"Mind the time next time. The squads aren't as lenient as the academy," Himeko said with a frown, looking at the young man who had arrived just in the nick of time.
"Uh~" Listening to Himeko's lecture, Ming Yu unconsciously averted his gaze and echoed, "Got it."
*However, it's really not my fault I was almost late this time,* Ming Yu glanced at the Principal in the front row of the audience but didn't say the words out loud.
Although his sense of time wasn't perfectly precise, he wouldn't be so careless about something like this.
Moreover, he considered himself a low-profile person and wasn't foolish enough to do something as stupid as arriving at the last second in public. While it was attention-grabbing, it was almost all negative commentary, and he wasn't that bored.
But if it was an order from a certain Principal, then he couldn't be blamed.
Time rewound to a few hours earlier, in a hospital room at St. Freya.
The young man lying on the only bed in the room slowly opened his eyes, his dark pupils darting around with some confusion.
"Yo, finally awake? You've been lying there for quite a while," a voice that had not yet lost its childishness sounded, speaking with a teasing tone.
Seeing the petite, white-haired nun before him, Ming Yu gradually realized what had happened before. With a jolt in his heart, he quickly called out, "Where's Hiyokumaru?"
Theresa pointed to the black longsword placed on the bedside table, a hint of gratification in her eyes. Although she knew Ming Yu wasn't indifferent to Hiyokumaru, Hiyokumaru was ultimately injured because of him. If he showed no concern at all, it would be quite disheartening.
Ignoring the soreness in his body after a long sleep, Ming Yu hastily grabbed Jizo Mitama and felt the state of the Divine Key.
Although unleashing the Divine Key had consumed a large amount of its energy, it had long since been fully restored over the long period of time.
Next to the full energy core, Ming Yu could clearly sense a much weaker red dot of light, which was Hiyokumaru's soul. Although it would take at least three to five days to recover to its original state, thankfully there was no major issue.
Knowing that Hiyokumaru was fine, Ming Yu also breathed a sigh of relief. Even though the plan was proposed by Hiyokumaru and she was prepared to pay a price for it, if Hiyokumaru suffered irreparable damage because of him, he would never be able to forgive himself.
"It seems she's fine. Now then, let's talk about Abyss Flower." Clasping her hands on her lap, Theresa stared into Ming Yu's eyes and said slowly, "After all, Abyss Flower was in a very long period of weakness after that."
Hearing Theresa's question, Ming Yu didn't know what to say for a moment. He could only nod sheepishly, offering an awkward yet polite smile.
Although wielding two Divine Keys at the same time sounded quite remarkable, the reality was not so.
Strictly speaking, the only one truly wielded by Ming Yu from beginning to end was Jizo Mitama.
As for Abyss Flower, all he did was act as a small trigger. The control aspect was accomplished by borrowing the power of the other Divine Key.
Even so, it was only because Hiyokumaru bore nearly half the pressure that this miraculous feat was finally accomplished.
But even then, it still placed an enormous burden on his body, leading to his eventual collapse.
After all, although he could make Abyss Flower actively cooperate with him, the necessary strain still had to be borne by his body.
Even if it was just the minimum load, adding a Jizo Mitama on top of that was already comparable to the Zeroth Power of a single Divine Key.
And with his frail body, it was already quite good that he could wake up the next day. After all, not everyone had a Stigmata or a Soulium body as a cheat.
Fortunately, the "Holy Lance's Welwitschia" he had unleashed was not perfect, nor was it at maximum power, otherwise he would have been bedridden for more than just a while.
Looking at the IV drip that was more than half empty and his still somewhat weak body, Ming Yu secretly reminded himself not to be so reckless next time.
Choosing his words carefully, Ming Yu slowly recounted what had happened.
It wasn't that he hadn't thought about concealing it, but since Theresa had already seen everything, and it wasn't something that absolutely couldn't be told, he naturally went along with it and confessed.
As long as the Principal put her mind to it, all of this could be analyzed. It was better for him to speak up himself, at least it would make him seem more honest.
"You're saying, you can use the Key of Corruption to control another Divine Key!" After hearing Ming Yu's explanation, even the well-informed Principal couldn't help but be astonished, her mouth agape.
Looking at the wary Theresa, Ming Yu could only spread his hands helplessly and sigh, "I wouldn't say control, more like assisting in its use. Besides, you saw the preparation time; it's almost impossible to do that in a battle."
Understanding the ability of the Key of Corruption, he had naturally fantasized about directly controlling an opponent's weapon in battle.
For a certain white-haired girl whose strength mostly depended on her weapon, the effect would be almost fatal.
However, he quickly realized that this was nearly impossible. In that long period of time, it was enough for the opponent to launch a counterattack.
Moreover, weapons of the Divine Key level have a strong sense of self-awareness. This time, it was because he himself was the user of Abyss Flower that he was able to restrain the Divine Key's resistance and successfully control the Key of Creation.
Looking at the still somewhat tired young man, Theresa kindly reminded him, "The Valkyrie Rank-Up Exam is today. Are you in a condition to take it?"
"It should be fine. Given the difficulty of the exam, even if I'm not in my most perfect state right now, passing shouldn't be difficult." Ming Yu clenched his fist, sensed his body's condition, and nodded.
Having seen the materials Himeko gave him, he already had an understanding of the difficulty of the Valkyrie Rank-Up Exam.
Strictly speaking, the exam wasn't very difficult, as it only tested the survival capabilities of reserve Valkyries against the Honkai.
A standard Valkyrie's combat power includes armor and various equipment. And most Valkyries in the reserve period do not have access to Valkyrie Battlesuits, so the exam naturally wouldn't treat them as B-rank Valkyries.
Getting Ming Yu's agreement, Theresa also breathed a sigh of relief. Although the Valkyrie Rank-Up Exam wasn't the only way to enter the Valkyrie squads, it was the most official and hassle-free method, and also the one least likely to attract unwanted attention—although Ming Yu's gender itself was already attention-grabbing.
If this were at headquarters, a male with combat capabilities wouldn't be a rare sight, but this was the Far East Branch, after all.
Considering Ming Yu's condition, after telling him the exam time, Theresa advised him not to be too strict about it and to adjust his state first.
Originally, these were just polite words, as Ming Yu's complexion was indeed not very good. But Ming Yu really took it to heart, returned to his place, leisurely changed his clothes, and brought his Spirit Blade before slowly making his way over.
So, he was justifiably late and nearly missed his own exam.