Mei hadn't meant to show off. She simply couldn't resist testing the power of her Stigmata. In fact, she had nearly lost control last night, but she had held herself back until now. Yet after witnessing Kiana's strength just now, she truly couldn't wait any longer and went straight into the training room to test her combat ability!
"No way, Mei has one too? This... who exactly imprinted it?"
"Could it have been their team's assistant? I heard their team added an assistant yesterday!"
"I remember too. The Class President mentioned it. His name seemed to be Ling Feng, and he didn't come to class today. Could it be... that imprinting Stigmata consumes some of the Stigmata Master's energy? Maybe he missed class today because he imprinted their Stigmata last night!"
"Then the noises Kiana and Mei made last night were because they were imprinting Stigmata?"
Amid all the girls' wild speculation and deductions, they astonishingly guessed both the process and the outcome...
Kiana: "..." It was rare for her to be smart enough not to say anything, yet it still ended like this...
"Kiana, come with me. I have something to ask you..."
Himeko stepped out from the crowd as well and took Kiana out of the training hall...
About ten minutes later, Kiana finally emerged from the president's office. Under the intimidating pressure of her aunt and Aunt Himeko, Kiana had no choice but to recount the entire incident in full...
"This is really interesting. He directly imprinted Stigmata by hand, and they were actually so perfect..."
Tesla flipped through the photos of the Stigmata on Kiana's back, looking deeply interested. Although she wasn't in charge of Stigmata research, she still had knowledge of the field.
"It seems Ling Feng knows far more than we imagined."
Theresa nodded thoughtfully. "S-rank, capable of using Divine Relics, and also able to imprint Stigmata. Even though it's only a lower-tier four-star Stigmata, it nearly doubled Kiana's energy value. This is absolutely a perfect Stigmata!"
"According to Kiana, imprinting the Stigmata seemed to take less than half an hour!"
Himeko suddenly thought of something and asked, "Theresa... should we let Ling Feng handle Stigmata imprinting? With his ability, perhaps he could even imprint five-star Stigmata. Of course, we'd have to ask what he thinks first!"
"This... let's forget about that for now..."
Theresa might have considered it before today, but she had already agreed with Ling Feng yesterday that he would train Kiana. Changing her mind now would be rather unreasonable. Besides, having Ling Feng focus on training Kiana wasn't a bad thing. Perhaps he really could make Kiana the Academy's first A-rank Valkyrie!
"Then why not ask Ling Feng to tell us how to imprint Stigmata?"
Himeko was still somewhat unwilling to give up. "Being able to complete Stigmata imprinting without causing pain would be an absolute blessing for Valkyries. And without pain, it would be easier to imprint perfect Stigmata. This could become a milestone in the field of Stigmata!"
"I know. I'll find time to ask him. He probably won't refuse."
Theresa didn't oppose Himeko's idea. Stigmata were simply too important for Valkyries. There was no need to look far—Kiana's performance today proved it. Kiana, who had repeatedly failed her assessments, passed immediately after equipping the Stigmata. Its importance spoke for itself.
"Hmm, an email?"
At that moment, Theresa noticed a new email on the computer. When she opened it, she found it was from an unfamiliar account...
Dream!
"Hehe, how was that? I'm amazing, right?"
That evening, the four of Team 233 held a simple celebration in their apartment to congratulate Kiana on successfully advancing to B-rank Valkyrie!
"Amazing, amazing. You did very well today!"
Ling Feng nodded vigorously in approval of Kiana, though inside he really wanted to complain about why this girl insisted on kicking people when she clearly had a gun.
"That was thanks to Ling Feng's Stigmata!"
Kiana had also changed her previous attitude toward Ling Feng. Smiling, she said, "Thanks, Ling Feng. Before, I... I might not have been very friendly to you. But it's fine, I'm sure you won't mind. Ling Feng is the best!"
Ling Feng: "..." Had this girl taken the wrong medicine?
"Come on, dinner's ready!"
At that moment, Mei carried the roast duck out of the kitchen. Smiling, she said, "Kiana used too much stamina today. Eat more and replenish your nutrition, or your body won't be able to keep up!"
