Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl

Book 2: Chapter 200: Each Showing Their Special Skills

Vol 2 Chapter 200: Each Showing Their Special Skills "Haaa..."

Purple Diamond lazily reclined in her seat, letting out a long yawn. She absentmindedly glanced at the projection screen not far away before quickly losing interest and shifting her gaze away, muttering under her breath, "Boring."

The examination had entered its mid-to-late stages. The leading examinees had ventured deep into the secret passages, searching for so-called "Maze Nodes," while the trailing teams refused to be outdone, desperately scouring for new puzzles. The maze, which had previously been rife with conflicts, was now surprisingly calm—most examinees were focused on pressing forward, with few skirmishes occurring.

This situation naturally left the distinguished guests on the observation platform with little to focus on, and their interest waned. Watching the puzzle-solving process was novel the first few times, but after the initial teams, hardly anyone aside from the examiners themselves remained interested in the puzzle contents.

For a while, the projections displayed nothing but monotonous footage of the leading teams making their way through the maze.

Among them, Team 277 naturally stood out. In fact, thanks to Valerian's team repeatedly achieving outstanding results, Team 277 had become the focal point of the projections. Even now, when they weren’t doing anything particularly noteworthy—merely retracing their steps after leaving a node—the footage would still frequently cut back to this team.

Few guests found this surprising, given that Blue Star's reputation was renowned even in the magic nation. Since the untimely demise of the former strongest flower card, Sakura, Blue Star—representing the Magical Girls of the material world—had accomplished numerous feats, her prestige now second only to the Scepter of Gems. As "Blue Star's disciple," Valerian's exceptional performance was entirely expected.

Aside from Team 277, the other teams receiving significant attention also had notable backgrounds. Any examinee familiar with the Power Ranking List would be astonished to find that nearly every Magical Girl featured in these projections was a name on that list.

Among them was Team 604, whose progress closely trailed Team 277. They were now on the verge of locating their Maze Node and, barring unforeseen circumstances, would encounter the Remnant Beast within it in under ten minutes. This team's style closely resembled Team 277's—excellent average strength, well-rounded abilities, and strong execution, allowing them to advance smoothly. The only area where they fell slightly short was puzzle-solving efficiency, their decision-making not as crisp as Team 277's. However, this wasn’t so much a deficiency on their part as it was Team 277's performance being extraordinarily outstanding.

In terms of team composition, while the guests might not find it particularly noteworthy, by the standards of the Power Ranking List, this squad could be called a "dream team." It boasted two Magical Girls ranked on the list: the top-ranked "Kapok" and the seventh-ranked "Candlenut." On paper, their strength even surpassed Team 277's, making their progress entirely unsurprising.

Another team that drew attention was Team 1334, which had been picking fights since the start of the examination. The leader of this team was none other than Drunken Fishweed, who had previously attacked Xia Liang and her companions.

From the outset, this team had adopted a clear strategy: "Don’t find the path, find the people." Drunken Fishweed indiscriminately attacked every examinee team she encountered along the way. Many of these teams had already solved puzzles, and their rewards naturally fell into Drunken Fishweed’s hands. As a result, Team 1334 now held the most puzzle rewards in the entire maze—a staggering seven—putting their bonus points even above Team 277's.

Observers quickly discerned Drunken Fishweed's scheme: she had cleverly exploited a loophole in the rules. The eliminated could only identify the "individual attacker," not the "attacker's team," making her approach feasible. She alone bore the brunt of combat while her two teammates reaped the benefits. Though she would inevitably lose her own points due to multiple identifications, she ensured her teammates achieved outstanding results.

So, was Drunken Fishweed truly so self-sacrificing, giving up her own score just to boost her teammates?

Of course not.

What she wanted were the "team score" and "observation evaluation" bonuses.

These extra rewards applied to the entire practical examination, not just the maze segment. Thus, these points wouldn’t count toward the "first examination's results." In other words, even if she were identified after leaving the maze, these bonuses wouldn’t be transferred to others.

The team score was why she worked so hard to elevate her teammates' results. As long as their scores were high enough, she would receive corresponding bonuses once this segment concluded.

As for the observation evaluation—that was the reason for her flamboyant performance.

By the examination’s rules, Drunken Fishweed's behavior wasn’t encouraged, but it hadn’t crossed the line into outright misconduct. For the guests, however, this troublemaker had made the viewing experience far more entertaining. One could say that as long as the cameras followed her, there would never be a dull moment.

This atmosphere undoubtedly signaled the success of her open scheme. The senior Magical Girls on the observation platform could easily see through her ploy, yet some still applauded her performance. In their eyes, doing whatever it took to earn high marks was also a "display of ambition." That Drunken Fishweed had considered external factors like the "observation evaluation" so early and planned accordingly showed remarkable boldness and deserved encouragement.

Beyond these three teams, many others excelled in different ways. Some formed alliances, rallying large groups of Magical Girls to dominate the maze, even securing control over more than three Maze Nodes and now launching full-scale assaults. Others relied on exceptional mobility and sensory abilities to traverse most of the maze, nearly completing a map and using it to deduce the locations of puzzles and nodes. There was even a team with a member capable of communicating with plants, talking to the maze walls and befriending the shrubs that formed them, pinpointing the exit before it appeared. They had now abandoned puzzles entirely, lying in wait near the exit, ready to bolt the moment all nodes were conquered.

Every team had its own strategy, and countless Magical Girls were finding ways to bend the rules. The scene could be described as "each showing their special skills," for everyone knew that following the usual procedures likely wouldn’t defeat the strongest teams, so they sought alternative paths.

For now, however, it was still the calm before the storm, with too many teams lying low. The fiercest competition would come only when the exit opened.

Seeing that the projections were unlikely to change anytime soon, Purple Diamond couldn’t help but glance around. Yet whether it was Emerald or Pigeon Blood—who wore an eye patch—they all seemed engrossed, leaving her without anyone to chat with.

Bored out of her mind, she subtly peeked over her shoulder.

That petite figure sat there motionless, like a doll.

But—perhaps it was her imagination—she thought she saw the faintest upturn of the lips when that person’s gaze settled on a particular spot in the projection.

Not daring to speculate further, she quickly averted her eyes, dismissing her scattered thoughts.

Mimicking the other observers, she pretended to still be watching the projection, though her gaze was unfocused, her attention utterly scattered.

Until, suddenly, she noticed Emerald straightening beside her.

Not just Emerald—even Pigeon Blood let out an enigmatic chuckle.

From the observation platform below came exclamations of "Is this allowed?", "Oh my god," and "Doesn’t this count as cheating?"

What was happening?

Belatedly snapping back to attention, she focused on the projection—and was stunned by what she saw. The center of the screen had now switched to a team that had barely appeared before.

Among them was a Magical Girl wearing a soft lilac hat and a pale yellow shawl. Using some unknown method, she had effortlessly opened a hole in the maze wall and led her teammates through it.

And now, she was sprinting straight for the maze’s exit.