"Just feeling a little emotional. So there really were geniuses like this in the world, and one was right beside me...
When I learned all this, it took me more than a full week. Gwen got the basics down in a single day, and in three days, he had already surpassed what I achieved in half a month."
"Feeling discouraged?"
Hearing the envy in Anna's voice, Rita smiled softly and asked in a low voice.
"..."
After hearing Rita's question, Anna hesitated for a moment before sighing lightly and nodding.
"A little..."
Though she could not compare to her former Saintess aunt, Anna had been called a genius since childhood as well.
Now that she had encountered someone whose talent completely crushed her own, her confidence was inevitably shaken.
And when that person was Gwen, whom Anna had still needed to look after half a month ago, the blow became even heavier.
"Still just a child..."
Seeing Anna's somewhat dejected expression, Rita sighed inwardly. Yet she kept that gentle smile on her face as she comforted her.
"People's constitutions cannot be generalized. There would always be more or less differences between people...
Take Lord You Lan Dai Er, for example. At the beginning, her learning speed could only be considered average among her peers.
But compared to others, Lord You Lan Dai Er was more hardworking and diligent.
By now, her grades were among the best in that class."
"Mm..."
Hearing Rita mention You Lan Dai Er, Anna nodded. As though recalling those old scenes, a smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
"I still remember when the instructor scolded Bianca, saying she was 'a fool whose brain wouldn't turn.'
But now, she has become the most outstanding one among our class."
"You see, even Lord You Lan Dai Er received an evaluation like that."
Hearing Anna's form of address, Rita's lips curled up slightly as she said with a smile.
"She had a talent for hard work, but her mind was not quite as flexible.
Everyone had things they were good at and things they were not good at. They simply showed in different areas.
It was just that Lord You Lan Dai Er's and Gwen's talents were more concentrated and more obvious.
Our talents, on the other hand, were relatively less outstanding—
Correspondingly, we would perform better in other fields."
"Mm..."
By this point, Anna could also tell that Rita was comforting her. She smiled and nodded.
"Thank you, Rita."
"Mm?"
Rita blinked, pretending to be clueless.
Seeing that, Anna could not help but laugh. She pulled Rita to her feet and said teasingly.
"If Rita didn't understand, then just treat it as nonsense I blurted out because I felt too much pressure after seeing a genius far beyond me.
Besides, since our talents in this area aren't outstanding, we need to put in even more effort.
Otherwise, in less than two years, Bianca might be teaching you, while Gwen teaches me."
"Alright, then let's work hard together..."
Hearing Anna's words, Rita froze slightly. She suddenly realized that a possibility she had never considered might become reality in the near future. Then she nodded and smiled as she joined Anna in training.
For several days in a row, three active Valkyries without assignments trained alongside an obscure male reserve. The four of them were constantly seen together every day, attracting considerable attention in the Valkyrie community at headquarters. There were even rumors wondering whether Gwen had some special identity.
However, compared to those unpresentable rumors, more people were interested in Gwen himself, this pretty young man who had appeared out of nowhere.
Before long, Gwen's publicly available information spread around: a survivor of a Honkai disaster.
This identity quickly resonated with many Valkyries of similar backgrounds. It also drew the sympathy of many older sisters toward Gwen, causing certain unpresentable rumors to gradually fade away.
However, Gwen was almost completely unaware of the discussions surrounding him, unless Anna occasionally brought them up—
The daily high-intensity training left Gwen exhausted, and he had no energy at all to follow such news.
And under day after day of training, Gwen's results were remarkable—
Gwen—lv1 Strength—S921 Endurance—S965 Dexterity—S911 Spirit—EX Energy—B711 Energy System: None
Aside from the several attributes that continued to improve at breakneck speed, Gwen's energy attribute, which had previously remained completely unchanged, finally grew as he came into contact with and officially began driving Honkai Energy.
And besides the improvements that could be directly reflected on the system panel, Gwen's combat skills also improved as though riding a rocket—
Thanks to his extremely high spirit attribute, Gwen's learning speed stunned everyone.
Whether it was physical combat training or the driving and application of Honkai Energy, as long as they did not involve exceptionally profound techniques, Gwen learned them with great ease.
Although You Lan Dai Er, Anna, and Rita, who trained with Gwen every day recently, were surprised and envious, they were still sincerely happy for him.
And as Gwen's combat strength rapidly rose, Anna, as his instructor, did not rigidly stick to the rules. She helped him apply in advance for permission to use the virtual training room.
Though it was virtual, compared to sparring against people who knew each other well and knew the other would hold back, the virtual training room could give Gwen far greater pressure.
"Gwen, remember this well. Although the virtual training room is virtual, being killed inside will still deal a considerable blow to your mind. Some people have even been left with psychological trauma because of it.
Once you find yourself outmatched, do not hesitate. Disconnect immediately, understand!"
Before Gwen officially used the virtual training room, Anna, as his instructor, rarely showed her serious side and tirelessly reminded him.
Scythe Soldier: Take My...
Faced with Anna's rare seriousness and tireless reminders, a warm current could not help flowing through Gwen's heart.
No matter when or where, being cared for by someone was always something that made one feel happy.
"Mm, I've memorized all the safety regulations. I won't make a mistake."
Meeting the girl's concerned gaze, Gwen nodded seriously.
Then, feeling that the atmosphere was becoming overly solemn, Gwen showed a faint smile.
"Instructor Anna, do you need me to recite them for you?"
"Look at you, getting all smug!"
Seeing Gwen's smile, the trace of tension in Anna's heart gradually faded. Her pretty face put on a dissatisfied expression, but she could not hide her smile as she lightly tapped Gwen on the head.
After saying that, Anna did not wait for Gwen to complain. She turned around and inserted the card she had taken from Gwen's pocket into the slot beside the entrance to the virtual training room.
