"?!"
Bai Chen stared wide-eyed at the twenty bottles of Nutrient Solution in front of him.
"Rigged! This is totally rigged!"
Bai Chen, who had been somewhat tired, instantly perked up. He sat up in anger. No powerful items, just Nutrient Solution that could be bought downstairs!
Oh, maybe it couldn't be bought now. Well, whatever.
Refusing to believe it, Bai Chen opened the item description, hoping the drinks had some special bonus unlike the original version.
Nutrient Solution: A transmigrator discovered that in the xianxia world he had traveled to, hidden masters always made their entrance while drinking alcohol. It was far too cliché, so after joining a sect, he replaced all the hidden masters' alcohol with Nutrient Solution, leaving his master with no choice but to make appearances while drinking Nutrient Solution.
Bai Chen's face twisted as he read the item description. So these Nutrient Solutions really had no special bonuses?
"Hey, I heard you were awake."
Himeko pushed open the hospital room door and walked in, followed by the three girls, including Kiana.
Seeing that Bai Chen was in decent condition, Himeko casually pulled over a chair and sat beside his bed. "Your name is Bai Chen. You were born in July 2001 in Wanchuan City, Shenzhou. Due to various circumstances, you're now alone and drifting from place to place, correct?"
"?"
Bai Chen watched in bewilderment as Himeko pulled a form from her pocket. What the hell? He had an identity in this world? He was an orphan?
Seeing Bai Chen's reaction, Himeko murmured, "Fuzzy memories? Was that caused by your special ability?"
After hearing Bai Chen's birth date, Bronya's gaze sharpened. Wasn't he now the youngest member of the team?
Himeko then began asking Bai Chen about his background, but Bai Chen genuinely knew nothing. In the end, Himeko could only add a new "suspected amnesia" tag to his file.
"Now, back to the main topic. What was that strange and powerful ability you used in Changkong City two days ago? Why could you..."
Himeko glanced at Kiana beside her, who did not seem particularly bright.
"Why could you become a Herrscher who looked like Kiana?"
"Yes! Yes! Why could you become someone who looked like me? That form was so cool! Can you transform again?"
Kiana, who had been waiting impatiently, immediately cut in. At first, she had even wondered whether she had some powerful older sister. Even now, she still found it hard to believe and wanted to see the transformation process with her own eyes.
He had slept for two days? Bai Chen was secretly shocked. Then, he explained things to them in a way that was relatively close to reality, while concealing the existence of the system.
"I don't know where I got this power. There's a small chance that I can borrow the power of the possible futures of people around me."
Himeko looked at the report before her with a headache. This kid absolutely could not develop warped values, or he might become even more terrifying than a Herrscher.
"So I'll be that cool in the future!"
Kiana excitedly hugged Mei and showed off.
"Mei, did you see that? I'll become such a towering figure someday too!"
"All right, I know."
Mei stroked Kiana's back, trying to calm her down.
"Idiot Kiana, Bai Chen only said it was a possible future."
Bronya hugged a Homu doll at the side and poured cold water over Kiana.
"So what? At least I have that possibility. Unlike some shorty."
Kiana's nose was practically pointing at the sky.
"Anything idiot Kiana can do, Bronya can only do better."
Bronya retorted indifferently. There was one thing she did not say aloud. Since Bai Chen could become Kiana, didn't that mean he had effectively seen Kiana naked? He could even divide things into finer details when alone...
Chapter 6: Examination
But when Bronya raised her head and saw Bai Chen's purple-to-pink gradient eyes, she relaxed again. Those pure eyes did not seem like the kind that needed such wariness.
Besides, it was still him after transforming. If she had to be wary even of that, then fanbooks and AI face-swapping would be quite something.
Watching Kiana and Bronya bicker as usual, Bai Chen could not help but smile.
Before long, Himeko finally finished organizing the things in her hands. "Since there's nothing seriously wrong with your body, I'll send you to study at St. Freya afterward and help you become a qualified Valkyrie Knight."
"?"
So Himeko had been handling his enrollment procedures just now? Of course, Bai Chen did not know that during the two days he had been asleep, Himeko had successfully become his legal guardian. After all, having a guardian would save a fourteen-year-old orphan a lot of trouble.
One month later.
"Roar!"
A gorilla-like Honkai Beast charged fiercely at Bai Chen. He barely dodged, then immediately spun around and thrust the katana in his hand at the Honkai Beast's joints. However, the Honkai Beast merely spun around several times in place, forcing Bai Chen to withdraw his attack and evade.
Chrono Drive: Lunar God's Protection
Bai Chen casually flung away the katana in his hand, and a pair of yellow pistols brimming with a futuristic feel appeared in his hands.
The instant he took hold of the guns, Bai Chen fired several shots at the Honkai Beast's forehead. The powerful firepower was nothing a normal katana could compare to, instantly suppressing the Honkai Beast until it could not move.
Bai Chen then fired a special control round from Lunar God's Protection, pinning the Honkai Beast in place.
"Then goodbye."
Drive: Eden's Star · Nebula Impact
Bai Chen constructed an enormous heavy cannon before him, then blasted a dazzling beam from its muzzle that swallowed the Honkai Beast's body. The powerful recoil nearly made Bai Chen lose his grip and send the shot off target.
A month of training had greatly improved Bai Chen's control over his abilities. Otherwise, he definitely would not have been able to dodge that Honkai Beast's charge just now. After dismissing the skill, he began walking toward the edge of the field.
"Hey, Bai Chen, you're done too!"
The moment she saw Bai Chen come out, Kiana happily shouted. Then she hooked an arm around his shoulders and gave a strange snicker. "I got out five minutes before you, you know? A bet's a bet. Don't even think about running away early from the game tonight."
