Ability Confirmed / Kiana's Ambition

An Earthbound Spirit was a dead soul bound within a certain area.

It was quite an apt description of her current self.

She was a being reborn after five hundred years, and she had also chosen to bind herself.

She truly had no plans to go anywhere else now. She had long since lost any place to call home; Yae Village had ceased to exist five hundred years ago.

Still, perhaps this place could become her new home.

Determining Her Abilities

This vacant dormitory—or rather, villa—had quite a few rooms. Yae Sakura casually chose one as her bedroom.

After washing up, Ming Yu returned to the master bedroom.

He did not immediately go to bed. Instead, he sat by the bedside, deep in thought.

He needed to determine and organize the abilities he currently possessed.

It was important to always have a clear grasp of his own condition.

First was the foundation of his existence: the power of Time Reversal.

This ability gave him countless chances to try again, allowing him to reach more possibilities.

After the battle at Chiba Academy—or rather, after receiving feedback from the Third Herrscher—the upper limit of this Time Reversal ability seemed to have expanded somewhat.

Especially after receiving feedback from the Herrscher of Thunder, the reversal limit had increased from the initial one hour to roughly two hours.

Clearly, the duration of his reversal was tied to the power he possessed. Temporary boosts such as Yae Sakura's possession were not included.

The limit on the number of reversals he could sustain, meanwhile, was undoubtedly tied to his mental state.

His other core ability was the so-called feedback.

Judging from Xiaokong and his big sister, the Herrscher of Thunder, this feedback seemed to be provided based on emotional relationships.

Gratitude? Affection? He still could not be completely certain.

Still, in a sense, it could be considered a favorability detector...

In other words, even if it was purely for the sake of becoming stronger, he had to try to get along well with them.

And obviously, in a world centered around Herrschers and Honkai, the twelve Herrschers were the most obvious targets.

Right now, there were two genuine Herrschers and two Herrscher candidates around him.

Hmm... the famed "Far East Devil's Den." He really had chosen the right place. Here, he had the chance to encounter more possibilities.

Even setting Herrschers aside, Schicksal had plenty of other powerful combatants, such as the three S-Rank Valkyries, Theresa, and the illustrious Fu Hua, who concealed her identity while operating as an A-Rank Valkyrie.

Still, there was no rushing this. He could only take a long-term approach.

What he needed to focus on most now, and what was also his primary combat ability, was the electromagnetic control he had just acquired.

As one of the four fundamental forces of the universe, it possessed considerable versatility and practicality. It was an exceptionally all-purpose ability.

Controlling electric currents, electromagnetic waves, and magnetic force... Hmm, the highest limit Ming Yu could imagine was probably something like Magneto.

But at his current level, if he directly released destructive energy head-on, a single Railgun like the one in Changkong City would be enough to drain all his stamina.

—Of course, directly releasing energy for destruction was inherently a rather extravagant and wasteful act.

This could be seen from the fact that creatures in nature had almost never evolved energy-projection abilities such as breathing fire.

The stamina and energy that could support a creature's hunting actions for an entire day would probably be exhausted in mere seconds if used for direct energy output.

If he had a Herrscher Core directly linked to the Unlimited Void like the Herrscher of Thunder, providing virtually inexhaustible Honkai energy, then casually unleashing large-scale energy attacks would naturally be easy.

But for Ming Yu, who had only just begun at this stage, he still had to make every bit count.

Well, the rich had their ways of playing, and the poor had theirs.

For small-scale yet highly efficient applications of electromagnetic power, the first thing he thought of was stimulating himself with electric currents to strengthen and enhance his body.

Close-quarters combat and fighting with weapons were standard abilities Valkyries needed to possess anyway, and they were also among his required courses for the future.

The moment he thought of it, he immediately gave it a try. Taking a light breath, Ming Yu began to mobilize the energy within his body.

Faint streams of electricity appeared at his fingertips, glowing with a dim blue light.

Though surrounded by electric currents, he did not feel numb. This strange sensation made Ming Yu feel rather pleased.

Next came using the currents to stimulate and strengthen his body...

How exactly to use electric currents to stimulate and enhance his body was something worth studying.

The human body was exquisitely complex. A slight mistake might not only fail to improve his physical abilities, but instead bring negative effects, weakness, and pain.

Sure enough, several seconds later, Ming Yu's expression twisted badly.

Well, he had probably shocked the wrong place.

"...Reversal!"

Returning time to several minutes earlier and resetting his body's condition, he finally let out a slow breath.

—Fortunately, he possessed this ability to experiment freely, allowing him to gradually study and develop his powers.

After spending some time on it, he gradually mastered this method of enhancement.

"...Activate."

