Honkai Star Rail: I Became the World Tree — Chapter 102

Chapter 102: Ronova: No! How Did It End Up Being Me?

High above the mortal realm, within the divine halls of Celestia, Asmoday, Istaroth, and Naberius were locked in an endless, heated argument. Off to the side, Ronova held a delicate porcelain cup of black tea, leisurely sipping the warm brew as she watched the chaotic display.

Right in the middle of a shouting match, Asmoday suddenly paused, her eyes narrowing as she realized something was fundamentally wrong. She threw a hand into the air. “Wait a moment!”

Naberius and Istaroth cut their bickering short, turning to stare blankly at the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles.

Asmoday crossed her arms, her expression turning serious. “Why are the three of us arguing? It should have been us persuading Ronova to stay behind and guard Teyvat, while we three go to the Source Continent.”

Naberius spread his hands in exasperation. “That’s only because there is only one available spot to go.”

Asmoday shifted her gaze toward Ronova, who was still quietly enjoying her tea. “To be perfectly honest, the only reason we started arguing in the first place is that we all want to slack off. Don’t even try to deny it, that is definitely the case.”

Istaroth looked at Asmoday and nodded in solemn agreement. “That is indeed the case. And then? What exactly do you want to say?”

Asmoday shot a sly glance at Ronova, then beckoned to Naberius and Istaroth with a curled finger. “Come closer.”

The two gods leaned in. Watching the three of them suddenly cease their arguing to form a tight, whispering huddle—while shooting her occasional, suspicious glances—Ronova inexplicably felt a terrible premonition wash over her.

A moment later, the huddle broke.

The three of them stood in a neat row, arms crossed, staring directly at Ronova. Seeing this united front, Ronova set her teacup down and cautiously asked, “Have you reached a decision? Which one of you is going?”

Asmoday, Naberius, and Istaroth exchanged knowing looks. Asmoday coughed twice to clear her throat, puffing out her chest as she solemnly announced, “We have reached a result. We decided to give this glorious spot to you!”

Naberius nodded vigorously. “That’s right, we decided to let you go!”

Ronova immediately shook her head, her tone flat. “I don’t want to go.”

Istaroth stepped forward, her voice dripping with dramatic gravity. “Ronova, this is for the future of Teyvat. As one of the four Archons of Celestia, this is your sacred duty. You wouldn’t want to see Teyvat perish, would you? Ronova.”

Before Ronova could even open her mouth to argue, Asmoday struck a heroic pose. “Ronova, Heaven is about to place a great responsibility upon your shoulders! Please! Everything for Teyvat!”

After delivering the line, Asmoday offered a crisp salute. Naberius and Istaroth immediately followed suit, saluting the bewildered Archon of Death.

Without giving Ronova a single second to formulate a refusal, Asmoday snapped her fingers. A flash of spatial energy erupted, and Ronova was instantly teleported out of Celestia.

The moment she vanished, the grand halls of Celestia echoed with uproarious cheering.

Asmoday let out a long, exaggerated sigh of relief. “Oh yeah! That workaholic is finally gone!”

Istaroth stretched her arms high above her head. “Yeah, now there’s finally no one nagging me to go to work all day.”

Naberius was practically vibrating with joy, swaying on the spot like a piece of kelp caught in the tide. “Exactly! Our fundamental goal is to slack off. As long as we get rid of that heretic Ronova, can’t we just slack off on Celestia forever? Hehe. Oh my. Life is getting better day by day. It had to be you, Asmoday. How did I not think of simply sending Ronova away?”

Asmoday chuckled, reaching into a subspace pocket and pulling out a sleek Hoverboard. “The three of us all want to slack off, but Ronova nags us to work all day long. If we send her away, won’t the problem be solved?”

As she spoke, she pulled out a second board. “I stole—ah, no, borrowed—these Hoverboards from Furina. Anyone want to play together?”

Naberius tilted his head, curious. “Two? Isn’t one of them broken?”

