Honkai: Star Rail. Getting chased by players! [10]

“Uncle Yang! Why did you take so long? We almost got taken out by that Doomsday Beast!”

March pouted as she walked behind Welt, her tone playful but filled with mock complaints.

“Apologies, I did arrive a little late. The Astral Express needed protection too, so I had to spend some time securing that.”

Welt offered a sincere apology to March.

“Hey, Uncle Yang, I was just joking! I didn’t mean to blame you.”

Seeing that Welt had taken her words seriously, March 7th quickly waved her hands, trying to explain.

“But honestly, Cava was hiding his abilities so well, he really gave us all a scare!”

March glanced at Cava, who was carrying the unconscious Stelle on his back, and teased him with a grin.

“Haha, well, none of you ever asked me.”

Cava replied with a smile. If Stelle weren’t on his back, he would’ve shrugged in response.

To be fair, right after he arrived in this world, Cava had holed himself up in the train’s carriage, never stepping outside, fully focused on learning more about this new universe.

If it weren’t for the sudden appearance of the game system, he might’ve never even left the train!

“That’s true, you were acting like such a shut-in. If it weren’t for me bringing you food every day, hmph! You would’ve starved to death on the train!”

March 7th crossed her arms, her little nose scrunching up in pride.

“But I seem to recall that most of the time it was Pom who brought me food, wasn’t it?”

Cava recalled the sight of Pom-Pom standing at his door with a tray. At first, Pom-Pom had given him quite a scare—due to the small size, he hadn’t noticed Pom-Pom and thought the train was haunted!

“Huh? Are you saying I never brought you food?”

March stared at him with her wide blue and pink eyes, locking her gaze on Cava’s face.

“Uh... well, thanks, March.”

Cava quickly turned his head, trying to avoid her intense stare.

“Hmph! Now that’s more like it! What should we eat when we get back to the station?”

Satisfied with his response, March 7th nodded, pulling out her phone, which now had service again, and began browsing the space station’s food delivery app.

Sigh...

Cava sighed, watching March 7th intently scroll through pictures of various dishes.

“You alright?”

Dan Heng, noticing Cava’s behavior, asked with concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine,”

Cava replied with a smile, shaking his head.

“Just a little envious...”

“Envious?”

Dan Heng raised an eyebrow.

“Of March 7th, of course. How carefree she is, not a worry in the world.”

Cava chuckled softly.

“Yeah... I guess I am a bit envious too.”

Dan Heng nodded in agreement, not disputing Cava’s thoughts.

“By the way, your medical skills...”

Dan Heng glanced at Cava, his gaze shifting toward Stelle, who still had two lightning needles stuck in her body.

“Oh, those were taught to me by my master.”

“My master was from the Xianzhou Alliance. He was a very skilled doctor, and I spent some time learning from him. So, I have a basic understanding of Xianzhou medicine.”

Cava lied without flinching. He had no master. After all, he had physically crossed into this world, with the Astral Express crew being the first people he’d met.

In this universe, he had no background or identity—he was, quite literally, a ghost with no past.

“I see...”

Dan Heng nodded thoughtfully, lowering his head in contemplation.

“When will she wake up?”

Himeko, who had appeared at Cava’s side, looked at Stelle, still unconscious on his back, and asked softly.

“She should wake up once she’s had enough rest. Her pulse is still very erratic. If it weren’t for Uncle Yang’s intervention, the situation might’ve been much worse.”

Cava answered frankly. Without Welt’s quick action, who knew if the Stellaron would have gone out of control?

As the vessel for the Stellaron, Stelle had already defied the odds by keeping it stable within her. Whether there would be further disturbances from the Stellaron in the future...

Well, that depended on “someone’s” whims.

...

"Achoo!"

In a small, unidentified spaceship, Kafka suddenly sneezed while sitting in the pilot's seat.

"Whoa? I didn’t think you were capable of sneezing."

Silver Wolf, who was sitting in the co-pilot seat, chewed her bubble gum as she spoke, as if witnessing a rare miracle like drawing nine SSRs in a ten-pull gacha.

"Of course I sneeze. I am, after all, human too."

Kafka wiped her nose and glanced in the direction of Herta Space Station, her expression meaningful.

"Tch, riddles again."

Silver Wolf rolled her eyes at Kafka’s cryptic remark, then turned her attention back to her game, fully engrossed in the battle.

...

Reality

Players progressing through the main storyline had finally reached their first "BOSS": the Doomsday Beast, a planetary-level weapon of the Antimatter Legion!

“Man, listen to this music! HoYoverse really is a music company disguised as a game developer!”

Kakaya marveled as the battle music filled his ears. Even though he had heard it multiple times, each listen felt fresh!

【I thought it was an anime studio???】

【I thought it was a film company???】

【I thought it was a farm??】

“The user has been muted. Please adhere to the rules of the stream, everyone.”

【Lol, someone’s already trying to mess with the launch!】

Ignoring the chaos in his chat, Kakaya was eager to tackle his first official challenge in the release version of the game. Although he’d beaten the Doomsday Beast countless times in the beta, the thrill never got old!

That is, until Kakaya noticed something strange about his team lineup.

“Huh? Where’s my Cava? Where’s my big, hulking Cava? Why did Himeko replace him?”

Kakaya was confused. He was sure he had Cava set as part of his team, so why had the game forcibly swapped him out for Himeko?

【Look, the devs took away his cheat character!】

【Kakaya’s first defeat incoming!】

【RUA! So embarrassing!】

Ever since getting Cava, Kakaya had been showing off his slick moves—like beating Voidrangers without taking damage or demonstrating his ultimate technique of healing from low health to full in seconds!

Cava had the highest base HP in the game, and Kakaya had poured all his early resources into leveling him up. As a result, no one else on his team had leveled up significantly!

Plus, before starting the stream, Kakaya had promised not to pull any gacha until after beating the first BOSS—because otherwise, there wouldn’t be enough challenge. So, with no other characters to use, he was stuck with Himeko for now.

Looking at Himeko, Kakaya felt like crying.

“Uh-oh, could this really be my first defeat?”

---

Here’s Cava’s skill set:

Basic Attack: Stone Piercing Shock – Deals minor Lightning damage to a single enemy.

Skill: The Bitter The Better Pill – Heals a targeted ally and grants them a buff called Electric Needle for three turns. Allies with Electric Needle receive additional healing when struck.

Ultimate: Release the Full, Replenish the Empty – Heals a single ally by a large amount and removes negative effects from them.

Talent: Flow, Enter, Exit, Combine – When healing an ally at full HP, increase their attack power by 20% of Cava’s attack.

Technique: Decide Life and Death, Cure All Ills, Adjust Energy and Flow – Immediately heals all allies. If their HP is full, increases their critical rate by 20% for two turns.

Bonus Abilities:

(Lv. 2): Acupuncture – Increases the attack power of healed allies.

(Lv. 4): Needling Points – Healing effects can now crit.

(Lv. 6): Five Shu Points – Cava’s critical rate increases by 20%.

Eidolon:

Eidolon 1: Wind – Using a skill heals a nearby ally for 50% of the total healing amount.

Eidolon 2: Cold – Using the Ultimate restores one skill point.

Eidolon 3: Heat – Skill level +2 (max 15), Basic Attack level +1 (max 10).

Eidolon 4: Wet – When HP drops below 10% for the first time, restores 30% of all allies’ HP.

Eidolon 5: Dry – Ultimate level +2 (max 15), Talent level +2 (max 15).

Eidolon 6: Fire – Excess healing converts into shields.