In the matches that followed, it was like a switch had been flipped inside Kiana. She charged in again and again, and died again and again.
She couldn't even clear the first stage, let alone reach the final timed score attack section.
However, Shu could see that Kiana's mechanics were improving with the naked eye.
The Kaslana family's transcendent reflexes lived up to their reputation, fully on display in this moment.
She was able to precisely track every attack from the massive brute blocking the first stage, and then utilize the superb control inherent in her Schariac bloodline.
Dodge, dodge, and dodge again.
There was no technique or understanding involved. Shu only saw raw stats... on Kiana herself.
The brute's fist didn't manage to touch her even once more.
Shu was a bit stunned watching from the side.
Her reaction speed was simply too fast—fast enough that she didn't seem human.
Every time a new monster came out, he had to challenge it at least a dozen times to memorize its attack patterns... but Kiana was brute-forcing it entirely with her reflexes.
But just as Kiana was feeling triumphant, thinking she was finally about to win, the battle on the screen suddenly ended automatically.
Kiana froze.
"Eh?"
She looked at the settlement interface popping up on the screen, her expression blank.
"Why... why did it end?"
Shu's gaze swept to the top right corner of the screen.
There, the timer had hit zero.
"Time's up," he said.
Kiana's eyes widened to the size of saucers.
"Time?! There's a time limit?!"
"Yeah." Shu nodded. " The Abyss has a time limit. If you don't finish within the stipulated time, it counts as a failure and settles the score immediately."
Kiana's mouth formed a perfect 'O'.
She had been so focused on dodging that she hadn't paid any attention to the time.
And—
She looked down at the damage she had dealt.
The brute's HP bar looked like she had scraped it empty several times, but now Kiana saw a small [x4] next to the bar.
So... this monster actually had multiple bars of health?
"Hiss..." Kiana's voice was dry as reality gradually set in. "I fought for half the day, and that's all the damage I did?"
Shu was silent for two seconds.
Then he spoke, trying to be as tactful as possible:
"Um... the characters you picked... aren't quite right. The weather... is correct, at least."
Since the featured character for this cycle was Star Kiana's teammate, choosing Star Kiana was correct, but as for the other two characters...
Kiana blinked in confusion.
"Weather?"
"Yeah." Shu pointed to the icon on the screen. "This is the weather effect. Different weather provides different buffs, suiting different characters and attributes.
"The characters you chose don't match the weather, so your damage output is naturally going to be low."
Kiana fell silent.
She was silent for a long time.
Then, she whipped her head around and glared at Shu.
There was a trace of stubborn refusal to admit defeat in her eyes, mixed with a hint of angry embarrassment.
"Shu."
Her voice was heavy.
"Is there something wrong with the build on this account?"
Shu paused.
"What?"
"The build!" Kiana pointed at the screen. "Character level! Gear! Stigmata! Are they not strong enough?"
Shu fell silent.
He looked at Kiana's serious face.
He looked into those eyes that clearly said, It's definitely the account's problem, not mine.
He sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, decisively grabbed the mouse, and opened the character panel.
[Kiana Kaslana (Bang! Blazing Wish Lucky Star)]
[Level: 80]
[Rank: SSS]
[Weapon: Auspicious Crimson Sky: Dreams Fulfilled (Pri-ARM Lvl 65)]
[Stigmata: Kiana: Joyful Blaze Night (T)]
[Stigmata: Kiana: Arms Full of Gifts (M)]
[Stigmata: Kiana: Luck From Above (B)]
"Well?"
Shu spread his hands, gesturing for Kiana to take a good look at his character panel.
Kiana saw it, of course, and her expression stiffened visibly.
"This..."
Kiana fell silent once again.
She looked at the screen, then at Shu.
She looked at Shu, then at the screen.
Then, her face slowly turned red.
"Um..."
Her voice became very small.
"So it's not the account's fault..."
Shu remained silent.
He just looked at her.
With that look that said, What was that you were saying just now?
Kiana's face turned even redder.
"I... well..."
She stammered for a while before finally squeezing out a sentence:
"This monster is too strong! You can't blame me!"
Shu didn't say anything. He just went back to the Abyss menu and pointed out the name of the current first-place player to Kiana:
[GuyBelowMissedBy1PointGonnaMald?]
Kiana: "..."
Seeing that defeated look on Kiana's face, the corners of Shu's mouth finally couldn't help but curl up.
It was a small arc, but Kiana saw it.
She glared at him, puffing out her cheeks.
"Don't laugh!"
Shu didn't speak.
But the curve of his lips became even more obvious.
Kiana turned back around angrily, staring at the character panel on the screen, her mood unable to settle for a long time.
SSS rank.
PRI-ARM weapon.
Max level.
Stigmata with perfect Affixes.
She used such a strong account and couldn't beat the Abyss?
How was she supposed to accept that?!
"Again!"
She clicked open the Abyss once more.
Shu watched from the side and gently shook his head.
Fine.
There's still over a day left anyway.
Let her mald.
After failing countless times, Kiana finally abandoned the idea of fighting solo.
"This... what was the order for applying buffs again?"
She turned to look at Shu, a trace of confusion in her eyes.
Shu reached out and pointed at the screen. "First, bring Mei out to do a combo and insta-kill the mobs. Then switch to Li Sushang to build up SP. Then switch to you—trigger a Time Fracture dodge, use your Ultimate, and then switch back to Mei..."
"Wait wait wait!" Kiana hurriedly interrupted. "Mei attacks first, then Sushang, then me... and then?"
"Then switch back to Mei—"
"Switch back to Mei?"
"Yeah, Mei's QTE will trigger, just switch her in..."
"And what the heck is a QTE?!"
Shu fell silent.
He looked at Kiana's face, which was written all over with I don't understand but I'm trying very hard to listen, and suddenly realized a cruel fact:
Asking someone who had been playing the game for less than a day to memorize a full rotation and QTE chaining might actually be harder for her than winning the Abyss fight itself.
"Forget it." He sighed. "Stand down."
Kiana paused.
"What?"
Shu stood up and walked to the sofa.
"Let a professional handle it."
Kiana's eyes instantly widened.
"You're going to play for me?"
"What else?" Shu looked at her. "You can't remember the rotation. Even if you fight a hundred more times, you'll just be dealing scratch damage. Besides, this is my account to begin with."
Kiana pouted and wanted to refute him, but found she really didn't have any ground to stand on.
She silently shimmied to the side, making room for Shu.
Shu sat down in front of the computer and took the mouse.
Kiana leaned in close, her head almost resting on his shoulder, staring unblinkingly at the screen.
"Let me see how a professional does it!"