MGSFV?! Chapter 497. Even a Paramecium Could Solve It; Don't Doubt Elysia!
What does it mean for the student to surpass the master?
Perhaps this is exactly that.
After accompanying Honkai Impact 3rd for so long, the players finally came up with a theory even more outrageous than the writer imagined.
Truly touching—
Touching your head with a hammer.
miHoYo, you've truly ruined them (misty fog).
Ahem, back to business.
Since even Hokuto hadn't considered such an amusement park attraction, the players' feared "defy-the-heavens level drama" clearly wouldn't appear in the story.
Elysia only planned to bring Mei and the others to participate in a treasure hunt game.
"But there doesn't seem to be anything here..."
Kiana looked around, puzzled.
"Mm~!"
Elysia placed one hand on her hip, raised her index finger with the other, and wagged it lightly.
"Since it's a treasure hunt game, it'd be too boring if the treasure was right at the starting point, wouldn't it? But... if we really did that, I suppose it'd be quite original too."
She suddenly had a great idea.
"—Of course, if Kiana prefers straightforward games, like jumping into my arms and acting spoiled... then I might be persuaded to hand over the real treasure right away."
Elysia's voice was full of irresistible charm.
And honestly?
It really was tempting.
At least the players definitely wanted to see that.
Kiana jumping into Elysia's arms to act spoiled?
Just imagining that scene...
Mei silently watching from the side as Kiana and Elysia got all close...
Sigh~~ The "smile" on her face suddenly couldn't be hidden.
Why was that?
Who knows?
Don't ask me—ask yourselves.
Who exactly made you all like this?
The answer is likely already in each person's heart.
No need to say more.
In-game—
Kiana hurriedly shook her head after hearing Elysia's words.
"N-no, that's not what I meant..."
Mei even cleared her throat twice, a bit on edge.
"Ahem, Elysia."
The tone was full of warning.
Their reactions were... rather amusing.
Mei continued, steering the topic back on track:
"Since the treasure hunt is supposedly a hidden attraction... what exactly is the treasure we're supposed to be looking for?"
"Hehe, that's a secret~ You'll find out what they are and what makes them special once you discover them!"
Elysia giggled and walked over to a treasure chest set at the edge of the area.
Of course, the chest was just a scene prop and couldn't actually be opened.
However...
Off-screen Elysia blinked slowly.
Maybe it was because Hokuto often puts a lot of detail into his scenes?
And because she knew a bit about what happens later?
This setup made her feel like Hokuto might be subtly hinting at something.
But...
Just like the "blue curtains" trope—maybe she was overanalyzing it?
Hmm. If there's ever a developer Q&A, she might take the chance to ask what exact details Hokuto added in this chapter.
Let's bookmark that thought.
...
Back to the plot.
After saying "it's a secret," Elysia signaled Mei and the others to begin their search for the so-called "treasure."
But Mei didn't leave immediately.
She spoke with Elysia again.
"What's wrong? Need the tour guide to cheat and give some useful hints?"
Elysia touched her cheek with a finger, as if considering it.
Would she really give hints so easily?
Please.
At least get Mei to agree to be touched ten times... three times... just once on the horn?
Otherwise, wouldn't she be at a loss...?
Ahem. Fairy Miss Elysia is a dutiful tour guide, okay?
She just wants guests to fully experience this hidden attraction, the treasure hunt game.
It has nothing to do with getting "touched."
Really—absolutely nothing~~ (Fairy Miss · Serious.jpg)
So she gently declined.
"But this kind of game is more fun if you discover the treasure yourself."
And added a bit of genuine emotion:
"I believe in you, Mei. If it's you, I'm sure you'll find the true treasure."
With that, she fell silent.
Even if players tried to get the character to chat more—
Elysia would just respond with a mischievous wink.
[Fairy Miss gazes at you gently in silence.jpg]
[Fairy Miss doesn't know anything, okay~]
And with Elysia acting like this,
Both the players and Mei could only go try out this treasure hunt game she'd worked so hard to recommend.
...
Let's go! Let's go~!
The treasure hunt game officially began.
Worth mentioning—
To make the treasure hunt more fun, Hokuto had actually added some riddle-style clues.
Stuff like, "Appears at the start of humanity's will; head toward the land where the sun never sets; take what you need..."
All were "simple" riddles prepared after Hokuto gathered everyone for a meeting themed "Fun puzzles even a paramecium could solve."
Naturally, Elysia—who'd been "involved with" miHoYo for a long time—knew all about it.
"As expected of everyone's carefully crafted riddles—this is really fun."
And sure enough, they really were "solvable by a paramecium"... not too hard. Thank goodness.
Elysia silently rejoiced.
Because if it wasn't hard—she'd get a chance to shine.
And then—
"Let Detective Elysia analyze where these clues are pointing~!"
She struck a classic detective pose in the stream, analyzing each riddle and directing the character to the correct locations.
A guidebook someone left behind...
A perfectly folded amusement park ticket with no date...
