The End of Summer Vacation (4k)

With the attack by Claw Mark and Black Ash Dawn in Fangting City over, the magical girls' lives returned to their previous rhythm.

Driving away the Aberrant Beast, training, studying, and occasionally playing—that's how most of the girl's summer vacation passed.

However, these days were not easy for Larkspur either.

Although she successfully resigned, it also meant that she devoted all her energy to training several new magical girls, and her life did not become much easier as a result.

According to Lin Xiaolu's own description, as well as those of Xia Liang and Bai Jingxuan, the White Magic Power she used in the previous battle seemed to possess greater destructive power than ordinary magic. The origin of this destructive power was unclear, but its effect was such that it could easily harm the Aberrant Beast whose defenses even Xia Liang, Bud Rank, could not break through.

Both Larkspur and Hong Siyu agreed that Lin Xiaolu was an Offsetter in the face of this special magic.

Those Offsetter are born with special properties, and these properties vary from person to person. In Lin Xiaolu's case, this property could manifest as penetrating power or lethality, which are both quite possible.

The reason for saying "very likely" is that Larkspur has never seen that so-called White Magic Power.

Because Lin Xiaolu can no longer use it.

According to her own words, she "had no feeling" and "wasn't in the right state of mind," but no matter how hard Lin Xiaolu tried, she never managed to use that white magic again.

This is undoubtedly a rather tricky problem.

Those Offsetter from the norm are extremely rare, and even the Larkspur knew very little about such a constitution, making it impossible for her to directly determine what obstacles Lin Xiaolu had encountered.

Therefore, she could only resort to the most basic, but most solid, method—controlling variables.

Based on the context in which Lin Xiaolu used this magic, and the factors in that context that might have affected her, we tested them one by one.

However, due to the complexity of the situation and the many possible conditions at the time, no results have been achieved so far.

Besides Lin Xiaolu, the area where Larkspur has devoted the most energy recently is Bai Jingxuan's special training.

As a very standard Offsetter, Bai Jingxuan's performance was actually much more competent than Lin Xiaolu's, and her development of magical properties was also very smooth.

Based on the tests conducted over this period, the properties exhibited by Bai Jingxuan's green magic are not simply limited to healing physical injuries; in fact, long-term contact with it can even have a certain protective effect on True Form.

During the battle at the orphanage, Xia Liang's injuries had actually slightly affected her True Form, but with Bai Jingxuan's help, she gradually recovered and became much better.

As far as Larkspur knew, even ordinary Spell Formula couldn't produce such an outrageous effect. Spell Formula that could affect True Form were extremely high-level, and very few people could learn them. Even if someone did learn them, their effects wouldn't be better than Bai Jingxuan's pure magical properties.

The only downside was that it didn't help with the Larkspur's old injuries.

Larkspur didn't intend to mention her old injury to the girls, because even if they knew, it would only cause them more worry. However, whenever she was with Bai Jingxuan and helping her study the nature of her magic, Larkspur would always try to draw a portion of it to see if it could affect her Heart Gem.

The truth is that it has no effect, or rather, the effect is too slight to be felt at all.

Even so, there is no doubt that this magical property has extremely high value.

Even in the Magic Kingdom, such magical properties would certainly attract the interest of many. If Bai Jingxuan were to travel to that Kingdom now, even just to study and utilize her magical properties, she would likely receive invitations from various factions.

However, as they spent more time together, Larkspur gradually discovered that Bai Jingxuan was not as ordinary as she appeared on the surface.

It's not just because of her special abilities, but because of her personality.

Just as she had vaguely sensed before, Bai Jingxuan lost control during the subsequent direct confrontation with the Aberrant Beast.

Even with teammates nearby, she completely disregarded the potential harm she might suffer and launched an attack on the Aberrant Beast with a brutal, trade-attack style.

If Larkspur hadn't stopped her in time, Bai Jingxuan might have easily injured herself when facing a not-so-dangerous enemy.

If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad. The bigger problem is that this child is completely unaware of the dangers of this fighting style.

