"Standing by and watching is the true treatment. There is a stubborn disease in this world called stupidity, which is harder to eradicate than any other illness."
"The Path of Erudition has neither reason nor logic. Geniuses stroll among the stars, while the mediocre cannot even catch up to a single footprint."
"The mediocre can only learn to walk independently, spending their ordinary lives falling and getting up."
"But even a life of failure is still a life. They have the right to taste it until the end."
"And only when they fall to the ground with no one to help them up can fools understand how to stand again."
"I have a cleanliness obsession. I can't stand fools, idiots, or morons. When I see them, I want them dead."
"Unfortunately, this space station is the same as the Genius Society. There are no Geniuses, only mediocrity everywhere."
Screwllum suddenly understood. "What you want to eradicate is the staff members' blind faith in Geniuses."
Dr. Ratio: "I merely listed my own doubts. As for the answers, they will figure them out themselves."
"Seeking answers with a mindset of negation is also a form of seeking. It can likewise help us reach the correct endpoint."
"If a group of mediocre people want to achieve enlightenment, this is a necessary process."
"Compared to a scholar, you are indeed more like a doctor," Screwllum evaluated.
Dr. Ratio: "As for the little sparks I left behind… that Miss Stelle is a warm-hearted person. I imagine the protective Mr. Leon won't stand by either."
"…Heh, what a pity. This lesson should have been left for Asta."
"Then farewell. I hope there will be opportunities to meet you Geniuses again in the future."
"I believe at that time, it will also be like today…"
"A farce, all kinds of troubles, ultimately nothing more than the mediocre disturbing themselves."
Dr. Ratio used the ability of the Phase Spirit Fire to leave, but he left the fire seed with Screwllum.
Screwllum received the flames and shook his head slightly.
In a place beyond the sight of him and Dr. Ratio, Leon stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall. He slowly opened his eyes.
The next instant, he disappeared without a sound.
The Crown of the Mediocre and the Gods
※ The Mediocre Disturb Themselves
Completed
The interlude quest completion interface popped up, followed by an achievement.
[Genius on the Left, Mediocre on the Right, Observer in the Dark.]
Seeing the name of the achievement and combining it with the final scene of the plot, Ah Xian understood in her heart.
So that was what those few cryptic behaviors earlier meant.
"So these three people all had hearts as clear as mirrors. They almost all guessed each other's thoughts. Although… it seems no one deliberately tried to hide anything."
"Leon not only didn't hide it, he directly called out Dr. Ratio for using the incident as an excuse."
"However, I didn't expect that when he threatened Dr. Ratio, there was also an implicit warning to Screwllum."
As for the reason for warning Screwllum, Dr. Ratio had already explained it earlier.
[I thought Leon had already done a lot for grandpa's safety. Who knew there would be even more.]
[So reliable, Father!]
[Otherwise, why do you think Leon is the first male character I fully eidolon'd? I didn't even pull males before.]
[+1.]
[This is our Honkai: Star Rail's greatest heavy male, and also a reliable adult man!]
[My impression of Dr. Ratio has improved a bit. Aside from his poisonous mouth and using grandpa as an excuse, the rest is fine. He saved those missing staff members.]
"This version's plot is pretty good. Both new characters have controversial points, but they're harmless. It can also be considered a form of character building."
"At the very least, it leaves a deep impression, right?"
"But what needs to be said still needs to be said. I play games for upward emotional value, not downward."
"I acknowledge the character building, but that doesn't mean I like the actions they took. After all, those actions were aimed at elbowing grandpa and using grandpa."
"Only the people in the Astral Express crew are the ones who truly think of your good and consider you in every way."
After sighing with emotion, Ah Xian glanced at the quest list and decided to first grind the new DLC of the Simulated Universe: Golden and Mechanical.
At first, no one knew why it was named that way.
It wasn't until the quests gradually advanced and new event text appeared that they understood this was a story about two generations of famous Mechanical Emperors in the Genius Society.
At the same time, there were also confrontations between Mythus and other Aeons with Nous.
Unfortunately, all those Aeons failed.
The moments anchored by Nous arrived punctually without exception and became reality.
Ah Xian didn't care much about these. What she cared about most was whether there were any events about Leon.
Good news: there were.
Bad news: there was a small knife.
The Heavenly Feather Sacred Envoy event no longer had two versions. Only Leon's remained, and there were three of them.
The rewards given were different from the Swarm Disaster, but their richness was still top-tier. Whenever you encountered them, you could liberate your brain and hands.
She directly pressed the auto button and waited for the battle to end and clear.
Setting aside the rewards, Leon's importance in this event didn't seem particularly special.
In short, he was independent of the Emperor War. It was the same with or without him.
He was simply existing in this era, faithfully walking the path he practiced.
Although Ah Xian felt a bit disappointed, she still gained something.
At the very least, she could learn that Leon's personality during the Emperor War period was consistent with his personality during the Izumo period and the Swarm Disaster period.
And at this point in time, he had already gone through reincarnation.
The exact number of times was not described in the text. It was only known that Leon's form of reincarnation was different each time.
Sometimes he was directly an adult body. Sometimes he started from infancy, with an identity that perfectly integrated into the world.
Because of this, through Leon's three events, one of his settings was revealed—
Each reincarnation, the power he controlled was different.
When strong, he could rival Emanators. When weak, he was no different from ordinary Pathstriders. But through time or certain encounters, he could retrieve or awaken the power of the Sky Haven Clan.
And this setting was related to a knife.
Regarding one of the four-star interaction voice lines—his line when dying and reviving in battle: "Children, I'm back."
In the curio given by Leon's first event, there was a very long description.
In one of his lives, he did not awaken the power of the Sky Haven Clan. Instead, as a 15-year-old young martial artist, he guarded an orphanage where the director had passed away.
Most of the remaining children in the orphanage were born with disabilities and were pitiful people abandoned by their parents. The oldest was only 9 years old.
Every time Leon went out, it was only to find resources for the children to survive and let them live better.
Every time he returned to the orphanage, his first words were always: "Children, I'm back."
Such days lasted for three years.
Just when everyone thought life would continue steadily and improve in its ordinariness, the Emperor War broke out—
The anti-organic equation of the Mechanical Emperor descended, destroying the vast majority of life on the planet.
At that time, Leon happened to be in the dormant period of awakening his power. When he woke up and felt delighted, he discovered—
The children he had protected could no longer hear his words when he returned.
The story in text description form was not enough to break Ah Xian's defenses.
But it still didn't feel good.
Many players felt the same way. Their hearts didn't feel comfortable.
—In the past, when they didn't understand the origin of this voice line, they thought it was just a meme. They didn't expect the truth to be so heavy.
Leon at that time must have felt very self-blame…
In his heart, he wanted to protect something, but his power awakened too late.