Wayne and Tess entered their own leisure time, both sitting down to watch the newly unlocked Saint Seiya.
Although it was a multi-episode animated series, it functioned like the Harry Potter films—when watching individually, you had to finish one episode before the next; skipping episodes wasn't allowed.
Even though both series were decades-old classics before Wayne's transmigration, the versions presented here had undergone significant high-definition optimization. The frame rate was higher, the animation smoother, and the sound effects were clearer and more impactful.
It started with the blood-pumping opening theme, "Pegasus Fantasy." Sipping his ice-cold Coke, Wayne felt as if he had returned to his primary school summer vacations. It reminded him of the era when color TVs were a new luxury, watching the dubbed version imported by the local TV station.
Unlike Tess, who chose to automatically switch the audio to the local language, Wayne opted for the original Japanese voice acting with translated subtitles. To him, that was the only way to experience the authentic flavor.
After the opening theme, a brief introduction to the Saints played:
"Whenever evil appears in this world, the warriors of hope will surely appear—the Saints!"
"Their fists can rend the sky; their legs can split the earth."
The plot then began in the Sanctuary of Greece. A young fighter named Seiya, having already defeated nine opponents, reached the final match for the Pegasus Cloth. His opponent was a giant of a man named Cassios.
During the battle, Cassios grabbed Seiya in his grip and prepared to execute him with a hand-blade. But a moment later, a bloody ear fell to the ground. The spectators saw that Seiya had already escaped; it was Cassios whose ear had been severed.
What followed illustrated a consistent trait of the Saint Seiya plot: you had to talk a lot while fighting.
Seiya and his master Marin, along with Cassios and his master Shaina, each reminisced from different perspectives about Seiya's training and growth. They told the story of how an orphan had endured Marin's training—so brutal it bordered on torture—until he finally pulverized a small mountain with a single punch.
Tess was dazed by what she saw, calling out to Wayne repeatedly. "Boss, Boss! This is too intense... Do you think the people in here know the professors at Hogwarts? If they fought, those professors probably couldn't beat this guy Seiya..."
Wayne took a sip of Coke. "How do you know they couldn't?"
Tess replied, "It seems like no one at Hogwarts can blast through a mountain with one spell."
Wayne chuckled. "Have you ever played cards?"
Tess hummed in affirmation.
Wayne asked again, "Have you played chess?"
Tess hummed again.
Wayne said, "Then tell me, is the Joker in a deck of cards more powerful, or the Queen in chess?"
Tess hesitated. "That... there's no way to compare them."
Wayne replied, "Exactly. It doesn't matter if a 'Rocket' in cards can blow up heaven and earth; it can't blow up a chessboard."
In the story, after the wave of memories, the first climax of the Saint Seiya anime appeared—a scene that unlocked countless memories for an entire generation.
Seiya recalled Marin's teachings: humans are made of atoms, and atoms were formed by the Big Bang. Therefore, there is a small universe—a Cosmo—inside every human. A true Saint can mobilize the energy of atoms to ignite their internal Cosmo, unleashing power far beyond ordinary mortals.
Tess couldn't help but mutter along with the dialogue: "Humans are made of atoms... everyone has a small universe inside them..."
Wayne looked at her and thought she looked exactly like his primary school classmates who used to mimic the Saints' moves in the classroom during every recess.
Then, accompanied by scenes of his memories, the Pegasus constellation appeared behind Seiya. His hands traced the positions of the thirteen stars of Pegasus. As he lunged forward, he seemed to merge with a white, winged Pegasus, unleashing the "Pegasus Meteor Fist" at Cassios!
As the punch flew, countless fist shadows emerged instantly, all striking Cassios's body.
Blood sprayed, armor shattered, and Cassios was utterly defeated. Under the witness of the Pope of the Sanctuary, Seiya received the Pegasus Cloth.
The story of the Saint named after himself officially began.
The two sat there, watching more than a dozen episodes in a row until the clock struck midnight.
The first arc mainly covered the Galaxian Wars. Saori Kido, the mortal incarnation of Athena, organized a tournament to select a worthy successor. The Bronze Saints who had returned from their training competed against each other, with the winner claiming the Gold Cloth of Sagittarius.
While some of the smaller details—like whether a specific punch hit the left or right cheek—were fuzzy due to the passage of time, Wayne knew the overall plot by heart.
Tess, on the other hand, watched with great relish, occasionally waving her arms and legs to mimic the moves of Shiryu, Jabu, and the others.
However, she admitted that these moves were completely unsuitable for Rogues—at least for those specializing in Assassination or Subtlety.
Wayne asked her, "What about Combat Rogues?"
Tess snorted with contempt. "Combat Rogues? In SI:7, they're considered okay. But in the Thieves' Guild, everyone calls them 'brutes.' They're practically Berserker Warriors wearing leather armor..."
The two watched for a while longer. Wayne didn't go to sleep until he was utterly exhausted.
Despite having killed plenty of targets while playing World of Warcraft, the feeling of seeing living people die before his eyes in reality was quite intense.
He was worried about seeing strange or terrifying images in his dreams, so he held out until he couldn't stay awake any longer, ensuring he would pass out the moment his head hit the pillow.
The next day, after an unknown amount of time, a series of urgent and heavy knocks sounded at his door, accompanied by men and women shouting his name.
Wayne opened his eyes and confirmed he wasn't in a dream but in reality. He answered, threw on his clothes, and opened the door.
The sight that greeted him once again made him doubt if he was still dreaming—at least four or five hundred people were gathered outside his house, surrounding it completely.
In the inner circle were neighbors like Boss Farley. At the center were Dughan and several of his guards, along with Tess and his old friend Andrew. And standing beside them was...
What?!
A... a National Treasure?!
A giant panda wearing a bamboo hat and carrying a liquor gourd on its back?!
Wayne almost raised his hand to slap himself. He pinched his cheek hard, and after feeling the distinct pain, he looked again...
Wait!
Beside the giant panda, there was another one... a smaller female panda with a ponytail?!
Wayne finally realized that these hundreds of people weren't here to gawk at him—they were here to see these two incredibly rare Pandaren!