Honkai Star Rail: I Became the World Tree — Chapter 49

Chapter 49: Clorinde Becomes Nash’s Disciple

Stelle stared at the flashing results on the gacha interface, her eyes sparkling with pleasant surprise.

“Whoa~ this skill is great! Hehe!”

On the glowing screen of the Skill Gacha Machine, the text materialized in crisp digital lines:

[Skill Book: Uppercut]

[Quality: Purple]

[Skill Description: Perform an upward strike with a weapon, dealing 750% DMG to the enemy and launching them into a Knock-up State.]

[Cooldown: 60s]

[Cost: 50 MP]

[Applicable Classes: Melee]

This Uppercut skill was a massive prize. Not only did it boast an absurdly high DMG multiplier, but the forced knock-up effect provided very useful crowd control. The sixty-second cooldown was the only drawback, though Stelle knew that leveling up the skill later would significantly shave down that timer.

Standing a few paces back, Natasha crossed her arms, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. “The new skills Stelle and March pulled both have some form of crowd control attached to them. I just don’t know if these effects will still work once we return to our world.”

Samuel, leaning casually against the side of the machine, offered a calm explanation. “They will work. The fundamental rules of the Source Continent can project and take effect in other worlds, but the laws of those other worlds cannot override the Source Continent.”

Hearing this, Natasha tilted her head. “So, can these skills be used on any person or object?”

Samuel shook his head. “Natural entities like mountains, rivers, and planets won’t be affected. The target must be a person, a machine, or mobile flora and fauna.”

March 7th, standing nearby with her hands on her hips, summarized the lecture with a bright smile. “In other words, the target has to be a living thing~ dead objects won’t work!”

Samuel nodded. “That’s the gist of it.”

A sudden flash of chaotic inspiration struck Stelle’s mind. She shot her right hand into the air like an eager student. “Question! Does it work on Aeons too?”

Samuel fell completely silent for a moment. He looked at the trash-raccoon of a trailblazer, his tone dryly amused. “If you can actually manage to hit an Aeon with an Uppercut, then yes, it would. But how exactly are you planning to get close enough to an Aeon in the first place?”

Stelle chuckled, puffing out her chest. “Who knows? I am the invincible Galactic Baseballer, after all. Maybe one day I’ll become super strong!”

After the group chatted around the machine for a while longer, Escofier’s figure appeared at the far end of the plaza.

“Stelle! March! Bronya! Everyone! Dinner is ready!”

Stelle, who had been busy trying to look cool by practicing practice swings with her wooden sword, whipped around. She spotted Escofier waving a spatula in the air, wearing a pristine apron.

“Great! Coming!”

Without a second thought, Stelle tossed her wooden sword aside and sprinted toward the promise of food. Samuel sighed softly, calling Clara, Hook, and Anviel back from their games to make sure the three little ones actually sat down to eat. Nearby, Bradley herded the group of little elves toward the dining area.

Inside the Star Adventurer Group Station, the dining hall was filled with the warm, savory aroma of a massive feast.

Stelle was currently shoveling a mountain of fried rice into her mouth, letting out happy, muffled sounds of approval between bites. “So good~ so good~”

March 7th pointed her chopsticks toward a sizzling plate in the center of the table. “Stelle, try that seared ox tongue, it’s delicious! It’s perfectly crispy on the outside.”

Further down the table, Hook, Clara, and Anviel sat in a row, each holding a warm bowl of sweet corn soup with both hands, taking careful, contented sips.

Welt set his cutlery down and looked across the table. “Stelle, we’ll go deal with the Stellaron the day after tomorrow. We’ve gathered our strength, and it’s about time we finally settled that matter.”

Stelle swallowed her mouthful of rice and flashed an ‘OK’ hand gesture. “Alright. I’m ready.”

When Bronya heard Welt mention the Stellaron, her movements froze. The mention of the disaster immediately brought her mother to mind—Cocolia, whose mind had been entirely deluded and twisted by the Stellaron’s whispers. Lately, Bronya had managed to keep her thoughts occupied with gathering supplies and building up a foundation for the Underworld, but the sudden reminder felt like a weight dropping into her stomach.

Seele, who was sitting right next to her aggressively slurping up a bowl of tomato noodles, noticed Bronya’s sudden stillness.

“What’s wrong?” Seele asked, her words slightly muffled by noodles. “Bronya, why aren’t you eating? What’s going on in that head of yours?”

Bronya blinked, quickly shaking her head to clear the dark thoughts. “It’s nothing.” She picked up her fork and forced herself to continue eating.

