MGSFV?! Chapter 489 "The Return of Natasha: 90 SP, No More, No Less"
Respected Miss Natasha, is the game you're designing called…
Hokuto felt like the words were on the tip of his tongue. But for various reasons, he didn't say that particular name out loud. Instead, he replied rather kindly, "I think it sounds pretty good. It has potential. But if you don't mind, I'd like to suggest a few revisions."
"You're the boss—of course I'll listen to your input," Raven answered straightforwardly.
Come to think of it... had Raven grown so comfortable at miHoYo she didn't want to leave? Originally, she'd said she was only staying a little while—for Seele's sake, right? But now... yeah, just as Hokuto expected—she'd completely forgotten about that.
Once you enter miHoYo, you're mine. No one gets away (lol).
"Well then... let me point out a few things…"
Hokuto flipped through the manuscript Raven had just handed him, paying particular attention to the prominently placed character design for "Natasha."
"Natasha, 90 SP..."
These didn't seem like problems on their own.
"But—basic attacks instantly recover full energy? Isn't that a bit overtuned?"
"We can tone the values down a bit..." Raven clearly had considered this. "What matters most is: fast energy regen!"
Hokuto: "..."
He thought he could more or less understand her intentions, so he followed Raven's logic and continued: "Lowering the stats is a good call, but think about it—if you use your ultimate frequently, but the values are low... it might avoid the old '100 SP' meme, but it could lead to a new nickname: 'scratch damage queen.'"
And even though the two weren't directly related, Hokuto couldn't help but recall... in his previous life, Raven's CV had reincarnated into a different world, where she actually earned that nickname. Was this... fate's thread at work? What a coincidence.
"I can already imagine what people will say..."
Hokuto cleared his throat and mimicked vividly: "'Miss Raven, stop scratching already!'"
Raven: "..."
Gotta admit—Hokuto's wording did hit a nerve. She was speechless for a moment. Until—
"Actually... looking at it differently—why must Natasha be a DPS character?" Hokuto suggested. "If we make her a support or healer, wouldn't that eliminate the issue?"
"But... don't healer characters also suffer from being too we—"
Raven was genuinely thinking it over now. Not bad—she could already predict what netizens might say.
"Ehh~~"
Hokuto raised his hand and waved, putting on an ultra-serious tone: "That's something we can totally solve with modeling. Players will just say: 'Yeah, her numbers suck—but damn she's hot!'"
"...?"
Raven blinked a question mark, then quickly fell into deep thought.
"Feels like you really get players, Hokuto~~"
Elysia, who had unknowingly crept close, finally spoke up—making both Hokuto and Raven aware of her presence.
"Elysia..." Hokuto blinked. "You're here early."
"Isn't early better?" "Well, nothing wrong with it."
He placed Raven's manuscript back on his desk and looked again at her. "We'll discuss this in more detail another time. For now..."
"Got it, got it. I'll head back and tweak it some more." "Great. Your enthusiasm is exactly what we need." "Well... seeing how interested you were in my proposal suddenly made me feel a lot more confident," Raven admitted.
Times had changed. As the key figure who resurrected the miHoYo studio, his approval was a huge morale boost.
"Ah... hahaha."
Hokuto chuckled lightly at her words: "Then I hope it all goes well, and you can finally make enough to buy that island villa back~?"
"... Could you not bring up the island villa again?!"
Raven rolled her eyes, then turned and walked straight out.
"Ah, Natasha still cares so much about that..." Elysia watched her go. "But when she stomps her feet like that... it's kind of cute..."
"Elysia, that's another weird metaphor."
Hokuto tidied his desk, then motioned to her. "Alright, come with me to the recording booth."
"Okay~"
...
The two left the office and walked toward the recording studio. Along the way, Hokuto took advantage of the downtime to ask something.
"By the way, do you have any new ideas for Mei's new battlesuit?"
"I do, actually~! I asked Eden recently and got a bunch of inspiration. I'll show you the revised designs in a few days?"
