Honkai Star Rail: Survive. Adapt. Overcome.

The air in the Underworld always had a sharp, constant chill, as if the very atmosphere refused to grant any relief.

Aleph had been in this place for several days now, but he still wasn't completely used to it.

While he had already accepted his new reality, it was still hard to fully grasp just how dire the conditions in the Underworld were.

Surviving here wasn't easy.

The streets were in poor condition, buildings were patched together with metal and makeshift concrete, and the people… well, they did whatever they could to get by.

Despite everything, there was some semblance of organization within this mess.

If someone had a problem, Natasha was the only one who could help. There weren't many doctors down here, let alone someone with the resources she had.

Aleph sighed as he leaned against a wall, watching the constant flow of people going back and forth.

"This isn't a place I'd like to stay in for too long."

But for now, he had no choice.

[Environmental analysis complete.]

[Living conditions: Extremely unfavorable.]

[Master Aleph, I believe seeking resources and means of strengthening yourself before considering external exploration would be the best course of action.]

Burroughs' voice echoed in his head with her robotic yet strangely efficient tone.

Aleph rolled his eyes.

"No kidding. Never would've guessed."

There were two things he needed to take care of before even thinking about leaving.

Getting stronger.

Not drawing too much attention.

The first was a matter of time and training. The second… well, he had already noticed some eyes on him.

Nothing overtly hostile, but there were definitely people observing him with curiosity.

Not that he could blame them. He wasn't exactly someone who blended into the crowd.

Aleph suddenly felt an unusual shiver run down his spine.

For a brief moment, the air around him grew denser, shifting subtly in just a few seconds.

His eyes scanned the surroundings, but nothing seemed out of place.

[Master, an environmental anomaly has been detected. There are minor fluctuations in the surrounding energy.]

Burroughs spoke again.

Aleph frowned.

"Fluctuations in the energy?"

"Tch… I'd love for this to be nothing. But with my luck, it's probably going to blow up in my face."

He tried to ignore it. Now wasn't the time to get paranoid.

But something told him this wasn't something he could afford to overlook.

[Master, I recommend evaluating your demonic capabilities. The sooner you summon your team, the higher the chances of acquiring skills through Demon Whisper.]

Aleph let out a sigh.

"I guess it's time to test the summoning."

He had been avoiding it until now out of caution, but if he wanted to grow stronger, he had to make use of all his tools.

Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, he slipped into a narrow alley.

Once he was far enough from prying eyes, he raised his arm and activated the COMP interface.

[Demon Summoning Program: Activated.]

The screen glowed with a blue light as the data of his stored demons appeared on the interface.

[Available for summoning]

Centaur (Lv. 1)

Napaea (Lv. 2)

Preta (Lv. 2)

Aleph studied the names carefully.

"Centaur, Napaea… yeah, I remember these guys. They were classics in the early stages of SMT IV."

They weren't strong demons, but they were a solid starting point.

[Confirm summoning?]

"…Yeah."

The COMP shone brightly as three summoning circles appeared on the ground.

From them, the figures of the demons emerged, materializing in a flash of light.

Centaur, a half-human, half-horse being clad in light armor, shook his spear while examining Aleph.

"Hmph! So this is my summoner!"

"Hmm… he looks different from the one in SMT IV."

Napaea, a pink-haired girl dressed in blue with pink accents, simply floated in the air with her arms crossed, giving him a scrutinizing look.

"I've seen worse… but I've also seen better."

And then there was Preta.

A skeletal creature with black skin and a disturbingly wide grin that didn't exactly inspire confidence.

"Ahhh… so hungry!"

Aleph looked at the three and crossed his arms.

"Well… I guess this… turned out fine?"

[Summoning successful. Storage configuration available.]

Aleph thought about it for a moment.

If he left them out, they would attract attention.

But if he stored them in the COMP, they would continue gaining EXP passively whenever he leveled up.

Aleph nodded.

"Keep them in storage for now."

[Confirmed. Demons stored in reserve.]

The three vanished in a flash of data, now safely stored within the system.

Aleph let out a sigh.

"Alright, this'll come in handy later."

Now, he just had to decide on his next move.

Aleph's system had confirmed the summoning of his first three demons, but instead of letting them roam freely, he chose to store them so they could gain experience passively.

He didn't want to risk drawing unnecessary attention, especially when he still wasn't entirely sure how this world worked.

Who could guarantee he wouldn't meet a terrible fate if someone discovered his demons and it turned out this world had an equivalent to a church? He wouldn't want to be declared an enemy of humanity just for bringing them here.

Aleph glanced at the floating interface in front of him and opened his stats menu.

