Under MEI's "anti-addiction" enforcement, Leo had no choice but to return home helplessly.
But like Kiana, he was the type who couldn't stay idle.
Therefore, he didn't rest upon returning; he started cooking immediately.
Although MEI and Kiana wanted to help, given their destructive power over ingredients, they were thrown out directly by Leo.
Instead, it was Raiden Mei, whose memories were gradually recovering, who could truly assist Leo.
If the situation continued to improve, Raiden Mei might be able to take over cooking duties from Leo.
It was just that she wasn't good at cuisine from Shenzhou, so Leo still had to handle that part.
However, putting aside such distant matters, at the very least, with Raiden Mei's help, Leo's cooking efficiency improved significantly, and it was done in no time.
Of course, correspondingly, the task of washing dishes after dinner was handed over to MEI and Kiana. They could at least handle such a small matter.
It could be said that this family had a clear division of labor!
At the dinner table—
"Kiana."
While eating, Leo asked Kiana for advice: "So, what level of Valkyrie is my current strength equivalent to?"
To be honest, he was quite curious about his current strength.
"Probably..."
Holding her rice bowl in her left hand, Kiana tapped her chopsticks against the corner of her mouth with her right, thinking for quite a while before saying: "C-Rank?"
"But honestly, I feel your stats are inferior to even a C-Rank."
"However, compared to those Valkyries who have only fought in simulation training, your combat experience is far beyond what they can compare with."
There was no helping it; Leo was truly honing himself between life and death. Such combat experience naturally wasn't something training simulations could touch.
And C-Rank Valkyries weren't allowed on the battlefield yet; at most, they evacuated crowds. As for the lowest, D-Rank Valkyries, they were purely logistics.
However—
"Huh?"
Slightly opening his mouth, Leo asked with a face full of confusion: "Are my stats not even as good as a C-Rank?"
"But didn't you say the Zombies in the Honkai Domain were indeed strengthened?"
To be fair, he was a bit confused about Valkyrie combat power.
"You can't think like that."
Shaking her head at Leo, Kiana spoke bluntly: "Compared to stats, combat experience is the most important thing."
"First of all, Valkyries' stats are provided by Stigmata."
"Therefore, they are transcendent existences from the very beginning. How can you compare with them?"
"Uh..."
Hearing this, Leo understood somewhat.
With the blessing of Stigmata, Valkyries' base attributes were not something he could compare to. Added to the assistance of armor, their strength was indeed no small matter.
"As for the strengthening of the Zombies... they indeed aren't the Zombies I know."
Understanding what Leo wanted to ask next, Kiana said in advance: "Even with my current stats, normally speaking, it's impossible for Zombies to hurt me!"
Finishing, she raised her small chin slightly, looking proud.
At the same time—
"In my memory..."
Raiden Mei also revealed a look of recollection, saying to Leo: "Fighting against multiple Guard Zombies is one of the basic practical combat assessments for B-Rank Valkyries."
"So since you can already solve so many Zombies alone, then in terms of strength, you have definitely reached the standard of a B-Rank Valkyrie."
"But you have a big problem with stamina. At the very least, I've really never seen a B-Rank Valkyrie who starts panting after fighting just a few Zombies."
Ordinary Zombies were truly existences that Valkyries could kick to death by the roadside.
Not to mention, Leo also held a divine weapon. This was treatment ordinary Valkyries didn't have.
In contrast, looking at Kiana, she could beat Zombies until they wailed just by relying on her fists!
"Is that so?"
Hearing this, Leo somewhat understood where his problem lay... Honkai energy was still insufficient!
—Tongzi, it's time to add points!
Additionally—
"And the reason we say the Zombies of this world have been strengthened is because, like the Shadow Ninja Zombie you encountered last night, I feel only that batch of B-Rank Valkyries with the richest combat experience could defeat it."
Seeing Leo understood, Raiden Mei continued: "A Zombie of such intensity basically cannot exist in our cognition."
Even for B-Rank, there were different tiers.
A Valkyrie who just entered B-Rank could be regarded as early B-Rank, and the requirement to become a B-Rank Valkyrie was being able to dispose of multiple Zombies.
So even if the Shadow Ninja Zombie is a bit special, in a 1v1, there's no reason for a B-Rank Valkyrie to lose to her. It would even be normal to solve multiple Shadow Ninja Zombies.
So in other words, a Shadow Ninja Zombie is at most a late C-Rank Valkyrie level.
But now, according to Raiden Mei's statement, the Shadow Ninja Zombie Leo encountered was equivalent to being strengthened directly from late C-Rank to mid B-Rank!
—A B-Rank Valkyrie with the richest combat experience can be regarded as late B-Rank!
How could such a degree of strengthening not be called terrifying?
Furthermore, Leo was equivalent to using a short-duration early B-Rank level to challenge a mid B-Rank level. Being kicked to death like a stray dog by the roadside was perfectly normal.
Therefore—
"Anyway..."
Revealing a thoughtful look, Leo judged: "I am at most a short-duration early B-Rank now?"
