A Magical Girl's First Lesson

"Since this is your first time, we'll start with some basic knowledge that magical girls need."

At dusk, on the rooftop of a silent office building, Larkspur stood with her arms folded and said to Lin Xiaolu, "First, you need to learn how to judge the strength of both yourself and your opponent. Never fight a battle you can't win."

"Okay, please teach me!"

Lin Xiaolu answered enthusiastically.

In order to avoid the evening rush hour and make it to the appointment on time, Lin Yun had found a secluded corner after work, transformed into a magical girl, and flown away from the company through the air.

A magical girl's outfit stood out greatly in an urban setting. To avoid drawing attention, he had chosen an office building not far from home as their meeting place, making it convenient for Lin Xiaolu to come after school. Besides, the top floor of this building was usually sealed off and inaccessible, so there was no need to worry about being disturbed.

Now, she was about to give Lin Xiaolu her first magical girl lesson.

"I haven't told you this before, but Aberrant Beasts have corresponding ranks based on their evolutionary level. Starting from the most basic 'Egg,' they advance to the higher-level 'Looper,' followed by multiple life stages such as 'Pupa' and 'Molt.' Each evolution makes them drastically stronger than the previous stage, and naturally, more dangerous."

"They sound kind of like bugs..." Lin Xiaolu instinctively looked a little disgusted, then grew thoughtful.

"You can think of them as bug-like things."

Larkspur added expressionlessly, "They won't feel any empathy when they kill you, or even eat you. So when you kill them, treat it like crushing pests. Don't feel any sympathy for them."

She raised a hand and spread five fingers. "Likewise, magical girls have five stages of ability development. More precisely, this process is called 'Blossoming.' It means that your Heart Seed must go through five stages to be cultivated from a seed into a flower."

"At the very beginning, just like you are now, it's a Seed Stage."

Larkspur held out her hand, pointing at Lin Xiaolu's chest. "This is the initial stage of your heart and abilities. A round gem that looks like a seed, signifying that you've only just become a magical girl and are still ignorant of everything."

Lin Xiaolu seemed to understand. "So that's how you could tell I was a beginner before?"

"No. It's simply because you're too weak."

Apparently, Larkspur's answer hurt even more. "The Blossoming stage normally doesn't show on the Heart Gem at your chest. No matter how far your abilities have Blossomed, the gem will remain round in your ordinary transformed state."

She lifted her chin and gestured toward her own chest. Beneath the ribbon tied around her neck was a ring of classical lace choker, from which hung a small round gem. However, the shoulders of her outfit had always been draped with a soft capelet, keeping the gem partly hidden, which was why it had gone unnoticed before.

Having just been crushed by a single remark, Lin Xiaolu looked over and immediately perked up. "Ah... This outfit really is so cute."

"You're focusing on the wrong thing, idiot."

Larkspur sighed. "Anyway, I can't demonstrate what the other stages look like right now. Releasing mana in the city center would cause far too much commotion. For now, just memorize their names like you're studying a textbook."

"The slumber of new dreams and True Source: the dormant Seed."

"The first sprouting of True Form and construction: the unfurling Bud."

"The branches of reverie and Spell Formulas: the extending Leaf."

"The forming of true self and Wonderland: the growing Blossom."

"The awakening of transcendent body and Flourishing Bloom: the blooming Flower."

Listening to Larkspur recite that long passage like poetry, Lin Xiaolu's eyes went blank. "Um, new... huh, Seed? What came after that again?"

"Just remember Seed, Bud, Leaf, Blossom, Flower. The rest merely describes the abilities of each stage. You'll understand once you reach them!"

Moko suddenly spoke from the side. The cat-shaped Fairy had been following Lin Xiaolu all along. "My suggestion is not to aim too high. Just remember that your next stage is Bud."

Larkspur glanced at Moko, neither approving nor disapproving of its sudden interruption, and continued.

"The Seed Stage is exactly as its name implies. Your Heart Seed takes shape, while you begin to construct your own Mana Source. You can start using mana in battle. You should understand what that feels like."

Lin Xiaolu thought for a moment. "As for how it feels... I don't really understand it either, but whenever I want to use mana to do something, I just do it instinctively."

"If you want to move faster, you instinctively use mana to accelerate. If you want to attack farther away, you spread your mana outward. If you want to fly into the sky, you can use mana to lift yourself."

