Battle, Battle, Never Stop Fighting!

"Stop. I know."

"Oh." She straightened up and stood there at a loss.

"My lady, something's been wrong with me since noon." Unable to hold it in, Ye Qingqing gestured wildly as she spoke. "The wind inside me keeps rushing around. I can't control it at all."

"When I went upstairs, I floated right off the floor. Everyone was staring at me. And at lunch, the wind snatched my chopsticks away as soon as I picked them up. I spilled soup all over the table..."

"I tried everything—holding my breath, running, soaking in cold water. Nothing worked. My lady, am I breaking?"

Thud.

The back of the Great Scythe tapped her forehead, neither hard nor soft.

Ye Qingqing crouched down, clutching her forehead as tears welled in her eyes. "Ow..."

"Finished?"

"Y-yes."

"Then listen." Ziwei rested the Great Scythe on her shoulder. "Those symptoms are called pre-awakening overflow. The Wind Element is widening your magic circuits. That's a good thing."

"B-but I can barely walk..."

"Is that all the resolve you have?"

Ye Qingqing fell silent.

"Hesitation only gets you killed faster on a battlefield." Ziwei's voice remained flat. "Monsters won't wait for you to get ready just because you don't know what to do."

"I..."

"This morning, you asked whether you could become someone like me." Ziwei cut her off. "Now I'm asking you. Think carefully before you answer."

"If you become a Magical Girl, Monsters will come looking for you by scent. The Monster Hunting Bureau will investigate you. People will offer a fortune for your Source Core."

"You could die every time you fight. Knowing that, do you still want this?"

Ye Qingqing lowered her head, twisting the hem of her shirt between her fingers.

A few seconds later, she looked up.

"I do."

"Why?"

"I don't want someone pointing a gun at my head again while I'm too weak to fight back. And I don't want a Monster to swallow me whole." Her voice trembled, but she didn't look away. "If you hadn't been there this morning, my Source Core would already be gone."

"I want to live. I want to be strong enough to protect myself."

"What else?"

"And..." She paused. "I want to become someone like you, someone who can protect others."

"There's nothing about me worth learning." Ziwei scoffed. "Give me your hand."

"Huh?"

"Your right hand. Hold it out."

Ye Qingqing obediently held out her hand.

The Companion Magic Book floated out from Ziwei's chest, purple light swirling across it. Its pages flipped rapidly before stopping on a blank page, where lines of golden runes appeared.

"Master, this girl's Wind Element is remarkably pure, but it's scattered everywhere," Kabi said in Ziwei's mind. "You'll need to condense it into a core with your origin magic, or she'll eventually burst."

"Mm."

Ziwei raised a hand, gathering a wisp of purple-gold origin magic at her fingertip.

"This will hurt a little. Bear with it."

"My lady, what will hurt a little—"

Before she could finish, the purple-gold wisp sank into her chest.

"Urgh—!"

Ye Qingqing doubled over, cold sweat breaking out across her skin.

A powerful force gathered the Wind Element rampaging through her body, compressing and refining it toward her chest.

The weightless currents were pressed tighter and tighter until they felt as heavy as iron.

That force wrenched her magic circuits wider, and pain darkened her vision.

"Don't pass out," Ziwei said beside her ear. "If you do, everything so far will be wasted."

Ye Qingqing bit her lip. The taste of blood spread through her mouth.

Ten seconds later, the pressure abruptly eased.

A jade-green pendant emerged from her chest and hung at her neck. Wind Element flowed within it, forming a seed-shaped core.

The next instant, streams of light raced outward from the pendant.

Ye Qingqing slowly rose into the air, then a burst of holy light enveloped her!

Her long, straight black hair, once in disarray, lifted in an unseen wind and tied itself into a neat high ponytail. A few loose strands fell beside her cheeks.

Her school uniform gave way to a lightweight pleated short dress in jade green and silver, its hem stitched with fine wind-resistant patterns.

A dark teal stocking covered her right leg to the upper thigh, while only a bronze ring encircled her pale left thigh, creating a sharp, asymmetrical glimpse of bare skin.

Light green ankle boots fitted her feet, while fingerless leather gloves protected her forearms. Two streamlined channels for wind blades were set over the knuckles.

This was nothing like Xia Ning's ranged style of casting with the Mint Staff.

Every part of this magical gear was made for close combat and high-speed charges!

"You're now a transformed Magical Girl. This is the Starwind Seed." Ziwei withdrew her hand. "From now on, it governs the wind inside you."

