"Wow! Sister Lumina, you're amazing!" March 7th's eyes sparkled as she watched Lumina effortlessly obliterate the Antimatter Legion's Voidrangers with a single move, completely transforming into Lumina's biggest fan.
"Impressive!" Stelle chimed in, giving Lumina a generous thumbs-up.
"It was nothing, really," Lumina replied, amused by their reactions. "You two were amazing too. This victory belongs to all three of us."
"Hehe, naturally!" March 7th puffed out her chest, clearly basking in Lumina's praise.
Stelle remained silent, but the way her mouth hung slightly open, suggested she felt much the same way as March.
"Head through that door over there to find the elevator," March 7th said, regaining her composure and pointing to a nearby door. "Take it up, and we'll be back in the Master Control Zone."
"Let's hurry," Lumina said. "The crisis at the Space Station isn't over, and staying here any longer won't do us any good."
She sensed a large number of Voidrangers still lurking within the station, as well as several auras far exceeding those of ordinary Pathstriders—undoubtedly the Doomsday Beasts.
This puzzled Lumina. During her period of inactivity after the System's successful installation, she hadn't simply lazed around. To better "role-play" her assigned game character, she had diligently studied the main storyline.
Notably, the System's preparatory materials didn't cover the content from the first, second, or third beta tests. Instead, they detailed the entire plot from the official public release of Version 1.0 through Version 2.4.
While Lumina couldn't claim to know every detail of the main story, she certainly had a solid grasp of its broad strokes.
Her senses were infallible; the auras of the Doomsday Beasts were undeniably real.
Yet this development had already begun to diverge from the storyline she knew.
"Your study materials are useless!" Lumina grumbled, inwardly criticizing the System's incompetence. "The exam went way beyond the syllabus!"
[Darling, study materials are for studying, and exams are exams. You can't expect to ace the test just by memorizing everything, can you?]
[Exams are designed to differentiate students. What's wrong with a few questions that go beyond the syllabus? Absolutely nothing~]
"..."
Lumina was surprised that this seemingly dim-witted System could actually be so articulate.
But it didn't matter. A mere Doomsday Beast? Lumina couldn't care less. She'd just eliminate it.
Hmm... If this Doomsday Beast could transform into a soft, cuddly little dragon girl, Lumina thought she might actually care a little...
As for this minor discrepancy...
It's only natural for reality to differ from a game, right?
Wait...
What if reality is the game?
Then never mind.
"Ugh... I knew it..."
Standing before the elevator, March 7th solemnly pressed her hand against the control panel. After examining the results, her expression shifted to one of grim satisfaction.
"Hmm, the elevator's broken, huh?" Lumina observed March 7th's rapidly shifting expressions and casually pulled out her phone to record the scene.
"Ah!" Hearing this, March 7th whirled around and blurted out defensively, "It wasn't me! It must have been the Antimatter Legion!"
"You really didn't need to explain," Lumina said, amused by March 7th's overreaction.
"Sister Lumina, you're so amazing! You must know how to fix it, right?" March 7th gazed at her with starry-eyed admiration, recalling Lumina's legendary exploits across the cosmos. In her eyes, Lumina was like an all-powerful mother who could solve any problem for her children.
Lumina: ...
Hearing this, Lumina felt utterly speechless.
Speechless, Lumina remembered she was still on camera. With forced patience, she said gently, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't know how to fix elevators."
I'm a doctor, not a mechanic. If this elevator had a consciousness, if it were a living being, maybe I could fix it. But this cold, unfeeling metal? A hundred of me couldn't fix it.
Lumina was genuinely curious about what had led March 7th and Asta to form such misguided impressions of her. One thought she was capable of anything, while the other believed her to be weak. This made her wonder what kind of image she projected in Stelle's mind.
"Oh, okay," March 7th nodded, saying nothing more. Her admiration for Lumina had only grown stronger. Even someone as perfect as Sister Lumina has flaws! Realizing this, March 7th felt as if the ethereal fairy she had worshipped from afar had somehow drawn closer.
?
Having wandered through countless Amber Eras, Lumina had encountered every kind of person imaginable and long ago mastered the art of reading hearts.
Lumina couldn't imagine March 7th, such an adorable girl, without a mind-reading ability. It just seemed natural.
The mysteries of such a cute girl's thoughts were best left to Nous, the Aeon of Erudition, to unravel.
A humble and powerless little physician like herself shouldn't even attempt to comprehend such perplexing matters.
Ding-ding~
Just as Lumina was lost in thought, a phone notification chimed.
"Ah, my phone! It's Dan Heng!" March 7th exclaimed, quickly pulling out her phone. Her eyes lit up when she saw the message from Dan Heng.
After reading the message, March 7th's face brightened with delight. She glanced around excitedly.
"Dan Heng is watching us right now! He says the elevator upstairs is working. We should take the passageway to reach it."
"The elevator works, and it'll take us straight to Dan Heng and Arlan!"
"Great! Let's hurry—we don't want to keep them waiting."
"Alrighty~ Leave the wayfinding to me!" March 7th declared, planting her hands on her hips and confidently striding forward to lead the way.
"Then we'll leave it to you, March."
"Hehe."