"Hey, Xing, you might not believe this, but I drew Auntie... the principal's portrait on my answer sheet and got a perfect score." Kiana pulled Xing aside and whispered.
"You seriously didn't notice?" Xing asked in surprise.
"(°ー°〃)?"
"Just as expected of the First One!" Everyone turned to look at Xing in the corner.
"Uh, this test was actually very simple. Ms. Himeko, could you give me my answer sheet?"
Everyone stared at it for a long time without figuring it out, until Kiana said with a grin, "Xing, why did you draw the principal's portrait too?"
The speaker had meant nothing by it, but the listeners suddenly understood.
"The arrangement of the correct answers can actually form the principal's image!"
"In other words, you fill in the answers you know first, then fill the remaining gaps. It really is... very simple."
"Very good. The written test is over. The Fire Moth team has the highest score this round!" Himeko announced the results.
I forgot to mention this in the previous chapter: the entrance test was divided into two rounds, a theory test and a practical combat test. The students competed in teams, and the team with the highest total score across both rounds was said to receive a special reward.
In previous years, it had always been held in the combat simulation room, but this year was different.
"Go back and rest today. Tomorrow, you'll be deployed to different areas. Each of you will receive a recorder, which will calculate your points based on the number and strength of the Honkai Beasts and zombies you eliminate. The exercise will last three days. Combat supplies will be issued before departure, so just bring yourselves, your weapons, and a few necessities." Himeko added one final instruction.
Here's some more information about Fire Moth's internal arrangement. Kiana was the captain, Mei handled logistics, Bronya managed financial expenditures, and as for Xing, he was a brick—moved wherever he was needed. Oh, and there was also the Crimson Kite Bird, the team mascot.
Before long, the Fire Moth team learned where they would be headed. Out of habit, Xing had Bronya hack into the Schicksal database for information.
"There was once a village there five hundred years ago. It was destroyed because of a ???? incident. Strange, why is this file's security level so high?" Bronya typed at the keyboard, fine beads of sweat appearing on her forehead. "Bronya cannot hack in."
"Now I really want to know what happened there in the past." Kiana's curiosity surged.
"Do we have any useful information so far?" Xing asked the badly shaken Bronya. "The only thing we managed to crack was the village's name: Yae Village."
Upon hearing those three words, Xing's entire body trembled. Several fragmented images surfaced in his mind: a Miko beneath a cherry blossom tree, a black box, a fox demon breaking free from its seal, Judah blooming into action, a bitter farewell, and words that had never been spoken.
"My head hurts!" The boy clutched his head in pain.
"What's wrong, Xing?!" Kiana hurried forward in concern and happened to see the red stigmata on his right hand glowing unusually brightly.
Raven had a headache too. She was happy that the little guy would be leaving school for field training so soon, but why did the training location have to be near Yae Village?
According to Jackal's intelligence, a Pseudo-Herrscher from five hundred years ago was sealed there. The matter Jackal had previously wanted Raven to investigate was related to this as well. Raven had tried every possible excuse, but she could not escape fate's tricks.
"Perfect. Take care of both matters at once." Jackal looked at her coldly. "Do it well, and I'll return all the salary and bonuses I deducted before. Do it poorly, and I hear Dr. Mobius in the Elysian Realm misses you very much."
As she spoke, Jackal tossed her a vial. "The newest Honkai Energy Deactivator. Just a tiny amount is enough to make an A-rank Valkyrie lose her combat ability. Even Durandal would have to kneel!"
The prouder Jackal sounded, the less reliable Raven felt this was. She absolutely could not trust this woman's bragging!
Xing opened his eyes and saw a white-haired fluffball.
"You're awake! Good morning!" The little white-haired bug greeted him with boundless energy.
"Why are you in my dorm?"
"Hehe, I was worried you'd be late, so I came to wake you up."
"I remember locking the door. How did you get in?"
"Your dorm is on the second floor. This young lady climbed right up, easy as pie. It was way easier than the school wall."
Theresa must have a headache too. Why had he said "too"?
"Come on, hurry up. The transport ship is about to leave." Kiana directly dragged him out of bed.
"The transport ship leaves at seven in the morning. It's only five now!"
"Think of it as training! Show some Kaslana warrior spirit!"
"If you put that same enthusiasm into theory class, I guarantee your grades wouldn't be worse than Bronya's."
"Ugh, my head hurts whenever I see a textbook." With a boy tucked under one arm and a greatsword under the other, Kiana ran swiftly.
"By the way, what about that chicken you're raising?"
"Oh, I asked Mr. Welt to take care of it last night. Don't worry."
After running three laps around St. Freya Academy, Xing finally realized that she had only come looking for him. She could not bear to disturb Mei's sleep, and going to find Bronya carried the risk of getting flattened by Heavy Cannon Rabbit, so she had picked the easiest one to bully.
"By the way, there's something I've wanted to ask you for a long time. Why are your eyes red?"
"The other half of my genes comes from Shenzhou. Red eyes are one manifestation of that."
"Aren't you an amnesiac?"
"You don't forget basic common knowledge."
"I see." Kiana had been successfully fooled.
"I'm so hungry." On the transport ship, the two white-haired fluffballs could not help complaining after all that exercise in the morning.
"Didn't you eat so much this morning?" Bronya felt that this preset team would fall apart sooner or later. Their food expenses were far too high!
