The Gamer who traveled to Honkai: Star Rail

Pei Guang puffed out his chest proudly. "Then I can play it safe without worrying about your affection and start a multi-route strategy! I'm telling you, I seriously regret maxing out your affection right from the start because of your looks, personality, figure, and inner charm. 

Now that your affection is maxed, I can't just abandon it! But if you lose all your feelings for me, I'll be able to openly pursue multiple routes without a care in the world~"

March 7th stood with her hands on her hips. "You wouldn't dare!"

Pei Guang mirrored her stance. "I would!"

Stelle chimed in. "I would too!"

Bailu added enthusiastically, "Me too!"

Sushang, though completely clueless about what they were talking about, heard the challenge and instinctively responded, "Me too!"

March 7th glared at them. "Why are you all jumping in?"

Bailu grinned smugly. "I'm not just jumping in—I know exactly what you're talking about. Isn't it obvious? I've seen plenty of stuff over the years."

March 7th squinted at her. "Oh yeah? So you're trying to steal Ah Guang's affection, huh? Fine then, I've decided—I'm not sharing any snacks with you!"

That statement made Bailu's eyes go wide. "Are you a child?! Threatening me with food?!"

March nodded solemnly. "Exactly. I get it now—I'm not sharing."

Bailu immediately panicked. "I'm sorry, March! I was wrong! I don't dare anymore!"

Bailu demonstrated the perfect example of flexible morals. For food, giving up on Pei Guang? No big deal. After all, as a Vidyadhara, it's not like he could bring any lasting benefit.

Watching the group banter and joke around, Pei Guang clapped his hands. "Alright, enough messing around. We've got things to do. Let's head into the instance and get this promo video recorded. Let's go~ Time to dive in~"

Taking the lead, Pei Guang stepped into the Echo of War. The moment he entered, he found himself in the same arena where they had once fought Phantylia.

Not far away stood Phantylia the Undying, half-buried in the ground, lazily fanning herself despite the absence of heat.

The instant Sushang laid eyes on Phantylia, her eyes widened in disbelief. She never imagined she'd have the chance to face a Lord Ravager herself.

However, this was just an Echo space—not the real world. While it replicated the battleground and events of the past, Phantylia here was nothing more than a shadow of her former self. The group felt no pressure at all facing her.

Looking at such a formidable opponent, Sushang couldn't contain her excitement. "This is amazing! I never thought I'd get the chance to fight an enemy this powerful. If I tell the others about this, they'll be so jealous. If they find out about this place, they'll probably want to come here every day!"

Sushang was thrilled. She didn't understand how this space existed, but based on what Pei Guang had explained, this version of Phantylia was just an illusion. But even if it was an illusion, it was still a Lord Ravager! 

Landing a few hits on her would be a bragging right for life. If she ever returned to the Yaoqing, the others would be green with envy.

Eager to start the fight, Sushang charged in.

But what happened next made her seriously question her entire existence.

Pei Guang casually remarked, "Looks familiar! Too bad she's not as strong as before."

March 7th crossed her arms. "If this were the real Phantylia, we'd all be toast right now."

Pei Guang smirked. "Exactly. Clearly a late-game boss. If this were the actual body, we'd have to rely on plot armor. But lucky for us, it's not. Look—I just set her on fire, and she didn't drop any materials. That proves this Phantylia is fake, just data. Or maybe this version scales to our strength, balanced so we can beat her through normal means."

Blue flames flickered on Phantylia's chest—Pei Guang's signature Savory Truefire. Compared to the real Phantylia, burning this one felt way easier. Back then, he had to chug consumables like crazy, but now? Not even necessary.

That said, she wasn't exactly weak. As soon as Pei Guang set her ablaze, the Echo version of Phantylia started moving. Compared to her real counterpart, though, her attacks were laughably simple—and honestly, kind of dumb.

At the very least, the real Phantylia wouldn't stand there fanning herself from across the arena like some bored aristocrat. But this illusion? She was doing exactly that, waving her fan with exaggerated effort, as if it could somehow hurt Pei Guang.

Stelle cracked her knuckles. "No problem. Even if it's just data, as long as the combat feels satisfying, that's all that matters. Let me give it a shot!"

She was the most excited out of everyone, especially watching Phantylia's 'jiggly' movements. A bright grin spread across her face as she pulled out her trusty bat. Then, right in front of everyone, she did something most people wouldn't even dare.

To be fair, Pei Guang had wanted to do it too. But his weapon was a sword, and back when they fought the real Phantylia, he was busy being the primary target, constantly dodging her ultimate attacks—not exactly the best time to mess around. This time, though? He was free to have fun.

Pei Guang handed his wooden sword to Stelle. "Hey, try cutting it. See if you can slice anything off."

Stelle took the sword, swung it once, then frowned. "Nope. It won't break off. But wow, it feels surprisingly real when you hit it."

She was a bit disappointed. After all, she still had a random piece of Phantylia's "part" tucked away in her inventory—something she'd hacked off during the original battle. Not being able to make it a matching set was a real shame.

Weird? Perverted? Maybe. 

But technically, Phantylia's body was made from the Ambrosial Arbor's fruit. After being cut, it just turned into a chunk of wood over time, unrecognizable as anything important. Besides, Stelle had only managed to grab one piece back then—so was it really that weird to want another for a perfect pair?

As they continued testing, the group realized this Echo version of Phantylia had an incredibly simple attack pattern. The real Phantylia summoned Arbor roots, mixed physical assaults with devastating Destruction abilities, and kept everyone on their toes.

This one? All she did was flick people on the forehead and fan them with gusts of wind. Neither attack posed much of a threat.

Sure, getting hit would probably leave you seeing stars, but Pei Guang and the others weren't idiots. This wasn't some turn-based card game where you just stand there waiting to get smacked.

Still, despite being weaker than the real deal, it took a bit of effort to bring her down. Not much, though.

Soloing her was tough, but with Bailu in the party, duoing the fight was a breeze.

They also discovered that this version of the boss retained her signature ultimate. It even had a flashy cutscene—but the actual damage? Practically negligible.

In Pei Guang's opinion, this was a fun, mildly challenging weekly boss. Nothing too crazy, but entertaining enough.