Larkspur gave her several examples. "As long as the thought arises, your body moves on its own, right? That's the Mana Source at work."

"The Mana Source forms a bridge between the body and the mind. It produces mana both inwardly and outwardly, allows mana to flow in both directions, and gives the connection between body and mind the properties of mana."

"Simply put, once you have a Mana Source, using mana becomes an instinct."

Hearing this, Lin Xiaolu raised her hand and asked, "Do Aberrant Beasts have Mana Sources too?"

"They do. Since it's called a Mana Source, it is the origin of all mana. The power of magic is born from Mana Sources, and Aberrant Beasts are no exception. In fact, the Echoes we recover are the remains of Aberrant Beast Mana Sources."

Larkspur raised a hand and pointed to her Heart Gem. "As for magical girls, the Mana Source lies within the Heart Gem. This is something that absolutely cannot be touched by others."

She paused briefly, then continued, "Let's move on to the next Blossoming stage. That would be 'Bud.' The characteristics of Bud are called..."

Between the buildings, the girl's voice drifted through the night sky on the wind.

One older and one younger magical girl spoke and listened atop the building, and time slowly passed.

Lin Yun said a great deal, and Lin Xiaolu heard a great deal. The outline of the magical world had never felt so clear to her.

Although there was still much she did not understand, and much she could not fully remember, the world of magical girls that Larkspur described once again made her feel that becoming a magical girl had been the right decision.

Her feelings toward the identity of a magical girl were no longer merely a vague longing for characters from children's cartoons. They now carried a yearning for a brand-new world.

With that yearning in her heart, when the lesson ended that day and the two were about to part ways, she took out her phone.

"Um... Larkspur, do you have a phone from this world? I mean..."

She spoke somewhat awkwardly, but proposed with great enthusiasm, "Could we exchange numbers?"

A phone number meant contact in daily life. If they established that kind of connection, the two of them would inevitably have more interaction in their everyday lives as well.

Larkspur knew that if she were only Larkspur, there would be no reason to refuse this suggestion.

It was necessary for magical girl companions to exchange information. Whether reporting the location of an Aberrant Beast or sharing investigation progress, they needed to communicate frequently.

In the Magic Kingdom, magical girls often used Magic Mirrors to contact one another. But neither Larkspur nor Lin Xiaolu had a Magic Mirror right now, making a phone the best option.

So, after only a brief moment of thought, she casually said, "I do, but I didn't bring it with me. Give me your number, and I'll contact you when I get back."

She could not give Lin Xiaolu her number right now. That was Lin Yun's number. No matter how strained the relationship between Lin Yun as a father and his daughter might be, they had at least informed each other of their contact numbers.

If she wanted to contact Lin Xiaolu in real life as Larkspur, she would have to get another number, and even buy another phone.

The expense was not much to Lin Yun. He could consider it the cost of indulging his daughter.

Thinking this, she pretended to hear it for the first time and wrote down the number Lin Xiaolu gave her.

But since she could establish a new connection with her daughter, she hoped she could at least learn more about what her daughter felt inside, understand her a little better, and close the gap between them a little more.

She closed her eyes and wished for that in her heart.

Lin Xiaolu held the same hopes.

She wanted to understand Larkspur, to know what she was like in her everyday life, to see what her life was like, and even more, to grow closer to this magical girl she admired.

Then surely that could change the version of herself she hated, too?

However, neither of them beneath the night sky could have imagined that the numbers they exchanged would be used the very next day.

It was not because of an Aberrant Beast, but something even rarer.

When Lin Yun, sitting in his office, discovered that his newly bought phone was ringing and the contact displayed on it was "Lin Xiaolu," he had no choice but to immediately take out the Flower of the Heart and transform into Larkspur.

She sat back down in her office chair and tapped the answer button. A deafening shout immediately came through from the other end.

"Inspector! We found one!"

It was clearly Moko's voice, and it was extremely excited. "I found a girl with magical talent! We can recruit a new magical girl!"

A new magical girl.

Larkspur frowned. Deep down, she did not actually want to casually add more magical girls. For one thing, it meant bringing another girl into a dangerous world. For another, it would be difficult to guarantee the quality of the team's members.

But Fangting City truly lacked magical girls right now. She also had to consider building a team for Lin Xiaolu, and she should now be able to ensure a newcomer's safety as well...

A string of thoughts passed through her mind in only a few breaths. She smoothed her brow, made her decision, and answered calmly.

"Where?"