Ye Qingqing panted as she examined her new appearance, then lightly touched the wind wheel at her chest.

The moment her fingertip made contact—

Boom.

A wave of green wind pressure burst outward from her. Clean cuts appeared across the surrounding rock walls, and fragments pattered to the ground.

She stared blankly at her hand. "Did... did I do that?"

"Projecting wind blades is as basic as it gets," Ziwei said evenly. "Your reading is around four hundred now. A one-star sprout."

"A little stronger than the Monster Hunting Bureau's agents who passed the entrance exam."

Just then, Kabi suddenly spoke in her mind. "Master! Outside the cave, two o'clock—two magic signatures approaching fast..."

"Should we...?"

Ziwei turned her head and glanced toward the cave entrance.

Above the dense forest, two black Ravens with three-meter wingspans folded their wings and dove silently.

The awakening pulse had drawn them here. They were E-rank Shadow Crows, with readings of around seven hundred.

"My lady?" Ye Qingqing followed her gaze. "What is it?"

"Your first lesson is here."

Ziwei made no move to attack. She merely tipped her chin toward the cave entrance.

"Go. Take care of them."

"What?!" Ye Qingqing's voice cracked again. "Me?"

"Right now?!"

"With the Starwind Seed and a reading of four hundred, you can handle two Ravens at seven hundred."

"But they're at seven hundred! I'm only at four hundred!"

"Readings aren't simple arithmetic." Ziwei shook her head. "When mine was four hundred, I cut down something more than ten times stronger."

Ye Qingqing looked outside, then back at Ziwei. Her legs shook. "B-b-but... I've never been in a fight..."

"Then learn now."

"They came for your scent," Ziwei added. "When I'm not around, you'll have to deal with them yourself."

The first Raven smashed through a gap at the edge of the light barrier and plunged into the cave. A foul gust hit Ye Qingqing's face as its talons went straight for her throat.

"Aah—!"

She ducked and covered her head. The Raven swept over her, the wind from its wings so fierce she couldn't open her eyes.

"Get up!" Ziwei called from behind her. "A Magical Girl doesn't crouch there and take a beating."

"I-I..."

"Grip your pocket watch."

Ye Qingqing fumbled out her silver pocket watch and clutched it in her palm.

"Remember your wind. Don't hide. Face it."

The second Raven dove, its talons tearing a bloody gash across her shoulder.

The pain cleared her head a little.

She remembered the cold gun barrel pressed against her forehead that morning. She remembered holding up a desk lamp, her hand shaking terribly, yet refusing to let go.

When something happens, think about how to fight back before you think about crying.

"I..."

She pushed herself to her feet and clenched her right fist. Wind Element surged from the Starwind Seed into her knuckles.

"I don't want to hide anymore!"

In an instant, countless incantations flooded her mind. As she murmured the words, she threw a punch.

A green storm roared forth, forming several solid wind blades that engulfed both diving Ravens.

Feathers, bloody mist, and shredded flesh pattered to the ground.

The cave fell silent.

Ye Qingqing remained frozen with her fist outstretched, breathing hard. For a long moment, she couldn't process what had happened.

"I... I did it?"

"You did. Grasping 'Rapid Chanting' in your first battle isn't bad."

Ziwei walked over and flicked the Great Scythe. Two E-rank Abyssal Cores flew from the remains into her palm, and she casually put them in her Storage Magic Device.

"My lady, um..." Ye Qingqing had something else on her mind. She spoke softly. "Couldn't you leave me one Abyssal Core?"

"The spoils go to the instructor. Those are the rules." Ziwei's expression didn't change.

"Master, those were the first Monsters she ever killed. Don't you feel bad?"

"Tuition."

Ye Qingqing didn't argue. She looked down at her hands, smeared with dust and blood. Her shoulder was still bleeding, but she barely felt the pain.

The Starwind Seed rested warm against her skin, the Wind Element flowing quietly inside it.

So this was what it felt like to have power.

"Ye Qingqing."

"Yes!"

Ziwei turned toward her, purple-gold hair falling across half her face.

"In this world, the only thing that will keep you alive is growing stronger. You must fight, and fight, and never stop fighting."

Ye Qingqing froze.

A sliver of daylight slipped past the edge of the light barrier and fell between them.

She lowered her head and looked at her dust-covered hands. Then she raised her sleeve and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with all her strength.

Then she nodded firmly.

"I understand... I'll remember what you taught me for the rest of my life!"