Something's off about this magical girl.

Chapter 14 Theory and Performance

Tuesday morning.

Gu Bai settled down in the consultation room, boiled a kettle of water as usual, and then casually opened the Qi Xin backend.

Today there was a notification from the Academic Affairs Office to the supervising teachers of each subject, including the exam questions. I opened it and quickly scrolled to the last major theoretical question.

Gu Bai clicked on it and glanced at it:

In the current environment of multiple threats, please choose one of the following factors—resource efficiency, breadth of practical application, and sustainable combat capability—to comprehensively evaluate the direction and type of magical girl abilities to be prioritized for development, and provide your reasoning. (Minimum 1500 words)

It seems to be quite similar to what Tao Zhuo said yesterday.

He stared at the question for a few seconds.

The term "current environment" is a very natural way of referring to a game.

However, when placed in the exam paper, it becomes quite meaningful. The official Qixin Academy actually acknowledges that the concept of magical girls is time-sensitive, will evolve with changes in the external environment, and needs to be aligned with current market logic.

If it were me, I'd probably write "childhood sweethearts".

Heh, although it might not align with the mainstream trend advocated by Qi Xin, Gu Bai put his phone face down on the table and didn't think about it any further.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, there was a knock on the door.

Tao Zhuo entered, collapsing into the wide chair with a thud, her limbs outstretched, facing the ceiling, motionless.

Gu Bai turned his gaze towards them: "Not again?"

"I'm applying for psychological counseling, sob sob." Tao Zhuo stared at the ceiling, her tone hollow with the emptiness that comes after weathering many storms: "I analyzed spring, summer, autumn, and winter thoroughly, cited data from the Qi Xin white paper, and my arguments and evidence were clear..."

"And then?" Gu Bai sensed the unspoken twist in the story.

"Can."

Tao Zhuo covered the orange lunchbox beside her with her hand, and her voice drifted out again:

"I wrote the essay first, but I ran out of time. I wrote the questions on the basic theory of magic operation and the strategy of fighting alien beasts at lightning speed, but my handwriting was not good and I was penalized."

"Let's keep talking about topics geared towards children."

The mere mention of exams gave even Gu Bai a headache, let alone Tao Zhuo, so he thought it best to change the subject.

Tao Zhuo didn't hesitate at all, her eyes fixed intently on the orange lunchbox beside her: "Can I still eat? Why am I getting special treatment every day? Who's so nice to the teacher?"

"You can have it; Xia Zhi brings it to you every day."

"Huh?" Tao Zhuo's expression instantly changed, and she said with a bewildered look, "You're just bragging!"

"It was a joke." Gu Bai didn't bother to explain.

"That's impossible!" Tao Zhuo removed her hand from her face, sat up, and muttered, "Given Xia Jie's personality."

"...Oh, right."

After quickly finishing her meal, Tao Zhu put the lid back on the lunchbox, cast a [cleaning spell], and then casually remarked:

"Dongmei will be coming over later, teacher, you don't mind, do you?"

"Anything is fine."

"Long live the teacher!" Tao Zhu smiled, took out the review outline, flipped through a couple of pages, then closed it again, and turned to look at the playground from the window: "Look, they're already setting up the tents. Tomorrow's art demonstration will be on the playground. I just wonder what the test questions will be."

"What do you think? Didn't you guess pretty accurately yesterday?"

"I wish the test was how many bricks I could break with one punch," Tao Zhuo said, leaning on the windowsill, her voice filled with genuine longing. "If that were the case, I'd have it in the bag!"

"Right, right, I'll suggest we hold the Qixin Unlimited Fighting Tournament next time, so you can have a good time."

"Really? Then I can accept that."

Gu Bai was speechless for a moment, and finally he could only raise his hand and tap Tao Zhuo's head to signal her to come back and sit down to study.

Outside the window, the sounds of tents being erected on the playground drifted in intermittently, lively and noisy, interspersed with a few muffled hammering sounds, as if venting the magical girls' dissatisfaction with Qi Xin.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Wednesday is the performance demonstration.

In other words, it tests the magical girl's understanding of magic and her ability to use magic.

The examination venue was set up on the playground, divided into grade-level areas, with a large display screen at the front for candidates to receive the questions simultaneously.

Gu Bai entered the examination hall and found a place to stand at the back. The girls in the examination hall were mostly adjusting their mindset to prepare for the exam.

Boom! ! !

The exam bell rang on time.

The screen lit up, and the slideshow began to play, with the first page slowly unfolding:

[Question 1: Flight Magic. Flight is an indispensable combat ability for magical girls, but propulsion using pure magic power is extremely difficult. For most beginners, the mimicry wing method or the air step method are easier to learn. The magic power flow methods for these two spells are shown in the diagram below. Please, magical girls, combine your own training progress and cast at least one flight spell during the exam. The method is not limited.]

There was a slight commotion in the exam hall of the senior high school area.

"This is way too much! Flying magic? Isn't that something you only start requiring in university?"

"Even some five-star magical girls can't handle it, and you expect us to..."

The discussion was conducted in hushed tones, but Gu Bai's position was just right to block out most of the whispers.

He glanced at the tutorial image on the screen showing the flow of magic.

Hmm, I didn't understand it at all.

However, judging from the atmosphere in the exam room at this moment, the difficulty of this question should be far beyond normal expectations.

Scattered specks of magical light spread throughout the exam hall. Some people were trying it out, while others chose to wait and save their energy for the questions to come.

Soon, the screen flipped to the second page:

[Question 2: Improving Quality/Increasing Quantity. The quality and quantity of magic are the foundation of a magical girl's overall combat strength. In non-ideal environments, interference from others' magic will continuously affect your operational stability—only those who can effectively improve their own magic quality outside of the training room are truly excellent.]

[Note: This question does not require on-site submission. Data recording will be completed in the testing room after the exam.]

Compared to the first question, this question has a set pattern, and most people can solve it, but the upper limit of their ability varies.

The examination room quieted down a bit, and the low-frequency, magical resonance that only comes with focused concentration began to appear, subtle, like something slowly rising in the tide.

Most people choose to secure their basic points first.

Therefore, by the time the third page was turned up, many people had already stopped looking at the screen.

[Question 3: Magic Condensation. The alien core is the product of the uncontrolled collapse and eventual condensation of magical power after the death of a magical beast. Magical girls can also condense their own magical power and inject it into external objects, giving them new functions, effects, and attributes. This can be explored by combining ancient methods such as the 'Heart Flower' and the 'Soul Gem' with modern approaches.]

"What does that mean? What is it? I've never even heard of it."

"I think so too. The academic affairs office must be crazy. Why should we be entrusted with this kind of thing?"

"And that flying spell too, how many people can complete it?"

The murmuring sound spread again.

But soon, a gaze swept over from somewhere in front of the examination room, and the sound was quietly suppressed, as if it had been held back and completely dissipated.

Gu Bai looked in the direction of that gaze.

At the very front of the examination room, a blue-haired woman in an invigilator's uniform stood with her hands behind her back, facing the examinees, her expression calm and her appearance aloof.

She stood there, silent, yet exuding an indescribable sense of oppression, like a condensed, silent pressure that only comes from witnessing many things.