Honkai, but Behind the Scenes

"Hey, Su! I won again!" 

The white-haired boy yelled at his friend with a proud look on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." 

The grey-haired boy replied helplessly.

"Hey, Kevin, can't we play a more civilized game?"

"Civilized?" 

Kevin tilted his head, seemingly unable to grasp the meaning of that word. 

"Like what?"

"Like, uh... Gobang or something?" (Reference to Go game)

"Not interested."

He refused without even thinking.

"As expected of you." Su said.

"Hahaha..."

I'm not complimenting you! 

The grey-haired boy looked helplessly at his best friend, who was grinning foolishly.

"Then come play with me. I think this is much more interesting."

"Sorry, let me rest a bit. I can't compare to you in terms of energy." 

Su collapsed onto the playground with his arms and legs spread out.

"Who are you calling an idiot?!"

"Aren't you just self-aware?" Su said forlornly.

Although Kevin was very displeased about this, seeing the look on his best friend's face, he knew the other party was truly out of strength, so he just put the basketball under his backside and sat down.

"Let me sit for a bit." 

Su immediately saw Kevin sitting on the ball.

"What? Didn't you lie down?"

"The playground's too dirty. Let me give you a hand... We can each sit on half."

"You..." 

Kevin curled his lips, and though still unhappy, he still moved the ball.

"Youth..." 

Tian Shi looked at the two little brats in front of him and sighed softly.

"?"

"What are you staring at, Kevin?"

"Did you hear something?" 

Kevin asked with uncertainty, looking around him.

"Is your brain overheating from too much exercise?" 

Su blurted out indifferently, still sitting on the basketball.

As expected of Kevin, even though he had lowered his voice and kept a certain distance, he still noticed it. 

Quite sharp.

Ahem, if that's the case, then it's my turn to take the stage.

"Kevin, brave boy, can you hear me?" 

Tian Shi imitated a charlatan's voice, half-singing, half-speaking. 

Thinking about it, it's quite interesting to talk like this. 

No wonder that Einstein liked to talk nonsense whenever she had the chance.

"Huh?! Who?" 

The sudden sound scared little Kevin so much that he stood up.

"?" 

Su tilted his head.

"Kevin, what's wrong? Do you have an urgent need to pee?"

"You're the one who needs to pee!"

"Oh, that's the big one, right?" 

Su nodded, as if he understood.

"No, that has nothing to do with it at all." 

Kevin angrily kicked the basketball away from Su's back.

"Are you deaf? You really didn't hear what happened just now?"

"What thing?" 

Su, who had sat on the ground, asked a little unhappily.

"It was something like, 'Kevin, brave young man, can you hear me?' That voice is like calling a soul."

"..." 

"I didn't hear anything at all."

Su got up from the ground and looked at his best friend, who had kicked his "chair" away. 

"Brave boy? You? Did you hit your head? Well, from this angle, you're still quite brave."

"You hit your head! Bastard!" 

Kevin bared his teeth and retorted.

"However, I definitely heard a voice calling me just now!"

"Even though you said that, I didn't hear it anyway, but since that voice asks you, 'Can you hear me?', then you should just answer."

"Only a fool would answer! What if it's an evil spirit from a horror story that kills people when you answer?!"

"Did your brain start working?"

"When did my brain stop working?! Do you want to fight?"

"It really doesn't work very well when you're in class."

Su spread his hands, not making a face at Kevin.

"But then again, I don't think there should be any ghosts at this hour, right? After all, even in horror stories, ghosts usually haunt in the middle of the night."

"Well... that's true." 

Kevin thought for a while and nodded.

But then, Kevin remembered something, and a worried expression appeared on his face.

"But what if the person who said my name isn't an ordinary ghost? Isn't there an old saying that the early bird catches the worm? Well, it seems we can't rule out the possibility that ghosts come to work at this hour."

"..."

 Tian Shi couldn't help but hold back a little. 

These two little brats are really good at talking nonsense.

"If that's really the case..." 