"Mhm, mhm! I love Mei the most!"
The moment she saw the roast duck, Kiana's eyes lit up. Because of the team's budget, roast duck wasn't something they could eat often. Seriously, advancement assessments were great. Could she take one every day and eat roast duck every day afterward...
Ling Feng: "..." Nutrition...
Ling Feng casually glanced at Kiana's chest. It didn't seem particularly small, but then he looked at Mei. All right, Kiana really did need to replenish her nutrition...
Finally, Ling Feng habitually glanced at Bronya as well... Flat as an A. Can't afford it...
"What is Ling Feng looking at?"
Bronya immediately noticed Ling Feng's gaze, and Project Bunny's iron fist slowly clenched...
"N-Nothing. I just thought... Bronya is pretty cute!" Ling Feng scratched his head as he awkwardly explained. It was best not to offend Project Bunny...
"Suspicious..."
Bronya still found Ling Feng very suspicious, but she couldn't figure out exactly what was suspicious about him. She could only silently retract Project Bunny's iron fist, then join everyone for dinner.
In her sleep, Kiana found herself on the Academy's athletic field. Yet it was nighttime, and there wasn't a single person around. There was only bleakness, a silence so eerie it made her shiver.
"This is St. Freya Academy?"
Looking at the familiar yet somehow strange scene before her, Kiana grew nervous. Why... was she here?
"Hehehe..."
Suddenly, a black phantom appeared in the distance. "Welcome home, lost little girl..."
"Who? Who's there?"
Kiana immediately looked toward the source of the voice and tried to draw her gun, only to discover that she had no weapons on her. She was completely alone...
"I am you, and you are me?"
The phantom continued in its eerie voice, laughing. "Become stronger quickly, Kiana. Only then can you do what you want to do!"
"Why should I listen to you? Who are you, anyway?"
Though she was terrified inside, Kiana still couldn't change her stubborn habit of talking tough. You wanted her to become stronger? Why should she?
"Hehehehe!"
The phantom wasn't angry at Kiana's defiance. It merely laughed. "What if I told you that if you become stronger, I can tell you information about Cecilia? Would you listen to me then?"
"Cecilia... Mom? You... why do you know anything about Mom?"
The moment she heard Cecilia's name, Kiana turned serious. Her mother was the goal she had pursued all her life, and the reason and motivation behind her becoming a Valkyrie!
"Hehe, time is running out. Let's stop here for today!"
After successfully drawing Kiana's attention, the phantom prepared to leave. "Remember what I said. As long as you become strong enough, I can tell you information about your mother. Work hard, Kiana!"
As she spoke, the surrounding space slowly began to disappear...
"Wait, don't go! Tell me where Mom is first..."
Kiana hurriedly reached out, trying to grab the phantom, but she could only grasp empty air. The scene before her began to vanish as well...
"Ugh..."
At last, Kiana woke up. Seeing that she was still lying in her familiar bedroom, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "W-Was it a dream? Then Mom..."
Looking at the clock on the wall, it was three in the morning. Kiana desperately wanted to know what the phantom in her dream had been, and whether the information it mentioned about her mother was real.
Go back to sleep...
After thinking for a moment, Kiana lay back down and fell asleep again. It had to have been just a dream...
The next day, Ling Feng finally went to class as well, and then...
"Hey, Ling Feng, I heard Mei and Kiana's Stigmata were both imprinted by you?" During the break, quite a few girls immediately gathered around him and asked all at once!
"Uh... yeah. I just drew them casually..."
Ling Feng knew there was no way to hide this anymore, so he could only admit it...
"That's incredible! Can you imprint one for me too? If I had a four-star Stigmata, I should be able to become a B-rank Valkyrie smoothly too!"
"Wait your turn. Even if anyone gets one, I should be first! I'm already a B-rank Valkyrie. Maybe after getting one, I'll pass the A-rank assessment!"
"Oh, please. Mei didn't pass the A-rank assessment even after getting a Stigmata. You're dreaming if you think you can pass it!"
