MGSFV?! Chapter 540: Showing Honkai Impact 3rd to My Kid; That Place with 97 Genders...
[Theresa: What is up with this dream?!]
[It's low in damage, but extremely insulting.]
[Poor Theresa... being called small and short, she's grinding her teeth in frustration, sobbing—how pitiful.]
[Kids say the darndest things.jpg]
Just as the stream comments said—
Theresa in the game knew full well that the child who said that didn't mean anything by it.
The kid simply saw that she wasn't very tall… and spoke with a manner beyond her age, so ended up calling her "Little Adult Teacher."
Just speaking the truth, really.
Uh, though… being told the truth like that… felt like a direct critical hit?
Theresa: ...!!!
However!
Theresa declared that she was, after all, a mature and calm individual. Why would she lower herself to a child's level?
"Ahem."
She cleared her throat to steady herself, then earnestly explained to the children:
How does one become a true adventurer?
"It's simple. The first step to becoming an adventurer... is to wake up from your own dream."
"Everyone dreams. In the world of dreams, we can imagine all kinds of things."
"But... that's not enough. Because compared to the things we can dream of now—this world still holds countless things far beyond our imagination, just waiting to be discovered."
[True. As long as the world keeps developing, there'll always be things we never thought possible.]
[Like how the pioneers of steampunk could've never imagined the age of information?]
So...
When the children immediately asked, "What are those interesting things hidden in the world?"
Theresa shook her head.
"Unfortunately, I don't know either."
But she quickly followed up—just in case the kids misunderstood.
If they hit her again with things like, "You're only a few years older than us," or "Shorty"...
Like, "You're not old, but XX isn't small,"
Her blood pressure might really spike.
"I'm not lying. I don't know—because they haven't been created yet. Right now, they are still sleeping inside each of your hearts."
"Your vivid imaginations, your boundless creativity—your hands can paint futures no one has ever seen before. Your passion can let dreams fly higher and farther."
"As long as you dare to take the first step and keep searching, keep creating things that don't yet exist… Even if those things seem worthless to others, you'll eventually become adventurers."
...
Since this was Theresa's encouragement and expectation for the children, it naturally had a touch of dreamy fantasy.
But it wasn't entirely divorced from reality either.
Children do represent the future.
Maybe, someday, many things that don't yet exist will be brought into being by one of them.
Maybe the girl who asked Theresa the first question.
Maybe the boy holding the sketch.
Anything was possible.
"Waa~~"
At this moment, the children surrounding Theresa had stars in their eyes.
Clearly, with just a few sentences, Theresa had filled them with wonder. After all, they were just kids—give them a little sunshine, and they shine bright. That's normal, right?
And not just shine bright—but shine so bright it even startles the adults.
That's how they're supposed to be at this age.
"Things that don't exist yet... a canvas..."
"Right! How about this idea? I'll not only draw a spaceship cooler than the ones in books—I'll also build it myself and fly it into the sky!"
"Wow! That sounds so cool! I want to help build a big spaceship too!"
"M-me too!"
The children chattered excitedly, scribbling fervently on paper; some ran all over campus, collecting materials.
Both Theresa and the players outside the game watched their bustle—
Unable to hold back a knowing smile.
If you want to build a spaceship and fly to the stars, where exactly in a school can you find usable materials?
But for kids, having that idea is completely normal.
If a few words from Theresa had made them start studying aerospace engineering instead—that'd be way more bizarre.
[This part feels like something I could show my own child exactly as-is.]
[...Was the last time you guys said this during Everlasting Flames or Because of You? Still, this segment's fairytale-like charm really suits it. Talking dreams with kids—that's the way.]
[Well, once you build a spaceship, you'll be stuck turning bolts forever (but don't look down on people turning bolts—many are senior engineers!)]
[Hahaha, how to say this—this is Chinese-written storytelling, after all. The core values and historical outlook align with what we want to pass to the next generation.]
[So… what you're saying is, you're all serious about this?]
[Kid: Don't come near me!!]
[My review is... please! More of this!!]
Comment after comment flowed nonstop through the stream, players expressing similar sentiments.
Because of shared history and culture, most people's core values aligned.
That's why this story struck such a chord and sparked such a strong response.
It might even be something not easily replicated in other countries.
Like... that place across the ocean with reportedly 97 genders—
If even gender isn't fixed, let alone unified thinking.
[Actually… the fact that Theresa first met a group of children was a pretty clever setup.]
[Isn't it just because kids are easier to coax? (troll face) Can't have her fail before even getting started.]
[No, if I'm guessing right, since the first dream Theresa encounters is childhood, the second should be adulthood, and the third old age—representing the three stages of life.]
...
Meanwhile, in-game, the kids' lively efforts didn't stop—in fact, they grew even more intense.
Clearly, it wasn't just a burst of enthusiasm.
They were truly beginning to yearn, to act, to change.
"Hm... what I can do is probably just this much. From here on, it's up to your own efforts."
Theresa quietly watched the increasingly boisterous campus.
