Recaps

Lin Xiaolu, Mint, and Bai Jingxuan followed a hidden passage toward a Maze Node and discovered that another team had fought over it. The victor approached them as a swarm of bats, then revealed herself and addressed Mint as her sister.

• Lin Xiaolu bumped into Mint when Mint suddenly stopped, then asked what was wrong.
• Bai Jingxuan sensed chaotic magical power fluctuations ahead, and Mint confirmed that another team was fighting near the Maze Node.
• Lin Xiaolu, Mint, and Bai Jingxuan debated whether to continue toward the node or retreat, but Bai Jingxuan sensed one side’s magical power vanish and the remaining presence approach them.
• A swarm of bats rushed through the passage and gathered into a black-and-red magical girl.
• The magical girl examined Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan, then greeted Mint as her dear sister.

Arrowroot confronted Mint, Lin Xiaolu, and Bai Jingxuan at a Maze Node, revealing that she had eliminated other examinees and intended to claim the node. After provoking Bai Jingxuan and warning that she found her unusually tempting prey, Arrowroot proposed that they help fight the Aberrant Beast and split the points evenly.

• Mint greeted Arrowroot cautiously and asked whether she had caused the earlier commotion.
• Arrowroot admitted that she had eliminated the examinees who tried to block her, saying she could plunder as long as she kept her identity hidden.
• Arrowroot said the Maze Node already belonged to her and revealed that she had approached to confirm the group's identities.
• Arrowroot focused on Bai Jingxuan, called her aura mouthwatering, and prompted Lin Xiaolu to shield her.
• Mint asked what Arrowroot intended to do, and Arrowroot proposed that they help fight the Aberrant Beast in exchange for an even split of the points.

Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan saw the oversized Aberrant Beast and nearly a hundred smaller beasts guarding the Maze Node. Arrowroot charged in alone to fight the giant, while Mint warned the others that Arrowroot’s strength was on another level.

• Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan observed the enormous Pupa and the flesh sacs containing nearly a hundred small Aberrant Beasts at the Maze Node.
• Arrowroot asked whether Lin Xiaolu or Bai Jingxuan could use large-scale attacks, but neither revealed such an ability.
• Arrowroot declared that she could handle the node herself, then rushed off to fight the giant Aberrant Beast.
• Lin Xiaolu objected to Arrowroot charging in alone, but Arrowroot had already engaged the beast.
• Mint explained that she and Arrowroot were longtime rivals and warned Lin Xiaolu to be careful of Arrowroot’s exceptional strength.
• Mint urged Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan to move in and clear the node for points.

Xia Liang’s team pushed through the maze walls using her Magic Armament, but her magic power ran low and forced them to rest while other teams gathered nearby. By eavesdropping on them with a speaking-tube device, Xia Liang learned that another team had predicted the maze exit’s location and sold the information.

• Xia Liang used her Magic Armament to break down the maze walls and lead Mountain Lily and Tiger Lily through dozens of them until her magic power ran dry.
• When Tiger Lily sensed an approaching team, Xia Liang ordered the group to move and hide rather than risk contact.
• The three noticed several teams passing through the area and speculated that they were gathering near a node, but Xia Liang chose to avoid them and continue their plan.
• Xia Liang used two linked Magic Armament mirrors to eavesdrop on passing teams and gradually pieced together their shared information.
• Xia Liang told Mountain Lily and Tiger Lily that another team had figured out where the maze exit might be and sold that information.

Team 277 secured first place in maze reward points as Tudingui handled the fighting and Larkspur contributed little. While chatting with Tudingui and Foxtail Grass, Larkspur worried that the Queen might recognize her false identity through the livestream.

• Team 277 conquered a second node after Tudingui fought the Aberrant Beasts, and the other team yielded half the reward.
• Tudingui and Larkspur solved two more puzzles, bringing Team 277's total to five puzzle rewards and two node rewards and securing first place in maze points.
• Tudingui repeatedly patted Larkspur's head, while Larkspur worried that the livestream would expose her to Emerald, the Green Faction, or the Queen.
• Larkspur asked Tudingui about playing with her younger sister, and Tudingui shared details of her life while avoiding mention of Blue Star.
• Foxtail Grass drew Larkspur into conversations about anime, leaving Larkspur to juggle both teammates' attention.

