Chapter 87

Theresa suspects that Kiana emptied her savings account, and that it has nothing to do with Kiana buying comics.

[Q&A begins.]

What is Joachim's true identity?

[A: A member of the World Serpent's leadership team.]

[B: The Informant of Schicksal.]

[C: Cocolia's chess piece.]

[D: The clone of the Anti-Entropy Leader.]

Chapter 142 Joachim's True Identity

Bronya: "Joachim's true identity? Isn't he the guardian of the Sea of Quanta?"

The new questions and answers startled Bronya. In her memory, Joachim was going to give her three World Bubble tests, and after passing them, she could go and find Seele.

I never expected the other person to have another identity.

Himeko Murata: "It seems things aren't as simple as we thought. Elysia mentioned before that the Sea of Quanta of Previous Era didn't have any guardians. It's questionable where this Joachim came from."

Theresa: "All four answers are related to Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, and the World Serpent. My intuition tells me that Joachim's identity is not simple."

Although the headmaster's words were nonsense, everyone wholeheartedly agreed.

The Sea of Quanta is such a magical place that both Schicksal and Anti-Entropy have conducted research on it in recent years.

Regardless of which side Joachim is on, his identity is certainly very mysterious and classified.

Elysia: "I was wondering why I didn't have any memories of Joachim; it turns out he's not from our time at all."

Danzhu: "So, based on the information we have, if Joachim's mission isn't to test those who enter the World Bubble, then it's to prevent other forces from researching the World Bubble's guards?"

Bronya: "No way, Bronya only wanted to save Seele, how did she get caught up in the vortex of the three major forces?"

Bronya is so tired. She feels so weak and helpless.

That Joachim looks like he has thick eyebrows and big eyes, but I never expected him to be so secretive. He's probably not a good person.

If I had Sakura's power, if I had her ability to escape safely from Kevin, let alone Joachim, even the Anti-Entropy Leader would have his driver's license revoked by her.

Sakura: "The one who saved Seele was the little girl who went with me to find Rin before. Did she encounter any danger?"

Bronya: "Seele is trapped in the Sea of Quanta. Bronya wants to rescue her, but Kevin is also in the Sea of Quanta and may have his eye on Seele, as well as Joachim, whose identity is currently unknown."

Sakura: "Is that so...? Please don't hesitate to ask me for help if you need it."

Bronya: "Thank you."

This is where the high-level combat power comes in, isn't it? Back at the Fire Moth's base, Sakura and Kevin didn't make a move, but they weren't suppressed like Su was.

It's unclear whether Kevin was holding back, but as long as Sakura could hold off that overpowered Kevin, Bronya instantly felt a significant reduction in pressure.

She herself had only managed to lose her car at the hands of monsters like Kevin and the Herrscher of Reason; surely a mere Joachim couldn't possibly revoke her driver's license?

Bronya: "Schicksal and Anti-Entropy have studied the Sea of Quanta, but Anti-Entropy's level is significantly behind. If we're going to establish guards in the Sea of Quanta to prevent other forces from entering, Schicksal is more likely to succeed."

Danzhu: "It could also be the World Serpent. Dr. Mobius has already studied the Sea of Quanta. If the people of the World Serpent get the data, they'll be one step ahead of them."

Of the four options, Schicksal and World Serpent are the most likely, leaving only Cocolia and the leader of Anti-Entropy.

Bronya: "Mother Cocolia... let's just forget about it."

It wasn't that Bronya lacked confidence in her Mother Cocolia; it was just that Cocolia's skills were truly lacking.

It's fine to bully the Herrscher of Wind in small skirmishes, but if it comes to going head-to-head with Schicksal and World Serpent, they'll probably lose everything.

Seele was trapped in the Sea of Quanta because of the failed experiment, and her legs were paralyzed due to the backlash from forcibly entering the Sea of Quanta.

After several failures, if she were Cocolia, she would have learned even a little from the experience and resolutely refused to touch the Sea of Quanta experiment again.

