Humans are in chaos, despicable outsiders.

Snow tossed the nameplate in his hand with utter boredom. It was a card, a certificate card representing his status as an A-rank Valkyrie.

She leaned against the exam hall door, her gaze sweeping over the exam room list posted on the door and the interior of the room, as if waiting for something.

"Hey, isn't that Snow? Why is she...?" The Valkyrie trainees waiting for their exams in the exam hall whispered among themselves as they looked at the blonde girl standing at the door.

"Don't you know? As a teaching assistant and an A-rank Valkyrie at St. Freya Academy, Miss Snow is exempt from academic exams; only her participation grade is recorded."

"Wait, wait! You said Miss Snow is an A-rank Valkyrie?!" another Valkyrie exclaimed in surprise.

"Of course, if you don't believe me, go and see what Miss Snow is tossing in her hand." The Valkyrie at the beginning gestured with her chin, pointing to the card being tossed by the girl at the door.

"Really... Miss Snow already has her own team...."

"Wake up! Stop dreaming. If you don't pass the exam, forget Miss Snow's team, you won't even have a chance to go to the battlefield. You'll spend your whole life in logistics, managing warehouses."

"Sigh... I suddenly feel envious of Jiuxiao..."

"Envious of Jiuxiao? You want to spar with Miss Snow on the training field every day too?"

"Hehehe. It's not bad at all, is it?"

"Good my ass! I bet you just want to get a beating. You're a hopeless masochist!"

.....

Ignoring the increasingly cheerful atmosphere in the examination room, Snow checked the examination list and time again.

[Comprehensive Cultural Assessment 9:00-11:30]

Looking at the clock in the classroom, the hands were pointing to 8:55.

After mentally calculating the distance from the dormitory to the exam hall, the girl took out her phone and dialed a number.

"As for Dean Theresa, it's me. If your lovely niece doesn't get out of bed soon, she'll miss her exam... You should know the consequences of missing an exam better than I do..."

There wasn't even a chance to retake the exam back then—

After hanging up the phone, Snow looked in the direction of the villa, and unsurprisingly, a flock of birds took flight the next moment.

8:55 AM

Snow turned aside, and a white figure rushed into the examination room. A white fluffy ball appeared in the only empty seat in the classroom, and then, the next moment, the preparatory bell for the examination room rang.

The blonde girl walked up to the podium, where a brown-haired male teacher, a rare sight in the academy, was opening the exam papers.

"Students, please check that your name and examination number on your admission ticket match the labels on your desks. Also, please double-check that you have not brought any prohibited items such as cell phones into the examination room," Snow said, standing on the podium as he began checking the students' identification and belongings.

"Everything's fine now, right? So, this exam is a comprehensive cultural assessment, from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM, a total of two hours and thirty minutes. There will be two proctors—Professor Yang from the History Department and Assistant Professor Snow from the college."

"This exam will be monitored online throughout to ensure fairness and impartiality. Any act of cheating will result in the invalidation of the exam score, and the perpetrator will be held accountable! Please do not take any chances!"

After unpacking the exam papers, Yang raised his head and addressed the crowd below the podium with a serious expression.

"Next, we will distribute the exam papers. There are two sets of exam papers, A and B. After receiving the exam papers, please check the information on your admission ticket to make sure you have the correct exam paper."

"The exam paper consists of two parts: the exam paper and the answer sheet. The exam paper has a total of 3 pages (6 sides). The answer sheet should be filled in using a 2B pencil. The college will be using computers for grading this exam, so please do not answer on the exam paper."

"No talking or borrowing stationery during the exam. Unless there are special circumstances, you may not leave the exam room before the exam ends. If you encounter any problems with the exam paper, please raise your hand." The two people on the podium finished explaining the rules, and then the clock struck nine.

The exam bell rang at 9:00 AM.

"Then let the exam begin!"

Soon, only the sounds of exam papers turning and pencils scribbling on answer sheets filled the examination room. Watching everyone begin to focus on their work, Yang let out a long sigh, sat down, unscrewed the cap on the table, and took a sip of tea to moisten his previously dry throat.

