Mo Wang and Kiana played games until the middle of the night.
The floor was littered with empty snack bags and drink bottles.
If someone were to walk in right now, they'd probably cry out, "Holy crap, it's a garbage dump!"
"Why?! Why did I die again! 凸(艹皿艹) F*** YOU!"
On the game screen, the character Kiana was controlling had its head lopped off by Mo Wang's character in a single strike.
The word "TRASH" was plastered across the screen, a blatant taunt directed at Kiana.
"Sigh, life is truly as lonely as the snow."
"Like I always say, when it comes to gaming, leave it to Bronya!"
Mo Wang contentedly placed his controller to the side. As expected, the experience of stomping on noobs was something you had to try to understand. No wonder so many pro players loved to smurf in lower-ranked lobbies. It was just too much fun.
"Hmph! I'm not playing anymore!"
Kiana, in a fit of pique, threw her controller down, grabbed a cushion from the sofa, and flopped onto it. Her long, pale leg couldn't resist giving Mo Wang a kick.
"Oh? We're only halfway through, and you're already giving up? That's not like you." Mo Wang glanced at Kiana on the sofa behind him and saw her pouting, refusing to even look at him.
For Mo Wang, who had studied the habits of a certain white-haired Tuna dozens of times, he could tell at a glance that something was on the girl's mind.
Whenever she was in a bad mood, she'd just lie face down on a bed or sofa like this, completely withdrawn.
"Heh, don't tell me you played yourself into a depressive state. I've seen you get rekt by Bronya way worse than this, and I've never seen you get this down before," Mo Wang said, finding the situation a little amusing.
In response, Kiana's long leg kicked him even more vigorously.
"Wh-who's depressed?! I'm not that kind of person!" Kiana turned her head to glare at Mo Wang, only to immediately flop back down again.
"I just... don't feel good, that's all."
"Oh, is that so."
The moment Kiana said that, Mo Wang understood.
It wasn't that she was depressed from losing at the game.
It was because after getting beaten by him during the day, she realized that not only could she not beat him at video games, she couldn't even beat him in a real fight.
She suddenly couldn't accept that she was so useless, which led to her current state of self-isolation.
Don't be fooled. Among the Honkai trio, Kiana might seem like the most cheerful and mentally resilient one.
But in reality, any seasoned fighter knows that the most cheerful one in a trio is usually the one most likely to have a villain arc.
People like Naruto, or Eren, they all followed this pattern.
And sure enough, Kiana's face fell as she asked Mo Wang, "Mo Wang, do you think I'm useless?"
"Why would you ask that?"
Having diagnosed Kiana's symptoms, Psychological Counselor, Life Coach, and Master of Logic, Mo Wang, immediately came online.
"Look, I've been at St. Freya for a year already, but in all that time, I haven't made any real progress."
"I said I wanted to become an A-rank Valkyrie, but I've barely been on any missions. And I'm even worse at fighting. The last time I fought the class monitor, I couldn't even touch her. And don't even get me started on Mei and Bronya. They're at the top of our year, but I'm still just treading water, not improving at all."
As Kiana recounted her recent failings, she realized that she seemed to be drifting further and further away from her original goal.
"Yo, you actually have some self-awareness?" Mo Wang looked at Kiana with surprise.
When did this lazy Tuna learn to self-reflect?
"You're right, though. You sleep through class during the day, play games in your dorm at night, and sneak over to my place or Theresa's to steal manga and snacks. You eat a lot and move very little. Calling you a salted fish isn't an exaggeration at all."
Kiana, listening to Mo Wang's words, was practically fuming.
Shouldn't he be comforting her right now? Why was he making things worse?
"Oh, and another thing. You say you want to be an A-rank Valkyrie, but you probably haven't even bothered to look up the requirements, have you? On the last mission, you completely ignored Himeko's orders, ended up provoking a horde of Honkai Beasts, and destroyed the trial battlesuit you were using. The Principal was furious, wasn't she?"
"I'll... I'll bite you to death!"
Kiana couldn't take it anymore. She pounced on Mo Wang like a big white cat, claws extended, ready to scratch him.
"Alright, alright, stop it. I was just telling the truth," Mo Wang said, pushing the wriggling Kiana away. He then added, "But I don't think you need to compare yourself to others. It's completely meaningless."
Hearing his words, Kiana's hands suddenly stopped.
"Seriously, if you keep comparing yourself to others, you'll find there's always something you can't measure up to."
"Does comparing your grades with Mei's and Bronya's mean anything to you? One of them is a tech specialist, and the other relies on overwhelming firepower. They're on completely different paths from you, who relies on intuition and reflexes."
"Instead of learning all that theory from school, you'd be better off learning a few more moves from the immortal Fu Hua."
"If you're always comparing yourself to others, you'll just fall into an endless cycle of mental anguish, my friend."
"Instead of overthinking things, you'd be better off being a slacker like me and playing some games."
Mo Wang spoke to Kiana with genuine sincerity.
"Is... is that so?" Kiana scratched her head, feeling like Mo Wang might have a point.
"Then... why didn't you tell me when I'd be able to beat the class monitor?" Kiana asked again, confused.
"Well, about that... I think you'll need a few more years before you can beat Fu Hua. Don't be in such a rush, okay~"
Mo Wang awkwardly turned his head away.
Beating the immortal Fu Hua? That was still a long way off for Kiana.
After all, even with amnesia, Fu Hua still possessed the strength of an S-rank Valkyrie.
With Kiana's current abilities, she'd probably only be able to win if the Herrscher took over.
And his estimate of "a few years" was a conservative one, based on the assumption that she would eventually become the Herrscher of Finality.
"Ahem! Don't be in such a hurry to get stronger. Everyone gets there one step at a time. I guarantee you, when your class monitor was your age, she was definitely not as strong as you are now!"
Mo Wang patted his chest confidently.
"I feel like you're just placating me," Kiana muttered, dissatisfied. "Then how did you get so strong all of a sudden?"
"Hey, what are you talking about?! I got strong all by myself, okay?" Mo Wang said to Kiana without a shred of shame.
"And besides, so what if you got yelled at after a mission? Don't worry, the Hyperion is my turf now!"
"From now on, if you want to go on a mission, just tell me!"
"Even if you want to go one-on-one with a Herrscher, I'll send you there, how about that?"
"From now on, just listen to my arrangements."
As Mo Wang spoke, he turned to look at Kiana, only to find she had fallen asleep at some point.
Watching Kiana lying on the sofa, drooling slightly and snoring softly, Mo Wang quietly stood up.
"Don't catch a cold, you idiot white-haired Tuna."
Mo Wang took a blanket from a nearby cabinet and draped it over Kiana. He then silently returned to his desk and began to deal with the remaining paperwork.
Just then, a message suddenly appeared on his computer screen.
[ALERT NOTIFICATION — Large Honkai beast horde detected near Sapphire City. Far East Branch, deploy immediately.]
Seeing this message, Mo Wang's eyes narrowed slightly.