A slightly torn student ID card—its cover stamped with the emblem of Senba Academy...
"Senba Academy...?"
Opening it, Mei froze.
"Why is my own student ID... showing up here?"
[Because this is just a dream.]
[Wait—this raises a major issue...]
"...Ah!"
Kiana suddenly spoke.
"If we're judging by uniqueness—maybe this is the first treasure Elysia mentioned."
[Why does Dream Elysia treat Mei's student ID as part of the treasure hunt?]
[Could it be... that this fairy tour guide—has something suspicious going on?]
The contradiction was too obvious for anyone to miss.
However—
[Don't doubt Elysia!!!]
Someone fired off a purely emotional bullet comment.
[If the Stigma Plan is using Elysia to trap Mei, then it's precisely exploiting her feelings... Elysia doesn't lie, but this might not be the real Elysia.]
A new theory quickly emerged.
[...That's not completely unreasonable. But I still believe—no matter the form—Elysia can always be trusted!!!]
[+1 +1 +1]
[Honestly, I agree with you more.]
Despite differing opinions—
The players still seemed to agree on one thing:
As long as it's the pink Fairy Miss—there's no problem.
To inspire unconditional trust—regardless of whether it's truly her—
Elysia was truly a unique character.
Still, even if the players had moments of doubt—
In the plot—
Mei...
"Looks like I had the wrong idea about what counts as 'treasure.'"
She didn't seem to find anything strange at all.
Well, of course—because this was Kiana explaining things.
On second thought—
Maybe this is also what makes the "dream" so dangerous.
Whenever you start noticing something strange—
It'll always use someone you love and trust to feed you a false answer—
To interfere with your judgment.
One trap after another.
Trying to wake from a dream... isn't so easy.
...
But—
Mei isn't "fighting" alone now.
Elysia cleverly used the treasure hunt to get Mei to rediscover her student ID.
And Elysia had probably expected what kind of reaction that would cause.
And that reaction—
Would stir up... what kind of ripple effect?
"But I never expected to find it again... I don't even remember when or where I lost it."
Mei looked at the ID in her hand.
She stared at the girl in the photo—young and smiling shyly—
Feeling a sense of detachment.
As if it weren't her at all, but some stranger from a distant world with the same face.
Suddenly—memories came flooding back.
"—Wealthy background, excellent grades, but quiet and withdrawn... always picked up and dropped off by others... anyone who wanted to befriend someone like that had to clear high hurdles."
"...And were probably driven by personal gain."
"Back then, I thought those unnatural relationships were normal. It wasn't until my family collapsed... that I realized I'd been living in a glass castle."
"I think... maybe back then, all I really needed was a true friend..."
As she said this, Mei looked toward Kiana.
Her eyes were filled with layers of meaning.
But Kiana...
"..."
After a short silence, she only replied with two words.
"Yeah."
"Hm?"
That response caught Mei off guard.
She'd thought Kiana would have a lot to say—
About their past at Senba Academy.
But Kiana just...
This isn't how Kiana would react.
The person before her...
["Kiana"]: "What's wrong, Mei?"
[Notice! "Kiana" is in brackets now.]
[So Mei's starting to realize, right?]
[Honestly, I feel like Mei should wake up right now. Kiana's behavior is already way too out of character.]
[...But if we ignore those "cut corners," this dream is kind of beautiful. Maybe Mei subconsciously doesn't want to let it go?]
[If Mei's like this—what about ordinary people caught in the Stigma Plan...]
...
In the stream:
"Maybe we could try to trust 'everyone' a bit more."
Elysia understood why the players wrote those comments.
So she paused and softly said:
"Even if there are times we want to give up... you can't deny that sometimes, people really do stand up and keep going."
"The worst and best possibilities have always existed side-by-side," Mei added.
"Because people have always been that complex."
"Yeah... even when civilization teeters in darkness, light can still be born from within.
Even with the end looming, there are still people who hope for tomorrow."
"If that's all real—then why not believe in 'everyone' a little more?"
[The power of belief.]
[Here's an imperfect analogy...
Even though Mei's journey is truly extraordinary—
From a high school girl to 'General Mei'—
In the scope of humanity, her circumstances are unmatched...
But in terms of emotional weight, she's not alone.
So if given the chance, there must be many others willing to awaken like Mei.]
[Wait a sec—Mei hasn't woken up yet. How are you assuming she will?]
[Of course she will—Mei's part of the main cast! She can't just sleep forever!]
[If this were any other story, sure.
But this is Honkai Impact 3rd.
Anyone can get the blade.]
True.
In Honkai Impact 3rd—anyone can be "cut."
Realizing that, players resumed progressing the plot.
They solved more riddles and followed the clues to their target locations.
And the guidance for these missions—
Had additional functions.
It led players to discover several charming environmental details.
For instance—
A cute little drawing of mini-Elysia.
[Mini-Elysia's drawing is adorable.]
[Why's she holding up two pinkies at us?]
[...Even as a little one, she's so cute!]
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