New Weapon, Back to the present, and using the S-rank option ticket

Previously, Sora was shocked as he was pulled into an alternate space and was surprised that he was given a system for him to use. After meeting the resident AI of the battleship Hyperion Ai-chan and getting the basics of the system given to him, Sora right now is pulling for his first weapon from the gacha.

Ding!

The two were then transported to a space resembling a hangar since there was no roof, but they should still be on the Hyperion. They then saw a huge steel box falling from the sky with thrusters on the four sides of the cube, slowing down its descent towards the platform in front of Sora and Ai-chan. After a few bursts from the thrusters, the huge steel box finally landed on the platform, almost a minute passed before sounds of pressurized locks came from the box, the top part then opening with dazzling beams and motes of golden light, blinding the two expectant spectators.

After the blinding light was gone, what appeared before Sora and Ai-chan was a katana, only, it wasn't your average one.

With the entire blade glowing with a neon-blue light, the blade just speaks 'cold' to whoever lays their eyes on it. Its hilt on a diagonal position, with a standard composite metal alloy handle, the katana looked simple, beautiful, and deadly at the same time.

Ding!

[Plasma Kagehide] received!

"Wow…Am I lucky or what?" Recognizing the katana, Sora was ecstatic at being able to receive this weapon for his first one. In-game, this weapon can be acquired from the Foundry, and it was very optimal for a particular fox-eared woman…

"Ai-chan, can you show me the katana's stats?" Grabbing the weapon and a sheathe that appeared later from mid-air since it was floating in front of them; Sora took a few practice swings with it, producing a slightly chilly wind with every swing. "Sure, captain. Here you go." Approaching Sora, Ai-chan went closer to the blade and held out her left arm, which then a few white rings overlapped with each other appeared. A few seconds later, Ai-chan dispersed the rings and then displayed a panel in front of Sora, to which Sora looked at. Recognizing the sword slowly spinning as the same katana he just got, Sora read the information showed in front of him.

[Plasma Kagehide]

Description: Raiden Ryoma's magnum opus. This weapon has the powers to freeze Honkai Herrschers. Perhaps Ryoma will unsheathe this blade when his daughter's inner Herrscher wakes again.

Stats: ATK: 63 CRT: 3

Weapon Skills:

(Absolute Zero) (Active)

> (SP: 10) (CD: 10 secs) : Transforms Ionic energy into a frigid blast, freezing enemies along the way and dealing 210 Ice DMG every 0.9 secs for 4 secs.

(Frigid Winter) (Passive)

> Hits against enemies gain 8 Ice DMG, and attacks against enemies who are frozen or have reduced Move Speed gain 10% Total DMG Multiplier.

"Hmm, I dunno about those damage multipliers, but as long as they get the job done. Anyways, is there anything else that I need to do, Ai-chan?" Sending the katana in his hand inside his system's inventory, Sora asked Ai-chan, to which the little AI shook her head. "That should be it for now, captain. Until you reach LVL 10, the higher beings shouldn't be giving you any missions just yet, so captain can relax and use this time to strengthen himself."

Nodding his head, Sora then asked Ai-chan to send him back to the real world. *Nods* "Ok then, please send me back Ai-chan. I'll summon you once I get back, so that you won't be lonely here in the Hyperion." Sora already knew the plight of the little one before him. Since he didn't summon any Valkyries yet, Ai-chan won't have any company in the Hyperion until he pulls for one, so he promised her to summon her to the real world to have fun.

*Nods* "Mmm. Thank you, captain. Well then, I'll be seeing you in a bit!" Nodding her head like pecking chicken, Ai-chan then clapped her…hands? And Sora's vision turned dark, and then his consciousness faded away.

…

…

…

==END FLASHBACK==

5 more years passed since that fateful event, A little bit of drama here and there, some crazy antics on the side, and a little bit of blood being spilt, Sora eventually got to today, where after his sparring session with Zen, A 'ding!' sound rang in his mind. He put it off earlier since he thought that it wasn't anything relevant, but then he remembered something, and excused himself from the others for this exact reason.

