Into the Cosmos (Star Rail SI, Chaos Gacha) (Patreon)

Chapter 12: Beneath the Frozen Surface

“…That was awesome,” I muttered in awe as I stood up and walked toward the window of the Parlor Car, where the blue-and-white planet hung in the distance.

“Indeed. This is a novel experience you’ve allowed me to witness, Caelus-sama. Thank you,” Virgo said as she walked up beside me, her gaze fixed on the planet below. For once, she sounded calm, almost serene, instead of her usual degenerate self.

“You’re welcome,” I replied absentmindedly.

Himeko and March soon joined us. March looked on curiously while rubbing her butt from where she had fallen during the jump, while Himeko’s expression was more thoughtful, almost surprised.

“After all those millennia… is this what Jarilo-VI has become?” Himeko murmured, her eyes fixed on the frozen world.

Turning to her, I tilted my head, already knowing the answer but playing along.

“I take it the logs don’t mention the planet being mostly covered in snow and ice?”

“Correct,” Himeko nodded before turning to face us. “According to our records, Jarilo-VI was once a lush, green world. But clearly… that’s no longer the case.”

At that moment, Pom-Pom suddenly interrupted us, announcing a spatial anomaly. The Star Rail’s stability had dropped, meaning we wouldn’t be able to leave unless the issue was resolved.

“This again… Don’t tell me, it’s gotta be…” March groaned, holding her head in frustration.

“The results of the preliminary analysis are in,” Welt continued calmly. “The anomaly originates from a Stellaron. As expected.”

Welt and Himeko went on to explain what a Stellaron was, at least based on their current understanding, and made it clear that we wouldn’t be able to continue trailblazing without removing the source.

“So what you’re saying is that we’re basically space rangers… or a chivalrous band of cosmic knights,” I said with a grin, placing my hands on my hips. “Got it.”

“Right! You finally get what we’re all about. Pretty cool, right?” March replied immediately, puffing out her chest proudly.

“Damn right it is~,” I agreed without hesitation.

Himeko watched us fondly for a moment, none of the earlier embarrassment lingering on her face, before speaking again.

“Caelus, I’d like to entrust this trailblazing expedition to you, March, and Dan Heng. What do you think? Are you feeling up to it?”

Her voice was calm, but there was a hint of concern beneath it as she watched me closely.

Smiling at her worry, I gave her—and the others—a reassuring look. March and Virgo were both watching me with similar expressions.

“Don’t worry, everyone. I feel pretty good after last night’s rest.”

“Don’t worry, Himeko. I’ll be there to make sure this troublemaker doesn’t overdo it,” March added with a confident nod.

“As his maid, I will ensure that Caelus-sama is properly looked after,” Virgo followed, mirroring her gesture.

“…Alright, just don’t push yourself too hard,” Himeko said after a moment, clearly satisfied that I was being honest.

After talking a bit more, and confirming that Welt wouldn’t be joining us this time, we made our way over to Dan Heng, who was standing in the corner of the Parlor Car, focused on a datapad.

We spoke with him briefly, and once he agreed to join us, he left to prepare, leaving me alone with March and Virgo again.

March, however, seemed distracted, her gaze fixed on the planet below.

“Care to share your thoughts?” I asked as I stepped beside her.

She gave me a brief glance before looking back down at the frozen world.

“When I first saw this planet, I thought… a world covered in ice… could it have something to do with my past?” she said quietly. “And now I can’t stop thinking about it.”

She paused for a moment before continuing.

“Still, the ice that trapped me was Six-Phased Ice—a very rare substance. I don’t think you’d find that on just any planet…”

Even knowing this wasn’t her homeworld, I placed a hand on her shoulder anyway.

It felt… nice, being the one offering comfort for once.

“We won’t know unless we take a look ourselves,” I said calmly. “Though personally, I doubt it. I can’t really picture a pretty girl like you belonging to a freezing planet like this.”

She blinked, then a faint blush crept onto her cheeks as a small pout formed.

“Are you trying to throw shade at me or something?” March huffed before sighing and shaking her head. “Though… I can’t say I disagree. Pretty girls like me aren’t exactly frost-resistant.”

At that moment, Dan Heng returned, breaking the moment. He paused slightly when he noticed both of us staring at him.

“…What? Is there something on my face?”

March and I exchanged a quick glance, then smiled knowingly before turning back to him.

“Nah~ I was just imagining all the fun we’re going to have here… hee-hee!” March said cheerfully.

Dan Heng’s expression somehow became even flatter.

“…I feel sorry for this world. First the Stellaron, and now you.”

“Let’s go!” I cut in quickly before things escalated.

“Alright! Here comes the Jarilo-VI Trailblaze Team!” March cheered enthusiastically.

“Let’s break some rules!” I added, matching her energy.

Dan Heng simply shook his head, looking even more tired than usual,as if realizing his headaches had just doubled with me around.

Honestly?

He wasn’t wrong.

A moment later, Dan Heng deployed a Space Anchor down to the planet.

And just like that—

we were off toward our next adventure.

