For the next few days, Leo Ash enjoyed a period of relative peace and quiet.
Although Otto was anxious to get the Divine Key, he also genuinely wanted Leo Ash to rest a bit, lest he kick the bucket before his plan could even begin.
For this very reason, during his time in England, aside from his regular check-ins with his comrades, Leo Ash was in full-on slacker mode.
While England had plenty of notoriously bad food, there was still a lot of edible stuff.
Besides, Leo Ash had been an orphan before he died.
Orphans have no parents, just a cheap life to live.
For the Leo Ash of the past, he could rarely even bring himself to splurge on a Crazy Thursday deal.
Now, living in England, even if he were to take revenge by wolfing down burgers every day, he would still find this relaxed life to be a blissful one.
Of course, during this time, he was still keeping an eye on Bronya's movements.
Unlike the slacking Leo Ash, Bronya, the poor unfortunate soul he had dragged to England for overtime, was working hard to complete her mission.
She used her electronic skills to frantically gather and organize any intelligence that might be related to the Second Divine Key.
Meanwhile, Leo Ash guessed that Bronya was also contacting Cocolia on the sly.
But judging from the look on the poor girl's face these past few days, Leo Ash figured...
Cocolia probably wasn't even picking up the phone.
To be honest, it was a bit of a shame.
In the past, Leo Ash would have worried about Cocolia having too many Titans on her side, making it difficult to act.
But now that he could take on a genuine, single-core Herrscher one-on-one under certain conditions, he wasn't so afraid of death that he'd be scared of the handful of assets Cocolia had.
Sitting on a park bench, eating a burger, Leo Ash watched the children playing soccer on the lawn and couldn't help but sigh at how wonderful peace was.
It was just a pity that this peace was merely a facade.
Humanity's current situation was dire. Externally, the Herrscher of Finality was looming, ready to purge them. Internally, Otto was scheming and ready to backstab everyone.
Beset by troubles from within and without, this false peace could only last for a short while before it vanished without a trace, like flowers in a mirror or the moon's reflection in water.
In the end, he still had to grind.
I feel bad for everyone, but I've deliberately fostered a competitive atmosphere in the dorm.
As long as things continue this way, everyone's power progression will only be faster than in the original story.
My only worry right now is the strength of Kiana's heart.
Sigh, you can't push that silly kid too hard, or Sirin might take advantage of the opening.
But if you don't push her, the pace at which she hones her mental fortitude will be too slow, and Sirin will still take advantage of her in the future.
This problem is unsolvable.
The original story... the original story offers no guide for this.
That's what's giving me the biggest headache.
Judging by the current level of plot divergence, if Sirin really does pop up one day, we might not be facing a puffed-up pufferfish, but a Sirin with a brain—one who 'knows how to absorb Honkai Energy the moment she gets her core,' 'knows how to use the Void authority for piercing attacks,' and 'immediately opens an infinite corridor to split our forces.'
Even the Sirin from the original story pushed the main cast to the brink. If her brain had suddenly come online during the Final Lesson battle, there's no way Himeko could have plunged the God-Slaying Spear into Kiana's neck.
And these past few days, even though I've been slacking off, I can feel someone's eyes on me.
Sigh, you guys keep staring but don't dare to make a move. It's really lame.
Be it Cocolia or Gray Serpent.
Compared to your current cowardly mode, I much preferred it when you were recklessly stirring up trouble a while back.
Thinking about it now, let's go down the list.
The Herrscher of Reason is in North America, the Herrschers of the Void and Thunder are in the Far East, the Herrscher of Wind has been captured by World Serpent and won't be showing up for a while, and the Herrscher of Death is still at HQ having her powers experimented on by Otto.
Of the remaining ones that exist in the original story but haven't awakened, I've already investigated the Herrscher of Ice. Anna has reported to the Snow Wolf Squad, just like in the canon.
The Herrscher of Sentience can only attempt a possession after Fu Hua's brain gets scrambled, so she has no chance of appearing for now.
The only ones who might pop up are the Herrscher of Domination, scattered across the globe but yet to awaken; the Herrscher of Star, whose sister hasn't died yet so she lacks the despair trigger; the Herrscher of Binding, who was nerfed by Otto in the original story to nothing more than a barrier; and the Herrscher of Corruption, who was taken out along with the folks in Elysian Realm.
The others I can't guard against, but Chen Tianwu...
"Bronya, help me look up someone named Chen Tianwu. See where he is right now."
"He should have a younger sister named Chen Tianwen. They should be living in the capital of the Philippines. If he shows up anywhere near England, notify me immediately."
After contacting Bronya and giving the order, Leo Ash felt a little more at ease.