Lin Xiaolu and her teammates cleared the Maze Node after Arrowroot drained the giant Aberrant Beast from within, but Mint, Arrowroot, and Bai Jingxuan nearly came to blows afterward. With the exam still underway, Lin Xiaolu was left trying to mediate the escalating conflict.

• Arrowroot invaded the Aberrant Beasts as bats and black mist, weakening them and driving the giant beast into a rampage while Lin Xiaolu and the others held back its smaller kin.
• Arrowroot told Lin Xiaolu to keep the smaller Aberrant Beasts away from the giant, then drained it and defeated it in exactly three minutes.
• Lin Xiaolu and the others swept away the remaining Aberrant Beasts and completed the node.
• Mint's remark about Arrowroot's appetite sparked an argument when Arrowroot challenged Mint's ranking of her below Cotton Tree.
• Bai Jingxuan silently sided with Mint, and Arrowroot welcomed the prospect of a fight, leaving Lin Xiaolu to consider how Larkspur would mediate.

Lin Xiaolu tried to mediate a brewing fight between Mint, Bai Jingxuan, and Arrowroot, but her initial appeal to reason failed. She stopped the clash by angrily challenging Arrowroot to settle their rivalry in a later assessment event, and Arrowroot accepted.

• Lin Xiaolu stepped between the groups and urged Arrowroot, Mint, and Bai Jingxuan not to jeopardize their assessment scores by fighting.
• Mint refused to back down from Arrowroot, while Arrowroot insisted Bai Jingxuan could not leave and hinted that she and Mint both knew something about her.
• When Arrowroot transformed and prepared to attack, Lin Xiaolu interrupted the fight and scolded Mint and Bai Jingxuan for risking their scores.
• Lin Xiaolu cursed out Arrowroot and proposed that they fight in a later event instead of during the assessment.
• Arrowroot accepted Lin Xiaolu's challenge and said she would remember her.

Xia Liang investigated a rumored maze exit and tried to trade information for a survey map. She offered details about the fourth-place candidate’s abilities, and the surveying squad showed interest in negotiating.

• After learning that only one maze node remained, Xia Liang hurried to investigate a rumored exit location.
• Xia Liang posed as a buyer of exit information and learned that one squad had surveyed much of the maze and traded possible exit locations and a map for puzzle-solving rights.
• Xia Liang realized that the surveying squad might share her ability to pass through walls and decided she needed to see their map.
• When the squad refused to show it for free, Xia Liang offered information about the fourth-place candidate’s abilities in exchange for a deal.
• The squad’s leader responded with interest and asked Xia Liang to tell her more.

As other teams followed Team 277, Larkspur encouraged Foxtail Grass and Tudingui to treat their attention as motivation. Tudingui began sensing the maze more seriously, but an announcement changed the assessment and revealed that Team 582 had already taken first place.

• Foxtail Grass asked why other teams were following Team 277, and Larkspur guessed they expected the team to find the exit or were gathering intelligence for a larger group.
• Foxtail Grass worried the followers would criticize them if they failed to find the exit, but Larkspur said they should let the teams follow and focus on doing their best.
• Larkspur told Foxtail Grass to turn pressure into motivation, and Tudingui said the other teams' confidence made her want to try harder.
• Tudingui pressed her palm to the wall and used more strength to sense the paths around them.
• The chief examiner announced that the maze exit would open in 60 seconds despite uncleared Maze Nodes, and that Team 582 had already exited first, with Miss Little Brocade earning special recognition.

After the assessment exit opened and first place was claimed, Lin Xiaolu questioned Mint and Bai Jingxuan about their hostility toward Arrowroot. Bai Jingxuan suspected both Arrowroot and Mint carried an aura more like Aberrant Beasts than Claw Mark, leaving Lin Xiaolu suspicious of a possible connection among the three.

• The chief examiner announced that first place had already been claimed, forcing squads across the maze to reconsider their plans and rush through their battles.
• Lin Xiaolu asked Mint and Bai Jingxuan why they had acted so strangely toward Arrowroot.
• Mint refused to explain while they were in the maze, and Bai Jingxuan whispered that Arrowroot and Mint both felt like Aberrant Beasts to her.
• Lin Xiaolu believed Bai Jingxuan and wondered whether Arrowroot, Mint, and Bai Jingxuan shared a connection she did not know about.
• Mint offered to answer Lin Xiaolu's questions over a meal after they left the maze, on the condition that Lin Xiaolu paid.