"Hey, Ling Feng, is it true that imprinting Stigmata doesn't hurt? And what was with the noise coming from your apartment the night before last?"
"Ling Feng, do you want to join our team? We're a B-rank team with four B-rank Valkyries!"
Ling Feng: "..."
Looking at the crowd of girls surrounding him, Ling Feng suddenly felt as though he had reached the peak of his life. Honestly, if he had the time, he wouldn't mind helping them imprint Stigmata...
But Ling Feng was afraid that after doing it once, he would have to become a full-time Stigmata Master from then on. He really couldn't handle that. It not only consumed energy, but he also had to keep himself under extreme control. His nutrition couldn't keep up...
"All of you, move aside!"
At that moment, Kiana made a forceful entrance. She planted one foot on the desk and snorted arrogantly. "This guy is our team's assistant, and I'm the team captain. Poaching him right in front of me—are you really taking me so lightly? Ling Feng, you're not allowed to imprint Stigmata for them. If anyone threatens you, tell me and I'll beat her up. I'm a B-rank Valkyrie!"
Everyone: "..."
Ling Feng: "..."
"Hey, Kiana, don't go too far. It's just imprinting Stigmata. It's not that big a deal, is it?"
Yuqi seemed a little unhappy. Kiana had been a C-rank Valkyrie yesterday, yet she had become a B-rank Valkyrie just like her in the blink of an eye. And it was all thanks to the Stigmata, so she also hoped to get a four-star Stigmata!
"Hmph, no!"
Kiana sat smugly in her seat and laughed. "Want a Stigmata? Easy. Just beg me. If I'm in a good mood, maybe I'll let Ling Feng imprint one for you!"
Ling Feng: "..."
Mei: "..."
Where had this girl learned that from...
In the end, the matter of imprinting Stigmata came to a temporary close...
Vacuum Is an Attitude!
At noon, the four of them ate lunch together in the Academy cafeteria...
"Eh, it looks like a plane is coming in, and it doesn't look like one of the Academy's planes!"
Sitting by the window, Kiana saw a plane landing on the Academy's airfield. Both its design and its emblem were quite different from the planes at St. Freya Academy!
"Who cares whether it's one of our Academy's planes? Hurry up and go rest after lunch. We still have practical class this afternoon!" Mei quietly ate her lunch, showing little interest in the plane.
"Hehe, true!"
Kiana nodded decisively. "Mei, let's spar this afternoon. I couldn't beat you before, but now that I'm a B-rank Valkyrie too, I should be able to fight you!"
"But Idiot Kiana only became a B-rank Valkyrie by relying on a four-star Stigmata."
At that moment, Bronya, who had been quietly eating, spoke up. "Mei is a B-rank Valkyrie even with only a two-star Stigmata. Now that both of you have the same four-star Stigmata, Idiot Kiana still cannot defeat Mei."
"Eh... Waaaaah..."
Kiana immediately felt like crying. Although she knew Bronya was telling the truth, she still couldn't stop herself. "Why did you have to say something so cruel... Damn it, damn it, damn it..."
Ling Feng: "..." Dumb Valkyries sure brought plenty of joy...
After lunch, the four of them headed directly back to their apartment to rest. There was nothing else for them to do anyway...
However, on the way back, Mei received a call from Himeko...
After the call ended, Mei looked at Ling Feng and said, "Ling Feng, the Academy Head wants us to go to her office..."
"Hm?"
Ling Feng paused slightly, but he didn't object. "Then let's go. I think it's probably because of your Stigmata."
Thus, Team 233 had no choice but to give up on returning to the apartment to rest and head to the Academy Head's office first...
Soon, the four of them arrived at the Academy Head's office. Theresa and Himeko were there, along with two other girls. One had purple hair and wore casual clothes, while the other wore Valkyrie Armor. Was she also a student of the Academy?
"Ling Feng, you're here."
Seeing the four of them, Theresa waved them inside and said, "Let me introduce you. The one in armor is Tifa, an A-rank Valkyrie. This one is Charlotte. If you aren't familiar with that name, then you should have heard of Dr. X!"
"Dr. X..."
Before you continue