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ArabicHonkai Star Rail: I Became the World Tree — Chapter 11
Chapter 11: Herta’s New Test Subject and the Travel Frogs
Samuel smiled faintly, a dry amusement dancing in his eyes. “I really can’t tell you guys. Alright, alright, hurry up and go rest. Don’t you have monsters to fight this afternoon?”
March 7th realized her practiced, cute pout was entirely useless against his ironclad composure. She huffed, crossing her arms in defeat. “If you won’t say, then don’t! Hmph! Stelle, Furina, let’s go buy Travel Frogs.”
Without waiting for a response, the pink-haired girl grabbed her two companions by the wrists and dragged them out the door, her boots stomping against the floorboards. Himeko, Welt, and Dan Heng merely watched the chaotic departure with knowing smiles, remaining behind to continue their quiet conversation with Samuel.
A short walk later, the trio arrived at the General Store. The sleek, circular display platform hummed with soft neon light. Stelle reached out and picked up a small, transparent plastic box containing a single, unblinking green amphibian.
After she tapped her credits at the entrance terminal, a crisp electronic chime rang directly in her ear.
[Congratulations on obtaining a pet: Travel Frog (Unnamed). Pet panel is now open.]
Curious, Stelle summoned the holographic interface to inspect her new companion.
[Pet: Travel Frog (Upgradable)]
[Current Quality: White]
[Ability: Every 24 hours, it can be fed special ores to initiate a journey. Upon return, it will bring back items worth no more than 1 copper coin.]
[Upgrade Requirement: 10 silver coins]
Stelle stared down at the tiny creature crouching by her boots. The frog stared back, entirely motionless, its bulbous eyes devoid of any complex thought. A spark of absolute genius ignited in Stelle’s mind.
“From now on!” she declared, pointing dramatically at the floor. “You shall be known as the Galaxy Frog Hero!”
March 7th stared at her, utterly deadpan. “Stelle, you really have zero talent for naming things.”
Furina, however, was already busy admiring her own newly purchased amphibian. She puffed out her chest, placing a hand on her hip with theatrical flair.
“From now on, you shall be called Baron Graindorge! Mmm~ As expected of me, what a beautifully elegant name.”
Stelle tilted her head, thoroughly confused. “Beautiful? I don’t think it’s all that great… Does ‘Graindorge’ actually mean anything?”
Furina nodded proudly, her ahoge bouncing. “It’s green! And the color green in our high Fontainian dialect is ‘Graindorge’. How about it? Am I brilliant or what? Hmph hmph~”
March 7th gave her a slow, deeply sarcastic thumbs-up. “Incredible.”
Catching March’s expression, Furina crossed her arms. “What about you, then? March, I want to see what kind of name you can possibly come up with.”
March 7th let out a confident, airy laugh. “Hehe~ Mine will be called Traveler! It can travel to other worlds, so isn’t it perfectly fitting?”
Furina blinked, tapping her chin. “Traveler? I feel like I’ve heard that word thrown around recently. Oh, right! It seems a ‘Traveler’ arrived over in Mondstadt and even helped them drive away some giant dragon or something.”
Stelle waved a hand, cutting off the lore discussion. “Let’s shelve that for now. Do either of you have any leads on this ‘special ore’ the system mentioned?”
March 7th and Furina looked at each other, then spread their hands and shrugged in perfect, helpless synchronization.
“Nope,” they chimed together.
Stelle sighed, scratching the back of her head. “Special ore… what even counts as one? How about we go ask Herta? She’s a certified genius; she should definitely know.”
Furina opened her mouth, originally intending to suggest they just ask Samuel. But before the Hydro Archon could even voice the thought, Stelle and March 7th had already bolted down the corridor. Left with no other option, Furina sighed dramatically and chased after them.
Deep within the Herta Space Station, inside a highly secure private laboratory, Herta was pacing back and forth. Her porcelain joints clicked faintly with every agitated step.
“How can I convince Samuel to come in for a complete physical examination?” she muttered to herself, biting her thumbnail. “Money? No, no, he definitely wouldn’t be interested in credits.”
She kicked a stray wrench across the pristine floor. “Damn it! How on earth am I supposed to invite him over? I don’t even know what the man likes, so I can’t even cater to his specific tastes.”
To put it bluntly, Herta was currently extremely greedy for Samuel’s body. The thing she desired most in the entire universe right now was to strap Samuel to a diagnostic bed and see exactly what made a reincarnated Irminsul tick.
