The First-Place Reward

"Waaah, Judah, my Judah, you're finally back..." Theresa clutched Judah and wept, while Xing stood nearby, looking thoroughly awkward.

"Your sister is so cute," Yae Sakura messaged.

"She's over forty."

Yae Sakura was shocked for five hundred years. "Then... is she your mother?"

"Of course not!"

"Um, Principal, your image. Please mind your image," Xing reminded her.

"Ahem. Xing, how are you feeling now? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

"I feel great. I can go back to class right away."

"No. You have multiple minor fractures all over your body. Get back in bed and lie still for a few days—wait, what are those on your left hand?" Himeko had been about to press him back onto the bed when she spotted the three magatama.

"Oh, these? They appeared when I woke up."

Damn, don't tell me it's another Stigmata? Two innate Stigmata? How was that possible?

After they brought in equipment for testing—

Himeko sat in her office chair, raised a bottle of red wine, and poured it straight into her mouth. "Fuck, if I'd had a Stigmata, I'd have reached S-rank ages ago. That little brat's totally using cheats, isn't he?"

As a commoner who had clawed her way up through sheer grinding, Himeko shed tears of envy. "Just wait. I'll show you how I plan to educate you from now on."

Meanwhile, after being confirmed uninjured and promptly discharged, Xing encountered a life-or-death challenge. Kiana was glaring at him like a tiger watching its prey. "Xing, did it feel good using Mei and me?"

"..." Faced with the murderous girl, Xing did not dare say a single word.

"What did you do to them?" Yae Sakura poked him in the mind.

After he briefly explained the situation, the Miko was confused. "Didn't they agree to it? Why are they still angry?"

"If I had only used Kiana, she wouldn't have minded. The problem is that I used Mei too, and Kiana likes Mei."

"I see. I understand now," the Miko said in sudden realization.

Fortunately, Mei stepped in to rescue him in time. "All right, Kiana. Xing had no choice, and thanks to him, didn't our points reach the highest total?"

"Hmph! This young lady could've taken first place without him!" Kiana protested.

"Um, is everyone all right?" Xing asked cautiously.

"Kiana and I only suffered some superficial injuries. Bronya is a little exhausted. Are you all right, Xing? Teacher Himeko said you were supposed to stay in bed for several days." Mei sounded every bit like a doting wife.

"I'm fine. I awakened this after I woke up." Xing raised his left hand, showing them the Stigmata Sakura had given him. "It healed my injuries."

"Another Stigmata?" Kiana cried out in surprise.

Mei frowned tightly, found two silk scarves, and tied them around his hands. "Teacher Himeko said they may have targeted you because you're an innate Stigmata bearer. You'd better not leave them exposed."

"Th-thank you." Xing's face reddened, but at the same time, he felt an icy gaze fixed on him.

Ding. Kiana Kaslana's hostility toward you has increased.

"Mei, I want some too!" Kiana got jealous.

"Kiana, stop messing around."

Xing quickly changed the subject. "So, we got first place this round too?"

"According to Teacher Himeko's feedback, yes," Bronya answered.

"Then what about the reward?" Xing asked the question he cared about most.

"That's right, the reward!" At the mention of it, Kiana stopped being jealous. She grabbed Xing and rushed straight toward the captain's office. She kicked the door open. "Auntie, where's the reward you promised us?"

Theresa was hugging her recovered Judah and grinning foolishly, completely unaware of them. The two exchanged a glance and quietly closed the door.

"Did the Fire Moth Squad use cheats or something? First place again?"

"I heard they came back covered in injuries. They probably ran into some high-level Honkai Beast."

Once again, thanks to Crimson Prison Beast for feeding them kills, points, and equipment!

The principal's office—

"Your performance was excellent. As the reward for taking first place in this entrance test, you will be granted early access to Valkyrie Armor." Theresa handed the four of them four forms. "Normally, that only becomes available after passing the B-rank Valkyrie test, but this is a special exception. All right, fill out the forms with your requirements for the armor's functions and appearance. The development department will make them for you."