"I made some curry. Do you want some?" Mei had anticipated this situation long ago.
"Yes!" The two answered in unison.
In a harmonious atmosphere, the transport ship reached its destination. Heavy Cannon Rabbit carried the equipment, Kiana carried the food supplies, and Mei pulled the two little ones carrying their luggage as they jumped off the transport ship.
Their parachutes opened in midair. Thankfully, they did not malfunction, or four future Herrschers might have been taken out in one go. (PS: They probably wouldn't have died from the fall.)
The moment they landed, Kiana eagerly wanted to go pick a fight with zombies and Honkai Beasts, but Mei pulled her back. "Kiana, Ms. Himeko said in class that in this situation, we should prioritize establishing a temporary base."
Xing's pupils turned black and white. "Follow me."
Passing through towering trees and dense weeds, Xing found an area where Honkai Energy was extremely sparse. He cut down several trees with his sword, and the four of them set up their tents there.
Kiana pulled out the Prototype Pulse Pistol. "Now we can go, right?"
"Kiana and I will scout the surrounding area. Bronya, please help Mei build up the temporary base here." Xing pulled Kiana away.
"Hey, I'm the captain, aren't I?"
No matter what, the white-haired fluffball finally had a reason to go fight monsters.
Activating Honkai Vision once again, the two headed toward the area with the densest Honkai Energy.
"Why do I feel like you're really familiar with this place?" Kiana watched Xing stroll through the forest as if he were walking through his own backyard, slightly puzzled.
"Maybe I came here in a past life," Xing replied casually.
"Wait, your eyes!" Kiana suddenly stopped and pointed at his eyes in alarm.
"They turned black and white? That's Honkai Vision. I told you about it before. Besides, hadn't I just turned it off?"
"No, sorry. Maybe I saw wrong."
"?" Xing did not think much of it, and the two continued onward. Kiana recalled what she had just seen. Had Xing's eyes turned blue for an instant?
After cutting through trees and weeds, a ruined village appeared before them. Having endured five hundred years of wind and rain, the once-lively village had ultimately been reduced to a few rotten planks.
"This is... Yae Village?" Kiana said softly. Xing did not answer and walked alone into the ruins of Yae Village.
Fragmented scenes kept drifting through his mind. In his eyes, those broken planks reverted to how they had looked five hundred years ago, and the Yae Village of old seemed to reappear before him across time and space.
"Where are you going?" Kiana hurried after him.
Xing finally stopped beneath a large tree. Its trunk was bare and lifeless.
"What a huge tree. It must be hundreds of years old." Kiana looked at the tree in surprise. Its trunk was thicker than three of her combined.
"This is a cherry blossom tree. It's just that Sakura left long ago." Xing placed his right hand on the dead cherry blossom tree, his voice very low.
"What's wrong? You look so sad." Kiana could feel his sorrow.
"Kallen." It seemed as though someone was calling her. "Wow, such a huge rice ball!" Kallen happily ate the rice ball Yae Sakura had specially made for her, one even bigger than her head.
"Wow, so salty!" Kallen choked badly after taking a bite of the pickled cherry blossom, while Yae Sakura covered her mouth and laughed softly beside her.
Within the black-and-white world, a vivid pink flowed toward the depths of the village, pointing straight toward the back mountain.
So she was still here. Should he go awaken her? But what identity could he possibly use to face her?
He was merely an outsider, someone bearing Kallen Kaslana's stigmata.
He would deal with Jizo-Mitama after becoming stronger. For now, he should not disturb this Miko's slumber.
"Hey, are you okay? Xing, Xing!" Kiana shook his shoulders vigorously. Xing woke from his thoughts. "I'm fine."
"What's going on? You went silent after touching this tree and scared me to death. Could there be something wrong with it? This young lady will chop it down!" As she spoke, Kiana tried to snatch his greatsword again.
"No, no, no! There's nothing wrong with this tree. Let's hurry and clear out the zombies and Honkai Beasts. Don't waste time here." Xing hurriedly stopped her.
Activating Honkai Vision, he was about to start earning points when he spotted an ominous dark red glow.
"You've recovered pretty well, little guy." A familiar voice rang out overhead. The black-and-red mercenary leaned lazily against a tree trunk. "You seem to be getting along quite well with your sister of the same kind."
"It's you!" Kiana recognized her at once.
"Sister Natasha..." Xing looked at her with a complicated expression.
"You still remember me, little guy. That really makes me happy." Raven jumped down from the tree. "This time, I won't let you go again~" Raven said excitedly.
Xing gripped the hilt of the sword on his back with a grave expression. "Kiana, use that—the secret technique passed down through the Kaslana Family."
"Huh? What secret technique? How come I don't know it?"
"That one—" Xing threw the flash grenade he had previously gotten from Bronya, then grabbed Kiana and ran for their lives.
"A strategic retreat!"
White light engulfed the ruined village. Raven's mouth twitched wildly. "Pretty smart, little guy. You understand that you and her are no match for me. But do you think you can get away?"
Author's Note—
Bonded Weaponry will appear next chapter! Fusion, Synchronization, and Overlimit—three consecutive relays!
PS: The Yu-Gi-Oh terminology in this book follows the simplified Chinese Yu-Gi-Oh rules.
Before you continue