Asmoday giggled. “I know one is broken, so you take it and fix it. With your skills, it should be a piece of cake.”

Naberius found the logic sound. “Alright, I’ll take the broken one to fix, and see if I can manufacture another one while I’m at it. By then, we’ll each have one! I’ll take this one to the workshop first, see you later.”

Naberius grabbed the damaged Hoverboard and hurried off. Seeing the entertainment sorted, Istaroth yawned and went back to sleep.

Left to her own devices, Asmoday hopped onto the working Hoverboard and began zipping around the divine architecture. On the once-silent world of Celestia, an exclamation of “Yahoo!” rang out from time to time.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Palais Mermonia in Fontaine, Ronova stood on the pristine plaza with a look of absolute bewilderment. Under the pale moonlight, a cold night breeze blew past, rustling her elegant garments. To any onlookers, the sudden appearance of this lost-looking woman appeared quite pitiful.

After a full minute, Ronova’s brain finally processed what had just happened. She turned her gaze upward, raising a very deliberate middle finger toward the sky. “Asmoday! Naberius! Istaroth! You guys are truly dogs!”

Even if she didn’t want to go, she was stuck now. They had slapped the labels of ‘Teyvat’s future’and’sacred duty’ onto her, leaving her no choice but to see this through.

Fuming, Ronova turned on her heel and marched toward the towering doors of the Palais Mermonia. The Gardes stationed at the entrance immediately stepped forward, crossing their polearms to intercept the suspicious intruder.

Full of lingering anger, Ronova didn’t even break her stride. She simply waved her hand. A shockwave of unseen force erupted, knocking the two mechanical Gardes flying through the air to crash into the stone pillars. “Get lost! Don’t provoke me! I am extremely angry right now!”

The metallic crash echoed loudly across the plaza. Within moments, the grand doors swung open. Neuvillette, Furina, and Clorinde rushed out to confront the threat.

Upon seeing the intruder’s terrifying aura, Neuvillette didn’t hesitate. He immediately summoned his authority, launching a concentrated burst of Hydro power straight at Ronova.

Ronova merely glanced at the Chief Justice. A second-generation Hydro Dragon wanting to fight her?

A terrifying surge of blood-red energy swept out from Ronova’s body, instantly shattering the Hydro attack and crashing down onto Neuvillette like a physical mountain. The sheer weight of the suppression forced him to his knees, pinning him to the plaza floor.

Neuvillette gritted his teeth, struggling to push himself up, but it was entirely in vain. His authority over Hydro was not complete; against a fully realized Archon of Celestia, he was simply outmatched.

Ronova looked down at him with cold, ancient eyes. “Don’t move, or I will really take action.”

Leaving the dragon pinned, she shifted her gaze to Furina.

Under that heavy, abyssal stare, Furina instantly felt her scalp tingle with sheer terror. Clorinde immediately stepped in front of the Hydro Archon, drawing her rapier with a sharp metallic ring. She shielded Furina with her body, glaring nervously at the intruder. “Who are you? Why are you trespassing into the Palais Mermonia!”

Ronova smoothed her dress, her tone chillingly calm. “I am the Archon of Death, Ronova. Move aside. I have something to discuss with Furina. You cannot stop me.”

The rapier in Clorinde’s hand trembled slightly. Furina’s eyes widened in absolute shock. The Archon of Death! One of the four supreme rulers of Celestia!

Furina peeked out from behind Clorinde, her heart hammering against her ribs. ‘It’s over! It’s over! An Archon from Celestia has actually come knocking! What should I do! Could it be that she discovered the plan of my other self? She must be here to mete out punishment, right? No! Is Fontaine going to be submerged? Is the prophecy really going to come true?’

Ronova looked at the trembling girl hiding behind her bodyguard and let out an exhausted sigh. “Furina, I’m not here to cause trouble for you. I came here because I want you to pull me into your Justice Adventure Team. I need to go to the Source Continent.”