"Status"

==+==+==+==+==+==

[Status Screen]

Name: Sora

LVL: 10

HP: 100 (100 (Base)) + 0 (Battlesuit equipped) + 0 (Stigmata) + 0 (Equipment)

SP: 100 (100 (Base)) + 0 (Battlesuit equipped) + 0 (Stigmata) + 0 (Equipment)

ATK: 163 (100 (Base)) + 0 (Battlesuit equipped) + 0 (Stigmata) + 63 (Equipment)

DEF: 103 (100 (Base)) + 0 (Battlesuit equipped) + 0 (Stigmata) + 3 (Equipment)

CRIT: 8 (5 (Base)) + 0 (Battlesuit equipped) + 0 (Stigmata) + 3 (Equipment)

STIGMATAS: T (None) M (None) B (None)

[Valkyries]: None

[Equipment]: {Plasma Kagehide}, {Knight's standard shirt}, {Knight's standard long pants}, {Knight's standard combat boots}

[Supply]: [Shop] [Dorm Supply] [Expansion Supply]

Mission: Current: None

[Mail]: 0 (Unread), 1 (Read)

[Dorms]

[Gold]: 500, 050

[Gems]: 1000

==+==+==+==+==+==

*Sighs* "Finally…finally reached LVL 10. That sure took a long time." Exhaling an exasperated sigh, who knew that it would take so long just to reach LVL 10? This just goes to show just how peaceful the current world that Sora is in.

Nodding her little head, and although she did have fun and wasn't too lonely since Sora gave her permission to materialize herself (but keep herself invincible) here in Akagami no Shirayukihime world, Ai-chan really wanted to meet with one of the girls from the HI3-verse, but she couldn't be that wilful and demand Sora to use his S-rank option ticket. "It sure was. Although this world is very peaceful compared to where Ai-chan came from, it's too boring for my taste. Ai-chan needs more action! *O(*>▽<*)o*" Her current pose very similar to the emoticons that were rampantly used in-game, this action of Ai-chan's brought a smile to Sora's face.

"Hopefully the missions from the higher beings would allow us to see some of that. I'm also itching to find out how strong I am already. Ohh! Now I remember! Ai-chan, can I see the power scaling chart now?" Even if it was not to learn how strong he is compared to a normal human in this world, it would be a great help to Sora if he knew the difference between him and his opponent/s.

"Sure, captain. But please try not to freak out after seeing the scale though. Ai-chan is confident that unless captain pisses of or makes an enemy of those kinds of existences, captain would be able to grow as powerful as them in due time." For the first time since they met 5 years ago, Sora saw Ai-chan speak towards him in a very solemn tone, though he also felt warm since it was just Ai-chan being worried about him and cheering him to never lose hope in the face of great adversity.

*Nods* "Mmm. I will make sure to remember, Ai-chan, so please believe in me."

Also nodding towards Sora, Ai-chan then summoned several silverfish-white circles imposed upon one another in both of her hands. Some spinning in clockwise while others in a counter-clockwise direction, the circles seem to be opening something as while spinning, they seem to glitch and then return to a normal spin once again. Sora didn't have to wait long since, a few minutes later; a transparent bluish panel appears in front of him, showing Sora the confirmed power scaling of not only this world, but maybe that of the whole multiverse he was currently in.

===+===+===

[Power Scaling]

1-40 on all stats: Lower half of Tier 0

41-60 on all stats: Middle of Tier 0

61-80 on all stats: Upper half of Tier 0

81-99 on all stats: Peak of Tier 0

J-SSS (1-999): Tier 1

J-SSS (1-999): Tier 2

================

J-SSS (1-999): Tier 3

J-SSS (1-999): Tier 4

J-SSS (1-999): Tier 5

================

J-SSS (1-999): Tier 6

J-SSS (1-999): Tier 7

================

EX: God Tier

???: Primordial Tier

???: Concepts and Laws Tier

===+===+===

"Then, captain, I will explain about the tier system. Tier 0-2 can be considered as the mortal realm. Tier 3-5 are for those that have just surpassed their mortal coils. Tier 6-7 are those that have begun to touch upon the principles and concepts that they have either understood by chance or studied for a long time, therefore making them Demigods. The higher beings belong to the God Tier and, the Primordial Tier, which belong to only 2 absolute places: The Imaginary Tree, and The Sea of Quanta. The last tier is currently unknown because no higher being has been able to achieve complete mastery over their concepts or laws."