"Oh? Really?" Hokuto sounded a bit curious. "What did you change this time?"
"First, the hairstyle..."
Elysia didn't hold back at all. But Hokuto cut her off just a few words in: "You gave Mei a new hairstyle again? That makes... 37 times now."
"Hear me out—this time, I specifically reviewed very old plot lines. It's the hairstyle she wore when practicing swordsmanship as a child... a symbol of returning to her roots, huh?"
Hokuto pondered. That was a nice concept. Though, after considering it, he couldn't help but tease: "Sounds a lot better than your earlier idea to add glittering floral accessories to her head—'because cute girls deserve the cutest looks.'"
Honestly, since Elysia wasn't a trained designer, her ideas were often not very practical.
"Ehh~~ why bring that up again? Didn't you say I should brainstorm freely, since you'd filter the ideas?"
"You don't get it. It's like eating hotpot without the base broth. Teasing makes things interesting. Without it, things lose flavor."
"?" "Wait for me!"
Elysia finally caught on and chased after him.
...
The two entered the recording room. Hokuto, who stepped in first, saw that several people were already inside waiting: Kiana, Mei, and Bronya.
"I ran into Elysia earlier and figured you'd be heading here—so I brought Mei and Bronya along," Kiana explained.
"I see." Hokuto nodded, then smiled. "Kiana, you're really becoming dependable."
"Heh, obviously! 'Judge not a Valkyrie by three days past!'" Kiana declared, hands on hips.
"Pfft~~ Kiana's totally right." Elysia arrived just in time to hear that. She looked toward Hokuto.
Hokuto didn't change his expression. "Alright, let's begin."
"Wait, I have something to say firs—" Elysia raised her hand.
"I know." Cut-off! Hokuto put on an "I totally understand" face. "To get things perfect, voice acting needs the right mood, right?"
Elysia: "Huh?"
Hokuto walked to the corner of the room where a small cardboard box sat. He opened it—and pulled out a brand-new, pink megaphone.
Everyone: Megaphone?????
"Ta-da, I got it ready just for you."
"... Hokuto, this..."
Elysia was clearly distracted. Hokuto thought she was just surprised. "To help everyone get into character, preparing small props is part of my job. No need to thank me."
Kiana & Mei: "..." "I don't think anyone's actually planning to—" Bronya was about to say.
"Will this megaphone be sold as merch?" Elysia finally spoke up.
"? No? Uh... why are you suddenly asking that?"
"Well, if it is going on sale, I was planning to buy a few~ One for collection, one for display, one for..."
Hokuto thought it over seriously. "If you want something like that, just custom-order one yourself. Or ask Vill-V to help. Seems pretty simple. In fact, Vill-V's version might even have more functions to suit your... peculiar needs."
If Elysia actually asked Vill-V to make one, she'd definitely add fireworks or something.
Elysia shook her head. "If Vill-V makes it, it's just a megaphone. But if miHoYo makes it, it can proudly carry the name: 'Elysian Horn · Voice Supreme.' There's a big difference. You understand, right?"
"I think... I do." Hokuto got the gist. "It's about the brand—official Honkai Impact 3rd merchandise."
"Exactly."
"In that case, wouldn't it be even better if I had you sign a few? 'Miss Pink Elf's official horn, signed.'"
"?"
Elysia didn't follow his train of thought. Instead, she said: "I suspect you're trying to kill me. Do you know how many players Honkai Impact 3rd has?"
With that many, even 1 in 10,000 buying a signed version... signing them all would be exhausting.
...
"Well..."
After hearing Elysia's question, Hokuto reported an extremely specific number—accurate down to the last digit. It stunned everyone.
"Did you just make that up? Wait, no—you're miHoYo's boss. Honkai's current player base is way larger than I imagined."
Elysia paused, then added sincerely: "No wonder Abyss keeps getting harder to clear. If you're trying, and I'm trying, and everyone's trying—doesn't that mean no one is trying? Trust me, slacking off is the real meta."
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