"Miss Snow, why don't you sit down for a while? Most of the students at the academy are actually quite trustworthy," Yang asked softly, looking at the blonde girl who was still standing ramrod straight beside him.

Snow didn't respond to Yang's invitation, but instead looked at a corner of the examination hall. Yang curiously followed her gaze and immediately spotted that small group of somewhat unreliable individuals in the academy.

"..." The two stared at the white, fluffy girl drooling on the table with murderous intent, trying to erase her from the classroom, so out of place in the exam room.

Meanwhile, some students in the examination hall with ulterior motives, upon looking up and seeing the terrifying, murderous gazes and oppressive atmosphere emanating from the two invigilators on the podium, instantly banished their unrealistic desires.

"I will report to Dean Theresa what her dear niece did in the exam hall," the blonde girl said, emphasizing each word as she looked at Kiana, who was fast asleep in her seat.

Yang's eye twitched as he picked up a piece of chalk, and then the white cylinder, carrying kinetic energy, hurtled towards the equally white creature at high speed.

"Who's blind? Throwing chalk at me like that?!" The fluffy little boy, jolted awake, roared in the exam room filled only with the clatter of chalk against paper.

Then he looked up at the two people on the podium, who exuded a terrifying aura.

"Look—the corpse is talking!"

--

Chapter 18 Absolutely Impossible.jpg

If the academic exams were hell for Kiana, then the afternoon's practical assessment was her paradise.

The mechanical training machines, mimicking tank-class Honkai Beasts, trudged heavily across the field. Valkyrie trainees, in squads, grappled with the bionic mechanical Honkai Beasts. If academic classes broadened the Valkyries' knowledge for special situations, then practical combat assessments were their most essential task—fighting the Honkai and their creations.

The portable, single-person heavy cannon was mounted on the right arm of the heavily armored bunny. The roar of the cannon covered the behemoth's head, and the billowing smoke temporarily obscured its vision. At the same time, a sharp blade flashed from the tank-class's right forelimb, severing it.

The giant beast, having lost its balance, lay paralyzed on the ground for a moment.

"Now's the time for me to make my appearance!" Kiana emerged from the dissipating smoke, leaping high into the air with her chainsword gleaming, and brought it crashing down on the head of the replica tank-class battleship.

The high-speed rotating saw teeth tore through the behemoth's outer skin, shredded its internal metal structure and cables, and cleaved it in two from its head. The tank-level target drone in the testing area ceased operation completely with Kiana's final strike.

"90 points. The team's coordination was excellent, but Kiana, your movements were too aggressive. The vital point of the tank-class is the core connected to the back of their brain. The optimal solution is to jump and pierce directly through their heads."

Himeko watched as the three who had finished dealing with the giant beast in the arena gave their scores and pointed out some shortcomings.

"Uh... Himeko, why don't you talk about the class representative and the others...?"

"Boom!—" In the testing area to the left of Kiana's team, the Valkyrie, dressed in a blue training uniform, slammed a training machine of the same model into the concrete floor with a series of punches. Black smoke and sparks flew from her body, making one wonder if an explosion was imminent.

"BOOM!—" Then, in the next moment, an explosion did indeed occur, though not in Fu Hua's arena, but to the right of everyone, where two girls, one in gold and one in purple, were discussing another training machine that had been reduced to scrap metal.

"This thing is way too fragile. I only hit it once..." Jiu Xiao commented, looking at the completely destroyed wreckage.

"And it was very light? I just punched it in the chin, and it actually flew up?" Snow nodded in agreement. A small team of support personnel ran past them with fire extinguishers and water guns, putting out the flames burning on the wreckage.

"........"

"You three! Don't you know how expensive it is to repair a training machine like this?!" Himeko's roar echoed throughout the combat training ground.

"I'm so sorry, Himeko-sensei, it was my mistake," Fu Hua said sincerely, bowing her head beside Himeko. The other two, however, reacted quite differently.