Hearing Ai-chan's explanation, Sora was a bit flabbergasted. He was expecting only the lower tiers of the power scaling to be shown to him, since he knew that he wasn't that much important to the higher beings. The only reason that he could think of, was that either a higher being has plans for him, or someone not related to the higher beings, but managed to interfere with the system created by them. Awfully paranoid, but it was better to overthink at times rather than be too ignorant about it. "Thanks for the explanation Ai-chan. Now then, before we wrap things up here, there's one more final thing to do." Said Sora flashing a knowing smile towards Ai-chan, who upon noticing Sora's smiling face, tilted her head with a huge '?' mark on the side of her head.

*(#O_O#)?*

Seeing the little loli's questioning look, Sora giggled a bit, still trying to act all mysterious. "C'mon, I should be able to get back to the Hyperion right? Let's go, we'll summon our first Valkyrie." Sora said while waiting for the little one to catch on.

Sora didn't have to wait long. A few seconds later, Ai-chan beamed up, and jumped in the air while shouting "Yatta!" a couple of times, before finally settling down and facing Sora, although she was still giddy since she was still shuffling left and right a bit. "Yes yes! Since captain is already LVL 10, you are free to go back to the alternate space where the Hyperion is. To go back, captain only needs to think about trying to enter the Hyperion again, and a portal will appear that will teleport captain to the battleship. Once captain arrives on the Hyperion, a time dilation of 1:1 where 1 hour on the Hyperion will only be 1 minute on the world captain is currently in."

Nodding at Ai-chan's explanation, Sora closed his eyes and thought of entering Hyperion again, and when he opened them, he saw a spot in his room where there was a sort of circular, bluish-white beam reaching halfway up the room, with the center devoid of the light. This obviously being the portal, Sora didn't waste time and went to the center of the portal. After getting in and waiting a few moments, the light surrounding him grew bright enough that Sora had to close his eyes, and when he opened them, he was back to the familiar bridge of the Hyperion.

"Ahh~ it's good to be back. It's also very cool here, perks to the air-conditioning." Although it wasn't too hot at the Clarines Kingdom, it was still considerably cooler here, since, heck nothing beats being in an air-conditioned room in a hot day. "Welcome back captain! Now, let's get to summoning that Valkyrie! Let's go, let's go!" Ai-chan also appeared by Sora's side rigt after, and the first thing that she said was using the S-rank Valkyrie option ticket.

Donning a wry smile on his face because of Ai-chan pushing his back, Sora ceded to her request. "Alright2x, let's go. I'm also excited on finally meeting the Valkyrie that I chose." This actually took the better part of the 5 years that passed for Sora to decide which S-class Valkyrie to choose. Sure all of them are very powerful, not including the godlike existences which are the Herrschers, beings born from the 'Will of Honkai', that can manipulate various concepts; such as the Herrscher of the Void, who can manipulate space, and the Herrscher of Thunder, who has sovereignty over the lightning element. As tempting as they are, Sora knows just how unstable these beings are. Them being very powerful means that although he can contain them here in the Hyperion, he wouldn't be able to rely on them if the going gets tough, unless he was able to bond with them and obtain their trust. So after much deliberation, Sora was finally able to decide on which S-rank Valkyrie to summon.

Once again, pulling up the system tab, navigating his way to the {Equipment} tab, and opening his inventory, Sora was able to spot an object shaped like an egg nestled within a golden holder with accents, the egg had an outline of a person, which presumably was Kiana, and was glowing in a rainbow color, contrary to the one found in-game which has an amber color. And yes, although it's called 'S-rank Valkyrie option ticket', it's actually an egg.

(A/N: Minor mistake, so just go with the flow~)

Clicking on it, a confirmation whether he wanted to use the item or not was displayed, to which he clicked 'Yes'. Soon after, another panel appeared before him, and this panel contained all the portraits of the current S-ranked Valkyries, up to the most recent version, which was when the Palatinous Equinox and Spina Astera battlesuits were just released.

"Well, well? Who did you pick captain? You wouldn't tell Ai-chan no matter how much Ai-chan asked! Muu! O((>ω< ))O" Already getting very impatient, Ai-chan had this comical angry face emoji on her right now, and it looked so cute that Sora wasn't able to hold himself back from pinching both of her cheeks to calm the loli down. "Now2x, if you keep on bothering me I won't be able to finish looking for her, so be patient for just a bit more, alright?" To which Ai-chan nodded her head and floated to the side to give Sora space.

