On a street in Nagazora City....
Ripples suddenly appeared in the void, as if a stone had been dropped into a calm lake. A figure abruptly fell from the air and landed on the road, kicking up a thick layer of dust.
"..." It was a boy in strange clothes. His originally tidy outfit was instantly covered in a thick layer of dust, making him as grimy as the black stones of various sizes on the roadside.
"Ouch... Where is this place? Wasn't I just in town a moment ago..." The boy lifted his face, probably darker than an African man's, and stared at the scene before him in a daze. These buildings were several times larger than the biggest one he had ever seen in town... they must be worth a lot of money!
"The convenience store up ahead is our target for today. Let's hurry, everyone..." Just as the boy, still lying on the ground, heard a man's voice, he got a bit of hope.
Eh!? There are people here, thank goodness~ The boy was relieved. Since there were people, he could ask where this place was. He also needed to find that idiot Melk.
"...Ugh!" Just as the boy placed his hands on the ground to push himself up, an ornate yellow boot suddenly stepped on his back, pressing him right back into the thick dust on the road...
"Why is this rock so soft?!" Li Xuan muttered to himself, puzzled. He lifted his foot... and then stomped a few more times. It really was soft!
"Cough, cough..." A coughing sound came from under Li Xuan's foot. "Hey, big brother, could you please lift your noble foot?!" The boy struggled to reach out and grab Li Xuan's pant leg, turning his head—where only his eyes and teeth were white—and said with a sob in his voice. The boy really wanted to cry. Getting stepped on is one thing, but why do you keep stomping...
Nearby, Kiana didn't hear the boy's words clearly. She only saw a pitch-black humanoid creature suddenly grab Li Xuan's leg. Could this be a new type of Honkai Zombie?! Well... this is the perfect chance for me to show my power!
"Die, die!" Kiana's long leg shot up, turning into a 'Foshan Shadowless Kick' as she stomped repeatedly on the black 'monster'.
"...Wait! Kiana!" A flustered Li Xuan hastily stopped Kiana's rampage. Any more stomping and this person was going to die! Although it felt like he was already close...
Li Xuan helped the person, who was nearly foaming at the mouth, to his feet. The maid, Liv, used a towel she carried to wipe the person's grimy face, revealing the handsome, youthful face of a young boy...
"What the heck, so it wasn't a Honkai Zombie!" Kiana was greatly disappointed upon seeing the boy's clearly human face. In contrast, Li Xuan was overjoyed.
"You nearly killed me! Can you not be so casual about it?!" The boy, who had been playing dead a moment ago, suddenly leaped to his feet and pointed an accusing finger at the white-haired girl before him.
"Now, now, calm down~ We didn't expect to find anyone who wasn't infected by the Honkai here," Mei said, trying to play peacemaker with a wry smile.
"Honkai?" What the heck is that?... The boy was completely baffled. "This isn't the time to talk about that. Do you know where this place is? And have you seen a talking bottle of water?" the boy asked anxiously.
"Um (⊙o⊙)... that's a very deep question you've got there. Is it some kind of riddle?!" Kiana couldn't imagine what a talking bottle of water could be.
"Alright... I'll just go find it myself," the boy said with a look of resignation upon seeing Kiana's expression.
"Wait! Are you a boy?" Li Xuan, who had been silent all this time, suddenly asked. "Yes," the boy replied with a complicated expression. Do I look like a boy?
"Hello! Brother!" Li Xuan enthusiastically grabbed the boy's hand. This was the first living man Li Xuan had seen in this world! "Which country are you from?" Li Xuan added. The boy's jade-green eyes suggested he was a foreigner.
"...Aren't we all from the Desert Kingdom on the Mefertahane Continent?!" The boy stared at Li Xuan with the intensity of a passport photo.
"..." The seven seas, the eight continents. Even though I'm a science student and bad at geography, you can't just make up a name to fool me! Li Xuan looked at him, speechless.
"It's too dangerous to go alone. I don't know what you're looking for, but I suggest you come with us," Mei proposed from the side.
"Okay, I'm not very familiar with this area, so I'll have to trouble you," the boy agreed readily. After all, he was just a 'Healer' and didn't have much fighting power against Monsters. He usually recruited partners at inns for adventures anyway. At worst, I'll just give them a few gold coins as payment later... the boy thought.
"Excuse me, what is the name of the thing you're looking for?" Li Xuan asked from the side.
"A talking bottle of water, her name is Melk!" the boy replied seriously.
"..." Everyone was silent. What utter nonsense, how can water talk?! Li Xuan's table of sanity was flipped once again.
"Ki-Kiana! Look over there! There's a strange Honkai Zombie!" Mei suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
"Is that... Melk?!" The boy turned his head and shouted in joyful surprise.
"...That's Melk?!" Li Xuan turned his head and felt his world turn upside down... Are you sure she's not called a tentacle monster?!
On the dimly lit street, obscured by a thick fog, a creature resembling a young girl slowly approached. Its blue hair, which seemed to be made of liquid, danced wildly in the air, just like... a tentacle monster.