"I get one too?" Xing was a little excited.

"Of course. Schicksal Knights have armor too."

(PS: Women are called Valkyries, while men are called Schicksal Knights.)

"Hmm, let me think. Complete functions, outstanding performance, a black-and-red color scheme, and..." Xing quickly filled out the form.

Himeko collected the four forms. "That will do. Remember to come to the development department in a few days to collect your armor."

"Awesome!" The four were delighted.

With armor, they would be able to accept those high-level missions in the daily commissions. They could also frequently take part in Honkai Beast extermination missions, bringing them one step closer to the Fire Moth Squad's official formation!

"Hehe, this young lady can finally get revenge for the last time Auntie Himeko rubbed my face into the ground." The white-haired little ball rubbed her hands together eagerly.

"Ms. Himeko has armor too," Xing reminded her.

"Uh, of course I know that! Right, come with me to the combat simulation room. I'll give your combat skills a proper workout!"

Xing suddenly had a bad feeling about this.

Near evening, Kiana dragged Xing out of the combat simulation room after he had passed out from the intense combat.

"This guy can really take a beating. Even I was almost at my limit." Kiana caught her breath and plopped down on the floor. "Come to think of it, why did it feel like he knew Gunslinger Arts during that fight?"

Because when you used Bonded Weaponry, he read your memories and acquired the techniques of Gunslinger Arts.

A little head poked in through the doorway. "Xing, are you done training?"

"Bronya? Xing, he..."

"I'm here!" The boy who had been unconscious instantly revived at full health and sprang up from the ground. "Let me take a shower, then we can game together!"

"Okay."

The white-haired girl stared dumbfoundedly at Xing, who had become perfectly fine in the blink of an eye. So you were acting all along? A deep sense of defeat spread through her heart.

"I'll remember this grudge."

He really had passed out just now, but there was a Pseudo-Herrscher core in his body supplying him with energy. Combined with his dual stigmata, his recovery speed was absurdly fast.

In Xing's dorm, the two little ones squeezed together as they tackled the latest stages of the "Kallen Fantasy" series.

"Watch me clear it without taking any damage!" Having inherited the will of that pediatrician, Xing believed in clearing stages in one life without losing even a sliver of health. He did not mind sacrificing damage output or time for it.

So, when the two competed, Xing would definitely win any 1v1 competitive game. But in other single-player games, Bronya could pin Xing to the ground and beat him senseless.

"Xing, the fox spirit is about to use a branching skill. Zero Time Blade Flash is coming—hurry and interrupt her startup animation."

"Bronya, can we stop fighting the Far East Fox Spirit? Or at least stop making me use Kallen?"

"But she's the boss in all the recent stages. We have to fight her, and Xing is strongest when using Kallen."

(Bronya was using Otto here.)

"Who turned me into Kallen's enemy? And who is this blond man? How dare he be so intimate with Kallen?!" Yae Sakura's furious roar echoed through his mind. When she had first encountered "Kallen Fantasy," she had been quite curious about it. She had even asked Xing to temporarily let her take over his body so she could play for a while—until she learned what role she had in the game.

While controlling his body, Yae Sakura discovered that Xing was actually a boy. Her expression shifted from sheer shock to delighted amusement.

With Kallen and Otto's final combined attack, the fox spirit fell.

Perfect Clear!

At Schicksal Headquarters, Otto put down the controller. "Phew, finally finished. Why did I set the difficulty so high? Whatever, let's check the rankings. I'm definitely in first place."

First Place, Metal Gear Bronya & Genius Gamer X;

Second Place, Durandal Is the World's Cutest;

Third Place, Kallen Is the World's Cutest;

"Who the hell is this?!" Otto's roar rang through the office.

"Lord Bishop, it's time to work overtime." Amber entered carrying a stack of documents.

"We'll deal with that nonsense later! Let me see who this is first. Could it be another alternate account Durandal made? I've banned four of her accounts already—why hasn't she given up?"

