The surroundings remained the same as the zombie before he faced him without a face
While Uesugi was registering the mysteriousness of the system, the zombie began twitching, as if breaking the constraints on its body
Uesugi Shuu readied himself once again and activated [Focus].
The zombie broke free and charged at Uesugi with twice its previous speed, waving its scythe diagonally at him
'Fast!' There was no time to think as Uesugi tried blocking the scythe by approaching the swing at close range to avoid the sharp edge
The impact caused him to grit his teeth as he slid his bat to parry the scythe downwards, causing it to slice the ground
Both sides were exchanging blows continuously with Uesugi on the weaker side. His goal was to complete mission two and only ten minutes had passed
The current scene of him panting deeply and the nonchalant zombie consecutively charging at him would leave any spectators watching, sighing in admiration mainly due to no signs of corruption being shown and battle spirit shown during his first life and death fight
Honkai Impact 3rd mainly involves Valkyries fighting, meaning men are generally born with lower Honkai Radiation Adaptability while women are the main fighting force against Honkai
There are some male characters shown in the story but they possess overwhelming strength and talent as the leaders of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy are both males
Of course, there may still be Chevaliers (Male Valkyrie) but they are rarely shown
*Swish* *Slash*
Uesugi started to dodge the blows as his body and mind gradually increased in battle experience. Despite being low on stamina reserves, he lured the zombie for another ten minutes without any difficulties
However, Uesugi made a fatal mistake at the last moment when he dodged backward. He bumped into a wall and just like a grim reaper's calling, the scythe descended upon him with no time to escape
'Run, Escape, Block, there's only one choice'. He gambled at the last moment and dashed forward instead of retreating. While he advanced, the distance was too short to use his bat so he threw it in the hope of disrupting the scythe
This time, the scythe sliced through the bat like butter. The bat was already dented throughout the battle even if it only hit the scythe's handle.
The scythe was within hair's width before his head. Suddenly, it was as if a spark burst in his brain, Uesugi Shuu's body began pumping blood intensively, and his bones began cracking while the muscles started tearing and repairing at abnormal rates. More importantly, his mind felt liberated as if he could connect to the outside world even with his eyes closed
*Ding*
Mission 2 has been accomplished, you will now be rewarded STR +20 and INT +20
System notice: Remember, future missions will only be issued on life-threatening occasions and when facing specific parts of the main storyline. Your current grading is C-Rank (not Valkyrie ranking).
Assessment: A diamond in the rough that requires more tempering to reveal its edge
The reward came at impeccable timing, while the sudden increase in strength may have distracted him. His approaching fist received a boost from the STR stat in speed and power while the INT stat improved his reflexes and body coordination
In this instance, the dropping scythe seemed to move slowly. Uesugi tilted his body sideways to avoid the blow and retracted his fist, using it as a propelling force to swing his body. A spinning kick shot right at the temple of the zombie which sent it flying away.
While the battle took time to explain, everything happened within an instant. The rubble caused by Uesugi's kick began to collapse on the twitching zombie trying to run from the falling stores
The improvement in stats can be considered significant. If previously, Uesugi was average, then now he would be one of the top martial artists before Honkai's arrival, but he would be considered a brawler rather than a martial artist with his knowledge
His fatigue and mental exhaustion disappeared along with the mission completion as he immediately deactivated [Focus] which drained his spirit. Uesugi silently said 'Status' in his mind to see any other possibilities of increasing his strength besides missions.
Uesugi Shuu (Human)
Age: 10
LvL: 0
Talent: Focus, [Unawakened]
STR: 25, DUR: 10, INT:30
Energy: 0
"Don't rely on the system too much, you should train yourself before thinking about anything else"
Along with the increase in stats that slightly surprised him with the improvement in durability, the comment left him speechless as he sighed before regaining his focus on the real world
The battle caused many scratches in the area. Luckily, it remained relatively intact. Uesugi Shuu who realised that the commotion could attract attention toward him, immediately retreated along with his packed items
It was only minutes later that an Honkai Beast came crashing into the shopping mall, causing the building to collapse into rubble.
