The location where the red meteor fell emitted a dense Honkai energy fluctuation was akin to a bright lighthouse in the perception of the group, exuding an unparalleled presence.
"Ugh... my body feels so heavy..."
This Honkai energy even made the new generation warrior, Timido, slightly uncomfortable. She glanced around and noticed that Bronya, Luo Lin, and Himiko appeared unfazed, seemingly unaffected.
Gritting her teeth, the pink-haired girl hastened her pace to catch up with the team.
Luo Lin observed Timido's discomfort and spoke up, "Timido, if you're feeling unwell, you can increase the power of your Moon Ring. It will help alleviate the issue."
"Ah! Okay!"
Timido straightened up like a startled rabbit and hurriedly adjusted the power of her Moon Ring.
Bronya and Himiko were seasoned veterans who had encountered plenty of Honkai energy. From body to soul, they were accustomed to it and showed no reaction.
Bronya had no intention of increasing the power of her Moon Ring at all; in fact, she even considered turning it off. She could feel every cell in her body cheering and eagerly absorbing the Honkai energy from the air—this was the instinct of the Herrscher. But for Bronya, this was far from beneficial.
Bronya frowned, "Where is all this Honkai energy coming from?! We need to stop it quickly!"
They had expended so much effort to seal 99% of the Earth's Honkai energy on the moon, yet now they didn't know where this constant flow of Honkai energy originated.
They quickened their pace and arrived at the location where the red meteor had fallen.
A three-story building had been pierced through the middle by the meteor, creating a transparent hole in the center of the building that revealed the sky. The edges of the reinforced concrete had melted due to high temperatures, solidifying into eerie dark red shapes.
A large crater had been smashed into the ground by the meteor, and the surrounding air was foul-smelling. Himiko waved the Lahor of Olympus, using the greatsword to create several streams of air that dispersed the lingering smoke.
Finally, the true nature of the "meteor" was revealed—
It was a blood-red crystal the size of a minivan, with a regular appearance that seemed to have been artificially cut. However, due to its fall or some other reason, several gaps had formed on its edges, and fine cracks spread out along the gaps, presenting an astonishing sense of beauty in its imperfection.
This stunning sight even left everyone momentarily dazed. They raised their weapons, ready to confront this strange crystal as if facing a formidable enemy.
Sensing the presence of people nearby, faint ripples appeared on the blood-red crystal, causing the parts covered by the ripples to disappear. Himeko's gaze pierced through that area, seeing the scene behind it.
—Invisibility.
However, due to severe damage, this invisibility technique could only cover part of the crystal, making the scene look ridiculous.
"It's attempting to turn invisible...?"
Himeko gestured for them to come closer and jumped into the pit. She prodded the blood-red crystal with the tip of the Labor of Olympus causing the ripples to gradually disappear, revealing its original appearance.
Mei then tapped the crystal with her greatsword, producing a dull sound, and then there was no other reaction.
"Come take a look."
Luo Lin slid down the pit and, as she stood up, dusted off the dirt from her pants.
She turned her head and saw Bronya holding onto a bird-shaped drone slowly descending, while Timido's feet were firmly attached to the pit wall with her ice skates-like equipment, allowing her to quickly and gracefully reach the crystal.
Bronya picked up a piece of crystal from the ground, observed it in her palm, and then tried injecting some Honkai energy to observe the reaction. The crystal lit up slightly, but soon dimmed as the Honkai energy was depleted.
[Host, you can touch the red crystal to activate the Open World module.]
"Huh?"
Luo Lin was taken aback for a moment, then followed the system's instructions and touched the surface of the red crystal with her hand.
The next moment, the red crystal emitted a faint light, and the familiar semi-transparent system interface also appeared.
[Ruins Challenge]
[In the Ruins, after successfully clearing one level, you will enter the next level. Each level will increase the level of monsters accordingly, and the performance and power of upgraded enemies' moves will also increase.]
[When players pass a certain number of levels, save points will be set. When players challenge the Ruins again within the settlement period, they will continue from the deepest saved level.]
[The rewards for Ruins combat training are divided into point rewards and leaderboard rewards. Point rewards will be automatically distributed to players when they reach the corresponding score. Leaderboard rewards will be distributed based on the player's position on the leaderboard after a round cycle settlement is completed.]
[Current floor 1/23]
[Current score 0]
Just then, Bronya's voice came over, "Be careful!"
Luo Lin turned her head and saw Bronya pointing her gun next to her. Following the direction of the gun, she saw a blood-red teleportation gate suddenly appear.
[Enter the Ruins challenge from here. Characters cannot be changed during the challenge.]
The girl's mouth twitched, letting out a long sigh.
"Relax, Captain Bronya, I control this portal..."
With that, Luo Lin closed the Ruins challenge system panel, and the teleportation gate disappeared with a click. The blood-red crystal also dimmed and fell silent.
Bronya walked up to the blood-red crystal on her own, reaching out to touch its cracked shell.
To Luo Lin's surprise, the teleportation gate opened smoothly, and the system panel reappeared, demonstrating its existence due to Bronya's actions.
"It's actually controllable?"
Bronya clicked her tongue, put down her hand, and observed the newly appeared teleportation gate, but soon, something else caught her attention.
"What's this...? It feels like a game."
Bronya poked at the system panel in front of her with a strange expression. It reminded her of the game interface she had designed, looking very handsome and high-tech.
Anyway, it was said that cool interfaces could increase game sales, so Bronya had put a lot of effort into this aspect.
"Bronya, can you see this?" Luo Lin asked cautiously.
Bronya pointed to the Ruins challenge panel in front of her, "Yes, I can see it."
"What about this?"
Luo Lin pulled out her system warehouse, where various household items were piled up, emitting colorful lights.
"No... can you see other panels similar to this one?" Bronya asked curiously.
"Oh, yes, um..."
Luo Lin closed her mouth and called out to the system in her mind.
[Host, this is because the world bubble constructed by the Open World "Post-Honkai Odyssey" module is linked to the Imaginary Tree, and under the interference of the power of the Imaginary Tree, the Open World module can be touched by others.]
"The Imaginary Tree is amazing..."
Bronya spent some time reading the text above, feeling that it was some kind of game rule, but she didn't find any particularly tricky parts—at least this thing wasn't like some sort of torture game, or a game deliberately designed to trick people by not explaining anything and letting players figure it out for themselves.
"Himiko, I've detected the Honkai energy signature of the Void Archive. It seems to be inside this teleportation gate... do you want to go in and take a look?"
"Of course, we don't have any other clues right now. Why not?"
The Ruins challenge was also part of the Abyss, and the Abyss was one of the partz of Honkai Impact. We have to taste it whether we like it or not!