The Honkai Impact 3rd logo on the screen was something Hokuto had casually sketched while writing the game proposal.
For someone who had once singlehandedly created an R18 game, this kind of task was hardly difficult.
He clicked through the slides of the presentation, addressing the "Valkyries" below with bold confidence.
He explained what the Honkai was, what Valkyries were, the game's mechanics, and its key selling points.
"Honkai Impact 3rd… multi-dimensional…"
"Role-playing? 3D real-time combat?!"
"A mobile game?"
The girls stared at the projected contents, their eyes glittering with excitement.
They were, after all, game studio staff. Even if they hadn't produced a hit title, they'd seen their fair share of games and had solid industry knowledge.
And the moment they saw the real-time combat mechanics and other system designs, they were completely amazed by the proposal.
This was an entirely new kind of gameplay—something never before seen in this world!
However, they quickly began to wonder: did their studio even have the capability to make this happen? The standards outlined in Hokuto's plan were pretty high.
Especially when it came to the game engine. Even though they always had confidence in Bronya, even she…
Bronya raised her hand and slightly lifted herself from her seat.
"I have a question. From what I understand, there's currently no 3D mobile engine on the market capable of supporting this level of operation. Are you saying we'll need to develop one ourselves?"
She paused slightly, her delicate, emotionless face showing a rare look of seriousness.
"As long as there's a clear direction, even if it takes time, Bronya has confidence… ahem I have confidence that I can complete the task. Please leave it to me!"
"Bronya really is reliable!"
Everyone who had been a little worried before now smiled in relief.
But just as they were getting excited, Hokuto waved his hand to interrupt. "You don't need to worry about that. I've already completed the action engine."
"Hm?" *N curious voices filled the meeting room in perfect sync.
Especially Bronya, who had just confidently made her promise, now fixed Hokuto with an intrigued gaze.
They began to reassess him seriously.
Not only did he propose gameplay mechanics this world had never seen before, but he also brought with him a fully functional action engine?
Even outsiders could tell Hokuto was something else—so how could they not?
"Really…?" someone asked.
"I wouldn't joke about something like this."
Looking at the girls' now-fired-up expressions, Hokuto squinted slightly, like a certain Apostle of Apocalypse, and continued, pretending to sound troubled.
"But actually, there's still one big problem I haven't solved yet."
"What is it? Just tell us, Hokuto—we'll figure it out together!" Kiana chimed in with her usual boundless energy, even without her iconic twintails.
"Well… the character designs for Honkai Impact 3rd aren't finalized yet."
Hokuto explained, "This game is my passion project. I want every character to have a soul—something uniquely theirs."
The room went silent. Everyone exchanged looks.
That was an incredibly high standard. In most games, players might only remember a few characters at best.
But Hokuto wanted every single one of them to stand out? That was a tall order.
"How about you give it a try, Kiana?" Mei nudged her with her elbow. "You are our studio's writer, after all."
"Really? Can I?"
A normal person might've hesitated, but Kiana was practically bouncing with excitement.
Honkai Impact 3rd definitely had the potential to be a massive hit!
If she could leave her mark on something like that… it'd prove her talent for sure!
"Hokuto~~" Kiana turned to him with bright eyes. "Can I… give it a shot?"
Hokuto froze for a moment.
"Kiana, don't make it too hard on Hokuto," Himeko sighed and gently held Kiana back.
Hokuto collected himself. "Actually, Kiana's personality already lines up well with one of the characters I had in mind…"
He paused, then continued: "I suddenly had an idea. What if we modeled all the characters after you—digitized your real-world appearances into the game? That way, I can ensure each one has a true soul. What do you think?"
And with that, the real purpose of this whole meeting was finally out in the open.
"That might not be appropriate… We're real people after all. Isn't that kind of weird?"
"Why would it be?"
In Hokuto's mind, they were the soul of Honkai Impact 3rd!
Only by bringing them into the game could he truly create the real Honkai Impact 3rd.
"Haven't you heard? Art imitates life."
The girls fell silent, deep in thought. None of them had expected things to go this way.
Still, they weren't outright rejecting the idea. In fact, some of them seemed a little intrigued.
In a way… this was like getting to act in their own story?
Hokuto added fuel to the fire. "And using your likenesses would speed up character design. That means we can get Honkai Impact 3rd online faster."
"Our studio's been running at a loss for too long. We need to start turning a profit soon."
That was true. None of them were really in a position to be picky anymore.
After some thought, they stopped hesitating. So what if they were turned into game characters?
Call it… a noble sacrifice for the cause.
Fortunately, a few of them still had no idea what their future nicknames would become.
Paramecium… Rice-Cooker Wife…
If they had known, they might've preferred to hang themselves in the conference room rather than agree to this.
With that, the meeting was basically done. Hokuto briefly mentioned that everyone would retain their current roles, and that he might hire more people soon to speed up development.
Hokuto left the conference room with Rita, while the others stayed behind to chat.
"Why do you think Hokuto's helping miHoYo so much?"
"Isn't it just because he needs staff to help develop Honkai Impact 3rd?" Kiana blinked.
Theresa shook her head, wearing a you're-too-naive expression.
"If Hokuto just needed help, he could've worked with any studio. With everything he brought to the table, he'd have developers lining up to join him. Why would he pay ten million just to work with us?"
"Good point…"
"Exactly! Hokuto must've seen the potential in our miHoYo studio! He knew we were the perfect team to make Honkai Impact 3rd!" Theresa declared with confidence.
"Theresa, that actually kind of makes sense!"
As miHoYo's two supposed "IQ ceiling" holders, Theresa and Kiana quickly came to an agreement.
And somehow landed on the right conclusion.
The others sitting nearby were speechless. They had no idea how the two of them had arrived at that answer.
…
"If you really plan on hiring more people, I actually have someone I'd like to recommend," Rita suddenly said after helping Hokuto set up his office.
"She's a close friend of mine, and she's wanted to help me for a long time. I just never agreed before."
After all, miHoYo's situation used to be… well, dire. It was one thing to let herself struggle through it, but she didn't want to drag a friend into the mess.
Hokuto looked up at her, considering.
Rita's friend?
Could it be…