Chapter 176: A New Way to Use the Authority of Water
The following morning, Rovel physically recoiled the moment he laid eyes on Kiana.
Her usually vibrant, sapphire eyes—always brimming with boundless, chaotic energy—were now dull, glassy, and utterly devoid of life. The normally pristine strands of her braided twin-tails were frazzled, sticking out at odd angles like a bird's nest, and even her signature, defiant cowlick had drooped in sheer defeat.
"What on earth happened to you?" Rovel asked, his brow furrowing in genuine bewilderment. "You look like a vampire drained you dry. Your energy levels are practically in the negatives."
"Drained of... what?" Kiana mumbled, slowly tilting her head up. Her dazed, unfocused gaze met his, blinking sluggishly as if her brain was operating on a severe delay.
"Uh... never mind. What exactly did Bronya do to you?" Rovel swiftly pivoted the conversation. He had left the petite Russian hacker in full charge of Kiana's academic tutoring the previous afternoon. This zombified state was undeniably Bronya's handiwork.
"That... that demon..." Kiana shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself. "She forced me to complete an entire week's worth of coursework in a single night! And if that wasn't torturous enough, she used some kind of terrifying Schicksal device to bridge our consciousnesses! She literally invaded my dreams to lecture me on advanced calculus while I was supposed to be sleeping!"
"Now, the second I close my eyes, horrifying math formulas and physics equations start spinning around my head like a nightmare carousel... it's absolute torture." Whimpering miserably, Kiana clutched her head, shuffled over to the nearest wall, and squatted in the corner like a discarded mushroom.
"Well, it is supposed to be hellish special training for a reason," Rovel said, offering a sympathetic but practical smile. "Although you successfully passed the last exam, you still have a massive mountain of B-Rank Valkyrie general theory to catch up on. We're talking about a whole year's worth of condensed knowledge. If you don't push yourself now, you won't stand a chance at clearing the end-of-February advancement exam."
"Besides," he added, leaning against the wall beside her, "I've already struck a deal with Himeko. If you fail to pass this time around, you'll have to obediently wait all the way until the September exams to try again. And trust me, she's practically praying for your downfall so she can keep you in the remedial classes."
"Wait, you actually managed to persuade Himeko?" A faint, desperate glimmer of light finally pierced through the deadened fog in Kiana's sapphire eyes.
"I did. So, if you really want to earn your very own Valkyrie Battlesuit ahead of schedule, you have to put in the grueling work." Rovel smiled, deciding to throw her a bone. "By the way, didn't you pester me yesterday about wanting to see my Schicksal knight armor? I'll take you to the armory to see it today. Consider it a motivational reward."
He snapped his fingers with a crisp click, signaling a temporary halt to her misery and giving the exhausted girl a brief window to breathe.
"Okay..." Kiana mumbled. Slapping her cheeks with both hands to force herself to perk up, she shakily pushed herself up from the floor.
Catching sight of the heavy, bloodshot streaks webbing the whites of her eyes, Rovel paused. An idea sparked in his mind. He stepped closer and extended his right hand toward her. "Give me your hand."
"I'm not so weak that I need you to hold my hand just to walk down a hallway," Kiana muttered, shooting him a mild, defensive glare.
"That's not it. I'm going to adjust your internal state," Rovel corrected smoothly. "Did you forget? I hold the Authority of Water. I can manipulate it."
"...And then what?" Kiana tilted her head, her twin-tails swaying sluggishly.
Rovel let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Hasn't Bronya tutored you in basic biology yet? It's elementary knowledge that roughly seventy percent of the human body is composed of water. By manipulating that internal fluid, I can indirectly guide the flow of hormones and neurotransmitters in your system..."
He effortlessly launched into an impromptu, highly detailed biology lecture right there in the corridor.
Meanwhile, Kiana's already overburdened brain completely short-circuited. Her heavy eyelids immediately began a losing battle against gravity, fluttering as she swayed on her feet.
