Magic Armament Assessment

"Please make way for the next candidate."

Through the door, the examiner's voice could be clearly heard in the corridor outside.

Compared to the massive maze of the first assessment, the examination venue for the second assessment was undoubtedly much simpler—it was just a classroom in the Silver Gallery.

Although it is a Kingdom educational institution, the classrooms in the Silver Gallery are not simple. They have two notable characteristics: first, they are large, and second, they are numerous.

They are considered large because their interiors have generally undergone spatial stretching modifications, allowing them to accommodate larger equipment when necessary.

There are so many classrooms because they are usually configured according to subject, with each class having five to seven classrooms depending on the subject. In order to implement the concept of personalized and elite education, the trainee magical girls who receive training in the Silver Gallery on weekdays even use their own equipment, rather than sharing it.

Perhaps it is precisely because of this high-investment preparatory education that magical girls from the Silver Gallery make a greater average contribution to their careers than their counterparts from other backgrounds, and the number of them serving in the Five Institutes Kingdom institutions is also much greater than that of magical girls from the Material Realm.

Of course, such future events are still somewhat distant for the candidates who are currently undergoing practical assessments. To illustrate this more practically, we must mention the Top Carry Ranking that Mint previously compiled.

The top-ranked magical girl on that list, whom Mint considers the strongest in this year's assessment, is none other than Cotton Tree, who hails from the Silver Gallery.

To go further, if we expand this so-called "Carry Ranking" and categorize the fifty people on it according to their identity tags, then "Silver Gallery Faction" will definitely be the most frequently appearing tag. After this tag, perhaps identities like "Central City Garrison Team" will come next.

During the first maze test, because the Rule required candidates to act in small teams and the maze terrain was complex, making it difficult for them to locate each other, the factionalism based on background wasn't very evident. At most, in the later stages of the test, some candidates with similar backgrounds would band together to form larger teams.

In this second assessment, probably because it mainly relied on individual effort and did not require teamwork, many candidates naturally chose to team up with their closer companions.

Magical girls from the Silver Gallery prefer to be with their former classmates; magical girls from Central City tend to stick with teammates from their own city or other Central City; and magical girls from smaller cities feel they have more in common with test-takers from other smaller cities...

However, there were still people who gathered together according to their exam groups.

For example, Lin Xiaolu, Bai Jingxuan, and Mint.

At this moment, the three of them stood together in the corridor, gazing at the testing process taking place in the classroom.

Although they stood together, Lin Xiaolu and Mint were quite far apart. While Mint didn't seem to show any reaction, Lin Xiaolu made no attempt to hide the disdain in her expression.

This dislike wasn't because the other person was related to Black Ash Dawn; rather, after learning that Mint hadn't participated in the evil deeds committed by Black Ash Dawn, Lin Xiaolu wouldn't harbor any prejudice.

What truly made her dislike Mint was, in the end, her behavior yesterday after Mint had gone to great lengths to contact Larkspur through her.

"That's disgusting."

That was the thought that Lin Xiaolu blurted out at the time.

While it's perfectly normal for the other person to be a fan of Larkspur, and Lin Xiaolu even approves of it, the obsequious attitude they displayed was simply unacceptable to Lin Xiaolu.

What's most unacceptable, besides Mint's tendency to scream like the most mindless fans, is that she actually went too far and asked Larkspur for an autograph.

Even Lin Xiaolu herself didn't have Larkspur's signature.

Although she knew that if she asked Larkspur for an autograph, Larkspur would probably sign one for her, the two of them were now far too familiar with each other, making the act of "asking for an autograph" seem very strange.

Furthermore, Lin Xiaolu believes that while she is nominally Larkspur's student, she is also Larkspur's acknowledged "Larkspur" in private—although only in private, she can still call her "Mom"! Given their close relationship, wouldn't asking for an autograph lower her status?

In short, inexplicably, Mint, this "outsider," accomplished things that Lin Xiaolu had never done and possessed things that Lin Xiaolu had never had.

This made her very unhappy.

Even though Mint later stated that she only admired those famous and powerful magical girls and that her fandom of Cornflower was simply due to her admiration for their deeds and legends, without any further presumptuous thoughts, it still didn't erase the knot in Lin Xiaolu's heart.

Ultimately, even if Lin Xiaolu doesn't admit it, there's a sense of mutual repulsion between the two women in this matter.

Lin Xiaolu really likes Larkspur and believes that Larkspur deserves to be liked by more people. But when other people show affection for Larkspur in front of her, she feels a little jealous.

Yeah, a little bit.

This has led to the strange relationship and way the two interact— Mint doesn't want to stay with other Beast Child, lest she act unnaturally and give herself away, but she prefers to act with Bai Jingxuan and Lin Xiaolu, whom she calls "Sacrificial Child"; while Lin Xiaolu is not very comfortable with Mint, "one of the people of Black Ash Dawn," and feels that it might be safer to keep her within her sight.

Both agreed they should act together, but Lin Xiaolu still found Mint somewhat disagreeable.

Bai Jingxuan, who was initially quite hostile towards Mint, returned to normal after learning that Bohe wasn't a true crippled Aberrant Beast.

Now, Lin Xiaolu and Mint are standing on the left and right sides, with Bai Jingxuan in the middle. Although the three of them are standing side by side, they are subtly at odds and don't even communicate much.

They were just watching to see what the candidates coming out of the exam hall would say.

Just then, the last examinee who had finished the test came out, and as soon as she stepped out of the door, the magical girls all gathered around her.

The examinee hadn't even had time to put away his Magic Armament when he came out, so Lin Xiaolu could see its appearance from afar—it was a simple white handheld windmill, seemingly no different from the cheap toys sold by street vendors.

And this unremarkable Magic Armament, she said, actually received a "B" grade rating.

This naturally aroused great curiosity among the candidates watching from outside the gate.

However, to protect the privacy of the examinees' abilities, the Examination Institute hall windows were sealed off, and even Spell Formula to block perception was cast. Therefore, the examinees waiting in the corridor could not see the abilities of the test takers inside. The magical girl who had just finished her test obviously did not want to reveal her Magic Armament abilities, so she only exchanged a few simple pleasantries before leaving.

"This person seems to be lying."

An unfamiliar voice suddenly reached Lin Xiaolu's ears from the side.

Lin Xiaolu turned her head and found a group of examinees she didn't recognize. At that moment, the magical girl standing in the center of the group said something.

Undoubtedly, her views were somewhat sharp and intriguing enough that the small group of people surrounding her asked her questions with great curiosity.

However, after saying that, the magical girl seemed to realize she had spoken out of turn, shook her head, and stopped talking about the topic.

Another annoying person who likes to play cryptic games.

Lin Xiaolu couldn't help but roll her eyes.

However, when she looked away, another member of the group made a move. Mint, who had been restless because no one was paying attention to her, seemed to have suddenly found a target. She left Bai Jingxuan's side and walked towards the small group.

"Hey, Anthurium!"

Then, as if encountering an acquaintance, she naturally called out to the magical girl standing in the center.