Honkai Star Rail: I Became the World Tree — Chapter 38

Chapter 38: The Orc Tribe Appears!

Stelle shouted, bringing her sword down in a vicious arc toward the Big Goblin’s skull.

“Oni Slash!”

The massive creature was too encumbered by its own heavy iron hammer to evade. It could only watch helplessly as the wooden blade, wreathed in a crescent of wicked fire, crashed directly into its forehead.

[-400 HP]

Stelle’s Strength sat at 5, granting her a base physical attack of 50, matched against the Big Goblin’s defense of 50. But a headshot on a vital point triggered double damage, resulting in a devastating four hundred points of damage.

Watching the thick red health bar above the monster plummet by a massive chunk, Stelle felt a rush of pure, unadulterated exhilaration.

However, the Big Goblin was not dead. It roared, staggering upright as its passive ability triggered, instantly doubling its Strength. Bloodshot eyes locked onto Stelle, and it swung its hammer in a blind rage.

‘Bad idea, bad idea!’ Stelle thought, realizing she had been so caught up in her own awesomeness that she forgot to actually finish the job.

With no room to dodge the sweeping hammer, she threw caution to the wind. She lunged forward, grabbing onto the crude iron armor strapped to the Big Goblin’s chest, and scrambled up its massive body like a crazed squirrel.

The monster thrashed and twisted frantically, trying to shake the human off its back. Stelle locked her grip onto the rusted metal plates, holding on for dear life as the world spun around her.

March 7th drew an arrow on her wooden bow, ready to provide covering fire, but Stelle quickly hollered over the goblin’s roars.

“March! Leave it to me! Once my CD is ready, this guy is toast!”

Trusting her friend, March lowered her weapon and let Stelle take the lead in the chaotic rodeo.

A dozen agonizing seconds later, the cooldown for Oni Slash finally reset. Stelle released her death grip, using the momentum of the goblin’s violent thrashing to launch herself backward. She hit the dirt, sliding several meters on her knees as her wooden sword carved a deep trench into the soil to arrest her momentum.

Finding her footing, Stelle coiled her legs and launched herself forward like a cannonball. She vaulted high into the air, spinning in a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree rotation to build maximum kinetic force, and brought her blade down toward the monster’s exposed neck.

“Oni Slash!”

The moment her boots hit the ground, the health bar above the Big Goblin completely shattered.

[Congratulations on slaying a LV.5 monster, Big Goblin. Gained 100 EXP.]

Stelle slowly closed her eyes, turning her back to the collapsing corpse. She rested the wooden sword over her shoulder, striking the ultimate pose of a lonely, wandering swordmaster.

“You were strong… but I am stronger.”

That solemn, dramatic aura lasted for exactly one and a half seconds before it shattered completely. Stelle threw her head back and burst into chaotic, manic laughter.

“Hahahaha! I am simply too strong! I am a terrifying god of destruction right now!”

March trotted over, plucking the single silver coin that materialized from the dissipating goblin, and tossed it to her friend.

“Here, keep the loot safe,” March said, glancing up at the darkening sky. “So, what is the game plan? Do we keep hunting these guys? It is already past six in the evening.”

Stelle gave a grand, sweeping wave of her hand. “Of course we do. I am only two hundred and thirty EXP away from Level 4. The grind never stops. Let us put in a little more elbow grease.”

March nodded in agreement, and the chaotic duo ventured deeper into the woods to terrorize more local wildlife.

Meanwhile, back at the Star Adventurer Group Station.

The dining hall was filled with the warm aroma of roasted meat and spices. Furina, Clorinde, Welt, Dan Heng, and Bronya were gathered around the long wooden table, waiting for dinner to be served.

Furina leaned over her chair, looking left and right toward the entrance. “Eh? Where are Stelle and March? I do not see our resident troublemakers anywhere.”

Samuel took a sip of his drink and answered. “They should still be out fighting monsters right now. You were out earlier, so you missed the update. I placed a Skill Gacha Machine right in front of the General Store. One draw costs one gold coin.”

He set his cup down. “Stelle took a spin and actually pulled a blue-tier skill called Oni Slash. It deals five hundred percent physical damage. You should all check your character panels; the skill section has been updated to reflect the system changes.”

Curious, Furina, Welt, and the others summoned their interfaces.

“Oh, it is true,” Furina said, her eyes widening. “My Water Magic Bullet now explicitly states it deals two hundred percent magic damage.”

Bronya, however, was entirely focused on a different detail. “One gold coin? That is one million copper coins. Do you have any idea how much food that could buy?”

Dan Heng crossed his arms, his tone calm and precise. “Based on the current rates at the General Store, you could purchase exactly one million kilograms of rice. That is one thousand tons.”

Bronya’s jaw practically hit the table. “One thousand tons! That is an astronomical amount! If I had a gold coin, I absolutely would not be able to stomach spending it on a single skill. I would immediately use it to secure winter supplies.”

Samuel offered a reassuring smile. “The circumstances here are different, Bronya. Unless we are facing an immediate starvation crisis, it is always a better investment to use gold coins to increase your combat strength. In this world, power equals capital. As long as you are strong enough, you can earn infinitely more gold.”

