Just a few minutes later—
"Ha, it seems I still underestimated you."
Otto said to Gwen over the call after receiving news that all the targets had been wiped out.
"It was much easier than expected."
Gwen replied without false modesty.
"I hadn't thought it through..."
"Try your hand on that mountain range thirty kilometers away at twelve o'clock..."
"Use an amount of force that you feel won't sink the continent."
Otto said with a smile.
Although the targets had not been tough enough to test the upper limit, which was somewhat awkward, Otto was already more than satisfied with Gwen's current performance and casually said so with a smile.
"You jest. Sinking the continent probably isn't something that can be done in a short while."
Though he modestly said that, Gwen's movements did not slow in the slightest. As energy gathered almost visibly, Nexus Armaments crawled with lightning across both his arms. Spiral-galaxy-like thunderclouds rapidly emerged, and as Gwen swung his right arm, they crashed toward that innocent mountain range...
Amid a deafening boom, the earth shook and the mountains trembled, causing even the Schicksal base dozens of kilometers away to shudder...
Using the Authority of Lightning to invoke and manipulate electromagnetic force for attacks was still rather difficult for Gwen.
The most powerful move Gwen could currently use was still the knockoff Galaxy Lightning Strike he had copied from Ginga...
As for the knockoff Spear of Sunlight... forget it. Given time to briefly charge it, Lightning Strike had greater range and destructive power than the Spear of Sunlight.
After smashing the lightning nebula above his head into the mountain range, Gwen directly turned around and returned to the base they had come from, not bothering to watch the explosions erupting within those mountains that had suffered unprecedented devastation...
"What astonishing power..."
By evening, the rain had stopped and the sky had cleared.
Under the setting sun, Otto looked at the wasteland that the once-magnificent mountain range had become in the distance, amazement appearing on his face.
"In terms of pure destructive power, you have already surpassed the Second Herrscher from over a decade ago."
"But that is all."
Having already returned to his original form, Gwen looked at the pitiful remnants of the mountain range beneath the sunset and gently shook his head.
"At present, all I can do is attack by directly applying my Authority."
"As for the theoretically truly powerful electromagnetic force... my control is far too poor, and it is not something that can be improved simply through training."
"You are already remarkable, my friend. After all, it has not even been half a month."
Otto patted his shoulder and turned toward the small airship they had arrived in.
"I believe that one day, you will reach heights your current self cannot imagine."
"Perhaps..."
Looking at the destruction he had caused with his own hands, a complicated mix of surprise, fear, and worry inevitably arose in Gwen's heart. It eventually turned into a sigh as he followed Otto aboard the airship and left the area.
As for the specific data, field personnel would naturally come to collect it.
The Bad News: It Was a Black-Hearted Giant Ball of Light. The Good News: The Giant Ball of Light Was Broken
That night, at Schicksal Headquarters.
After personally witnessing the destruction caused by Gwen and Raiden Mei's fusion, Otto did not remain in North Africa any longer and directly returned to Schicksal Headquarters with everyone.
Whatever Otto went off to handle had nothing to do with Gwen and the others.
After returning to Schicksal Headquarters, the three went their separate ways from Otto—
Although Kiana had followed them to North Africa to watch the experiment that day, she had only been discharged from the hospital that very morning—
That night, Gwen's thundercloud had not intentionally increased its lethality. It had merely been meant to provide enough range to strike the hidden Queen.
However, even the skill's base power left the unprepared Queen unable to defend herself. Her unenhanced Imaginary Barrier shattered instantly. Its only effect was preventing the weakened Queen's body from being completely destroyed, though she was still seriously injured.
Even after Gwen captured her and promptly withdrew the violent power from her body, then treated her with the energy of light, Kiana still spent nearly half a month in the medical department at Schicksal Headquarters.
And after returning to headquarters, Gwen and the other two had to help Kiana move—
During the nearly half month Kiana had been hospitalized, Gwen and Raiden Mei had visited her almost every day and gradually helped her buy all her daily necessities.
Now, all they had to do was move Kiana's belongings into Gwen's home—
Kiana did not particularly object to moving into Gwen's house—
Partly because Kiana was still worried that if she were controlled again, no one other than Gwen could stop her, and partly because they had already lived together for two nights before.
In short, after moving Kiana's hospital belongings home and buying her several sets of clothes, Kiana officially began living with Gwen.
After dinner, Raiden Mei reluctantly had to leave after spending two hours studying with Kiana at Gwen's home—
"Gwen, remember not to bully Kiana."
As she stepped outside, the breeze on the floating island stirred Raiden Mei's hair, yet it could not blow away the worry in the girl's heart, prompting her to remind him again.
"Have a little faith in me, Mei."
Facing Mei's fourth reminder of the day, Gwen wore a somewhat helpless expression amid Alicia's silver-bell-like laughter in his mind. With both hands on the girl's shoulders, he spoke earnestly.
"Even if I really wanted to do something, it would be with you, Mei."
"Cough... Anyway, you are not allowed to bully Kiana!"
Realizing she seemed to have emphasized it too much, Raiden Mei's pretty face reddened slightly. Still, she did not refute Gwen and continued to stress the point.
"Come on, Senior Mei, don't worry. Although Gwen is often merciless with his words, he still knows where to draw the line."
Feeling Mei's deep concern for her, Kiana stepped forward, hugged one of Mei's arms, and comforted her.
"Besides, even if he really has any bad intentions, I'll fight him fiercely and hold on until Senior Mei comes to save me."
Although Kiana was still somewhat quiet by nature, after half a month, she could now communicate normally and occasionally make jokes.
"Don't slander me. I have no interest in idiots."
