Garden of Poetry: Echoes of War
As those words echoed out, the screen went black before launching into a series of dazzling demonstrations of Boss Lumina's spectacular skills.
"M-Me... fighting Lumina? Is this for real?"
Chibi March 7th stared wide-eyed at the dazzling display of Boss Lumina's skills, her chibi face twisting into a classic expression of bewilderment. She blurted out a soul-piercing question: "Is this real?"
"Looks like I'll have to go all out against March and Stelle when they give it their all too," Chibi Lumina mused, covering her mouth with a soft chuckle at the spectacle of her boss counterpart's skills and the colossal transformation in the Third Phase.
"That's not the point at all!" Chibi March retorted, shaking her head vigorously and planting her hands on her hips.
"Oh?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Chibi March lost her balance when her hands slipped off the swing's vines. With a clumsy tumble, she fell flat on her face.
"Um... March 7th, I know you're anxious, but you should really calm down first." As the show's host, Owlbert was responsible for the guests' safety.
Seeing March 7th sprawled on the ground, Owlbert's eyelid twitched violently. This was already a major live broadcast incident...
If this had happened before, he would have been subjected to a severe scolding from his superiors... But thankfully, he was no longer an employee of the Interastral Peace Corporation!
As this thought crossed his mind, Owlbert's frantically twitching eyelid gradually calmed down.
Still... despite his outward composure, an unsettling premonition lingered in his heart, refusing to dissipate...
What could be causing this?
Owlbert muttered to himself, lost in thought.
"So, why did we end up fighting Sister Lumina?!"
Just as Owlbert was lost in thought, Chibi March 7th climbed back onto the swing, gripping the vines tightly with both hands, her face a mask of confusion.
"Sister Lumina has completely transformed, radiating an aura of divine authority. She doesn't seem to be joking at all..."
"Don't worry, little March," Lumina chuckled, gently reassuring Chibi March. "I would never harm you or your friends. Becoming enemies might just be an illusion."
"Mmm... That's right! Sister Lumina would never hurt us," Chibi March nodded vigorously, comforted by Lumina's words and echoing Chibi Lumina's sentiment.
"In any case, as I always say, the reason why Lumina and March 7th have become 'enemies' will be revealed to you 'Trailblazers' in Version 1.7's Eternal Garden of 730 Trillion Suns and Moons ♪"
"Of course, even if I am your opponent, I'm sure you valiant 'Trailblazers' will resolve the situation with ease."
Lumina offered no further explanation, leaving the suspense hanging for the real-world 'Trailblazers' to unravel.
"After successfully completing the trial challenge, you can obtain the high-level Trace material [Immaculate Bloom] for Lumina and the other two Version 1.7 Featured Characters," Owlbert announced, cutting to the chase as the atmosphere reached its peak.
"Huh? Two other Featured Characters? Does that mean Version 1.7 will introduce more new characters besides Sister Lumina?" Chibi Stelle asked, feigning surprise.
"Of course," Owlbert nodded, then turned to the trio and the [Trailblazers] watching beyond the screen. "Did any of you notice a mysterious blue-haired young girl in the Version 1.7 promotional video?"
As Owlbert spoke, a beautiful flower bloomed across the screen, ushering in the skill demonstration video for the Mysterious Blue-Haired young girl...
In this video, the Mysterious Blue-Haired young girl's appearance was fully revealed to everyone.
The young girl stood about 1.6 meters tall, wearing a blue-green princess dress. Her shoulder-length, azure-blue hair looked soft and luminous, making her resemble a little princess from a castle.
Her innocent, curious blue eyes, reflecting her youthful spirit, resembled those of a newborn child, barely a few months old...
The Blue-haired young girl's Basic Attack was unremarkable—she merely emitted a blue glow that transformed into cubes, which then attacked a single target.
Her Skill involved opening her mouth to release a puff of gas, afflicting all enemy units with an unknown status effect that dealt no damage.
Her Ultimate, however, was far more spectacular... Wings unfurled behind her as she soared into the sky. Countless massive blue cubes, radiating a terrifying aura, then plummeted from above, crashing into the ground and striking all enemy units.
Finally, the demonstration concluded with a single, gargantuan cube—far larger than any that had fallen before—crashing to the ground.
"Wow! Who is this Blue-haired young girl? Her Skill effects are so cool!" Chibi March exclaimed, her eyes gleaming with curiosity as she clapped her hands excitedly after watching the demonstration video.
