Chapter 292: Honkai 3rd's Design Peak: Senti! Animated Short Plays!
Below her was a bottomless abyss, and before her eyes were sword qi and throwing stars from the Herrscher of Sentience. All Kiana could rely on was her physical arts and the Void Spear in her hand... approaching the Herrscher of Sentience while moving at high speed, neutralizing her offensive by sliding or attacking at the right time...
Classic levels like this had been done by many games in Su Mu's previous life, and this tense, exciting way of game interaction had always been something players talked about with great interest. In fact, this world was not without works with similar level designs, but they were basically configurations found only in the single-player masterpieces of established manufacturers.
As for the mobile game sector... two years ago, before Su Mu appeared out of nowhere, it still had the flavor of cheap, ancient skin-swap pay-to-win leaderboards.
As a free-to-play mobile game with in-app purchases, there was no doubt that *Honkai Impact 3rd* truly exceeded the expectations of players in this world.
This method of long-term updates through version releases not only maintained a game's popularity but also greatly relieved the financial pressure on the company.
This was why Su Mu could be written into game textbooks by people in this world and why his status in the gaming industry was so high.
He pioneered a brand-new game mode in this world, and no matter the field, the first person to try something new would always be remembered. Moreover, Su Mu was currently at the peak of his power, making it difficult for people not to choose him as the representative of the new generation of game developers.
Although *Honkai Impact 3rd* players "interrogated" the old thief Su Mu every day, they still greatly admired his ability.
Ability, status, money... the three major passes in the adult world today, the old thief already possessed them all. But instead of slacking off because of this, he worked desperately on game iterations, constantly updating technology, and striving to present the best game to the players...
This original intention, no matter the industry, was already a rare and precious existence.
"Sometimes I really want to open that guy Su Mu's head and see what exactly is inside."
Such a tense and exciting battle level caused a bitter smile to appear on Senti's face.
Although she was a bit childish, it didn't mean she was truly a fool... or rather, the players in this world were not fools either. They knew better than anyone whether a game was fun or not.
"Oh my Wubbaboo, Su Mu, you little cutie... why the heck are you working so hard? Don't you know this only makes me, a fellow game producer, look bad!"
Boothill's expression outside the livestream was quite helpless. He now understood what a certain author meant by "Who stands at the end of the immortal path? Seeing the Beginningless makes the Dao empty."
Someone even more talented than you is working harder than you.
How could one play? It was simply impossible!
At the thought that Su Mu had saved his Ranger Studio, which should have gone bankrupt, with just a slight effort, a helpless bitter smile appeared on Boothill's face.
"I really want to love you to death with a bullet, you little cutie."
Su Mu had heard plenty of this praise, surprise, and even jealousy.
But he didn't care about any of that; after all, his head was full of games.
Seeing players' emotions change because of his games—such as breaking down in tears, cursing his mother in anger, jumping up and down, pointing at Su Mu's nose and swearing... all of these were very rewarding to Su Mu. In fact, he felt he was born for this!
Being a "menace" felt so great! Urobuchi, Nasu, Old Thief Miyazaki, I must become a top-tier menace like you!
Kiana didn't care about the commotion caused by the interactive gameplay of the new level—or rather, she couldn't care, as all her spirit was concentrated on this game.
After Kiana approached the Herrscher of Sentience, there was another excellent QTE performance. Kiana's and the Herrscher of Sentience's fists collided, and two powerful forces erupted from them.
Although Kiana desperately pressed the interaction key, she ultimately lost to the Herrscher of Sentience.
["Too many openings!!"]
The opponent's fist landed on Kiana's abdomen, and the powerful impact instantly sent Kiana flying, falling toward the bottomless abyss below.
The Herrscher of Sentience did not let Kiana go; she leaped down after her.
In the next moment, the battlefield changed, arriving in the valley beneath the giant sword that pierced the sky and earth.
["Have you calmed down, Kiana? Look, this is the gap in strength between you and me!"]
A red light descended from the sky, transforming into the appearance of the Herrscher of Sentience.
Sword, spear, and halberd—the three weapons floated behind the Herrscher of Sentience. Although that smile was healthy and sunny, it was full of exaggerated expressions.
But her strength was indeed genuine.
However, facing the Herrscher of Sentience, Kiana had no more words and simply stood up straight with determination!
This battle was not over yet!
["You can't win against me, you can't!"]
Watching Kiana's stubborn resistance, the mocking voice of the Herrscher of Sentience rang out.
["Think about it! What is the point of this battle! What change can the result bring?"]
The three weapons were used with ease in the hands of the Herrscher of Sentience, bringing an unparalleled sense of oppression. This exciting BOSS battle was undoubtedly deeply imprinted in the minds of the *Honkai Impact 3rd* players.
The strength of the Herrscher of Sentience forced even the protagonist Kiana into a disadvantage. This unparalleled sense of oppression made players realize that while she might be a somewhat silly newborn "baby," her strength was no joke!