Furina blinked, her panic momentarily short-circuiting. She asked tremblingly, “How… how did you know about that?”

Ronova gave her a deadpan look. “You are our key subject of attention. What do you think?”

Furina gasped. “Ah? Key subject of attention? That means…”

Ronova nodded slowly. “I know everything you’ve done. Rest assured, Asmoday and I have tacitly approved of what you and your other self are doing. You should just continue following your plan.”

A massive wave of relief washed over Furina’s soul. The Archons of Celestia actually approved of the grand deception? That was incredible! It meant she no longer had to live in constant, paralyzing fear of divine retribution ruining everything.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart, Furina stepped out from behind Clorinde. She looked at the blood-red energy still pinning the Chief Justice to the floor. “Lady Ronova, why do you want to go to the Source Continent? Also… um, could you let go of Neuvillette first?”

Ronova shifted her gaze back to the struggling man on the ground. “Second-generation Hydro Dragon, I understand the deep hatred between you and Celestia. If you want revenge, you are welcome to come find us at any time. However, this is a personal grudge and must not involve the people of Fontaine. Do you understand?”

Neuvillette stopped struggling. He had no desire to see Fontaine dragged into a war of divine vengeance either. Through gritted teeth, he agreed. “Fine!”

Ronova waved her hand, and the oppressive, blood-red weight vanished into thin air. Neuvillette slowly stood up, brushing off his coat, his sharp gaze fixed entirely on Ronova. He knew he was no match for her right now; he would have to deal with this grudge in the future. He wasn’t a hothead who would throw his life away in a pointless, unwinnable clash.

Seeing that the dragon had calmed down, Ronova turned her attention back to Furina. “Pull me into your Justice Adventure Team, Furina. As the Archon of Death, I have the right to know the situation in the other world.”

Furina scratched her cheek awkwardly. “Um, you might have to wait a moment. Our Justice Adventure Team is currently at full capacity, so we’ll have to wait until tomorrow when we open the Adventurers Guild Promotion Dungeon. Once we upgrade the guild level, we’ll have more spots available.”

Ronova nodded slightly, accepting the logistical hurdle. “Alright, perfect. Now, tell me more about this other world.”

Seeing that the crisis was averted, Furina quickly invited Ronova inside the Palais, ordering the staff to bring out their finest black tea and a selection of delicate pastries.

Once they were seated in the lavish reception room, Ronova looked at the steaming tea on the coffee table. She tapped her finger against the armrest. “There are three cups missing.”

She turned her head, looking directly out the large glass window into the dark Fontaine night. “Morax, Barbatos, Nahida. Stop hiding and come out.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, the window slid open. Zhongli, Venti, and Nahida awkwardly climbed into the room.

The moment Ronova had unleashed her divine power in the plaza, Nahida had sensed the massive disturbance through the leylines. Fearing the worst, she had immediately used her telepathy to contact Venti and Zhongli. The two veteran Archons had rushed over at top speed, fully prepared to act as peacemakers to prevent Celestia from executing Furina.

Fortunately, it seemed Ronova was only here to talk.

Venti dusted off his green cape and offered a bright, entirely unconvincing grin. “Oh my! If it isn’t Lord Ronova! Long time no see, how have you been lately?”

Ronova took a slow sip of her black tea, her eyes locking onto the Anemo Archon with lethal precision. “Not great. After all, some people slack off every single day, taking entirely too long to resolve even a simple Dragon Crisis.”

Venti froze, his smile cracking. ‘Good grief! She’s talking about me, right? She’s definitely talking about me!’

He scratched the back of his head, laughing nervously. “Well, didn’t I just wake up from a long nap…”

Ronova rolled her eyes. “Oh, so you know I’m talking about you? Morax is doing alright; he’s still managing things from the shadows and diligently guiding Liyue’s development. But look at you! You can’t even compare to a Hydro Dragon King! Look at how Neuvillette manages his nation. Are you even ashamed to call yourself an Archon?”

