A Certain [Gamer] in a Valkyrie Academy

Chapter 5 - Is It Really Necessary?

Glynne and Bronya managed to arrive at the location of the simulation room. They could hear the other students chatter, curious as to why their teacher Himeko decided to call them there. Curiosity that the boy also shares.

He could see a bit farther ahead that Kiana was talking with Himeko. She initially looked a bit confused, befote nodding with determination in her eyes as she looked around to look for someone, before spotting him and locking eyes with him.

“Hm?” Glynne hummed in confusion. He saw Kiana gesture him to come to where she is.

He looked towards his companion, not knowing if he should follow. She looked back towards him.

“Go.” She said. “Miss Himeko might be looking for you.”

“Alright.” He said.

He walked towards them, excusing himself as he walked between the Valkyries. He managed to arrive to where Kiana and Himeko was after a few seconds.

“Quiet down!” Himeko ordered to the students. They went silent, following the teacher’s order. “Now I know you’re all curious as to why I called you all here.”

She looked around to look her students.

“The reason is simple, and it might not be surprising if you were savvy.” She said “Today, I will test the abilities of our newest student as to show his potential so that you will not underestimate him.”

The boy went wide eyed as he became the centre of attention.

“Your objective is simple, Mr. Romero.” The teacher said. “You will duel with Ms. Kaslana who, despite her rather low academic performance, has one of the best in physical performance, specifically in marksmanship that you two share.”

Glynne’s eyes went serious as he looked at Kiana, who looked at him back with determination.

“Of course, we can’t have you just give away the match since it’ll make the point of it worthless. So I figured I should make it interesting with a bet.” Himeko smirked. “Whoever loses has to do whatever the winner says as punishment.”

‘Sunnova-‘

The Valkyries present cheered as they got something interesting to look at. It’ll be interesting to see if their resident prodigy would beat the newest student, or the underdog would somehow win against all odds.

Glynne could see a bit of drool escaping from the young girl’s mouth. He could already predict what she’s planning to do with him if she ever wins, which the other Valkyries pitied him for.

“Alright, contestants.” Himeko said to the two of them. “Ready yourselves. And remember, no holding back.”

Kiana turned towards the simulation room and walked inside, ready to win. Glynne, meanwhile, had his own words on the matter.

“What?” Glynne seethed as he glared at his teacher.

“Alright, alright, come down. I know your feathers are ruffled, but I know what I’m doing.” She smirked at his reaction.

“It’s bad enough on what happened earlier this morning.” Glynne muttered. “But why throw me into the spotlight again? What’s your objective, miss Himeko?”

“To knock the girls a couple pegs down.” Himeko said seriously. “As much as I dislike it, the Valkyries in this school have a rather…discriminative view of males.” She continued. “Many of them tend to look down on your gender just because they can develop their stigmata unlike your gender.”

She then puts a hand in his shoulder and looked him straight in the eyes.

“What I want you to do is to show your strength to them. Show them that you’re capable too.” She spoke. “Not only will this lessen their bias, but also make them unlikely to bully you in the future. A win-win for everyone.”

Glynne stared back. He couldn’t detect a lie in her words. He pondered a bit before sighing.

“Alright. I’ll try.” He said.

“Good.” Himeko smiled. “Now let’s look at what Kiana can do.” He turned to look at the girl readying herself.

“And remember about the bet.” The redhead teased. “ I feel sorry for you if you’re planning to lose, cuz I think all your money will go to that girl’s stomach.”

She giggled, which caused the boy to grumble on his position. Seems like this woman wanted to mess with him throughout the day.

-

The alarm rang out as Kiana finished the simulation. The students chattered among themselves as they saw her score.

702! A new record!

Kiana went to her teammates, who congratulated her for her achievement.

“Well done, Kiana.” Said Mei

“Mm, though usually Bronya would joke at your expense, Bronya is currently impressed that Kiana-Idiotka beat the record by a lot.” Said Bronya.

“Ehehe. It wasn’t much.” The white-haired girl said. “I guess I was just a bit motivated.”