‘Woo~ My spacefaring journey has officially begun~’

=====

Jarilo-VI — Outlying Snow Plains

If I had to describe my first experience descending onto an unknown world in just a few words—

It would be: too white for my liking.

Of course, that might have had something to do with the fact that the entire planet was covered in snow… and we had landed right in the middle of a small blizzard.

Still.

I stand by my point.

It was also fucking cold.

If it weren’t for the passive resistance granted by the Trailblaze, I had no doubt we’d all be shivering and stuttering like crazy, especially dressed like this.

“Brr… it really is one big snowball,” March said, rubbing her arms.

“Yep. A big snowball,” I agreed with a nod.

“Hey, get your own metaphor!” March shot back, playfully slapping my arm with a smile.

“Haah… snow as far as the eye can see. Which direction should we take?” she added, turning to Dan Heng as usual.

“Based on the coordinates, the target should be straight ahead,” Dan Heng replied without missing a beat, pointing forward.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go,” March said, already energized as she placed her hands on her hips.

Just as I was about to agree, I blinked as a familiar notification appeared in my vision.

Curious, I pulled it up.

[Feat Achieved! Get your own room in the Express and fully furnish it.]

[+1 Gold Random Ticket.]

[Feat Achieved! Descend on your first planet.]

[+1 Silver Random Ticket.]

[Feat Achieved! Arrived at Jarilo-VI.]

[+1 Silver Random Ticket.]

My smile widened.

Without hesitation, I rolled them.

[Rolling Tickets…]

[Adept Arms Mastery]

|Elite Skill|

You are able to handle all conventional weapons—from knives to swords, axes to polearms, guns to bows, even chained weapons and clubs—with great skill, enough to match most dedicated practitioners.

[Soul Arrow]

|Common Ability|

Darksouls — Draw energy from your life and soul and shape it into a weapon, forming a simple arrow projectile that can curve toward targets. Its power scales with both your soul strength and energy levels.

[Pacifism]

|Uncommon Trait|

You are able to suppress your killing intent. Even if you hit a medieval serf with a final flash, your target will survive albeit barely.

Seeing my rolls, my grin only widened—

—before I suddenly winced.

A flood of information slammed into my mind as the knowledge from Adept Arms Mastery forcefully integrated itself.

“—Tch!”

Grabbing my head instinctively, I staggered slightly, which immediately drew the others’ attention.

“Hmm, what is it, Caelus? Is your weird and OP power acting up again?” March asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

Blinking away the pain, I turned to them and nodded.

“Yep. I just got a pretty nice ability, it gives me knowledge on how to use all conventional weapons at an adept level, just shy of mastery. That’s why I was holding my head… all that information got crammed into my skull at once.”

“I also got two other skills,” I added casually with a grin. “A passive one that lets me control the lethality of my attacks, and another that lets me shoot magic arrows made from my life and soul.”

March stared at me in silence for a moment before sighing and shaking her head.

“Right. For the sake of my sanity, I’m just going to ignore that and assume you’ve always had those powers.”

“Magic arrows made from your life and soul? Isn’t that dangerous?” Dan Heng asked, tilting his head slightly. His question snapped March out of her daze as she looked at me with concern.

“No,” I replied, shaking my head. “From the knowledge the ability gave me, it shouldn’t be harmful. It just consumes my mana.”

Then I blinked as something clicked in my mind.

With this latest addition, I now had ten abilities in total.

Which meant—

[Notice: Ability Slot has increased by 1.]

A grin spread across my face.

Without hesitation, I slotted in Boost and Soul Arrow.

After reviewing Boost again, I realized I could use it to increase the rank of one of my abilities by a full stage. Naturally, the choice was obvious.

Blessing of Hestia.

Turning the already awesome trail from Rare → Elite.

The moment the upgrade took effect, I felt it immediately.

A subtle warmth spread through my body, and I felt the weight of my curse ease noticeably.

I let out a quiet breath of relief.

Seeing the curious looks from March and Dan Heng at my sudden reaction, I gave them a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry. I actually feel better than ever. Let’s get moving.”

That seemed to ease their concerns, and they nodded as we began walking forward.

…Only for me to pause.

Virgo had been awfully quiet.

Glancing around, I quickly spotted her a short distance away, crouched beside what looked like the frozen remains of a Fragmentum creature, poking it curiously.

I sighed.

Shaking my head at her antics, I decided it was best to be prepared. Reaching into my inventory, I pulled out my Durable Baseball Bat and gave it a quick glance.

“Huh… looks exactly like my old one. This thing might actually be a little sentient,” I muttered to myself before shrugging.

Then I jogged forward, catching up with the others.

It didn’t take us long to run into our first Fragmentum monsters, some Frostspawn and Flamespawn, which were basically massive bat-like creatures made of ice and fire respectively the size of a small dog.

“Let me handle this, guys. I want to try something,” I said as I stepped forward confidently, earning nods from the others.

Raising my free hand, I focused for a moment.

A blue orb of magic formed above my palm, quickly growing to the size of a basketball, before I fired it forward.

To my surprise, instead of moving slowly like I remembered from the Souls games, the Soul Arrow shot forward almost instantly, crossing the distance in less than a second and obliterating a Flamespawn in one hit.