The scene left the retreating Uesugi gulping in fear. While he can defeat a zombie, a Honkai Beast's size can easily crash him just by jumping
This caused a newfound fire to light up in him. His resolve became firm as he decided that he needed to determine his location and year of the world
If the storyline has yet to begin, then Uesugi had a higher chance of changing the world's fate. If it passed midway, then he could only act like a prophet and provide the protagonist's side with information
*****
"The vibrant cities becoming desolate wastelands. Honkai is truly a menace to humanity" A young woman dressed in a battlesuit said hatefully and she witnessed the sight of Lupus City's destruction
"It can't be helped, there is too little manpower in Schicksal. Even with the satellite providing us with real-time detection, we can't react fast enough". Another woman replied softly
They were Schicksal Valkyries who arrived after Lupus City had fallen. Their mission was to eradicate the Honkai Beasts and Zombies
"Senpai, why aren't we rescuing the survivors?" The young Valkyrie asked doubtfully.
While moving, the older Valkyrie answered, "That is the government's job, we are Valkyries of Schicksal and we don't have the time nor leisure to help the common people. Everything will be solved when Honkai is defeated"
After talking, the two maintained their silence as they acted swiftly, trying to defeat the Honkai Beasts as they are easier to notice
The elimination of Honkai can be considered heaven-defying to normal people. While for Valkyries, only those who witness the sight of Herrscher's overwhelming strength won't have such happy thoughts
Far away from the upcoming attacks, Uesugi Shuu hid in a building on the outskirts of the city. He then took out his phone and registered his details, activating it to check the time and news.
"Moscow Times brings you a new report. The collapse of Lupus City has yet to be identified and we'll shortly bring you a live report on the situation"
"Schicksal Idol Reserve Team has announced a new member. She is Sasha Neurony, her debut is successful and the judges highly hope for her success in the future"
Schicksal and Anti-Entropy have a public organization to reveal their political power in the media. Shicksal represents itself as an idol company while Anti-Entropy works as an anime studio in the public. They control the media outlets to avoid public chaos of knowing the existence of Honkai and disguise their attacks as terrorist incidents or mysteries
The news showed general public information with no existence on Honkai was shown. Uesugi discovered that he was currently south-east of Russia as Moscow Times is a media outlet independent of Russia
'I suppose that is plausible, the protagonist is Russian, and Schicksal's location is in Russia." Uesugi pondered before gathering his gained information.
'It's currently the year 2009, which means there are still 5 years before Kiana Kaslana, Raiden Mei, and Bronya Zaychik enter Shicksal. I should spend this time training and increasing my battle experience. Honestly, it was merely a fluke that I was able to survive against the zombie'. Closing his eyes, he analyzed the mistakes and improvements he could make in battle.
'My Honkai Radiation Adaptability should be enough for me to survive unless I go to an area above 200 Honkai Welt (HW). However, I should start training my body, the increase in stats from the system requires time for me to control its power'
Honkai Welt is the measurement of Honkai Energy Levels within an area, it determines its quantity in numerical form as Schicksal and Anti-Entropy have developed detection devices for their members as precautionary measures.
A total of 10 HW is enough for a normal person to turn into a zombie. 100 HW can produce an Honkai Beast in its area while 2000 HW is the bare minimum in developing a Herrscher.
However, before he planned on secluding himself. Uesugi needed to gain battle experience and gain the ability to manipulate Honkai Energy. Defeating zombies is his current limit, a Honkai Beast's defense is impenetrable without Honkai Energy, which is the reason cold-arm weaponry isn't required unless they're imbued with Honkai Energy
His goal was to meet the standards of a B-Rank Chevalier with A-Rank abilities before entering Schicksal with the protagonists as the mission will be supplied following the main storyline, hereby increasing his strength
'My first goal should be increasing my battle experience. I should find some zombies before secluding myself. I feel that with my improved INT stats, I might be capable of elementary Honkai Manipulation even if it's unrefined'
After recollecting his thoughts, he re-entered the city in search of zombies.