Chapter 47: Testing One's Limits

"Um…"

Aleph woke up from his long sleep. His neck gave some popping sounds when he moved around. His head feels a lot lighter compared to before.

He decided to throw all of his worries behind his back—for now, that is.

"Kevin and Hua should have no problems. Su is the only one left."

The first thing he did after regaining his memories was to look at Su's situation.

"He should be fine. I will try and find him later. The Eight Herrscher will appear in five years. No, it should be shorter now."

Strangely enough, his memories of his past self became even clearer. It wasn't wrong to say that he acquired a photographic memory of sorts.

When Aleph presented his doubts to [Great Sage], he was able to have an answer.

{Answer: The collapse and recreation of the soul strengthened it. This leads to aftereffects such as clearer memories and increased cognitive abilities.}

"I have the [Sephira Crystal] inside me. Why don't I feel anything?"

{Answer: The remaining two-fifths of the crystal could not be compensated as of the moment. Therefore, it can only affect the soul.}

Thinking of the [Blank Sephira Crystal Fragments], a face came up to his mind.

"Kurumi…"

Their relationship wasn't that complicated.

A few years ago, Aleph's bedroom mirror underwent some changes. He theorized it must've come from the reason he went to this world.

The aforementioned mirror only had one ability: to connect worlds.

The first person he met on the other side was none other than Kurumi. The two talked through the mirror until Aleph discovered that he could physically visit the place where she was.

After some twist and turns, they encountered someone they shouldn't have and…

"I died at that time… no. Great Sage, why was that not considered as death?"

Aleph knew Great Sage's ability to 'store' his memories. It was something similar to a guide who will point out the correct answer for you—at least for most things.

If he asked something it had no clue about, or even asked it to predict the future, it wouldn't be able to answer. Still, it knew a lot of things he couldn't explain now.

{Answer: A form of protection was present at that time. It spared you from experiencing a true death.}

"Where did it come from?"

{Answer: It is unknown.}

Upon hitting a wall, Aleph stopped pressing for answers. Instead, he decided to do the most urgent thing: to 'test' his limits. 

With the [Great Sage] around to analyze for him, he wouldn't need to hurt himself anymore.

"The sprint test. Then, the strength. Resistance…"

For the first time, Aleph felt the convenience of 'activating' [Great Sage]. Within fifteen minutes, he received a detailed report about his physical limits. The two pieces of paper in his hands clarified a lot of things he didn't know about.

=====

Physical Endurance: Will survive in a tank shell; will survive in a grenade; will survive in a close shotgun shot…

=====

"I look more like the terminator now."

Seeing that he could resist tank shells and grenades on his own, the tips of his mouth twitched. Nevertheless, there are still things he could die from, such as missiles and high-grade rockets.

"Can take a gunshot to the head… These are some things I wouldn't try." He muttered. "How will I fare compared to the MANTISES…"

Just as Aleph let out those words, [Great Sage] unexpectedly came up.

{Answer: By creating a theoretical model, the capabilities of MANTIS warriors are as follows…}

"...What?"

Aleph skimmed the 'short report' summarized by it. Next to their capabilities were the percentage of it being true. 

He brought up one of the reports it made.

[MANTIS Warrior: Parvati]

[Potential Strength: Above Emperor-class Honkai Beast (1%), Emperor-class Honkai Beast (75%), Templar-class Honkai Beast (90%), Chariot-class Honkai Beast (100%)]

[Potential Power: Temperature Alteration (85%), Heat Control (45%), Molecular Control (10%)...]

Although these data were filled with uncertainties, it showed Great Sage's simulation capabilities.

Aleph remained silent until he no longer heard the voice of a taciturn girl.

'This girl… She sounds like Bronya but is not. Could it be..?'

The Previous Era put down a great fight against the Honkai. Their last stand was known as the Project S.A.V.E. Though, there were still several Projects that went unnoticed.

Prometheus, the still-prototype project of the First Institute, aimed to create an artificial intelligence that could predict everything related to honkai.

That same artificial intelligence was the reason why the order and authorities of the Herrschers in the next era didn't change. 

'A voice… If [Great Sage] acquired her voice, it would explain things."

Unfortunately, things ended there. Aleph didn't know which world [Great Sage] came from.

"That's it."

After settling these things, Aleph set his sights on the five rewards he got when he killed the Herrscher instantly.

[Achievement Unlocked: Godslayer]

[Godslayer: Kill a Herrscher for the first time.]

[Achievement Unlocked: The True No Second Strike]

[Mortal Hunter: Kill a Herrscher with one blow.]

[Achievement Unlocked: God of Wind]

[God of Wind: Kill a flying enemy by utilizing one's speed.]

[Achievement Unlocked: True Assassin]

[True Assassin: Kill a formidable enemy while concealing one's presence; must be done in one blow.]

[Achievement Unlocked: Honored Knight]

[Honored Knight: In a duel, kill a formidable opponent with a Holy Sword.]

Unlike before, each of his achievements were grand. 

Unfortunately, it was just that Aleph's capabilities far outranked a Herrscher. The Presence Concealment, Sphere Boundary, Ratio Technique, and Juezhao created an overwhelming advantage against a newly-born Herrscher. 

The first two, moreover, perfectly hid his presence enough to end everything in one strike. Without them, the battle would've persisted longer. Its ability to create ideal fluids threatened Aleph's flight systems.

That battle, in the truest sense, was a lucky battle.

[Perfect Energy Box]

[No Second Strike]

[Training Card: Hajime Kashimo]

[Training Card: Sasaki Koujiro]

[Seven Swords]

"They… three of them came from Fate."

Aleph laughed off this small coincidence. 

"No Second Strike… It must be from that man, Li Shuwen." He muttered. "Then these two cards…"

He chose to manifest the "training cards" first. 

Hum.

Two silver cards appeared on top of his palm. It was quite a long card with two distinct silhouettes etched into their surfaces.

When Aleph pinched one of them, two lines of text appeared in his sight.

[Would you like to enter the training space (Sasaki Koujiro)?]

[Cooldown: Five Days]

"Hm…"

He had a guess as to what the cards were for.

"If I'm right…"

He tried to calm down his accelerating heartbeat. He moved his attention to the two other things.

Aleph took out the [No Second Strike] first. It manifested in the form of a book. The moment he touched it, another line of text appeared in his eyes.

[Insufficient Proficiency to Proceed.]

"Wait… This must be the final form of [Juezhao (Masterstrike)]. I need to master it first?"

Without finding success to [No Second Strike], Aleph chose the [Seven Swords].

This time, it wasn't a physical thing. A mark appeared on the back of his hand.

'A slot..?'

Each of the seven vertical red lines represented a 'slot' to insert a weapon inside a 'space'. The red lines will turn golden once a slot is taken. 

Other than storing weapons, it has a function of 'strengthening' them by half once taken out. This effect lasts for ten seconds. Each 'weapon switch' also has a cooldown of ten seconds.

'So the proper way to use this is to switch weapons every ten seconds…'

With the switch mechanics in the game about Honkai, Aleph was familiar with it.

"Now, this energy box…"