Author Notes:
I am two hours late because I was having an OCD fit... Yeah, that tracks with my records, lol.
It's past 2:00 AM on my end, so I won't be holding you guys up any longer. Enjoy this GSS chapter and the accompanying picture.
Peace!
https://www.patre-on.com/Heartbreak117
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Hua: https://postimg.cc/qgRjWXJz
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"We really need to stop meeting like this..." I say as I block a punch coming from the girl in front of me. Behind me, her compatriots lay on the cavernous floor in a battered state after coming across me in a fisticuff. "Can't a girl explore this living dungeon in peace?"
"You're a threat..." Says the girl, tired, but unbroken in will.
I sigh softly before flipping her onto her back in an over-the-shoulder throw. "Funny how you say that when you're the one to ambush me multiple times like B-movie villains. At least give me a chance to talk to you girls first, you know?"
"Vanity of vanities and all is vanity..." The girl I threw behind me rasps out the words. "We do not need a discussion."
I scratch my head, grimacing wryly as I step and crouch in front of the thrashed girls, students at the end of the day. "I'm the Sensei of Kivotos. I have duties to fulfill according to my contract with the Student Council President. Try as you girls may, you will not prevent me from getting to the bottom of this maze and uncovering its secret. So, listen to me and save yourself the trouble. Armed with extrajudicial authorities as I may be, I can only help you if you choose to help yourself."
I stop for a bit before throwing her words back at her.
"Vanity of vanities and all is vanity. From the way you mentioned it when we crossed paths, you seem to treat that excerpt as the ultimate truth, viewing everything through a nihilistic lens. Yet, would it surprise you to hear that the whole meaning of such a quote is that life is empty and meaningless when separated from God? It reflects the conclusion that all human effort, possessions, and achievements are ultimately pointless because they are temporary and will end. The full message is a search for meaning and a revelation that true and lasting purpose is found in fearing and following God. The quote never ends at just a meaningless existence."
I then stand up, moving to a corner where I dropped my backpack and pulling out a medical kit. "Just think about it while I treat your wounds. "Can't have you all getting an infection in this land down under now, can't I?
I then move closer to the girl with the long lavender hair. So far, she has been the most passive in our previous engagements. As I open up the medical kit, I idly wonder what the color of her eyes is beneath that gas mask.
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Ever since Ein has been accepted into their little corner of the world, every day is an eventful day for Fuxi and Nuwa. Aside from the fact that Ein essentially spoils her martial family rotten with her exceptional housekeeping and cooking skills, her very body itself is a treasure trove of hidden knowledge that has Fuxi and Nuwa regularly banging their heads against the wall to unravel it.
Although Debuff Immunity and her own combat talents grant her an impressive training efficiency, Ein's body changes and evolves in a manner that breaks all notions of known sciences in the minds of Fuxi and Nuwa. The pair of twin sisters has been drawing samples from Ein daily ever since the girl first started her tutelage under Hua. The first few batches of samples show that Ein is remarkably fit and even a clean bill of health, which is already a cause for surprise in a world as tumultuous as Warhammer. Still, Fuxi and Nuwa chalk it up to Debuff Immunity at work. However, when subsequent medical samples are drawn after Ein has been training under Hua for more than a week, they can only stare at the data with a look of pure confusion, seeing how vastly they differ compared to a few days prior.
Outwardly, Ein retains much of the same appearance as before, just slightly healthier... No, perhaps it's more correct to say that she's more vibrant? Nonetheless, that's not the main focus. Ein exhibits efficient stress response and strong cardiovascular fitness, with lower inflammatory markers, greater insulin sensitivity, a more balanced hormonal system, and so on... These biological signs are often a result of regular physical activity, Hua's and Xuanyuan's training and sparring, which improves Ein's ability to handle mental stress and physical exertion, alongside improving her readily available pool of energy, thus lessening her mental consumption. Overall, the improvement data are good, great even. It's just that they're so great it's actually scary for Fuxi and Nuwa. A normal person, being subjected to Ein's training, may find their base stats being improved by a factor of two if they're fortunate and dedicated enough. Yet, Ein's rate of improvement goes for a factor of four or five times for the same amount of effort. And given that this is not due to any specific Skill or Perk, only Ein's innate trait and dedication to self-improvement, Fuxi and Nuwa have to constantly double-check whether or not Ein is actually Hua's long-lost blood-related family member.
No matter how they check it, though, it always results in Ein being Ein and not related to any of them biologically. Still, had Ein come much earlier in the past, perhaps a certain green-haired Doctor would have loved to study Ein's seemingly limitless ceiling and assorted qualities.
"Nuwa, have you analyzed the reading on Ein's Honkai energy?" Fuxi asks without looking up from an array of holographic displays that compare Ein's real-time data and those of her prior workouts.
