Transform into a magical girl after getting off work

——"Wh-why did I only score 72 points?"

Lin Xiaolu's grand declarations, following the supplementary exam the next day, shattered her confidence along with them.

The day before the practical assessment was a rest day for most examinees, now used for the supplementary exam.

To announce the passing score lines promptly, the exam institute's examiners worked overtime, finally announcing the score lines for the four written tests and the scores of many examinees that evening.

Among them, the passing score for "Rune Literature" was 67, for "Mathematics" was 79, for "Residual Beast Analysis" was 55, and for "Legal Principles" was 66.

Lin Xiaolu chose to retake both Rune Literature and Mathematics, so her final scores were 72 for Rune Literature, 88 for Mathematics, 80 for Residual Beast Analysis, and 72 for Legal Principles.

It was no surprise that her Mathematics score was high, and with Residual Beast Analysis being the focus of Emerald Sparrow's usual teaching, scoring high there was understood. But the scores for the remaining two subjects could only be described as "barely passed." Such total results, while barely passing as "below average," were miles away from the "standing out" image in Lin Xiaolu's mind.

On the other side, the scores of the rest of the team rolled in together.

Bai Jingxuan: Rune Literature 87, Mathematics 82, Residual Beast Analysis 94, Legal Principles 69.

The Mathematics score was average, mainly because Bai Jingxuan had been sick as a child and couldn't attend school lessons. Her passing now was the result of day and night tutoring by Emerald Sparrow after taking her from the welfare home.

Rune Literature and Residual Beast Analysis were her personal interests, and Emerald Sparrow could sense this child's strong desire for any knowledge "that could make herself stronger," making her study efficiency and motivation very high. Achieving such excellent scores was no surprise.

As for the nearly failing "Kingdom Law and Task Behavior Standards" course...

Honestly, for this child to pass this course was a relief for Emerald Sparrow.

This subject was primarily set up to filter those whose mentality and worldview were not up to par for Magical Girls, preventing reckless ones from obtaining the Validation Card. Considering Bai Jingxuan's personality, always talking about "revenge" and "massacre," getting a passing score was not easy, at least showing that she remembered some of Emerald Sparrow's daily advice, though she might not fully understand it.

As for the last of the three, Xia Liang, her scores were exceptionally outstanding.

Rune Literature 95, Mathematics 99, Residual Beast Analysis 93, Legal Principles 92.

These scores placed her fifth in this exam's written test.

But everyone knew that while she was publicly only the fifth in a single assessment's written test, the number of participants in this year's exam was different from before, with many "veterans" who should have taken the test long ago but delayed until this year to take the White Card.

These examinees held comprehensive advantages in the assessment, not only being more experienced in practical tests than pure newbies but also having more preparation time for written subjects. So managing to snatch a fifth place in this context was no less challenging than being first in past exams, if not harder.

No doubt, if only the written test was considered, the task of "shining brightly" in Lin Xiaolu's mind was undoubtedly completed by Xia Liang, so much so that Lin Xiaolu hadn't even dared to imagine matching her score in her wildest dreams.

"Why, why! We took the same classes, did the same assignments, wrote the same tests... Your grades were worse than mine initially!"

Lin Xiaolu, quite unwillingly, shook Xia Liang's shoulders: "How can your score be so much higher? How is it so much higher? Are you even human?"

"I think... uh, maybe it's simply because I'm better at memorizing things?"

Xia Liang replied helplessly, "So could you stop shaking me now... you're making me feel like I'm going to throw up."

"Then throw up! Let me see what you've been eating and where we diverge! We both have the same nose and eyes, so why!" Lin Xiaolu shouted.

"Getting this graphic is kind of gross," Xia Liang couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"I always thought you were in cahoots with me, but it turns out you study way better than me, you traitor..."

Lin Xiaolu's accusations continued.

Of course, besides the three juniors, "Newbie Magical Girl Long Dan" also received her own report card.

Rune Literature 79, Mathematics 85, Residual Beast Analysis 74, Legal Principles 72.

Every subject exceeded the passing line slightly, but not by much, roughly matching the academic level expected of a "10-year-old child" in public perception.

Emerald Sparrow wasn't worried about excessive control leading to failure because her scores were all on the higher end of average historical subject scores, meaning she would hit the average when the papers were the simplest.

The White Card level written test posed no challenge for her, as she grasped the answers at a glance. So as long as she wrote, it would be the correct answer, except for some questions where personal interpretation by the examiner might cause a slight score deviation.

This score was certainly just below average among the many examinees, but Emerald Sparrow's intent was only to enter the exam hall as a practical assessment candidate, so she never cared about rankings.

