English
Indonesia
Chinese (Simp)
Japanese
Korean
Spanish
Portuguese
French
German
ArabicHonkai Star Rail: I Became the World Tree — Chapter 4
Chapter 4: The First Battle
As Samuel’s voice faded, the air above the plaza rippled. Several heavy stone tablets, each carefully engraved with distinct weapon insignias, materialized out of thin air and slammed into the ground with a resounding thud.
“These are the classes available to you. There are five in total,” Samuel announced, his tone echoing with the quiet authority of the World Tree.
Warrior Apprentice. Magician Apprentice. Assassin Apprentice. Archer Apprentice. Cleric Apprentice.
“Once a class is chosen, it is permanently locked to your soul. Please choose carefully,” he continued, making sure they understood the gravity of the decision. “And as a reminder, any power you cultivate through these classes can be taken back to your original universe. However, the powers you previously possessed in your home world are completely suppressed here.”
A heavy silence descended over the plaza.
March 7th blinked her striking pink-and-blue eyes, processing the information at a glacial pace. Then, she gasped, her hands flying to her cheeks. “Wait, huh?! We can’t use our own powers in this world?!”
The moment the words left her mouth, Stelle, Himeko, and the rest of the Astral Express crew slowly turned their heads to stare at her in absolute disbelief.
Dan Heng closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose as the corner of his eye twitched. “Please don’t tell me you are only just realizing this now.”
“Well, yeah!” March 7th replied, crossing her arms as if her delayed reaction was the most natural thing in the universe. “How else was I supposed to know?”
Dan Heng turned his head away, letting out a long, exhausted sigh. He simply didn’t have the energy to deal with her logic right now.
Stelle, however, offered a deadpan thumbs-up. “Only you, March. Only you could waltz into a brand-new universe and not even bother to check if your body still worked.”
“Ah? Is that how it is?” March scratched her cheek, a sheepish smile breaking through her awkwardness. “This is… well…”
Seeing the atmosphere devolve into a comedy routine, Samuel coughed twice to steer them back on track. “Please select your classes first. Once you are properly equipped, your adventure can officially begin.”
Hearing the prompt, Himeko and the others shifted their focus back to the imposing stone tablets.
March 7th bounded over to the five monoliths, her eyes scanning the insignias before she dramatically pointed a finger at the tablet bearing a sword. “Samuel! Samuel! I want to be a Warrior!”
Stelle tilted her head, her gray eyes filled with genuine confusion. “March, don’t you exclusively use a bow and arrow? Why on earth would you pick Warrior?”
March 7th puffed out her chest, tilting her chin up with a smug grin. “Hmph! Haven’t you heard the saying? An archer who doesn’t want to fight in melee isn’t a real archer! Deep down, every bow user has the soul of a close-quarters brawler!”
Stelle stared at her in silence for a long moment. ‘…You actually have a point.’
Himeko walked over, placing a gentle, grounding hand on the pink-haired girl’s shoulder. “March, you should stick to what you excel at. We are stepping into unknown territory, and we will undoubtedly encounter hostile monsters. There will be no shortage of fighting, so we need you at your best.”
March 7th puffed out her cheeks like an angry squirrel, but after a few seconds of internal rationalization, she relented. She reached out and touched the Archer tablet.
A flash of light enveloped her hands, leaving behind a simple, unadorned wooden bow.
She gave the string an experimental tug. To her delight, a glowing arrow of pure energy instantly materialized on the rest. “Wow! This wooden bow is actually super handy! I don’t even need to carry a quiver. I thought I’d have to lug around a bunch of heavy arrows. How convenient!”
Stelle drew her own starting weapon—a chipped, heavily worn wooden sword. She gave it a few practice swings, the dull blade cutting through the air. “Don’t worry, March. When the fighting starts, I’ll be the meat shield taking the DMG, and you can focus entirely on output from the backline. It’s a perfect setup.”
“And me! And me!” Furina threw her hand into the air, practically bouncing on her heels. “I can also provide spectacular long-range output!”
Stelle patted her chest confidently. “Of course! When the time comes, we’ll be an unstoppable all-beautiful-girl combo!”
Following their lead, Himeko, Welt, and Dan Heng finalized their choices.
Opting for a tactical support route, Himeko selected the Cleric class. Her starting weapon was an elegant, albeit basic, wooden scepter designed to cast restorative magic and apply buffs to her allies.
Watching from the sidelines, Samuel breathed a quiet sigh of relief. If Himeko had chosen Warrior… tsk, tsk. Given her usual combat style, she probably would have demanded a massive greatsword and started turning the local wildlife into minced meat.
Welt calmly selected the Magician Apprentice class. Interestingly, his starting skill differed entirely from Furina’s, despite sharing the same class. While the Hydro Archon had awakened the [Water Magic Bullet] skill, Welt’s initial spell was [Dark Magic Bullet].
This variance extended to the melee fighters as well. Both Stelle and Dan Heng had chosen Warrior, yet Stelle’s starting skill was [Heavy Strike], while Dan Heng had awakened [Penetration].