Just like her usual quiet and sensible demeanor, her thinking remained clear and even calm during battle. This dangerous combat style of "trading injury for injury" was also a conclusion she reached after careful consideration and decision-making.

She wasn't blinded by hatred, nor was her thinking clouded by anger; she simply believed that this was how she should fight, and so she did it.

Even when the spectator, Larkspur, intervened to stop her, she asked Larkspur with a curious expression, "Teacher, do you think there's anything wrong with this?"

When asked why she did this, she replied, "Because I felt that this would be the fastest way to eliminate the Aberrant Beast."

This left the Larkspur speechless, unsure how to correct her. In the end, she could only sigh, casually annihilate the still-struggling Egg Rank Aberrant Beast, and bring Bai Jingxuan back to the training grounds for a long talk.

He not only emphasized to her how to ensure her safety during battle, but also instilled in her the advantages and disadvantages of a protracted war of attrition; more importantly, he stressed that if she encountered an enemy stronger than herself, she must escape in time.

Throughout this process, Bai Jingxuan was very well-behaved, even occasionally asking detailed questions about Professor Larkspur's teachings, nodding repeatedly like a chick pecking at rice. Her behavior was that of an exceptionally well-behaved child, as if she had truly absorbed all of his words.

After that, time passed. A week later, when she encountered Egg Rank Aberrant Beast again, she lost control once more.

In another round of practical training specially arranged by the Larkspur, Bai Jingxuan initially kept the Larkspur's instructions in mind, using mid-to-long-range kiting techniques to wear down the Aberrant Beast's life force with Mana Beam, fighting with a steady and methodical pace. However, as the battle gradually came to an end and the Aberrant Beast were clearly unable to resist, she seemed to be thinking something and started charging into close combat with her magic wand again.

This time, when Larkspur pulled her away, she had already plunged her wand directly into the Aberrant Beast's head and was about to reach out to gouge out Aberrant Beast eyes.

During this process, she completely disregarded the fact that her legs were already dangling in the jaws of the Aberrant Beast, and that she was just seconds away from being bitten off by the Aberrant Beast was writhing in pain and enraged.

After finally managing to pull Bai Jingxuan away and then casually killing the dying Aberrant Beast beside her, the Larkspur was genuinely angry this time, so she gave the other party a rather serious warning.

Bai Jingxuan's attitude remained good, and she earnestly told Larkspur that she would be more careful next time. As for whether she would actually be more careful next time, no one knew.

All Larkspur knew was that she had encountered an unprecedented difficulty in Bai Jingxuan's guidance.

And so, August came to an end, and summer vacation gradually drew to a close.

Thanks to their healthy holiday schedule, Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang finished their summer homework early, and with the initial success of their holiday training, the most tiring training was already a thing of the past.

As evening fell, Xia Liang and Lin Xiaolu nestled together on the sofa watching TV in the living room, which was filled with the cool air from the air conditioner.

"--As we can see, following the previous Aberrant Beast attack, the damaged areas in Luoming District have been reopened for use, and the damaged office buildings have also reopened for business..."

On television, a young and attractive presenter is facing the camera lens, introducing the situation on-site to viewers of the evening news.

"Xia Liang, change the channel." Lin Xiaolu stared at the TV screen with a bored expression, stretched out her foot, and kicked Xia Liang's shin.

"Change what?" Xia Liang lazily raised her head and glanced at her.

"I want to watch cartoons."

"I don't know which channel the animation is on."

"Why not just adjust and search at the same time?"

"It seems so."

Sitting up, Xia Liang picked up the remote control from the coffee table in front of the sofa and began pressing buttons on it, saying, "Speaking of which, Xiao Lu..."

"What's wrong?"

"Is that building mentioned in the news where your dad works?"

Which one?

"It's that news report about the reopening of disaster-stricken areas."

"Oh, that? Yes, that's right." Lin Xiaolu stared blankly at the television.

"Does that mean your father is also in danger? Because of that evil magical girl with the Claw Mark?"

"According to him, no one was injured, Larkspur also said that he was deliberately protecting ordinary people during the battle."

"... Young senior, you protected your father."

"Yes, after all, Larkspur is the best."

