Honkai Star Rail: I Became the World Tree — Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Stelle: I Was One-Shotted?

Dan Heng spoke once more, his voice measured. “Stelle, try to see if you can pass through again.”

Hearing this, Stelle stepped toward the shimmering portal. Just as she was about to cross the threshold, an invisible, unyielding barrier materialized out of thin air. She bumped straight into it, her face and body pressing awkwardly against the unseen wall like a mime trapped in a glass box.

She quickly backed away, rubbing her nose, only to see a glowing line of text hover in the air before her.

[You have been killed. Permission to re-enter the world will open in 23h 59m 50s.]

Stelle stared at the floating letters in absolute disbelief. “I was killed? How? Who even attacked me? I didn’t see a single enemy!”

March 7th trotted over, eyeing the portal with a mix of curiosity and caution. “Let me try.”

She walked toward the gateway, but the result was identical. She bounced off the invisible barrier, and the same grim system prompt appeared, displaying her own resurrection countdown.

Seeing this, Dan Heng lowered his head, his brow furrowing in deep thought. “It seems we stumbled directly into the territory of a high-level monster. We were wiped out before we could even process the threat.”

Stelle blinked, the words slowly registering. “A high-level monster? Probably. Wait… Oh no! My gold coins!”

Panic seized her as she suddenly remembered her precious loot. She frantically turned her pockets inside out, her hands trembling until she heard a familiar clinking sound. There they were: one gleaming gold coin, three silver coins, and over a dozen copper coins lying safely in her palm.

Stelle let out a massive, exaggerated sigh of relief, clutching the coins to her chest. “Whew… thank the Aeons. Items don’t drop on death. Otherwise, my heart would have shattered into a million pieces. This is a whole gold coin we are talking about!”

She quickly tucked the treasure away in her deepest pocket, terrified it might somehow vanish.

March 7th poked the invisible barrier one last time before sighing. “Well, so much for that. We won’t be able to go back for the rest of the day.”

Dan Heng nodded calmly. “Yeah. We will just have to wait until tomorrow to finish off the remaining forty-odd Goblins for the quest.”

Stelle pointed toward the looming structure of the Goethe Hotel not far away. “Let’s go. We will have to stay here tonight. Luckily, Natasha talked to the proprietress in advance for us.”

The three of them made their way through the dimly lit streets toward the Goethe Hotel. After a brief exchange with the proprietress, they received their heavy brass room keys and retreated to their respective rooms to rest their weary bodies.

Meanwhile, aboard the Astral Express.

Himeko and Welt stood by the parlor car’s main monitor, sharing a quiet conversation. Welt gazed out the reinforced window into the vast expanse of the cosmos, a distinctly worried expression settling over his features.

Noticing his tension, Himeko offered a gentle, reassuring smile. “Are you worried about Stelle and the others?”

Welt nodded slowly, adjusting his glasses. “Yes. After all, this is their first time Trailblazing together as a team, and there is a Stellaron involved.”

“Don’t worry,” Himeko replied, her tone perfectly composed. “The three of them can handle it. If the situation truly deteriorates, we can always provide some outside assistance from the Express.”

Welt acknowledged her point but let out a soft sigh. “There is one more thing. We promised Samuel we would upgrade to an E-rank Adventurers Guild within three days. Tomorrow is the final day.”

He paused, his brow furrowing again. “We cannot open the portal ourselves, and I do not know if Stelle and the others still remember the deadline, or if they will even have the time to complete it.”

Himeko wasn’t entirely certain either, but she maintained her graceful optimism. “Have faith in them. Even if they do not finish in time, Samuel won’t blame us. There are extenuating circumstances.”

Right as she finished speaking, a sharp chime echoed through the parlor car. Himeko’s phone had suddenly received a notification.

She picked it up and glanced at the screen. Instantly, her elegant smile froze, replaced by a rare look of sheer exasperation.

Seeing her reaction, Welt asked in confusion, “Did something happen?”

Himeko nodded slowly, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Yes. Herta just sent me a message.”

She took a deep breath before reading the text aloud. “She said she accidentally killed Stelle’s Travel Frog during an experiment. She is asking if we have a way to buy another identical one and send it to her space station.”

Welt stared at her, completely bewildered.

“She wants to study the new one for a bit,” Himeko continued, her voice dripping with disbelief, “and then pull a bait-and-switch to give the replacement back to Stelle so she won’t notice.”

Welt fell into a deep, heavy silence. He adjusted his glasses again, struggling to find the right words. “Uh… we cannot exactly buy one right now, either.”

Himeko sighed, rubbing her temples to ward off an impending headache. “I expect Stelle will probably march straight to the space station to settle the score with Herta when she hears this news. It seems we need to give her a little heads-up before she explodes.”

