The Long-Overdue First Lesson of the Bud Rank

(An additional section was added at the end of Chapter 89, which is somewhat related to the content of this chapter.)

"Now that all of you have awakened your Magic Armament, and Little Brocade, who has made the fastest progress, has already advanced to the Leaf Rank, the development of Magic Armament can now move to the next stage."

After lunch, in the base's underground training ground, Larkspur stood in front of a small blackboard that had been brought there at some point, and spoke to the juniors in front of her.

It happened to be during the holidays, and she and the girls rarely had such a long period of free time. So, Larkspur decided to give a substantial lesson, thus kicking off their preparations for the assessment.

After all, the arrival of the new year also means that the magical girls' qualification certification only has about two months left to prepare.

Emerald has already informed Larkspur that March 3rd is the specific date for this year's certification.

The specific location of the examination should have been a confidential matter, but it was no secret in Emerald's words either: the examination venue was set in Luen Nore —a city known as the capital of intellect, home to the Kingdom Research Institute of Sciences.

Larkspur showed no surprise at this information; rather, she was surprised that the examination venue was not in Luen Nore.

Undoubtedly, this city is where Emerald's power can be amplified to an unlimited extent. In this city, apart from the Queen herself, no one's voice can drown out Emerald's; it can be said to be her territory.

Emerald have taken such a huge risk to come to me for a deal, so there's no reason for me to hold the transaction on someone else's turf.

However, this meant that Larkspur was destined not to be like most magical girls who would wait until the end of February to travel to the Kingdom —she would have to go to Emerald beforehand to heal her injuries.

Furthermore, there was another part to her deal with Emerald, which involved not only healing but also the transfer of a quarter of the power of the Magic Affairs Institute. This process was bound to involve the interests of various parties. After careful consideration, Larkspur had to go to the Kingdom a while earlier.

Ultimately, her departure from Fangting City for the Kingdom was scheduled for February 10th.

In other words, starting from now, January 5th, the Fangting City Squad only has a maximum of 36 days to continue their training in the city.

To be honest, given Xia Liang Leaf Rank's progress in Blossoming and Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan's combined efforts in defeating the Half-Molt Aberrant Beast, obtaining a White Card in previous years' qualification certifications should be no problem.

Unfortunately, this year is the Queen Year. The news brought by Asō Madoka that "this year's assessment will be more difficult" has left Larkspur with lingering concerns.

This is how the current situation came about. In order to maximize the combat power of the younger generation during the assessment, Larkspur decided to start from the perspective of Magic Construct.

It is common knowledge that magical girls' Magic Armament will evolve through their owners' accumulated efforts. Even though the potential of different Magic Armament varies, they all have potential.

To unleash this potential, in addition to accumulating battles over time, you can also improve your speed through daily training. Although the effect is not as good as direct combat, it has the advantage of being safer and more stable.

She wrote several common training methods and tips on the blackboard, and explained many difficult points in response to questions from several juniors. After about half an hour, Larkspur finally had a chance to stop talking, put down the chalk in her hand and said, "Alright, that's enough about the basics for now. To make it easier for you to understand, let's move on to the practical part. Take out your Magic Armament."

Basic knowledge is just the foundation; for something as highly personalized as Magic Armament, it depends on the individual player.

There was no time to delay, so the girls present transformed one after another, revealing their Magic Armament.

Looking from left to right, the first thing the Larkspur saw was Xia Liang's Diversion — Magic Armament resembling a dressing mirror.

This Magic Armament was the first of the three to awaken, so its appearance was already somewhat different from when Xia Liang had just advanced to the Bud Rank: not only had the patterns on the exterior become much more elaborate, but the mirror surface also had a thin layer of spiritual light.

The progress is obvious.

This was the first impression in the Larkspur's mind.

In fact, she had already taught Xia Liang the basic knowledge she mentioned earlier a few months ago when Xia Liang advanced to the Bud Rank. However, since Xia Liang was new to the Bud Rank at the time, she didn't go into too much depth and only gave a brief overview.

The changes in Xia Liang's Magic Armament were witnessed step by step. The addition of the dressing mirror accessory was a slow and steady process, which, in terms of the Magic Armament's functionality, seemed to correspond to an increase in resilience—not only could it absorb more magic power, but it could also withstand stronger attacks.

As for the aura on the mirror, it didn't seem to exist before Larkspur taught Xia Liang the Spell Formula half a month ago. In other words, this thin radiance is the result of Xia Liang's efforts over the past half month.

The changes it represented, after Xia Liang's explanation, were roughly understood by Larkspur: it meant that the mirror's magic transmission efficiency was now higher, and there was less loss during the transmission process. In this light, Xia Liang's Magic Armament's two main functions—magic reflection and magic transmission—had undoubtedly been improved to varying degrees.