"Hmm... all these blue special effects remind me of some noob at the Space Station," Chibi Stelle muttered, glancing at the Little Swarm lounging idly on her shoulder. With a serious expression, she added, "What are you staring at?"
Little Swarm: ?
"What are you staring at?"
"What's it to you?"
Little Swarm: ...
"Ha ha ha! You two get along so well," Owlbert chuckled, observing Chibi Stelle and the Little Swarm.
He then began explaining the Mysterious Blue-Haired young girl's skills.
"The Mysterious Blue-Haired young girl is a 5-star Ice-Attribute [Erudition] character. Her unique mechanic, [Spore], forms the core of her gameplay."
The demonstration video of the Mysterious Blue-Haired young girl's skills reappeared on the preview program's big screen.
"Her Basic Attack deals Ice-Attribute damage to a single enemy unit while applying a [Spore]."
"Her Skill applies two [Spores] to all enemy units."
Owlbert spread his wings and briefly explained the core mechanics of the Blue-haired young girl.
"Spore, spore... so what exactly does this Spore do?" Chibi March asked curiously upon hearing this.
"Ah, excellent question, March 7th!" Owlbert immediately praised her before continuing.
"When a unit with [Spores] is attacked, their [Spores] will explode. The more [Spores] they have, the greater the damage inflicted by the explosion."
"It's worth noting that the higher the stack count, the greater the damage dealt. However, only one [Spore] is consumed per attack!"
"Yay! What a generous mechanic!"
Such a generous mechanic naturally earned unanimous praise from the group.
"The Blue-haired young girl's Ultimate has two variants. The first can be unleashed upon reaching 120 energy, applying three [Spores] to all enemy units."
"Alternatively, when the number of [Spores] reaches a certain threshold, the blue-haired young girl can expend 120 energy and all her [Spores] to unleash a devastating attack on all enemies!"
"Furthermore, depending on the number of enemies defeated by her Ultimate, the corresponding number of [Spores] will be applied to all enemies in the next wave!"
With Owlbert's explanation, the introduction to the blue-haired young girl's skills drew to a close.
"Yay! Mom won't have to worry about me not maxing out my [Simulated Universe] runs anymore!"
This mechanism clearly indicates a character specialized for the Simulated Universe. Although the specific details of her skills remain unknown, it's unlikely she'll be effective in the Forgotten Hall...
Well, at least not without pulling her Eidelons.
"Alright, let's move on to the next character's introduction!"
(SpyNote: This feels more like Nihility...)
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(SpyNote: Extra part for the chapter: Included in the side chaps, felt relevant to place here.)
Little Swarm's Skills and Light Cone
Character Setup
(This chapter serves as a setup guide, detailing Little Swarm's skills, the new 4-star character's skills, and Lumina's Light Cone. Feel free to skip this.)
(Since Little Swarm isn't a main character, I didn't want to spend too much time crafting a full skill set. So I've kept it brief. (╥﹏╥)~~)
Character Name: Little Swarm (name changes based on Player's choices in Version 1.6 storyline)
Path: Erudition
Attribute: Ice
Faction: Astral Express
Title: Starcrusher Swarm King
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[Swarm King Cannon]
Basic Attack:
Deals Ice-Attribute damage equal to 100% of Little Swarm's ATK to a single enemy target and applies a [Spore] debuff.
[Radiant Sting Venom]
Skill: Consumes 1 Skill Point and restores 30 Energy.
Applies two [Spore] debuffs to all enemy targets.
[Collapsing Star Egg]
Ultimate: Consumes 120 Energy and applies three [Spore] debuffs to all enemy targets.
When the total number of [Spore] debuffs on enemies exceeds fifteen, consumes 60 Energy and all existing [Spore] debuffs. Deals massive Ice-Attribute damage based on the number of [Spore] debuffs consumed.
When a unit has three or fewer Spores, it takes Ice-Attribute damage equal to 200% of the attacker's ATK.
When a unit has exactly four Spores, it takes Ice-Attribute damage equal to 250% of the attacker's ATK.
When a unit has five or more Spores, it takes Ice-Attribute damage equal to 300% of the attacker's ATK.
If the total number of Spores on all enemies is 25 or more, all enemy units take an additional Ice-Attribute damage instance equal to 300% of the attacker's ATK.
If the Ultimate Collapsing Star Egg eliminates all enemy targets, only half the Spores are consumed. The remaining Spores will automatically attach randomly to units appearing in the next wave.
Calamity-Bearing Spore
Talent:
When an enemy unit has Spores, any allied character's attack triggers an explosion dealing damage based on the number of Spores present.