"Give me a minute, sis. I am uploading it to you right now..." Nuwa replies as she makes a few lazy flicks on a high-tech tablet, slimmer and lighter than what Ein used to use in the Warhammer universe.
Moments later, a 3D cutout of Ein's internal body appears in front of the twin. Per Fuxi's subsequent typing commands, the Honkai energy in Ein's body is highlighted before a playback of Ein's most recent spar starts playing. Both Fuxi and Nuwa watch as the highlighted Honkai energy formed, flowed, and was utilized by Ein in her fight with both Xuanyuan and Hua. Much like previous in-depth analysis, when Ein is not actively fighting and in combat, Fuxi and Nuwa notice a well-obscured detail.
"It's not just Ein's Stigmata that supply her with Honkai energy." Fuxi concludes after repeated observation. "Here, take a look at this."
The eldest of the twins then controls the holographic cutout to zoom into a random part of Ein's body. Then, she slows down the speed of the playback.
"At first, this part of Ein's hand has only a trace amount of Honkai energy, enough to justify the Blade Mantra's passive reinforcement of her body. However..." Fuxi explains to Nuwa, who is peering into the display next to her. "All of a sudden, Honkai energy materialized out of nowhere, multiplying and going active with but a command from Ein, conscious or instinctive. This occurred even before the rush of Honkai energy could move from the Abyss Totem Stigmata itself to the parts where Ein needed it to appear. If the Stigmata is Ein's gateway to draw Honkai energy from, then where did the initial Honkai energy appear from? We can't put it away as Ein drawing in the external energy in the air, because she never uses the technique unless specifically asked to do so."
Nuwa hums ponderingly before shrugging with an easy smile. "At least this gives Ein an impressive control over Honkai energy, no? There's little to no delay when she needs to use it. Her manipulation speed is approaching that of Hua, and that's saying something."
Fuxi shakes her head. "If we don't shed light on this matter for Ein, then how can we help her improve?"
Fuxi sighs before adding. "Perhaps if Dr. Mobius were here, she would be able to instantly crack all of Ein's secrets. However, since it's just the two of us, the best we can get is mere conjectures and possibilities. For example..."
Fuxi then moves the cutout to once again show the rest of Ein's body. "Debuff Immunity quite literally breaks the Law of Equivalent Exchange... Or is it? Let's say Ein is somehow injected with a poison, and Debuff Immunity is kicked into working to neutralize the lethal threat. What does Debuff Immunity use as a currency to bribe the poison into becoming a harmless entity inside her body?"
Nuwa replies with a tilt of her head. "Well, prior tests with non-lethal poison indicated that Ein's immune system and Honkai energy did react. However, they moved to break down the poison into harmless or beneficial properties instead of doing the actual detoxing work. The poison seemingly lost its harmful effects the moment it came in contact with Ein's body. Debuff Immunity is quite magical like that..."
"Magic is just science we haven't understood." Fuxi says with a roll of her eyes. "It's highly probable that the so-called magic behind Ein's apparent Honkai energy surplus on an already infinite pool of it is also the factor behind Debuff Immunity."
"You mean like an additional base layer of energy or particle that is acting as the fuel for Ein's Skills and Perks alongside her generation of additional Honkai energy?" Nuwa adds on to the hypothesis. "I don't think we have any scanner that can ascertain that, though, as we don't even know what type of energy it is or if it's even scientifically verifiable."
Nuwa sighs. "Really, Ein is such a jackbox that I kinda wish Dr. Mei or at least Vill-V is here."
Fuxi, in one of her rare moments, quirks her lips upward with a teasing glint. "Not Dr. Mobius?"
Nuwa shudders visibly as her gaze turns into a distant look. "Not unless you want endless overtime and cup noodles... But at least, if she's here, decoding Ein's genome would be a piece of cake. It's just so..."
"Resilience? Adaptable? Robust?" Fuxi fires off a string of words. "Vigorous? Untainted? Some can even say it is perfect, perhaps even flawlessly engineered, and not a natural gene sequencing?"
Nuwa deadpans.
"Yeah, all of that. I don't think such a genome is even possible in our world, much less Ein's. You can make a comparison that Kevin is the closest we can get to such a genome, but then you realize how aggressive and volatile the Chimera factor is, and the whole point is moot. Frankly, I think Ein, with such an adaptable baseline, is the reason why she can improve so fast. Additionally, she should be able to accommodate all of the stuff the System or Nicolae the Shoggoth can give her. Examples will be the implantation of the Abyss Totem Stigmata and her Halo... Stuff that must directly overwrite the existing form of anyone for it to come into effect, and, usually, should have come with possible rejections."
