Chapter 351: Magic Outfit Examination

—"Candidates who are here to watch, please step aside. Next one, enter."

Through the door, the examiner's voice from inside the examination room clearly carried out into the corridor.

Compared to the grand-scale maze of the first examination, the examination room for the second examination had undoubtedly become far more austere—it was merely a classroom within the Silver Corridor.

Although, as an educational institution directly under the Nation, the Silver Corridor's classrooms were actually not simple at all. They had two notable features: first, they were large; second, there were many of them.

To say they were large was because their interiors had generally been modified with spatial stretching, allowing them to accommodate sizable equipment when necessary.

To say there were many was because these classrooms were normally configured by subject, with each class possessing anywhere from five to seven classrooms depending on the subject. And to uphold the philosophy of individualized and elite education, these reserve magical girls who received training in the Silver Corridor on a daily basis even used equipment that was one item per person, rather than shared.

Perhaps precisely because of this high-investment preparatory education, magical girls from the Silver Corridor tended to contribute far more on average over their careers than colleagues from more ordinary backgrounds, and the number of those serving in the Nation's Five Courts was also considerably greater than that of magical girls from the Material Realm.

Of course, such matters of the future were still a bit distant for the candidates currently undergoing the practical examination. Speaking of more concrete manifestations, that brings us back to the thigh-list Mint had previously compiled.

Ranked first on that list, and considered by Mint to be the strongest magical girl of this examination cohort, Kapok, was from the Silver Corridor.

Going further, if one were to unfold that so-called thigh-list and categorize the fifty people on it by identity tags, then "Silver Corridor faction" would certainly be the most frequently appearing tag. Only after that tag might come identities like "Central City Garrison Squad."

During the first maze examination, because the rules forcibly required candidates to act in squads, and the maze terrain was complex, making it difficult to locate one another, such factional affiliations by background did not manifest much. At most, in the middle to later stages of the examination, some candidates of similar backgrounds would band together to form larger groups.

But now, at this second examination, probably because this examination relied mainly on individual effort and did not strongly require squad action, many candidates naturally chose to stay with companions they were on better terms with.

Magical girls from the Silver Corridor were more willing to stick with their former classmates; magical girls from the Central Cities also tended to stay with teammates from their own city or other Central Cities; magical girls from small cities likewise felt they had more in common with other candidates from small cities…

However, it wasn't as though no one still grouped together according to their examination assignments.

For example, Lin Xiaolu, Bai Jingxuan, and Mint.

At this moment, the three of them stood together in the corridor, gazing from afar at the testing procedures underway inside the classroom.

And although they stood together, the distance between Lin Xiaolu and Mint was especially greater. Though Mint didn't seem to show much, Lin Xiaolu made no attempt to conceal the disdain in her expression.

This disdain was not because of any connection between Mint and Ash Before Dawn; indeed, after learning that Mint had not participated in the evil deeds committed by Ash Before Dawn, Lin Xiaolu would not hold any prejudice on that account.

What truly made her feel disdain toward Mint, when all was said and done, was still because of yesterday—Mint's behavior after she had, by every means possible, gotten in touch with Senior Cuique through her own connections.

—"So disgusting."

That was the thought Lin Xiaolu had blurted out at the time.

Although, when you got down to it, it was actually quite normal for the other party to be a fan of Senior Cuique, and Lin Xiaolu even quite approved of it. But the fawning attitude Mint displayed was something Lin Xiaolu simply could not accept.

The most unacceptable thing, besides Mint's tendency to shriek like the most brainless star-chasers, was that she had the nerve to push her luck and ask Senior Cuique for an autograph.

Even Lin Xiaolu herself didn't have Senior Cuique's autograph.

Although she knew that if she asked Senior Cuique for one, Senior Cuique would probably sign one for her. But the two of them were now far too familiar with each other, making the act of "asking for an autograph" seem rather strange.

On top of that, Lin Xiaolu considered herself to be, nominally, Senior Cuique's student, and privately, a "daughter" acknowledged by Senior Cuique. Although only in private, she could actually call out "Mama"! She and Senior Cuique were already this close—wouldn't asking for an autograph actually lower her own standing?

In short, inexplicably, this "outsider" Mint had actually accomplished something Lin Xiaolu herself had never done, and possessed something Lin Xiaolu did not possess.

This made her feel very unhappy.

Even though Mint had afterward said that she merely admired those famous and powerful magical girls, and that becoming a fan of Cornflower was only out of admiration for her deeds and legends, with no further presumptuous intentions, it still did not dissolve the knot in Lin Xiaolu's heart.

In the end, even if Lin Xiaolu wouldn't admit it, the two of them did have a bit of a "like repels like" dynamic on this matter.

Lin Xiaolu liked Senior Cuique very much, and also believed Senior Cuique ought to be liked by more people. But whenever someone actually expressed their fondness for Senior Cuique in front of her, she would feel just a little jealous.

Mm, just a little.

This had led to the strange relationship and mode of interaction between the two of them at present—Mint didn't really want to stay with the other beast-children, lest her unnatural behavior give her away, but was more willing to act together with Bai Jingxuan and Lin Xiaolu, the two she called sacrifice-children; while Lin Xiaolu didn't quite trust this "person from Ash Before Dawn," and felt it might be safer to keep her within her field of vision.

Both of them agreed they should act together, but Lin Xiaolu still found Mint a bit disagreeable to look at.

And Bai Jingxuan, who had originally been rather hostile toward Mint, after learning that the latter wasn't really a true remnant-beast, had instead returned to her usual state.

Now, it was Lin Xiaolu and Mint standing on the left and right sides, with Bai Jingxuan in the middle. The three of them, though standing side by side, were subtly divided in spirit, and barely exchanged any words.

They were merely watching, to see what the candidates coming out of the examination room had to say.

At this moment, it was time for the previous candidate who had finished her test to come out. The moment she stepped out of the door, the magical girls around her all crowded toward her.

This candidate hadn't even had time to put away her magic outfit when she came out, so Lin Xiaolu saw the appearance of her magic outfit from afar—it was a plain white handheld pinwheel, seemingly no different from the cheap toys sold by street vendors.

And yet this unremarkable-looking magic outfit, according to her, had actually received a potential rating of "B."

This naturally greatly piqued the curiosity of the candidates gathered outside the door.

However, in order to protect the candidates' ability privacy, the Examination院 had specifically sealed off the windows of the examination rooms, and even laid down perception-blocking spell-formations, so the candidates waiting in the corridor could not see the abilities of those being tested inside. And this magical girl who had just finished her test clearly didn't want to reveal her magic outfit's abilities either, so she merely exchanged a few pleasantries and left.

—"This person, looks like she's lying, doesn't she."

An unfamiliar voice suddenly reached Lin Xiaolu's ears from the side.

Lin Xiaolu turned her head and saw a group of candidates she didn't recognize. At this moment, the magical girl standing at the center of the small group spoke those words.

Undoubtedly, her viewpoint was somewhat sharp, and intriguing enough that the members of the small group around her asked about it with great curiosity.

However, after saying this, the magical girl seemed to realize she had spoken out of turn, shook her head, and stopped discussing the topic.

Another annoying riddler who likes to speak in riddles.

Lin Xiaolu couldn't help but roll her eyes.

Yet just as she looked away, another member of her squad made a move. Mint, who had been itching to do something all along because no one was paying her any attention, suddenly seemed to have found a target, and left Bai Jingxuan's side, walking toward that small group.

"Hey, Huazhu!"

Then, as if running into an acquaintance, she naturally called out to the magical girl standing at the center.