How to Be a Cosplay Boss in the World of Honkai Impact 3rd

Even now, although it looked like the young man had gotten serious.

But his flaws were still very obvious.

His footwork was unstable, he had too many openings, his eyes darted around, clearly lacking focus. He held his sword with both hands, the blade unsteady, and made too many unnecessary small movements during the confrontation.

He was completely like an opponent in their first match, not knowing how to stay calm at all.

Yet, this very person had defeated her by one round.

It was truly unbelievable!

If he was pretending to be a newcomer fighting in low-level matches, then this disguise was too good. So good that it was almost impossible to see through.

Mei tightly gripped the hilt of her blade.

Precisely because the disguise was so convincing, she Mei had suffered a loss. Mei decided to ignore these flaws and wait quietly, waiting for the young man in front of her to initiate the attack.

To find a real opening and counterattack.

Li Pu wasn't trying to strike a pose here with so many openings. He genuinely didn't know what to do! He didn't even know what happened during his last counterattack.

It was like instinct, or rather, his body acting on its own.

"Hmm..." Li Pu mimicked the sparring scenes he'd gone through in that machine, hopping left and right. He wanted to seize the initiative, as they say, "He who strikes first wins, he who strikes last is controlled."

If he took the initiative or started fighting, maybe he could achieve the same effect as before.

But Li Pu felt that if his senses weren't mistaken, Mei's current state seemed to be waiting for him to make the first move.

Mei was gathering her strength, and there were no openings for him to attack.

'This feels like a battle of bladder control.'

Li Pu repeatedly jumped back and forth, but he just wouldn't make the first move. Even though he was starting to lose patience, he felt that now was not the time to attack.

Endure, endure, there would be an opening once Mei moved...

The match entered a stalemate.

Looking at every move from across the screen, Otto put down his teacup and said, "Alright, no need to watch anymore."

"You're not watching anymore?" Rita asked somewhat strangely, "Is it because Li Pu will win the next round?"

"Of course not," Otto shook his head. "Li Pu will lose, and he will lose badly this round."

"Why?" Rita asked, a little confused. "Since you're sure he's the reincarnation of Valkyrie Artoria Pendragon, then as one of the strongest Valkyries of that era."

"Shouldn't he be able to win? Although Mei is also outstanding."

"But as a new generation Valkyrie, she hasn't awakened yet."

"Nor has she experienced any real combat."

"Yes, if it were King Arthur," Otto said, "then Mei would have no chance of winning at this moment. But he is Li Pu. Although he is the reincarnation of King Arthur."

"He is not King Arthur yet. We used equipment to awaken some of his past memories."

"But these memories are too few, they're not useful at all."

"He is still too far from being the true King Arthur."

"But he still won once," Rita said. "He defeated Mei once."

"Because he is King Arthur," Otto said again. "If he couldn't even win once, then it would truly be a disgrace to his name!"

In the second round, Li Pu pulled up his pants and retreated from the stage.

The match interlude was simple. Li Pu thought he could do it, Li Pu thought he found an opening, Li Pu went in, Li Pu GG'd.

The three great illusions of life: I can do it, I can counter-kill, I can win.

Li Pu hit all of them without missing a beat!

He won one round and thought he could do it. Mei had indeed lost a bit of patience. But she didn't intend to attack proactively, lest she be caught by Li Pu like just now and suffer a beautiful defensive counterattack.

Mei exposed an opening. She slightly pulled her sword and lunged forward, appearing to attack proactively.

This was an opening, and Li Pu indeed noticed it.

He immediately swung his sword. The knight's sword drew an arc in mid-air, slashing down from above.

Mei dodged lightly.

After dodging the sword, while Li Pu's old strength was depleted and new strength had not yet arisen, she drew her blade and slashed horizontally.

One exchange severed Li Pu's waistband...

Chapter Twenty-Four: Maybe I Can Equip

"See what I mean~"

Kiana said proudly, even happier than if she herself had won the match. "As long as Mei gets serious, she can handle any opponent."

"How could a mere cleaner possibly defeat Mei?"

"Kiana," Mei said, her brows furrowed into a frown. "You're going too far."

"I know you don't like Mr. Li Pu, but he is my opponent after all."

"You should learn to respect Mr. Li Pu."

"And this time, you won."

"Mr. Li Pu." Mei's voice held a subtle nuance; it wasn't quite anger, but a hint of it, mixed with confusion and bewilderment. She called out to Li Pu, who was adjusting his pants and preparing to leave. "Were you going easy on me?"

His counter-attack in the first round and his offense in the second were like two different people.

The counter-attack in the first round was fluid and perfectly timed, his movements continuous without any pause. He wielded a heavy knight's sword with the agility of a one-handed rapier.

The blade was aimed directly at her forehead, yet it stopped precisely 0.01 centimeters away.

What level of control over his strength did one need to achieve such effortless mastery of offense and defense?

