Becoming a Star In Honkai: Star Rail!

Michael's back was drenched in cold sweat.

Looking at the mask in his hands, he thought.

'This thing is dangerous...'

The mask had a completely red interior, while the exterior was white with gold detailing around the edges and eye opening.

It mainly covered the upper part of the face, tapering slightly around the nose. The mask's eye opening was curved into a half-crescent, giving the impression that it was looking down on everyone arrogantly.

Despite the elegant design, it gave off a sinister feeling.

While singing using the security room microphone, Michael initially didn't feel anything different from usual until that mask appeared on his face.

He assumed that the mask came from Aha's blessing from the moment he completed the requirement of the third mission of the system.

As the mask covered his face, Michael vividly felt the excitement of all the hundreds of people in the main control zone converging on himself.

He had never felt so much melancholy and, at the same time, those sensations led him to a divine ecstasy.

However, he nearly lost his sense of self due to the convergence of all those emotions, and the mask tried to control his body.

Fortunately, the system seemed to block any attempts to influence Michael's mind, including the mask's possession, allowing him to narrowly escape its influence.

With this first-hand experience, Michael recalled some details of the game from his memories.

Sparkle, who was one of the only playable Masked Fools in Honkai Star Rail along with Sampo at the time he transmigrated, appeared to actually be the mask itself, rather than the girl.

This was unconfirmed, however, given Sparkle's deceptive nature, even this could be a fake, so it was a debatable topic on the forum he participated.

Looking back, there might have been some truth in that.

Sighing, Michael decided it was best to handle this thing with caution.

He turned his attention to Himeko, who was right behind him and staring at the mask in Michael's hands with a thoughtful expression.

"Sorry, did I keep you waiting?"

Himeko: "No way, I was able to enjoy such a beautiful music, so it was worth it."

His call seemed to have pulled her out of her thoughts. Himeko smiled at Michael with a hint of appreciation and asked.

Himeko: "What's the name of this song?"

"Isabella's Lullaby."

Michael had spent his last hundred points on this song.

Michael noticed that the songs he purchased from the system were of a clearly superior quality compared to songs he had memorized but which did not come from the system itself.

He deduced that it is because the system imprinted the songs directly into his mind, this raised the quality of his [Voice] stat to the maximum, allowing him to sing at 100% of his capacities.

If he tried to sing without the system's help, however, it would take him many tries to get the same result, and he didn't have time for that at the moment.

"Can you inform Miss Asta that I will see her soon? I need some time alone to think."

Himeko: "Sure, that won't be a problem."

Himeko nodded in agreement to Michael's request, her gaze shifting between the mask in his hands and his face, as if she seemed to understand something. Michael didn't bother to correct any misunderstandings she had, however.

After leaving the security room together, Himeko separated from Michael to go find Asta while Michael took a random path.

As he strolled through the main control zone, he saw many people with red eyes from crying, but much calmer and more composed than when he had first arrived here.

This was probably the effect of the mask, Michael thought. Earlier, he had viciously watched as the emotions of the people in the main control zone converged toward him.

The mask seemed to have absorbed these people's emotions, especially their melancholy, leaving them in a state of whiteness for a while.

'Is that the mask's power? Absorbing other people's emotions? I remember that Sparkle could change her appearance almost perfectly... But I don't know if that's her own ability or the mask's power.'

Suddenly, Michael felt regret for not exploring the game's lore and details more deeply.

There was no point in regretting now, however, Michael leaned on a railing overlooking the entire main zone after climbing a few stairs and observed the people below.

He decided to check the system notifications that he hadn't had the chance to notice before.

[Ding!]

[Mission #3 conditions have been met!]

[Rewards are being distributed!]

[500 Star Points have been acquired!]

[A Path of Destiny has been unlocked!]

[The Path of Destiny unlocked is: The Elation!]

[An elemental affinity has been unlocked!]

[The unlocked elemental affinity is: Fire!]

[Congratulations to the Host for completing all three initial quests!]