The other two sighed as the girl drooled for her reward. The poor boy stood almost no chance at winning now that she had her motivation.

Speaking of said boy, he was very impressed with the girl. He somehow exceeded her expectation by a bit. He estimated her score to be around 680, but she added 20 more points. Seems Himeko was right, the girl had talent. For now though, it was his turn. And so, he entered the simulation room and readied himself for the challenge.

‘Time to show them a thing or two.’

‘Oh hey Glynne’ Arona suddenly said. ‘I can help you with aiming. Do you need me?’


“I think I’m fine on my own…” Glynne thought it over, before getting an idea. “Actually, maybe it’ll make my job easier if I let you help. Sure, Arona.”

‘Yay!’ she cheered.

“Simulation will start in 3…2…”

Glynne’s vision suddenly gained an HUD, letting him see the best calculations an AI could produce for the best outcome.

“1…”

The timer started as he quickly drew his gun and aimed for his first and second targets, lining them up in one shot. Then the third and fourth on his second shot. And then the fifth, sixth, and seventh. Ad continuum.


The audience noticed somethings. One, he was slower than Kiana. While the girl was full of energy in her simulation, he was only slightly more than 2/3 her speed. Which doesn’t help is that his gun is also meant to be a charged one, making his shots all the more slower.

There is, however, another thing that makes up for it. His actions are…methodical. Calculating, even. No, to call it calculating was downplaying it. His shots, they never missed. Not missed, no, they haven’t even only hit one target. He always hit two, occasionally hit three, and sometimes hit four. Rarely does he get higher, but it still sometimes happen. It’s as if he can predict the pathways of the targets and he instantly moves and aims for the best scenario.

Everyone, especially Kiana, was captured by the sight. The girl clenched her arm as she saw the boy now getting closer to her record-breaking score. As for Himeko, she merely smiled and raised an eyebrow on the boy’s skill. Seems like Kiana wouldn’t be the best marksman in their class anymore.

Meanwhile….

‘A triple kill at 1 o’clock’

‘Quadra at 9 o’clock’

‘Another double at 11’

Arona’s voice rang through Glynne’s head as he continuously shot. He didn’t find her voice annoying at all, unlike other people in his situation. He quickly stepped to the side and turned as he shot another three targets.

It almost seemed as if he could imagine himself slaughtering countless Honkai beasts in the battlefield, their bodies littered around him. Dancing methodically to an imaginary rhythm. But as he was just about to fully embrace the adrenaline-!

*RING!*

The alarm rang out, signifying the end of the simulation. He blinked as he snapped out of his trance and lowered his gun. He released his breath as he looked around the area.

No one was speaking, not even Kiana. All of them were wide-eyed and open-mouthed as they stared at the scoreboard. Having a bad feeling, he slowly turned his head towards it.

802.

Exactly 100 points more than the previous record-breaker.

‘My score is…not quite what I expected…’

‘What? Did you want it to be higher, master? I mean we could always ask for a redo-‘ Arona

‘No no, I was aiming for only a point of difference between me and her score…So I wanted it to be lower…’

‘Oh! Oops, sorry master-!’ Arona apologized.

“Nah, it’s okay Arona” Glynne actually spoke quietly. “I should’ve clarified before I went to town.”

The black-haired boy walked out of the simulation room as he went to where Kiana, Mei, and Bronya were standing. Kiana and Mei were looking at him wide-eyed, while Bronya was on her phone.

But before he could say a word, he heard some students cheer, getting him confused.

“Bronya won lots of money thanks to Subject Glynne.” He heard Bronya say. “The 8-2 odds rewarded substantially”

Glynne realized that the Valkyries had a bet for who would win. Seems his and Kiana’s odds were 2 and 8 respectively. Which made sense, as he was a newcomer while the other was a rising star. He didn’t know why, however, it was 1 to 9 instead.

Himeko clapped as she walked towards the four.

“Ara ara~, you exceeded my expectation, Mr. Romero” she smiled. “I was honestly thinking you were gonna throw it away after seeing that high score but…you just made yourself the star of the show instead.”

