Chapter 355: The Results Are Out

Although she had rehearsed thoroughly with Senior Cuique before the exam, when the secret was suddenly exposed, Bai Jingxuan still felt her throat tighten. She stood frozen in place, her thoughts as scattered as leaves swept up by a storm.

She forced herself to appear calm as she looked at the other party, but could not utter a single word of explanation.

"Do you know that you are a Deviant?" the examiner's question followed in quick succession, giving her no chance to catch her breath.

"I... should..." She swallowed, trying to buy herself a moment to think, but this self-deception was clearly futile—her chaotic thoughts were like a knotted ball of thread; the harder she pulled, the tighter the knot became.

"If you know the exact condition of your base color, perhaps I can issue a more detailed report on your magical gear, but if you don't know, then that would be a bit of a pity." Fortunately, this examiner did not seem to be a strict person; even though Bai Jingxuan displayed an unnaturally tense expression, she only assumed it was because the examinee was in the examination hall, and did not think to associate it with anything else.

It was probably also because Bai Jingxuan was still quite young, appearing far more immature even among examinees who were generally underage girls, that no one suspected her at first glance.

"Pity... why?" Bai Jingxuan instinctively echoed the other party's words.

"Knowing the details of your deviation helps analyze the relatively unusual performance of your magical gear, and if our team infers that the impact of your deviation on the gear is benign, it might raise the score in terms of potential."

The examiner explained on her own: "Your true form manifestation level is very low; with only the equipment here, I cannot determine whether it is because your development is insufficient, or whether your magical deviation has caused a negative impact."

Hearing this, Bai Jingxuan finally relaxed a little.

The other party could identify her as a Deviant, but could not determine her base color, so there was still room to explain the matter.

"... I know that I am a Deviant, but no one has ever examined the specifics for me."

So, as rehearsed beforehand, Bai Jingxuan offered up a half-truth, half-lie: "I don't even know what the 'base color' you're referring to actually is. I'm sorry."

This statement fit perfectly with Bai Jingxuan's background as a "magical girl from a small city in the Material World."

The concept of base color was, after all, a rather obscure one; most magical girls' understanding of it stopped at "knowing that beings called Deviants exist."

Even in the magical kingdoms, only research institutes conducted in-depth study in this area, and there had been no widespread practical application to date. Therefore, a magical girl from a small city indeed had no reason to know about this.

Of course, all of this reasoning hinged on the assumption that this examiner did not know Cornflower.

As long as she did not know Cornflower, nor the actual meaning of "Fang Ting City" in Bai Jingxuan's examinee file, then Bai Jingxuan's story would naturally be unbreakable.

But what if this examiner knew Cornflower, or was even a relatively core member of the research institute, and knew that Cornflower was currently stationed in Fang Ting City?

In that case, there was even less need to worry.

Because the core members of the research institute naturally knew where they stood; even if they noticed the loophole in Bai Jingxuan's words, they would not expose it at this critical juncture.

"—That makes sense, then let's not waste any more time on this question."

After hearing Bai Jingxuan's reply, the examiner's attitude did not change in the slightest; she still wore that rigid, by-the-book expression, but clearly, she had been convinced by this explanation.

"Let's proceed to the next test. Come with me to that piece of equipment over there."

Bai Jingxuan let out a long internal sigh of relief.

She knew she had gotten past this hurdle.

The subsequent testing process went very smoothly; after her identity as a Deviant was confirmed, the two examiners were no longer so surprised by certain unusual qualities Bai Jingxuan displayed. Clearly, in their eyes, it was taken for granted that a Deviant's abilities would surpass those of an ordinary person.

And so, several minutes later, all the test data regarding Bai Jingxuan's magical gear appeared on the light screen before the examiners.

【Ability Rating: Level 3】

【Effective Range: Medium】

【Application Field: Relatively broad, especially suited to team combat and logistical support scenarios】

【Development Potential: Medium (due to unexamined deviation base color, results may contain error)】

【Stability: Low】

【Overall Rating: Briza-】

First was the effective range of "Celestial Tone": it could only affect the area covered by the music box's melody, and as the distance increased, the music would weaken and the effect would diminish accordingly.

