Honkai Star Rail: I Became the World Tree — Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Stelle Draws a Skill

Samuel casually tossed the metallic cube into the dirt right in front of the General Store.

Under the watchful, curious eyes of Stelle and March 7th, the cube expanded in a burst of pixelated light. With a heavy mechanical thud, a literal arcade-style slot machine materialized on the spot, its neon trim humming with power.

Stelle’s eyes instantly lit up with chaotic interest. She pushed herself up from the ground and marched straight over to the glowing contraption.

“Oho~ What is this beauty?” she asked, pressing her face against the glass. “Let me see what’s going on in here!”

March 7th walked around the machine, sizing up its flashing lights and coin slot as she circled it. “Samuel, what exactly is this thing?”

Samuel offered a dry, businesslike smile. “It’s a Skill Gacha Machine. Spend one gold coin, draw one skill.”

Stelle violently clapped her hands together. “Finally! A way to get some actual moves! Do you have any idea how boring it is to spam Heavy Strike every single day? I’m getting sick of swinging this stick like a caveman.”

March 7th nodded vigorously, chiming in from the side. “Yeah, yeah! Also, I feel like we’re missing something important. The games I used to play always had a ton of quests to do, but we’re just wandering around!”

Hearing March 7th point that out, Samuel silently agreed. They were indeed severely lacking in the quest department. Every single day, Stelle, March, and the others would just wander out into the wilderness and bludgeon monsters aimlessly. It wasn’t exactly an efficient leveling strategy.

Samuel opened his administrative system interface to take a look.

[Quest Function… Price: 2,000 Divine Power]

He frowned slightly. He hadn’t expected a basic feature to cost a flat two thousand points. Given the current combat strength of his summoned heroes, they would have to complete the upcoming Phase 2 objective just to gather that much Divine Power. The base reward for that milestone was a thousand points; combined with the ambient energy Stelle, Furina, and the others would harvest from killing monsters along the way, they should just barely scrape together the required amount.

Samuel realized his strategy needed a shift. Instead of slowly hoarding Divine Power to restore his own withered main body as the World Tree, it was far more optimal to invest that energy back into the system. Purchasing more functions would help Stelle and the others grow exponentially stronger. This continent was practically crawling with the twisted minions of Chaos; he needed a strike team, and he needed them armed to the teeth.

“No rush, the quest board will be coming soon,” Samuel replied smoothly. “For now, try out the Skill Gacha Machine. It’s exactly one gold coin per pull.”

He gestured to the flashing screen. “Skill quality ranges from lowest to highest: White, Blue, Purple, Gold, Red, and Prismatic. Naturally, the higher the tier, the lower your probability of drawing it. Oh, and the combat descriptions on your personal panels have been updated to be a bit more detailed. You might want to take a look.”

Stelle and March 7th immediately summoned their character interfaces.

[Hero: Stelle]

[Class: Warrior Apprentice]

[HP: 30/30]

[MP: 30/30]

[Level: 3 (19/500)]

[Constitution: 3]

[Strength: 5]

[Intelligence: 3]

[Skill: Heavy Strike: Deals 200% physical DMG to the target upon use.]

[Equipment: Apprentice Wooden Sword]

Stelle squinted at the floating text. “It really did change. There’s an actual damage multiplier now.”

She turned her attention back to the Skill Gacha Machine. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her single, precious gold coin. She held it over the slot, her hand trembling with dramatic hesitation.

“To use… or not to use?” Stelle muttered, staring intensely at the coin. “That… is the question!”

Samuel leaned against the General Store’s wooden frame. “That’s entirely up to you. Using it could give you a massive tactical advantage. To be completely honest, once your combat strength goes up, you’ll earn this single gold coin back in no time.”

He paused, letting the silence hang for a second before delivering the hook. “However… a skill you miss out on today might really be gone for good. After all, everyone’s luck fluctuates daily. Who knows? Maybe the universe aligned perfectly for you to pull a Prismatic-tier skill right now. If you wait until tomorrow, you might only pull a useless White or Blue.”

March 7th crossed her arms, staring at Samuel with a look of utter disbelief. “Samuel, your sales pitch sounds exactly like those top-tier scammers at the Interastral Peace Corporation. You’re completely heartless!”

Samuel just chuckled. “Am I not telling the truth?”

March 7th refused to argue further, simply giving him a sarcastic thumbs-up.

Stelle, however, had completely bought into the FOMO. Her eyes hardened with absolute resolve.

“I’m pulling!”

She jammed the gold coin into the slot and slammed her palm down onto the massive, glowing START button. “Please let it be something broken!”

Amidst Stelle’s desperate shouting, the digital screen of the machine flared to life, the prize slots spinning with a dizzying, high-pitched electronic whir.

Stelle pressed her hands against the glass, her heart hammering against her ribs.