Once the Anti-Entropy team has completed their research, it would be much more reliable to simply seize their research results than to let Cocolia do it herself.

Durandal: "The remaining answer is the clone of the Anti-Entropy Leader... that First Herrscher who has been missing for a long time."

Welt has not appeared for a long time since the end of the Second Honkai War, and Schicksal's database cannot find his whereabouts.

It can't be that he's retired.

Kiana: "We saw the First Herrscher, Welt, in the footage before, and also when Bronya's driver's license was suspended by Kevin."

Durandal: "Is the First Herrscher in the Sea of Quanta?"

Having received this information, Durandal pondered that if he were to enter the Sea of Quanta again, he should keep an eye out for that person's presence.

Bronya: "Idiot Kiana, if you don't Bronya's humiliation... wait, I think I know the answer! Choose D, the clone of the Anti-Entropy Leader."

[Correct answer.]

Theresa: "Bronya, how did you know?"

Bronya: "Bronya just remembered that Welt appeared and saved Bronya from Kevin, right? But Bronya didn't know Welt at all before that, so the answer is obvious: Joachim is him!"

Bronya silently apologized in her heart for having just spoken ill of Joachim.

However, if he had shown up before Kevin tried to revoke his license, thus avoiding being embarrassed and humiliated, Bronya would have been even more grateful to him.

[Congratulations to Bronya for winning the reward: "Quantum Converter Basics, From Beginner to Finale."]

Bronya: "Why is it always basic knowledge? Can't you just give me something ready-made?"

It was another half-house-high volume of basic knowledge, the sheer amount of information of which gave Bronya a headache. She hadn't even finished reading through those dozen-plus terabytes of files, and she'd only looked at the table of contents for the Titan Mech.

System, are you trying to make her die in an ocean of knowledge?

Danzhu: "Who told you to be the Herrscher of Reason? The Herrscher of Reason needs a lot of knowledge as a foundation. Even if I gave you the blueprints, you wouldn't understand them."

Bronya: "Bronya understands, it's just that she's upset about the time she spent playing games."

Playing games? What games do people still play these days?

The amount of material Bronya needs to learn is comparable to the pressure Kiana faces when doing Three Years of Gaokao, Five Years of Simulation.

Kiana: "If Bronya can't play games, then the game console is all mine."

Theresa: "Kiana, do you think it's possible?"

Kiana: "Wow! Auntie, let me tell you, I've been studying really hard lately, I haven't skipped class at all! You can't take away a student's playtime!"

With the pressure on her, Kiana became much more serious than before, but she was still far from being up to the level required to challenge Durandal, S-rank Valkyrie.

Himeko Murata: "Kiana, if you're going to challenge S-rank Valkyrie, then show some spirit! You can't let Bronya leave you in the dust!"

Chapter 143 Searching for an Expert in the Sea of Quanta

Kiana: "Auntie Himeko, are you a devil?!"

The Himeko Murata, in despair, took a thick book from Bronya.

Although she didn't know what the contents were, the sheer volume of knowledge—more than Three Years of Gaokao, Five Years of Simulation and five years' worth of mock exams—made Kiana involuntarily take a step back.

Are you kidding me?

You're sending her to study with Bronya, Auntie Himeko? Aren't you trying to kill her?!

Himeko Murata: "Kiana, in order to become S-rank Valkyrie as soon as possible, challenging Durandal is a trial you must complete."

Kiana: "..."

Durandal: "Is that so? Then I look forward to that day coming soon. I have some internal information about Schicksal that can help you speed up your training. I can send it to you if you need it."

Durandal was very dedicated to Kiana's training, even going so far as to violate regulations by revealing Schicksal's internal training materials.

However, St. Freya Academy was part of the Schicksal Branch, and the mistakes she made were all minor and harmless.

Bronya: "You mean the Valkyrie's training data? Sorry, Bronya stole and backed up that kind of stuff a long time ago when she hacked into the Schicksal database."