"Bronya Zaychik, and Xing Kaslana?" Otto rubbed his eyes. At first glance, he had thought A872 had escaped from the laboratory. "Interesting. He actually looks so much like little Theresa, and he enrolled alongside Kiana? Hah, we happen to be distributing armor soon. I'll have him test the new armor alongside Kiana."

"Uh, why can't these two accounts be banned? Forget it, ban second place first. The world's cutest is obviously my little Theresa."

Otto, looking at your own ID and saying that—doesn't your conscience hurt? Oh right, you don't have one.

In a certain room, Durandal slowly put down her controller. The words "Your account has been banned" on the screen were particularly glaring. "Even changing my name doesn't work? Rita, register another account for me."

"By your command, Lady Durandal~"

It was soon time to distribute the armor, and the four arrived at the development department filled with anticipation.

"Xing, I have a question for you." Himeko looked at the excited boy. "When you filled out the form, did you specify that you needed male armor?"

"Huh?!" Xing suddenly had a bad feeling.

Three pods slowly opened, revealing, in turn, the third-generation Valkyrie Armor White Comet Domain, Crimson Impulse, and Shattering Skies. Wait, why were there only three?

"What about mine?!"

"Uh, yours is special. Take this." Himeko tossed him a high-tech wristband patterned in black, white, blue, and red. "Some Valkyrie Armor can be transmitted remotely. Yours happens to have a similar function. Put on the wristband and say the activation command, and the armor hidden in the wristband will automatically equip itself on your body."

"Wow, that's so cool!" Kiana looked at him enviously.

Xing put on the wristband, holding the Book of Cang Xuan in his right hand and the armor wristband on his left. He felt like he was about to ascend to the heavens.

"What's the command?"

"Let me see... Magical Armor POWER ON! Who came up with such a cringey command? And they even made it impossible to change."

Have I heard that command somewhere before? Xing found it strangely familiar, but could not remember where. He did not think much of it. Raising his left hand high, he shouted, "Magical Armor POWER ON!"

A blue magic circle appeared beneath the boy's feet and swiftly rose, fitting him with the armor.

He felt power welling up inside him. This armor seemed pretty good—though he did feel a little chilly. Probably because it used too little fabric. Strange, why were Kiana and the others all staring at him? Hey, Kiana, why were you drooling?

"Hehe, Xing, you look really good." Kiana gave him a thumbs-up.

"Xing, you..." Mei trailed off, unable to finish.

"Bronya agrees with Kiana's opinion."

Himeko looked at him with a smile, saying nothing.

He raised his hand. The armor on his torso used a symmetrical design: black gauze underwear paired with outer armor predominantly in white. His limbs, meanwhile, were asymmetrical—for example, his left hand had a glove but no complete sleeve, while his right had a sleeve but no glove. On his legs were two Black Stockings, one long and one short... Wait?!

Looking closely, it seemed that aside from the stockings and a strip of fabric comparable to underwear, he was basically wearing nothing on his lower body! Only a short skirt barely preserved his modesty. Several magazines were strapped to his right thigh and left buttock, serving as Leg Rings.

Wasn't this Kouyou's Holy Attire?!

"Although it only appeared in the game, Schicksal had long since recreated it in reality. Its design concept was to give a single person squad-level firepower. Unfortunately, its demands on the user are too high, so almost no one can bring out the power of this all-purpose armor. Schicksal Headquarters gave it to you, so make good use of it~" Himeko patted his shoulder.

"No, isn't this a women's outfit? I want to switch!"

"Armor can only be issued once. Besides, if you don't say anything, no one can tell you're a guy, right? Look, Kiana's eyes have gone completely blank from staring at you."

"Mei (Kaslana profanity)"

Author's Note—

This set was chosen because it best matched Xing's fighting style. After all, Xing was proficient with every weapon and could fight at both range and close quarters.

Besides, it was also the only A-rank armor equipped with a five-star weapon. Of course, what Xing received was only at the initial four-star, level-one standard.