I've already done everything I can. Three parts luck, seven parts hard work.
I've done the hard work part. The rest is up to luck.
[You say that, but with your constitution...]
Shut up!
Don't remind me of that!
[Even if the System doesn't remind you, what's fated to happen will happen.]
[It's useless. A man as outstanding as you is like a firefly in the dark—so bright, so dazzling—]
Oh, for crying out loud.
Such cheesy lines... are you new to the internet?
[Alright, enough nonsense. The System is just reminding you that you can relax for now.]
[Look, the System hasn't even given you a reward. That's the best proof, isn't it?]
Good point.
Though you're annoying when you run your mouth, hearing you means I'm safe.
Peace and quiet is nice.
It's just a shame—why do I still feel like someone is watching me?
I've checked my surroundings. There are no suspicious people around.
Whatever, I'll just go somewhere else.
Part of my strength has been exposed. Even if Gray Serpent and Cocolia don't think I can actually defeat a Herrscher alone, after I took out over a hundred of those clone soldiers in one move, they'll definitely make a big scene if they come looking for trouble.
The kids playing soccer on the lawn are innocent. I can't let them get caught up in this.
If the enemy has no scruples, that's their problem. I can't go learning bad habits from them.
As the thought formed in his mind, Leo Ash immediately pulled out his phone and started checking the surrounding map.
Hmm, let's see, a little further southwest is the Thames River...
Damn, I was so careless. I've already come this close to that area.
I need to get away. I have to get away.
I'll head in the opposite direction for a bit, find a place with fewer people to finish my burger, and then go back and see if Bronya made any progress today.
I feel bad for Bronya, but it's better if she comes up empty.
As long as we maintain this state of 'we tried our best but really couldn't find the Key of the Void,' then even Otto won't be able to blame us.
....
Meanwhile, inside the Seed of Sumeru.
Inside the Seed of Sumeru, Su watched as Leo Ash, who had been approaching the Thames River, checked a map and then promptly headed in the opposite direction. Su felt himself getting truly anxious.
Originally, the fact that Leo Ash had come to England at all had made Su feel like his plan was proceeding with unexpected smoothness.
But over the past few days, Leo Ash had approached the vicinity of the Thames River more than once.
Yet every time, after walking for a while, he would pull out a map and immediately turn around.
His actions were as if he knew something was wrong with the Thames River area.
But how could Mr. Ash possibly know there's a problem here? That's impossible.
The only people who know the location of the Key of the Void are me, Kevin, Fu Hua, and Kevin's subordinates.
Fu Hua has probably long forgotten about it. Among Kevin's subordinates, a serious person like Mr. Gray Serpent would never spread such information around.
He hasn't even told Miss Raven the location of the Key of the Void.
Otherwise, Miss Raven, who has now joined Schicksal, would have long since revealed the key's location and had Bishop Otto lead a large team to explore this area.
How strange. How can Mr. Ash have so many secrets?
Although the fact that he actively moved away from the children when he noticed I was watching him is enough to show his excellent character, but...
—Come over here!
Stop walking in the opposite direction!
Because Su had been paying attention to Leo Ash these past few days, he had specifically taken a look at other worlds.
He discovered that in the main Honkai battlefields of other worlds, there was no Leo Ash to be found.
It's safe to say that in 99.9% of other worlds, Leo Ash never had the chance to become a pillar of his world.
But it was for this very reason that Su felt that the Leo Ash of his world was definitely a man of great destiny.
He was strong enough, had a good character, used his brain, and had incredible luck—this kind of person was perfect to receive the intelligence and ownership of the Key of the Void that Su held.
But he just wouldn't come this way.
Even a good-tempered, extremely patient old soul like Su was on the verge of cursing out loud.
Originally, even if Leo Ash had found the Key of the Void's location, he would still have to pass a test of [Combat], defeating a puppet with 1% of Kevin's power, to earn the right to meet Su.
But now, forget a combat test, Leo Ash wasn't even coming over here—what the hell was there to test (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻.
Calm down, calm down.
Actually, I don't need to be so rigid.
As for the combat test, given Mr. Ash's rate of improvement, surpassing that puppet is only a matter of time.
And now that I think about it, if Mr. Ash hasn't found this place, that also means Mr. Otto hasn't found it yet either.
I really don't want to hand the Thousand Worlds over to Mr. Otto, so now...
—Mr. Ash, my apologies!
At a certain spot some distance from the Thames River, Leo Ash, having confirmed that there was no one around and that a fight wouldn't harm any innocents, had just seen a message from Bronya and let out a sigh of relief.
Hm, Chen Tianwu hasn't appeared in England—well, isn't that just bloody obvious?
