. Her own heart fluttered with a quiet anticipation. If she were to be included in the game, what would her abilities be?
Soon, the game's camera shifted, adopting Leon's first-person perspective. It depicted the moment he arrived at Qlipoth Fort and had his first audience with Cocolia and Bronya.
"So that's when Leon's 'script' really began!" Seele watched with rapt attention. She hadn't been present for this part of the plan, only learning of its full scope during the final confrontation with Cocolia.
"Yes," Bronya reminisced softly, the corners of her mouth turning up in an unconscious smile. "At the time, Mother and I didn't truly trust him, even though he presented the Supreme Guardian's token."
"Hey, Bronya! Your character just unlocked!" Seele's eyes lit up, and she jabbed an excited finger at the screen. "You really are playable!"
"Am I?" Bronya leaned in for a closer look and clicked open her character's profile.
"The basic attack is pretty standard, we can skip that for now," Seele narrated, analyzing the details. "Skill—a full 100% Action Advance, cleanses one debuff, and increases damage dealt?"
"And the Ultimate is a powerful team-wide buff…"
"Bronya, this skillset… it's completely broken!" Even as a casual player, Seele could immediately grasp the immense value of such abilities. The design was, without a doubt, exceptionally strong.
Over in Guinaifen's livestream, the bullet chat was already in an uproar.
"100% Action Advance plus a cleanse plus a damage buff?! This mechanic makes her an absolute must-pull meta unit!"
"I don't know who this Bronya is, but the person who made this game is definitely her biggest fan!"
"Releasing a character this busted in the second major area? That's insane!"
"Is this mechanic… really that powerful?" Bronya blinked, her knowledge of game balance being rather limited.
"Yes, very," Seele confirmed with a firm nod.
A small, inexplicable warmth bloomed in Bronya's chest.
"However… it seems only I was made into a playable character. Mother is…" She scrolled through the character roster, a faint trace of regret coloring her features when she couldn't find Cocolia's portrait.
It was, of course, perfectly logical. According to the 'script's' own flow, Cocolia had been an antagonist for a significant portion of the story. Even if she had repented in the end, her past actions couldn't simply be erased. It was already a mercy that she wasn't programmed into the game as a boss monster.
Seele curled her lip, but she kept that thought to herself. Cocolia was still Bronya's adoptive mother, after all.
Bronya quickly added her own character to the party and entered a battle to test her out. Her current team still centered around Himeko, whose powerful area-of-effect attacks and follow-ups were incredibly efficient for clearing out mobs of enemies.
After just one exchange, Bronya began to understand exactly why Seele had called her character so strong.
In the battle, Himeko unleashed her Skill. The moment her turn ended, Bronya used her own Skill, targeting the navigator. Himeko's turn meter instantly refilled, granting her another action. She fired off her Skill a second time, which was enough to fill her energy gauge, allowing her to immediately follow up with her Ultimate.
Heavenly Incineration crashed down from orbit, shattering the Toughness of three Silvermane Guards at once. The break triggered Himeko's talent, and her drone immediately launched a follow-up attack.
Previously, Himeko would have had to wait for her next turn, enduring enemy attacks in the interim. Now, with proper speed tuning, Bronya could 'pull' her forward the instant her turn was over, creating a seamless chain of actions.
"Her number of actions just doubled, and her damage output has increased significantly," Bronya noted, a sense of satisfaction dawning on her. "I wonder what my own combat design is like…"
The stronger her in-game counterpart was, she mused, the more effort Leon must have poured into designing her.
Seele and Bronya continued to push through the main storyline, temporarily ignoring the side quests. Soon, they arrived in the Underworld.
"Hahaha, Leon never changes… but did you really think he was going to kidnap children back then?" Bronya couldn't help but laugh as she watched the scene of Leon's first encounter with Seele, complete with his ghost story about 'Lord Ravager, Pitch-Dark Hook the Great.'
"I didn't know him back then, so of course I had to be on guard," Seele retorted matter-of-factly before her attention was once again snatched by the screen. "Look, I can join the team, too!"
She eagerly clicked open her own character panel.
"Both the Skill and Ultimate are single-target damage… and I get an extra turn after defeating an enemy?" She scanned the descriptions. "My abilities don't seem that complicated."
Seele immediately slotted her character into the party and initiated a fight to try her out.
On the screen, the in-game Seele's combat stance shifted. Instead of holding her scythe with one hand, she now rested it lightly on her shoulder, her form flickering faintly as if she were phasing between the physical world and the Quantum sea.
"The special effects are pretty flashy," Seele nodded, pleased.
She activated her Skill. The digital version of herself seemed to tear through space, vanishing and reappearing in front of and then behind an enemy, unleashing a series of lightning-fast slashes.
The strike was just enough to defeat the foe, triggering her 'Resurgence' talent and granting her an immediate extra turn.
She used her Skill again, dispatching another enemy. By now, her Ultimate was fully charged.
"I'll free you from your chains!" the character declared.
Butterfly Flurry activated.
The scythe whirled as Seele lunged forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. Her speed was so extreme that her figure on the screen dissolved into a streaking blur of light.
"Disappear among the sea of butterflies, illusions of the past."
Countless phantasmal butterflies and intersecting slash trajectories converged and exploded, dealing massive Quantum damage to her target. The enemy vaporized, and 'Resurgence' triggered once more.
It was Seele's turn. Again.
"It's still your turn?" Bronya watched, a little stunned, as Seele's character prepared to act yet again. If she were to use her own Skill to pull Seele forward later, wouldn't that mean even more actions?
"I'm a single-target specialist. If I didn't get more turns, how could I even compete?" Seele's lips curled into a smug grin, clearly delighted with her in-game power.
This was how a turn-based game was meant to be played.
My turn.
Still my turn.
And it's still my turn.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me!
Want to read ahead on our official home, or unlock 50 advanced chapters (plus an Ad-Free experience) to feed your addiction? Help keep this shameless translator alive here:
(P.S. Replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
🌐 Official Website: elysianreads[.]com
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters & Ad-Free): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]