Su showed a thoughtful look: "I'll run away immediately and call the police."

"Bastard! Weren't you like my brother?!" 

Kevin showed an expression of betrayal.

"Even if you say that, Kevin, but what if it's a ghost?" 

"If you really die... what would you like to eat?"

"What?"

"I mean, if you want something to eat, tell me now and I'll send you something every year in the future."

"Keep it for yourself! Bastard!" 

Kevin said angrily.

It was evident that these two boys were truly bad friends and best friends.

Hmm... but doesn't it seem interesting? 

Should I follow their thoughts and scare them? 

Forget it, no matter what, Kevin is a third-grader, and if he gets too scared, accidents will happen.

"It seems the voice hasn't appeared again."

Kevin suddenly realized that when he was arguing with Su just now, the voice hadn't sounded again.

"Maybe that ghost is gone? Or just going home as if nothing happened?"

"No, I'm just watching the show. Are you done with your friends?"

"...?" 

No, aren't you a bit too polite, Mr. Ghost?

"Oh, by the way, I'm not a ghost, at least not the type of ghost you think. If your argument is over, may I continue?"

Continue...

"You said..." 

Although Kevin really wanted to say that he and Su hadn't finished arguing, but... in front of this suspicious ghostly existence, Kevin was still a little timid.

"Well... I'm thinking, what were the lines I prepared earlier? I forgot to watch them perform. It would be a shame not to perform the skit."

You're the performance! Your whole family is a performance! I'm really scared—! 

Kevin silently made a "shhh" gesture to his best friend.

"Oh, I remembered. 'Kevin, the brave chosen one. The world is facing a crisis of destruction. Are you willing to rise up, become a hero, and save the world?' - That's pretty much what I want to say. My way of saying it isn't very good, please understand."

"..."

 Where should I even begin to complain? 

I feel like there are so many flaws in this sentence that it would be rude not to complain about it.

Finally, Kevin scratched his head with his small hand. 

"Umm... can you explain it to me in a simpler way?"

"..." 

Your comprehension skills despair me!

"Easier? Well, the world is about to be destroyed, and I need you to be a hero to save it. Will you or won't you?"

"That sounds great, but there's no way the world is going to be destroyed." 

Kevin shook his head in disapproval.

Tian Shi didn't explain much to Kevin, because Kevin was still too immature.

"One answer, will you or won't you?"

"No! You're too suspicious!" Kevin refused immediately.

"Then there's nothing I can do. I can only reluctantly curse you... Hehehe!"

"What the heck is that sinister laugh?! What you gave me wasn't a multiple-choice question, was it?!" 

Kevin jumped when he heard that.

"This is the sinister adult world, Kevin... Hehehe!"

 Tian Shi continued to let out the sinister laugh of the old men from the Soul Palace.

Su, who was beside him, felt extremely strange watching his best friend talking to thin air. 

He didn't hear any sound, but Kevin's conversation seemed to be true.

 What should I do? 

Run to find someone for help? 

Or stay here? 

Well... let's go. Idiots generally have better luck anyway. 

Bad friends are meant to be sold!

"Hold him! Hold him and I'll agree! Don't all heroes need teammates?! He's the one!" 

Kevin looked viciously at Su, who was about to escape.

"Come on! Let's hurt each other!"

"Kevin! Bastard! Don't drag me into this—!"

"Same here! Su, you idiot!"

"You two have a very good relationship." 

Looking at this scene of love stronger than gold, Tian Shi almost shed tears of emotion. 

Smiling, he held Su, who wanted to escape. 

The sensation of the hand coming from his shoulder proved to Su that ghosts might truly exist in this world.

Damn it, there's no escape! It's all your fault, Kevin!

"Don't worry, from what I feel, this ghost doesn't seem to have any malicious intentions." 

Kevin signaled his best friend to relax.

"If your feelings can become reality, then I can probably conclude that the news about the old sow climbing a tree is true." 

Su spat with a look of despair on his face.

"Do you really want to fight, do you?" 

