Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

Anna Schariac.

Also one of the "simple-minded" Valkyries in Otto's words.

Born into the Schariac family, she received anti-Honkai training from a young age. Became a Valkyrie at twelve, promoted to A-rank at sixteen, and served as vice-captain of the Snow Lotus Squad.

If not for the Noldrei wildcard, she, an A-rank Valkyrie, would have been stationed externally, participating in various Honkai-related operations.

But with Noldrei's arrival, things had taken a different turn.

Anna, still holding the vice-captain title, had come to Academy City, becoming a semi-retired "veteran."

Even during the recent major Honkai outbreak in Academy City, she hadn't been of much use.

That day, Honkai beasts rained down, and the Valkyries watched helplessly as a giant sword flew around in the sky, wreaking havoc. Then Dr. Tesla went to collect the Honkai beasts for experiments back at the lab.

Their lifelong dedication to defeating the Honkai had been challenged to some extent.

'We trained so hard, weathered so many crises, and now, because of the appearance of living Stigmata BattleSuits, it's all suddenly useless?'

Inevitably, some Valkyries grumbled, as this indirectly led to a decline in some of their benefits. And the three major Schicksal families, who had long benefited from anti-Honkai efforts, were even more dissatisfied with Anti-Entropy.

Tesla had become an indelible nightmare in the hearts of all Valkyries.

Especially since Tesla was also a known Herrscher.

Some Valkyries even secretly suspected that Tesla was deliberately causing internal strife among humans, aiming to make them destroy each other and ultimately perish together.

Tesla was a "human traitor" bought off by the Honkai, giving humans benefits only to suddenly turn around and destroy human progress at a critical moment.

Similar rumors easily spread among these simple-minded Valkyries. Conspiracy theories never went out of style.

Anna, at this moment, was unaware of Noldrei's speech at the Kengan Association, let alone Noldrei's high praise for Dr. Tesla.

The Kengan Association had become a hotbed of radicalism, and its people would all be staunch supporters of Stigmata BattleSuits.

But what did this have to do with Miss Anna?

She didn't care about much, being born into the Schariac family and well-protected during training. She hadn't even witnessed death many times while dealing with Honkai incidents.

Anna was also re-learning about Stigmata BattleSuits at school. To align with the mental stages of neural synchronization, that kind of mental leap was actually a bit difficult for her to accept.

Talents like her, who were born with Valkyrie qualifications, hadn't experienced the process of striving for Stigmata BattleSuits.

Anna believed she couldn't achieve that kind of resilience, deciding to stay at Schicksal and continue her original Valkyrie education. Many others made the same choice, adopting a "wait-and-see" attitude towards Stigmata BattleSuits propagated by Anti-Entropy.

"Wait-and-see" was just a polite way of saying they had no intention of joining in at all.

Noldrei's exceptionally harsh "Mental Will Stage Test," designed to screen out outstanding Stigmata users, was thus discarded like trash by these people.

Even now, Anna didn't think her choice was problematic in any way. Her simplicity bordered on blatant foolishness.

If humans couldn't control matter, they would be controlled by matter in turn.

"Mahiru! Mahiru! Open up, I'm here to see you!"

Shiina Mahiru opened the dormitory door and saw her Valkyrie friend, whom she'd unexpectedly met at school, arriving.

"Anna, you're finally here! Change your shoes and come in!"

Two girls of similar age had quickly become familiar with each other in this unfamiliar place.

Due to the Valkyrie transfer to Academy City, Anna had been lost for a while.

Anna still remembered the vows she recited when pledging allegiance to Schicksal. Alas… Schicksal didn't seem to care about her initial loyalty.

This feeling of being inexplicably sidelined without work was somewhat akin to being abandoned.

It was also during that time that Anna unexpectedly met Shiina Mahiru.

This girl had been mistakenly sent here. The Japanese government, in its street conscription drive, thought she was also a Shrine Maiden and packed her in together.

Shiina Mahiru was also neglected by her parents at home, left to her own devices.

Perhaps because they both shared similar feelings of being "abandoned," they met during an accidental class and quickly became close confidantes.

"Anna, have you seen today's news? Dr. Tesla has invented a machine for gender transformation. I'm afraid there will be a lot of trouble in the future. Luckily, the dorms have their own private bathrooms, but I wonder if they'll add another bathroom later."

Shiina Mahiru was washing vegetables, fretting over these small daily matters. But unlike those Valkyries, she hadn't grabbed a megaphone and charged to the research institute's doorstep.

Anna obviously knew about the news. She said helplessly, "Many of our Valkyries have already gone to confront Anti-Entropy. Most Valkyries believe that this irresponsible, indiscriminate distribution of technology will only bring trouble to everyone."

"Huh? Anna, you didn't go with them?" Shiina Mahiru was a little curious. She remembered Anna was also an A-rank Valkyrie.

"There are too many Valkyries. Valkyries originally scattered around the world have all been concentrated in Academy City. Honkai is sealed here by special means. The next Honkai incidents are likely to erupt in Academy City. We have an overabundance of manpower."

Anna spread her hands, smiling. "See, even A-rank Valkyries like me are here teaching you classes. Many lower-ranked Valkyries have even chosen to retire and return to their own countries."

Only then did Shiina Mahiru remember that Anna was also a girl her age. She asked, puzzled, "Why didn't you retire? Academy City has already announced the existence of Stigmata BattleSuits, right? Soon others will take over your work. You could just find something you like to do."

'What I like is being a Valkyrie…'

Anna didn't know how to explain. She had actually become a Valkyrie because she "liked being a Valkyrie."

Unfortunately, this girl didn't yet realize that once something you love becomes work and bears responsibility, it transforms into something different from what you idealized and yearned for.

"I'm from the Schariac family. We've always been on the front lines of fighting the Honkai. Besides this job, I don't know what else I should hold onto."

Anna's heart was now full of confusion. This confusion, coupled with the turmoil in Academy City, made her very uneasy.