I think I've really been a bit tired lately, so tired that I'm spooked by every little thing.
Never mind that Chen Tianwu and Anna officially became Herrschers in late 2017. Even tracing it back to the source, the initial trigger for their transformation was the Honkai Eruption in Manila in 2015.
I've confirmed that there have been no recent Honkai Eruptions near the Philippines.
It's not going to blow up now, so what am I panicking abou—
Wh—
at the—damn it, trouble's here!
Feeling a sharp pain pierce his mind, Leo Ash immediately mobilized his mana to resist the mental attack.
But in the next moment, although he could feel his consciousness barely holding on, everything before his eyes still turned pitch black.
Herrscher of Sentience... is it?
No, the Herrscher of Sentience can't possibly be around here, right, right...
Right my ass!
It's a mental-type MANTIS stronger than the Herrscher of Sentience!
I didn't even come looking for you, why are you coming after me!
I thought we agreed 'the destiny of this era's humanity should be decided by this era's humanity'!
Put the Key of the Void away!
I don't have a bubble universe inside me, I don't need your legacy, and I don't need to trade the Key of the Void for merit!
Unfortunately, although Su could feel Leo Ash resisting his ability, he still decided to pull him into the illusion he had created.
Eh, Mr. Ash's defense against mental attacks is quite strong.
I didn't expect him to be able to struggle to this extent...
Sigh, my body is truly running on fumes.
Just this short distance has caused my body's output to drop.
No, I should just use the Key of the Void to transport him to my side.
Although this will result in 'Leo Ash suddenly disappearing from the world,' I have been monitoring Schicksal HQ.
For now, they haven't gone so crazy as to monitor Mr. Ash twenty-four hours a day.
So, if I speed up the assessment, I can probably send Mr. Ash back to this world before Schicksal HQ notices anything amiss.
In that case, the illusion I construct can't be too detailed.
First, I'll set up the few key nodes I think are important, and then...
Hm, I'll turn all the bad things Mr. Otto has done in the past into a 'once wildly popular TV drama' and have it play on a 24-hour loop within the illusion.
Though Mr. Ash might not believe these facts, even a slight chance of making him wary of Mr. Otto would be a good thing.
As for the rest of the illusion, I'll just let Mr. Ash's own consciousness fill in the blanks.
....
Meanwhile, in the Stigmata Space.
Under the watchful eyes of Yae Sakura and Ji Lin, Higyokumaru, who had been struggling, suddenly turned pale.
"Hey! You two! Don't you feel something is wrong?!"
Higyokumaru, feeling her core running wild, shouted frantically at the two.
"My core is being used by force, and it's spinning way too fast!"
"Is that bad guy in danger? Can either of you do something to help?!"
"Huh? You're actually worried about Benefactor?"
Yae Sakura's eyes clearly projected a hint of suspicion upon hearing Higyokumaru's words.
"Since when were you so kind-hearted?"
"Kind-hearted my ass—if he dies, I can get my core back and escape! I'll definitely shout 'good riddance' and pop a bottle of champagne!"
As Ji Lin's gaze turned instantly sharp, Higyokumaru quickly added.
"But the problem is, my core is spinning so fast it's about to shatter—if the core shatters, will I be okay?"
"I don't care if he dies, but don't drag me down with him!"
Listening to Higyokumaru's panicked words, Yae Sakura turned to Ji Lin beside her.
"...Miss Ji Lin, do you think things are really that serious?"
"I think..."
Ji Lin, feeling that something was wrong with the space, looked up at the sky of Yae Village and said calmly to Yae Sakura.
"—the problem might be far more serious than what this Herrscher is saying."
When Yae Sakura followed Ji Lin's gaze upward, she saw that the once clear blue sky was now suddenly covered with ominous black clouds.
And within those clouds, a Jizō Mitama tachi, magnified countless times, was unsheathed and plunged straight into the ground, tearing the earth asunder in a single strike.
Amidst the cataclysmic event, the three residents of the Stigmata Space had no time to react before they were sucked into a spatial rift created by the upheaval.
As the event ended, Yae Village returned to its original state.
But the three who were supposed to be there did not return to where they belonged.
.....
When Leo Ash regained consciousness, he gradually recalled his identity.
Leo Ash, his original name was Lin. The character 'Yu' shouldn't have been in his name.
But because his parents felt they should have had a daughter, they gave him a special two-character name when registering him... yeah, right.
Damn it, this is a Previous Era start.
Looking at the medical staff coming and going around him, Leo Ash understood that he had been forcibly pulled into the Seed of Sumeru by Su and hit with an illusion buff.