"Forget it. I'll just demonstrate the practical effects directly," Rovel said, cutting his lecture short. He stepped into her personal space and firmly placed his palm against her shoulder. "Do not resist this energy flow. If you fight it, I can't guarantee it won't cause dangerous internal damage."
Rovel closed his eyes, drawing a slow, measured breath as he amplified his sensory perception. This was highly delicate work. It was his very first time attempting to micromanage the complex water composition inside a living human body.
Reaching out with his Authority, he carefully isolated the cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the choroid plexus within Kiana's brain. With surgical precision, he slowed the frantic supply of residual adrenaline and actively flushed out the accumulated cortisol. Once the stress markers dropped, he directionally enriched the localized fluid circulation, stimulating the release of serotonin and dopamine to establish a gentle, deeply pleasant baseline of comfort.
Kiana gasped softly. She instantly felt the crushing, suffocating mental pressure of Bronya's hellish tutoring evaporate. Her previously agitated, frayed emotions smoothed out into a tranquil lake. However, the immediate drawback of this sudden relaxation was a heavy, overwhelming wave of drowsiness.
Anticipating this, Rovel swiftly adjusted his control, directly blocking the diffusion of melatonin through her bloodstream. Like a switch being flipped, Kiana felt the fog in her brain clear up with crystal-sharp clarity. Her exhausted spirit surged, rapidly returning to its absolute peak state.
Finally, he guided the flow of her interstitial muscle fluids, accelerating her lymphatic drainage to efficiently flush out the built-up metabolic waste and fatigue-inducing lactic acid from her aching limbs.
"Whoa... this is amazing... I feel so incredibly comfortable!" Kiana stretched her arms high above her head, marveling as her entire body felt feather-light. Every ounce of soreness and exhaustion had vanished, leaving her in prime physical and mental condition.
"It seems the theory holds up in practice," Rovel murmured, removing his hand from her shoulder. He let out a long, quiet sigh of relief, secretly glad he hadn't accidentally given the Kaslana girl an aneurysm.
"Hey! Did you seriously just use this lady as a live guinea pig?!" Kiana planted her hands on her hips, glaring at him with a huffy, puffed-out pout. But a second later, her eyes sparkled with mischievous realization. "Wait a minute... if I had this ability of yours, I could artificially maintain the perfect mental state for studying twenty-four-seven, right? I'd never have to sleep!"
"It is genuinely terrifying to hear the words 'perfect mental state for studying' actually coming out of your mouth," Rovel couldn't help but retort, his lips twitching in dry amusement.
"Shut up!" Kiana snapped, her face flushing red as she angrily delivered a swift, albeit painless, kick to Rovel's shin.
"But don't even think about relying on this," Rovel warned, his tone shifting to something far more serious. "Although I have the precision to maintain this biological adjustment, your body would inevitably develop a severe chemical dependency. If your natural hormone production gets completely compromised, fixing the ensuing metabolic crash would be a catastrophic nightmare."
He ruthlessly crushed Kiana's newfound academic fantasy. using the Authority of Water as a makeshift stamina potion once or twice in an emergency was perfectly fine. But if abused continuously, her biological systems would undoubtedly collapse.
"Heehee, well, thanks anyway!" Kiana grinned brightly, rubbing her nose with her index finger in her signature confident gesture. Her usual boundless energy fully restored, she eagerly trotted after Rovel as they made their way toward the docked Hyperion.
"Ai-chan, I'm bringing Kiana aboard to see my armor. Which sector is it currently being kept in?" Rovel asked, tapping his internal comms.
"Welcome back, Captain Rovel! The armor is currently secured in the Hyperion's primary armory," the cabbage-headed AI responded cheerfully through the ship's speakers.
"Thank you, Ai-chan," Rovel replied, leading the way down the gleaming, metallic corridors of the massive flying battleship.
It didn't take long for the pair to arrive at the heavy, reinforced blast doors of the armory. After passing through a rigorous series of biometric scans and security verifications, the thick steel doors hissed open, granting them access to the interior.
