A Bad Encounter

Xia Liang is facing a test.

If you gave her a chance to go back ten minutes and choose again between going up or down the stairs, she would definitely not choose to go down; instead, she would go up the stairs without hesitation.

Because only in that way could one avoid the awkward situation they are in now.

Their three-person team was caught in the middle of a combat zone.

This battle wasn't an attack specifically targeting them; rather, it was a sudden clash between two other squads in the area. Moreover, the attacking side used numerous concealment Spell Formula, filling the entire passageway with thick smoke and light curtains. Even though they were right there, they still couldn't clearly see what was happening.

The only thing Xia Liang could sense was that the frequency of magical energy fluctuations at the scene was extremely chaotic, which meant that there were definitely more than two magical girls fighting; it was a large-scale melee involving both teams.

Should we return the way we came, or continue to observe and wait here?

Hiding behind the corner, Xia Liang's mind raced.

Returning the way they came is the safest option, but bypassing the combat zone ahead would inevitably waste a lot of time, which would slow down the team's exploration progress. Observing the situation might allow them to wait until the battle ahead ends, then confirm the appearance of the opposing team and use that as a reference to pass through this dangerous place. However, if they are discovered by the magical girls engaged in combat beforehand, they might be mistaken for enemies and dragged into the battle, which would be a complete loss.

She had no intention of joining the battle, because these fighting squads had no grudges against her and no conflict of interest, so there was no need for her to go and invite hatred.

"What's wrong, Little Brocade? Aren't we going to keep going?"

Just as Xia Liang was struggling with her inner conflict, Mountain Lily's voice came from behind her.

As she spoke, seemingly unconcerned about the scene before her, she walked over to Xia Liang and peered around, her gaze passing over the corner of the wall as she exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, are people fighting?"

"Shh." Xia Liang immediately gestured for her to be quiet, then lowered her own voice as much as possible and said, "Keep your voice down."

"Oh." Mountain Lily nodded, lowering her voice obediently, "Why?"

She chose to listen to Xia Liang first before asking for the reason, simply because Xia Liang's analysis had already won her over. In Mountain Lily's mind, regardless of Xia Liang's strength, he was definitely a very intelligent person.

In this exam that concerns their future, "the best will prevail" is a consensus among most candidates. Therefore, after realizing that Xia Liang seems to be very clever, Mountain Lily naturally chose to trust him more.

"That's so as not to attract their attention."

Xia Liang replied matter-of-factly, "What if they mistake me for an enemy?"

"In that case, haven't we already been noticed?" Mountain Lily retorted.

"Huh?" Xia Liang was taken aback.

"We're not exactly well hidden from this spot, look." Mountain Lily pointed to the wall behind Xia Liang.

So Xia Liang once again looked over the wall at the scene of the battle, only to find that the thick smoke and light curtain had been cleared away at some point, leaving only two small teams facing off in the passage.

Without these illusions to conceal them, Xia Liang and the others' hiding place was hardly hidden. Judging from the positions of the two teams, they had clearly noticed that there were people behind the corner of the wall, so they deliberately kept their distance.

However, they didn't seem to have any intention of greeting Xia Liang and the others. After all, in the midst of battle, the two sides most needed to be wary of the enemy in front of them.

This gave Xia Liang and the others a legitimate opportunity to observe the two teams. What they found was astonishing—the leaders of both teams were actually top-tier figures on the so-called "Carry Ranking."

The leader of the team on the left, a girl with shoulder-length yellow hair and an arrogant look, is "Calla Lily," who is ranked twelfth on the Carry Ranking.

In the squad on the right, the leader was an even more important figure—a magical girl with a beautiful face but a strange expression, long purple hair that trailed on the ground, mixed with white highlights, who was ranked fourth on the Carry Ranking, known as "Butterfly Bush".

In other words, the battle amidst the smoke just now was a fight between these two magical girls who were listed on the "Carry Ranking.

"You bastard..." The one who actively dispelled the Spell Formula that formed the smoke and light barrier was none other than Calla Lily, who was on the left and glaring angrily at the other party. The reason for doing so was actually quite simple—she was the one who was attacked.

Calla Lily's team originally had no intention of rashly engaging in battle with others, because one of her team members was a newcomer, so she had been carefully avoiding the possibility of encountering other teams. However, despite all her precautions, she inexplicably encountered an attack from another team.

Whether it's the smoke or the light barrier, they are clearly tools used by the opponent to conceal their identities and achieve a quick victory. Therefore, at this moment, Calla Lily's choice is not to hastily engage in battle, but to focus on defense, ensuring that her own team does not suffer any casualties while breaking through the opponent's Spell Formula as quickly as possible.

This type of spell, which has a non-focused Spell Formula and is merely used to obscure vision, is not difficult to counter. Even if you don't know exactly which Spell Formula the opponent is using, you can simply use a similar Spell Formula to counteract the opponent's influence on the area's magic, and then actively dispel it to resolve the issue. The only problem is that it might consume a lot of magic power.