Mei asked herself, and she felt she was still far from that level.

But the second round was unbearable. His footwork was completely disorganized, and he fell for any feint. The trajectory of his "New Year's Greeting Sword Style" swing, delivered with full force, wasn't even straight.

It was like a completely different person compared to his counter-attack in the first round.

If Li Pu hadn't been holding back in the second round, Mei couldn't find a better explanation for the situation.

"I wasn't," Li Pu said, adjusting his pants. "The school asked me to help test a learning machine, and I happened to pick up some sword techniques from it."

"It's not a very stable sword technique, so it works sometimes and not others."

"Right, Teacher Li Yiyi?"

Since there were no confidentiality clauses on the volunteer form, it shouldn't be a problem for him, Li Pu, to say this.

"Oh, right, Teacher Li Yiyi." Li Pu pulled up his pants. "This is my last belt. Could you report it as damaged? Approve some funds so I can buy another one."

"Also, are we testing again today?"

"No more testing today," Li Yiyi said, pushing up her glasses. "I'll notify Mr. Li Pu when we test tomorrow."

"As for the belt, please buy one yourself first, and then I'll reimburse you with the receipt."

With his request granted, Li Pu left, still adjusting his pants.

Li Yiyi also gathered her notebook and the few people responsible for recording, and suddenly, only Kiana and Mei were left, staring at each other.

"Why did Mei think that guy was going easy on her?" Kiana asked curiously. "He didn't seem very strong."

"I feel like if I went up, I could defeat him with ease."

"Is that so?" Mei glanced at Kiana.

Although she wanted to criticize her, she decided against it. Kiana had that kind of carefree, straightforward, willful, and presumptive personality. She meant no harm but tended to underestimate people.

Just like she was underestimating Li Pu now.

However, Kiana's underestimation of Li Pu also had its own basis.

Although Kiana didn't know any sword techniques, she was very skilled in unrestricted combat. She could use anything she got her hands on, and in a real fight, she wouldn't be much worse than Mei.

"Kiana," Mei asked sternly, "what did you think of Mr. Li Pu's counter-attack in the first round?"

"How was it?!"

"Don't just glance at it," Mei said, looking into Kiana's eyes. "Evaluate it seriously, fairly, and without any emotion!"

Mei still felt she needed to talk to Kiana; otherwise, she would definitely suffer because of her personality!

"Ah... well~ I don't know sword techniques either."

Kiana crossed her arms and shifted her gaze away, not wanting to meet Mei's eyes. "But it wasn't anything amazing, right?"

"Really?" Mei stared at Kiana, not allowing her to look away.

"Ahhh!" Kiana felt a bit unnerved by Mei's stare and finally admitted, "Okay, I admit it. That guy's counter-attack in the first round was indeed very strong."

"But that was just an accident, right? Mei wasn't serious and just happened to be caught in a flaw?"

"Is that so?" Mei drew her katana from her waist and handed it to Kiana. "Do you want to try?"

"Find something to imitate the scene just now, but don't imitate the process of his counter-attack."

"Just imitate the final step: swinging with full force but stopping the blade at the last millimeter."

"Without harming the thing you're about to cut."

"This... ah... honestly..."

Kiana held the katana, growing anxious, but Mei forced her to admit, "Fine, I admit I can't do it!"

"That guy really has some skill!"

It looked simple but was incredibly difficult! Extremely difficult! To swing with full force and at full speed, the inertia from the weapon's own weight alone would make it impossible to stop precisely.

Without immense control, it was simply impossible!

After being pressured by Mei's questioning, Kiana had to face a problem she couldn't ignore.

That Li Pu, whom she had looked down on and had a slight conflict with, really had some skill.

"Oh, right?" Kiana suddenly remembered something he had said earlier. "Didn't he say it was a learning machine?"

"Kiana, if it were really that useful," Mei said, putting away her katana, "then why would we need to practice so diligently? Everyone could just learn it on that study machine."

"Wouldn't that turn us into sword masters in minutes?"

"Oh~ That makes sense," Kiana said. "Then why was that guy hiding his strength?"

"That's the crux of the matter."

Mei thought for a moment and said, "I think the reason he chose to hide his strength is the key to those subtle things Kiana mentioned earlier."

Meanwhile, Li Pu was in the locker room. Although he had intended to change his pants...

He suddenly had another idea.

"Hmm..."

"I have a feeling I've come up with a bold idea."

Li Pu sat on the bench, pinching his chin.

A bold idea gradually formed in Li Pu's mind. Although he wasn't entirely sure, after today's events, he felt as if he had discovered something the System hadn't explained.

While it wasn't confirmed and he hadn't tried it yet, it seemed some things weren't as troublesome as the System made them out to be.

Perhaps, maybe, possibly...

He had to give it a try!

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Key to Equipment

"I reckon it might be possible to equip."

Equipping characters he drew wasn't just a baseless guess for Li Pu.