Waking Up

St. Freya Academy, Headmaster's Office.

"Headmaster, you had Secretary-General attend the Far East Branch meeting in your place and instead came to Changkong City to engage in combat with a suspected Herrscher-level individual. That's incredibly reckless."

"You have the nerve to say that to me! You used the Nexus System, which is still under development, and forcibly unleashed its maximum output to block the Herrscher's attack. You're the explosive one who's always reckless! It's only because you were lucky that you're not in intensive care right now."

"That's the duty of a captain, but as the head of the Far East Branch, the Headmaster cannot be so willful. It's proper to oversee the overall situation at the branch."

Muryōtō Himeko secretly rubbed her aching waist and said with a serious expression to the petite girl sitting in the chair.

"Hmph. Reporting to headquarters, discussing meeting details is indeed important, but compared to that, the combat power of an S-rank Valkyrie on the scene is more critical. If I hadn't arrived quickly, it wouldn't be surprising if the Third Herrscher was taken away by that man who calls himself Welt."

Theresa's reply was equally serious, but in her heart, she felt that it wasn't her style to have others fight to the death while she leisurely filed reports and attended meetings.

"Let's not discuss this for now. First, you should thank Fu Hua, Major Himeko." Theresa gave a sweet smile.

"Fu Hua? What should I thank her for? Did she successfully defeat Ganesha?" Muryōtō Himeko was a bit confused.

"You just woke up, so you probably don't know. While she was successfully defeating Ganesha, she also brought back a survivor, who is the son of your father's friend, Su Qing'an."

"It's truly a miracle, Major Himeko. A male surviving with Honkai Energy resistance is already extraordinary. To survive being chased by an Emperor-class Honkai Beast afterward is truly not easy. Moreover, it's him. Is this what they call God's gentleness?"

Even after repeatedly reviewing the information in the report, Theresa couldn't help but be amazed by the young man's will to survive. In that situation, even if Theresa put herself in Su Qing'an's shoes, with her battle-hardened experience and willpower, she couldn't think of a better method. It would be extremely difficult even for her to replicate the same actions.

Driving at airplane speeds through the chaotic streets, this child's recklessness is perhaps surprisingly similar to Himeko's.

"Where is he right now!?" The moment she heard the young man's name, it felt as if a heavy object had struck her heart. Muryōtō Himeko lost her composure, bending over and placing her hands on the table, her imposing presence startling Theresa.

"Although he's out of danger for now, Fu Hua said this child seems a bit erratic. It's already the third day, and his consciousness hasn't returned. Currently, he should be in observation room A019."

Understanding Himeko's feelings, Theresa revealed the young man's location. Then, she saw the red-haired woman rush out of the door and genuinely smiled.

It's good, Major Himeko.

This way, the guilt in your heart won't overwhelm you for now.

Observation Room A019.

The girl looked at the young man's pale face and suddenly smiled happily.

"I'm sorry, Shopkeeper. You're so badly injured, but I'm still so happy. Happy that you're alive."

While Kiana's smile was radiant, tears welled up in her eyes, and her voice was already choked with sobs.

"But I'm also so sad. Why did you have to come to Senba Academy to find us? If you hadn't come, you wouldn't have encountered that Emperor-class Honkai Beast, and you definitely wouldn't be so seriously injured."

"Teacher is dead, classmates are dead, Yunona is dead, and the stray cat you liked, Su Qing'an, is also dead. I promised I'd protect your shop, but I still let it get smashed by Honkai Beasts. I'm so sorry, I'm so weak. I couldn't keep my promises."

"I thought you were dead too. If Mei hadn't stayed with me, and if I hadn't found my darn dad yet, I might not have been able to hold on. On the way, some little brat with a pile of scrap metal came looking for trouble. It was so annoying. If it weren't for Mei, I wouldn't have teamed up with her."

The girl covered her eyes, not wanting anyone to see her reddened eyes. She rambled on about trivial matters. She didn't know why she was talking so much now, but she just wanted to speak.

The girl was still very young. The warmth of everyday life melted away her hardened shell, and then the Honkai struck heavily. She was abruptly thrust back into life-or-death battles, even more frequent than when she was wandering. She was still lost about everything she had lost, yet she forced herself to fight step by step to get here.

Kiana Kaslana was a cold-blooded yet passionate person. She could face countless corpses and tragedies with a blank expression, yet she could bravely confront the dangerous Honkai for strangers.

She rarely cried because she was used to it.

Besides, how could people from the Kaslana family cry?

But now, she was on the verge of losing control.

The moment she knew Su Qing'an was alive and truly saw him lying on the hospital bed, it was as if she had seen this young man die in her eyes once before.

A vast, inexplicable sorrow poured into her soul.

Just for a moment. Just for a little while.

The girl thought this, and then her taut nerves relaxed, and tears streamed down her face.

"Bronya judges that this is not the time to argue with the idiot Kiana, so she forgives her." Bronya stared intently at Raiden Mei, as if hinting at something.

"Alright, alright, Bronya is the best girl, such a good child." Mei gently stroked the girl's gray hair and smiled helplessly.

Although she showed no expression, Bronya, who received the petting, was clearly happy.

"Mei! Don't fall for this little brat's tricks!" Wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, Kiana turned and glared at Bronya with her reddened eyes.

She felt like Bronya was like the "green tea" she had seen online before.

