And the reason it made Lu Xing's heart pound with trepidation was "using [Ballista] with the body of a Ranger-class."
Yes.
Considering Lu Xing was still just a pitiful Ranger-class, the system, in its video, very thoughtfully provided "the possibility that a Ranger-class inclined towards obtaining [Ballista] could also use the skill"—by condensing an additional structure on the surface of the Ranger-class's shell, then stretching it to its limit before contracting it into a ball.
There was nothing after that.
The only thing left to do was to charge forward and go "BOOOOM," taking the enemy down with him.
Called Ballista, but in reality, it was an Ultra Bomb.
Lu Xing didn't know if he would die.
Just by looking at this video, Lu Xing lost all interest in [Ballista].
In terms of power, it was undoubtedly the strongest of the three moves. But considering the method of use, Lu Xing felt that only a hardcore masochist could possibly do it.
After watching the introduction for [Ballista].
Lu Xing shifted his gaze back to the first two branch forms.
Rotor-class Honkai Beast.
Compared to the Ranger-class, there was no difference in size; it was even somewhat more "petite"—if one had to describe its appearance, it was probably like a spinning onion head.
In the game, it was a pretty disgusting creature.
Because it was a Honkai Beast that flew in the sky, melee attacks couldn't reach it, and Valkyries operating on the ground could barely even crack its shield (here's a joke: the Herrscher of the Void couldn't even dent an onion head).
But if it were placed in the real world.
Lu Xing had reason to suspect that this thing's flight speed might not even match a Ranger-class.
At best, it was just a drone equipped with ranged weapons—through the [Crystal Shot] branch task, one could discern the general direction of this evolution path.
The two choices above.
Lu Xing was going to pass on both—the Ballista-class, because its moves were too avant-garde, was a bit unacceptable for Lu Xing's current tastes; the Rotor-class was simply because it was ugly. A Ranger-class at least had a streamlined body, but this thing was completely beyond Lu Xing's aesthetic sensibilities.
Thus, there was only one truth:
"I'm going to be a Twintail!"
————
"Ahem, ahem."
Lu Xing wasn't particularly interested in becoming a girl.
But, but hey, now that he had already lost his length, trying out his depth wasn't necessarily a bad option.
It was called a choice, but he didn't really have one.
Knight-class, one of the most common types of Honkai Beasts.
Compared to the Rotor-class and Ballista-class, at least its appearance conformed to human aesthetics. Moreover, the [Spinning Slash] skill on this path also suited Lu Xing's needs and could quickly increase his combat effectiveness.
As for other factors—
"Well, living in the crot—... present moment is what's best."
And so.
Lu Xing decided on the branch path he would take.
The next thing to do was to find a way to locate three opponents of comparable strength.
"..."
No, wait.
Lu Xing seemed to have overlooked a major problem.
His constantly diverging thoughts retracted from his mind, and Lu Xing's attention refocused on the Hyper Hasty Honkai Beast, bleeding profusely on the ground.
————
Hyper Hasty Honkai Beast.
This little... old bro, who had stalled his task progress for over a week, was now lying stiffly before Lu Xing.
Honkai energy cannot erode Honkai energy.
At least, not when the energy levels are not significantly different.
Lu Xing's right wing was still deeply embedded in its body like a sharp knife, greatly restricting the flow of the Hyper Hasty Honkai Beast's Honkai energy.
Near the almost diamond-shaped wound, deep purple Honkai energy was visibly overflowing, and its color was visibly fading—Lu Xing's previous surprise attack, although it hadn't destroyed its Honkai core, was continuously depleting the Hyper Hasty Honkai Beast's internal energy.
Before long.
This fellow would turn into scattering particles of light and disappear into the cold autumn wind.
"..."
"Sigh!"
Lu Xing let out a deep sigh.
There was no particular reason—people tend to develop some affection for things they're used to, especially when those things are likely to be useful in the future. It's really hard to let go.
The "things" here included other species, organic and inorganic matter, and of course, Honkai Beasts.
"You still need to keep providing me with experience points, hey!"
He poked the Hyper Hasty Honkai Beast in front of him.
Lu Xing would absolutely not admit that he lacked the courage to watch a life fade away.
Although his own injuries were equally severe—while checking the information in his mind hadn't wasted much time, Lu Xing, with "just" a broken wing, was in little better condition than the Hyper Hasty Honkai Beast—he still used his remaining Honkai energy to hoist the Hyper Hasty Honkai Beast, nearly twice his size, onto his back.
Towards the direction of the healing spring.
He flew over, bobbing up and down, staggering.
————
Time fast-forwarded to two weeks later.
Lu Xing was very glad that keeping the Hyper Hasty Honkai Beast had been a wise choice.
If you asked why... he had spent another week exploring the city ruins and still hadn't found any other signs of life.
Forget about defeating 3 opponents in 15 seconds; he couldn't even meet the prerequisite of finding 3 Honkai Beasts.
It wasn't that Lu Xing couldn't venture further out.
But the healing spring... before completely absorbing that Honkai energy fissure, Lu Xing felt it was better to play it safe.
It was hard to say if there were other such "blessed lands" elsewhere.
Even if there were, they might be occupied by stronger Honkai Beasts—if he got injured and couldn't get timely treatment, it wouldn't be as simple as just "fluids leaking everywhere."
The Honkai energy seeping from the fissure was visibly diminishing.
Whether it was a natural phenomenon or because he had absorbed too much was hard to deduce, but Lu Xing truly wasn't planning to leave before completely draining it dry.
So, his daily routine became:
Challenge the Hyper Hasty Honkai Beast, get injured, return to the healing spring for treatment, and repeat this cycle.
There were also times when he carried the Hyper Hasty Honkai Beast back with him.
Lu Xing wouldn't lose every time—in a fair and square duel, once he seized an opening, he still had a chance to severely injure his opponent with one move.
And so.
Lu Xing, improving daily, quickly raised his level to Lv.15.
And he also obtained something a little different.
Race: Ranger-class
Level: 15
Ability: Appraisal, Power Strike
Equipment: M4A1
Attack: 16
Speed: 15
Constitution: 15
Evaluation: Big Mosquito
A skill named [Power Strike].
Lu Xing had gotten this move from that hidden function, "Unlucky Player's Gacha Log," which he hadn't held much hope for.
To think that a skill one could only obtain by painstakingly completing tasks would appear so easily in his ability list made him feel a little excit—...
Sigh-worthy, rather.
An item priced at 888 would be heavily criticized, but when it became 648 per purchase, with a pity rate added, and more than half the players could only get it through pity, it seemed to become a matter of course.
This was gacha, the daily life of gambling addicts.
"Ahem, ahem."
However, Lu Xing, as a beneficiary member of the gambling (lucky) dogs, certainly wouldn't complain about the system at this time.
After all, this skill...
[Power Strike: After a short charge-up, launch an attack. The damage of this attack is increased by 50%, with a chance to stun the enemy for two seconds.]
It's so good!