["What this world needs is me!"]
Even fighting until now, Senti still craved recognition... However, Kiana said nothing more, as the Void Spear in her hand emptied the Herrscher of Sentience's health bar once again.
But the battle was still not over, because the Herrscher of Sentience entered the third phase.
As red wings appeared behind the Herrscher of Sentience, her fists slammed into the ground. As the ground shattered from her power, Kiana fell even deeper into the valley.
["Winning or losing is meaningless; losing to me is only natural."]
Powerful energy transformed into the Herrscher of Sentience's wings, and the three weapons merged into one at this moment, stored within the sword case [Blade in the Sheath]. After merging, the Herrscher of Sentience's weapon transformed into a greatsword!
Facing the heavy greatsword slashes, Kiana could use the Void Spear to parry at the right moment, which not only completely neutralized the greatsword's attack but also left the Herrscher of Sentience in a staggered state!
The Void Spear and the greatsword constantly collided, making a crisp "clanging" sound. This continuous, high-intensity clanging made everyone in the livestream feel a sense of relief.
[Holy crap! This is so satisfying!]
[Spear against greatsword, this clanging sound is truly amazing!]
[Wait, do you know what I'm thinking? There are always traces before the old thief releases a new game. Before, *Honkai Impact 3rd* went all out on mechas, and then the old thief served up *Titanfall*.]
[You mean to say that this new level design is a precursor for a new game? But what kind of game is he making? Action?]
[Maybe it's a "clanging" game! Like, the protagonist has one sword and "clangs" all the way, where any attack can be parried back by clanging... anyway, a game where "clanging" combat is satisfying!]
Looking at the comments from the internet users, Su Mu couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. If he wasn't certain that his Miyazaki-style "clanging" masterpiece hadn't been shown to anyone yet, he would have suspected a leak.
One could only say that the internet was a magical platform; the users here were all uniquely talented and could not be underestimated!
"Cool! It's just too cool!"
Although her character was the BOSS here, Senti was very satisfied with the various abilities she displayed and that powerful sense of oppression.
After all, even the protagonist Kiana was being suppressed and beaten by her! Wasn't this just stealing all the spotlight!
Furthermore, the design of these movements was so flavorful! She actually had four types of weapons—wasn't this much cooler than the Old Timer's previous armors?
"Yes, Su Mu truly put a lot of heart into this... these sword, spear, and halberd techniques are well-integrated and don't feel out of place on the Herrscher of Sentience at all. This is also a character with a very strong Shenzhou style, very much like a Xianxia novel."
Fu Hua also couldn't help but nod in praise.
To be honest, if she didn't know Su Mu's head was full of games, she might have thought Su Mu was a disciple from some hidden sect. How on earth were these moves designed? It was truly unfathomable!
"Compared to that, I'm more curious: if the BOSS version of Senti can use so many weapons, what about the character players pull?"
Elysia looked curiously at Su Mu.
After all, there was a gap between a BOSS and the character in a player's hands. For example, pointing at Yanqing from the previous life's *Honkai: Star Rail*—look how cool the moves of the BOSS version of Yanqing were, but in the player's hands, he was just terrible. Especially since Yanqing appeared so many times in the later plot and received several buffs... this led to players not knowing how to even evaluate the Yanqing in their hands.
This led to many players making a "pain face" upon pulling Yanqing and then mimicking a certain streamer by shouting: "Lao Ma! Lao Ma!!"
One could see how painful it was.
The abilities of the Herrscher of Sentience were designed with such variety, which also made Elysia very curious about Senti's playable character.
"The banner is right there; why not pull one and find out? Anyway, it won't disappoint you."
Su Mu didn't need to answer much, as many players weren't rushing the plot from the start; there were plenty of people who logged in to pull for the character and play.
[Cool, cool, cool!]
[That line "I shall reverse all creations" is just explosively cool!]
[LOL, but why are these greatsword movements a bit abstract? A fierce woman tilling the soil?]
[Can only say this wave really fits the character setting!]
[And in the chain blade state, the Herrscher of Sentience also gives a thumbs down and says "You are weak," man, that fits the character setting too well!]
[Say no more, family, let's pull for SSS, okay!]
Many "investigators" soon returned, expressing their feelings about the Herrscher of Sentience's excellent playable design in the bullet comments.
Seeing these players' praise, Su Mu couldn't help but smile slightly.
After all, the character Herrscher of Sentience could indeed be called MiHoYo's peak work.
Whether it was the character's personality design or skill design, it was a masterpiece.
Among all the Valkyrie armors, Su Mu couldn't think of anyone who could compare with the Herrscher of Sentience.
At least this was true for the characters in Part 1. After all, once Vita's giant mecha in Part 2 appeared, mecha lovers like Old Yang would find it hard not to fall directly for a bad woman like Vita.