Squad 582 won the maze assessment after Xia Liang used her Magic Armament to pass through walls, a controversial tactic the Queen’s laughter effectively allowed. Rose invited Xia Liang to help study her Magic Armament and learned she belonged to Larkspur’s team before sending the group away; afterward, Finance Institute colleagues approached Rose.

• Squad 582’s first-place finish was accepted despite objections that Little Brocade had exploited a loophole, since the Queen had laughed and the tactic broke no explicit rules.
• Xia Liang, Tiger Lily, and Mountain Lily left the maze to applause, and Rose confirmed their team had the highest overall score.
• Rose asked Xia Liang how her Magic Armament could pass through walls and invited her to visit the laboratory after the assessment to help research it.
• Xia Liang told Rose she came from Fangting City, and Rose realized she belonged to Larkspur’s team and asked her to convey greetings to Cornflower.
• Rose urged Xia Liang’s group to leave before spectators approached, then blocked the path of arriving Finance Institute colleagues and asked why they had come.

After Team 277 placed third in the maze assessment, Tudingui admitted she was disappointed because she wanted to take first place overall. Larkspur encouraged her and praised her contribution, and Tudingui ended by asking Larkspur to call her “big sister” instead of “Senior.”

• Team 277 exited the maze after several hundred examinees and finished third overall, despite Tudingui's dissatisfaction with their exit ranking.
• Larkspur asked Tudingui about her disappointment, and Tudingui said she had to place first in the overall examinations.
• Tudingui apologized for the pressure her ambition might put on her teammates, while Larkspur reassured her that the team wanted a good result too.
• Larkspur praised Tudingui as the team's greatest contributor, lifting Tudingui's mood.
• Tudingui asked Larkspur to stop calling her “Senior” and call her “big sister” instead.

After taking first place in the maze assessment, Xia Liang faced criticism and a flood of duel challenges from candidates who doubted her achievement. Her teammates encouraged her as the group celebrated, while the rules for the Magic Armament assessment made clear she would need to fight to defend her standing.

• Larkspur toasted Xia Liang for taking first place, and Lin Xiaolu enthusiastically joined the celebration.
• Xia Liang worried that candidates were criticizing her and sending challenges to her Carrier Pigeon accounts.
• Larkspur told Xia Liang that strong results in the remaining assessments would prove her ability and silence her critics.
• The Examination Institute announced that the second assessment would rate candidates' Magic Armament abilities and allow challenges against candidates rated one grade higher.
• Xia Liang recognized that avoiding all challenges would hurt her ranking, and she intended to fight challengers despite worrying about the strain.

Xia Liang told Larkspur about Rose’s invitation to study her Magic Armament, and Larkspur postponed a decision until after the assessment. Lin Xiaolu then described a suspicious candidate whose ties to Aberrant Beast magic led Larkspur to suspect that Black Ash Dawn had infiltrated the Magical Girls.

• Xia Liang recounted her meeting with Rose and asked Larkspur whether she should accept the Research Institute’s invitation.
• Larkspur recognized the opportunity could help Xia Liang grow stronger but said she would take everyone to the Research Institute after the assessment.
• Lin Xiaolu told Larkspur about Mint, Arrowroot, their dispute with Bai Jingxuan, and her upcoming appointment with Mint.
• Bai Jingxuan said Arrowroot’s aura reminded her of the bad director Moss, prompting Xia Liang and Larkspur to suspect Black Ash Dawn.
• Larkspur wondered whether Black Ash Dawn had placed members among the Magical Girls.

Mint revealed that she was a Beast Child of Black Ash Dawn and mistook Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan for unassimilated Sacrificial Children. After learning that they had become Magical Girls and killed the Ash Soldiers sent to recruit them, she realized Moth had not hidden them in Fangting, and explained how her attempts to signal them during the assessment had instead attracted an Arrowroot.

• Mint told Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan that she was a Beast Child and identified them as Sacrificial Children based on their Aberrant Beast magic fluctuations.
• Mint explained that unassimilated Sacrificial Children were those who had never joined Black Ash Dawn, and said it was unusual for them to become Magical Girls.
• Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan said that Ash Soldiers had come looking for them, but Larkspur and Bai Jingxuan had killed them.
• Mint realized that Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan had not been Moth's Sacrificial Children and that Moth had accomplished nothing in Fangting.
• Mint recounted how she had tried to reveal her identity to her teammates during the assessment, but her signals drew an Arrowroot instead.

