The baseball bat in Mo Wang's hand, now enhanced with Reinforcement Magecraft and imbued with the power of the Stellaron, was wrapped in a formidable, razor-sharp energy.
Looking at it now, you couldn't tell it was the same baseball bat from before.
Some might tell you that an insurmountable wall exists between fighting bare-handed and fighting with a weapon.
Similarly, an insurmountable wall exists between melee and ranged weapons.
But Mo Wang would tell you: Rules are made to be broken!
"Hah! Tuna, taste old Mo's bat!"
Mo Wang leaped high into the air, bringing the baseball bat crashing down on Kiana from above.
Faced with the descending bat, Kiana's brain—which was basically wired for combat and little else—finally reacted in 0.01 seconds.
BOOM!
As the baseball bat struck the ground, Mo Wang successfully added another hefty expense to Lady Theresa's bill for the year.
The surrounding Valkyries stared, jaws agape, at the training ground.
A few were so startled they'd already face-planted, getting a mouthful of dirt.
"Mo Wang! You bastard, are you trying to kill me?!"
Kiana stared at the shallow crater, nearly three meters in diameter, almost scared to death.
"Relax, you dodged it, didn't you?" Mo Wang climbed out of the pit, a smug, triumphant look on his face as he looked at Kiana. "Besides, how could an attack of this level possibly hurt you? Don't be ridiculous."
Mo Wang knew just how ridiculously durable these Valkyries were.
The attack might have looked flashy, but in reality, if it had hit Kiana, it would have been equivalent to getting punched by a large Honkai Beast, at most.
"Is that what I meant?! And even if it wouldn't kill me, it would still hurt like hell!" Kiana wished she could just strangle this jerk.
"Heh, have you forgotten how much your punches hurt? This is just me returning the favor! So you can understand just how much pain I'm in!"
"No way! What is that thing in your hand?! How can a baseball bat have that kind of power?! Let me see it! Did you stuff something weird inside it?"
"This baseball bat is the real deal, I assure you. If you're bad, just train more. The past is the past, now is now!"
"Who are you calling bad?!"
"You, duh."
"That's it, I'm going all out against you today!"
And so, the battle between Mo Wang and Kiana resumed.
This time, however, it took less than ten minutes for Kiana to be—pinned to the ground by Mo Wang.
Mo Wang sat on top of Kiana, a look of pure bliss on his face.
A whole year. He had finally won!
Thinking back on a year of constant struggle against Kiana, and to finally have a decisive outcome... Mo Wang couldn't help but feel his eyes well up.
The tears... they just wouldn't stop flowing.
[The Slacker King of a Certain Hyperion]: Bros, I won! I finally won!
[A Certain Blond from Teyvat]: What's this? You finally made it?
[The Trash-can King on a Certain Train]:Sigh. Stats. Sigh. Hax.
[The Owner of a Certain Video Store]: How is it hax if you don't get banned? Using your own power isn't hax!
[The Slacker King of a Certain Hyperion]: Exactly, exactly! I'm so awesome I could burst. Gonna strike a pose for a sec. And I'll send a pic to commemorate this.
[The Slacker King of a Certain Hyperion]:new_cushion_is_pretty_comfy.jpg
"Mo Wang... actually won?"
Bronya's small mouth was slightly agape, clearly finding it unbelievable that Mo Wang had beaten Kiana in a head-on fight.
Just a short while ago, Mo Wang was no match for Kiana at all.
"It's likely because Mo Wang's physical stats and energy manipulation are now significantly superior to Kiana's. While his technique is still far inferior, these other factors more than make up for it."
Fu Hua, who had watched the entire fight, offered her conclusion.
After all, a certain Quincy King had already proven that stats are the one true path to victory.
When your stats reach a certain threshold, they become a game mechanic in and of themselves.
Before, it was always Kiana who had the stat advantage over him. Now, it was finally his turn to play with a maxed-out character.
"Tuna, do you submit?!" Mo Wang said, giving Kiana's shapely rear a firm smack.
"Never!" Kiana yelped in pain, still shouting defiantly, wanting to keep fighting.
But under Mo Wang's weight, she couldn't move an inch.
"Tch!" Mo Wang looked down at Kiana with disdain.
"You lost the bet, so you have to accept it. Lighten up. It's just being my servant. It's not like I'm going to eat you, little maid."
Mo Wang cackled maniacally, sounding like he had just devoured a dozen elders from the Hall of Souls.
"Grr! I'll bite you to death!"
Kiana lunged forward and sank her teeth into Mo Wang's hand, as if trying to do just that.
"Let go! You Tuna, are you part dog or something?!"
"So what if I am?! I'll bite you to death, you bastard!" (Fun fact: If you calculate by K-423's age, Kiana was actually born in the Year of the Dog.)
"That's enough! Mei, Bronya, go and pull those two apart!"
Watching this scene unfold, Himeko and Theresa, who had been observing from the side, could barely stand to look anymore.
An active-duty Valkyrie and the new captain of the Hyperion.
And they were currently rolling around on the ground like two children. What was this?
At the same time, Theresa glanced at the crater in the training field, a wave of sorrow washing over her.
Great.
St. Freya, which was already strapped for cash, was now in an even worse state because of this hole.
"Alright, Mo Wang, go get changed. It's time to take you to the Hyperion and get you familiar with your new duties," Himeko said to Mo Wang, who had stood up and was being pulled away by Mei.
"Yes, Ms. Himeko!"
Hearing that he could finally go to the Hyperion, Mo Wang's eyes lit up with excitement.
Hot damn, he'd been here for over a year and was finally getting to go aboard the Hyperion!
Without needing another word from Himeko, Mo Wang bolted off to change.
"Principal, what do you make of Mo Wang?"
After Mo Wang left, Himeko turned to Theresa and asked.
"What do I make of him? I look at him with my eyes, of course," Theresa replied nonchalantly, taking a sip of her bitter melon juice.
"What I mean is, his sudden increase in strength. Principal, what are your thoughts on that?" Although Himeko was used to Theresa's antics, now really wasn't the time for cutesy act.
"What about it? Maybe his adaptability suddenly spiked? Or some other reason. Haven't plenty of Valkyries suddenly gotten stronger before?" Theresa said with a shrug.
"But the Valkyries who got stronger were all related to those experiments," Himeko said, her tone tinged with anger.
"And I suspect... this might have something to do with him."
Himeko's words were pointed.
After all, Mo Wang had just been promoted to captain, and immediately afterward, he displayed a level of strength completely different from his usual self.
The timing was far too coincidental.
"It's alright, Himeko," Theresa said with a wave of her hand. "Even if it is, he's still a student of our St. Freya. It will be fine."
Back in the changing room, Mo Wang had no idea what Theresa and Himeko were discussing.
But even if he had known, it wouldn't have mattered.
After all, revealing a portion of his strength was part of his plan.
To have lived peacefully at a place like St. Freya for a whole year without losing any limbs...
He, Mo Wang, wasn't truly just a slacker