Honkai Simulator: Start with Confessing to The Herrscher of Finality

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The Schicksal Bishop's visit and conversation remained unknown to Xia Chen. Shortly after his departure, Xia Chen's workday also came to an end.

Just as he was about to leave, however, the priest of the Church stopped him.

"Once again, you haven't sold a single pardon slip today."

"This area has been exploited by the Church hundreds of times; there's nothing left to gain here. Next time, try a different location," Xia Chen responded nonchalantly, unconcerned if it sounded disrespectful. "If you want money, it would be better to gradually exploit another place instead."

"Very well."

The portly priest replied, "I have a specific place for you to exploit.

"Tomorrow, sell the pardon slips to House Kaslana."

Xia Chen stared incredulously. "Father, are you serious?"

Over the past few days, he had come to understand the high esteem and influence House Kaslana held among the people, even within Schicksal itself. Asking for money from them seemed undesirable to those in the church...

Wait, hold on.

He knew this priest's character well enough; fear of death outweighed any greed, making it unlikely he'd risk such a move just for some funds. Clearly, the visiting Schicksal Bishop Nicolas must have promised something to the priest earlier that day.

Perhaps House Kaslana's actions had incited dissatisfaction among the nobles, or maybe it was just a simple test.

In any case, regardless of the reason, it signaled the beginning of a power struggle.

The priest narrowed his eyes and stared at Xia Chen. "When have I ever spoken falsehoods?"

"Indeed, during prayers," Xia Chen replied, pointing towards the revered Cross. Nonchalantly, he added, "I can't guarantee success."

"Then be prepared to leave the Church. At this moment, where else but the Church could protect you?" The priest's words carried a veiled threat, yet they lacked severity. Clearly, he understood how challenging the task would be for Xia Chen.

Offending Nicolas meant defying Schicksal, but offending the Kaslanas wouldn't also defy Schicksal? If Nicolas sensed trouble, he could easily distance himself from the Church, leaving Xia Chen with no recourse.

Xia Chen shrugged indifferently. "Suit yourself."

"Forget it. I won't insist on the amount, but tomorrow you must visit House Kaslana, even if it means selling just one penny worth of pardon slips." The priest eased his demands.

"I'm not doing anything that spells certain death. Find someone else," Xia Chen retorted casually before walking away.

Enraged, the priest shouted, "Don't you dare return here again!"

After leaving the Church, Xia Chen removed his bird-beak mask, revealing a hint of bewilderment in his eyes.

In this era, he lacked any spells to magically produce food or superior intellect beyond others. Even with exceptional abilities against Honkai, they proved largely useless.

He wasn't even sure what he should do or how to go about it.

Xia Chen couldn't help but ponder: If there were multiple manifestations of Honkai, such as temperatures skyrocketing or plummeting indefinitely... how could humanity preserve the embers of civilization under such extreme conditions? Would they have to tap into the earth's veins and harness geothermal energy?

Shaking his head, he wondered why bother contemplating hypothetical scenarios that may not exist?

For some reason, Xia Chen suddenly felt a drowsiness creeping over him, while outside, the sky had turned pitch black.

"This power..."

"Honkai?"

The familiar force compelled his thoughts; lightly biting his tongue, Xia Chen rushed towards the source of Honkai.

It was a Herrscher—the same little girl who had been catching rats just three days ago.

Now, she still held a rat in her hand, surrounded by fallen bodies strewn haphazardly around her.

Xia Chen sighed softly.

"What a damned world."

The Honkai Source was swiftly eradicated, as if nothing had occurred.

People merely noticed a few more corpses, which was all too common in this city. The priests of the Church claimed it to be blessed by divine protection, but for those who had lost hope, it felt more like a forsaken land by God.

Many families were ruined by the Black Death, while Schicksal amassed substantial wealth. However, with no circulation of money, people lost their jobs and their lands.

No one knew how the Black Death sweeping across Europe would end; they merely struggled through each day like helpless insects.

Insects, perhaps the most humble forms of life visible to humans on this continent.

Now, the plight of these people was almost akin to that of insects.

Xia Chen ultimately felt unable to remain indifferent any longer.

He began solemnly clearing the streets of corpses, using wooden boards and wheels to transport them for cremation.

Next came the task of cleaning the rivers.

Within cities ravaged by the Black Death, other diseases also spread primarily through contaminated waterways. The primary source of pollution in these rivers was decaying human remains.

It was utterly disgusting, but fortunately, Xia Chen could control fluids effortlessly.

After the water became somewhat clearer, he was surprised to notice the streets being swept clean as well.

Kallen and Otto had taken action.

Kallen directed her household to clear the streets, while Otto enticed laborers with black bread, encouraging more people to participate in the cleanup efforts.

The city seemed to glimpse the first rays of dawn.

[Your experience in the Schicksal World has concluded. You may permanently retain the following items and extract them into the real world. Congratulations! You have earned 10 Honkai Fragments. Would you like to extract them?]

When Xia Chen woke up, he found Mobius hovering close to him, her eyes filled with indignation.

Slightly taken aback, he realized his hand had somehow draped around her waist during sleep.

"Little white mouse, you're quite bold."

Mobius gritted her teeth, and Xia Chen instantly understood what must have happened.

It seemed she attempted something mischief, triggering the system's automatic AFK protection feature.

He quickly removed his hand, feigning nonchalance. "Apologies, I tend to move around while sleeping. So, it's best not to get too close."

How peculiar! Despite being just a memory fragment from the Garden of Eden now, why did she still carry that lingering fragrance?

Fortunately, Mobius didn't dwell on this detail; or rather, compared to her discovery, it was insignificant.

She rose from the bed, leaned her cheek close to his face, and whispered, "Little white mouse, I've made a fascinating observation."

"There exists another type of power within you, related to quantum phenomena—an area where my expertise is limited."

"Of course, this alone wouldn't bring me such delight." Mobius looked intently at him. "Your body's superposition and collapse seem virtually unaffected by time. Every past alteration you make has minimal impact on the present. Now, let's speculate—do these changes occur due to destiny's predetermined path, or do your actions create new branches leading to alternate realities?"

"Little white mouse, your body harbors infinite possibilities."

"Embrace the boundless potentialities."