[New quests have been distributed, don't forget to check them out!]

"This system really likes to use exclamation marks..."

Why did there have to be at least one at the end of every sentence?

Putting these trivial thoughts aside, Michael began to analyze his current situation.

There were approximately three to four hundred people throughout the Main Control Zone at the moment.

Even though Michael was optimistic, he couldn't say that they all became his "fans", and since he didn't come out publicly, there was no way his popularity score could surpass 1000 based on influence.

Opening the attribute panel, he took a look at the popularity score and his eyes widened in surprise.

[Popularity: 4726]

Placing his hand under his chin thoughtfully, Michael deduced that an ordinary person becoming his "fan" probably equaled to 10 popularity points at the very least.

If more important people like Pathstriders or those with important positions gave more points than the average person, then it's make sense that he could have reached this level of popularity.

For now, let's assume that regular people are worth 10 points and Pathstriders range from 50 to 100 points.

How much would an Emanator worth...?

Michael shook these potentially dangerous thoughts from his mind and quickly turned his attention back to his own body.

Now that he had unlocked a Path of Destiny through the system, he could officially be considered a Pathstrider.

'What was the description of the Pathstriders in the Astral Express database again...?'

Devotees, warriors, seekers of knowledge, lost travelers... There are always mortals who, intentionally or not, tread the Paths ruled by Aeons. Those who do so have come to be known as Pathstriders who carry out the will of the Path.

Pathstriders live a thousand different lives. They can be seen everywhere, but they stand out a little above the rest. Unlike ordinary people who live in confusion and without firm loyalty, Pathstriders are driven by precepts or their own desires as they embark on a life of determination and hard work.

The Aeons generally ignore mortals who walk THEIR Paths. But the infrequent glances THEY cast — whether of approval or pity — are enough to make THEM highly valued by THEIR followers.

Despite seemingly having become one, Michael didn't feel much different than usual.

Perhaps the biggest difference he could perceive was that he could now vividly feel ITS existence clearly and instinctively knew that he could use some of ITS power.

Michael was a complete layman, however, and had no idea how exactly he could use Aha's power.

After all, he was just a normal human until a few moments ago.

'If I wear this mask, I'll probably get an idea...'

He was reluctant, however. The feeling of having his body slowly possessed by something else was extremely unpleasant, it wasn't a feeling he was exactly willing to feel again.

For now, he decided to put these thoughts aside, he might as well learn about it later.

Pathstriders weren't exactly different from ordinary people, unless they trained hard or had natural talent.

Just look at Xianzhou, for example, there were a lot of Pathstriders there, but not all of them were strong. Some were surprisingly ordinary and not much different from civilians.

Michael thought that even if he didn't become strong, there was no problem at all! After all, stars don't have to be exactly good fighters.

After comforting himself for a while, Michael opened the system's mission tab, wanting to see what new tasks had been assigned.

[Mission #4 — Start of the Journey, Part 1]: Now that you've finally gone from being a total newbie to an aspiring star, it's time to get involved in more popular practices! Create a Star Tube account and reach 100,000 followers!

Rewards: 500 Star Points, Random Skill Ticket, Status Evolution Ticket.

[Mission #5 — Start of the Journey, Part 2]: Don't get carried away by focusing on music, a star should dominate not only the music charts, but the TV screens too! Take part in a theater or film production and get a final grade of B!

Rewards: 500 Star points, Status Evolution Ticket, [Script: Violet Evergarden — Part 1].

[Mission #6 — Start of the Journey, Part 3]: A star can't always shine alone! Recruit at least four people with stats above C+ and form a band!

Rewards (1st Member): 1,000 Star Points, music track [Come Alice — Sān-Z].

[Elation Path Quest #1 — Breakdance Battle]: Aha believes Nanook has no sense of fun, but those beneath HIM still have salvation. Have a dance battle against the Doomsday Beast and teach him how to breakdance!

Rewards: ???

Michael: ?

"Aha, you sucker!"

Michael could sworn he heard the sound of laughter coming from somewhere.