After confirming that all four team members smoothly passed the exam and advanced to the next phase, any slight nervousness subsided significantly.

In the evening, Emerald Sparrow went alone to the hot spring, confirming that there was no one else in the pool before slightly relaxing with a bath, then slowly leaving.

The open space outside the changing room had some cloud-shaped seats to provide a resting facility for clients waiting outside the hot springs.

There, Emerald Sparrow saw Xia Liang dressed in a bathrobe.

"What's up?"

Realizing that Xia Liang might have been waiting here specifically for her, Emerald Sparrow curiously stepped forward to ask.

"Junior, I got fifth place."

"Ah, yes, fifth place. That's really impressive. Even I was surprised."

Emerald Sparrow paused slightly, then nodded in affirmation, "You're very smart and work hard. I'm proud of your achievements."

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

"Not enough?" Emerald Sparrow was puzzled.

"This level of praise isn't enough."

Xia Liang puffed her cheeks slightly, looking a bit sulky, "Even though I know you'll be biased towards Xiao Lu, I did something more amazing than Xiao Lu for once. Can't I get some reward too?"

"...What reward do you want?" Emerald Sparrow blinked.

"I want a pat, too." Xia Liang winked at her.

"I remember someone telling me about a 'Gentle Harbor Strategy,' saying there's no need to make things difficult for me." Emerald Sparrow closed her eyes.

"That was something else entirely."

Xia Liang, a bit unhappy, extended a foot and gave a symbolic light kick to Emerald Sparrow's calf with her toe, "This was a super formal Kingdom assessment. Who knows when I'll achieve something this remarkable again? Can't I come to you for credit?"

"I think I could get you some other rewards?"

Emerald Sparrow didn't mind the little act, "Like buying you some more practical magic tools, or perhaps you want some clothes, accessories, toys...or even electronic devices?"

"I can always ask for those later."

Xia Liang's toe scraped Emerald Sparrow's calf a couple more times, "Besides, saying something like 'making things difficult,' clearly Xiao Lu and Xiao Xuan always got what they wanted when they acted cute with you. You're a big liar, so biased."

"Stop fooling around...That's because they don't know about that thing."

Emerald Sparrow stepped back a few steps, "But you already know, don't you? So avoiding suspicion is appropriate."

"Isn't it just that you can turn into a man, and also with...that, I don't really mind. In fact, rather like it..."

Xia Liang mumbled resentfully but blushed halfway through, as if negating herself, "Anyway, I want it too! You don't want Xiao Lu to see and get jealous, right? I came all the way here; what's the excuse now?"

"Are you really going to be this persistent?"

Emerald Sparrow seemed a bit exasperated.

"I'm fully prepared." This time, Xia Liang closed her eyes.

"...Alright then."

After all, it's just a head pat; it's not really crossing a line. Emerald Sparrow comforted herself, reached out, and gently ruffled Xia Liang's head.

During this, Xia Liang leaned forward slightly, resting her head against Emerald Sparrow's abdomen; Emerald Sparrow hesitated but did not stop her.

"Senior."

Xia Liang's voice was somewhat muffled, "I actually know very well my chances to outshine others and be more brilliant are probably just this written exam."

"...How could that be?" Emerald Sparrow responded quietly, "You're already Leaf Level, and you've been working hard these past months to increase your repertoire and application of magic techniques. Your magic armor has evolved and you even have new secret moves you haven't told us about, right?"

"Ah, you already knew, but that's only natural."

Xia Liang's tone was somewhat downcast but calm, "In previous assessments, perhaps I would have thought 'this is enough,' 'this is already good.' But actually, after interacting with other candidates this session, I somehow realized a fact, and that is 'this level might not be enough.'

"How do you know without trying?" Emerald Sparrow countered.

"Because I'm just too ordinary."

Xia Liang spoke slowly, "No matter how much I study and progress, my improvement is only within the category of an 'ordinary magical girl.' But wanting to become an 'extraordinary magical girl' is truly too difficult. I've realized I seem really unable to achieve this."

"You're already quite extraordinary." Emerald Sparrow said earnestly.

"Hmm, I guess in the eyes of many, I am."

Xia Liang's voice carried a faint weariness, "To be honest, it's not like I've lost all morale before even competing with others and voluntarily admitted defeat. Even though it seems like I'm saying discouraging things to you now, deep down I'm still thinking about 'winning,' about 'standing out' to be among the top in the practical exams."

"No longer treating all this as a game, constantly striving forward, it's because I'm chasing your silhouette I got here step by step. And now, it's finally time to verify the results."

She pressed her face firmly against Emerald Sparrow's abdomen, closed her eyes, and murmured,

"So, just consider it my last moment of weakness before the practical exam and give me more encouragement, Senior."