Welt nodded slightly, taking on the burden of the impending storm. “Leave it to me. When she returns, I will prepare her mentally and drop a few gentle hints.”

Neither of the seasoned Trailblazers had ever expected that Herta’s insatiable scientific curiosity would actually result in the demise of Stelle’s beloved digital pet.

Time flowed into the next morning.

Lady Furina arrived at the Source Continent bright and early, bringing Clorinde and Neuvillette along with her.

As soon as her boots touched the ground, Furina eagerly ran off to look for Stelle and March 7th. However, when she arrived at the Star Adventurer Group Station, the place was completely deserted. Not a single person was there.

Furina crossed her arms, feeling that this was highly unusual. It shouldn’t be empty. Yesterday, Stelle and the others had explicitly mentioned they would come back here to stay for the night.

After pondering for a moment, Furina turned on her heel and hurried off to find Samuel.

Samuel was standing at the entrance of the General Store alongside Anviel. The young girl had expressed a strong desire to work, so Samuel had officially arranged for her to mind the shop. From now on, the daily task of receiving customers at the General Store belonged to Anviel.

She had even changed her clothes for the occasion. Anviel was now wearing a beautiful, finely tailored outfit that Furina had bought for her the day before. The style was incredibly cute, with soft ruffles and elegant stitching that suited the timid girl perfectly.

Furina trotted over, her eyes lighting up at the sight. “Oh, isn’t this Anviel? This outfit really suits you perfectly. My taste in fashion is truly excellent, if I do say so myself.”

Anviel blushed, her hands nervously fidgeting with the hem of her new skirt. “Th-thank you, Big Sister Furina. Anviel likes it very much.”

Furina smiled warmly, her dramatic flair softening. “As long as you like it, that is all that matters.”

Satisfied, the Hydro Archon turned her attention to Samuel. “Samuel, I just went to Stelle’s treehouse, and I didn’t see any of them around. Do you happen to know where they went?”

Samuel nodded, his expression completely flat. “Of course. They went out adventuring last night and were brutally killed by a powerful monster.”

He delivered the news with the casual tone of someone discussing the weather. “Right now, they should be waiting out their resurrection timer. After being killed, they cannot enter the Source Continent for twenty-four hours.”

Furina gasped, her eyes widening in sheer shock. “What? Stelle and her team were killed by a monster? No way!”

Samuel maintained his serious demeanor. “I am not lying to you. Last night, they wandered into the Windmill Market, which happens to be the hunting territory of Level 5 Shadow Goblins.”

Standing quietly beside Furina, Neuvillette heard the name and felt a sudden chill of recognition. The Windmill Market?

He recalled his own exploration. He had seen a small, abandoned town yesterday with many towering windmills in the distance. It had to be that exact place. Yesterday, only because his stamina had been completely exhausted, he had chosen not to head in that direction.

Looking back on it now, the stoic Chief Justice realized he had narrowly escaped a rather undignified disaster.

Anviel, standing shyly to the side, slowly raised her hand. “Big Sister Furina, Anviel knows about the Shadow Goblins.”

She spoke softly but clearly. “They like to be active at night. They are incredibly fast, and they are masters of assassination. also, their skin is very special. It allows them to blend perfectly into the darkness of the night.”

Furina nodded slowly, the pieces falling into place. “Level 5 monsters with active camouflage? Then it isn’t surprising at all. Stelle and the others are probably only Level 3. It is perfectly normal that they couldn’t win against something like that.”

She suddenly paused, looking down at the young girl. “By the way, Anviel, how do you know all of this so clearly?”

Anviel blinked her large eyes. “Be-because Anviel has lived here since she was little.”

Furina dramatically slapped her own forehead. “Oh, right! You have been living in this world since you were a child. I completely forgot.”

Neuvillette stepped forward, his tall figure casting a reassuring shadow. He looked at Furina and Clorinde, his voice carrying its usual measured authority. “Lady Furina, we should still focus on looking for standard Goblins nearby today.”

Samuel chimed in, a faint hint of amusement in his eyes. “If you want to look for high-tier treasure, you could actually go to the Windmill Market and try your luck. There are quite a few good things hidden inside.”

He gestured vaguely toward the distance. “Last night, before she died, Stelle found a gold coin there. A single gold coin can be exchanged for one million copper coins.”

Furina immediately shook her head, her twin-tails bouncing with the aggressive motion. “I will pass! I will go there when my level is high enough to actually survive. I absolutely do not want to wait twenty-four hours in a lockout. Do you have any idea how boring that would be?”

She turned toward her companions, her confident bravado returning in full force. “Let’s go, Neuvillette, Clorinde! We will look for regular Goblins and take things steady. Slow and steady wins the race!”

With a dramatic wave of her hand, Furina led Neuvillette and Clorinde away from the bustling square, setting off to hunt for Goblins at a much safer pace.