Mint gave Lin Xiaolu her Heart Gem to show she wanted to talk, then explained that Lin Xiaolu carried a faint trace of Aberrant Beast mana and described Sacrificial Children and Beast Children. She revealed that Beast Children were Sacrificial Children who survived a month-long cage trial alongside Aberrant Beasts.

• Mint placed her Heart Gem in Lin Xiaolu's hands and asked to talk rather than fight.
• Mint said Black Ash Dawn had sent someone to carry out a mission during the fourth assessment, though she had come to take the exam and earn her White Card.
• Mint insisted Lin Xiaolu had a faint trace of Aberrant Beast mana, and Bai Jingxuan could only sense it vaguely.
• Mint explained that Sacrificial Children could use Aberrant Beast mana while remaining human, and could advance through stages using the Feeding Rite.
• Mint revealed that Beast Children were Sacrificial Children selected after surviving a sealed month-long trial with hundreds of Aberrant Beasts.

Mint offered Lin Xiaolu a list of Black Ash Dawn members infiltrating the assessment in exchange for keeping her identity secret and letting the Kingdom avoid alerting the enemy. Lin Xiaolu called Larkspur to discuss Mint’s conditions, and Mint’s excitement at speaking to her ended in an ecstatic shriek.

• Mint told Lin Xiaolu she could identify the Beast Children involved in the assessment if the Kingdom kept her role secret and did not alert Black Ash Dawn.
• Mint explained that she wanted to protect her family and continue pursuing her future as a Magical Girl, while Lin Xiaolu questioned whether she had truly done nothing wrong.
• Lin Xiaolu decided she could not accept Mint’s offer herself and said she would ask her captain, Larkspur.
• Mint eagerly urged Lin Xiaolu to call Larkspur and insisted on explaining the information herself.
• Larkspur answered Lin Xiaolu’s call and asked to speak with Mint about her conditions.
• Mint greeted Larkspur as Lady Cornflower, then shrieked ecstatically after hearing her voice.

Larkspur agreed to keep Mint undercover while the institutes investigated her information, then monitored Black Ash Dawn’s Beast Children during the Magic Armament test. Watching them brought back evidence that Lin Xiaolu might be one of Black Ash Dawn’s Sacrificial Children, a possibility Larkspur kept to herself.

• Larkspur consulted the Magic Affairs Institute and the Research Institute, which agreed to verify Mint’s list and leave the suspected agents in place while Mint continued the assessment.
• Larkspur gave Mint her Magic Mirror contact information and an autograph signed as Larkspur, taking precautions to hide her magic-power traces and protect the name Cornflower.
• Larkspur arrived early for the Magic Armament test and secretly observed Arrowroot, Butterfly Bush, Yellow Azalea, and Blazing Star, the other Beast Children listed in Mint’s information.
• Larkspur recalled that an Ash Soldier had once muttered about two Sacrificial Children and considered Lin Xiaolu’s claim that she was one of them.
• Larkspur realized Lin Xiaolu could plausibly be a Sacrificial Child but chose not to tell her what she suspected.

Lin Xiaolu, Bai Jingxuan, and Mint waited outside the second assessment room, where candidates were being graded on their Magic Armaments. After a candidate left with a B-grade score and another Magical Girl hinted that she had lied, Mint approached the mysterious speaker and called her Anthurium.

• Lin Xiaolu and Mint stood uneasily alongside Bai Jingxuan as they waited for the individual Magic Armament assessments.
• A candidate emerged carrying a plain white pinwheel Magic Armament that had earned a B-grade evaluation, but she left without explaining its ability.
• An unfamiliar Magical Girl said the candidate looked like she was lying, then refused to elaborate when her companions questioned her.
• Mint left Bai Jingxuan's side, recognized the speaker, and called out to her as Anthurium.

Mint tried to learn about the Magic Armament Assessment from Anthurium, a Silver Gallery Magical Girl, but Anthurium initially did not recognize her and rejected her flattery. After identifying Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan as Cornflower’s students, Anthurium offered to explain the assessment and make their acquaintance.

• Mint approached Anthurium and reminded her that they had met in the Silver Gallery study room.
• Anthurium vaguely remembered Mint as Tudingui’s roommate and questioned why she should share information about the assessment.
• Lin Xiaolu distanced herself from Mint, while Bai Jingxuan followed her away.
• Anthurium recognized Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan as Cornflower’s students from Fangting City.
• Anthurium said she wanted to connect with Cornflower’s promising students and offered to tell them everything about the Magic Armament Assessment.

