After Enoxia and Kiana handed in their papers, Theresa glanced at the questions. Her eyes immediately widened, and she looked at Enoxia with a questioning gaze.
Enoxia just winked playfully back at Theresa, her meaning clear without needing words.
Since Enoxia’s little prank wasn’t too over the top, Theresa felt she had no reason to scold her, nor did she really have the power to stop her anyway. So she just let it go. However, while monitoring the exam, she could tell from Kiana’s state that she hadn’t met the requirements. There was no doubt she wouldn’t be able to escape the make-up lessons.
Soon enough, Kiana, looking at her own score, came reluctantly over to Himeko’s side.
“Kiana, I’ve got some good news to tell you.”
Kiana’s face instantly fell into a grumpy, cat-like pout. “Oh, it’s about make-up lessons, isn’t it?”
Himeko was a bit displeased seeing her attitude. “What’s wrong? Did you maybe get first place in the exams? I’ve asked the top student in the whole class, Class Rep Fu Hua, to help tutor you.”
“Wait, the class rep? Didn’t Theresa ask you to do the tutoring yourself?”
A look of guilt immediately flashed across Himeko’s face. “Ahem, well… I’m a very busy woman, you know. And Fu Hua, even though she’s a student, has already become a Grade-A Valkyrie. She’s a role model for you kids. With such an excellent class rep helping you with your studies, what reason do you have to complain?”
The word “happy” was practically written all over Kiana’s face. “That girl is so rigid and by-the-book, she’s like a robot. Who wants tutoring from her?… Besides, if you wanted a top student to tutor me, why couldn’t it be Enoxia? Her exam scores are always just a tiny bit behind the class rep’s anyway. She’s often not even at school, yet she still manages to be second in the class every single time. Doesn’t that prove her level might actually be higher than the class rep’s?”
“Uh… well… actually, considering Enoxia gets along better with you, I did go ask her. But she said she knows how to solve the problems herself but isn’t very good at teaching others, and didn’t want to lead you astray. Oh look, Fu Hua is already here. Time to start your lesson.”
Fu Hua walked over to Kiana and greeted her very politely with a slight bow. “Kiana, I look forward to working with you.”
“Class Rep… sorry for the trouble.”
To address Kiana’s weaknesses, they went to the simulation training room. Fu Hua first had Kiana fight some lower-level Honkai beasts while she recorded various data.
“Kiana… Attack: A, Reaction: A, Intelligence: E.”
“Overall assessment: E. You rely purely on your excellent physical abilities in combat, with virtually no technique. So, for the foreseeable future, I’ll be training you properly.”
The next day. Pre-exam review class.
“Tomorrow are the exams. Everything I’m covering today is key material. I hope everyone will listen carefully…”
“Grrrrr…”
Kiana, who had slept through the entire class, was woken by the growling of her own stomach. Dazed, she turned her head and muttered instinctively, “Mei, what’s for lunch today…”
Instantly, all eyes in the classroom were on her. Raiden Mei pressed a hand to her forehead. “Class is in session right now! This pre-exam review is very important, so pay attention!”
“Oh…” Kiana patted her own cheeks, trying to force a look of attentiveness.
Seeing the little interruption over, Himeko officially began her lecture. “The ‘Honkai’ is a catastrophic disaster that accompanies the birth of civilization and continuously descends upon it. In 1953, during the First Honkai Eruption in Berlin, Germany, humanity discovered for the first time that when a high concentration of Honkai energy converges within a single person, forming a core inside them, a ‘Herrscher’ capable of distorting the laws of physics is born.”
“In 2000, the Herrscher of the Void, the Herrscher of Death, the Herrscher of Wind, and the Herrscher of the Frozen Meteor awakened one after another in Siberia and Europe, triggering a disaster that affected the entire globe…”
As Himeko explained the details of the Second Eruption, Enoxia, sitting below, recalled the related files she had seen in Schicksal’s database. Her brow gradually furrowed.
Although she had long known that Schicksal would definitely conceal the truth when explaining the Second Eruption to Valkyries who hadn’t experienced it, she truly hadn’t expected Otto to be this shameless.
According to the records in Schicksal’s archives, she and Sirin, as Herrschers, had done almost nothing during the Second Eruption. They were just bystanders, and when it was over, they simply left. Their actual efforts were glossed over entirely by Schicksal.
Schicksal, on the other hand, constantly patted itself on the back, crediting itself for at least ninety percent of the work in resolving the Second Eruption.
For instance, the Herrscher of Death, who was killed entirely by Enoxia, was described using vague language, merely stating that when Schicksal’s forces arrived, the Herrscher was already dead. How did it die? Otto knew, but he simply didn’t write it down.
As for the Herrscher of Wind, whom Enoxia and Cecilia had joined forces to kill, Schicksal’s official account completely changed it into Cecilia single-handedly killing the Herrscher of Wind.
If it were just a matter of attributing her own achievements to Cecilia, Enoxia actually wouldn’t have minded too much. But the most absurd part was the description of the battle against the Herrscher of the Frozen Meteor.
Phrases common in motivational articles, like “Schicksal, united as one” and “the Valkyries fought bravely,” were repeated constantly, giving the illusion that a Herrscher could be defeated just by throwing enough brave B-Rank Valkyries at it.
Of course, the funniest part was the mention of “the brilliant command from Schicksal HQ.”
In reality, during the Second Eruption, Schicksal’s command couldn’t be described as perfect. At best, it was an utter mess.
The situation during the Second Eruption took everyone by surprise; none of Schicksal’s pre-planned strategies were useful. Many Valkyries who survived the battle understood that, for Schicksal, the final outcome could only be called a narrow escape from defeat, a hair’s breadth away from total failure.
In comparison, the records she had viewed in the Anti-Entropy database were much more objective and fair.
Although, like Schicksal, they did engage in some self-praise, they at least clearly explained the entire sequence of events. The contributions made by her and Sirin were not erased.
The reason for this was simple: the Supreme Commander of Anti-Entropy was himself a Herrscher fighting for humanity. That wasn’t a secret. So, from their perspective, it wasn’t unreasonable to think other Herrschers might be the same.
Schicksal, on the other hand, clearly wanted to instill the values of ‘Herrschers are humanity’s enemies’ and ‘Herrschers are evil’ into the new generation of Valkyries.
[Ding-ding-ding-ding… ding-ding-ding-ding… ding…]
By the time Enoxia brought her thoughts back to the classroom, class was already over.
The subsequent exams were all conducted within the simulation system anyway. For Enoxia, not only could she directly access the standard answers, but if she encountered a question she didn’t know, she could simply modify the question itself. This truly allowed her to only be tested on what she knew, and anything she didn’t know, she could change to get right.
So, study? Study my foot.