Next was the application scenario. Although the ability to activate magical power and biological limbs was nothing particularly rare, the fact that it could be applied to others without diminishing in effect as the number of targets increased greatly enhanced its value. Most critically was the weak healing ability toward the true form; although the magnitude was very small—utterly insufficient to save colleagues on the brink of death from a shattered true form—it could assist wounded personnel in regaining combat capability. This was extremely rare in the entire history of the kingdom.

As for development potential, according to the examiner, a "low true form manifestation level" was often an indication that the magical gear had not been sufficiently developed; however, considering that Bai Jingxuan was a Deviant and that base color deviation would also affect this value, only a medium rating was ultimately given.

As for stability, it depended on the magical power consumption of the gear's ability, its resistance to interference, and its dependence on the user's condition.

In this category, according to the examiners, Celestial Tone's performance was even worse than that of some examinees rated Dryas-level.

Not only did Celestial Tone require continuous power output, but as the number of targets increased, so did the consumption. The ability itself was also strongly tied to music; once the music was disrupted by other sounds, or drowned out, it would cease to function.

From this perspective, as long as an enemy found a countermeasure, Celestial Tone's ability could be easily neutralized; in this sense, its stability was very poor.

In summary, although Bai Jingxuan's magical gear demonstrated ability specifications and applicability far exceeding those of an ordinary "single-item type," it was dragged down by other data, ultimately only barely breaking through the C rating to reach the B- level.

The meaning of B- was very simple: Bai Jingxuan would need to win one match in the subsequent combat segment to have her rating officially elevated to B-level.

Bai Jingxuan herself felt nothing particular about this evaluation. After all, being able to get through this examination without having her residual beast magical power detected was already a great stroke of luck.

Besides, in all her battles up to now, the proportion of magical gear ability in her overall strength had never been particularly high, so she had never felt her magical gear was all that powerful. Receiving a B rating now was actually in line with her expectations.

In her mind, the fact that her magical gear had once been able to ease some of the true form injuries her mother suffered had already demonstrated its greatest value.

And when she walked out of the examination hall and told Lin Xiaolu and the others her rating, their reactions varied.

Huazhu was quite surprised to learn that Bai Jingxuan had received a B- rating with a "single-item type" magical gear, but quickly regained composure, remarking that "Cornflower's students really are different from ordinary people."

Bohe, on the other hand, asked with a hint of schadenfreude whether her base color issue had been exposed, and after being glared at by Bai Jingxuan, shrugged to show her innocence.

As for Lin Xiaolu, beyond offering congratulations to Bai Jingxuan on "passing smoothly," she was actually greatly reassured about her own prospects in the magical gear test.

"We both have single-item magical gear; I was worried I'd only get a C rating."

She put it this way: "Since you can get a B rating, then I should have hope of exceeding C, right?"

The moment these words were spoken, Bohe and Huazhu beside her showed no particular reaction, but Bai Jingxuan immediately looked at Lin Xiaolu with an expression as though she had seen a ghost.

"What's wrong?" Bai Jingxuan's expression was simply too conspicuous; even Lin Xiaolu could not ignore such an obvious reaction, so she instinctively asked back.

"No, I think Se... Senior, your magical gear is probably not quite the same situation as mine." Bai Jingxuan thought for a moment before expressing her view in a rather tactful way.

"Mm, after all, mine can transform, so it really is a bit more impressive than an ordinary single-item, I guess?" Lin Xiaolu said with what she considered an optimistic tone.

And after she finished saying this, Bohe and Huazhu beside her also began looking at her with expressions as though they had seen a ghost.

"... What's going on with you two?" Lin Xiaolu finally sensed that something was off.

However, before the others could explain anything, the great door before them opened once more—

—"Examinee numbers, please enter."

And this time, the number called out was Lin Xiaolu's exam number.