Honkai Star Rail: I Became the World Tree — Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Better to Worship Samuel than an Aeon

Nash and the other two elves dropped to their knees, bowing deeply toward Samuel’s back.

“Elf Nash greets Lord Sacred Tree!”

“Elf Sivir greets Lord Sacred Tree!”

“Elf Gobert greets Lord Sacred Tree!”

Hearing the chorus of voices behind him, Samuel pulled his thoughts away from the horizon and turned around. A faint, reassuring smile touched his lips as he looked down at the kneeling trio.

“Nash, Gobert, Sivir. You’ve worked hard all these years.”

Nash trembled, overwhelmed by a potent mix of reverence and lingering fear from their recent battles. “It wasn’t hard,” the elf replied, his voice thick with emotion. “It is our duty. Lord Sacred Tree… you have finally returned to us!”

Samuel reached out, gesturing for them to rise. “Stand up, all of you. It’s getting late. Tomorrow, go and bring the rest of your clansmen back. With me here, and with these heroes standing by our side, everyone will be safe from now on.”

Nash and Gobert nodded vigorously, the heavy tension in their shoulders finally unwinding.

Samuel studied the three of them for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly. “Why is your strength so low? If I remember correctly, the three of you were Level 60 powerhouses before I fell.”

Bradley, standing off to the side, let out a heavy sigh. “Lord Sacred Tree, this is the work of Chaos. A Level 100 Lord from the Chaos faction cast a vile curse upon us, suppressing the levels of our entire Elf Clan all the way back to Level 1. Coupled with the relentless persecution by the Orcs, grinding for experience has become nearly impossible. Reaching even our current levels took everything we had.”

Samuel gave a slow, understanding nod. The lingering trauma of their survival was etched into their weary faces. “I see. Once I fully recover my strength, I will shatter this curse. Bradley, make the arrangements. Take the clansmen to the western district of the Holy City to find a place to settle. From now on, the eastern and southern districts will be allocated as living quarters for the heroes.”

Bradley, Nash, and the others bowed in absolute obedience. Without another word, they hurried off to organize the living quarters for their people. There were plenty of ready-made treehouses available for immediate use; furniture and other comforts could be crafted later.

With the elves dismissed, Samuel made his way toward the entrance of the General Store.

The plaza outside was a scene of utter chaos. Anviel, Clara, and Hook were leading a massive flock of young elf children, chasing each other in circles across the stone pavement. The young elves had apparently all been conscripted into Hook’s ‘The Moles’, chasing after the fiery little girl and eagerly calling her ‘Boss’.

Off to the side, Stelle sat slouched in a rocking chair by the store’s entrance, casually sipping iced cola. Nearby, a squad of Herta’s jointed puppets were busy shoving the day’s collected plants, animals, and the captive pig-headed demi-human, Groot, into the teleportation gate.

Groot looked absolutely miserable. Every time his HP regenerated enough for him to catch his breath, a blank-faced Herta puppet would step forward and ruthlessly bludgeon him with a massive club. They only stopped swinging when his health dropped low enough to trigger his [Deathmatch] skill, leaving the poor Orc trapped in an endless cycle of near-death suffering.

Neuvillette was nowhere to be seen, having already returned to Fontaine with his Gardes to resume his duties.

Spotting Samuel approaching, Stelle raised her delicate porcelain teacup, the dark, carbonated liquid fizzing inside it.

“Yo~ Samuel, finished with your grand leader duties? Come, come, have some tea~”

Samuel stopped, staring blankly at the bubbling cup. “Is that tea you’re drinking? That’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone drink iced cola out of a fine teacup.”

Stelle chuckled, swirling the cola like a vintage wine. “Oh, please. No one said you can’t do it. Doesn’t drinking it like this make me look incredibly elegant? Hehe.”

Samuel simply shook his head, pulling a heavy gold coin from his inventory and tossing it through the air. “Your mission is complete. Here’s your payment.”

Stelle’s lazy demeanor vanished instantly. She snatched the coin out of the air with terrifying speed. “Easy there! Don’t drop my precious little gold coin.” She rubbed the gleaming metal against her cheek. “Hehe~ little gold coin, oh sweet little gold coin, you’re so beautiful. No matter how I look at you, you’re absolutely gorgeous.”

Ignoring the raccoon-like Trailblazer, Samuel turned his attention to Furina, Seele, and March 7th, handing out their respective rewards. “And here are yours. Thanks for your hard work today.”