Seele narrowed her eyes, sensing that Bronya was acting entirely too odd, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on the root of the problem. After a few seconds of trying to figure out the complex emotional state of the Supreme Guardian’s daughter, Seele chose to give up. Focusing on her tomato noodles was simply a higher priority.

After dinner, Stelle, March, and the others washed up, changed into cooler evening clothes, and stepped out into the plaza to enjoy the gentle night breeze.

The plaza was much livelier tonight. After Sivir’s tribe members had properly settled into their new accommodations, they had all migrated outside to cool off. As elves, their absolute favorite pastime was gathering in the open air, relaxing under the sprawling, protective canopy of the Lord Sacred Tree on nights when the moon was bright and the stars were clear.

In a quiet corner of the plaza, Nash was practicing his swordsmanship with a slender longsword. Welt and Neuvillette stood a short distance away, silently observing the martial display.

Stelle, March 7th, Seele, and Furina walked over, each holding a bottle of iced cola they had just grabbed from the General Store.

Stelle took one sip of her cola and was instantly captivated by the sight before her. Nash wasn’t considered old by elven standards; he was essentially a young man in his prime, and his movements carried a sharp, obvious elegance. Combined with the flowing, lethal grace of his Elven Swordsmanship, the entire routine radiated one specific vibe: absolute coolness.

The core principles of Elven Swordsmanship were agility and precision. For someone like Stelle, whose entire combat philosophy revolved around swinging a bat with maximum brute force, the refined technique was captivating.

“Whoa~ Uncle Nash, your swordsmanship is way too cool!” Stelle called out, jogging closer. “Can you teach me?”

Nash paused his routine, lowering his blade with a friendly smile. “Sure. Report to the plaza at 4 AM tomorrow morning.”

Stelle froze. ‘4 AM? Good grief, forget it then.’ There was absolutely no force in the universe that could drag her out of bed at four in the morning.

“Never mind then,” Stelle sighed, taking a long sip of her cola. “I can’t wake up before 9 AM~”

Nash chuckled, resting the flat of his blade against his shoulder. “You’re so young, how can you sleep so much?”

Stelle gave a cheeky grin. “Being young means needing plenty of sleep to grow!”

While Stelle completely lost interest the moment early mornings were mentioned, Clorinde, who had been standing silently nearby, stepped forward. Her eyes were fixed on Nash’s sword.

Clorinde looked at the elven warrior and asked with absolute seriousness, “Can I… learn from you?”

Nash studied her posture for a moment before nodding. “Of course. You are the heroes summoned by Lord Sacred Tree to aid us. If you wish to learn the way of the blade, I will certainly teach you. Tomorrow morning at 4 AM, right here.”

Clorinde gave a firm nod, accepting the terms without a hint of hesitation.

Standing in the shadows of the plaza, Samuel watched the exchange with a faint smile. Clorinde had an excellent eye. Although Nash appeared young, he was once a Level 60 Elven Swordsman, and his talent with a blade was completely unrivaled among his peers. The sword techniques currently locked on his status panel were at least Gold grade, with several Red-tier skills and even one mythical Rainbow-tier technique.

However, because the Chaos had severely sealed his power, Nash simply couldn’t execute those high-level arts. But the foundational knowledge was still there. If Clorinde could truly absorb his elven swordsmanship, her martial strength would likely undergo a world-shaking transformation.

As the night deepened, Stelle, March, and the rest of the group played around the plaza for a while longer before the fatigue of the day finally caught up with them, prompting everyone to head back to their rooms to rest.

Inside the Star Adventurer Group Station, the atmosphere was quiet and relaxed. Dan Heng sat on the plush sofa in the first-floor hall, quietly turning the pages of a thick book. Welt had returned from the plaza, retrieved a sketchpad, and sat next to Dan Heng, expertly drawing the beautiful, moonlit forest visible through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows.

Behind the bar, Stelle and March 7th were currently making a mess, tossing random ingredients into shakers to mix a couple of highly questionable cocktails on a whim, just to see what color they would turn.

Far away, across the stars, poor Himeko could only stay behind on the Astral Express, keeping Pom-Pom company while the rest of the crew enjoyed their fantasy vacation.

The next morning arrived with a crisp chill in the air.

Nash and Gobert left the station early, preparing to lead their clansmen back to the Holy City. Clorinde, true to her word, had risen before dawn. She took command of twenty members of the Gardes and followed Nash’s group on their journey back.

Along the forest path, Nash didn’t waste a single moment. He walked beside Clorinde, explaining the complex footwork and precise wrist movements that formed the core of Elven Swordsmanship. Clorinde listened with intense focus, absorbing every word. Whenever the caravan encountered wandering Goblins along the road, she immediately stepped forward, using the live targets to test her newly acquired theories in practical combat.