Honkai: You're telling me this difficulty is from Honkai Impact 3?!

In the evening, a weary Bianka entered her room. After washing up, she flopped onto her bed wearing a simple tank top.

She wasn't in the habit of changing into pajamas. More often than not, she just slept in her simplest clothes.

Comfortable clothes like pajamas didn't suit her. It wasn't that she would never wear them; putting them on occasionally when she was on break was a kind of indulgence.

But now was definitely not the time for a break.

After lying there for a while, Bianka sat up and began to replay the details of her time in the eleventh basement level.

Theresa was the strongest opponent Bianka had ever faced. The full day of sparring had also made Bianka keenly aware that she had grown much stronger.

From being easily subdued by Senior Theresa at the beginning to being able to hold her own for a short while later on, she was keenly aware of her progress.

But it still wasn't enough...

Bianka stared at her palm and clenched it into a tight fist.

Merely lasting a short while against Senior Theresa wasn't enough. What she wanted was to be able to fight alongside Senior Theresa and the others, not hide behind them...

"Official training starts tomorrow, right..." After a slow sigh, Bianka lay back down again, murmuring to herself as she slowly closed her eyes.

---||---

A peaceful night passed. The next day, Bianka arrived punctually at Theresa's door with Rita in tow.

She glanced down at the time on her watch, confirming it was now 7 AM. Bianka straightened her collar, nodded at Rita who was following behind her, and then raised her hand to knock on the door in front of her.

A series of rustling sounds was followed by the thud of something heavy hitting the floor. Then came the sound of footsteps on the wooden floor, growing louder as they approached from a distance.

"Click—"

The door opened, revealing a disheveled Theresa with messy, bed-head hair.

Bianka instinctively looked down. The first thing that caught her eye wasn't Theresa's confused expression, which was a mix of "sleepy" and "puzzled," but the sleep mask, radiating wisdom, that was pushed up on her forehead.

Because of that sleep mask, for a moment, Bianka forgot what she was going to say. It wasn't until Theresa's weary voice, tinged with a hint of resentment, spoke up.

"Bianka... is something the matter?"

"Ahem..." Averting her gaze from Theresa's sleep mask, Bianka's face turned a little red. "Captain Theresa, you said yesterday that training would start today, and to come find you early..."

"But it's only seven in the morning..." Theresa's figure seemed to slump a little. She had said to come early... but she hadn't meant seven in the morning early...

Can any normal human being actually wake up at seven in the morning?

If Rita could communicate telepathically with Theresa right now, she would have wholeheartedly agreed with her.

Can any normal human being actually wake up at 5:30 in the morning, then drag their roommate along for a morning run around the entire tenth basement level, covering every single street? (TL: me)

But there was nothing to be done. Even in the face of such a life, Rita would still smile and maintain her composure.

Theresa glanced at the state of the two of them. Bianka was full of energy, her anticipation impossible to hide. Rita still wore that same smiling expression, making it impossible to read her emotions or thoughts.

With a sigh, Theresa stepped aside, opening the door to let them in. She went to wash up herself before listlessly following the two to the eleventh basement level.

"Good morning, Lady Theresa." As soon as they entered the eleventh basement level, a Quinn-model Titan greeted Theresa. "You're very early today."

"Yeah..." Theresa replied with a long sigh, her voice full of resignation.

It's not like I wanted to get up this early...

"Lady Theresa, what's the first item on our training schedule?" Bianka was already actively warming up, even though her hour-long morning run had already done the job.

"Let me think..." Theresa finally opened her eyes and looked at the equipment nearby.

"Let's start with some basic fitness exercises. Once you're warmed up, we can go straight into live combat." As she spoke, Theresa also roused herself and began to limber up.

"Live combat?" Bianka, who had just picked up a three-hundred-kilogram barbell, froze for a moment at Theresa's words.

She then looked around before asking, full of doubt, "Here?"

Live combat... meaning those monsters from the front lines, right? Zombies, deadwalkers, and those Honkai Beasts that Bianka still didn't even know what they looked like...

Did the base have those things here?

Sensing Bianka's shock, Theresa waved her hand. "Not live combat with those products of the Honkai. Live combat with Quinn."

At her words, both Bianka and Rita turned to look at the Titan mecha standing by the entrance.

Quinn nodded at them. "Lady Bianka, Lady Rita, I will be serving as your training partner for what's to come."

A Synthe-Mech from the Future City?

Rita was a little surprised. The Future City's Synthe-Mechs were never supposed to leave. The ones that did get out through special channels were nowhere near as intelligent as this Quinn.

There was likely only one reason for a Synthe-Mech of this level to be here... The Future City had already acknowledged Fire Moth.

With this thought, Rita lifted her skirt slightly and returned a standard bow of thanks to Quinn.

Bianka didn't think so deeply about it. She simply raised her hand to Quinn. "It's a pleasure to train with you."

Quinn first returned Rita's bow, then extended a hand to shake Bianka's. However, due to the size difference, Quinn used only a single finger to shake her hand.

Filled with anticipation, Bianka quickly completed a series of physical training exercises, then stood eagerly before Quinn.

"Senior Quinn, can we begin?" Bianka was a little excited.

Rita hadn't completed the physical training according to the standard. She had only symbolically touched the equipment before standing aside, watching Theresa and Bianka complete the full set.

She wasn't a strength-based warrior, nor was she a scout who relied heavily on speed. She was an assassin who needed to elegantly reap lives from places where no one was looking.

She couldn't complete this strength training, nor did she need to.

"Today, let's start with preliminary training for the three of us to coordinate," Theresa said, stretching her shoulders. Then, hoisting a massive weapon she had found from somewhere, she came to stand before Quinn.

"You two better be careful," Theresa said, a slight tremor shaking the ground as she set her weapon down. She turned her head and smiled at them.

"After all... Quinn is very strong."