Just as Herta grabbed a thick leather-bound notebook, fully intending to hurl it at the wall in frustration, the heavy laboratory doors hissed open. Stelle poked her head through the doorway, holding a decorative fruit basket and grinning widely.
“Hehe~ Herta, are you busy? I’ve come to hang out with you.”
Herta stopped dead in her tracks, glaring at the galactic baseballer with absolute impatience. “If you have something useful to say, say it. If not, get out.”
Sensing the hostility, Stelle immediately abandoned the polite script Furina had hastily taught her just minutes prior. The situation clearly called for directness.
“Um, so I just bought a Travel Frog from Samuel. It has the ability to travel to other worlds.” Stelle held up the tiny green amphibian. “But to make it travel, I have to feed it special ores. I don’t have any clues, so I wanted to ask if you had any suggestions.”
The dark clouds of frustration hanging over Herta vanished in a fraction of a second.
In the blink of an eye, the puppet closed the distance, her synthetic eyes locking onto the Galaxy Frog Hero perched innocently on Stelle’s shoulder.
“Oho~” Herta’s voice dropped to a fascinated whisper. “Something directly from Samuel’s world?”
Stelle leaned back slightly, unnerved by the sudden intensity. “Ye… yeah. What’s wrong?”
Having received the confirmation she needed, Herta reached out with lightning speed. She pinched the Galaxy Frog Hero by the scruff of its back with her thumb and index finger, lifting it into the harsh fluorescent light.
“A product of Samuel’s world that possesses the innate ability to traverse dimensions? A ninety-nine percent rarity!” Herta’s eyes gleamed with manic scientific fervor. “Leave it to me. Come back in a day to pick up your person… wait, frog.”
Before Stelle could protest, Herta snapped her fingers.
The metallic floor tiles beneath Stelle’s boots suddenly lurched upward. A hidden drive mechanism—custom-built by Herta specifically for violently seeing out unwanted guests—engaged with a mechanical roar, rocketing Stelle backward and out into the hallway.
The heavy blast doors slammed shut.
Stelle stood in the corridor, staring blankly at the sealed metal. She hadn’t even had time to blink.
From behind the thick steel, Herta’s muffled, borderline-maniacal laughter echoed into the hallway.
“Hehe~ Little froggy, be good now. Don’t resist. The more you struggle, the more force I’ll have to use! Come, lie down on the operating table. I’ll give you a full-body CT scan first…”
A heavy drop of sweat rolled down Stelle’s temple. A deep sense of regret washed over her. Should I not have come to find Herta?
She tried knocking on the blast doors, but the genius researcher completely ignored her. Left with a fruit basket and no frog, Stelle sighed and turned away to track down March 7th and Furina.
The other two girls hadn’t followed her all the way to the lab. Furina was far too curious about the futuristic space station, so March 7th had taken her on a grand tour of the Master Control Zone, even introducing the Hydro Archon to Asta and Arlan along the way.
At this exact moment, Furina was riding a sleek Flying Skateboard, racing alongside March 7th across a wide, open observation deck.
“Woohoo~ This is fun! This is so much fun!” Furina cheered, the wind whipping through her white-and-blue hair.
She was having the time of her life. The Flying Skateboard featured flawless self-balancing technology, was incredibly intuitive to steer, and boasted a battery life capable of flying a thousand kilometers on a single charge. March 7th had spent a few of her own credits to buy three of them—one for herself, one for Furina, and one saved for Stelle.
As she carved a smooth arc through the air, Furina made a firm decision: she was absolutely going to incorporate this Flying Skateboard into her next grand performance back home.
Without a doubt, the citizens of Fontaine would be utterly shocked by the futuristic spectacle, and it would perfectly consolidate her majestic authority in their hearts!
Hmph hmph~ Furina thought, striking a pose on the moving board. This Flying Skateboard is truly a magnificent prop. It’s thrilling, and it perfectly elevates my role as the Hydro Archon. Simply wonderful!
After completing a high-speed lap around the deck, Furina hit the brakes, coming to a smooth halt in front of March 7th.
Baron Graindorge, who had been desperately clinging to Furina’s shoulder the entire time, now had dizzy spirals for eyes. The poor amphibian let out a faint croak and fainted dead away.
March 7th skidded to a stop beside her, grinning brightly. “Furina, this is amazing, right? It’s getting a bit too late today, but tomorrow, you, me, and Stelle should head over to Samuel’s place and have a massive race down Trunk Avenue. What do you think?”
Furina’s eyes sparkled with competitive fire, and she agreed without a second of hesitation.
“Sure, sure! The road there is incredibly wide, and there are no annoying pedestrians to get in the way. We can go at full throttle!”