The Gamer who traveled to Honkai: Star Rail

After taking a photo together with March 7th, Elysia twirled once under their gazes, then curiously said, "This Robe of the Beauty is truly incredible. I can feel the mysterious power flowing through it. Hmm~ I feel like I could even go a few rounds against the Doomsday Beast now."

This wasn't just Elysia getting carried away. Even the weakest Aeon's Path could create objects whose effects on individuals—or even the entire cosmos—were immeasurable.

If Elysia truly followed the Path of Beauty far enough, this single piece of Aeon-crafted equipment alone could elevate her to the level of an Emanator.

Of course, the idea of someone becoming a follower of Beauty after receiving a gift from the Aeon of Joy was something that would make people chuckle no matter where they were—whether at the depths of the Pacific Ocean or the farthest reaches of the universe.

That said, whether she could reach such a level depended on how far Elysia could go. If she could actually become an Aeon of Beauty, now that would be interesting.

Elysia herself might not have the qualifications to ascend to an Aeon, but if Pei Guang was involved, the future became unpredictable. Even if she didn't become an Aeon, merely reaching the rank of an Emanator would already be an amusing development.

Aha would probably say that from now on, he wasn't just the Aeon of Joy—he could also claim a secondary title as the Aeon of Beauty. 

What? You don't believe it? Look! Thanks to his influence, an Emanator of Beauty was born! If that's not proof, what is?

Pei Guang nodded. "Of course, this is a gold-tier piece of equipment. If it couldn't even hold up against a beginner tutorial boss, it'd be an embarrassment. But speaking of which, now that you're used to the gear, let's continue looting."

Elysia pouted. "Eh? You don't want to keep looking at me?"

Pei Guang pulled out his wooden sword. "Of course I do, but that doesn't mean I'll stop looting. Without resources, how am I supposed to protect the civilization of the United Earth Government? How am I supposed to uphold justice for all sentient life in the universe? As the ruler of the solar system—no, of Earth—I want the name of our planet to echo from the depths of the Pacific to the farthest edges of the universe!"

Stelle was fired up by Pei Guang's speech. "That's right! With more gold-tier artifacts, we can wipe out the Antimatter Legion even more effectively! Let them be our stepping stones!"

Pei Guang's eyes burned with determination. "Exactly! Since the Legion dares to invade my home, they're not leaving alive!"

While admiring his stylishly dressed adjutant was certainly a feast for the eyes, Pei Guang hadn't forgotten what he was here to do. But when he thought about his grand dreams and looked at their current poverty-stricken state, he sighed.

"Well, that's all for the future. For now, we need to gather more resources, climb the tech tree, and boost our individual strength. At the very least, we need a way to deal with Lord Ravager when he shows up."

Elysia nodded and asked curiously, "That makes sense. Just this one item already gives me the ability to properly fight against Voidrangers. If we can get more of these…"

She had initially wanted to tease Pei Guang, just to see what kind of reaction he would have, but at the same time, she knew what really mattered right now.

Teasing Pei Guang could always be done while looting—there was no need to waste time here.

Pei Guang: "Alright, let's keep looting. Let's set a small goal—try to finish looting this entire city in one day."

March 7th looked at the crumbling buildings around them and frowned. "No way, that's impossible. This city is way bigger than that little town in Belobog, and back then, it took us forever to finish looting! Even though finding stuff is fun, just thinking about how long it'll take makes me feel exhausted... Ah Guang, hurry up and use that unstoppable brain of yours! Isn't there a better, easier way?"

March 7th loved looting, but the sheer scale of this city was daunting.

Seeing her expression, Pei Guang fell into deep thought. Looting was fun, sure, but if they had to do it nonstop in such a huge city, the constant lack of high-value finds would eventually kill the excitement.

What was the most important thing for a player? Freedom.

Looting was just one part of the game, and while repetitive grinding could bring satisfaction once the rewards came, too much of it just made the whole thing feel like a job.

So in a world without quest markers or strict mechanics, what was another way to gather resources?

At that moment, Pei Guang's eyes lit up. His mind flashed with images of a blue planet, human cognition, and countless mathematical formulas.

How else could he gather resources? He recalled what he had eaten yesterday, the day before, and even the first day he arrived in this world. He thought about all the fun he'd had, but in reflecting on those moments, he realized he had completely overlooked something.

Looting! It was indeed one of the most efficient ways to collect resources, but in any open-world game with even a little bit of freedom, there were always a few traditional mechanics. And one of those mechanics—one that he always made use of whenever possible—was...

Fishing.

In that instant, Pei Guang felt utterly ashamed of himself. As a player, in a world this immersive and full of freedom, he had completely forgotten about fishing! He wanted to slap his past self on the day he arrived just to remind himself of this.

But then again, it made sense that he forgot. With so many fun things happening—spending time with beautiful girls, engaging in simple but engaging main quests, and even looting legendary-tier items—it was understandable that some details slipped through the cracks.

At the same time, he warned himself not to fall into the trap of experience-based assumptions. He had been treating this world as an RPG, fully immersing himself in the story, and in doing so, he had forgotten about many other ways to have fun. That wouldn't do! Since this world seemed to have everything, then how could he not try out everything?!

Forgetting key game mechanics because the story was too engaging was a common mistake: how many players had powered through the early game, only to realize in the mid-to-late game that they had completely ignored certain mechanics until someone else pointed them out?

With this epiphany, Pei Guang's eyes shone brightly as he turned to March 7th with excitement. "You won't believe it, but I actually figured something out!"

Stelle immediately raised her voice in dramatic fashion. "Rejoice! Our 'Mighty' Ah Guang has once again discovered something useful!"

Elysia, on the other side, mimicked Stelle's tone playfully. "Rejoice~! The great ruler of Earth has devised a plan that could change the very fabric of the universe~!"

Pei Guang: "You too?! And you! How are you picking up on these things so fast?!"

Elysia blinked at him innocently. "Because it's fun~! But seriously, you look like you really thought of something. What is it?"

Pei Guang grinned. "Of course! As players, looting isn't the only way to gather resources. There's also fishing! Let's go try it out—let's see if we can fish up something we need!"