Samuel quickly provided an explanation for the discrepancy. “Initial skills are generated based on your innate affinities. However, you aren’t locked into a single move. As long as you acquire the corresponding skill books for your class, you can learn anything.”
With their classes locked in and weapons drawn, Stelle hoisted her broken sword into the air. “Star Adventure Group! Move out!”
Without waiting for a response, the gray-haired trailblazer sprinted down the dirt path leading away from the giant tree, her chaotic energy infectious. Furina let out a dramatic battle cry and chased right after her. She hadn’t formally established an Adventurers Guild yet, but she could worry about the paperwork later. Right now, there were monsters to hunt.
About ten minutes after the group disappeared down the trail, Samuel checked his system interface. The mission progress bar had finally updated.
[Reward: 10 Divine Power, Avatar x1]
[Current Progress: 1/10]
‘As expected, there is strength in numbers,’ Samuel thought, a wave of anticipation washing over him. At this rate, he would secure his physical Avatar before the sun set. Being trapped as a stationary, omnipresent consciousness inside a giant tree was starting to drive him crazy.
A mile and a half away, on a wide trunk avenue shaded by massive, overlapping leaves, the battle had already begun.
“Hah! Heavy Strike!”
Stelle charged headlong at a snarling, green-skinned Goblin. Just as the creature raised its crude club, she vaulted into the air, bringing her broken wooden sword crashing down with the full weight of her momentum.
The blunt edge slammed into the Goblin’s shoulder, a satisfying kinetic shockwave rippling through the air.
[-10 HP]
The [Heavy Strike] skill amplified her base attack damage by 200%. Currently sitting at Level 1 with a pitiful Strength stat of 1, this was the only way Stelle could actually break through the monster’s thick hide.
The moment her strike connected, Stelle kicked off the Goblin’s chest, throwing herself backward to create distance. She refused to linger in the danger zone.
It was a wise decision. A split second later, the Goblin roared in fury and smashed its spiked club into the exact patch of dirt where Stelle had just been standing, sending clods of earth flying.
Before the monster could recover its footing and pursue her, suppressing fire rained down from the backline.
“Precision Arrow!”
“Take my Water Magic Bullet!”
A glowing energy arrow and a high-pressure sphere of water whizzed past Stelle’s ears, the wind pressure violently ruffling her gray hair. Both projectiles slammed into the Goblin’s chest in rapid succession, knocking it off balance and shaving off another twenty points of health.
A short distance away, the second half of the team was operating with frightening efficiency.
Dan Heng, Himeko, and Welt moved in perfect, tacit coordination. Unlike Stelle’s chaotic trio, these three possessed decades of refined combat experience. They didn’t waste a single breath or movement, methodically cornering their target.
Dan Heng gripped his wooden sword with both hands, his teal eyes locking onto the Goblin’s exposed throat.
“Penetration!”
He lunged forward. The wooden blade darted out like a striking viper, piercing straight through the Goblin’s defenses to deliver the fatal blow.
The creature let out a gurgling shriek before its physical form shattered into a cloud of glowing, shadowy light. When the particles faded, a single copper coin lay in the dirt.
Simultaneously, a crisp electronic chime rang in Dan Heng’s mind.
[Congratulations on killing a LV.1 Goblin. Gained 10 EXP.]
[EXP limit reached. Congratulations on leveling up! Level 1 → 2.]
[Strength +2, Constitution +1, Intelligence +1]
As the prompt faded, a warm surge of energy flooded Dan Heng’s veins. The lingering sluggishness of his mortal body vanished, replaced by a sudden, sharp vitality. He pulled up his status screen.
[Hero: Dan Heng]
[Class: Warrior Apprentice]
[HP: 20/20]
[MP: 20/20]
[Level: 2 (0/100)]
[Constitution: 2]
[Strength: 3]
[Intelligence: 2]
[Skill: Penetration LV.1]
[Equipment: Apprentice Wooden Sword]
His base attack stat had just skyrocketed. If he used [Penetration] now, he could easily deal fifty points of damage in a single strike. It was a massive leap in lethality.
However, before Dan Heng could fully analyze his new limits, the rustling of bushes broke his concentration. Three more Goblins burst from the underbrush, waving their spiked clubs and screaming in guttural rage.
Without a word, Dan Heng adjusted his grip on his sword and dashed forward to intercept them.
Ten minutes later.
Working in two coordinated squads, Stelle, Furina, and the rest of the crew successfully exterminated the pack of Goblins entrenched around the perimeter of the giant tree.
A flurry of golden light washed over the plaza as everyone hit Level 2.
Despite the stat boosts, the physical toll of the LitRPG system was absolute. Their current bodies were only marginally stronger than ordinary humans. The system’s rules were strict: when a person’s HP dropped to 50%, a deep, aching fatigue would set into their muscles. If their HP ever plummeted below 10%, extreme dizziness and blurred vision would render them virtually defenseless.
Stelle collapsed onto the soft grass, her limbs spread out like a starfish as she waited for her health bar to slowly regenerate.
“Phew…” she groaned, staring up at the canopy. “So tired…”