Vol 2 Chapter 173 Score Release

——“W-why did I only score 72 points?”

Lin Xiaolu’s bold declarations were shattered into pieces along with her confidence after the makeup exam ended the next day.

The day before the practical assessment began was supposed to be a rest day for most examinees, but it was used for the makeup exam this time.

To release the passing scores promptly, the examiners in the examination hall worked overtime, finally announcing the passing scores for the four written subjects that night, along with the score sheets of many examinees.

Among them, the passing score for Rune Studies was 67 points, Mathematics was 79 points, Remnant Beast Analysis was 55 points, and National Jurisprudence &

Mission Conduct Guidelines was 66 points.

Lin Xiaolu chose to retake both Rune Studies and Mathematics, so her final scores were 72 in Rune Studies, 88 in Mathematics, 80 in Remnant Beast Analysis, and 72 in National Jurisprudence &

Mission Conduct Guidelines.

It was normal for her to have a high Mathematics score, and since Remnant Beast Analysis was Veronica’s regular teaching focus, a high score there made sense. But the other two subjects were barely passing at best. This total performance, while still “below average,” was miles away from Lin Xiaolu’s vision of “standing out.”

On the other hand, the other team members’ written exam results were also released simultaneously.

Bai Jingxuan scored 87 in Rune Studies, 82 in Mathematics, 94 in Remnant Beast Analysis, and 69 in National Jurisprudence &

Mission Conduct Guidelines.

Her average Mathematics score was mainly because she had been ill in childhood and missed school lessons. Her barely passing grade was the result of Veronica taking her out of the welfare home and tutoring her day and night.

Rune Studies and Remnant Beast Analysis were her personal interests, and Veronica could feel that this girl hungered for any knowledge that could make her stronger. Her learning efficiency and motivation were both very strong. Achieving such excellent scores was not surprising.

As for the last subject, the nearly failing National Jurisprudence &

Mission Conduct Guidelines, it was honestly a relief to Veronica that Bai Jingxuan passed it.

This subject was mainly designed to filter out magical girls whose minds and values were not up to par, preventing reckless magical girls from obtaining certification. Given Bai Jingxuan’s vengeful and murderous tendencies, just passing was already difficult. At least it proved that Veronica’s constant warnings, though not fully understood, had left some impression on her.

As for the last of the three, Xia Liang’s results were extraordinary.

Rune Studies 95, Mathematics 99, Remnant Beast Analysis 93, National Jurisprudence &

Mission Conduct Guidelines 92.

These scores ranked fifth among this exam’s written tests.

Everyone knew that although this was only the fifth place in this single exam, this cohort’s examinees differed from previous years. Many “veterans” who should have taken the exam earlier had delayed and only came this year to take the White Card exam.

These veterans had advantages in all aspects—not only were they more experienced in practical combat than pure newcomers, but they also had more time to study and prepare for the written subjects. Therefore, snatching fifth place among them was no easier than previous years’ first place;

it was even more difficult.

Undoubtedly, if the exam was judged solely on written results, Xia Liang had already completed the “shine brightly” task that Lin Xiaolu dreamed of. This score was so far beyond Lin Xiaolu’s wildest dreams that she hadn’t even imagined reaching it in her fantasies.

“Why, why! We attended the same classes, did homework together, and took tests together... your initial scores were even worse than mine!”

Lin Xiaolu shook Xia Liang’s shoulders unwillingly. “How can you be so much better than me? How? Are you even human?”

“I think... um, maybe I’m just better at memorizing?” Xia Liang said helplessly. “So can you stop shaking me? You’re making me feel like I’m about to throw up.”

“Then throw up! Let me see what you ate and what makes you so different from me! We both have one nose and two eyes, so how come you’re better?” Lin Xiaolu shouted.

“That’s a bit gross to say, you know.” Xia Liang rolled her eyes.

“I always thought you were on my side, but you’re actually better at studying than me, you traitor...” Lin Xiaolu’s complaints continued.

Of course, besides the three juniors, “New Magical Girl Gentian” also received her own score sheet.

Rune Studies 79, Mathematics 85, Remnant Beast Analysis 74, National Jurisprudence &

Mission Conduct Guidelines 72.

All subjects were slightly above the passing line, but not by much, roughly matching the level expected from a “10-year-old child.”

Veronica was not worried about overly strict grading causing failure because her scores were all relatively high averages from past years. In other words, when the test was easiest, she would score the average for that difficulty.

The White Card level written exam was like an open-book test for her;

she almost always knew the answer upon reading the question. Only some short-answer questions might differ by one or two points depending on the examiner’s judgment.