For a magical girl's Magic Armament to continue to grow, hard work alone is certainly not enough, but without hard work, growth is impossible. The fact that Xia Liang's Magic Armament has undergone such a significant change in just a few months is undoubtedly due to the sweat and toil that ordinary people put in.

The Larkspur nodded to himself.

Xia Liang's outward talent is undoubtedly the most outstanding among the three magical girls. Whether it's the speed at Blossoming abilities or the speed at which she learns skills, she is far ahead of Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan. Under such circumstances, she can still maintain such a high level of effort, which shows her self-disciplined character.

"A surprising, even delightful, change."

After organizing her thoughts, Larkspur concluded, "I feel as if I'm witnessing the birth of a Flower Card."

Such high praise naturally attracted the attention of the two people beside her, and also made Xia Liang, who was originally a little nervous, relax immediately.

"Huh? Really? You can't just be trying to comfort me, right?"

She covered her mouth as if feigning disbelief. "If you say it yourself, I might believe you, young senior."

"I have no intention of being lenient on something this important."

Larkspur flicked her forehead. "Just accept the praise, don't cause trouble here."

"Then I'll believe it."

Xia Liang rubbed her forehead dejectedly. "And then? What should I do next?"

The Larkspur fell into deep thought.

Xia Liang's question was like that of a top student who had finished all the exercises the teacher had given out in advance and was now eagerly asking, "What should I do next?"

What should I write? My classmates are still working on the multiple-choice questions, and you're already asking what to do once the questions are finished?

With Xia Liang's talent, now that she has mastered a method to steadily improve her Magic Armament abilities, everything that follows is merely a matter of gradual accumulation. One day, when Xia Liang has the opportunity to step into the Flower Rank, her Magic Armament will be an invincible shield and spear. Magic reflection will be enough to render all non- Rule- based offensive methods ineffective, while magic teleportation can be combined with Explosion School Spell Formula to hit any target. It is a complete combination of offense and defense.

Having already identified this direction for our efforts, is it really necessary to add fuel to the fire?

Fortunately, she had a good understanding of what it meant to be a teacher, and she actually had some ideas about Xia Liang's next steps.

For example... controlling the shape of the mirror.

As Magic Armament in the form of a mirror, the effect of the Diversion on magic is similar to that of a regular mirror when exposed to light; the two share many similarities.

If we could Control Stage the shape of a mirror, wouldn't we be able to use convex or concave lenses, allowing for more diverse manipulations of magic, such as focusing or scattering it?

When she told Xia Liang about this idea, she only received a slightly confused look. "... Scattering?"

Then it dawned on Larkspur that the two children's school had only started teaching physics last year, and they hadn't had time to teach these most basic optical concepts yet.

Having reaffirmed the importance of basic education in her heart, and considering that this should be the content of next semester's exam, Larkspur softened her tone and briefly explained the relevant knowledge. Before she could finish speaking, Lin Xiaolu had already slowly raised her hand:

"Can the growth path of Magic Armament be controlled by humans?"

"That's what I want to say next."

Larkspur didn't seem upset about being interrupted. Instead, she nodded approvingly, walked back to the blackboard, and began writing and drawing. "If you want your Magic Armament to undergo some relatively simple changes, you can actually intervene actively during the training process."

"For example, if you can continuously strengthen your desire to make your Magic Armament bigger or rounder through battles and daily training, and make it strong enough, then your Magic Armament will respond to your desire."

"Many magical girls have actually used this technique unintentionally. After all, not everyone is satisfied with their Magic Armament; there will always be some thoughts like 'If only my Magic Armament could become this or that,' and these desires for their Magic Armament to become a certain way will influence the direction of the Magic Armament's growth to some extent."

At this point, Larkspur couldn't help but glance at Bai Jingxuan's Magic Armament beside her.

A music box that is entirely golden and rectangular in shape.

Heavenly Tone is the name of Bai Jingxuan's Magic Armament, which she awakened about three months ago.

Its ability is to play different pieces of music through the resonance of magic, and to produce different effects on the surrounding things according to the differences in the rhythm, melody and timbre of the music.

After three months of skill development, Bai Jingxuan has now mastered four different types of music.

In addition to the Limb Activation and Magic Activation that she mastered from the beginning, she now also possesses two other rhythms: "Inspiring fighting spirit" and "Selflessness".

The former can inspire those affected by the music, making them feel a surge of fighting spirit and high morale, enabling them to charge forward once again, no matter how listless they were before.

The latter allows the person being influenced to forget themselves, becoming indifferent to external gains or losses. Their actions are no longer influenced by emotions, they no longer experience anger or fear, and they may even disregard their own existence, thus entering a state of unparalleled focus.

