On the training grounds of Chiba Academy, the morning dew had yet to fully evaporate, and the air was filled with the mingled scent of grass and flowers.
Unlike the usual rhythm of training that rose and fell in waves, the grounds were unusually quiet today.
The girls stood in neat formation.
"Good morning, everyone." Vita's voice drifted over them like a spring breeze, yet carried unquestionable authority. "Starting today, I will be offering a brand-new course for all of you—magic."
"Magic?! The kind of magic I'm thinking of?"
"Does magic even exist in our world?"
Someone raised the question calmly.
Vita lifted a hand, and an invisible pressure instantly suppressed all discussion. "Silence. First, it must be made clear that our world does not possess magic based on anything other than Honkai energy."
"Therefore, we will personally travel to another world—one that possesses magic—and obtain its 'seed.'"
Within the ranks, one figure seemed somewhat out of place.
Houraiji Kyuusyou lowered her head slightly, her consciousness immersed in the purple chat window that only she could see in her mind.
[Delta: Have you arrived?]
[Houraiji Kyuusyou: Almost. I'm listening to the teacher go over the precautions.]
[Delta: Most of the creatures in this world have already been killed off. The ones that were deployed later are hard to deal with.]
[Delta: Once you're here, I'll take you to another world to level up.]
[Houraiji Kyuusyou: Level up? That sounds like a game.]
[Delta: It's pretty much like a game.]
Houraiji Kyuusyou gently lifted her head, her gaze passing through the crowd before settling on the white-haired girl standing at the front of the formation—Kiana Kaslana.
Almost at the same moment, the white-haired girl seemed to sense her gaze and turned around.
It was a face strikingly similar to the one in her memories, yet deep within those eyes lay an indescribable sense of delight.
Their eyes met. The corners of Kiana Kaslana's lips curved into a meaningful smile as she gave a slight nod.
Houraiji Kyuusyou returned the nod politely, though a faint sense of unease stirred in her heart.
This Kiana... she wasn't quite the same as the one she knew.
Was it because this was a different world? She shook her head, temporarily suppressing the doubt.
In this unfamiliar world, aside from Shigure Kira, Susannah, and Rin, only Kiana made her feel a sense of familiarity.
"All right, prepare to enter the teleportation array." Vita's voice rang out again, interrupting Houraiji Kyuusyou's thoughts.
One by one, the girls stepped into the circular teleportation array that had long been prepared.
When the last person took her place, the core of the array flared with light, and a blinding white radiance instantly swallowed everyone's figures.
...
In the world of Overlord, within an unknown spatial rift.
Ever since the Will of Ruler descended, something had gone wrong with this world.
Countless native creatures had their souls transformed into experience points under the slaughter of players and absorbed, driving entire races to the brink of extinction.
In order to maintain the sustainability of the "world," the Will of Ruler began to intervene and reshape it.
Large numbers of "monsters," categorized by level and restricted to fixed activity zones, were mass-produced and deployed across every corner of the continent.
After new monsters died, they would automatically respawn after a certain period of time.
As the white light faded, Houraiji Kyuusyou found herself standing on a bustling medieval street.
On both sides stood stone buildings with pointed rooftops. Shops lined the road, and the cries of vendors and the clatter of horse hooves filled the air. The scent of bread, spices, and a faint... strange odor lingered around her.
She looked around but saw no familiar faces. Clearly, they had been randomly teleported to different locations.
At that moment, a female voice suddenly echoed in her mind:
[Detected soul fluctuations from another world. Conditions for binding met.]
[Scanning individual data... Scan complete.]
["Player Growth System" activated. Binding all eligible individuals...]
[Binding successful! Welcome to the Player Growth System.]
[Detected that the player possesses an independent personal system "Honkai." Attempting integration...]
[Integration successful!]
As the voice fell silent, a semi-transparent purple panel appeared before Houraiji Kyuusyou, clearly displaying her information:
Player: Houraiji Kyuusyou
Race: Stigmata User / Evolver
Class: (Pseudo) Valkyrie Lv.1 / Lord of Dreams Lv.3 / Daughter of God Lv.5
Level: 9
Special Abilities: Dream Manipulation / Evolution
Experience: 1568
Houraiji Kyuusyou's gaze lingered on the "Class" section for quite some time.
"Lord of Dreams" was a title she had given herself, and "Daughter of God" was what humans in her world called her and Delta. She had not expected that in this world, they would all become concrete classes.
In other words, could classes be customized?
But... "(Pseudo) Valkyrie"?
Why was it "Pseudo"?
Was it because she had not spent much time at Chiba Academy?
She shook her head, deciding not to dwell on that detail for now.
The most urgent matter was to reunite with her younger sister, Delta.
With practiced ease, she opened her friends list in her mind, found the familiar green icon, and sent a message along with her coordinates.
[Houraiji Kyuusyou: I'm here. It looks like a lively city.]
The reply came almost instantly.
[Delta: Mm. Three minutes. I'll come get you.]
Waiting was always a bit dull.
Houraiji Kyuusyou stood in place, observing the pedestrians around her.
To her slight frustration, whenever passersby saw her, their eyes filled with obvious fear and vigilance. They detoured around her as if she were some kind of calamity.
"Am I really that scary?" She touched her cheek, puzzled.
Just then, a familiar energy tinged with vitality locked onto her.
Houraiji Kyuusyou looked up to see a streak of green light racing across the sky like a falling meteor. It came to an abrupt halt not far in front of her, hovering midair.
As the light faded, it revealed the figure she knew all too well.
"Sister, you're here."
Delta's voice was cool and indifferent.
"What's going on with the people in this world? They seem really afraid of us," Houraiji Kyuusyou asked curiously.
"In the eyes of these NPCs, we're natural disasters," Delta said calmly. "With a single skill, we can destroy an entire city and kill tens or hundreds of thousands. Isn't it only natural that they'd be afraid?"