It was another quiet and peaceful day at St. Freya. Unlike usual, however, the students of St. Freya had several new teachers today: Teacher Wende, in charge of emergency medicine; Teacher Welt, suspected to be the "older brother" of a certain Mr. Yang; the cool and handsome Teacher Dan Heng, responsible for physical education; and the beautiful Jingliu, as cool and remote as the bright moon, serving as a special instructor for close-quarters combat.
In addition to the four new teachers, two new students joined Kiana's class: Stelle and March!
Naturally, when these four teachers and two new students walked up to the podium, every student—aside from the three little ones and Wendy—was left in a state of existential crisis. Some even started slapping their own faces, attempting to wake themselves from what had to be a dream.
But then they realized, why could they feel pain in a dream? Was this Inception? What level had they entered?
Despite their deep suspicion about the nature of reality, the students eventually accepted the fact that St. Freya Academy had undergone "such a major change."
There was no other reason... those who get it, get it.
---o---
The proposal to have the Astral Express crew serve as teachers at St. Freya Academy came from Theresa. Initially, Welt was against the idea, as he didn't want a certain individual to learn of their existence so quickly. However, Theresa presented a different perspective.
She argued that since Welt knew what would happen in the future, they could work to prevent it. By uniting everyone they could and letting the facts speak for themselves, the [Honkai] would no longer be an insurmountable threat. As Welt had said, the Previous Era had turned the test known as [Honkai] into an open-book exam. Even the proctor had been swapped out for one of their own people. Welt's arrival was like giving the test-takers the answers beforehand; not only could they memorize every question, but they even made cheat sheets just to be safe...
Ahem... although it was highly inappropriate for an academy principal to use cheating on an exam as an example, her description was indeed quite fitting.
Theresa herself would personally handle Otto. As for Anti-Entropy... now that Joachim knew about Cocolia's upcoming string of outrageous actions, he would no longer allow her to run rampant within the organization.
Thanks to the influence of the Star Rail, Joachim's body had also been slightly enhanced by Welt's shared Path. It wasn't much, but it was enough to return him to his prime.
As for a certain snake still in slumber, though seemingly not hibernating very soundly... that would require a specialist to handle.
Of course, this "specialist" wasn't just anyone...
---o---
"Little sister, your counter-attacks are feeble, your frontal assaults lack precision, your footwork is far too loose, and your reactions are sluggish. Your form has some merit, but your wide, sweeping movements are undercut by a sense of timidity. With your current swordsmanship, you couldn't even defeat Wende..."
Jingliu relaxed the two fingers she held together, shaking her head at Mei, who had been defeated in just two moves.
As the former Sword Champion of the Luofu, Jingliu's skill with the blade had reached the pinnacle of perfection. Few in this world could best her in the art of swordsmanship. At least... she had yet to meet one.
Because of this, she could identify the problems in Mei's swordsmanship at a single glance.
There was no sword in her heart, and she was still held back by reservations. The sword was not truly in her grasp. Thus, her technique could be shattered with but two fingers.
"I... I understand. Please guide me, Teacher Jingliu!"
Mei, who had just been thoroughly critiqued by Jingliu, quickly regained her spirit, aiming her wooden sword at Jingliu once more.
"Good. Feel it carefully. My sword style can be learned by anyone, but those who truly master it..."
Thinking of the students she had taught, it seemed that aside from her own Wende... one was a cunning slacker who avoided work at all costs, and the other an unorthodox sword maniac...
Of course, had her Mara-Struck condition not been cured, she probably would have ended up just like them.
---o---
Elsewhere, Dan Heng looked on helplessly at an incredibly enthusiastic Kiana. Her "spear"... was completely different from his own, wasn't it? Well, it wasn't impossible to teach her; it was just a matter of combat skills.
"Teacher Dan Heng! Here I come!"
Kiana let out a spirited cry, then charged toward Dan Heng on her long, slender legs.
Dan Heng hadn't even brought his Cloud-Piercer. He simply stood his ground, empty-handed, continuously dodging Kiana's attacks while verbally correcting her form.
"Take this!"
Kiana raised her Colt and fired a shot straight at Dan Heng's forehead.
Bang!
Ting!
Dan Heng brought two fingers together and caught the bullet that had just left the barrel, then shook his head at Kiana.
"Whoa! You caught a bullet with your bare hands?! Is Teacher Dan Heng that amazing?!"
Kiana had thought Dan Heng would pull out his long spear to block the attack or dodge it with incredible speed, but she had never imagined he would resolve it this way!
"It's just a small trick. On the Xianzhou, even street performers can do this. It is nothing remarkable."
Dan Heng shook his head and casually tossed the bullet into a nearby trash can.
"Continue."
"You got it!"
---o---
"From here to here, all these formulas need to be memorized. You must also consider them from a molecular and atomic perspective, as if you were creating something. But you need to understand it from all angles, from a point to a line, then from a line to a plane... Only when you have a complete understanding will the things you construct be more complete and their power greater. Understood?"
Welt clapped the chalk dust from his hands, pushed up his glasses, and spoke to a dazed-looking Bronya.
"Uh... understood..."
Staring at the vast expanse of formulas behind Welt, Bronya nodded stiffly.
"Very good. Then today's task is to memorize these theoretical models and then run them on the simulator. I have already transferred part of the Anti-Entropy database to you. The data inside is all you'll need at your current stage. Work hard."
"Okay... ( ᗜ ‸ ᗜ )"
---o---
As the trio destined to save the world, at Welt's suggestion, giving them "remedial classes" was added to the agenda.
In his view, it was necessary to end the crisis in the Honkai world as soon as possible. Although Himeko had already declined the invitation from Penacony via communication, the Express still needed to continue its journey. Therefore, they couldn't linger in the Honkai world for too long. After a month or two, they would need to resume their [Trailblazing]. However, from now on, their [Trailblazing] would carry a greater sense of uniting all planets with intelligent life.