But Calla Lily also knew very well that in this maze, according to the Rule previously announced by the examiner, when attacked, "seeing the opponent clearly" was far more important than "fighting back".

The reason is that if they were to retaliate, regardless of the outcome, they would find themselves in a far more complex predicament than the average test taker.

Even if you manage to counterattack and win, you're far from safe unless you completely defeat your opponent and render them incapable of acting. But if you actually incapacitate them, and they identify you to the examiner after the test, all the points and achievements you made in this assessment will become a waste for someone else.

If you fight back but fail to win, you will either be eliminated directly, and your score will depend entirely on the outcome of the person who defeated you; or you will survive but will have to use a lot of magic to heal and recover, inevitably falling into a predicament of "lack of magic and poor condition" in the subsequent assessment process.

It's fair to say that in this maze, "fighting with others" is definitely the least worthwhile thing to do.

With this in mind, Calla Lily chose to break the opponent's Spell Formula just to see that person's face clearly. Only in this way could she make the opponent hesitate and allow both sides to stop fighting.

But when she saw the other person's face clearly, she suddenly realized that it was someone she knew.

Calla Lily didn't pay attention to any so-called "Carry Ranking." In her opinion, these were just tricks used by busybodies to attract attention and had no reference value.

She only knew him because the two had a conflict during a written test a few days ago.

The details of the conflict were trivial; it was basically that the other person had inexplicably sat in the aisle of the exam room, Calla Lily felt that the other person was blocking her way, so she verbally abused them. However, the other person not only refused to move aside but also began to verbally provoke Calla Lily. Then, the two of them started arguing.

The matter naturally ended without resolution, as the examiners separated the two women, and neither of them intended to cause trouble during the written exam.

"Why did you suddenly attack?" After recognizing her opponent, Calla Lily finally relaxed a bit, because she now had her opponent's biggest weakness—their distinctive feature. Under these circumstances, anyone with a sound mind wouldn't want to continue fighting.

"Why do you say... does something like this even need a reason?"

The magical girl codenamed Butterfly Bush grinned, revealing her teeth through her pale lips, her tone enigmatic. "The outcome of that battle that wasn't decided back then... you must have cared about it a lot, right? I cared about it terribly, so I marked you a long time ago and came all the way here to find you, didn't I?"

"Ha?"

The other person's strange tone made Calla Lily feel uncomfortable, but the logic in their words baffled her even more. "You marked me? And then came specifically to fight me? Are you out of your mind?"

"Hehehe, looks like you know me pretty well. That's right, I'm sick."

Butterfly Bush smiled rather mysteriously, her eyes, covered in smoky makeup, staring unblinkingly at Calla Lily: "But, is this really a good idea?"

"What do you mean 'good' or 'bad'? What did you do to me? Untie me right now, you lunatic!"

Calla Lily retorted angrily, "I've seen your face, what tricks are you trying to pull...?"

She stopped mid-sentence.

She suddenly realized that, without her noticing, a strange sensation had begun to permeate her body.

"Ugh, what a hassle, you saw it."

The Butterfly Bush chuckled and leaned closer to the Calla Lily: "Yes, we really need to think of a solution."

"You..."

Calla Lily gritted her teeth, but found herself utterly powerless. She could only glare at the other person before slowly, very slowly, kneeling down on the ground.

"How dare you lay a hand on me... What are you doing... Aren't you worried about your points...?"

She already knew what the Butterfly Bush meant by "Is this really okay?"

Because, just when she thought the other party had no chance of making a move, the Butterfly Bush secretly used some kind of ability to deprive her of her ability to move.

This was a battle with no suspense whatsoever, a clash of vastly unequal strength, lost simply because one side hadn't even expressed the will to fight.

But Calla Lily still couldn't understand what the other person was after.

Under these Rule, if someone comes seeking "revenge," even if they sabotage themselves and eliminate themselves, their score will still be zero after they point it out to the examiner. Does that really make any sense?

She herself had become like this, and her two teammates were naturally in no better shape. Including her juniors, the two less experienced magical girls had also collapsed to the ground.

At this moment, the Butterfly Bush was completely pressed against her face.

"Don't worry, just point me out to the examiner. In the end, you'll all fail anyway."

She chuckled softly, extending her hand that had been hidden behind her back, which had somehow already held up a censer. "Well then, the small talk is over. Now, you can all enjoy being the audience."

"Good night."

As she murmured this, the incense in her hand began to shimmer with magical light, and the smoke, seemingly tangible, flowed down her palm, enveloping the Calla Lily and her companions.

Before long, all three magical girls closed their eyes and collapsed to the ground as if they had fallen asleep.

Then, accompanied by the red light illuminating their number tags, they were all teleported out of the maze.