After coaxing the loli, Sora resumed his search for the one portrait that he wanted to look for, which after a few moments, he finally found the Valkyrie battlesuit he wanted. "Now then, press this…Confirm." After finding the portrait of the battlesuit that he wanted, a panel asking for confirmation whether this was the one he really wanted, to which Sora actually paused for a bit and closed his eyes for a few moments, but opened them soon after with resolve in them and finally pressed 'Confirm'.

Both Sora and Ai-chan were then transported to the same hangar where he got the katana {Plasma Kagehide} from, and this time instead of a huge metal box, something resembling a pod large enough to house a single person came falling from the sky. Similar to the box before, there were 4 thrusters on the pod, and they were bursting in between intervals until the pod was able to land safely on the platform of the hangar.

(A/N: Imagine the pod kinda like those from dragonball, but with more extra details. Anyways, it's that. XD)

Waiting for a few seconds, the pod then made a *fiiiiissshhhh* sound, reminiscent of something like a lock opening, the door of the pod opened slowly, much to the chagrin of one green haired loli that kept on muttering "Quickly, quickly!" While her…fists? Were moving up and down. An excruciatingly long 1 minute later, the door of the pod finally opened, where they can finally see the silhouette from within the pod.

*Gasps* "Captain! Are…are you sure you made the right choice on choosing her?" After seeing the silhouette within the pod, Ai-chan turned towards Sora and asked him in a slightly worried tone. She indeed knew who this person was, but she was too serious for her own good, also this person was slightly gullible, remembering an event that happened during the Honkai Eruption that occurred in Oceania. But still, even with all these, this person can only be described as a very kind person, that would do everything in her power to save lives and do her duty as the strongest S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal.

Hearing Ai-chan's voice, the figure within the pod, whose eyes were closed, trembled a bit, and slowly, she opened them. Seeing the two looking at her, the woman furrowed her eyebrows a bit, stood up from within the pod, and slowly walked to where Sora and Ai-chan were.

(A/N: *Sighs* Alright, I'll try to explain the battlesuit's appearance as best I can, no promises that it'll be as accurate as it should be, so pardon me for that.)

The woman was wearing a blue tube-ish dress with frilly edges on the bottom part that reached only until her upper thighs, with the back part extending into a gown or cape-like extensions; a black skirt that is only a bit longer than the dress. She's wearing a white, armored breastplate, accented down to her hips, and extending into 4 blade-like protrusions, 2 on each side. Black arm sleeves that are modified so they also cover the hands like gloves, and white vambraces on both arms. For her lower garments, she's wearing black thigh-high stockings covered by white, thigh-high leg tassets and greaves plus the boots.

The woman kept on approaching the two, until she was only an arm's reach from them. She first stared at Sora, who even though he knew to a certain extent the personality of the woman before him, still had him have a wry smile on his face with how blatant she was at staring at him. This continued on for a few seconds before the woman turned her head and faced the already giddy Ai-chan. "It has been a long time, Ai-chan." The woman uttered after nodding a bit and showing a subtle smile towards Ai-chan.

"W-welcome back to the Hyperion, Miss Bianka." Still a bit fidgety, Ai-chan stuttered on her greeting the woman now named Bianka. "Well? Can you explain why I'm here? I felt like I was awakened from a long sleep, and just woke up." Placing a hand on her right hip, Bianka then trailed her left hand on her golden, wavy hair and flipped it, as if she was an arrogant young miss.

*Cough* "Yes. But before that, please let me introduce you to the man beside me. Captain Sora here is the current captain on the Hyperion, and he's also the one that summoned you here." Flying in between Sora and Bianka, Ai-chan introduced Sora briefly since the long explanation can wait later after introducing the two. Hearing that the man in front of her is the current captain of the Hyperion, Bianka's eyebrows rose a bit, and she again began to examine Sora closely.

Smiling towards the woman in front of him, Sora extended his right hand out towards her. "My name is Sora; I have no surname at the moment. It's nice to finally meet you, Miss Bianka Ataegina." What would be every Dudu simp's greatest fantasy is now Sora's reality. He would meet everyone that he could of the characters from HI3, interact with them, talk with them, create a bond with them, and go on an amazing journey with them.

Looking at the hand that was extended towards her, Bianka took the hand and shook it while looking at Sora in the eyes with a smile on her face. "Captain of the Immortal Blades, one of the S-ranked Valkyries of Schicksal, Bianka Ataegina…no, Durandal, it is a pleasure to meet you as well, Captain Sora."