I blinked in surprise, before recalling the description.

‘Right… the arrows scale based on the strength of my soul and my mana reserves. And with a Stellaron inside me, plus my other perks and Energy Heart… these might be as strong as—if not stronger than—Great Soul Arrows.’

Without wasting time, I formed three more arrows and fired them at the remaining monsters.

Each one hit its mark.

“Whoa~ Was that the magic arrow you were talking about? It looks pretty strong,” March commented, clearly impressed as she walked up to me.

“I concur. It was also quite fast,” Dan Heng added with a nod.

“Caelus-sama, what is that?” Virgo suddenly asked.

We turned to see her standing in front of a strange black flower-like structure with a faint golden glow at its core.

Blinking, I observed it for a moment before letting out a small gasp.

A Calyx.

Basically a small, isolated space filled with monsters that dropped specific loot.

‘But this is real now… what could it contain? And why didn’t I see any back on Herta’s Space Station?’ I wondered as we slowly approached it.

At March’s suggestion, I sent a message to Welt. I already had a good idea of what it was, but I wanted his input anyway, mostly out of curiosity about what rewards it might offer.

His reply came quickly.

And told me exactly what I already knew.

“…Huh.”

That somehow only made me more confused.

“Haah… we can always explore it later. Let’s keep moving,” I said, shaking my head as the others nodded in agreement.

With Schrodinger, I could always come back later, or just teleport using the Space Anchors, which I had recently learned were actually real in this universe and not just a game mechanic.

At least… for those following the Path of the Trailblaze.

After a few more minutes of walking, we came across what looked like the remains of ruins, though only the rooftops were visible, barely peeking out from beneath the snow.

“Huh!? Those are rooftops? How long would it have to snow for it to pile up this much?” March asked in shock.

“…A long, long time,” Dan Heng replied with a quiet sigh before we continued on.

We walked for another half hour, encountering more ruins and the occasional group of monsters, before eventually coming across something odd.

A pile of snow.

At first glance, it looked normal—

…but something about it felt off.

“…Huh, that’s weird,” March said, blinking as we came to a stop.

“And hella suspicious,” I added with a nod, crossing my arms.

“I agree,” Dan Heng said simply.

“Caelus-sama, I can sense someone alive beneath the snow,” Virgo said from my side, likely using her affinity for earth to detect it.

“Okay… now I’m definitely feeling like something’s up,” March muttered, frowning slightly as she eyed the pile more carefully.

As we stepped closer, the faint sound of shivering reached our ears, only making us more cautious.

“…Hey, get out of there or you’re going to freeze to death,” March called out when it became clear that whoever was hiding—Sampo Koski—wasn’t planning to respond.

Instead, the shivering suddenly stopped.

“…Holding your breath won’t help,” March said flatly.

“Shall I take care of this, Caelus-sama?” Virgo asked, turning to me with curious, eager eyes.

A mischievous grin spread across my face as an idea formed.

“Go ahead, Virgo.”

March immediately caught on when she saw my expression, a smirk forming on her face as we both stepped back.

Taking that as her cue, Virgo sank into the snow.

A moment later—

A man with blue hair and a burgundy-and-blue outfit was suddenly launched into the air as Virgo resurfaced from beneath him.

“—Aaaahhh!?”

Gravity did the rest.

He came crashing down into the snow in front of us with a heavy thump, letting out a groan of pain.

March and I immediately burst into snickers, and even Dan Heng’s lips twitched ever so slightly.

‘Call that a little advance payback… considering you’re about to throw us under the bus later,’ I thought without an ounce of remorse.

We watched as the man slowly got back up, seemingly unharmed thanks to the snow cushioning his fall. When he finally looked at us, his face practically screamed sleazy.

“Yeowch! Was that really necessary, my fine fellows?” he complained. “Is crawling around in the snow a crime these days? I mean, c’mon—surely it doesn’t warrant getting speared?”

He paused, blinking as he took a proper look at us. Then his grin widened.

“…But then again, how can I blame you? I did catch you off guard. You could say I had it coming, huh? Besides…” He spread his arms slightly. “Looks like I’ve made a gallant group of new friends as a result, hehe…”

He hesitated briefly before continuing.

“…Is Captain Gepard around? H-He’s an old buddy of mine…”

“Who?” March asked flatly, barely holding back her amusement.

Sampo’s eyes widened in realization, then lit up with delight.

“Wait, you’re not Silvermane Guards? Well, why didn’t you say so?” he said quickly, his tone shifting. “Looks like we’re on the same side after all.”

He straightened slightly, flashing us a sly smile.

“Pleasure to meet you. The name’s Sampo Koski.”

“This guy looks shifty as hell. I bet he betrays us at the first opportunity,” I said bluntly, my expression completely flat.

Sampo visibly flinched.

“Kind of reminds me of a Fool, honestly,” I added casually.

March and Dan Heng both blinked before looking at Sampo more carefully, their expressions turning more guarded.

Sampo’s smile froze—

then slowly slipped.

‘Yeah… I’m not as trusting as the original Caelus,’ I thought calmly. ‘So you’re definitely going to make it up to us later, you Fool.’