[Current Status: Aleph Avesta]

[Level: 2]

[St: 6]

[Vi: 6]

[Ma: 5]

[Ag: 7]

[Lu: 1]

[Available Stat Points: 3]

[Points App: 10]

Aleph studied the numbers carefully.

"Hmph. Nothing impressive yet."

Still, he could already feel slight changes in his body.

Ever since he arrived in the Underworld, his stamina had improved, and his movements felt more fluid.

[Training and combat will accelerate the improvement process.]

Aleph closed the interface with a sigh.

"Yeah, yeah… I already figured that out."

If he wanted to get stronger before attempting to break through the Underworld's barrier, he needed to take advantage of all available resources.

And that meant testing out the Challenges.

Aleph browsed through the interface until he found the Available Challenges section.

[Current Challenges]

Medical Collection (Gather medicinal ingredients for Natasha.)

Dirty Work (Help with maintenance tasks in the Underworld.)

Ruins Hunt (Eliminate hostile entities in the abandoned zones.)

Aleph raised an eyebrow.

"The first two seem safe… but I don't feel like spending my day picking herbs or cleaning up crap."

His gaze locked onto the third Challenge.

[Ruins Hunt]

[Objective: Eliminate 3 enemies in the abandoned ruins.]

Aleph grinned.

"Perfect."

[So you've chosen Ruins Hunt? Very well, I'll make sure to provide you with the challenge details.]

[Objective: Defeat 3 enemies in the designated area.]

[Difficulty varies depending on the encountered entities.]

Aleph stretched his arms confidently.

"Alright… let's see how hard this can be."

.....

Aleph arrived at the outer ruins of the Underworld, where the temperature felt even colder.

The atmosphere was silent, but not empty.

He moved cautiously, scanning the crumbling structures and the shadows forming among the rubble.

[Hostiles detected.]

[Nearby enemies: Fragmentum creatures.]

Aleph frowned.

"These things again?"

From the darkness, three figures began to materialize.

Their bodies were covered in cracks of corrupted energy, as if they were on the verge of falling apart.

Their red eyes glowed with pure, murderous intent.

Aleph braced himself.

The first creature lunged at full speed, its distorted form flickering in and out of existence.

Aleph sidestepped just in time, barely dodging the attack.

"Tch! They're faster than I remember!"

[Master, maintain mobility. I will search for weak points.]

Aleph spun on his heel and counterattacked.

His fist struck the creature square in the torso, sending it stumbling backward.

"It works!"

But the second one didn't give him time to breathe.

A sudden impact struck his side, launching his body against a wall.

"Gh… damn it…!"

The impact knocked the air out of his lungs, but he forced himself to stand immediately.

[Vitality reduced by 20%.]

Aleph spat on the ground.

"Alright… this is going to be tougher than I thought."

The third creature joined the assault, trying to corner him.

But Aleph had already learned their pattern.

At the last second, he slid under its attack and swept its legs with a low kick.

The creature lost its balance and crashed down.

Aleph didn't hesitate.

He lunged at the fallen enemy, unleashing a barrage of direct blows to its fractured core.

The creature's body shattered into fragments of data before vanishing.

[Enemy 1 eliminated. Progress: 33%.]

Aleph took a deep breath.

"One down."

The other two were still standing.

But now, he understood how to fight them.

With a confident smirk, he took a stronger stance.

"Alright… who's next?"

Aleph exhaled slowly, feeling the cold air of the Underworld burn his lungs.

One enemy was down, but the other two were still ready to fight.

Unlike before, he was no longer at a disadvantage.

He knew how they moved. He knew how fast they were and where to strike.

And most importantly… he knew he could win.

[Recommendation: Maintain offensive pressure to secure advantage.]

Aleph didn't need Burroughs to tell him that.

The second enemy lunged at him from the left, but this time, he was ready.

He crouched and pivoted on his right foot, dodging the attack while charging his own counter.

"Take this!"

His fist struck the creature's torso with force.

This time, not only did it stagger back, but he managed to fracture its energy core.

[Weakness detected. Take advantage of the opportunity.]

Aleph wasted no time.

He rushed forward, delivering a second direct strike to the fracture.

With a distorted sound, the creature's body crumbled into energy fragments before disappearing.

[Enemy 2 eliminated. Progress: 66%.]

Aleph slowly turned to face the last remaining enemy.

"What do you say? Wanna try your luck, or are you backing off?"

The creature didn't respond, but it didn't retreat either.

Aleph smirked.

"Alright. You asked for it."

The third fight lasted less than half the time of the second.

By now, Aleph had fully adapted to their speed and attack patterns, so he didn't give it a chance to react.

A precise strike to the core, and the final enemy crumbled.

[Enemy 3 eliminated. Challenge complete.]

[Rewards obtained: 100 EXP + 500 credits.]

[Level 3 reached.]

Aleph lowered his shoulders and took a deep breath.