Bronya: "I vaguely remember that it all started with tutoring that idiot Kiana."

Unfortunately, even with Bronya's maximum assists, Kiana still failed the test.

Durandal: "Is it really okay for you to say this in front of me?"

And what's with the staff in charge of the Schicksal Database? It feels like anyone could just pop up and hack in.

Where are the database staff?

You guys should at least do something! Letting a little girl who's still in school infiltrate your network, don't you feel ashamed?!

Is Schicksal supporting you just to waste taxpayers' hard-earned money?!

[In the scene, Bronya pierces through the Sea of Quanta and completes the first World Bubble. Joachim is waiting outside to guide her.]

What is this book?

Bronya looked at the book in her hand, thinking that it would disappear when the World Bubble ended, but she didn't expect it to be lying in her hands now.

"Welcome back, and congratulations on unlocking the first world."

Joachim said.

"I think you already know who I am. Let me reintroduce myself. I am the First Herrscher, an avatar of Welt Yang, a fragment left behind by him, tasked with guarding this place."

Joachim spoke very calmly, but Bronya still sensed the sadness in his tone.

Bronya had naturally heard of Welt Yang, the First Herrscher and leader of Anti-Entropy.

"A year ago, Welt entered the Sea of Quanta and never returned. What happened after that?" Bronya asked.

"If you want to know the answer, then keep going." Joachim looked at Bronya. "But I find there's still confusion in your heart. That person named Cocolia is causing you great pain."

"It's okay, it won't affect anything, but I have another question."

"Do you want to ask that girl about Seele?"

Joachim guessed the other party's intentions, but unfortunately, he was unable to explain the situation clearly.

"I don't know who she is, and I can't find any trace of her. Perhaps her true form is still drifting in the Sea of Quanta, and she just happened to overlap with this labyrinth."

"She possesses a special power that allows her to traverse the Sea of Quanta. But it seems she is not yet able to freely control this power."

If Seele could control the power within her Stigmata, perhaps she wouldn't be trapped in the Sea of Quanta.

This is good news for Bronya.

"You may see her again in the future, but if you truly want to find her, you must enter the Sea of Quanta. That book is the link between you and her."

Bronya understands.

Bronya carefully held the diary in her arms, the soft blue light gently caressing her face.

Seele, Bronya will be by your side soon.

The second world was opened by Joachim, and Bronya fell into it. The scene ends here.

Bronya: "The diary, so if Bronya wants to find Seele, does she still need that item?"

Another clue about Seele has emerged, but Bronya is not very happy about it.

She thought that as long as she could enter the Sea of Quanta and bring along Sakura, a high-level combatant, she could rescue Seele, but she didn't expect that she would still need that diary as a tool.

But after thinking about it, Bronya could understand.

The Sea of Quanta is so vast; she doesn't even know where Seele is, so how could she possibly rescue her so easily?

If we rush in, we might end up finding Kevin instead of Seele.

Sakura: "That diary is the tool to find Seele, but how do we find that diary?"

Bronya: "Perhaps in the first World Bubble set up by Joachim, we still need to pass the test of the World Bubble in the end. Isn't there an easier way?"

Danzhu: "It's not impossible. I think if Bronya fully masters the 'Quantum Converter Basics, From Beginner to Advanced' that the system just gave you, she can definitely create a tool to find people in the Sea of Quanta."

Theresa: "Yeah, Bronya, you still have the Heavy Machinery Rabbit, right? It's from the Sea of Quanta and it's related to Seele. Maybe it can have the same effect as that diary."

Bronya: "Let Bronya think about it..."

It's impossible, absolutely impossible, to read through all the knowledge.

Just studying the basics of quantum transformation in that half-room would take an unknown amount of time, let alone fully understanding it and then developing new tools.

Even if Bronya studious and eager to learn, and is a hardworking and ambitious Bronya, by the time she finishes learning, it will probably be too late.