‘Blue! Okay, okay, Blue is fine—ah, wait, it passed it!”Purple! Oh my god! This is it! Purple is definitely an elite tier! Wait, it passed that too! Dammit!”Gold Legendary! Holy mother of—stop moving! Please, I’m begging you, stop moving!”Back to White?! No, no, move a bit more, yes~ get away from that garbage slot!”Ohoho! Red Mythic!! Oh no! It passed again!”Oh, my poor heart. I’m not even a month old yet, why am I having stress-induced heart palpitations?!’

Stelle’s emotions violently violently swung from despair to euphoria and back again as the neon colors blurred together.

Finally, with a heavy, mechanical clunk, the spinning slots locked into place. The machine’s screen shifted, and a brilliant, icy blue light flooded the display.

[Skill Book: Oni Slash]

[Quality: Blue]

[Skill Description: Upon use, the next strike becomes a heavy slash imbued with Balefire. Enemies hit will take 500% physical DMG.]

[Cooldown: 30s]

[Cost: 10 MP]

[Applicable Classes: Melee types]

Stelle read the description twice, then grabbed her head in absolute shock.

“Five hundred percent damage! I’m invincible! Who’s going to stop me now?! Hahahaha!”

March 7th leaned in, equally stunned by the numbers. “Five times the base damage… How terrifying would a multiplier like that be if we used it back in our own universe?”

A few seconds later, the machine’s screen returned to a dim standby mode. A metallic hatch on the bottom slid open with a hiss. Stelle eagerly reached inside and pulled out a simple, ancient-looking tome bound in dark leather.

She spun around, looking at Samuel with frantic impatience. “Samuel! How do I eat this? Do I read it? Do I hit myself with it?”

“Just close your eyes,” Samuel instructed calmly, “and silently think the word ‘Use’ in your mind.”

Stelle immediately squeezed her eyes shut, gripping the book tightly.

‘Oni Slash! Become my power! Use!’

As she focused her intent, the heavy tome in her hands dissolved into a sphere of brilliant blue light, sinking directly into her chest. She opened her eyes, feeling a sudden surge of heat in her muscles, and pulled up her interface.

[Hero: Stelle]

[Class: Warrior Apprentice]

[HP: 30/30]

[MP: 30/30]

[Level: 3 (19/500)]

[Constitution: 3]

[Strength: 5]

[Intelligence: 3]

[Skills: Heavy Strike LV.1, Oni Slash LV.1]

[Equipment: Apprentice Wooden Sword]

Seeing the new skill locked and loaded, Stelle drew her wooden sword with a vicious grin. She raised it high, fully intending to test the Balefire slash on the empty dirt plaza.

“Stelle, stop,” Samuel warned, his voice cutting through the air. “Find somewhere else to test your destructive urges. Have you already forgotten what happened when you and Furina first got your starter skills? Do not break my plaza.”

Stelle froze, the memory flashing through her mind. When she and Furina had first unlocked their classes, they had immediately started experimenting. Furina, in a panic of dramatic flair, had accidentally discharged a high-pressure Water Magic Bullet directly into Samuel’s chest.

Fortunately, although Samuel’s main body was currently a withered husk, his baseline durability as the World Tree remained intact. If he had been a normal human, he would have gone down in history as the first transmigrator to be violently murdered by his own summoned heroes on day one.

Stelle sheepishly lowered her wooden sword and beckoned to the archer. “Let’s go! March! I’ll carry you!”

Without waiting for an answer, Stelle grabbed March 7th by the wrist and dragged her off into the distance, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Ten minutes later, out in the western plains, the duo spotted a hulking Big Goblin patrolling the tall grass.

Stelle rolled up her sleeves, her eyes locked onto the target. She leveled her wooden sword directly at the beast’s ugly face.

“Hey, ugly! Come get some!”

Provoked by the blatant taunt, the Big Goblin let out a furious, guttural roar. It hoisted a massive, rusted iron hammer over its shoulder and charged at her with heavy, thudding footsteps.

Armed with her newly acquired Oni Slash, Stelle’s confidence was currently overflowing. She didn’t flinch or back down; instead, she gripped her hilt with both hands and sprinted straight toward the towering monster.

As the distance between them vanished, the Big Goblin swung its massive iron hammer down in a brutal, crushing arc aimed right at her skull.

At the very last second, Stelle slammed her heels into the dirt, braking hard, and threw her upper body backward.

BOOM!

The heavy iron hammer smashed into the earth mere inches from her toes, sending a shockwave of dirt into the air and spiderwebbing the ground with a deep crack.

Stelle looked at the Big Goblin, its weapon now temporarily lodged in the dirt right in front of her. A sharp, dangerous smirk curled the corners of her mouth.

‘Now’s the chance!’