Kevin frowned.

"This is called sharing good things with friends!"

"I don't think this looks like a good thing."

Now Tian Shi happily looked at the two boys in front of him. 

The two future Fire Moth heroes were now little vandals.

At first glance, Su seemed calm, but in reality, he was on the same wavelength as Kevin. 

It turns out he was a character similar to Kevin when he was a kid. 

At best, Su's brain capacity was slightly superior to Kevin's.

Although Tian Shi usually tried to conceal his existence as much as possible in the simulation, Su was, after all, the future hero and the future object of the simulation. 

So, with the idea that "one is a belt and a litter is also a belt," Tian Shi was too lazy to cover himself in front of Su. 

Then again, even if Kevin didn't ask him to keep Su, he would still call him. 

After all, being willing to expose himself in front of Su and letting Su expose himself meaninglessly are two completely different concepts. 

The fewer internal people he has, the less likely the system is to trigger special processing.

Kevin argued with his best friend Su for a while, then turned to look at Tian Shi. 

"So, this Major Ghost... Although I promised to become a hero, what exactly should I do?"

"What? Study, of course." 

As Tian Shi spoke, he wrote on the ground so Su could see.

"Huh?! Study?! Are you kidding? I'm already willing to be a hero, what do I need to study for?!" 

Kevin showed a look of incomprehension.

"Besides, is it really appropriate for a ghost like you to say this?" 

Enduring humiliation and agreeing to be a hero to save my life. Just to learn?

Bang! 

Tian Shi knocked Kevin on the head.

"First of all, I'm not just a ghost. From now on, you two can call me Master, Master Tian, or just call me Tian Shi; you decide. You can even call me Mr. Ghost, but don't confuse me with a wraith." 

The feeling of being confused with something like that is still unacceptable.

"Secondly, do you understand what 'knowledge is power' means? It's useless to fight without knowledge. As exemplary young people of the new era, you must develop comprehensively."

"Then I'm still a scholar who meets a soldier..." 

Kevin muttered. Most colloquialisms between pre-civilization and current civilization are still common.

Bang! 

Another violent knock.

"So, how are your grades now?"

"Top... top ten?"

"Hehe." 

With a sneer, Tian Shi turned and wrote to Su.

"Kevin's grades are in the middle; he can't go up or down. He's the kind of idiot who could end up at the bottom of the class at any moment." 

Su didn't give Kevin any face.

"You're the idiot! What do you mean, you could be last in line at any moment?" 

Kevin was annoyed.

"Aren't there a lot of people behind me?"

"Well, that's really a lack of ambition, but Kevin just doesn't want to learn." 

The second half of the sentence was obviously directed at Tian Shi.

"Anyway, isn't there any difference between taking the first exam and taking the twentieth or thirtieth exam?" 

Kevin complained.

"There's a difference now." 

Tian Shi said very softly.

"Let's talk about the last point first. In addition to guiding you in your studies, I will also teach you the martial arts of self-defense and combat. I know five types: double-edged weapons, fists, swords, spears, and scythes."

Having said that, Tian Shi suddenly realized that what he had learned was actually quite diverse. 

Fists came from Fu Hua, no need to say. Double-edged weapons, swords, and spears came from Bianka. 

In the previous simulation, the granted skills were all martial arts, except for Rita's miscellaneous knowledge. 

Tian Shi chose a spear at that time, and the double spear and sword skills were derived from compatibility rewards after reuniting with Bianka.

 As for the scythe... needless to say, it comes from Rita.

"As a brave man, of course you have to learn how to use a sword!" 

Kevin replied enthusiastically.

"I'm more interested in double weapons... but learning to use weapons isn't easy, right?"

Su thought for a moment and replied. 

His enthusiasm for melee weapons was obviously not high.

"No problem. You can build a solid foundation first." 

Tian Shi replied in writing.

"As for Kevin, you..."

"And me?"

"I'll teach you swordsmanship when you can rank in the top ten in your class on the exam."

"What!?!?"