HI3: I Don't Want to Be a Valkyrie

The practice of swordsmanship was rigorous, yet... both Yae Sakura and Yae Rin approached it with unwavering dedication.

So now, almost unconsciously... their first act each morning was to hone their sword skills...

Kallen didn't immediately teach them gun techniques; instead, she focused on refining their swordsmanship. For Yae Sakura and her sister, this foundation was more familiar than complex gun drills.

As for the gunkata...

They lacked Kallen and Kiana's supernatural strength, so they couldn't train as Kallen did. While continually instructing the sisters in sword techniques over these past days, Kallen had been modifying her own gun techniques.

Many elements had to be stripped away, leaving only those that could be combined with standard combat maneuvers without relying on extraordinary power.

By integrating these adapted gun techniques with their swordsmanship, they would be prepared for both close-range and long-range engagements.

After all, without the Honkai energy they possessed, fighting solely with a blade would be an immense challenge.

-

Perfecting swordsmanship was never an overnight feat.

However, Yae Sakura possessed a solid foundation to build upon, allowing her to progress rapidly. Yae Rin, on the other hand, struggled. Her frail health had left her with little exposure to such training.

Although her physical condition had improved considerably since before, she still lagged far behind Yae Sakura.

In this way, three months passed as Yae Sakura diligently studied under Kallen's tutelage.

By now, the young girl had nearly mastered the "Falling Cherry Blossoms Slash." After all, her natural talent for kendo... was indeed exceptional.

However... Rin, compared to her elder sister Yae Sakura, was undoubtedly far behind.

Aware of this gap, Rin redoubled her efforts, training even more fervently than her elder sister.

While Yae could manage a single three-hour session per day, Rin pushed herself to train three times longer, lasting nine hours each day. Nonetheless, there are certain differences that even relentless dedication couldn't erase.

-

"All right, Rin... that's enough practice for now. Your body can't handle this much strain. Overexerting yourself will only end up forfeiting your progress..."

Today, Kallen was in a notably good mood, as she had finally completed her revisions to the gun kata.

The revised approach abandoned the clunky brute force moves and significantly increased the frequency of gunfire. Instead, it relied on nimble agility and clever angles to catch opponents completely off guard—a strategy far more akin to assassination techniques.

During close-quarters combat with a saber, the modified approach would involve swiftly pulling out a gun at an unexpected angle, leaving the enemy utterly defenseless.

However... mastering this required extraordinary physical flexibility, ensuring the refined gun kata could be executed with uncanny precision.

-

"It's alright, Kallen... I can still hang in there," the young Yae Rin said, struggling to speak as she continued to swing her wooden sword.

"That's enough... Why push yourself so hard? You can't rush this sort of thing. Take a break first; I need to discuss something with you and Sakura."

Kallen approached Yae Rin quickly, snatched the wooden sword from her hands, and looked at her with a mix of exasperation and helplessness.

"Kallen... " With her wooden sword now out of reach, Yae Rin was forced to stop, gazing helplessly at Kallen.

"Alright, let's go find Sakura first!"

As Kallen spoke, she took Yae Rin by the hand and started walking towards the shrine.

Upon finding Sakura preparing ingredients in the kitchen, Kallen immediately took her and Yae Rin to the summit behind the shrine.

"Sakura, let me see your sword."

They stopped in a small grove at the mountaintop, and Kallen gazed at the katana strapped to Yae Sakura's waist.

"Ah... oh! Okay."

Though not fully comprehending the request, Yae Sakura trusted Kallen and hastily unsheathed the katana, presenting it to her with both hands.

"This sword... it's quite ordinary..."

Kallen drew the blade from its sheath; whether by material or craftsmanship, it was an unremarkable weapon. In fact, it seemed better than even one-star rated weapons in the warehouse.

It made sense, really. Yae Village was just some backwater place... a nameless little village in Shinano, on the Far East of Japan.

How could a village like that--miniscule and unknown--possess anything more than an ordinary spiritual blade? And when Kallen finally got to see the treasured blade worshipped at Yae Shrine, she discovered that this so-called special weapon was indeed only a little more ornamental than any other religious offering. It didn't even compare to the low-tier weapons wielded by Honkai Beasts.

Just what kind of great blade did one expect from a shrine in an obscure village?

Moreover... most of the truly exceptional weapons in this world contained Honkai energy, but the people of Yae Shrine definitely lacked the ability to hunt down Honkai Beasts for crafting material.

The game's plot had it so that all the powerful weapons in Yae Village were obtained after Kallen arrived and Yae Sakura fell under the influence of the Twelfth Herrscher. These weapons were either forged from the carcasses of Honkai Beasts slain by Kallen or directly transformed by Honkai energy.

As for the village's original spiritual blade gaining such incredible power, it was likely that the Twelfth Herrscher had used their own strength to transform the ordinary weapon into a potent demon blade while controlling Yae Sakura.

Later, after Yae Sakura's soul was purified, the blade reverted to its original pure spiritual form, but the power bestowed upon it by the Herrscher remained, rendering it exceptionally strong.

In essence, the "spiritual blade" currently enshrined at Yae Shrine was merely a ceremonial weapon; don't expect it to possess any remarkable abilities unless a Divine Being personally infuses it with power.

"Sakura, Rin, your swordsmanship is barely at the novice level. However, to truly harness your power, you need weapons that complement your skills."

"But your strength is still too weak. Even if I gave you powerful weapons, you wouldn't be able to control them and might even get hurt by them. So... for now, use these low-grade samurai swords! When your strength is sufficient, I'll replace them with more powerful weapons."

As she spoke, Kallen returned Sakura's katana and then produced two stylish samurai swords from her inventory, handing them to the Yae Sakura sisters before her.

These samurai swords were the one-star weapon, 'Seishuu Muramasa', from Kallen's stash.

The Muramasa sword was renowned throughout the land of Japan as a weapon favored by samurai. According to legend, it was forged by the esteemed Muramasa family of Ise Province, and its glory had been building since the very first generation. It was considered an archetype of Japanese katana!

However, compared to the real-life Muramasa swords, this one was far superior... because it possessed the unique attribute boosts found only within video games.