After successfully leaving the maze, the candidates participating in this year's White Card assessment were granted a day of rest. This day was meant to give those still lingering in the maze more time to regroup; it was also a necessary preparation period for the Examination Institute to arrange the venue and facilities; more importantly, it allowed the Magical Girls who had expended too much magic power in the maze to recover their condition.
Most candidates chose to use this day to catch up on sleep, making up for the rest they had lost while running through the maze all day—after all, the first assessment alone had already left them exhausted. But not everyone was willing to rest quietly. With three more assessment events ahead, this was clearly no time to slack off.
Candidates with similar thoughts were all making the most of their time: some trained harder, some reviewed their performance, and some devised battle plans for the next assessment. Of course, some candidates were also holding celebratory dinners.
"So, let's raise our glasses to Little Brocade for taking first place in this assessment."
At Larkspur's toast, the Fangting City team members gathered around the table all raised their glasses. Under the bright yellow lights, the glasses clinked with a crisp sound.
"Yeah!"
Yet among them, Lin Xiaolu's cheer was unexpectedly the loudest. The unusual sight made the others reveal slightly surprised expressions.
"...What's wrong?"
Her companions' strange looks made Lin Xiaolu wonder if she had done something wrong, and she instinctively drew her hand back a little. But after thinking it over, she was sure she had done nothing wrong, so she straightened her back again. "Aren't we celebrating?"
The other three were briefly speechless. They couldn't exactly say, We thought you'd be unhappy about it, could we?