Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

”Huh? Can I level up again?”

Upon receiving the news from Fang Zheng, Little Hei jumped up excitedly. As a Four-Star ARCHER, she had been struggling with this issue for a long time. Hearing now that she might be able to become Five Stars like Illya, Little Hei was naturally thrilled.

”Can I become as strong as Illya? Big Brother?”

”I don’t know about that, maybe yes, maybe no; after all, everyone excels at different things.”

Fang Zheng spread his hands.

”By the way, although I’ll be going with you to that world, I can’t help you. You can only rely on yourself, and in that world, you won’t be able to use the power of the Heroic Spirit. Simply put, there, you’re just a young girl of about ten.”

This is actually an enhanced version of Fang Zheng’s Trial World. Back then, Fang Zheng was tortured in the three worlds of Mind-Skill-Body; now it’s finally someone else’s turn to suffer.

”You only have one chance. If you fail, you’ll be forcibly ejected and have to wait until the instance cooldown finishes before you can enter again.”

”So how long is the cooldown, Big Brother?”

”I don’t know that, after all... I’ve never used it.”

Fang Zheng shrugged his shoulders; he genuinely didn’t know the answer. Although to be safe, Fang Zheng considered going in to check, but the system wouldn’t let him in... it seemed afraid Fang Zheng might spoil the story.

”But don’t worry, it’s just a silhouette world. Just treat it like a virtual reality game similar to SAO.”

”Um... no problem, I’m willing! This time, I’ll definitely clear it smoothly and advance!”

”Are you sure?”

”Big Brother, you’ll be going, right? Then aren’t you going to fight alongside me?”

”I’m not sure about that either. Anyway, you have to go to know.”

”Then let’s set off; what are we waiting for!”

”Alright, alright, no problem.”

Seeing Little Hei’s glowing eyes grabbing his arm, Fang Zheng helplessly shook his head and chuckled wryly. Then he reached out to summon the Dimensional Codex, and soon, a sheet of paper floated onto Fang Zheng’s face.

[Detected Chloe von Einzbern available for advancement task, proceed to activate?]

”Hmm...”

Looking at the prompt before him, Fang Zheng, deep down, harbored an uneasy feeling. It was his instinct as a Prophet Mage, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was unsettling. After all, the worst-case scenario for Little Hei would only be task failure, right? What’s so strange about that? It doesn’t seem particularly problematic.

Or maybe I’m the unlucky one?

Hmm, given this system’s treacherous nature, that’s indeed quite possible—or rather, the likelihood is fairly high. But the protagonist of this Trial isn’t me; how badly could this system mess me up?

Yet... only trying will tell.

”Activate!”

With these words, Fang Zheng pressed firmly, and the sheet of paper spontaneously ignited, turning into a ring of fire that enveloped the two of them, then quickly vanished.

When Little Hei opened her eyes again, she was standing in a deserted alleyway in a street district, with no one in sight. The skyscrapers nearby suggested it was a modern city. Little Hei looked down and noticed her clothes had changed from her regular attire to her ARCHER outfit. She reached out and tried to summon her weapons, only to find she couldn’t summon anything.

”Ah, just as Big Brother said, can’t use anything... huh? Where’s Big Brother?”

It was then that Little Hei noticed no trace of anyone around. She looked up in confusion, glanced left and right, but besides her, not even a ghost was visible. This made Little Hei immensely puzzled, and she couldn’t help but shout.

”Big Brother?”

”Over here...”

Unexpectedly, a weak voice sounded from behind Little Hei, startling her. The little girl quickly reached out, fumbled behind her, and felt something hard. When she took it out to look, she found a Merlin’s Revolver hanging from her waist, unbeknownst to her.

Holding the revolver, Little Hei was stunned for a moment. She examined it carefully before speaking in confusion.

”Huh? Huh? Big Brother?”

”It’s me...”

Fang Zheng’s voice was weak at this point. Although he had wondered how the system intended to prevent him from intervening, arriving in this world, Fang Zheng quickly understood... his consciousness was now housed inside this gun, and he had no hands to lend a hand!

Now Fang Zheng finally understood where the ominous premonition before transferring had originated.