He gestured toward the door. “Take Stelle, for example. The gold coin she used came from clearing out the Windmill Market. Once you have the strength, you can march right into high-risk zones and scavenge whatever supplies you need.”

Bronya slowly nodded, though her expression remained heavy. “Logically, that is true. But the dire situation back in Belobog makes it difficult for me to abandon the habit of hoarding resources.”

From the kitchen, Escofier carried out a large tray of plates. Hearing the conversation, he chimed in. “I will set aside two generous portions of dinner. Whenever Stelle and March finally drag themselves back, I can just heat it up for them to eat.”

Furina clapped her hands together. “Excellent. Let us do exactly that, Escofier. Neuvillette is buried in paperwork tonight and will not be joining us, so basically everyone else is accounted for. Let us eat!”

The group settled in and began their meal. As they ate, Samuel quietly monitored his system interface. Every few minutes, he watched his Divine Power tick upward by over a hundred points. He felt a deep sense of satisfaction. Stelle was clearly fueled by pure gacha adrenaline, tearing through the monster population with absolute zero chill.

What Samuel and the others did not yet realize was that far to the east of the Elven Forest, a brand-new threat was taking root.

A massive Orc Tribe had just established a forward operating base.

Standing atop a freshly erected wooden palisade, the werewolf Chieftain Sarulu glared out at the distant, lush canopy of the Elven Forest. His face was twisted in a snarl of utter disgust.

“I have no idea what the Great Shaman was thinking, sending me out here to guard this pathetic patch of dirt,” Sarulu spat. “There is no resistance here. No enemies to crush. What kind of military merit am I supposed to earn in this quiet backwater?”

An Orc Shaman standing beside him leaned heavily on a bone-carved staff. “Chieftain Sarulu, the Great Shaman naturally has his reasons for this deployment. Those rebel forces in the Cold Wind Mountains are cowering deep within the snowy peaks. They refuse to come out and fight. Even if we marched our warriors up there, we might freeze before we saw a single drop of blood. Here, at the very least, the climate is pleasant.”

Hearing the Shaman’s pragmatic logic, Sarulu’s foul mood cooled slightly. He scoffed, crossing his muscular arms.

“Hmph. Fine. Tell the warriors to speed up their labor. I want the main camp finished before dawn tomorrow. You keep an eye on the perimeter.”

With those orders given, Sarulu turned his back on the forest and marched into his massive leather tent to drown his boredom in roasted meat and cheap wine.

The night passed in the blink of an eye.

The next morning, Samuel had barely opened his eyes when the cold, mechanical voice of the system chimed directly into his mind.

[Congratulations Host, Mission 2 has been completed!]

[Reward: 1,000 Divine Power points, Equipment Sub-system unlocked!]

[Issuing New Mission]

[Mission 3: Reclaim the City-State. Expel all monsters within the Holy City.]

[Reward: 5,000 Divine Power points, Irminsul skill ‘Creation’ unlocked, Class Change function unlocked.]

[Current Progress: Goblins: 462/5,000]

[Big Goblins: 9/300]

[Shadow Goblins: 0/30]

[Goblin Warriors: 0/1]

Samuel lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Was he still dreaming? Mission 2 was already finished? Just like that?

He immediately pulled up his status screen to check his balance.

[Host: Samuel]

[True Form: Irminsul (Near Death)]

[Constitution: 100]

[Strength: 100]

[Intelligence: 1,000]

[Skills: Lord of the Forest; other skills in sealed state.]

[Divine Power Balance: 2,267]

Looking at the massive number sitting in his account, Samuel rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

“System, where in the world did all this Divine Power come from? Even if you subtract the one thousand from the mission reward, there is still an extra one thousand two hundred and sixty-seven points sitting there!”

[Notification: Most of the accumulated points originated from the Hero, Stelle.]

A terrifying realization crashed into Samuel’s mind.

That chaotic raccoon of a girl… she did not actually stay up grinding for the entire night, did she?

He hastily opened Stelle’s character panel.

[Hero: Stelle]

[Class: Warrior Apprentice]

[HP: 50/50]

[MP: 50/50]

[Level: 5 (2/5,000)]

[Constitution: 5]

[Strength: 9]

[Intelligence: 5]

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

[Equipment: Apprentice Wooden Sword]

Samuel stared at the screen.

Good heavens. Level 5.

Looking at those stats, there was no doubt about it. Stelle had absolutely pulled a sleepless all-nighter fueled by pure grinding addiction. There was no other way she could have skyrocketed to Level 5 in such a short window.

At Level 5, her base Strength had reached 9 points, giving her 90 physical damage. Factoring in the five hundred percent multiplier from Oni Slash, her burst damage was now a staggering 450. She could deal 400 damage to a Big Goblin on a normal hit, completely bypassing the need to aim for a vital point.

Samuel let out a long breath, a dry smile forming on his lips. With that kind of firepower, Stelle’s leveling speed was about to break the sound barrier.