The sprawling chamber was a proof of Schicksal's overwhelming military might. Rows upon rows of advanced armaments were sealed within climate-controlled, specialized containment units. Massive anti-Honkai missile payloads sat securely in their launch cradles, flanked by racks of high-tech plasma rifles, heavy artillery cannons, and experimental energy blades.
But the true centerpieces of the room were located at the very back of the armory. Elevated on a raised platform, two distinct suits of advanced combat armor were proudly displayed beneath reinforced, transparent stasis glass.
Kiana was instantly magnetized by the sheer mechanical beauty of the displays. Sprinting over, she practically plastered her face against the cold glass, her eyes wide as saucers as she let out a long, breathless sound of pure admiration.
"Wooooow~! That is so incredibly cool!!!"
Kiana stared unblinkingly at the imposing, dark-crimson plating of the Godslayer Armor: Hell Knight - Moon Ember. The sleek, aggressive contours and the sheer, latent power radiating from the dormant suit filled her heart with an overwhelming sense of envy.
"That one belongs to me," Rovel stated, walking up to stand beside her. "Its official designation is the Godslayer Armor: Hell Knight - Moon Ember. It's a specialized, high-firepower suppression combat suit designed for absolute battlefield dominance."
"Even the name sounds ridiculously cool!" Kiana swallowed hard, her reflection mirrored in the glass. A burning question echoed in her mind: Would she ever be strong enough to earn a Battlesuit this magnificent in the future?
Tearing her gaze away, she turned to inspect the second display case. "Then what about this one? It couldn't possibly be Himeko's, could it? I've never seen her wear anything like this on a mission, and honestly... the proportions look a bit too small for her."
"That particular suit belongs to Headmaster Theresa," Ai-chan's voice chimed in helpfully from a nearby terminal, projecting a holographic schematic of the armor. "Its official designation is Blood Knight: Moonlight."
"Both of these magnificent units are Fourth-Generation Godslayer Armors. They represent the absolute pinnacle of Schicksal's most advanced combat technology!" Ai-chan's synthesized voice swelled with obvious mechanical pride.
"Will my future Valkyrie Battlesuit be exactly like this too?!" Kiana asked impatiently, practically vibrating with excitement.
"Of course..." Ai-chan intentionally dragged out the syllable, letting the suspense build before ruthlessly dropping the hammer. "...not!"
Kiana's brightly expectant little face instantly slumped, her metaphorical puppy ears drooping in utter devastation.
"What on earth is dummy Kiana thinking?" Ai-chan shot her down mercilessly, a smug emoji flashing across the terminal screen. "These are Fourth-Generation Godslayer Armors. The physical and Honkai energy toll they demand is immense. Only individuals possessing genuine S-Rank combat power have the capacity to master them without dying!"
"Even if you miraculously manage to be promoted to a B-Rank Valkyrie this year, the absolute highest tier of equipment you could apply for is a standard Third-Generation Valkyrie Battlesuit. The gap in power output and technological complexity between the third and fourth generations is on a completely different, impossible level."
"Ah..." A deep look of disappointment washed over Kiana's features. She kicked at the floorboards, pouting. But as she processed the AI's words, her brain suddenly caught onto a massive, glaring blind spot in the logic.
She whipped her head around, her eyes widening in shock. "Wait a second! Are you seriously telling me that Aunt Theresa and Rovel both possess S-Rank combat power?!"
"As for Captain Rovel... I lack sufficient combat data to confirm," Ai-chan admitted, a loading icon briefly spinning on her screen. "His physical body hasn't fully recovered from his recent synchronization trauma, so he hasn't been able to officially field-test the Moon Ember yet. However, Headmaster Theresa used to be a bona fide, officially recognized S-Rank Valkyrie."
Ai-chan delivered the casual statement with such nonchalance that it practically made Kiana's brain tremble in its skull.
She had always known her pint-sized aunt was a capable fighter, but she had never, in her wildest dreams, imagined that the lazy, manga-reading, bitter-melon-drinking Theresa was actually that terrifyingly strong.
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