The Gamer who traveled to Honkai: Star Rail

Meanwhile, Sushang was fully in her element, dodging Phantylia's clumsy attacks and striking at her chest with everything she had.

March 7th held up the camera, recording every moment. She remembered perfectly—Pei Guang planned to use this footage to promote Aurum Alley and his little stall. Honestly, it sounded like a ridiculous idea, but watching them style on Phantylia like this? It was way too fun. It would've been a crime not to capture such an epic, hilarious scene.

Bailu? She was clutching her gourd, wearing a mischievous grin while spamming heals on Stelle and Sushang. 

Honestly, just the fact that those two could hold their own against Phantylia with only one healer backing them up was proof enough that this version of Phantylia wasn't all that strong.

If that wasn't convincing enough, even the Creation Engines Pei Guang summoned could slap this Lord Ravager around without breaking a sweat. That alone showed just how weak this Echo version really was.

While the fight raged on, Pei Guang was busy running a few tests based on Stelle and Sushang's battle. So far, he'd confirmed that Phantylia's body didn't drop any loot. There was a chance something might drop after clearing the boss, but given how weak she was, he seriously doubted it'd be anything worthwhile.

When they fought Cocolia, he'd thrown everything he had into the battle—and the reward was an orange-tier weapon for Stelle and a class change for himself. Against the real Phantylia, they'd gone all out, using every resource available, and the payoff was an incredibly rare material: the Ambrosial Arbor's fruit.

But this? This was basically a glorified punching bag that Stelle could bully without even trying. Sure, she might drop something, but it definitely wouldn't be anything valuable. At best, Pei Guang figured he could come here now and then just to flex, but expecting real loot? Not a chance.

However, as he was running these tests, a bold idea suddenly popped into his head.

Everyone knew that weekly bosses like this were usually designed for players. NPCs almost never participated in these kinds of challenges.

For one, in most games, weekly bosses existed purely for gameplay purposes, not tied to the actual world lore. Even when NPCs acknowledged these instances, they'd mysteriously be unable to find the entrance, couldn't get in due to plot reasons, or just plain sucked at fighting them.

And as for players? Normally, you couldn't bring NPCs into these battles. Only playable characters could enter to face off against past bosses.

But what if—whether it was due to the world's mechanics, the Aeons' influence, or his own unique "player" status—this weekly boss could be exploited in a way that worked to his advantage?

What if he could make money off it?

As this realization sank in, Pei Guang's expression grew serious. Meanwhile, inside the Echo, Stelle was having the time of her life, smashing Phantylia's chest with her bat and occasionally jabbing her in the head with her War-Flaming Lance for good measure.

By the time Pei Guang finished his mental calculations, Stelle and Sushang had already pushed Phantylia into her third phase. While this phase made her look tougher, having Bailu around meant it didn't matter. Even when Sushang got smacked hard enough to ragdoll across the arena, one big heal from Bailu had her back on her feet, charging in like nothing happened.

Seeing the boss enter phase three, Pei Guang suddenly shouted, "Stelle! Hold back—don't kill her! I've got an idea! Let's head out for a bit."

Stelle, who had just pulled out her War-Flaming Lance and was about to go for the kill, paused mid-strike. "You thinking of a new way to torture her?"

Pei Guang shot her an offended look. "Do I seem like that kind of person to you?"

After exchanging a few more snarky comments, the group used their Trailblazer powers to exit the Echo of War.

Once they were outside, Pei Guang laid out his brilliant money-making plan.

Pei Guang: "Alright, listen up! This Echo space lets us fight powerful bosses—like Phantylia, the Lord Ravager herself. Sure, you can only challenge her once per week, but what if… we sold spots to fight her? What do you think?"

March 7th stared at him, blinking. "Wait, wait—hold on. Ah Guang, did you just say sell challenge spots? Like… are we offering guided tours now? Tours on how to beat the Lord Ravager?"

Pei Guang grinned. "Exactly! That's why you're the best, March. You get it right away. It's such a waste for us to be the only ones challenging this boss. For us, it's just about testing new skills and exploring new classes. But if we sell the challenge slots, we not only earn some resources, but we also get the tourists to kill the boss for us. 

After the boss is down, we can just scoop up the loot. It's like hiring a bunch of mercenaries who pay us for the privilege of doing our dirty work every week. And if worst comes to worst, we toss them some random junk as a 'souvenir' to keep them happy."

At that, Stelle's eyes lit up. "Brilliant idea! That's why you're Ah Guang. This way, every new map and boss we unlock will become a weekly income stream. Plus, we'll have people gathering gear and materials for us. It's a win-win… no, it's a win-win-win! And those idiots you tricked? They'll be handing over their money and resources, walking away with nothing but trash, and still thanking us for it. So dumb. But why… why does this scheme feel strangely familiar?"

Pei Guang glanced at Stelle, and in that moment, he was hit with the memory of some infamous gaming memes.

"Only idiots do this quest."

"Wait… you're the legendary V?"

It suddenly clicked—this whole operation felt way too familiar. In so many games, dungeon entry tickets seemed cheap on the surface, but within the lore, they were rare, precious materials. And thinking back… had all those dumb NPCs in his old games been pocketing his loot behind the scenes? If he and Stelle could come up with a scam like this, there's no way those NPCs hadn't thought of it too!

One day, if he ever found a way back, Pei Guang swore he'd give those NPCs a beating they'd never forget. 

As for how to punch virtual data from real life? Meh, not his problem right now.