Unavoidable and truly annoying.

But Kiana's angry expression vanished in an instant. A gentle hand rested on her head, stroking her fair white hair.

Then, a hoarse voice reached the girl's ears.

"You're so noisy right after waking up. Seeing Kiana so energetic, I'm relieved."

She turned her head, and the young man smiled at her.

Su Qing'an was awake.

"Shopkeeper! You're awake! No! When did you wake up!" Quickly wiping the tears from her face, Kiana didn't know what to do for a moment. "I wasn't crying." She even uttered a self-deceptive phrase in her panic.

"Hahaha, cough cough, I know Kiana has always been strong." Coughing a few times, Su Qing'an looked at the girl's red eyes and said earnestly.

In response to the requests of many readers, the VIP ad-free feature is now available.

Click to view

Kiana Kaslana is an optimistic and strong person; he understood this better than anyone. However, no one said strong people couldn't cry, and it was unreasonable to impose that restriction on this child.

"That's right. I-I'm very strong." For a moment, she wanted to hug the young man, but thinking of his injuries, Kiana suppressed the impulse.

"Sato isn't here?" After a moment of silence, the young man asked.

"Yunona she..." Kiana was speechless, then finally replied, "There are only four survivors left in Changkong City."

"Yeah, not everyone has Honkai Energy resistance. I understood that long ago."

Was Satou Yunona really that important to him?

Not really, they were just friends.

Although Su Qing'an had few friends, they were still just friends.

There was a reason why he would risk his life like this, even surviving an encounter with an Emperor-class Honkai Beast and escaping death without regret.

Because it was his promise. He hated people who didn't keep their word, even if it was himself.

This tendency originated from being abandoned by his parents who broke their promise in his previous world. It became even more severe after absorbing the soul of his counterpart in this world.

It was as if a part of his soul was broken. The reclusive, promise-hating "Su Qing'an" and the decadent, equally promise-hating Su Qing'an merged to become what he was now.

Su Qing'an realized this but didn't reject the change. To him, it was proof of the existence of "Su Qing'an" in this world.

It was as if two of him had survived together.

This led to self-loathing and the sorrow of losing friends, forcing him into the State of Still Water.

But this was merely drinking poison to quench thirst. The so-called State of Still Water was merely a state where the body and mind reached unity, allowing one to exert their maximum strength.

Essentially, the emotions hadn't disappeared; they were just suppressed.

It was like how he could calmly operate his body despite feeling fear during Ganesha's pursuit, but in the end, it was the courage ignited in his heart that dispelled the fear.

The State of Still Water cannot suppress human nature.

"I'm just a little unwilling. In the end, I never made it to Senba Academy. Instead, I was chased miserably by Honkai Beasts. If I hadn't been saved, my body probably wouldn't even be found now."

The young man muttered to himself, staring at the white ceiling as his status panel appeared at his will.

[Name: Su Qing'an]
[Gender: Male]
[Strength: 18.3 (11.8)]
[Agility: 19.4 (12.7)]
[Vitality: 20.6 (9.7)]
[Soul Essence: 39.24]
[Honkai Energy Resistance: 30 (Low/Limit)]
[Skill: Taixuan Style]
[Evaluation: Your combat ability far exceeds that of an ordinary human. Your Honkai Energy resistance has reached the limit for normal human males. Aside from the uniqueness of your Soul Essence, you already possess the Honkai Energy resistance to survive normally in areas with high Honkai Energy concentration.]
[Message: Your soul possesses a special quality. After experiencing two deaths, it has automatically sublimated to four times that of an ordinary person. Utilize this sole bargaining chip to survive in the apocalyptic world of Honkai.]

Except for a slight increase in Soul Essence, the other attributes remained unchanged. Looking at the numbers in parentheses, Su Qing'an understood that his current physical condition was much better than it was that day.

So weak. Sighing, the young man became lost. Did he still need to become stronger?

He had already escaped Changkong City, and the malevolent God had made no further moves. Now that he was at the safe St. Freya Academy, did he still need to become stronger?

Even the girl who saved him that day, her incredibly powerful Martial Arts technique was mixed with a violent surge of Honkai Energy to send Ganesha flying with a single punch.

In his opinion, even at the girl's level, Martial Arts wouldn't be a match for an Emperor-class Honkai Beast without Honkai Energy assistance.

And when it came to using Honkai Energy, his Sword Heart and Honkai Energy resistance had already reached their limits.

The current Su Qing'an dared not continue cultivating the Sword Heart Technique, as his Mind Lake was already more than half frozen, with only a few streams of water flowing quietly.

The Mind Lake freezing into Dustless.

Now that he was in a safe place, if he hid in Shenzhou and got lucky, he wouldn't need to fight Honkai Beasts for a while.

As such, he had no reason to risk becoming a Mortal by breaking through to Dustless.

"Kiana, let me rest for a bit. I think I'm a little tired."

The bewildered young man closed his eyes and murmured to the silent girl.

"Mhm... then Su Qing'an, you should rest well and don't think too much."

Perhaps understanding that he needed time to process his complex emotions, Kiana hesitated before nodding and saying.

After everyone left, the once lively hospital room returned to silence.

What should I do now?

His emotions surged. He deliberately retreated from the State of Still Water and immersed himself in the chaotic Mind Lake, slowly sinking.