Both rhythms had been tested on her by the Larkspur, and both were double-edged swords. While the former could boost morale, if the influence was too profound, it could lead to recklessness in battle and increase the consumption of magic and stamina. The latter, while making one more focused, could similarly lead to complete Selflessness and neglect of danger in battle if the influence was too profound, causing one to be oblivious to enemy attacks and often suffer injuries without realizing it.

In other words, these rhythms can be either support items that enhance allies, or demonic weapons that lead enemies to self-destruction.

However, these are not the main concerns for Larkspur right now.

What caught her attention was the base that had somehow appeared beneath Bai Jingxuan's music box Magic Armament.

The initial form of the Heavenly Tone Magic Armament was just a music box without any external accessories, but now it has a base about ten centimeters long and about the same thickness as the magic wand, which is connected to the bottom of the box.

This same base, now standing perfectly upright in mid-air, supports the music box.

Larkspur felt his eyelid twitch.

As she said before, a magical girl's ideas about her own Magic Armament can interfere with the Magic Armament's growth path to some extent. And the extra base on Bai Jingxuan's Magic Armament has absolutely nothing to do with the Magic Armament's growth path itself; it is entirely a reflection of her personal will.

--It's inconvenient to use both hands to hold a rectangular box and smash the Aberrant Beast; I want to add a handle to the box.

Larkspur felt as if she could hear Bai Jingxuan's inner thoughts during the battle.

Yes, the current Heavenly Tone, rather than resembling a music box, looks more like a hammer.

The edges of the box had inexplicably turned a strange dark green, becoming sharp and pointed instead of smooth, exuding a dangerous aura. This eerie dark green had also seeped into the originally golden box, appearing in patches here and there; if it were a different color, it might have been mistaken for bloodstains.

Larkspur pursed her lips, momentarily at a loss for words to describe the Magic Armament before her. She looked up and met Bai Jingxuan's gaze, only to see Bai Jingxuan looking at her with expectant and proud eyes, like a puppy that thought it had done a good deed and was waiting for praise.

To be fair, the current state of this Magic Armament is indeed worthy of Larkspur's approval.

After all, what she just said, "magical girls can use their own will to interfere with the growth direction of Magic Armament," has already been truly reflected in this Magic Armament.

Even if the direction of growth after this interference is quite unreliable.

The problem is, if she approves of Bai Jingxuan's actions now, what if the child continues down this path to the end? And what if the next time she sees this Magic Armament, it really is a hammer?

But if we negate the other person's efforts here, or even criticize them in front of other teammates, wouldn't that hurt the child's self-esteem...?

No one knew the inner turmoil of the Larkspur.

Lin Xiaolu, on the other hand, glanced at Bai Jingxuan's Magic Armament, then crouched down and took two steps closer, examining the "dark green bloodstains" on the Magic Armament for a while before suddenly looking up and saying:

"Speaking of which, Bai Jingxuan, what was that Claw Mark -like transformation you had a few days ago?"

The training ground fell into a deathly silence.

Leaving aside Bai Jingxuan, the person being questioned, the other two people, whether it was Larkspur who had just looked conflicted or Xia Liang who had been watching with amusement, were now looking at Lin Xiaolu with somewhat inexplicable expressions.

"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" Lin Xiaolu blinked, belatedly asking.

"... You."

Finally, Xia Liang spoke up somewhat helplessly, "I won't even mention the way you picked up the topic. Bringing up such a sore subject at a time like this is bad enough, but don't you think you asked this question too late?"

"Sister Xiao Lu".

Bai Jingxuan looked somewhat aggrieved. "You clearly told me before that you would ask me when you got back, and I've been waiting for you for several days."

"Hahaha..."

Overwhelmed with guilt, Lin Xiaolu looked away.

It wasn't that Lin Xiaolu was forgetful, but rather that so much happened that night, with such a high density of information, that Bai Jingxuan's problems seemed trivial in comparison.

When Lin Xiaolu first returned to the base, she did remember the incident, but after her argument with Larkspur, she completely forgot about it.

After that, when Lin Xiaolu woke up, the events of the previous night were a complete mess in her mind. The clearest thing she remembered was that she "had gained the right to be affectionate with Larkspur," so she followed Larkspur around like a shadow every day, and would occasionally compete with Bai Jingxuan for her spot. She was already being kind to Bai Jingxuan, so how could she possibly fawn over her "enemy"?

As time went on, the conversation that had been arranged on the battlefield was delayed for several days.

What Lin Xiaolu didn't expect was that Bai Jingxuan herself hadn't forgotten about this.

Bai Jingxuan had already prepared her lines with Larkspur's help, and had even memorized them several times in private, just waiting for Lin Xiaolu to come and ask. But while she had memorized the lines, Lin Xiaolu never showed up.