A second later, the green light came on. The door to the virtual training room slowly opened amid the faint sound of machinery operating.
"After you go in, follow the rules you memorized. Start with the lowest-level ordinary Guard Death. Don't pick high-difficulty enemies right away, understand?"
The faint friction sound brought back some of the tension that had just faded. Anna seemed to understand why her own instructor had been so nagging back then, and she reminded Gwen once again.
She was clearly only a teenage beauty, yet she already had a little of the nagging manner of a parent. The immense contrast made her serious little face seem even cuter to Gwen.
"Understood."
Gwen also put away his smile, raised a hand in salute, and answered loudly and seriously.
"Good. Very spirited. Go on, begin the first virtual training session of your life..."
Anna solemnly returned the salute, stepped aside to clear the path, and let Gwen face the darkness of the virtual training room, which carried a hint of mystery and terror.
"Yes!"
Gwen responded, stepped through the door, and walked into the darkness one step at a time.
As Gwen went deeper, a faint sound of metal scraping came from behind him. The door slowly closed, but Gwen's steps did not pause in the slightest.
In the pitch-black darkness where he could not see his own hand, Gwen moved forward slowly, his entire body swallowed by endless darkness.
Even with Gwen's spirit strength, he could not help feeling a little nervous, wanting to find even a trace of light in this boundless darkness.
However, Gwen controlled his emotions well. His steps remained neither hurried nor slow as he continued onward.
After an unknown amount of time, Gwen suddenly saw a glimmer of light. Though it was only the size of a grain of rice, it firmly drew his gaze, making him unconsciously quicken his pace.
As Gwen drew closer and closer, the light source grew larger and brighter. Once Gwen crossed some boundary, dazzling light abruptly filled his entire field of vision, making him instinctively turn away, close his eyes, and raise a hand to shield himself.
When Gwen opened his eyes again, he found himself in a room brimming with a science-fiction atmosphere.
Before Gwen stood a massive projection screen and an operating platform.
After spending some time familiarizing himself with his current condition, Gwen completed the three layers of identity verification according to the operation manual. He officially logged in, selected an environment, selected equipment, and selected a combat opponent—
Guard Death, in other words, the most common Scythe Soldier in the game.
Although Gwen felt that he had improved rapidly over the past month and was no longer weak, he also knew perfectly well that he was still fundamentally a rookie. He did not choose any high-difficulty enemy.
As Gwen clicked "Confirm," the scenery before him abruptly changed. The technology-filled room vanished, replaced by a broad plaza.
And on Gwen's body appeared a combat suit that had not existed before, along with the weapon he had chosen—
A greatsword wider than Gwen himself.
With Gwen's original physical condition, it would have been absolutely impossible for him to wield a weapon like a greatsword.
However, as his bodily deficiencies were replenished and his physical abilities rapidly improved through training, the monstrous-strength genes belonging to Caslana within Gwen's body seemed to begin expressing themselves. Gwen's strength growth rate could be said to be the fastest among all his attributes.
In only half a month of training, even though Gwen relied on his powerful spirit and learned far faster than others, he had only learned a little about weapon usage.
Under such circumstances, there was not much difference for Gwen in using any weapon.
This time, Gwen chose the greatsword simply because it felt more natural in his hands.
Just as Gwen familiarized himself with the standard-issue greatsword in his hand, a figure several inches taller than him quietly appeared at the center of the plaza, strolling with an enormous scythe dragging in its hand. Its vacant eyes suddenly focused on Gwen in the distance. Its previously leisurely steps abruptly accelerated as it charged straight toward him—
The enormous scythe dragged across the ground, kicking up clouds of dust, yet its sharp blade still reflected a chilling gleam beneath the sunlight.
The Scythe Soldier, which in the game could only serve as an SP battery, combo counter, or at best a dodge-trigger tool no matter where it appeared, was terrifyingly powerful to ordinary people in the real world—
Though it had little desire to attack, once it discovered a target, it would rapidly burst forth with athlete-level speed. It was absolutely not some decorative vase that ordinary people could casually toy with.
Facing the Scythe Soldier, which dragged a scythe larger than half its body and charged like a speeding motorcycle, Gwen did not let down his guard in the slightest. He tightened his grip on the greatsword.
The Scythe Soldier, which lacked high intelligence and possessed only basic hunting instincts, ignored Gwen's movements. It merely stared at him with its vacant eyes. When it was only a few steps away from Gwen, it suddenly raised the enormous scythe it had been dragging along the ground.
There was no flashing light from the game signaling a dodge. There was only the chilling gleam reflected by the sharp scythe blade beneath the sunlight, aimed at Gwen's neck as though it intended to reap his head like a stalk of wheat.
And in Gwen's hand, the greatsword that also reflected a cold gleam suddenly rose beneath his immense strength. Before the raised scythe could swing down, Gwen's sword, containing ninety percent of his strength, cut through the Scythe Soldier's body like a hot knife through butter.
In an instant, the Scythe Soldier's lightning-fast movement came to a halt. The scythe that should have swiftly passed across Gwen's neck the next moment froze in midair.
A breeze swept past. The Scythe Soldier's upper body slowly slid down along the smooth diagonal cut running from lower left to upper right. The scythe, which had resembled the reaper's weapon, fell limply toward Gwen's head, only to be knocked away by Gwen's greatsword.
"Looks like an ordinary Scythe Soldier's body is more fragile than I expected..."
Gently shaking his arm, which had gone somewhat numb from exerting too much force and not striking anything solid, Gwen's gaze fell upon the greatsword embedded in the ground before him, a faint doubt in his heart—
"Or was it because I used Honkai Energy to give this greatsword an enhancement similar to an enchantment, thereby increasing its attack power?"
Before you continue