Alicia is the True Golden Finger in Honkai!

Chapter 13: Yolandale's Guinea Pig

Two months later—

Beep—

Certification complete. Gwen entered the St. 1504 Research Institute, holding his lunch, and saw an unexpected figure—

"Yolandale?"

Seeing the golden-haired girl in the captain's uniform of the Immortal Blades, exuding an imposing aura, Gwen waved hello:

"Why are you here right after finishing your mission?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just been fighting a bit too frequently lately, so I brought my weapon in for maintenance."

Yolandale, who had also become familiar with Gwen over these two months, casually pointed to the black lance placed on the weapon rack:

"While I trust Director Choukai's abilities, regular weapon maintenance is still necessary."

Gwen and Yolandale had met in the training room—

Although Yolandale's "hard work pays off" physique was enviable, no one could deny that Yolandale was also incredibly diligent—

Whenever there was a mission, Yolandale was always on the front lines.

And when there were no missions, Yolandale was either training in the training room or on her way to it.

For Gwen, who also appeared early in the training room frequently, Yolandale, who considered herself a "hard worker" Valkyrie, naturally felt a considerable amount of goodwill towards him.

After interacting, Yolandale, discovering Gwen's unusually gifted physical condition, began enthusiastically promoting her training regimen—

Naturally, many Valkyries paid attention to Yolandale, this rising star, and were quite interested in her secrets to getting stronger.

Yolandale, without holding back, shared her training plan and personally trained several Valkyries, but the result was nearly creating patients that even Schicksal Headquarters couldn't cure—

It turned out that Yolandale's training regimen was only suitable for Yolandale; others couldn't handle it.

Yolandale was greatly disappointed by this and had a vague realization about her own talent. She rarely referred to herself as a "hard worker" Valkyrie when interacting with others, but she still physically motivated the Valkyries at headquarters to compete.

Now, discovering a uniquely talented Gwen, Yolandale was eager to try.

However, after reviewing Yolandale's plan, Gwen politely declined, stating that he was different from Yolandale and had some specialized training courses, and could at most adopt a portion of Yolandale's training plan.

Although Yolandale was a bit disappointed by this, she wasn't discouraged. She remained enthusiastically helpful to Gwen within her capabilities, passionately guiding Gwen's training, and even contacting him remotely via terminal when she was on missions.

This was also why Gwen knew Yolandale had just returned from a mission today.

"Speaking of which, Gwen, how prepared are you?"

After stating her reason for being there, Yolandale suddenly remembered that Gwen seemed to have signed up for the A-rank assessment and asked:

"I remember your A-rank assessment is in a few days."

Having stayed at Schicksal Headquarters for two months, Gwen had gained a considerable understanding of this world and Schicksal, and had submitted his employment application to Otto.

With Otto's permission, Gwen was directly eligible to sign up for an A-rank assessment that matched his strength—

During these two months, Gwen's regular combat strength had gradually become clear through training and testing, placing him around the A-rank level of Schicksal Valkyries.

Having seen the surveillance footage and knowing that Gwen, as a Fusion Warrior, also had a trump card of being able to revert to that silver giant form, Otto naturally knew Gwen's potential was not limited to A-rank. However, since Gwen did not wish to reveal it, Otto naturally wouldn't say anything and only arranged the A-rank assessment for him.

Of course, even though he used a backdoor, the necessary assessments still had to be completed. In addition to simulated combat tests, Gwen also needed to undergo a written exam—

Although the difficulty was reduced considering Gwen's situation, it was still there... enough to make a certain fluffy-haired person's eyes spin like pinwheels.

To avoid any awkward situations, Gwen borrowed notes from a certain part-time scholar maid and, with the help of his direct superior, crammed for the A-rank assessment knowledge.

"With Rita's notes and Director Choukai's help, of course everything is going smoothly."

Gwen smiled and nodded.

At this moment, a teasing voice interrupted their conversation—

"It's quite rare to hear you genuinely praise me..."