After thoroughly dressing down the bard, Ronova turned her sharp gaze to the small Dendro Archon, sighing in frustration. “And you, Nahida. Was the show good? You’re just the same! You are the successor designated by Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, yet you actually believed the deceitful words of those mortals and let them lock you up? You’re a god; can’t you act a bit more like one?”

Nahida flinched. One moment she had been quietly enjoying Venti getting scolded, and the next, the crosshairs were entirely on her.

Ronova shook her head and looked at the Geo Archon. “Morax, leave Nahida to your guidance for a while. Teach her well on how to be a proper god.”

Zhongli calmly took a seat, his voice steady. “Nahida is currently being taught by Samuel, the Master of the World. Her perspective has undergone a significant transformation recently.”

Ronova raised an eyebrow. Taught by the Master of the World? That actually sounded promising.

“Fine, since he is the master of a world, I am at ease with him teaching Nahida. Alright, alright, everyone stop standing around; you’re making it look like I’m going to eat someone. I don’t know why you’re all so afraid of us. As long as you don’t touch the Abyss or spread forbidden information, we couldn’t care less about what you do. Everyone sit down and tell me about this other world.”

Zhongli, Nahida, and Venti took their seats around the table.

For the next half hour, the room was filled with quiet, serious discussion. Furina, Zhongli, and Neuvillette took turns explaining the complex details of the Source Continent, the LitRPG system, and the sprawling lore of the Honkai: Star Rail universe. They detailed the leveling mechanics, the monsters, and Samuel’s role in governing the new reality.

By the time they finished, Ronova had gained a crystal-clear understanding of the situation from the three of them.

“So that’s how it is,” Ronova mused, tracing the rim of her teacup. “You’re opening that Adventurers Guild Promotion Dungeon tomorrow, right? Furina, kick one of the Gardes members out of the roster; I’ll go in and help you clear it.”

Furina blinked in surprise. “Huh? You want to help us challenge the Promotion Dungeon?”

Zhongli frowned slightly, offering a word of caution. “Lord Ronova, I believe it is better to let the Gardes members go. After all, once you cross over to the Source Continent, the system will restrict you. Your strength will be no different from an ordinary person’s at level one.”

Ronova waved her hand dismissively. “It doesn’t matter. Aren’t you opening the Promotion Dungeon tomorrow night? One day is more than enough for me to level up.”

Seeing her confidence, Furina nodded. “Alright then, I’ll invite you to the Adventurers Guild; just click accept on the interface. Then, I’ll take you to see Samuel and have him set up a class for you.”

Ronova agreed. A moment later, a translucent screen appeared before her, and she tapped to join the Justice Adventure Team. Standing up, she followed Furina through the glowing teleportation gate, leaving Teyvat behind for the Source Continent.

Back in the Palais Mermonia reception room, Neuvillette, Zhongli, and Venti looked at each other in the sudden quiet.

Venti clicked his tongue in amazement, leaning back in his chair. “Tsk, tsk. Old man, we were just wondering yesterday why those from Celestia hadn’t made a move yet. Look at that, they showed up today.”

Zhongli nodded thoughtfully. “To be honest, this is a good thing. Compared to not knowing their thoughts, having a clear result now makes it much easier for us to adjust our strategies.”

Nahida agreed, her small face serious. “The result is good for now. From the looks of it, those from Celestia seem to support this venture. With their tacit approval, we don’t need to be so restrained in our actions. At least we no longer have to worry about Celestia handing down divine punishments because of our travels.”

Clorinde, who had remained silent by the door, looked over at Neuvillette. The Chief Justice had his head lowered, his expression unreadable as he stared at the floor.

“Monsieur Neuvillette, what’s wrong?” Clorinde asked softly.

Neuvillette didn’t speak. He simply stood up, his heavy coat swishing around his ankles, and walked silently toward the teleportation gate.

