Volume 1 Chapter 2: Character Card

The Astral Express, observation car.

Wende stared at the virtual screen in front of him, utterly bewildered.

After the voice echoed in his mind, the entire carriage fell into a dead silence. March 7th stood frozen, looking out the window, Himeko's drink remained still in her glass, and even the reliable Welt was motionless, his hand paused mid-adjustment of his glasses.

Time seemed to be forcibly stopped, and the only one who could move was Wende.

[1 hour until the plates start to log in. Please finalize your character settings.

Tip: The more attention your character receives from players, the more benefits you may gain.]

While Wende was still in shock, the virtual screen changed to a familiar interface.

"This... isn't this the character screen from Star Rail?"

Wende looked at the well-known interface, and in the center stood a character identical to him. Except for the character's appearance and name, all other data fields were blank.

"Does this mean... I have to turn myself into a playable character?"

An absurd thought popped into Wende's head, but given the current situation, it seemed to be true!

Gulp...

Wende swallowed nervously as he looked at the Paths and Type available for selection on the screen.

...

Reality

Since someone discovered the early access to the game, all players waiting for Honkai: Star Rail launch were frantically using their game terminals to log in, each wanting to secure a good UID for themselves.

However, when the players launched the game interface and saw the announcement, everyone trying to get a head start collectively swore.

"Fuck!" ×n

= / =

QQ Group: Astral Express Africa Division

(Group Owner) Hardcore March 7th Fant: What? Why did I get kicked out? I just saw Kafka, my waifu!

(Admin) Evil Shall Bury Me: You son of a bitch! The server isn't even open yet! You tricked us again!

(Group Owner) Hardcore March 7th Fant: No! Believe me! I really got in just now! And I even went through a bit of the story!

[Kafka Is My Forever Wife]: Get lost!

= / =

As numerous QQ groups sighed and cursed their Group Owners for not getting early access, the character encyclopedia in Mihoyo's game, Honkai: Star Rail, quietly added a new face, and that character portrait was Wende.

In the Frozen Astral Express

Wende was still configuring his character Type.

He had accepted the fact that he had become a game character. Initially, he thought he had simply crossed into a game world, but it turned out he was literally inside the game world!

Thinking too much about it now wouldn't help; time was limited. He had to set up his character Type quickly, as it was crucial for his survival in this world and his future!

He hadn't forgotten the system's reminder that the more attention he garnered from players, the more benefits he would receive.

Wende's expression grew serious. As a dedicated player who had followed the game for a year, he had memorized all the character stats, optimal team compositions, and various game mechanics.

If he wanted to gain the most player affection according to the system...

[Please select your Path.]

Without hesitation, Wende chose the "Abundance" Path on the screen.

Everyone knew that in the early stages of Honkai: Star Rail, there were only two healer characters. Most players had only one healer, the 4 Star character from Jarilo-VI, Natasha, while the other was the 5 Star character from the Xianzhou Luofu, Bailu.

As a 5 Star character available in the standard banner, Bailu was not easy to obtain. In the early game, relying solely on the 4 Star Natasha wasn't enough, especially when tackling difficult stages like the Forgotten Hall.

Therefore, choosing the Abundance Path to win players' favor from the start was definitely the right move!

Moreover, Wende noticed that his character's star rating was locked at 4 stars by the system. Although the strength of 4 Star characters was debatable, it also meant they were easier to acquire.

The old saying goes, "If you can't win by overpowering your enemy with your DPS, then buff your healer and win through battle of attrition!"

After selecting his Path, it was time to choose his Type. Types were vital in Honkai: Star Rail because of the enemy's weakness mechanics; characters needed corresponding Type to break through enemy Toughness. Choosing the right Type was crucial.

After careful consideration, Wende chose the Lightning Type, the same as Bailu.

Not for any particular reason, but because a human heart defibrillator has a significant presence! Although he might overshadow the dragon maiden, he had no choice—he was a burly man, not a loli!

Next came the most tedious part: setting the basic stats, the most crucial aspect of a character aside from their skills. Even the enhancements from Eidolons were not as important as the basic stats!

As a 4 Star character, the system naturally imposed many limitations on Wende's stats, confining them within the 4 Star range.

Using Natasha's initial HP and attack as a reference, Wende spent a lot of time adjusting the data on the panel. Time flew by during the adjustments.

After several minutes, Wende exhaled deeply and couldn't help but laugh at his character stats on the panel.

For his character, he had made ist so that his starting ATK stats is the lowest, his DEF is average, but his HP is the highest amongst the 4 star, no different than what a 5 Star character would have.

In short, he's just that one healer that would not die do matter how hard you hit, but he can't kill you either.

But that didn't matter. As the saying goes, "A good healer is the difference between victory and defeat!" So what if he's the weakest? As long as his healing is good enough, he can outlast any enemy!

Player doesn't want a Healer with high ATK, they want Healer who can stop your character from dying and bring them to victory!

With the remaining time, Wende focused all his efforts on developing his skill tree. After adding some "unique" features beyond just healing, he managed to finalize his Eidolons in the last few minutes, all within the system's numerical limits.

As a healer who didn't require much thought, Wende set his Eidolons to ensure ample healing and survivability, emphasizing a large and robust healing capacity.

Oh, he's also forced to take some nude photos for his Eidolons image.

After finalizing his character's Type, the system prompted Wende to set up some breakthrough materials. Most of these were fixed, with standard sources of acquisition, so Wende simply followed the system's guidance.

[Character creation is complete. Please wait patiently…]

Once everything was submitted, the only thing left on the screen in front of Wende was an ellipsis, continuously bouncing as it indicated the waiting process.

As the data was submitted, a gaze filled with both benevolence and vitality, yet intertwined with a sinister and eerie undertone, was cast upon Wende...

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