Among many examinees, this score was still below average, but Veronica’s purpose was only to enter the practical assessment as a candidate, so she did not care about rankings.

After confirming that all four team members had successfully passed the assessment and advanced to the next stage, the slight nervousness they had originally felt naturally dissipated.

That evening, Veronica went alone to the hot springs. After confirming there was no one else in the pool, she relaxed with a bath and then leisurely left.

Outside the changing room, some cloud-shaped seats were placed to provide resting spots for customers waiting outside the hot springs.

Veronica saw Xia Liang wearing a bathrobe sitting there.

“Is something wrong?”

Realizing Xia Liang might be waiting specifically for her, Veronica approached curiously.

“Junior senior, I ranked fifth.” Xia Liang spoke like that.

“Ah, yeah, fifth place, really impressive. Even I was surprised.”

Veronica paused slightly, then nodded in approval. “You’re smart and hardworking. I’m proud of your results.”

“Not enough.” Xia Liang looked at her and shook her head slightly.

“Not enough?” Veronica asked in confusion.

“This kind of praise isn’t enough.”

Xia Liang puffed her cheeks with a slightly jealous expression. “I know you favor Xiaolu, junior senior, but I at least did something more impressive than Xiaolu this time. Can’t I get some reward too?”

“...What reward do you want?” Veronica blinked.

“I want to be patted too.” Xia Liang winked at her.

“I remember someone mentioned a ‘Gentle Harbor Strategy’ before, saying I shouldn’t make things difficult for you.” Veronica closed her eyes.

“That’s something else.”

Xia Liang pouted unhappily and kicked Veronica’s calf lightly with her toe. “This is a super official national exam. I don’t know when I’ll be able to do something this awesome again. Can’t I come ask you for credit?”

“I think I can get you some other rewards.”

Veronica ignored the small kick. “Like buying you more practical magical items, or clothes, accessories, toys... or electronics?”

“Those things can wait for later.”

Xia Liang dragged her toe along Veronica’s calf two more times. “And about making things ‘difficult for you,’ Xiaolu and Bai always get their way when they act cute. Junior senior, you’re such a liar and biased.”

“Stop messing around... that’s because they don’t know about that thing.”

Veronica took two steps back. “But you already know, so avoiding suspicion is appropriate.”

“It’s just that turning into a guy, and... that, I don’t really mind. Actually, it might even be better...”

Xia Liang muttered resentfully but blushed halfway through and shook her head, as if rejecting her own words. “Anyway, I want it too! You don’t want Xiaolu and the others to see you being jealous, right? I came all the way here, what excuse do you have now?”

“Are you really going to insist on this?” Veronica sighed a little.

“I’m ready.” This time Xia Liang closed her eyes.

“...Fine.”

It was just a head pat, not too inappropriate. Veronica comforted herself and reached out to rub Xia Liang’s head.

During this, Xia Liang leaned slightly forward, resting her head against Veronica’s upper abdomen. Veronica hesitated but did not stop her.

“Junior senior.”

Xia Liang’s voice was slightly muffled. “I know very clearly that the only chance I have to perform better and shine brighter than others is this written test.”

“...No way.” Veronica responded softly. “You’re already Leaf-rank, and you’ve been working hard these past months to increase your spell reserves and applications. Your magical equipment has evolved, and you even have new secret moves you haven’t told us about, right?”

“Ah, you already know? Well, that’s normal.”

Xia Liang’s tone was low but calm. “If it were previous years’ exams, I might have thought, ‘This is enough,’ ‘This is already good.’ But after meeting other examinees this year, I realized a fact: ‘This might not be enough.’”

“How would you know if you didn’t try?” Veronica retorted.

“Because I’m too ordinary.”

Xia Liang spoke slowly. “No matter how much I study or improve, my progress is only within the ‘ordinary magical girl’ range. But becoming an ‘extraordinary magical girl’ is extremely difficult. I feel like I really can’t achieve that.”

“You’re already extraordinary.” Veronica said seriously.

“Yeah, maybe many people think so.”

Xia Liang’s voice carried slight fatigue. “Honestly, I wouldn’t lose morale and give up before fighting others. Even if I sound discouraged now, in my heart I’m still thinking about ‘winning,’ about ‘standing out,’ about becoming one of the top ranks in the practical exam.”

“Not treating this as a game anymore, I keep pushing forward, chasing your footsteps step by step to get here. And now, it’s finally time to prove the results.”

She pressed her face tightly against Veronica’s abdomen, closed her eyes, and whispered:

“So, please treat this as my last weakness before the practical exam begins and give me a little more encouragement, junior senior.”