"They have the nerve to sell this paper-thin contraption for such a high price?" Jiu Xiao curled his lip, pointing fingers and accusing the purchasing department of swindling funds.

"I know the dean often buys strange things that strain the academy's budget... but to be punched into the air like that, isn't the material usage a bit too cheap..." This was Snow questioning whether the research and manufacturing departments had cut corners.

"...Isn't it possible—I mean, possible—that the two of you are both incredibly strong!" Himeko's lips twitched as she voiced her doubts about the two girls in front of her.

"..." The two turned their heads at the same time

In other testing areas, the Valkyries were struggling with the training machines, while some of the more agile ones were climbing onto the machines' heads, preparing to perform Monster Hunter demonstrations. Meanwhile, some of the Valkyries trained for administrative roles, who weren't particularly adept at combat—were being trained as Monster Hunters.

Turning their heads, the two exchanged a glance, seemingly confirming something, then turned their gaze back to Himeko and said in unison.

"Absolutely impossible!!!"

[Just kidding, Kiana alone is enough for the title of "muscle gorilla," we don't need it.]

"You two, put your hands on your conscience and think about it again!" Himeko glared angrily at the two people in front of her.

"...I'll cover all the expenses and costs incurred during today's exam!" Snow offered a deal that the red-haired Valkyrie simply couldn't refuse.

.......silence

"...Indeed, I need to talk to Theresa about this. The quality of this batch of training machines is just too poor." Like a Sichuan opera face-changing act, his previous exasperated expression vanished instantly, replaced by a look of empathy as he nodded to Jiuxiao and Snow.

"Shall we head out now? Just give me the bill tomorrow." Snow glanced at the wreckage, seemingly noticing something, grabbed Jiu Xiao's hand, and began to move away into the distance.

"Okay, okay, have a safe trip," Himeko nodded with a smile.

"Goodbye, Himeko-sensei!" The blonde and purple-haired girl took off running, disappearing quickly from Himeko's sight.

"Goodbye! Be careful on your way!" Himeko cheerfully greeted the two who had sped away from the scene, seemingly unaware that anything was amiss.

On the right side of the exam room, the wreckage of the training machine still remains; someone will come to clean it up after the exam...

Beneath the wreckage, on the ground trampled by Snow and Jiuxiao, cracks began to appear and gradually widened...

When Himeko Murata finally turned around and looked at the examination hall—the ground collapsed. The surface, ravaged by the greatsword strikes, the monstrous strength of the stomping machines, and the explosions of the training machines, finally crumbled, revealing a glimpse of St. Freya's underground drainage system.

"..." The red-haired Valkyrie felt her blood rush to her head, then her vision went black, and she fainted.

"Himeko! Himeko-sensei!"

--

That night, Himeko Murata's ghostly figure wandered around the dormitory entrance, waiting for someone's return.

Meanwhile, on the rooftops of distant high-rises, her targets were peering through binoculars.

"How's the situation?" Jiuxiao looked at his silent companion holding up binoculars.

"We're probably not going home tonight unless we can get a whole case of liquor to win Himeko over," Snow said, shrugging as he looked at Himeko Murata through the binoculars, her expression contorted with rage and her teeth clenched.

"Didn't you say all expenses would be covered...?"

"This doesn't contradict the fact that we raised Himeko's blood pressure to at least double..."

"So we just stood there freezing..." Jiu Xiao shivered from the cold wind blowing from the high-rise building.

"No, let's go to the coffee shop in the shopping street."

"what?"

"Although alcoholic beverages are not prohibited on campus, we are not yet adults."

"so?"

"So, we can go through some weird back door...it's an Italian café, and Italian cafés usually don't just sell coffee—"

"They usually also offer alcoholic beverages, especially coffee cocktails... and I've even met the manager once before."

“We might be able to get some good wine from her… or do you really want to spend the night drinking the wind on the rooftop?” Snow shrugged at his companion.

"Nobody wants to brave the cold wind all night! Let's go now!"

--

"I see. So you two made Himeko angry?" Aria looked thoughtfully at the two people in front of her.