This time, she didn't complain about how "dreams where kids run wild in school completely ignore the teacher."
Because...
She looked toward the edge of the dream—
Where things had started to blur, like ripples from a pebble dropped into a lake.
A shallow step, but undeniably—change had begun.
"You'll surely succeed, because... the world changes because of you."
["The World That Changed Because of You."]
[10/10 essay closing line.jpg]
[If next year's college entrance essay is remotely like this, I'm totally borrowing from the main story (not joking).]
[You wish—keep dreaming. If the main story even brushes past the essay topic, it'd already be fantasy-tier odds.]
[No way, absolutely not (troll face)]
...
Leaving aside the comments—
In the story, Theresa withdrew her gaze and quietly turned away.
She murmured, "I wonder... what kind of dream comes next?"
Then stepped toward the edge of the dream.
She was heading to the next place.
And at that very moment, a system prompt popped up.
Click the right button to switch to Kevin's perspective.
Huh?
Players following the story showed slight surprise—then started to think.
Should they switch?
They had really wanted to continue Kevin's plot earlier,
But now, after Theresa's touching segment, they also really wanted to keep following her route.
Kevin's plot? Yes.
Theresa's plot? Also yes.
Torn.
"You can switch freely. Everyone gets to see both stories, so no worries."
Hokuto noticed the grumbling in chat and gave this reminder.
"But there still has to be an order, right?" Elysia asked, her frown easing.
"Mm..." Hokuto nodded, then teased: "Of course. Or were you hoping to watch both Kevin and Theresa's stories simultaneously? Can your brain even handle that?"
[Oh! That's a great idea! Dual-wielding storylines isn't that hard. But... problem—I don't have a second account that's already progressed this far in the main story.]
[Easy fix. Isn't there one right in front of you?]
[Huh? Right in front...?]
[If we reverse the flow from Fairy Miss's stream, one side pushes story while the other watches—we could run both plots at once.]
[That's genius!]
These flashes of insight from chat quickly scrolled by.
But let's be honest—aren't these players worried that double the story means double the emotional devastation?
Maybe they hadn't thought that far?
Or maybe they were just battle-hardened veterans—no fear?
Who knows.
In any case, some had already made their choice.
As adults, of course the answer is: "I want it all."
Even if they know it's too much to handle.
Multitasking? Can they really do it? Are they sure? Really sure?
Doesn't seem likely.
Most decided to follow Elysia's route through the main story.
And Elysia would...
"You can alternate between them," Hokuto suggested.
"Alternate? As in, one segment of Theresa, then one of Kevin?"
"Yup."
"Wouldn't that get confusing... but since Mr. 'Otto' is suggesting it, I guess it should be fine. And the game did prompt us twice to switch characters. So when designing it, you must've wanted us to play the stories interwoven?"
With that, Elysia stopped hesitating.
She switched from Theresa to Kevin.
Then, stepped into the next dream.
...
"So, I once told you all... A man's destiny is his character."
[That line again—classic.]
[If I recall, that quote's from an actual philosopher, right?]
["Character is destiny"—also translated as "a man's fate…" said by the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. He's also the one who said "you cannot step into the same river twice."]
Still ancient Greece. Still that same philosopher.
Once again, Kevin found himself listening to that philosopher's lecture.
He no longer knew when he'd developed the habit of coming here...
And he didn't think there was any real meaning in doing so.
Because now, he understood.
No matter how genius the ideals envisioned by human minds, after thousands or tens of thousands of years, they'll end up worthless.
He himself was a perfect example.
[PROMETHEUS once said: Kevin doesn't even have a doctorate.]
[Correction! It wasn't a doctorate—it was a bachelor's degree.]
[Saying it like that just makes Kevin sound even more... well, a lot of great thinkers in history didn't have degrees either.]
So—
Whether Kevin "measures up" or not has no real connection to the fact he once didn't even have a bachelor's.
Back then, he was undoubtedly ordinary—even mocked by his companions as slow.
But after enduring time far beyond the norm...
He now had the insight to refute philosophy itself.
"...Destiny has no distinction between good or bad. But character isn't the same."
"Who?" the philosopher asked, naturally intrigued.
Kevin: "..."
Kevin's silence was typical. What wasn't typical—
Was how he consciously organized his words...
He was actually preparing to answer.
"I once had a friend..."
"He may have had some talent, but he was quite dull—used to relying on others to make decisions. That was simply how he was."
"So he chose a brilliant mind. A soul worth following. He let that person decide for him—adopted their fate as his own."
[Based on Kevin's words, that "friend" clearly refers to himself.]
[Actually... Hua also matches Kevin's description pretty well?]
[But he said 'he,' not 'she.']
"For him, if character is destiny... does it still hold true?"
Philosopher: "..."
Did Kevin just leave the philosopher speechless?
If this philosopher were secretly a time traveler, he'd probably respond with:
That friend you're talking about... are you sure it's not just you?
And that scene... yeah, let's not picture it.
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