Chapter 327: Then... I’ll Bet on Myself, Too

Vivi didn’t say a word.

But at that moment, her gaze lingered on Renee’s words, and at some point, her fists had clenched tight.

【Surely she doesn’t really think she can become a magical girl now, does she?】

That was right.

No one had ever thought she could become a magical girl, just as no one ever had before.

And surely, at a time like this, she ought to follow her teacher’s advice and switch to a fourth-grade or even a third-grade weapon. Pointless anger was useless.

When someone was too weak, all the anger and defiance they showed looked like they were trying to act cute in the eyes of the strong.

Acting on impulse was irrational and might only bring a heavy price.

But then, in the next moment,

she raised her head without expression and suddenly reached out.

In the sight only she could see, her hand overlapped with the delicate hand of the pink-haired girl named Teresa.

But this time was different.

Because someone believes I can do it.

Then... I’ll bet on myself, too. I can win!!

To Renee’s surprise, Vivi didn’t hesitate for even a moment. She reached out and picked up the magic pistol with an operating difficulty of 10.

An operating difficulty of 10 didn’t just represent the highest difficulty in this training ground.

It also meant that the magic control required to wield the weapon perfectly was the closest anyone in this training ground could get to passing the Magical Girl License exam, the closest anyone could get to becoming a magical girl.

Renee watched Vivi pick up the gun. She froze for a moment, then couldn’t help laughing so hard that she nearly burst into tears. “That’s hilarious.”

“You’ve only got third-grade magic power. You’re not actually going to fight me with that, are you? You don’t even have health insurance. If it blows up in your hands, I’m not paying for it~”

There was nothing but amusement in Renee’s voice. She hadn’t taken Vivi seriously in the first place.

“Yeah.”

Vivi held the gun by the grip with its muzzle pointed down. She raised her eyes, fixing a cold stare on Renee’s face. “So what? Are you scared?”

Renee had been about to make another mocking remark.

But when her eyes met Vivi’s, the words suddenly caught in her throat.

Those orange-yellow eyes glimmered with a magic power she couldn’t understand, so profound it made her heart tremble.

…………

A short while later,

they were standing opposite each other in the center of the combat arena, surrounded by a crowd of girls watching.

“Live combat match: Renee versus Vivi.”

Amid their whispers, Tian Zhiya’s booming voice rang out across the arena. “Three-second countdown. The match begins.”

“Three, two, one.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, the snake tail behind Renee slapped against the ground, and she shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

In her hand was a sixth-grade magic rapier glimmering with pale green light. Its blade carved a sharp line through the air, whistling as it thrust straight for Vivi’s chest.

Bzz—

The screen in the sky displayed her magic power rank.

Sixth-grade as well.

As she sped forward, Renee wore a cruel smile, her snake-like pupils cold. She deliberately diverted some of her magic power away from the rapier, channeling more of it into her hand instead.

—That dead-last girl had actually bluffed me just now?

I’d better control my strength. I’ll break a few of her bones!

Combat training in the arena used a health-bar scoring system.

Each person’s combat suit was linked to the scoring system. Once any attack landed, a corresponding amount of health would be deducted based on its strength. The one who emptied their opponent’s health bar would win.

Since this was a practical combat class, both magic weapons and physical attacks were effective. Reinforcing one’s physical abilities with magic power, or even using spells, was allowed as well.

But the training weapons provided for practical combat still scored the most. Other attacks were worth fewer points.

So sometimes, people got injuries like broken bones and internal bleeding during combat here... especially when someone did it on purpose.

At that very moment, however, the white-haired girl was still standing where she was, gripping the gun and drawing a deep breath.

Based on her past experience, if she poured her crude magic power into a weapon of this grade, it would inevitably cause serious blockages and jams, then explode in an instant.

And yet, for some reason, once she entered a state of total concentration, she suddenly felt something that was hard to describe.

Her magic power, which had never been very stable, was now astonishingly obedient. She could almost clearly see its flowing path in her mind, and it followed her directions.

The other girl’s figure, and the speed of her blade, seemed to have slowed down, too.

“……”

The rapid circulation of magic power through her body brought a familiar sensation, but a strong premonition seemed to burn in her heart.

Yes, a level-10 weapon was hard to use. Really hard. It was like solving those complicated, obscure problems that made you dizzy just by looking at them.

But... she felt she could do it!

In the next instant, she raised the muzzle. A flash of orange-yellow light flickered in her eyes.

The moment her magic power entered the gun’s circuitry, it was automatically separated and refined into countless fine threads, too thin to see with the naked eye. Each one fitted perfectly into a tiny junction inside the pistol.

Charge. Form. A bullet condensed in the muzzle.

And without a sound, the screen above displayed her current magic power rank.

Fourth-grade.

No longer third-grade, as she had been yesterday.

Without realizing it, she had broken through the bottleneck that had held her back for a full two months and reached the threshold of an E-rank superhuman.

But she was completely unaware of it. She simply followed that mysterious premonition, circulating her magic power and channeling it into the muzzle.

It felt effortless.

This weapon, one that ordinary students could barely control, was completely docile in Vivi’s hands, flowing smoothly as if it were an extension of her own body.

She pulled the trigger.

Bang!

In the next instant, a brilliant blue magic bullet met Renee’s rapier with pinpoint accuracy!

The bullet collided with the blade, ringing out with a crisp chime.

“…!!”

How was that possible?! Was she kidding?!

In full view of everyone, all the spectators, including Tian Zhiya, looked shocked.

That dead-last girl could attack with a level-10 weapon?!

That weapon required the normal magic-control ability of someone at magic power level 10, which was the peak of E+.

Renee’s eyes widened, too.

“How is that possible?!”

But in the next instant, she immediately recovered. Her body twisted through the air with the uncanny movement of a snake, evading the follow-up shots as her rapier jabbed out again and again, like a venomous snake striking.

—It was nothing but luck!!

Even so, she completely abandoned her contempt for her opponent. As magic power fluctuated around her, the girl’s figure suddenly blurred into a dense illusion, splitting into two, like a shadow clone.

Spell activated!

In the next instant, the two R appendages attacked from crossing angles, their real and illusory forms impossible to distinguish. The rapier’s afterimages fell like raindrops, forcing Vivi to retreat in disarray.

To the onlookers, Renee’s fierce, relentless assault left Vivi no opening to finely control her magic power. She could only keep dodging across the arena in a panic.