Spring, 2016
Enoxia returned to St. Freya from World Serpent headquarters. No sooner had she stepped through the school gates than she spotted Kiana sneaking around like a cat, attempting to climb the wall to skip class.
But before the two could meet, Kiana ran headlong into a fully prepared Theresa.
“Kiana, class is about to start. Just where do you think you’re going?”
Seeing Theresa’s stern, slightly angry expression, Kiana immediately felt guilty.
“The… Theresa, I was just on my way to class too!”
Theresa grew even angrier.
“At school, don’t call me by my name directly, and don’t call me ‘Auntie’ either. You should address me respectfully as ‘Headmistress,’ understand?!”
“Understood, The… um, I mean, Headmistress.”
Theresa’s expression softened slightly.
“Right. According to the medical team, Bronya has almost fully recovered from the injuries she sustained in Canghai City. Remember to visit her when you have time and help her with the discharge procedures. Otherwise, she won’t be able to take the exam the day after tomorrow.”
Mention of the exam immediately made Kiana furrow her brow and clench her fists.
“Ah! That damned Valkyrie exam…”
“Don’t worry. I’ve already arranged for Himeko to give you a last-minute crash course.”
Kiana’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“A crash course… tutoring?! What nonsense! A genius like me needs tutoring?”
“Stop being stubborn. You were mostly out on missions last semester during the key lectures. After you came back, you didn’t bother catching up on the knowledge you missed. Add to that the fine tradition of ‘being a blockhead’ so splendidly carried on by the Kaslana family in you… if no one tutors you before the exam, you’ll probably fail again.”
Kiana clearly didn’t appreciate Theresa’s lecture. Her eyes darted about, her gaze avoiding Theresa. That’s when she spotted Enoxia, who had just entered the school grounds.
“Headmistress, last semester, Enoxia was nowhere to be seen. She was gone even longer than I was. Doesn’t she need tutoring too?”
Enoxia was taken aback. She hadn’t expected trouble to find her just walking into school.
Since she’d been brought into it, she couldn’t pretend not to hear. Enoxia walked over quickly.
“Kiana, have you considered the possibility that the Headmistress is worried you’ll fail, hence the tutoring? It has little to do with actual class attendance time…”
“But…”
Seeing Enoxia respond, Kiana grabbed at this lifeline, hoping to use her to escape the tutoring.
Theresa sighed lightly and looked at Enoxia.
“Alright then, Kiana. I’ll have the system generate a test for both of you based on the database content. It’ll be a placement test. As long as you score above 70, no tutoring is needed. How about that?”
“No problem for me.”
Enoxia agreed promptly, a slight smile playing on her lips. She began connecting with her avatar within St. Freya’s network, planning to stir up some fun.
Seeing Enoxia agree to take the test with her, Kiana couldn’t say much else. She could only obediently join Enoxia in an empty classroom during their free period.
Soon, both received the new test on their phones. Enoxia just glanced at the questions, then covered her mouth, trying hard not to laugh out loud.
“What’s wrong, Eno?”
Noticing her odd behavior, Kiana asked with concern.
“Nothing. Just suddenly thought of something very funny. Kiana, focus on the questions. Do well, and no tutoring.”
Feeling puzzled, Kiana began reviewing the questions. The first major section was multiple-choice with four options each.
-
What vegetable is Ai-chan?
[A: Bitter Melon B: Cabbage C: Spinach D: Celery] -
In the Disturbance 404 Crimson Abyss, when encountering the Herrscher of Dominance, the correct action is:
[A: Abandon the fight, close the game, go to the game company headquarters and kidnap the planners.]
[B: Put down your weapons, sit to the side cheering, and collude with the Honkai forces.]
[C: Abandon the fight, go to Yae Village to race cars and relax.]
[D: Go to a guide website to check recommended team compositions.] -
The world’s most adorable person is:
[A: Theresa B: Otto C: Lewis D: Ganesha] -
Fu Hua’s name in Bronya’s dream is:
[A: The Phoenix (Chiyou Immortal) B: The Flawless One (Wu Xia Zhi Ren – typo likely) C: The Flawless One (Wu Xia Zhi Ren – correct?) D: Shenzhou Boy] -
The QTE line for the character [Cherry Bomb] is:
[A: Wings of Light, Unfold! B: Taste the pulse from the stars! C: I shall reverse all creation! D: Super Headbutt!] -
After the Battlesuit Doll “Vermilion Bird: Wings of Phoenix” uses her ultimate skill, what happens?
[A: Restores a certain amount of HP to the current character.]
[B: Launches a scenery attack on everyone.]
[C: Charges forward and self-destructs with the Honkai Beast!]
[D: Gets her salary docked by the Headmistress.]
…………
“What… what kind of questions are these?”
Having hardly attended any lectures, Kiana just found the multiple-choice questions very difficult while doing them, completely failing to notice anything unusual about them.
“Ugh, whatever. For multiple-choice, gotta use the mnemonic rhymes.”
“Three short, one long, pick the longest. Three long, one short, pick the shortest. Two long, two short, toss a coin. If they’re about the same length, pick C.”
“ABCCB, C… Done!”
Relying on this problem-solving logic, Kiana finished the single-choice section even faster than Enoxia, who had essentially set the paper.
After single-choice came, naturally, multiple-choice questions (select all that apply).
-
Among the following characters, who is associated with the mysterious inequality > ?
[A: Fu Hua B: Luna Kindred C: Griseo D: Ai Hyperionλ] -
Among the following characters, who is associated with the mysterious inequality 100 > 175?
[A: Raiden Mei B: Li Sushang C: Aponia D: Seele] -
Suppose your good friend Natasha tells you the small island she bought with decades of savings has sunk. What you should do is:
[A: Provide support within your means to help her through this hardship.]
[B: Encourage her to keep trying; there will be other opportunities.]
[C: Watch her roll around on the ground in distress, film it, upload it online for more people to see.]
[D: Perform a skit in front of her: “Feather arrows whirring back bang bang bang! Argh! Dammit! Argh! Dammit! Argh! Dammit!”]
