Feather of Dreams

At first, Kiana could still hold her own against these manipulated, fake Valkyries.

But as time went on and her stamina dwindled, Kiana began to struggle to keep up.

What made Kiana even more desperate was that as soon as she defeated one, another would appear from some unknown corner, as if they were endless.

The girl was immediately thrown into a fierce battle.

At this critical moment, a fiery red feather suddenly drifted down in the mysterious dream space.

Then, a male figure suddenly appeared before Kiana.

"You... you're Ye Li?!" Kiana exclaimed, both shocked and angry. "Were you also summoned by that detestable guy?!"

The thought that the man who cared for her more than her own father couldn't escape being toyed with by a mysterious entity made Kiana even more furious!

Enraged, Kiana gathered the power of her Valkyrie armor and delivered a powerful kick.

However, to Kiana's surprise, her full-power attack was easily dodged by the 'Ye Li'.

Just as Kiana was preparing to regain her stance and attack 'Ye Li' again, 'Ye Li' suddenly turned and charged towards the fake Valkyries.

"???"

Seeing this bizarre scene, Kiana was bewildered, but the people in the real world erupted in cheers!

With Ye Li's help, Kiana could finally catch her breath, and the situation gradually improved.

Meanwhile, the mysterious entity also noticed the anomaly in the dream space.

She was stunned at first, and then, upon seeing Ye Li's appearance, she let out a terrified cry: "Impossible! How can you be in a place like this! Shouldn't you have ██████████ already!"

The mysterious entity's reaction naturally caught Kiana's attention, but just as she was about to speak, her head began to spin.

In an instant, the dream space emitted the sound of shattering glass, and spiderweb-like cracks spread wildly through the void.

Just as everything was about to end, a venomous and frenzied voice suddenly echoed through the space:

"Don't think this is the end!"

"Neither you nor those who blaspheme against the gods will be spared!"

"Just you wait! Wait for that day to come! I will crush you myself!"

In the early morning, sunlight streamed into the room through the window.

Kiana got out of bed, looking out the window with a tired expression.

"Ugh~ My head hurts. I think I had a strange dream, but I can't remember what happened."

Just then, the door to the Valkyrie Dormitory was knocked. Raiden Mei's voice came from outside.

"Kiana, are you okay?" Raiden Mei asked with concern.

"Ah! Mei?! I just woke up, what's wrong?"

"It's good that you're alright. I knocked on the door for a while and didn't get a response, so I thought something had happened to you."

"Oh, what could possibly happen to me!" Raiden Mei's concerned words swept away Kiana's inner fatigue. "Wait for me, I'll change my clothes and be right out!"

After washing up, Kiana and Raiden Mei went to the examination hall together to participate in the annual Valkyrie Exam.

After a series of battles, Kiana surprisingly achieved excellent results.

This made Raiden Mei, who was watching, sigh with emotion, "Kiana's performance today was surprisingly good."

"I don't know what's going on, but I felt particularly fluid in combat today, almost too fluid to feel like myself."

Kiana said, "Of course, it's also possible that it's because my opponent was Mei, so I might have unconsciously unleashed some special power."

Perhaps due to her excellent condition, Kiana continued to achieve good results in the subsequent exams.

Even Rita Rossweisse, who came from Schicksal Headquarters to inspect, praised her highly.

Soon, the Valkyrie Exam reached its final round.

The content of this round required the Valkyries to wear the Synchronized Immersion Device. The trial program, responsible for simulated combat, would generate corresponding opponents based on the Valkyrie's strength.

The simulated battles began and ended one by one, and soon it was Kiana's turn.

"Candidate, Kiana Kaslana, prepare for connection."

However, after Kiana put on the immersive device, the backend system encountered a problem.

"Readout rate 98.6%..."

"Connection synchronization rate 100%, hostile module generation in progress..."

"Connection synchronization rate 120%, hos-hos-hos-hostile module module module module generation generation generation generation..."

Listening to the jumbled system prompts in her ears, Kiana herself was incredibly shocked.

"What's going on? Himeko, what happened?"

Looking at the string of error codes on the backend operation screen, Himeko was also at a loss.

"Something's not right. Logically, the entire program should have crashed and terminated the moment the system reported an error, but the program's synchronization rate is still at 120%..."

Seeing Kiana in danger, Theresa, Kiana's aunt, grew very anxious. "Can't you just terminate the program directly?"

"Headmaster, I'm afraid that's not possible. If we forcibly terminate the program, it might have unknown effects on Kiana herself."

"Then what should we do..."

Before Theresa could finish speaking, a deafening roar drew everyone's attention back to the synchronization program.

"Ganesha?!"

Upon seeing the Honkai Beast that had been generated, Theresa's face was filled with disbelief. "How is that possible! The database shouldn't be able to generate an Emperor-class Honkai Beast!"

But with things as they were, their only hope now rested on Kiana herself.

In response, Kiana confidently raised her dual pistols. "Don't worry! Since there's no way to disconnect, I'll just beat him down!"

However, despite her words, when Ganesha's incredibly oppressive body appeared before Kiana, she couldn't help but feel a little intimidated.

Just then, Kiana heard a familiar voice coming from not far away. Turning her head, she saw it was Raiden Mei.

"Kiana, I'm here to help too!"

Kiana: !!!

Before Kiana could express her gratitude, another voice chimed in.

"This monster is strong, and the idiot Kiana will probably have a hard time defeating it, so Bronya is joining in too!"

Seeing her two companions willing to risk their own safety to help her, Kiana's heart was filled with fighting spirit.

"Fearlessness is knowing that someone will always catch you when you stumble back!"

Ye Li's gentle voice echoed in her mind, and Kiana felt her entire body fill with strength!

After a fierce battle, the three of them finally defeated the simulated Emperor-class Honkai Beast, Ganesha.

The moment Kiana was disconnected from the Synchronized Immersion Device, Theresa and the others rushed over.

"Kiana, are you alright?"

Although physically and mentally exhausted, the stubborn Kiana still proudly declared, "Hmph~ A mere... a mere Emperor-class Honkai Beast, it was nothing for me to defeat..."

"Stop bragging, hurry back and rest," Himeko said, shaking her head as she saw Kiana.

While everyone was tending to Kiana, Rita, who had come from Schicksal Headquarters, also walked over at some point.

Looking at the exhausted Kiana, Rita sincerely praised, "That was a spectacular battle. Although the opponent was just a virtual module from the simulation, it was still an Emperor-class Honkai Beast."

Rita's praise made the already smug Kiana puff up her chest even further.

Seizing the opportunity, Kiana took the chance to ask Theresa and the others, "Since my combat performance was so outstanding, does that mean I don't have to take the written theory exam?"

"Indeed, as you said, Kiana, with this situation occurring, the exam should be terminated..." Himeko said.

Kiana: Yay!

"However, Kiana, I never said the exam wouldn't be rescheduled, did I?"

Himeko said with a stern face, "Tomorrow, I will reschedule the Valkyrie written exam. So tonight, Kiana, you'd better study hard! If you fail, hmph... you know the consequences!"

Following Himeko's words, Kiana, with a look of utter despair, squatted on the ground and shouted, "Ah! Why are you doing this to me!"