Looking at the blue electric light surrounding his body, Ming Yu could clearly feel that his combat capabilities had improved.

After making a few simple tests and comparisons, his current speed was roughly no different from when Yae Sakura had possessed him.

With this level of speed, it should be enough to handle tomorrow's rank assessment.

—Every newly enrolled trainee had to undergo a Valkyrie rank evaluation to determine her current rank.

From highest to lowest, there were S-Rank, A-Rank, B-Rank, and levels below that.

The standards were quite simple. Anyone capable of dealing with an Emperor-class Honkai Beast alone could be rated S-Rank, while A-Rank corresponded to a Temple-class Honkai Beast.

S-Rank Valkyries were few and far between. Schicksal currently had only three publicly known ones, with one of them still sleeping. Including Theresa and Fu Hua, there were only five.

Although A-Rank Valkyries barely had much presence in the game's story, they were practically Schicksal's top combat force in everyday deployments.

B-Rank was the current level of The Three Families. Being able to deal with a Chariot-class Honkai Beast alone was the minimum standard, and they were likewise the backbone of Schicksal's Valkyrie forces.

Valkyries below that could only handle logistical work. They lacked the ability for direct combat and would not take the field on the front lines.

Hmm... judging by his current level, he was probably about on the same level as The Three Families.

If he wanted to become stronger, strong enough to intervene in anything, he would need to reach at least S-Rank.

Fortunately, he had only just joined St. Freya Academy. There was still some time before the successive upheavals of the future.

Before those disasters arrived, he would make as many preparations as possible.

Retracting the electric currents spread across his body, Ming Yu stretched slightly before decisively diving into bed.

Kiana's Ambition

Morning.

After getting enough sleep, Ming Yu left his room feeling refreshed.

As he headed downstairs, he heard faint sounds coming from the kitchen.

Aside from him, the only one living here was naturally Yae Sakura.

Ming Yu poked his head out, and sure enough, he saw the pink-haired girl busy in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Miss Sakura."

"Good morning, Ming Yu."

He had arrived at just the right time. Yae Sakura had just finished making breakfast and brought a plate of food to the table.

"This... this square thing is so amazing. Food stays fresh inside it, and that thing can replace firewood for cooking."

The pink-haired girl pointed at the refrigerator and stove.

It seemed she still had quite a lot to adapt to and learn about.

Fortunately, although the various cooking utensils had evolved somewhat, Yae Sakura could still identify them.

So before Ming Yu woke up, she had spent some time figuring them out and mastered how to use them.

Looking at the food on the table, Ming Yu said somewhat embarrassedly:

"Sorry to trouble you."

"...It's fine. I originally liked taking care of people, and besides, I have nothing to do while living here."

Yae Sakura shook her head, speaking without much concern.

Back when she had still served as the shrine maiden of Yae Village, she had always taken care of her younger sister. It was a habit she had developed as an older sister.

Since the girl had already said so, Ming Yu naturally did not say anything further.

He simply picked up his chopsticks and began devouring breakfast.

Soon, after finishing breakfast, he tidied up a little and prepared to head out.

Before leaving, Ming Yu said to Yae Sakura:

"Today, I'll bring back some information you need."

Information about Kallen was fairly easy to gather.

After all, Otto had tirelessly promoted the story of Saint Kallen throughout these five hundred years.

"Mm, thank you. And... take care."

The pink-haired girl watched Ming Yu leave the house before slowly returning to the living room.

Higokumaru's enormous form appeared beside her, whispering softly:

"...Are you planning to stay here forever?"

"There's nothing wrong with that. As long as I confine myself here, you won't be able to regain your strength either."

Yae Sakura said calmly.

As a Pseudo-Herrscher, all she needed to do to regain her power was continuously absorb Honkai energy.

Changkong City after the disaster was an excellent place for that, since it had accumulated a considerable amount of Honkai energy.

But for now, she did not want to do that. Once her strength recovered, whether she could continue suppressing and controlling Higokumaru's actions would become an unknown.

—She did not want the mistake she had made five hundred years ago to repeat itself here.

"..."

Higokumaru glared fiercely at the pink-haired girl before dispersing her form.

After the evil fox's figure vanished, Yae Sakura let out a breath and turned her gaze toward the washing machine.

"Hmm... let's figure out how to use this."

Following the information Theresa had sent, Ming Yu found the combat training grounds.

Schicksal's technology was extremely advanced. What it used to provide Valkyries with practical combat training was not real Honkai Beasts or enemies, but various opponents simulated by a computer system.

It could perfectly simulate a specific enemy's abilities while causing no actual physical harm to Valkyries.

Well, it was basically the Memory Arena from the game.

When he arrived at his destination, he could already see Kiana, Mei, and Bronya there.