Unable to sustain combat, this was his biggest shortcoming!
Finishing, he couldn't help but feel a bit discouraged.
"You can't think like that."
Shaking her head at Leo, Kiana said: "Even a C... no, even the lowest D-Rank Valkyrie needs to train for a long time to fully adapt to the power of the Stigmata. It's not that one can do it as soon as the Stigmata is implanted."
"But you only spent a few days to reach your current level?"
"Moreover, more critically, with your improvement speed, presumably you can reach true B-Rank, or even A-Rank very soon."
"If Auntie knew about your improvement speed, she would definitely treat you as a key seedling to cultivate."
Admittedly, Leo couldn't compare to their improvement speed, but under normal circumstances, Leo's progress speed was already quite astonishing.
—What good person can go from an ordinary person to the edge of a Valkyrie in less than a week?
This was simply hacking!
"Uh... that's true too."
Slightly stunned, Leo finally felt psychologically balanced.
In the final analysis, what he mainly couldn't accept was that his current comprehensive strength was actually inferior to a C-Rank Valkyrie... He was only able to possess B-Rank combat power for a short time by relying on the power of the divine weapon plus combat experience.
In other words, he was currently probably a D-Rank Valkyrie doing logistics?
And when he played the game, the lowest Valkyrie he controlled was B-Rank... What kind of roadside stray was a D-Rank Valkyrie?
Anyway, he understood that his road ahead was still long and obstructed.
"Don't be too eager for quick success."
Revealing a calm look, MEI spoke up: "Just as you told me, becoming strong is a gradual process."
"How come when it's your turn, you don't understand this principle again?"
Finishing, although her pretty face was expressionless, her beautiful purple eyes carried a trace of a playful smile.
"Indeed."
Nodding, Leo said: "My mentality was a bit unbalanced."
"Mainly because the gap was too big. I originally thought I could at least touch the threshold of B-Rank, but it turned out I couldn't even reach C-Rank."
"B-Rank isn't that weak."
Looking at Leo with some amusement, Kiana said: "Even when Mei and I just entered St. Freya Academy, we could easily solve the vast majority of monsters in the Honkai Domain."
"At most, that Zombie body of Mei's might become a difficulty."
"But I believe the problem won't be too big; there will always be a solution."
To this she was quite confident. After all, she had experienced even more desperate things in the past. Just temporarily encountering an invincible enemy really didn't count as anything to her.
Rather, if not for her current state of being unable to retain power, as long as she could improve normally, she had the confidence to break through during battle and ultimately defeat the enemy.
Just—
"Wait, you bunch of hackers can't be counted as B-Rank Valkyries."
To this, Leo couldn't help shaking his head, saying bluntly: "In terms of combat power, you are at least at the A-Rank standard. I won't be fooled by you."
Just like the Genin of Konoha Village, Kiana and the others weren't true B-Rank Valkyries!
"That's right."
As if thinking of something interesting, Raiden Mei also smiled and said: "During that Valkyrie assessment when we first entered St. Freya Academy, if Kiana hadn't passed, she would have fallen from B-Rank to a D-Rank General Affairs Valkyrie. So strength isn't the only standard for Valkyrie selection."
Her words seemed to be responding to Leo, but in reality, her smiling eyes were all on Kiana's face.
"Wha—! Hey!"
Being reminded of her past embarrassment by Raiden Mei, Kiana couldn't help scratching her head and saying: "Wasn't I sensible back then?"
"If it were now, I would definitely study hard and not just care about actual combat."
In the past, she only cared about actual combat and really didn't care about theoretical knowledge.
But regarding intelligence, she really wasn't bad; it was just that she was really unwilling to work hard on studying back then.
Always sleeping soundly in class, how could she possibly get good grades in theory?
But later, she really did study hard. Her grades that time even amazed Bronya.
One could only say, she was purely wasting good talent!
"Heh~"
Chuckling lightly, Leo naturally understood what matter Raiden Mei was talking about.
Hearing Kiana reply like this, he couldn't help saying: "To be able to hear Kiana say she wasn't sensible, I really feel gratified."
"Mm, indeed touching."
Cooperating with Leo, Raiden Mei even made a motion of wiping tears.
"Leo! Mei!"
Seeing the cooperation between Leo and Raiden Mei, Kiana couldn't help puffing her small face up into a cute pufferfish look out of anger.
"But speaking of which—"
Smiling while watching the interaction of these three, MEI hit the nail on the head: "Mei, your memory has recovered a lot again."
Finishing, she cast her gaze toward Raiden Mei.
"?"
Hearing MEI say this, Raiden Mei finally reacted; what she said just now were all "details".
But if she were asked to recall actively, she definitely couldn't remember so much. Yet just now, under that atmosphere, she spoke it out.
One could only say—
"It looks like we have to chat more in the future to stimulate Mei's past memories more."
Seeing Raiden Mei's dazed look, Leo immediately understood the reason within.
"Right."
Then, he looked at Kiana again.
