A Fight?

When Xia Liang walked out of the examination room with her test report, she noticed that the atmosphere in the corridor had changed for some reason compared to when she went in.

The good news was that her two temporary teammates from the assessment— Mountain Lily and Tiger Lily— were also waiting for her in the corridor, so Xia Liang didn't hesitate and went straight to the two sisters, asking with a puzzled look:

"What happened?"

"Ah, Little Brocade, you're out."

Mountain Lily, who was playing on her phone, heard Xia Liang's voice and immediately looked up, her face full of "wanting to gossip": "You don't know yet? This year's S-level ratings have already been released!"

"You said Soliflor?" Xia Liang tilted her head slightly, uttering the word that was still somewhat unfamiliar to her.

"Yes, and it was two people at once, both of whom were already considered top contenders."

Mountain Lily asked with great interest, "Guess who it is?"

"Who?" Xia Liang asked curiously.

Mountain Lily didn't answer, but instead asked mysteriously, "Why don't you guess first?"

"It's Senior Cotton Tree, and Senior Arrowroot."

Tiger Lily, seemingly unable to bear seeing her sister keeping the online information a secret, interjected somewhat helplessly. She looked away, pretending not to see Mountain Lily's displeased expression. "Although the results haven't been officially announced yet, they themselves have all admitted to their S-level test results."

"Oh, I see. No wonder the atmosphere felt so strange."

Xia Liang glanced around the corridor somewhat cryptically, then lowered her voice slightly. "It does seem a bit strange to hear that someone got the highest score when the exam is only halfway through."

Leaving aside emotions like jealousy, envy, or inferiority, most people will feel a subtle sense of urgency upon hearing such news.

"Hmph, only someone with no talent would care if someone else did better on the test."

Mountain Lily, on the other hand, remained optimistic, clearly unaffected by the so-called "S-level" achievement. "At times like these, you should take it easy. What's meant to be yours, no one can take away; what isn't yours, no one can have, and it doesn't belong to you."

"Ah, my sister suddenly said something very philosophical."

"What do you mean 'suddenly'? You silly little sister just don't understand the deeper meaning in my words!"

Incidentally, Mountain Lily and Tiger Lily's tests have already ended. As twins, their Magic Armament abilities are almost identical in terms of basic stats, except for some differences in their specializations. Therefore, their scores were also exactly the same: C+.

As "single Magic Armament", the two sisters' fans would normally only reach the C- level, since neither the form of their abilities nor their power are outstanding. However, the fact that the two sisters can attack together greatly increases their rating, bringing their score to the upper limit of single Magic Armament.

Mountain Lily initially seemed a little dissatisfied with the result, while Tiger Lily felt somewhat flattered. However, after talking with other candidates around them and discovering that the "C+" grade was above average, they both felt at ease.

After all, the two sisters were only Bud Rank magical girls. Their main purpose in taking the exam was to obtain the Certification Card. They didn't really expect to compete for first place. A slightly above-average result would already be a pretty good one.

"So, Little Brocade, what was your result?"

After gossiping about others, Mountain Lily's enthusiasm remained high, and she immediately asked the question that everyone in the corridor was quite concerned about, "Is there a B? Or an A? Could it be an S?"

Her voice was quite loud, drawing the attention of the surrounding examinees. Clearly, everyone cared about Xia Liang's score.

Rather, before the rumors of "S-level" appeared, Xia Liang was already the most eye-catching candidate in this area—first place in the first practical test. Although it was a somewhat controversial first place, she had long become a benchmark for countless people.

"Ah, me? I'm Aster." Xia Liang shrugged, casually revealing her grades.

[Ability Specification: Level 2]

[Scope of application: wide]

[Application areas: Wide range, applicable to most situations other than those requiring lethality]

[Development Potential: High]

[Stability Level: Medium]

[Overall Rating: Aster]

This was the report she received regarding her own Magic Armament.

Judging from the data on paper alone, her Magic Armament is already among the best of her peers. The "Level 2" rating in her ability specifications is also a standard value that a Leaf Rank user should have, making her a "jack-of-all-trades," so it wouldn't be surprising if she got an A-level rating.

As for the essence of the Diversion, although it is fundamentally a single piece of Magic Armament, it can actively differentiate into sub-units with the same function when in actual use, so it can also be judged as a "group" of Magic Armament, which makes this A-level more reasonable.

The only drawback is the destructive power of the Diversion. Although Xia Liang has begun to combine the Spell Formula and Magic Armament abilities, the destructive effect provided by the Magic Armament itself is still limited. This is not a deduction, but it prevented her from getting bonus points, ultimately causing her to miss out on the highest possible score of A+.

All of this stems from the analysis of Rose.

Yes, one of the two examiners in the examination room that Xia Liang entered was the chief examiner of the maze test, Rose, who had offered Xia Liang an olive branch afterward.

Even the most oblivious person would know there was something fishy going on, let alone Xia Liang, who was never oblivious. Therefore, facing her suspicious gaze, Rose's answer was quite frank:

"I've already confirmed with Emerald, and she said Cornflower has no objections. You don't seem to object either, so I think the job of collecting your Magic Armament data today is perfect for me... What? You're asking why I'm here? This is Luen Nore, and I'm a researcher at the Research Institute. Do I need a reason to be here?"

Xia Liang had no rebuttal to this.

She also wondered if she had "brute-forced" the other person's puzzle during the maze test, causing the other person to hold a grudge or even have some unrealistic bias towards her Magic Armament, which led to the A-level evaluation. However, the other examiner didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with the score. The data entry was also calm and uneventful, and the whole process seemed perfectly normal, to the point that it felt somewhat bland.

In short, although it doesn't feel very real, the current Xia Liang is Grade A.

Now that she had gotten this score, she felt there was no point in hiding it. Her assessment order was relatively late, and the results should be announced soon. So rather than hiding it here, she might as well be open about it.

Whether it was her imagination or not, the heavy atmosphere that had been hanging around them seemed to lighten up a bit after she announced the result.

Undoubtedly, there were those who, upon learning that Xia Liang's Magic Armament rating was A, thought, "An A rating can beat an S rating to get first place in the event, so the Magic Armament rating isn't everything"; there were also those who thought, "So even the first place in the previous assessment can't guarantee an S rating in the second one, it seems this guy isn't as monstrous as he seems." All sorts of thoughts swirled in the minds of the surrounding examinees.

Admittedly, an A grade is already an excellent result, but compared to the overly dazzling halo of "first place," an A rating is not a result that is as convincing as it seems.

Therefore, just minutes after Xia Liang announced her results, a magical girl who looked very tall with dark skin, and who seemed to be from South Africa, came to her door.

"Hey, you're the first place winner in the first practical exercise, right, Little Brocade? I'm Cockscomb."

The magical girl introduced herself with a confident smile as soon as she arrived, "I got a B+, but I'm not satisfied with that, so I want to find a strong enough A-rank opponent to prove myself in the practical stage. How about a match?"