He scratched his head at her comment. It’s not like he was intending to do that or anything.

“Now then.” He could hear the smile in her voice. And her actual smile just went wider. “I believe the punishment is on order, right?”

He and Kiana went stiff after hearing that. Glynne honestly forgot about it after seeing his score while Kiana was afraid of what Glynne will do to her.

Mei was also worried of what will happen to her friend. Bronya, meanwhile, wasn’t. She knew Glynne would be reasonable with his request, even if the idiot deserved it.

“I…Is it really necessary, Ms. Himeko?” he asked.

“Of course.” The teacher replied. “I made the bet official by announcing it earlier before the duel. Kiana agreed to it, while you didn’t object. And I think the other students will be disappointed if you don’t actually do it.” Her smile somehow went wider at the last sentence.

“I..see…” Glynne said. “Can you wait a bit while I try to think of a punishment?”

“Sure, feel free.”

He closed his eyes as he thought of what to do. Around 10 seconds passed before he opened his eyes again, as if a lightbulb opened in his mind.

“Kiana, close your eyes.” He spoke.

“Huh?”

“I said close your eyes.” He ordered.

“What, what are you…” Kiana’s (cobwebbed) gears in her head began to turn as she thought of why he gave the specific order. “N-No way, rejected! There’s no way I’ll agree to it!” she shouted.

“Huh?” he was befuddled.

“I’m, I’m sorry, but you can’t kiss me!” she said. “My lips are only for Mei!”

“What are you talking about?” he raised an eyebrow. “ I’m not asking for a kiss to a girl I barely know.”

“A…ah…oh…” Kiana became red as Himeko laughed at her reaction, while Glynne shook his head. Mei and Bronya meanwhile have conflicted expressions on their faces

“Anyways, close your eyes.” He said.

This time, she did what she was told and closed her eyes nervously. She could her Glynne whisper something to Himeko, but couldn’t hear exactly what he said. She then felt something touch her forehead, and traced itself all over it. She then felt it on her cheeks.

“Are, are you done?” she asked nervously.

“Hold on, one last thing.” He said. She heard a shutter sound, which she could imagine was from a phone. “Alright, you’re good.”

The white-haired girl opened her eyes and saw the photo on Glynne’s phone. It was of herself, whiskers on cheeks and on her forehead was written ‘Second Place’

“Well then, stay like that until you get home.” He said with a smile.

“Ehhhhh?!” Kiana shouted at ridiculous order. “Wait, that’s too much! You already scribbled all over my face! Why do I have to stay like this until I get home?!”

“Because Ms. Himeko told us not to hold back earlier.” He replied. “ So I didn’t.”

“Ugh!” the Valkyrie groaned. “T-then can you at least delete the photo you took earlier?”

“Nope~.” Glynne denied her request with a rather familiar-looking smile.

Himeko laughed as Glynne handed her back her marker.

“Alright, calm down, Kiana.” She said. “Glynne won fair and square. So no need to complain.”

The white-haired girl tried to find what to say, but couldn’t, so she turned her head with a ‘Hmph’.

“Mark my words, I will have my revenge!”

---------

Alice: Hey.

...

Alice: Hey!

...

Alice: HEY!

...

Alice: Alright, you asked for it...

Ow! Who?! What?! What happened?!

Alice: You almost forgot the monthly update.

Well technically I missed that already last month, but I did write two bonus chapters (go read that btw).

Alice: Excuses, excuses! Well what happened this time?

...Believe it or not I managed to complete it before 20. But I wasn't satisfied with it so I had to put in on hold and edit some stuff.

Alice: Then...?

I managed to complete it...on 26. Same day Star Rail went online.

Alice: Oh.

To say I was distracted would be an understatement. Anyways, I should complete Jarilo on my alt account with the female MC. So far I prefer her over the male one, but that may be biased by my love of waifus.

Alice: Who's the 5* you got anyway?

Welt on both accounts, and an additional Himeko (I got the former after lossing 50/50).