Mo Wang's hand trembled as he stared at his phone screen, not daring to tap the button.
What the hell did that guy just send?!
[The Slacker King of a Certain Hyperion]: @#$%, what did you just send me?!
[The Savior of a Certain Human Order]: You think our worlds aren't chaotic enough already? Are you trying to get us all blown up?
[The Owner of a Certain Video Store]: No, please! I'm seriously worried my place will explode! I've still got a little sister to raise!
[A Certain Blond from Teyvat]: Nice. With this thing, I could probably take down the Heavenly Principles.
[The Trash-can King on a Certain Train]: Chill out. Just tell me, is this thing powerful or not? It's a universal wishing machine and a tactical nuke all in one. If you're not happy with someone, just go nuclear on them!
The various Mo Wangs fell silent.
Alright, the guy had a point.
Sure, the Stellaron was also known as the "Cancer of All Worlds," and a single moment of carelessness could lead to planetary annihilation.
The destructive power of one Stellaron was comparable to the entire Will of the Honkai.
But you had to admit, the thing was seriously powerful, right?
At the very least, with this in his possession, he wouldn't have to worry about being taken out by some cheap trick.
Speaking of which, what would happen if someone managed to kill him, causing the Stellaron to leak?
Mo Wang pictured the scene: Stellaron Fractures and Honkai Beasts having a battle royale... Holy crap, that would be a beautiful sight to behold.
After thinking it over and over, Mo Wang finally gave in to his itchy fingers and tapped the "Accept" button.
VWOOM!
The moment Mo Wang accepted the Stellaron, he felt a golden light pour into his body.
A powerful consciousness instantly invaded his mind, and he collapsed, unconscious.
RUMBLE!
As Mo Wang absorbed the Stellaron, the entire campus of St. Freya Academy began to shake violently.
"Huh? An earthquake?"
Theresa, who was busy handling official duties (reading manga) in the principal's office, was still trying to figure out what was happening when a pile of documents crashed down from a nearby shelf, burying her.
"Wh-what's going on?!" Theresa finally clawed her way out of the paper mountain, frantically looking around.
The intense tremors vanished as quickly as they had come.
In their place, an eerie calm settled over the academy.
Theresa was completely baffled. That earthquake just now was way too strange.
"Are you alright, Principal!"
A Valkyrie, having felt the tremor, rushed over to Theresa's side.
"I'm fine. What just happened?" Theresa straightened out her disheveled appearance and asked the approaching Valkyrie.
"Um, we detected an abnormal energy fluctuation near St. Freya just now. That was likely the cause of the seismic activity," the Valkyrie hurriedly reported.
"An energy reaction... Was it a Herrscher?" That was Theresa's first thought.
Recent events had left her feeling a bit on edge.
"It probably wasn't," the Valkyrie replied, sounding uncertain.
"What do you mean, 'probably wasn't'?" Theresa blinked in confusion. Was this the kind of thing you could just "probably" about?
"Well, the energy signature we detected vanished almost immediately. Plus, our Honkai energy detectors weren't triggered," the Valkyrie said, clearly troubled.
The energy fluctuation, in terms of sheer power, had been off the charts.
But first, there was no sign of Honkai energy. And second, it disappeared so fast that by the time they registered it, it was already gone.
In all her years as a Valkyrie, she had never encountered a situation like this.
"I see." Theresa scratched her head. As long as it wasn't a Herrscher, that was good enough.
With that, Theresa pushed the entire incident to the back of her mind and took a refreshing gulp of her bitter melon juice.
Meanwhile, back in his room, Mo Wang was completely unaware of the chaos he had caused.
With the infusion of the Stellaron, his consciousness had been transported to a strange, otherworldly space.
"Holy moly, where did it send me? Am I even still in the country?"
Mo Wang looked around, his mind filled with questions. Who knew accepting the Stellaron would bring him to a place like this? It seemed to be an endless, black void, dotted with faint, twinkling starlight that danced in the silent darkness.
Just as he was lost in his confusion, a brilliant arrow shot past like a meteor streaking across the night sky, its piercing whistle tearing through the void.
In that instant, a subtle vibration seemed to ripple through the air. In the arrow's wake, countless planets imploded, turning into motes of dust that scattered into the boundless cosmos.
Mo Wang stared, dumbfounded, an indescribable mix of terror and awe rising in his heart. He had never imagined that any power could be so horrifyingly immense.
Before he could even process what he'd seen, a towering man gradually materialized before him.
The man's build was colossal, as if he were a deity who had walked out from among the stars. His face was stern, his indifferent gaze like an abyss that could see through everything.
He held a greatbow, an arrow shimmering with cold light nocked between his fingers, ready to be fired again at a moment's notice.
The man didn't speak. He simply gave a slight nod, as if acknowledging Mo Wang's presence, before turning and striding across the sea of stars, his figure gradually fading into the endless darkness.
"Was that... The Hunt?!"
An exaggerated expression spread across Mo Wang's face.
Seeing that man, and recalling the unbelievable power of that single shot...
There was no doubt about it. That was Lan, the Aeon of "The Hunt," the patron deity worshipped by the Xianzhou, also known as the Reignbow Arbiter.
He had accepted a Stellaron and actually met a legendary Aeon?
Okay, maybe that was supposed to happen, but it seemed like the Reignbow Arbiter had actually acknowledged him.
The next moment, Mo Wang's consciousness returned to his body.
He was still reeling from the vision of the Aeon.
"Does this mean... I've been put on the Path of The Hunt?" Mo Wang blinked, realizing that he could now feel a power within him that was completely different from Honkai energy.
"But this isn't right! Why would I be The Hunt?" Mo Wang scratched his head in confusion.
Even if he was destined to meet an Aeon, shouldn't it have been Aha or Xipe or someone like them? Why The Hunt?
Was there a single thing about him that screamed "Hunt"?
Mo Wang couldn't figure it out. He thought about all the characters with the Hunt attribute he knew—they were all fanatics who obsessively hunted down a single species.
Given The Hunt's style, it would probably expect him to wipe out all of Honkai.
Could a guy like him really walk the Path of The Hunt? They probably got the wrong person.
But Mo Wang quickly composed himself.
The Hunt it is, then.
This Stellaron was a freebie anyway.
"Speaking of which, this means I've gotten stronger, right? I wonder what my Valkyrie rank would be now."
Mo Wang took a moment to feel the power coursing through him. Having accepted the abilities of his other selves, he was on a completely different level now.
"Heh heh, with this Stellaron, this king is no longer a weakling!"
Just as Mo Wang was feeling smug, the ringing of his phone shattered his fantasy.
"Huh? What's going on? Why's my phone ringing?"
Mo Wang looked at his phone in confusion.
"Ah? It's nine o'clock! I slept through the whole day?!" Mo Wang looked at the time, his jaw dropping.
How did an entire day just pass by?
Realizing this, Mo Wang scrambled to change his clothes. Forgetting about breakfast entirely, he flung the door open and bolted outside.
However, he never expected that the moment he stepped out, a white-haired cannonball would slam right into him.
In that instant, Mo Wang felt like he had just taken a critical hit to his entire body.
"Who was that?!"
Dazed and seeing stars, Mo Wang pushed himself into a sitting position on the floor.
If he hadn't just been reinforced by the Stellaron, that impact would have sent him straight to his grave.
This was murder! Cold-blooded murder!
There was no other explanation!
Clearly, the person who had crashed into him was just as dazed.
When the two finally got a clear look at each other, their faces twisted in anger.
"Holy crap, it's you!"
"You bastard! Why is it you?!