Vol 2 Chapter 171: Abnormal Situation

After the lunch break, the afternoon written exam subject was Mathematics.

For most examinees, this should have been the least stressful period during the entire assessment. Compared to the solemn atmosphere of the morning's Rune Studies exam, both examinees and invigilators in the afternoon venue were visibly much more relaxed.

Veronica smoothly completed the afternoon exam without any issues. Since the questions were genuinely easy this time, she didn't leave any blanks - merely intentionally miscalculating a few problems before submitting her paper.

After the exam ended, Veronica kept her promise and took the junior magical girls to a dessert café.

She chose the same shop she had visited with Mohe before. Although that dining experience had been fraught with mishaps, the food quality and service attitude had left a good impression on her. So when she decided to treat the juniors, "Honey Moment" was the first place that came to mind.

Several magical girls gathered around a round table, leisurely enjoying desserts while sharing their thoughts about the first day of written exams.

"Like, can you guys understand? That feeling when your brain turns completely chaotic?" Lin Xiaolu waved her spoon in the air. "My brain kept telling me I'd memorized this material, and I could actually recite it, but my subconscious screamed I'd mixed everything up!"

"But here's the weird part! I didn't feel this way during last night's review. Honestly, even though I just crammed everything, my memory's pretty good. How could I mix things up?"

Lin Xiaolu looked utterly bewildered: "And most importantly - after leaving the exam hall, I suddenly remembered everything correctly!"

"You remembered after leaving?" Veronica, who had been patiently listening to Xiaolu's recount, unconsciously repeated the words: "Even now?"

"Of course! My mind feels crystal clear now."

Lin Xiaolu nodded: "Veronica, test me with some questions!"

"Alright."

Without further ado, Veronica quizzed her with several exam questions, then added some untested knowledge points from the textbook. Though Xiaolu's answers were somewhat stumbling with minor inaccuracies, she surprisingly got about 80-90% correct.

At worst, her performance could be called "lacking refinement," but definitely not "hopelessly confused."

Since the team had stayed together since leaving the exam venue, there was no chance Xiaolu had done last-minute cramming to save face. Therefore, her current demonstration should reflect her true ability.

Not only Veronica found this surprising - even Bai Jingxuan and Xia Liang looked astonished. Xiaolu's answers basically matched what they themselves would have said. In other words, Xiaolu's grasp of Rune Studies was nowhere near as terrible as she'd claimed in the group chat at noon.

"...In that case, it's highly likely to be the effect of a spell."

After some thought, Veronica offered a plausible explanation: "Magical items would have been stopped by security checks. To achieve this effect, only spells would work."

"There are spells like that?" Xia Liang asked curiously.

"Yes, mental interference spells. Though generally weak - just slightly blurring memories or slowing decision-making. Not decisive in combat situations."

Veronica's expression turned serious: "But in exam settings, such spells require minimal magic power to evade invigilators. When confined to small areas, they won't cause noticeable disturbances either."

"Wait - so my poor exam performance was because someone sabotaged me?"

Lin Xiaolu's eyebrows shot up: "No wonder it felt so weird! Someone wanted to lower my score?"

Bai Jingxuan, who had been listening confusedly, finally asked: "But if it really was a spell... why would anyone do this?"

"To reduce competition, lower the passing threshold, or just pure malice."

Xia Liang sipped her milkshake while analyzing leisurely: "Technically speaking, lowering others' scores indirectly reduces the passing line, increasing one's own chances... that sort of thing?"

"Possible."

Veronica nodded: "Invigilators mainly focus on cheating prevention. With so many magical girls present, magic fluctuations get mixed together. Such subtle spells with non-cheating purposes easily go unnoticed."

"But targeting just a few people wouldn't significantly affect the passing line, right?"

Xia Liang pondered further: "With so many examinees this year, lowering a few scores would be a drop in the bucket. Unless..."

"Unless many people are doing it."

Veronica narrowed her eyes: "But if I recall correctly, such spells are quite obscure - even the books documenting them are rare. Could so many people really have learned them?"

"Exactly, that's why I mentioned pure malice earlier."

Xia Liang smiled: "Such people exist - acting not for personal gain, but simply to harm others."

"And I just happened to be their victim?"

Lin Xiaolu blinked, pointing at herself: "That coincidental?"

"Currently seems quite possible."

Xia Liang nodded: "You've proven you did memorize the material, and magical girls' bodies shouldn't fluctuate so drastically from mere 'nervousness.' Only external factors remain."

"Damn it! If I find out who did this, I'll challenge them tomorrow!"

Lin Xiaolu first gritted her teeth in anger, then suddenly turned to Veronica with puppy-dog eyes: "Veroni... I mean, Gentian..."

"...What is it?" Seeing this expression, Veronica's eyebrow twitched, but she still responded.

"So you see, I really did memorize everything. I never meant to worry or disappoint you."

Lin Xiaolu scooted her chair closer: "I feel so wronged and miserable..."

Watching this display, Veronica could only half-close her eyes and sigh.

Placing a hand on Xiaolu's back, she gave a few symbolic pats: "I never blamed you. I believe in your efforts."

Undeniably, Lin Xiaolu had been acting increasingly spoiled recently.

If during their first meeting she'd still resembled a rebellious teen, now she behaved like an elementary schooler alongside Bai Jingxuan.

Regrettably, Veronica found herself unable to resist her "daughter's acting spoiled. Gradually, Xiaolu grew bolder - now even doing this in public.

However, even amidst this, the matter of "someone secretly using spells during exams" remained concerning for Veronica.

Though Xia Liang eventually reconsidered, suspecting mere individual malice, Veronica couldn't dismiss such risks.

If this wasn't isolated but widespread among examinees, today's two easier subjects might be manageable - but who knew what chaos might erupt during tomorrow's harder exams?

Even just as precaution, she couldn't ignore something potentially affecting so many examinees.

I'll report this suspicion to the Magical Affairs Court later and increase scrutiny tomorrow.

While comforting her "daughter" with head pats, Veronica made her decision.