"Hah… that was more work than I expected."

[Recommended point distribution.]

Aleph glanced at his floating interface.

[Current Status]

[Level: 3]

[>Available Points App: 20]

[>Stat Points: 3]

[Attributes]

[St: 6 → 7]

[Vi: 6 → 7]

[Ma: 5]

[Ag: 7 → 8]

[Lu: 1]

Aleph paused for a moment at Luck.

"…Nah."

Without hesitation, he left Luck at 1.

....

With the Challenge complete and a considerable boost to his stats, Aleph began making his way back to the city.

Along the way, he overheard people murmuring about "strange changes" in the environment.

"Have you noticed that the cold feels… different lately?"

"Yeah… I thought it was just my imagination, but something's not right."

"Natasha said it might be the weather, but… since when does the weather change here?"

Aleph frowned.

"So I wasn't the only one who noticed."

It wasn't just his imagination. Something was truly altering the environment of the Underworld.

[Environmental analysis in progress…]

Burroughs seemed to be processing data but provided no further information.

Aleph sighed.

"I guess I'll figure it out sooner or later."

For now, he needed to rest.

Tomorrow, he'd decide his next move.

*****************

The Astral Express glided through the vast emptiness of space, its golden light streaking across the galaxy toward its next destination.

[Next Destination: Jarilo-VI.]

Inside the main cabin, the crew was gathered around the central table.

Himeko studied the data on a holographic screen with a thoughtful expression, while Welt adjusted his monocle, analyzing the information in detail.

March 7th crossed her arms, leaning over the table with curiosity.

"So… Jarilo-VI? What's so special about this planet?"

Without looking up from his terminal, Dan Heng responded calmly.

"It's a planet covered in perpetual snow. The civilization that inhabits it has survived under extreme conditions for centuries."

"Perpetual snow?"

March 7th grimaced.

"Can't they just… I don't know, light a giant bonfire or something?"

Himeko smiled faintly.

"They'd try if they could, but their problem is bigger than that."

Welt nodded.

"A long time ago, a Stellaron went out of control on this planet. It's believed that this ice age is just a consequence of that."

"Oh…"

March 7th straightened up.

"Well, that sounds worse than just needing thicker coats."

Dan Heng furrowed his brow slightly, scanning his terminal.

"…There's something strange in the data."

The others turned to him.

"Something strange?"

Welt asked.

"According to the records we've gathered on Jarilo-VI's Stellaron, its energy has remained stable for years. However…"

Dan Heng typed something on his screen, projecting a three-dimensional graph.

"In the past few days, there have been anomalous fluctuations in its activity."

Himeko narrowed her eyes.

"That doesn't sound like a good thing."

"It isn't," Dan Heng confirmed.

"Until now, Jarilo-VI's Stellaron had maintained its influence uniformly, but these changes suggest that something is interfering with it."

March 7th leaned closer to the screen.

"Could it be another Stellaron? Or someone messing with cosmic energy without knowing what they're doing?"

"Unlikely," Welt said.

"A second Stellaron would have been detected long ago. And if someone were deliberately tampering with its energy, we would've known."

"So…"

March 7th hesitated.

"What's causing it?"

The group fell silent for a moment.

Himeko glanced out the window of the Express, watching as the planet grew closer.

"I guess we'll find out when we get there."

Throughout the conversation, Stelle had remained quiet, studying the data with a somewhat distant expression.

Something about all this gave her a strange feeling.

She couldn't quite define it…

It was as if… her body instinctively reacted to the information about the Stellaron.

It was subtle, almost imperceptible, but it was there.

As if something deep inside her knew these changes meant something important.

"Stelle."

Himeko's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Are you okay?"

Stelle took a second to respond but eventually nodded.

"Yeah… I was just thinking."

Himeko watched her for a moment but didn't press further.

"Alright. We're approaching the planet. Prepare for landing."

......

"Entering Jarilo-VI's atmosphere. Initiating landing sequence."

The Astral Express descended through the thick cloud cover blanketing the planet.

From the sky, they could see vast expanses of ice and snow stretching endlessly across the landscape.

But Dan Heng noticed something unusual.

"…The weather."

"What about the weather?"

March 7th asked.

Dan Heng adjusted his visor's parameters.

"Jarilo-VI's temperature was supposed to be constant, but there are thermal fluctuations in certain areas."

Himeko tapped a finger against her chin.

"Another anomaly."

Welt nodded.

"Looks like our arrival will be more interesting than we expected."

With a final controlled descent, the Express landed smoothly at an abandoned station on the surface.

[Landing complete. External conditions: Extreme cold with detected fluctuations.]

Himeko stood up and looked at the others with a calm smile.

"Well, team. Time to find out what's happening on this planet."