In the past, Leo Ash had always used the skill from the Void Demon Stone Fragment (Mental Attack Resistance) to resist the mental attacks of Otto and Fu Hua.
But thinking about it now, Otto was using a Mimic Fenghuang Down, and Fu Hua herself was in a terrible state and couldn't use Fenghuang Down's full power. That's why the old Leo Ash could act like nothing was wrong when facing their mental attacks.
But now, with Su, a MANTIS who could discipline the Herrscher of Sentience, going all out, he finally couldn't escape this fate.
Although he still retained his self-awareness in this illusion, breaking free from it would not be so easy.
An illusion must have a flaw. Let me see, where is the flaw in this illusion?
Hm, wait, one more thing.
Sys, Sys, u there?
[Not here. Damn you, are you still using this System as a detector?]
This doesn't even count as a combat round.
[While Su's attack is indeed a mental one, he has no intention of harming you. And this System predicted that you wouldn't be in any danger, so there's no reward and no disconnection.]
...I feel like something's off. Are you sure your judgment criteria are working properly?
[Completely fine. Back in Nagazora City, Herrscher Yuno was right in front of you. This System thought we could still talk, so I didn't hide, did I? Same principle.]
Somehow I feel like you were slacking off last time too.
[Hehehe, you guess.]
[I was originally wondering what you'd do when you got to the Previous Era. Well, now I don't have to guess at all.]
[Though it's not Jobless Reincarnation—now that you're in the Previous Era, please show your true skills, Host!]
I know that without you telling me!
Tsk, Su definitely has no ill will towards me, but being sneak-attacked... honestly, my temper is flaring up.
You want to test me according to your ideas? What the hell does that have to do with me?
It's bad enough having Otto breathing down my neck in the real world. If I have to be scared of this and that even in an illusion—being such a coward, what's the point of fighting the Honkai?
With that thought, Leo Ash pulled out a ballpoint pen and began to rapidly write on a piece of white paper.
Then, about two minutes later, Leo Ash took the document and knocked on the door from his memory.
"Teacher Magi, it's Leo Ash."
"I have something to discuss with you right now. May I come in?"
.....
At the same time, inside the Seed of Sumeru.
Inside the Seed of Sumeru, Su, who was supposed to be in control of everything, was now sweating profusely as he watched the events within the illusion, feeling that things had gotten out of hand.
According to Su's plan, he only wanted to see if Leo Ash would make choices similar to his at a few key junctures, thereby judging whether Leo Ash was suitable to inherit his legacy.
For this reason, Su chose to quickly construct the illusion by 'setting up a few nodes, adding Otto's dirty laundry, and then letting Leo Ash complete the illusion based on his own subconscious memories and impressions.'
Normally, there shouldn't have been anything wrong with this approach.
However, just moments ago, a strange power interrupted Su's construction of the illusion, causing it to go into a berserk state.
Now, although Su had managed to insert the key nodes and Otto's dark history into the illusion, he could no longer control its direction.
Why, why did things turn out this way?
Wait, Mr. Ash, what are you doing?
Inside the illusion, Leo Ash, after knocking on the door of his mentor, Dr. Magi, directly handed his resignation letter to him.
"Ah, it's Leo Ash."
Seeing the student's expression, Dr. Magi asked with a smile.
"What's wrong? Is there a symptom you can't figure out?"
"Ah, no, I just feel that—studying medicine can't save people from the Honkai."
After placing the resignation letter on Dr. Magi's desk, Leo Ash spoke to Dr. Magi under the utterly shocked gazes of both the doctor and Su.
"Teacher, I'm sorry. Starting today, I don't want to be a doctor here anymore."
"I'm going to join Fire Moth and use that organization to save even more people!"
No, no, no, that's not how it's supposed to go!
Although I wanted to join Fire Moth back then, I never thought of giving up my research on the Honkai disease!
Mr. Ash, you've taken the wrong path, go back!
Unfortunately, Su's voice could not reach Leo Ash's ears.
Su, unable to control the illusion's direction from the outside, could only watch as Leo Ash put down the resignation letter and promptly left Dr. Magi's room.
At that moment, Su finally understood how ridiculously wrong his previous thoughts had been.
Oh no. I've always subconsciously felt that Mr. Ash was someone worthy of being entrusted with the future, which is why I wanted to test him.
But because of that subconscious guidance, I kept forgetting one thing—he and I were never the same kind of person from the start.
We are not the same kind of person. In this situation, using my past experiences as a test was bound to lead to this result.
Now...
Sigh, what else can I do but keep watching?
The direction of this illusion, later on...
—It's not going to get more and more ridiculous, is it?
.