"After fusing with the soul fragment, how many specific memories have you recovered?"
To be honest, one of the major reasons he had such a hard time coaxing MEI this morning was because Kiana was absorbing the memories in the soul fragment.
Otherwise, normally speaking, Kiana definitely wouldn't have slept so long, and he wouldn't have been caught directly by MEI.
Although MEI would definitely still be angry then, she certainly wouldn't have been angry to that extent.
In short, he could only lament that this wave was an undeserved disaster.
"Uh..."
Being asked about this, Kiana naturally couldn't help recalling the events of the early morning, her exquisite pretty face uncontrollably turning red.
However, to avoid further awkwardness, she still hurriedly braced herself and replied: "I can basically recall everything related to the St. Freya Academy period."
[Divine Prayer] was the armor she used during the St. Freya Academy period, so she naturally mainly recalled memories of this part.
"Is there anything worthy of your attention?"
Not stopping his questioning, Leo continued: "I don't think your soul fragment appeared here without a reason."
"And according to my guess, it is precisely because of you that the School building was protected and not eroded by that strange moonlight."
Even associating it with the contents of that soaking wet diary, the way that Swimming Club teacher wanted to escape might be related to Kiana!
After all, that teacher was obviously waiting for something, which was why he stored so many compressed biscuits and cans.
Additionally, Lord Claw Zombie should have also been eroded by the moonlight, finally turning into that appearance.
Facts proved that even hiding in the dark couldn't truly avoid the moonlight.
After all, if not being shone on was useful, Leo's [Moon Light Concentration] should have stopped rising when he entered the backstage of the rostrum last night.
So now it matched up; Kiana must have appeared in the cell on the Negative First Floor after Lord Claw Zombie was born.
Therefore now, Leo wanted to see if Kiana could dig out more intelligence from that soul fragment.
"Eh?"
Facing Leo's inquiry, Kiana couldn't help freezing.
Because she really hadn't seriously recalled that part of the memory.
There was no helping it; the events of this morning were too shameful, how could she have the courage to recall carefully?
Not to mention, this was originally her memory, so she would instinctively ignore it.
But now that Leo said this, she couldn't help recalling seriously, wanting to see if there was any information hidden in these memories.
Thus—
"This is..."
Revealing a look of disbelief, she said with a subtle expression: "I have memories of when this soul fragment was still a fragment."
Her words were a bit tongue-twisting, but everyone present naturally understood her meaning.
"In the memory, I seem to have been born in a laboratory."
"But after changing hands several times, I appeared in the school. As for what exactly happened, because my soul fragment was locked in a box for a long time, it isn't clear."
"However, in the end, I appeared in a girl's locker."
"She seems to be a member of the Swimming Club, because from inside the locker, I saw her taking off her swimsuit."
"Speaking of which, I haven't asked you how this soul fragment came about?"
Finishing, she looked at Leo with a face full of curiosity.
"Locker?"
Hearing Kiana say this, Leo couldn't help guessing the cause of the matter.
Immediately, he showed Kiana and the others the battle in the Swimming Club last night, as well as the contents of that soaking wet diary.
Of course, he naturally utilized Tongzi's convenience to project it directly out of thin air.
After all, they were still eating; they didn't want the smell of the diary to spoil their appetite.
"The advisor of the Swimming Club?"
Revealing a look of recollection, Raiden Mei said: "I have heard rumors that he was a pervert. I even heard that someone caught him hiding in a girl's locker, peeping at the girls of the Swimming Club changing clothes."
"But because his identity seemed very unusual, this matter was left unsettled in the end."
"On the contrary, the girl who reported him was expelled."
"This led to the Swimming Club, which originally had many talents, finally having only five girls left."
"But looking at it now, only one girl was a true member of the Swimming Club."
She also read the content of the diary and quickly understood the cause and effect of the matter.
"So it seems—"
On the other side, MEI also began to analyze.
"It was this teacher hiding in the diary owner's locker, and as a result, he lost Kiana's soul fragment there, which was then obtained by the diary owner."
"And the diary owner might have unintentionally fused with Kiana's soul fragment, causing her to not know until she was killed by that beast of a teacher that she actually hid such a big secret on her."
Finishing, she revealed a look of both anger and helplessness.
It could be said that the owner of the diary completely encountered an undeserved disaster.
"That should be the case."
Nodding, Leo also spoke up: "Since Kiana's main body can isolate that moonlight, her memory fragment naturally also has a self-defense effect."
"And since this teacher possessed such an important item, then even if he isn't the planner of the scheme, he is absolutely an important junior of the planner."
"So if we can meet this teacher, perhaps we can obtain good intelligence from him."
"Or even, directly know the full picture of the entire plan!"
If they could directly burst a diary from this beast teacher's body then, that would be even better.
—The diary naturally wasn't a real diary, but condensed from the resentment and obsession of the diary owner!
"Mm."
Understanding Leo's meaning, Kiana also spoke up: "If I meet Bronya again, I will also ask her to investigate this matter."
One had to say, having an insider in the Instance was just cool!
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