Lin Xiaolu acted almost without thinking, like a robot triggered by keywords, instinctively launching into a fan-driven comment. "So capable, so gentle, so mature, so cute..."

"Yes, yes, that's right, that's right."

As if coaxing a child, Xia Liang brushed Lin Xiaolu off, then couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly as she changed the subject, "However, lately..."

Her gaze drifted to Lin Xiaolu's study not far away.

Lin Xiaolu couldn't help but glance towards the study, then turned her face away.

"Tsk."

"That made a very unpleasant sound."

Xia Liang looked at Lin Xiaolu helplessly. "Do you care that much?"

"Care? What do I care about?"

Lin Xiaolu pouted and said, "It's just temporary tutoring for newcomers who can't keep up. Isn't that normal?"

"Your facial expression doesn't say that at all!"

"The expression on my face says I want to watch cartoons right now."

"It's already switched to animation, look." Xia Liang pointed towards the TV screen.

"...Oh." Lin Xiaolu responded stiffly.

Just as Xia Liang said, her focus now is not actually on television at all.

During the latter half of summer vacation, with Bai Jingxuan joining the group, Larkspur tried her best to ensure that she did not favor one over the other. However, due to the difference in their progress, she still had to set aside some time to help Bai Jingxuan catch up on more basic knowledge.

Bai Jingxuan is very young, and she needs more prerequisite courses to learn a lot of knowledge. In addition, her unstable behavior during battles has led Larkspur to spend more time on her.

In the last few days of summer vacation, she and Xia Liang Lin Xiaolu spent most of their time together in evening tutoring sessions, while during the day they were completely focused on correcting Bai Jingxuan, this "problem child".

This has led to a rapid warming of her relationship with Bai Jingxuan recently.

Larkspur's teaching style has always been cool but not indifferent, simple but not simplistic. Although her requirements and standards are somewhat strict, they are not harsh. She can be considered a qualified and good teacher.

After spending half a month together, if Bai Jingxuan initially called him "teacher" merely out of politeness, now she says it from the bottom of her heart.

This left Lin Xiaolu, who had witnessed everything, feeling quite uncomfortable.

Her attitude towards Bai Jingxuan, a junior, was neither warm nor distant, but it was at least much better than her initial impression of Xia Liang.

She couldn't possibly speak harshly to a child with such a pitiful background and physical disability, and had already tried her best to get along with him amicably.

But as Bai Jingxuan and Larkspur's relationship gradually improved, she still felt a pang of sadness.

She was trying to tell herself that she had no reason to argue with a child three years younger than her; besides, the other person had always treated her with a smile and respect, so wouldn't it seem petty to be jealous of them now?

Furthermore, it's necessary for Larkspur to spend more time with that child; the teaching and training of magical girls is no child's play. It's precisely because the other child is progressing slowly and has many problems that Larkspur needs to pay more attention. Doesn't this just show that Larkspur is more satisfied with herself?

Like Xia Liang, she was the one who caused Larkspur the least trouble among them, so it was only natural that she received the least attention.

Even with that thought, she still subconsciously puffed out her cheeks.

Because you can think about it, but you can't help it.

She stared blankly at the television for a while, when a noise from the study suddenly caught Lin Xiaolu's attention. She jolted and slightly raised her head.

Her gaze refocused as she looked towards the study doorway, where Larkspur led Bai Jingxuan out with a blank expression. Bai Jingxuan followed behind, looking as if she had done something wrong, trailing behind like a dejected little animal.

Lin Xiaolu felt a strange, wicked joy, but it vanished within seconds of Larkspur's actions.

"I'll take Bo Xue back to her place. You guys continue to rest. After dinner, Xia Liang's house and wait for me."

Stopping at the doorway, Larkspur turned to the two girls in the living room and said, "Remember to rest your eyes after watching TV for an hour, and don't tilt your head to look at the screen for too long; these behaviors are bad for your eyesight."

After saying this, she walked out of Lin Xiaolu's house and closed the front door behind her.

"Click."

With that brief, crisp sound, Lin Xiaolu froze in place.