Chapter 340: The Great Wave She Had Waited for All Her Life

As for why it could operate fully automatically, and why its absorption rate was absurdly high... It was not only because Vivi had shared part of her talent with her, but also because a magical girl's power was supposed to be idealistic in nature.

At least, in the opinion of Lin Guang, a veteran magical girl qualified to weigh in, sitting in meditation to level up like in fantasy novels was simply a terrible fit for a true magical girl.

Things like absorption rates and drug resistance could be left to other superhuman professions that respected reality. A magical girl was an idealistic profession, and shouldn't have so many rules and restrictions. She should be able to do whatever she wanted.

For a true magical girl, there were other things to hone.

As for levels... She should level up when the atmosphere and emotions were right.

Watching Lin Guang's perfectly matter-of-fact expression, the white-haired girl spent a long time staring blankly.

“Are you serious...?”

It took her a while to realize that the pink-haired girl before her wasn't joking. She took deep breaths again and again, but her heart still pounded in her chest, and her tail remained stiff as a rod.

“If things keep going like this, and I drink all the remaining nine bottles, could you force my level all the way up to around level seven?!”

“Mm? Mm.”

Lin Guang gave no definite answer.

“But for now, you can only drink three bottles a day. Your body and mind still need time to adjust.”

Vivi nearly passed out. She wanted to scream, but was afraid her roommate next door would hear, so she could only clamp a hand over her mouth and roll around excitedly on the bed, completely ignoring her skirt riding up and the dazzling expanse of pale skin exposed beneath it.

Holy crap, this cheat is way too powerful!

Level seven and above, that was the threshold for E+!

Yesterday, her magic power was only level three!

To cross the barriers between three tiers, from E- to E+, all she needed was to spend less than two thousand credit points on some potions and nutrient paste, and then wait five or six days?

If she told anyone that, they'd think she was crazy.

If improving one's magic power were really that easy, who in Neon City would still take out high-interest loans to pay a huge tuition bill?

Who would still attend those expensive magic-power training courses, use precision magical devices, have specialists assist them with spells, or undergo costly surgeries to improve their aptitude?

Just what level was the meditation technique Teresa had casually modified?

And the most outrageous part was that her adaptability had improved right along with it. Her body didn't hurt at all!

Before this, Vivi had assumed Teresa's plan would most likely rely on the control and talent she had gained through their contract to forcibly push her body to its limits over the next two and a half months, all to secure a spot in the magical-girl exam.

As for the bodily erosion or even collapse that might result from insufficient Magic Adaptability... She would have to take things one step at a time. As long as she could push through and complete the contract, they could figure out the rest afterward.

But now, it looked like things were nothing like that!

“Don't worry about your adaptability.”

As if she had guessed what Vivi was thinking, Lin Guang glanced at her system panel.

【Game Character Abilities: Magic Power (E-→E), Magic Aptitude (E→E+), Prosthetic Domination (C+), ☆Magical Girl Transformation☆ (C+), Demolition (E+)】

【Comprehensive Rating: E+ (The average ordinary person in the main world is F)】

“All you need to do is raise your magic-power level. My adaptability will rise along with my magic power, and then the contract will pass that improvement back to you.”

Vivi nodded instinctively. “Oh, oh, I see...”

In truth, she had no idea what it meant for adaptability and magic power to increase together in the magical-girl profession, much less what it meant for this city.

It only added another layer to the mysterious impression she already had of Teresa.

Lin Guang said calmly, “But it's not completely without a cost.”

“Since you also have to make up for the gaps on my side, raising each level of my magic power will consume twice as many resources, or even more.”

“...None of that matters.” The white-haired girl took a deep breath and said earnestly, “It's nothing. This is already enough, more than enough!”

“With an absorption rate and improvement speed this high, it's already countless times faster than before... At worst, I'll find a way to take jobs and work myself to the bone, or go to a few more places and take out some more loans...”

As she spoke, Vivi felt her hands trembling more and more, just like her voice.

It wasn't because she couldn't accept reality, or because everything felt like a dream.

On the contrary, it was because she understood rationally what all this meant for her.

Vivi realized something.

Never in her life had she been this close to that distant, unreachable dream.

-To become a magical girl.

Even in this year's cohort, called the last golden age before the end of the magical era, and despairingly labeled the dark turmoil by the mediocre, the magical-girl qualification exam was likely to be the fiercest Neon City had ever seen.

Countless prodigies were about to emerge and contend for supremacy in the magical arts.

Even peak E+ magic power was only an entry ticket. The truly powerful would be far beyond that.

And yet...

From what she could see, she still had a chance... She really had a chance!

This girl named Vivi, a low-level orphan who didn't even have a brain-computer interface, a creature like a stray dog in the eyes of the rich, also had a chance to make that final leap and reach for the position at the very top of Neon City.

Often, when people said they couldn't see the future, it was because they could see it.

But this time, Vivi felt like she really was about to grasp the future.

It was the great wave she had waited for all her life.

All because she had found a magical girl named Teresa in the landfill, and, with nowhere else to turn, signed a contract with her.

It felt like a dream, yet it was so very real.

“...”

But the next moment, the pink-haired girl beside her suddenly turned to look at her. Her gentle voice sounded again, though now there was something else in it.

“Vivi.”

She said calmly, “There are some things I need to tell you, too.”

Vivi swallowed. “...Mm.”

“What I was involved in before may be far more complicated and dangerous than you can imagine.”

The white-haired girl's eyes widened slightly.

The angelic pink-haired girl before her spoke softly. “If you choose to stay bound to me, my past may very well catch up with me.”

“And I have no intention of running away.”

“This isn't something that can be described as a little trouble. I may... No, I will turn Neon City upside down.”

Vivi's eyes widened.

In her eyes, there was not the slightest hint of a joke in Teresa's orange-yellow gaze. Instead, it held a certain fearless resolve, as if this were only natural.

She said calmly, “So... you can still regret it now.”

“If you don't want to take this risk, then once you reach the peak of E+, we can sever the contract.”

“...!!”