"Or in other words..." Nuwa gulps, reaching a quite chilling conclusion. "Ein is the possible, perfect example of an infinitely evolving specimen. Someone whom Dr. Mobius would have risen from the grave to zealously work on. If Ein is to undertake a MANTIS surgery, she may very well beat Kevin in terms of potential."
Having finished her conjecture, Nuwa falls silent as the information truly sinks in. It's only a whole minute later that she asks. "Why do you look at me like that, sis?"
Fuxi shrugs at the question. "Just thinking that it's been a while since I heard you go on a spiel on a matter with scientific depth, that's all."
"... I'll take that as a compliment." Nuwa answers with a twitching eyebrow.
Fuxi then says. "Still, you shouldn't tempt it. Dr. Mobius is technically still alive, after all."
"The Elysian Realm?" Nuwa belatedly realizes. "Yikes... Better we don't come close to that part of the world or any of the Grey Serpent then."
"Given that Ein may very well be a Herrscher-level combatant in the future, though, she will have to come into contact with the Realm ultimately." Fuxi shrugs. "Plans for the future, I guess."
Nuwa nods, adding. "Right, sis, given what you said about Ein's biological make-up being so perfect, like it's artificially induced, and that Ein said she's an adopted orphan..."
Nuwa looks around the lab, making sure that there's no interloper before whispering.
"Do you think Ein was a manufactured human?"
Fuxi frowns before dismissing the topic in a small voice. "Don't go around spreading that thought... Discard that conjecture."
Nuwa nods repeatedly, pointing a finger at her head before making a plucking and throwing gesture in the direction of the trash bin. The pair of sisters shelve the topic not a moment too soon when there's a chime coming from the sliding door that separates the basement lab from the rest of the Taixuan complex. As the metallic doors slide into the walls, Ein, wearing an apron and with her hand holding a laddle for reasons known to her alone, pokes her head into the lab cutely.
"Sister Fuxi, Sister Nuwa, dinner is ready~!" The girl calls out to them, blinking her purple eyes innocently with a small smile.
Fuxi and Nuwa share a knowing look, mentally exhaling in relief before shutting down all the medical displays. Nuwa, being the more energetic of the twins, skips over to give the young girl a well-deserved embrace.
"You come just in time, Ein! I am positively starving here~!"
The girl chuckles, poking out from Nuwa's comfortable bosom with a soft blush.
"Well, then you're in luck, Sister Nuwa. Senior Xuanyuan managed to bargain for some fine pork, with which Sister Hua and I made a sizable portion of Braised Pork with Eggs. We also have a side of Sister Hua's pickled vegetables, and I made some cabbage soup as well. Dinner tonight is guaranteed to be filling and warm!"
"Wonderful!" Nuwa nods, already salivating at the mental images. "Come on, sisters, let's go! Let's go!"
Fuxi, seeing that Nuwa is leading Ein away by the arm, sighs with a wry smile. "The food is not going to run away, Nuwa. And don't forget to thank Ein and the others for the food this time."
Ein giggles softly. "No need to thank me, sisters. I only do what I should as part of the family."
Hearing that, both Fuxi and Nuwa smile, with Nuwa ruffling Ein's lustrious black hair. Mysterious past and whatnot, Ein is still Hua's disciple and their youngest adopted sister. While the adoption part is more of a delightful joke at first, none of them mind it at all when it turns into something real. Ein knows just the way to slowly worm herself into their lives on Mount Taixuan, and the best part is, the girl herself isn't even making a conscious effort.
All natural, baby.
Although it does demonstrate just how high Ein's Charisma stat is, despite it not being some conceptual overpowering, brainwashing factor like some R-rated consumer goods.
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Sitting in the R.O.B, the Emperor of Man mulls over Ein's recent progress. As She brings up a veritable mug of Viola-made cocktail, a proud grin can be seen on Her lips.
Ark Royal, who is chilling around next to the Emperor, comments with a tipsy expression. "Woman, you look just like a proud mother whose daughter earned an A on her exam."
With a meaningful expression, the Emperor replies before taking a sip of Her drink. "So, what if I am?"
As the Emperor leaves Her reply open for interpretation, the Bartender, Viola, cleans an empty glass with a calm, charming smile on her face. The door to the Random Omniversal Bar is opened with a chime of the doorbell soon after.
"Welcome~!" Viola greets the newcomer with her silken voice.
What's surprising, however, is that the Bartender actually opens her eyes, revealing a pair of purple orbs mixed with a tinge of gold like stardusts in an endless galaxy. With a warm smile as if seeing an old friend, Viola says.
"Ah, it's been a long time. I presume you will be ordering the ever-familiar Blue Fairy, right..."
"... Jyahnar?"