Uesugi Shuu spent the entire night in his mental space as the sun ray greeted him with light and vibrancy
Jumping straight out of his sleeping position, he quickly made a mental call 'Equip'.
Spatial fluctuations appeared and turned into red light that covered his body. Each component connected smoothly and wrapped him without discomfort like his soul-bound weapons
After a few seconds, he was fully armed and empowered by the Elemental Damage Amplification. While his physical strength was unaffected, his attacks with CAS-X Saints will be higher than before
Uesugi ran to find a mirror in the house when he realized that he hadn't adjusted to his strength from the increment in stats
'Oops', before he crashed into the wall. The impact was uncontrollable, causing the support of the house to fall.
The building fell on him, burying him in rubble as dust covered the air around him
*Cough* *Cough*
Uesugi waved his hands and covered his mouth. When he got out, he realized that he dirtied himself and immediately took another bath.
Later, he saw the coolness of the Battlesuit as it elevated his charm by a lot
Retracting his Battlesuit, he went to get another bag to store his items. Picking food and extra clothes, he got ready to set out on his journey
When he walked out of the gate, a sense of liberation surged within him as he realized how stressed he was at the beginning. Only when he gained power that he was truly free
However, Uesugi didn't know what to do for the future. 'I've got 5 years until the protagonists enter Chiba Academy. I can use this time to strengthen myself or meet up with certain characters and increase their powers.
His thoughts sorted out his priorities, and desire defeated logic.
'I have not fully adapted to my powers but I'll do that on the road, I want to meet that person in the flesh first.' Smiling for the future, he set out on foot.
Uesugi decided to travel by foot, there were remaining vehicles in Lupus City but since he had a lot of time, he wanted to take it slow, even though he was planning on visiting another country
The goal this time was Anti-Entropy in America. Making contact with this organization that will later be the mainstay of the world will be beneficial for his cause
The organization is led by their Sovereign, Welt Yang who founded it alongside two prodigious scientists, Frederica Nicholas Tesla, and Lissert Albert Einstein.
Welt Yang is the First Herrscher, of this era, The Herrscher of Reason.
As a Herrscher siding with humans, many feared, admired, and sought his protection. Subsequently, by attracting the mass and enemy organizations, Anti-Entropy was formed.
Uesugi recalled that two parties were currently opposing each other in the organization. The conservative and innovative party with its philosophies
His main goal upon reaching the destination was to weaken the innovative parties' forces.
While he has seen Honkai Beasts being stronger than their game counterparts, he still has yet to observe humans regardless of antagonists or protagonists, and their current strength
It would be reassuring if they became stronger as well, meaning the plotline would remain the same, but if on the contrary... He can only see darkness waiting for them
Sighing at this predicament, Uesugi realized his position in this world and the only thing he could do now was to rely on the system, his efforts, and communication in bonding with others
Walking for 2 hours, he did not see a soul in sight. A harsh wind blew his face and snow covered hampered his feet
Fortunately, his physique has improved and the cold didn't affect him as much.
Taking out his phone, he checked 'maps' and saw that there were still 5km until he reached the next city, Chita
*Poosh*
His ears twitched as he heard sounds from afar. Uesugi used Honkai Energy to enhance his hearing abilities and filter out the windy air
"Run away, the zombies are chasing after us". Screams of fear rang and were blocked by the wind. If it weren't for Uesugi's beyond-human capabilities, those people would have died without a grave
Cracking a grin, Uesugi decided to use this chance to test out his strength.
Sprinting full speed, he left deep marks in the snow and propelled himself forward. The wind pushed his skin backward, causing his face to wrinkle greatly and weirdly
*****
"Damn, is this our deathbed?" A middle-aged man carrying a sniper rifle was hiding behind a barricade which was being barraged with bullets. His legs were bleeding as he knew this would be his last stand
"You jinx, this is your deathbed, don't put ours in it," Another man of similar age said. However, his condition was even worse than the first one.
"Quiet down, just fire back and hope someone saves us". Trying to resist desperately, a calmer young adult said as he occasionally threw grenades at the other side
Sometimes it was mixed with rocks to decrease the enemy's ammunition load.