Watching his retreating back, Venti sighed. “We can’t interfere in this; it’s a deeply personal grudge. But Clorinde, don’t worry. Those from Celestia won’t kill Neuvillette. After all, what he has done over the centuries has truly helped Fontaine’s development, and they recognize that.”

Clorinde nodded slowly, her grip on her rapier finally relaxing. After chatting for a bit longer to finalize their own plans, the Archons went their separate ways into the night.

On the Source Continent, the bustling atmosphere of the safe zone was a stark contrast to Fontaine’s quiet night.

Samuel was standing in the guild hall, preparing to call it a day and get some rest. Unexpectedly, the doors opened, and Furina walked in, leading a striking woman radiating an ancient, suppressed aura.

Samuel looked at Ronova. He had long guessed that the Archons of Celestia would eventually make their way here, but he hadn’t expected them to arrive quite so soon. It seemed the situation in Teyvat was shifting faster than anticipated.

After browsing through the holographic list of available combat paths, Ronova looked up at Samuel. “Respected Master of the World, I would like to choose the Warrior class.”

Samuel smiled warmly, waving off the formal title. “Alright. But there’s no need to be so formal here. Everyone who comes to this world is a friend; just call me Samuel.”

Ronova nodded, appreciating the straightforwardness. “Alright, Samuel. Sorry for the trouble.”

With a thought, Samuel manipulated the system interface, granting Ronova the Warrior class.

Instantly, a surge of unfamiliar, digitized information flooded into Ronova’s mind, rewriting her understanding of combat into the framework of stats and skills. Following the mental prompt, she summoned her status panel.

`[Hero: Ronova]`

`[Class: Warrior Apprentice]`

`[HP: 10/10]`

`[MP: 10/10]`

`[Level: 1 (0/10)]`

`[Constitution: 1]`

`[Strength: 1]`

`[Intelligence: 1]`

`[Skill: Bloodthirst Lv.1 (Passive Skill) – The owner recovers 10% of the damage dealt as HP with every attack.]`

`[Equipment: Apprentice Wooden Sword]`

Samuel raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised as he glanced at her shared panel. “A passive skill?”

Furina leaned in, her eyes widening in amazement. “A passive skill? Lady Ronova, your initial skill is actually a passive one! This is the first time I’ve ever seen this.”

Ronova looked between the two of them, slightly confused by their reaction. “Is there some special significance to this?”

Samuel nodded. “Yes. For Furina and the others, their initial skills were all active abilities that require mana and cooldowns. This is the very first time a purely passive skill like yours has appeared right at level one. It’s incredibly powerful; that life-steal effect will greatly enhance your sustain on the battlefield.”

Ronova smiled faintly, satisfied with the result. “I didn’t expect to be an exception. Thank you, Samuel, for granting me the class. I still have to help Furina and the others with the Adventurers Guild Promotion Dungeon tomorrow, so I need to go level up immediately. I’ll take my leave now.”

She paused, offering a rare, genuine smile. “When I have time, I’ll treat you to tea. I heard from Furina that you enjoy a good brew. I have some of the finest, most ancient tea leaves from Teyvat stored away. I’ll bring some over for you then.”

Samuel smiled and nodded. “I’ll hold you to that. Go ahead and get busy.”

Bidding Samuel farewell, Ronova and Furina stepped out of the hall and into the vibrant streets of the safe zone.

Ronova summoned her Apprentice Wooden Sword, testing its weight. “Furina, where are the monsters?”

Furina pointed toward the horizon. “To the east. I’ll take you there, but you’re only level one right now, so fighting the monsters out there will be very difficult. Before we set out, I’m taking you to the Equipment Workshop to buy a proper set of gear. The monsters here hit hard, and your current attack stat isn’t nearly enough to break through their defenses. Let’s get you armed properly first.”

Ronova nodded, dismissing the wooden sword. Furina had been surviving in this world for a while now; it was far wiser to follow the local veteran’s arrangements for the time being.

“Alright. Lead the way.”