Gwen solemnly shook a finger and retorted.
"How am I an idiot?"
In an instant, the girl's braided hair sprang up. Her small face held a childlike displeasure as she puffed out her cheeks and glared at Gwen with blue eyes.
"I learned the basic manual you gave me in just half a month."
"What are you getting worked up for?"
Gwen put on a confused expression.
"I said I only like genius beauties like Mei..."
"Or did someone assume I was calling her an idiot?"
"You..."
"Hehe... enough..."
With a soft laugh, Raiden Mei stopped the increasingly heated bickering between them.
"It's getting late. Go to sleep already; you have to get up early tomorrow."
"Kiana, don't stay up too late, or you won't be able to get up tomorrow morning."
"Hmph, hmph~"
"This young lady will definitely make you both look at me in a new light tomorrow."
Kiana assumed an arrogant pose. This time, Gwen did not tease her and merely smiled.
"Then I'll be looking forward to it..."
Amid laughter and chatter, Mei bid the two farewell and returned home through the special passage.
After washing up, Mei lay down on her bed.
Although Mei's individual test had been completed first and Gwen had taken the lead during the subsequent fusion test, Mei had also worked hard to cooperate because she did not want to be merely an accessory. Thus, she soon drifted off to sleep.
Yet as she entered her dreams, Mei was not thinking about the day's testing, but rather—
There shouldn't be any problem between them... right?
Next door, after seeing Raiden Mei off, Gwen and Kiana likewise did not have any strange developments. After saying goodnight to each other, they returned to their respective rooms.
After chatting with Alicia for a few moments and saying goodnight, Gwen, who had already washed up, climbed into bed—
Yeah, right.
After blocking Alicia's senses of the outside world, Gwen vanished from the room with a thought and arrived in the system space shrouded in hazy light, intending to see whether any new goods had appeared—
Although it had vanished from the story for nearly a hundred thousand words, Gwen's cheat had not disappeared simply because it had gone unused for so long.
On the contrary, during the past half year, Gwen had used the time he spent on missions—especially when he had traveled alone in the Far East—to deal with the mountain of assorted junk piled up in the system space—
Aside from some space junk that he did not know whether throwing out would cause environmental pollution, Gwen had swept all those piles of garbage that had once saved his life right out the door.
After tidying up the system space, Gwen looked at the unknown light source in the center that had previously been buried beneath the mountain of trash, and a sudden realization arose in his heart.
However, this realization, which resolved certain doubts in Gwen's heart, did not make him look enlightened. Instead, it made him put on a pained expression—
The bad news: it was a black-hearted giant ball of light.
The good news: the giant ball of light was broken.
In short, Gwen's so-called "system space" was actually the famously notorious Main God Space from his previous life.
However, for some reason unknown to Gwen, this Main God had been blown apart. Even the Three-Eyed Clan karma restoration device specially installed within it had broken. Functions such as exchanges had completely failed, leaving only a tiny remnant of its ability to connect to other worlds—the source of the two batches of "junk" Gwen had encountered...
And after receiving this information, Gwen no longer doubted why he could pick locks—
In any case, it was all the giant ball of light's fault.
Otto's Mission
After personally witnessing that Gwen's previous words had not been empty boasts, Otto officially began adjusting certain plans of his own.
However, Schicksal's various secret deployments had nothing to do with Gwen.
After successfully proving his words to Otto, Gwen returned to his regular daily life—
The only change was that there was now an additional tenant in the house—
At six in the morning, Gwen woke up on time. After a quick wash, he left his bedroom and arrived at the first-floor living room, just as the girl with white hair tied into a high ponytail came out of her room.
"Morning, Kiana."
Gwen waved and greeted the girl.
"Morning, Gwen."
Kiana nodded and waved back, but did not say much else.
Although she had lived in Gwen's home for some time, and their usual joking and horseplay seemed no different from before, the sorrow and loneliness hidden beneath her calm exterior remained quite apparent.
Not leaving the two waiting for long, Mei from next door also arrived at Gwen's place through the special passage—
Although she ultimately had not been able to overcome her embarrassment and move in with Gwen, thanks to the passage they had opened specifically before, Raiden Mei only had to walk through a door to come over.
Once everyone had arrived, the three went out together for their morning exercise.
It had already been three months since Kiana was discharged from the hospital and moved in with Gwen.
During those three months, aside from a few emergency missions, Gwen had spent most of his time at headquarters, serving as the limiter for the two Herrschers beside him.
Fortunately, Schicksal still had Yolandale frequently carrying out missions. Otherwise, Gwen might not have been able to remain so peaceful.
It was not that Otto had no intention of sending Kiana and Raiden Mei, who were already undergoing Valkyrie training, onto the battlefield.
It was simply that until the two completed their training and gained a certain degree of control over their Authorities, Otto would not allow either of them to act rashly—
Whether it was Kiana, an important part of Otto's plans, or Raiden Mei, who was likewise a Herrscher and served as Kiana's test subject in Otto's eyes, both were extremely valuable. He absolutely could not allow them into a Honkai outbreak zone before conditions were sufficiently stable, lest something unpredictable occur.
Therefore, during those three months, Kiana and Raiden Mei were able to train at Schicksal Headquarters in peace—
A month earlier, after spending two months completing their prerequisite courses, the two had begun studying alongside the Valkyrie candidates currently in training.
Burdened with immense pressure, Kiana no longer had the carefree attitude she had possessed at St. Freya. Her mind, which had not been dulled by Mei's cooking, was fully put to use—
In the training class, Kiana could not rank among the very best, but she remained above average. Even though two months of cramming had left some gaps in her knowledge, she had nothing to do with the term "bottom of the class."
Before you continue