The bicker went on when they heard that the other side wasn't shooting anymore. They were suspicious and cautious, the youngest threw another grenade and heard a cry
"What the~". Before drowning it in an explosion. When the group heard the sound, they turned to each other and started laughing
"They thought they could full us, huh. Well think again"
"Maybe a shell-shocked patient shot them for us"
"Let's go, we can't keep the kid waiting for long"
After a moment of laughter, the 3 of them started packing up their belongings when suddenly, a projectile passed by the head of the leader
They swiftly turned their heads and witnessed a sight that would traumatize them for life.
With the explosion clearing the barricade's defenses, they saw what a true bloodbath in snow seems like. Permeating blood was dripping from the dead bodies, seeping into the snow, dying its purity with stains
Hiding inside the smoke, Uesugi stepped out coughing at the fumes flowing into his nose
Horror appeared on their faces as they immediately fired their weapons while retreated
Despite being distracted, Uesugi moved without opening his eyes, dodging the bullets by hairsbreadth
"He's not human, only a monster can do something like this". The youngest' composure instantly broke as he dropped his gun and ran without looking back
While the second middle-aged man was horrified, he steeled his resolve and continued shooting at Uesugi.
The leader of the group was surprised but was not scared by Uesugi's existence. Immediately, he dropped his gun and raised his hands in surrender
When the other man saw this, he thought he cowered when the leader winked at him in the corner of his eyes, he decided to place his faith in him and copied his actions
Uesugi began walking up to them and witnessed their appearances that had been blocked by the raging snow.
The leader had shriveled gray hair as a result of being exposed to gunpowder, and his scars looked like badges of honor as he retained the composure and rationality of a veteran
Uesugi had eyes of appreciation as he knew that without his current strength, he'd be the same as the young man who fled without them
"Can you tell me what happened and where are those zombies". He went straight to the point without caring for their injuries
Surprised looks covered their faces and they reacted when they saw Uesugi's stern face. Hesitance crossed their faces, pondering on their next words
Frowning, Uesugi faced the leader and asked, "It seems that you know the existence of zombies and Honkai". Which evoked a jolt in the man's body who was slowly being pressured by Uesugi's gaze
'Terrifying', was all he could think, holding his breath before he started gasping for air when the pressure dissipated.
Regaining his calm, he noticed that his partner lost consciousness, "Don't worry, he's just unconscious and will wake up by the time I'm done here".
Uesugi's eyes had a 'this is your last chance' gaze which made the man sigh as he started explaining
It seems that the scream came from him. The zombies were citizens of his next destination, Chita.
"You may not know but the entirety of Chita is fully corrupted with zombies, only a minority with high levels of Honkai Resistance are desperately hiding in fear". Knowing there was more to say, Uesugi kept his silence
"But, that monster will soon end our lives. The entirety of Siberia, the eastern part of Russia will soon be decimated." He let out an astonishing piece of news which shocked Uesugi
The second Honkai Eruption happened within the Siberian area, the rise of the 2nd Herrscher created half a million Honkai Beasts which rampaged around this area.
However, the Valkyries should have recently finished this matter. While Honkai Energy may linger in the atmosphere, only small-sized weaklings should appear
When Uesugi heard this, he thought the leader was just making a fuss about it. Yet the horror couldn't be contained so he asked "What does it look like"
The middle-aged man stopped trembling as his mind became clear, Uesugi used his mental power to soothe the fear by matching wavelengths with his mental state.
The man looked at Uesugi in surprise and explained "That monster looked like a human, the only difference is that it's mental state was deranged and it could only rampage without reasoning.
I heard that the government sent military weapons to dispatch it but they were all decimated within seconds.
When our mercenary band arrived, Chita looked like the wake of an apocalypse, only zombies were wondering without a Honkai Beast in sight"
Uesugi raised his brows in surprise. This type of enemy was never heard of at this stage
The only power similar to this is from the Herrscher of Corruption. But it's arrival still has years to come
While he put on a thinking face, the middle aged man continued "... But that was our assumption, it was hard to recognise it because of its long hair, we managed to take glimpse at it's face"
Just when he was about to continue, Uesugi reacted to an incoming could of snow approaching him