Anthurium explained how Magic Armament ratings worked and revealed that she could detect lies, while Lin Xiaolu, Mint, and Bai Jingxuan learned more about the assessment. Their conversation ended when Bai Jingxuan was called into the examination room.

• Anthurium explained the Magic Armament rating tiers and said that paired and clustered armaments generally had greater potential than single ones.
• Anthurium told Lin Xiaolu that she could distinguish truth from lies and said the girl who claimed to be B-rank had been pretending.
• Mint asked about paired armaments, and Bai Jingxuan asked about sets; Anthurium said sets were unquestionably S-rank.
• Anthurium revealed that Cornflower had skipped the White Card assessment, so her Magic Armament rating was unknown.
• The group chatted in the corridor until the examination-room door opened and Bai Jingxuan was called.

Bai Jingxuan underwent an examination of her Magic Armament while trying to conceal the Aberrant Beast magic within her. Her test results revealed unusual strength for her rank, and the examiner concluded that she was an Offsetter.

• Bai Jingxuan entered the white examination room and followed the examiners’ instructions to register her Magic Armament.
• Bai Jingxuan materialized Heavenly Tone and stood for a scan, which recorded her data without incident.
• An examiner found that Bai Jingxuan had strong magical activity, low True Form manifestation, and a Level 3 Magic Fluctuation Field despite being Leaf Rank.
• Bai Jingxuan asked the examiner to explain the technical terms and learned that her ability strength was far above average.
• The examiner told Bai Jingxuan that her test results showed she was undoubtedly an Offsetter.

Bai Jingxuan concealed the details of her Offset condition during the Magic Armament assessment and received a Briza- rating for Heavenly Tone. After she rejoined her friends, Lin Xiaolu was called in for her own test, leaving her friends’ reaction to her Magic Armament unexplained.

• Bai Jingxuan told the examiner she knew she was an Offsetter but had never had her specific condition examined, and the examiner accepted her explanation.
• The examiners assessed Heavenly Tone’s abilities, range, applications, potential, and stability, then gave it an overall Briza- rating.
• Bai Jingxuan told Lin Xiaolu, Mint, and Anthurium about her rating; Anthurium was surprised, while Mint asked whether Bai Jingxuan’s base color had been exposed.
• Lin Xiaolu said she hoped to score above C-grade because her Magic Armament could transform, prompting Bai Jingxuan, Mint, and Anthurium to react with surprise.
• The examiners called Lin Xiaolu into the room for her Magic Armament test.

Lin Xiaolu's Magic Armament test exceeded the Bud Stage machine's reporting limits, so the examiners retested it at Flower Rank standards. Her scepter transformed into a spear, and the machine rated her ability at Level 4 with the development potential of Gem Scepter.

• Lin Xiaolu's initial Magic Armament test caused the machine to report an error because her data exceeded the Bud Stage report template's upper limit.
• An examiner inspected the machine and confirmed the error, so her mentor ordered a retest using Flower Rank standards.
• Lin Xiaolu manifested King's Key and deployed its Guard Form, transforming the white scepter into a pale blue spear.
• The examiners were astonished by the transformable Magic Armament, and the mentor saw it as a promising research subject.
• The machine completed the retest and displayed an Ability Rating of Level 4 and Development Potential: Gem Scepter.

Larkspur and Emerald concealed Lin Xiaolu’s unprecedented S+ Magic Armament results from the Royal Court, while Emerald explained the power the results suggested Lin Xiaolu might attain. Larkspur worried about her daughter’s future, and Emerald turned the conversation to the Beast Children.

• Emerald told Larkspur she had hidden Lin Xiaolu’s results among other assessment files and restricted access so the Crown Faction could not view them.
• Larkspur read Lin Xiaolu’s S+ assessment, which rated her development potential at Gem Scepter Tier.
• Emerald explained that Lin Xiaolu might become a Magical Girl on the level of a Gem Scepter without receiving authority from the Queen.
• Larkspur admitted she was worried about Lin Xiaolu’s future, while Emerald pointed out Larkspur’s growing affection for Bai Jingxuan.
• Emerald asked Larkspur for her thoughts about the Beast Children.