”Hahaha, Big Brother, you turned into a gun?”

Little Hei was gleefully fiddling with the gun in her hands, laughing and giggling, whilst Fang Zheng couldn’t even cry.

”You think I want this... I never thought I’d turn into a gun either...”

”Yeah, yeah, totally unexpected... hmm...”

Saying this, Little Hei suddenly paused, then she thoughtfully examined the oversized barrel of the Merlin’s Revolver, then reached out with her finger and made a circle...

”Wait, what do you want to do?”

”Hahaha, this is as thick as your gun barrel, big brother, and the length seems similar too... hahaha, it’s really interesting!”

”... You saying that makes me feel like a pervert.”

”Who’s the pervert here? Is it me? Or you, big brother?”

”What do you think?”

Fang Zheng speechlessly threw the question back at Little Hei, then swiftly and calmly changed the subject.

”Alright, enough of that. Let’s figure out the current situation first. From the surrounding environment, this should be the modern world.”

”Yeah, and since you turned into a gun, big brother, I think the enemy in this world shouldn’t be anything too troublesome.”

”Speaking of guns and the real world... hmm...”

”Zombies, maybe?”

”Something like that. If it were the usual you, it wouldn’t be a problem. But now, you’re no different from a teenager.”

”Exactly.”

Little Hei raised her hand, then shook her leg.

”Although the skills are there, my physical structure isn’t that of a Heroic Spirit... hmm, feels like I’ve turned into a human. If it’s zombies, that’s really troublesome...”

”Could get taken out with just one hit from a zombie.”

”So, my weapons now are only you as a gun and two scimitars?”

Little Hei put the revolver back into the holster behind her waist, then reached out to pull out two scimitars strapped to her thighs. As she couldn’t fight as a Heroic Spirit, she couldn’t use Projection Magic to create Ganjiang and Moye, but the system considerately provided weapons for Little Hei.

”What should we do next?”

”For now, observe the surroundings. If you don’t have a task, then check out the environment. In a zombie world, it’s usually about escaping. This big city might get nuked, so it’s best to consider leaving early.”

”Got it, big brother.”

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s advice, Little Hei nodded, glanced around, stepped on the trash can next to her to leap, grabbed the escape ladder of a nearby apartment building, and quickly climbed up. Little Hei swiftly moved along the escape ladder to the rooftop and gazed around.

”Wow...”

Seeing the scene before her, Little Hei couldn’t help but whistle.

Before her eyes, under the pitch-black sun, the entire city had turned into a sea of fire. Flames, thick smoke, and blaring alarms were everywhere. The bustling city had now become a hellscape, with beast-like growls and screams audible all around.

”Big brother, it really is a zombie world... hehehe...”

”Why are you laughing?”

Seeing Little Hei’s smug expression, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but wonder if she secretly enjoyed killing zombies.

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s question, Little Hei blinked.

”I’m laughing because if Illya came here, she’d be done for. She doesn’t have my skills, she’d probably be scared to tears by now. As expected, I’m the stronger sister!”

With this, Little Hei proudly puffed her chest, wearing a proud look. And indeed, she wasn’t wrong. As an ARCHER and a former heir of the Einzbern Clan, Little Hei was well-versed in magecraft, shooting, and combat skills. Meanwhile, the other Illya was just a regular elementary school student who led an ordinary life before becoming a magical girl. If Illya were here without the ability to transform and no combat skills, she’d likely be in trouble.

”Big brother, can I record this? I want to show Illya my heroic stance, let her see who the real sister is!”

You’re still hung up on this issue...

Upon hearing Little Hei’s request, Fang Zheng rolled his eyes helplessly.

”Go ahead and record if you want.”

”Hehehe...”

Little Hei immediately activated her personal terminal’s recording function, then looked around once more.

”So, what do you plan to do now?”

”Hmm... I’m thinking of heading over there.”

As she spoke, Little Hei pointed to a street not far away where four people were desperately fleeing.

”Why there?”

”Because there are two little girls in that group? Don’t you always follow little girls, big brother?”

”... Why do I feel like you’re making me sound like a pervert...”

Upon hearing Little Hei’s response, Fang Zheng was utterly speechless.