Furina snatched her coin with both hands, her eyes sparkling with dramatic intensity. “No trouble at all! I finally have it. Gacha! It’s gacha time!”

Without wasting a single second, the Hydro Archon sprinted over to the Skill Gacha Machine, slammed the gold coin into the slot, and dramatically slammed her palm onto the start button. “Let’s roll!”

The commotion drew the attention of everyone near the General Store. They gathered around, curious to see what the theatrical girl would pull. Furina stared intently at the screen, her breath hitching as the glowing squares spun in a rapid, dizzying blur.

A dozen seconds later, the machine chimed, and a holographic panel materialized.

[Skill Book: Surging Tides]

[Quality: Purple]

[Skill Description: Summons a high-pressure water column from the user’s hand to attack enemies. The water column lasts for a maximum of 5 seconds and deals 5 x 200% Magic ATK DMG. Direction can be manually controlled.]

[Cooldown: 60s]

[Cost: 50 MP]

[Applicable Class: Magic-type]

Furina threw her head back and let out a triumphant, haughty laugh. “Hahahaha! I drew a purple skill! As expected of me, the star of the show! My luck is simply flawless!”

She grabbed the glowing purple book and crushed it in her hands, learning the skill instantly. Eager to test her new toy, Furina spun around, aimed her hand at an empty patch of the plaza, and shouted, “Surging Tides!”

A glowing blue hexagram array materialized in front of her palm. A split second later, a massive, one-meter-thick torrent of water blasted out of the magic circle, tearing through the air with a heavy, rushing roar. As Furina swept her arm to the side, the violent stream of water tracked her movement perfectly.

“Hahahaha! Fun, fun! I can even aim it!”

Watching the display of raw hydro power, March 7th clutched her own gold coin, her competitive spirit igniting. “No fair! I’m going to draw too!”

March dashed to the machine, shoving her coin into the slot. The lights flashed, the machine whirred, and her result popped onto the screen.

[Skill Book: Ice Arrow]

[Quality: Purple]

[Skill Description: Fires a condensed arrow of frost. Upon hitting an enemy, inflicts a 1.5-second crowd control freeze effect and deals 700% Physical DMG.]

[Cooldown: 60s]

[Cost: 100 MP]

[Applicable Class: Archer-type]

March 7th jumped into the air, pumping her fist. “Yay! I got a purple skill too! And it has a freeze effect! That’s so overpowered!”

Standing a short distance away, Bronya, Seele, and Natasha quietly watched the spectacle. None of them moved toward the machine. They had already silently agreed to pool their gold coins to buy survival supplies.

One gold coin equated to one million kilograms of rice. Three coins meant three thousand tons of food. With that kind of purchasing power, the looming starvation crisis in Belobog would be completely resolved for the next month. If they rationed it carefully, it could easily stretch to two. For the leaders of the Underworld and the Silvermane Guards, that security was worth far more than any magical skill.

Meanwhile, Stelle stared at the gacha machine, her eye twitching. Good grief. Both March and Furina pulled purple skills? My Oni Slash is only blue! Unacceptable! I need a purple one too!

Abandoning her teacup, Stelle practically dove at the Skill Gacha Machine. She slapped her hands together, closing her eyes with an expression of absolute, desperate piety. “Aeons protect me! Bless this humble Trailblazer with a purple skill!”

Dan Heng, leaning against the wall nearby, crossed his arms and sighed. “Stelle, it’s useless to pray to the Aeons here. They have no jurisdiction over the Source Continent. Don’t be superstitious.”

Stelle froze. She slowly opened one eye, processed Dan Heng’s logic, and then sharply pivoted on her heel to face Samuel. She slapped her hands together again, bowing her head toward him. “Irminsul protect me! Bless me with a purple skill!”

Samuel’s eye twitched violently. “I just heard him tell you not to be superstitious! Why are you worshipping me now? Do you think worshipping a tree is going to change the RNG? I don’t control the gacha machine!”

Stelle completely ignored him. She turned back to the machine, her face deadpan and solemn as she slid her gold coin into the slot. “Irminsul protect me. Please let me draw a purple skill.”

She slammed the start button. The lights began to spin.

For Stelle, those ten seconds stretched into an absolute eternity. Finally, the machine let out a sharp ding, and the holographic panel flashed a brilliant, unmistakable shade of purple.

March 7th’s jaw dropped as she stared at the screen. “Wait… worshipping Samuel actually works?!”