Choukai, who had already started operating the equipment to inspect Yolandale's weapon, Dawn Glory, came over to them and casually took the lunch from Gwen's hand.

"Is that so?"

Gwen, who had become familiar with Choukai over the past two months, laughed:

"Don't I praise your figure every day by reminding you to exercise and not waste it?"

As he spoke, Gwen glanced at Yolandale.

"From a general rational perspective, that interpretation is indeed possible."

The straightforward girl blinked, feeling that Gwen's words seemed to make sense, and nodded.

"Hmph, so you mean I should thank you?"

A subtle curve appeared on Choukai's lips, and a dangerous glint flashed in her eyes.

"How could I? I'm just stating the facts."

Not wanting to be teased by Choukai, Gwen immediately softened and said with a smile.

"Well... I won't disturb you two any longer. Rita is already waiting for me at home."

After a few casual remarks, seeing that Gwen and Choukai were getting along quite well, Yolandale decided to take her leave—

By noon, Yolandale's stomach was already empty, rumbling audibly.

"Rita prepared lunch for you, so I won't keep you. See you tomorrow."

Gwen heard this and didn't try to stop her, waving goodbye with a smile.

"Bye-bye, see you tomorrow."

Casually waving her hand, Yolandale decisively turned and left, without any hesitation.

After seeing Yolandale off, Gwen went straight to the director's office to have lunch with Choukai.

Although Otto hadn't explicitly stated it, there were things that all three of them implicitly agreed upon—

For example, as the one who led Gwen to understand this world, Choukai would also be responsible for monitoring and evaluating Gwen. Gwen would need to report to Choukai for any solo outings or other personal activities—

Although recently, when Gwen would inform Choukai from across the balcony and behind the curtains while leaving for early morning training, he basically never received a response from Choukai, who was still asleep.

Of course, besides monitoring, Choukai, who knew of Gwen's identity as a "Previous Era Fusion Warrior," was also very interested in Gwen himself, especially after discovering the anomalies on Gwen's person.

Therefore, Choukai didn't choose to monitor him coldly but instead became Gwen's first friend in this world.

Chapter 14: I'm the Pawn? (Slight Revision)

A few days later, outside Combat Simulation Room No. 1 at Schicksal Headquarters.

"Hi, Gwen!"

Wearing a tight black tank top over a white vest, with wristbands on his arms and a white towel draped over his shoulder, Yolandale waved to Gwen as he walked out of the elevator and asked:

"How do you feel? Did you pass the written exam?"

Today was the day Gwen would take the A-rank assessment. As a half-instructor (a certain A-rank Valkyrie who wished to remain anonymous had self-proclaimed this title) and a friend, Yolandale naturally hoped Gwen would pass.

Yolandale paid considerable attention to Gwen, who was allowed to partially follow his training plan. When they trained together after returning to headquarters these past few days, he had been watching him closely.

Based on Yolandale's observations over the past few days, Gwen's basic physical qualities had already met the A-rank standards.

Furthermore, through a few simple sparring sessions, Yolandale discovered that Gwen was not a novice in combat and possessed some combat experience.

Therefore, Yolandale was optimistic about Gwen's chances of passing the combat assessment.

In contrast, Yolandale felt helpless regarding the cultural assessment—

Although he could achieve excellent cultural scores through hard work, he was completely clueless when it came to teaching others.

So, upon learning that Gwen had borrowed notes from the much more meticulous Rita, and had Choukai's guidance, not to mention Gwen's own assurance that he was fine, Yolandale didn't lead him astray.

However, because he didn't know Gwen's learning progress, Yolandale couldn't help but feel a little worried—

Yolandale himself had studied step by step, and he was skeptical about whether Gwen could complete the cultural assessment with over a month of intensive study.

Yolandale worried that if Gwen passed the combat assessment but failed the A-rank assessment due to his cultural scores, it might affect his confidence and his resolve to fight on the front lines against the Honkai.