She waited like this for a day, then two, and even after Xia Liang had secretly confirmed with her, Lin Xiaolu still showed no intention of asking about the topic.

Besides, Lin Xiaolu has been following Larkspur around these past few days, and occasionally giving her a hard time, making Bai Jingxuan wonder if Lin Xiaolu has some kind of problem with her.

But unexpectedly, things ended up like this.

However awkward the situation was, an explanation was still necessary, and Bai Jingxuan eventually revealed some of the things about herself.

She confessed that she was the Sacrificial Child of the Black Ash Dawn, the battle with the Black Ash Dawn by the Lakeside Spring, and the fact that she possessed the magic power of the Aberrant Beast, but at the instruction of the Larkspur, she concealed the identities of her parents.

Although some very important information was therefore hidden, it is enough to explain why Bai Jingxuan is in this state now.

As for why she concealed Bai Jingxuan's parents' identities, it was simply because she wanted her daughter and Xia Liang to still perceive Bai Jingxuan as a "person," rather than a fabricated "something."

In her view, firmly shaping Bai Jingxuan's understanding of herself as a "human being" is the most important aspect of protecting Bai Jingxuan.

Larkspur still hasn't forgotten that day, that Lakeside Spring, when the girl stood amidst the mountain of corpses, calling out to him in a hollow voice.

That was Bai Jingxuan, but without a doubt, not entirely the Bai Jingxuan of today.

Bai Jingxuan retains memories of her past self, but what she remembers is quite distorted. What she remembers is not a bloody feast of brutal slaughter against the Black Ash Dawn, but a righteous story of awakening power in adversity, defeating the villains, and ultimately saving everyone.

If possible, Larkspur hoped that Bai Jingxuan would never become like that again. Therefore, with her help, the story gradually aligned with Bai Jingxuan's distorted memories.

"Ah, so you're also Offsetter, but your deflection direction is that of the Aberrant Beast?"

Lin Xiaolu suddenly realized.

That was the story she heard.

Having mastered the magic Turbidification, Lin Xiaolu naturally understood the relevant knowledge about Offsetter. She was indeed somewhat surprised that Bai Jingxuan was Offsetter, but not entirely.

After all, if she herself is Offsetter, why can't others be Offsetter?

Rather, upon learning that Bai Jingxuan could also deflect magic, her first reaction wasn't that Bai Jingxuan was any special compared to herself, but rather...

When will you shift?

She couldn't help but look at Xia Liang and ask.

"... I'm really not worthy of you if I'm not Offsetter, Miss Offsetter."

Even with Xia Liang's good temper, hearing such infuriating words made her eyelids twitch. It took her a long time to suppress the urge to directly hit Lin Xiaolu's face, "It's a one-in-a-million thing. How could I, an ordinary Leaf Rank, a mundane magical girl who won't reach the Blossom Rank for several months, possibly be a chance?"

"Uh..." Xia Liang's words made Lin Xiaolu involuntarily curl her lips; now it was her turn to feel disgusted.

The two stared at each other, their tension palpable, until Larkspur, sensing something was amiss, stepped directly into their line of sight, cutting off their eye contact.

"Let's get back to the Magic Armament."

She interrupted the class, which had completely veered off-topic, with her words: "Come on, Bo Xue, let me tell you how your Magic Armament should continue to grow."

In the brief moment just now, she had already figured out how to save Bai Jingxuan's completely distorted Magic Armament.

Without a doubt, the base of this music box is absolutely unacceptable.

She had no doubt that as long as she kept this base, Bai Jingxuan would be able to pull out a hammer in full view of everyone when it came time for the qualification assessment.

However, if Bai Jingxuan were to give up close combat and have this support removed, it would not only be a blow to her confidence but also a distortion of her fighting style.

Therefore, the final solution is only one: separate the music box and the base. The music box continues to serve as an auxiliary tool during battle, while the base can be chosen to evoke different imagery and be given more functions.

As for whether this base will turn into a hammer again due to Bai Jingxuan's recklessness, Larkspur has no say in that.

And so, after analyzing Bai Jingxuan's Magic Armament at length, from its structure to the flow of magic to its frequency, Cui Que customized a training program for her that would gradually disassemble the music box and its base. Larkspur felt like her mouth was smoking from talking so much before she finally finished teaching Bai Jingxuan.

Then, only one student remained who had not yet been analyzed by Larkspur.

Larkspur looked at Lin Xiaolu beside her, only to see that Lin Xiaolu had already raised her head and puffed out her chest, proudly extending the white scepter in her hand.

This is the Magic Armament — King's Key —that Lin Xiaolu awakened just a few days ago, which she hasn't even had time to warm up yet.