Of course, the designs for Human: Ego and Flamescion were also excellent; these three characters could be said to be the painstaking work of the planners.
However, the operational feel of Human: Ego was hard to evaluate; to put it bluntly, it was a purely automatic one-key "braindead" wheelchair. But one could only say this wave fit Elysia's character setting perfectly. To prevent players from getting too tired, she turned herself into a character that could be operated even by a "fool"—thank Elysia quickly!
As for Flamescion, one "With this fire, I shall cut all that is uncuttable" and who knows how many Captains' phones were cut to pieces...
Do you know the pain of playing *Honkai Impact 3rd* in the summer, child?!
As the battle in the game became increasingly heated, the Herrscher of Sentience's emotions became more and more agitated, making it difficult for her to maintain her previous composure.
Watching Kiana, who still stubbornly refused to fall, the Herrscher of Sentience was fuming with rage.
["I am here, Kiana."]
Fu Hua continued to use her already weak power to protect Kiana.
["The Class Monitor... hasn't given up!"]
Even if Kiana's health bar was emptied by the Herrscher of Sentience, it would not drop to zero; under Fu Hua's power, it would recover to half health, and the fight would continue!
["She's about to die! Is it worth it? Why protect... a failure!"]
Facing the angry Herrscher of Sentience, Kiana simply answered calmly.
["You don't understand."]
It was precisely this calm reply that further fueled the fire in Senti's heart.
["Stop... playing... riddles with me!!"]
After Kiana emptied the Herrscher of Sentience's health bar once again, a CG animation played, showing a brilliant duel between the Herrscher of Sentience and Kiana.
Both sides unleashed all kinds of moves, and for a moment, it was impossible to distinguish a winner!
Such cinematic-level combat visuals also shocked the viewers in the livestream.
But immediately, the Senti in the livestream seemed to realize something was wrong and said in confusion: "Why do I feel like Kiana is getting stronger and stronger? Clearly, at first, I completely suppressed her, so how is it that I've used so many moves now but still can't take Kiana down?"
It wasn't just Senti who realized this; the viewers in the livestream were also a bit confused.
After all, across Senti's three phases, the Herrscher power she displayed in each phase was increasingly powerful, with various martial arts and moves appearing.
In contrast, Kiana had been fighting with the Void Spear the entire time, and was even still in the semi-Herrscher state of Void Drifter.
They thought the disparity in strength was so vast that it should have been a stomp that ended early... but looking at it now, Kiana was actually able to hold her own against the Herrscher of Sentience?
"This shouldn't be... Kiana has not fully liberated the power of the Herrscher of the Void yet, and even if she did, she wouldn't necessarily be a match for the Herrscher of Sentience, right?"
Elysia was also very bewildered.
Although the fight was indeed satisfying, this sense of contradiction made her ask.
"Senti can even fight Kevin for a bit; her strength is beyond doubt, so why..."
At this time, Fu Hua spoke up.
"It is probably because the Herrscher of Sentience's heart wavered."
Her analysis stunned everyone.
"The more the Herrscher of Sentience uses her Herrscher power, the more she understands the fact that she is a Herrscher. This is undoubtedly news that is virtually devastating for her... it prevents her from exerting her full Herrscher power at all."
Senti looked completely dazed: "Old Timer, what on earth do you mean?"
Fu Hua sighed: "It means the stronger the Herrscher of Sentience's power, the weaker the Herrscher of Sentience's power."
Senti was dumbfounded on the spot: "What?"
Wait, there could be such a saying? The stronger her power, the weaker she actually was? Good lord, what are you even saying?
Fu Hua's analysis was also accepted by many viewers.
After all, the Herrscher of Sentience was the "Herrscher of Consciousness," and her power originated from "consciousness." If she wavered about her own existence, it was very reasonable that she would become weaker.
"It's over, everything's over."
Senti slumped directly onto her seat.
"At this rate, I'll probably be beaten up severely by Kiana..."
To be honest, she didn't expect to win, because if she really won, what would happen to the Old Timer? Wouldn't the Old Timer be doomed?
Reasonably, it seemed she couldn't win... this was actually a bit funny; even she didn't want the version of herself in the game to win.
There was no helping it; who told her to be the world's number one "Old Timer" fan?
Under Senti's brainstorming, the game entered the settlement screen.
And behind the settlement was none other than the animated short for this Chapter 21 main story—*Shattered Samsara*!
As the animated short played, the Herrscher of Sentience and Kiana were engaged in a fierce battle within the Taixuan Dream.
However, at this moment, Kiana's state did not look complete, and she had even returned to the appearance of White Comet!
"Eh? White Comet fighting a Herrscher? For real?"
Even Kiana couldn't help but burst at this scene. Isn't this too disrespectful to classmate Fu Senti? Su Mu?
END OF CHAPTER
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