"Of course,"

Waving to Yolandale, Gwen's gaze swept towards the maid who had quietly approached from the side:

"With Miss Rita's notes and after wasting so much of Director Choukai's time, if I still couldn't pass, wouldn't that make me too useless?"

"Heh, Mr. Gwen exaggerates."

Rita, who had stayed late with Yolandale before and was now also on leave, was still in her maid outfit, standing beside Yolandale, appearing as if she were just a diligent maid.

Hearing Gwen's words, Rita lightly covered her red lips with her hand, clad in black silk gloves, and smiled:

"Rita only provided help within her capabilities. Passing the assessment is due to Mr. Gwen's own efforts."

"The scores are out already?"

Yolandale asked belatedly upon hearing Rita's words.

"Of course,"

Gwen explained with a smile:

"Since it was a special assessment for me alone, the scores came out quickly."

"So, Gwen, what was your score?"

Yolandale asked curiously.

"Ninety-six points."

Rita, beside Yolandale, answered.

If it were anyone else, Rita would certainly not overstep.

But with only Yolandale and Gwen, who was considered their friend, present, Rita allowed herself to relax a little, wanting to see Yolandale's reaction.

"Ninety-six points?"

Upon hearing this, Yolandale showed the cute expression Rita had expected, and then his expression turned to admiration:

"It seems you've been working really hard, Gwen."

Although Yolandale didn't know Gwen's entire training plan, he was aware that in addition to the regular training in the training room every morning (the special version provided by Yolandale), Gwen also had quite a bit of training in the afternoon.

This meant that Gwen only had the evenings to study.

After more than a month of cramming at night, he managed to score ninety-six on the A-rank cultural assessment—or at least one that was more difficult than B-rank. Yolandale felt as if she could picture Gwen studying late into the night by lamplight.

"Well, it was alright. Fortunately, the test didn't include too many questions I was unfamiliar with. I got lucky and passed, but I still need to review more later."

Gwen, who could probably guess what the "Yolandale goose" was thinking, didn't bother to explain. He just smiled and said, "But that's all in the future.

For now, I need to see if I can pass the upcoming combat assessment."

"I don't think that will be a problem."

After learning that Gwen had easily scored ninety-six, Yolandale, whose spirits had lifted considerably, nodded.

"I remember you defeated a Temple-level Honkai Beast in the simulation combat system.

Although the A-rank assessment involves more than just one Temple-level Honkai Beast, as long as you're careful and apply what you've learned, you'll definitely pass."

"Then I'll take you up on your good wishes."

Gwen smiled and nodded, chatting with the two of them as he sat down on a chair outside the combat simulation room.

As for the cultural assessment, Gwen hadn't worked as hard as Yolandale imagined.

In fact, it was precisely because he discovered he seemed to possess the ability to memorize anything after seeing it once that Gwen had applied for the A-rank assessment to be held a month later, at this very time, when he submitted his application.

Gwen had his own suspicions as to why he, who in his previous life was by no means a peerless genius but merely a good student, suddenly possessed the ability to memorize anything after seeing it once.

After waking up, Gwen learned about his condition after falling unconscious from Prometheus. He then obtained his physical examination report from Choukai and saw the information about "toxic substances similar to adrenaline found in the blood."

Combining this with the numerous combat instincts that had inexplicably appeared in his mind, Gwen vaguely guessed the truth—

The Gene Lock.

Although he had only read a small portion of Infinite Horror, Gwen remembered the concept of the Gene Lock quite clearly, including, but not limited to, the adrenaline-like toxic substances in the blood when opening the Gene Lock, as well as the combat instincts and near-photographic memory that came with the first stage of the Gene Lock.

Gwen had seen in some fanfiction that the Gene Lock seemed to be something only people from the world within the "box" could activate due to "Gu," a setting similar to how the Desolate Heaven Emperor had made arrangements in the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, allowing everyone in Shading the Heavens to follow the path of seeds, but not people from other worlds.