Early Bird, Early Bird Soul

In the center of the astrolabe, that cursor was still flashing, wave after wave growing stronger.

"Kabi, when she awakens, how big of a commotion will there be?"

"Depends on her talent," Kabi said, hugging the astrolabe. "The fiercer the talent, the more violent the fluctuation, and the more monsters it draws."

"Fine."

Su Bai took out his phone and sent Su Xiaoxiao a message: Got a lot of orders tonight, pulling an all-nighter, won't be back.

Sent successfully. He pulled off his tie, tossed it onto the sofa, and rolled his wrists.

"Where's the gym?"

"Basement level one! Master, aren't you going to sleep?"

"Can't sleep. Going to work out."

The next morning, basement level one gym.

The barbell rod was pressed into a slight arc, then steadily pushed back to its original position. Su Bai sat up, grabbed a towel, and wiped his face.

"One thousand one hundred and sixty kilograms, twelve reps per set," Kabi floated nearby, calling out the numbers. "Master, you've got three hundred scales even without transforming. You could easily land a formal rank at the Monster Hunting Bureau."

"What's the use of a rank?" Su Bai half-gulped a bottle of water. "Five insurances and one housing fund can't buy a luxury house."

As he spoke, a ball of purple light lit up in the center of the gym.

The companion magic book floated out from somewhere, hanging in mid-air as its pages automatically flipped with a rustling sound. The starlight on the cover flickered, looking lazy—it was obviously stuffed full.

"When did that thing sneak out?!"

"What about those boxes of fake raw stones from last night?"

"In the vault... ah!" Kabi lunged over and grabbed the spine of the book. "This glutton! It sneaked into the vault in the middle of the night and gnawed all the spiritual breath stone powder out of the fake raw stones!"

"How much did it eat?"

"Ate it all! Not a single bit left!"

"That batch of powder could have sold for tens of thousands if melted down," Su Bai said expressionlessly. "Deduct it from its food allowance."

"Master, magic books don't need to eat! It doesn't have a food allowance!"

"Then put it on its tab."

The pages stopped on one of them. Rows of golden runes slowly emerged, flowing with a faint light.

[Second Ring Auxiliary Magic Skill -- Star Marrow Magic Body]

[Burn magic power as fuel, forge tendons and bones into steel. As long as the fire never dies, physical strength never exhausts.]

[Note: While the furnace is active, physique and reflexes multiply with the infusion of magic power, while magic power and energy consumption double in sync.]

"Master! It's an auxiliary magic skill!" Kabi danced around. "A burst mode! The more it burns, the greater the strength, the faster the reflexes! One punch hits like ten!"

"What about the upper limit?"

"Depends on magic power reserves! With your current reserves, Master, if you open it fully, you can smash a D-grade lord's bone armor with a single punch!"

"Good skill," Su Bai nodded. "Give it to someone else to move bricks at a construction site, and one day would top a month for anyone else."

"Master! This is a combat magic skill! For fighting! Can you have some self-awareness as a magical girl?!"

"I can announce responsibly right now," Su Bai closed the book, "even if the director-general of the Monster Hunting Bureau came, he wouldn't stand a chance of beating the scythe in my hand in close-combat basic attacks."

"But I heard the director-general is the Tianqiong King! Over fifty thousand scales! That's ten thousand times you, Master..."

"So what if it's fifty thousand scales? Should I avoid his sharp edge? Does he dare stand there and take a swing from my scythe?"

Kabi thought about it seriously. "...Dare not...?"

"That settles it."

"But Master," Kabi pointed at the last line of small print, "energy consumption doubles too. Remember last time you transformed and almost starved to faint on the rooftop?"

"Didn't forget." Su Bai picked up the backpack next to him, unzipped it, and inside were lined up eight energy bars. "So when I go out now, I bring my own rations."

"Alright, down to business!"

Kabi jumped onto Su Bai's head and waved a short hand. A bird's-eye holographic map of Tianqiong University spread out above the gym, showing teaching buildings, the playground, and dormitory areas in exquisite detail.

A dark cursor was pinned to the northeast corner, completely steady.

"Third girls' dormitory. The wavelength is very stable, vibrating every thirty minutes, getting stronger each time."

"What does that mean?"

"The mental threshold of the host about to awaken is being forcibly widened by deep space particles."

Kabi's short hand drew a circle on the map.

"During this process, she herself is a giant signal tower. Wandering monsters within a five-kilometer radius can smell her scent."

"Until when?"

"Until she transforms and awakens as a magical girl. The day she awakens, the fluctuations peak. Master, if there are monsters nearby that day, they'll all flood toward the school like they've gone crazy."

Su Bai stared at the cursor. "Can't we find the person in advance?"

"The astrolabe has an error margin starting at two kilometers, and once inside the school, it's all guesswork. Unless it's the exact moment of awakening, this spirit can't lock onto a specific bed!"

"Hundreds of people in a single building." Su Bai rubbed his temples. "I can't exactly knock on doors one by one and ask, 'Classmate, have you heard the stars singing recently?'"

"You'd get arrested as a pervert!"

"Girls' dormitory, I can't even get through the door."

"So this spirit's suggestion is to stake out the place! Master, you go stake out the downstairs of the girls' dormitory building for a whole day!"

"A whole day?" Su Bai glanced at it. "If I get arrested as a pervert, are you coming to bail me out?"

"...Never mind what I said."

The wall clock rang seven times with a clang, and added half a sound.

Seven-thirty.

Su Bai's action of changing clothes paused for a second.

"What day is it?"

"Monday! What's wrong, Master?"

"Early eight o'clock, the head of department's 'Advanced Abyssal Beast Dissection Theory'." Su Bai grabbed his backpack. "Miss this class three times and my eligibility for this semester's student loan is canceled directly. I've already missed once."

"Master! You've got quite a few 'W's lying in your account! Do you care about that little bit of a loan?"

"What do you know." Su Bai walked toward the door. "Student loans are subsidized by the Federation, with an interest rate so low it's practically free. Why touch my own principal when I can use the bank's money to pay tuition?"

"With that kind of thinking, you'll become the God of Magical Girls through sheer stinginess sooner or later."

"This is called cash flow management."

"What about the magical girl awakener then? What if she awakens while you're in class..."

"The awakener is right at Tianqiong University." Su Bai tucked the astrolabe into his pocket. "Sitting in the classroom is nearly twenty kilometers closer than squatting in the manor. The moment there's movement, you call me immediately."

"What about the class?"

"Go check in first. If something actually happens, loan eligibility takes a back seat." Su Bai paused. "But before that, every check-in that needs to happen must not be missed."

"Master, you really are the most studious magical girl this spirit has ever seen."

"I love studying."

The white light of the teleportation array dissipated, and the back alley of the sales office was completely empty.

Su Bai changed back into his grey-black hoodie and canvas shoes, rounded the alley mouth, and scanned a shared electric hovering bike at a roadside parking station.

The screen lit up: twelve percent battery.

"Master, don't we have a more decent way to travel? Riding a two-dollar-fifty shared bike to school..."

"Taking a taxi costs thirty-four." Su Bai straddled the bike. "Does money grow on trees?"

"You earned it by swinging a scythe!"