"All right."
Mei pulled Kiana to her side, then said gently, "It's already remarkable for Bai Chen to achieve these results after only one month."
A trace of barely noticeable worry flashed through Mei's eyes. Bai Chen had improved so rapidly in just one month, and he had not even used that powerful transformation skill.
What about her, then? The next time her companions were in danger, would she only be able to watch helplessly again?
"By the way, aren't you worried about this exam's results?"
Mei could not help asking when she saw Kiana's carefree expression. If she remembered correctly, Kiana had spent most of class sleeping, hadn't she?
"It's fine! I'll definitely take first place."
Kiana guaranteed it with complete confidence, entirely forgetting how her brain cells had died during the written exam.
Bai Chen began sweating nervously when he heard that. He could be certain his practical score would not be low, but the written portion...
History was practically the same as never having studied it, and the chemistry and physics formulas were subtly different. This time, he was really going to drag everyone down.
After dinner that night, Kiana dragged Bai Chen into Bronya's room to play games. That was right, Bai Chen was currently living in the same building as the Valkyrie dormitories, with Himeko's room next door.
A promise was a promise. Since he had lost the bet, he would not leave early! Then Bai Chen was sent packing by one combo from Kiana's character.
"Urgh! Fighting games really are the worst..."
Bai Chen lay painfully sprawled on the floor, the light gone from his eyes. This was the thirty-fourth match in which Kiana had utterly destroyed him today.
Bai Chen climbed up from the floor, surrounded by black aura. "Since you're heartless, don't blame me for being cruel!"
"You want to do this?"
Kiana put away her playful expression and turned serious. Bai Chen transforming was not part of their usual routine.
"What card should I use against you?" Bai Chen pulled a pink card from his pocket and inserted it into the purple wrist guard on his right arm.
(The card had no practical purpose. It was condensed from his power, and the wrist guard was just an empty shell he had bought to look cool and mess around.)
Chrono Equip: Ranger
In an instant, Bai Chen grew a head taller and became Kiana, dressed in a Valkyrie Ranger outfit.
"Oh, so that's what I wear at school!"
Kiana stared curiously at Bai Chen's transformation. She had thought it would be like the costume changes in magical girl transformations, but instead, layers of overlapping phantoms covered Bai Chen before completing the transformation.
What would he feel like to touch? Would he feel the same as when she touched herself? Kiana was a little curious, her eyes eager like a cat watching a mouse.
"I'm not who I was just now! With the power of Ranger, I've surpassed my former self!"
Bai Chen picked up the controller. This time, he would definitely avenge his humiliation! Hehehe!
"KO!"
"Urgh!"
Bai Chen immediately collapsed, mouth open and eyes closed, transforming back to normal beneath Kiana's regretful gaze.
"Why! I have the combined strength of both of us, so why did I lose!"
Unable to keep watching, Bronya spoke from the side. "No matter how many times Bai Chen transforms, he still cannot perform the moves."
Damn it, why would he not inherit those memories after transforming!
"P-please, Bronya..."
Bai Chen tremblingly held the controller out before Bronya. His exaggerated acting was so bad even a dog would shake its head at it.
Bronya solemnly accepted the controller and gave a slight nod. After seeing Bronya agree, Bai Chen limply dropped his final hand.
Bronya covered Bai Chen's head with a white cloth, then took the controller and sat beside Kiana to begin the revenge match.
Afterward, Bronya thoroughly crushed Kiana to her heart's content.
Two days later, Bai Chen stared blankly as the exam rankings appeared. After searching all over, he indeed could not find his name among the normal rankings.
"Bai Chen and Kiana are the only two students in the entire grade who failed."
Their history teacher, Welt Yang, who was undercover as the leader of Anti-Entropy, walked over helplessly with the score sheets.
"That's impossible!"
Kiana snatched the score sheet in disbelief. She had finished the practical exam early.
"You both failed the written exam. Bai Chen, you did fine in geography and biology, but your history, physics, and chemistry scores combined did not even reach sixty. Kiana, you scored a flat zero in history, and your total score did not exceed twenty-one."
Welt Yang paused awkwardly, grieving for the future of Valkyries. "Scores like these make it impossible for you to pass."
That evening.
As everyone ate dinner, Himeko looked speechlessly at the two students before her. "So the two of you, this sleeping dragon and fledgling phoenix, will be taking make-up exams next?"
Chapter 7: Virtual Space
"Setting Kiana aside, why are your grades so terrible too, Bai Chen?"
Himeko felt that, as his guardian, she needed to pay attention to this conveniently acquired child.
"Don't just set Kiana aside!"
After swallowing the food in her mouth, Kiana angrily stood up from the table.
"Because Bai Chen pays attention in class, unlike Kiana, who sleeps and skips class every day."
Bronya coldly stated the facts.
"Urgh."
At a loss for words, Kiana sat back down and continued burying herself in her food. Things like going out to have fun and relax were precisely why she could skip class. Proper rest was for better studying.
"Hahaha, it's because of my memories regarding history and chemistry formulas..."
Bai Chen scratched his head and answered awkwardly. There was nothing he could do about it; the differences between the two worlds were simply too great. The chemistry formulas from his original world did not need to account for Honkai energy, and he had never even heard of some of the place names in this world's history.
Himeko stroked her chin in thought. "Because of your amnesia?"
"Mm."
Bai Chen silently exclaimed that amnesia was incredibly useful!
"Then there's no helping it. Since your make-up exams are next week, you two can only undergo special training!"
Himeko pointed her chopsticks at Bai Chen and Kiana.
"Special training?"
Before you continue