One Spore: Deals Ice-Attribute damage equal to 40% of the attacker's ATK and removes one Spore.
Three Spores: Deals Ice-Attribute damage equal to 80% of the attacker's ATK and removes one Spore.
When five Spores exist, they inflict Ice-Attribute damage equal to 120% of the attacker's ATK and consume one Spore.
The maximum number of Spores that can attach to a single unit is five. Spore attachment is not considered a negative effect and cannot be purified, dispelled, or removed.
(Boss phase transitions do not clear the existing Spore count.)
Outside Combat:
Attack
Attacks an enemy, reducing their Attribute Resilience after entering combat.
Pyrolytic Death Ray
Technique:
Upon using this Technique and entering combat, apply one Spore to all enemies.
Attribute Bonuses (Minor Traces):
Ice-Attribute DMG increased by 15% ATK increased by 20% Speed increased by 10 points
Additional Abilities (Major Traces):
[ Gestation ]: If Little Swarm's ATK exceeds 2400, every 100 points above that threshold increase her Crit DMG by 10%.
[ Propagation ]: When the Little Swarm enters a non-combat state, they immediately recover to their maximum HP, restore their Energy to maximum, and apply one Spore to all enemy units. (This effect can only trigger once per battle.)
[ Abundance ]: The Little Swarm's Effect Resistance is increased by 50%.
Eidelon
Birth: Spore explosion damage is increased by an additional 50%. Every five spore explosions restore one Skill Point.
Erudition: Spore explosion damage is increased by an additional 50%. When a spore explodes, it deals 50% of its damage as splash damage to adjacent units. The number of spores required for the Collapsing Star Egg is reduced to twelve.
Admiration: Skill level +2 (up to a maximum of 15), Basic Attack level +1 (up to a maximum of 10).
Worship: When a spore explodes, Little Swarm recovers 5% of its HP and removes one debuff from itself.
Terror: Ultimate level +2 (up to a maximum of 15), Talent level +2 (up to a maximum of 15).
Companion: Maximum spore capacity increased to 6. Collapsing Star Egg can now attach an additional spore. Spore explosion damage ignores 20% of the enemy's Defense. Each of Little Swarm's attacks detonates all spores on the enemy team.
Light Cone: A Gift for the Immaculate Creator
A Gift
Increases the wearer's ATK by (30/40/50/60/70)%. If the wearer deals no DMG to an enemy in a single turn, their ATK is further increased by (50/60/70/80/90%). After the wearer uses their Skill, they gain one stack of Immaculate, lasting 2 turns, stacking up to 2 times. Each stack of Immaculate increases the wearer's Crit Rate by (10/12/14/16/18)%.
Hmm... an unexpected outcome...
[ *Ugh...* ] The young girl opened her eyes, born into this new world, a completely unfamiliar realm unfolding before her.
Yet the young girl wasn't captivated by this new world. The first thing she saw upon opening her eyes was the white-robed woman before her, radiant with immaculate beauty.
How beautiful she was, how holy, how... Immaculate.
[ Are you... my Creator? ] the young girl asked.
[ *Hmm... I suppose you could say that,* ] the white-robed woman nodded.
Thank you for granting me life... Great Creator.
I will forever follow you, protect you, and dedicate everything to you...
In that moment, the young girl's heart held only the white-robed woman...
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Lumina Light Cone:
Healing of the Mind
Abundance
Increases the wearer's Energy Regeneration Efficiency by (10/12/14/16/18)% and HP by (10/15/20/25/30)%. When healing an ally at full HP, their HP can exceed their maximum, up to (160/170/180/190/200)% of their original HP.
When a character's HP exceeds their maximum, their Weakness Break Efficiency increases by (10/12/14/16/18)%, and their attacks ignore (10/12/14/16/18)% of the target's Defense.
The raging wind and relentless rain scourged the young girl, washing away the mud clinging to her body and eroding her past soul.
Why? Why! We're all doctors, yet you refuse to offer a helping hand!
Could it be... could it be that the weak truly have no right to seek help, no right to be healed?!
The girl buried a wooden box beneath a tree, pressed her forehead against the trunk, and wept uncontrollably. Her tears mingled with the rain, further soaking the already saturated earth.
After a long while, she stopped crying. Her rain-soaked hair plastered across half her face.
Lifting her head, she gazed skyward, letting the raindrops pelt her cheeks.
If everyone is like this, then... I will create a world according to my ideals...
In that moment, the young girl completed her own Healing of the Mind.