Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl

Book 2: Chapter 198: Banner

Vol 2 Chapter 198 BannerAt this point, Valerian had already formed a fairly complete guess about the Examination Institute’s intention in setting up this test. The so-called examination must exist to test certain abilities and knowledge of the candidates. And in this current practical examination, it was definitely meant to check some kind of “combat skill” of the Magical Girls.

The current maze’s intended scenario was now self-evident—it was the lair of a Remnant Beast. Because a Remnant Beast’s lair would distort the surrounding space to some extent, Magical Girls needed sufficiently strong perception abilities to find their direction inside. That was why this test took the form of a maze, designed to simulate the lair environment as realistically as possible.

Moreover, since there were rules operating within the lairs of Remnant Beasts above the Half-Molt level, Magical Girls needed clear thinking and a calm mind to analyze and break these rules. That was why the maze was filled with so many puzzles, solely to select talents who could continuously think of more problems while exploring.

Also, since any lair would naturally have a Remnant Beast as its owner, the maze would include similar “enemies.” After all, a Magical Girl with just perception and thinking abilities was not enough; basic combat power and adaptability to the environment were also subjects of examination.

By analogy, if she was not mistaken, the “exit” that no one had found so far should appear only after she defeated the Remnant Beast in front of her.

There was no other reason—because according to the process of “attacking a Remnant Beast lair,” once a Magical Girl figured out the route, cracked the rules, and defeated the lair’s master... the next step was to figure out how to leave.

So the only thing before her that she had to do was clear.

“If I defeat this guy, the answer should appear.”

Her right hand stretched out, and the magic wand in her palm instantly turned to dust and reassembled into a brand-new form—a flag.

The flag was white as the base color, with a blue stripe running horizontally across the center. On top of the stripe was a floral-shaped emblem. Looking closely, one would find that all the emblems were actually composed of Fav rune symbols.

No further explanation was needed; everyone present instantly recognized: this was her magical equipment.

“Guide the way forward, Banner.”

She whispered, suddenly waving the flag to unfold it fully. Then she slammed it heavily onto the ground. With a “thud,” the emblem on the flag imprinted a magical resonance onto every member of Team 277.

Veronica immediately felt an indescribable magical resonance attach to her. Although she could have dispelled it easily, considering it was a teammate’s ability in use, she chose to stand by and watch. This magical resonance eventually formed an emblem on the left chest of her outfit, basically identical to the emblem on Valerian’s magical equipment, only rougher in detail.

Following that came a thrilling sense that made Veronica feel her magic power activated, and both her body and spirit became extraordinarily invigorated.

“This is...” Dogtail Grass, nearby, also sensed the change in her body and could not help but exclaim.

“It’s the ability of my magical equipment. It can strengthen myself and teammates across multiple dimensions—spirit, magic, body, and more.”

After the light waves on the flag dissipated, Valerian turned to her two teammates: “I’ll take the lead. You two act according to the situation. Stay safe.”

“Take the lead?” Dogtail Grass hesitated slightly, probably surprised that usually mature and calm Valerian was now so fired up. “There’s no need to rush. I have plenty of combat experience. We should probe this Remnant Beast’s abilities slowly first and protect Senior Gentian...”

“It’s fine.”

But Valerian gently cut her off. “A Remnant Beast of this level doesn’t require that much trouble. I’ll be back soon.”

Without giving Dogtail Grass a chance to say more, she grabbed the flag and flew into the air.

In front of her, the Remnant Beast stretched its body and had already entered hunting mode. The moment it saw Valerian approaching, it immediately revealed its countermeasure.

Its previously withered, tree-like body quickly changed. The cracked wood grain closed and transformed into irregular protrusions clustered together. The brown-gray color covering its body faded, replaced by a black-gray hue resembling rock.

At first glance, it looked like several giant dead wood pieces instantly turned into slender stone pillars.

Considering its earlier deliberate mimicry of sounds and even imitating Veronica’s magical resonance, it was clear its ability was “disguise.”

Like animals in nature that change their body color to blend into their environment, this Remnant Beast had the ability to “disguise itself as something else.” However, compared to ordinary animals, this Remnant Beast could go further—it could disguise not only its body’s strength but also the external fluctuations of its magical power as something else.

The Examination Institute’s examiner choosing such a Remnant Beast as the enemy here clearly intended to test the candidates. With such a miraculous disguise ability combined with environmental interference, most candidates would have a hard time detecting this Remnant Beast’s existence. Even if they guessed something, without the comprehensive strength of Team 277, it would be difficult to force the Remnant Beast to give up its disguise and reveal its true form.

Of course, being good at disguise didn’t mean the Remnant Beast’s strength was weak. Being the enemy in the “simulated lair,” this Remnant Beast was undeniably a true Pupa rank.

In fact, the fact that it could even transform the maze environment around it—from shrubbery into this dirt path—was undeniable proof of its abundant magical power.

Pupa rank required a Leaf-rank team leader, cooperating with several Bud-rank Magical Girls to safely hunt it down.

Yet now, strictly speaking, Valerian was still only a rookie, facing this Remnant Beast alone.

The distance between the Magical Girl and the Remnant Beast grew closer and closer. Then, as Valerian and the Remnant Beast brushed past each other, the sharp “clang” sound of metal hitting stone instantly echoed throughout the cave.

A cracking sound of some kind of stone followed.

One of the Remnant Beast’s legs had already broken, although no one knew when exactly.

“Ah—”

The last sound was a piercing screech from the Remnant Beast, sounding like a collective shout from countless people, with even Valerian’s and Veronica’s voices mixed in.

“So noisy.”

Valerian turned around and slightly shook the flagpole in her hand. The fluttering flag partially obscured it, but the spear tip at the top of the pole emitted a faint cold light. Judging from the cracks on the Remnant Beast’s leg, it was this spear tip that had pierced through its body just now.

Without giving the Remnant Beast any chance to recover, Valerian charged again with the flag. Another “crack” sound followed almost identically, and the Remnant Beast’s other leg immediately cracked.

However, this time its leg didn’t break immediately.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, its body, which had taken on a rock-like texture, began to shimmer with metallic luster. Moreover, the magical resonance left by Valerian at the wound was gradually being assimilated by the Remnant Beast.

All three, including Dogtail Grass, could sense it was trying... to integrate Valerian’s magical resonance into its Pupa shell.

For a Remnant Beast, this adaptation speed was terrifying.

If it completed this transformation, the effectiveness of Valerian’s magic attacks on its shell would drastically reduce, causing doubled effort for half the effect. Combined with its ability to grow even harder, this would turn the battle into an interminable tug-of-war.

“Ah—”

The Remnant Beast howled again, but this time its cry carried a mocking tone as if saying “It’s my turn now.” As it opened its mouth, terrifying magical resonance began to gather inside. Then, in an instant, the magical waves transformed into a cannon blast, shooting fiercely at Valerian.

Whoosh.

The fierce blast brought strong wind pressure that lifted Valerian’s skirt, but her expression remained calm. While muttering incantations, she raised her empty left hand and lightly pointed forward.

Countless runes immediately surged from her sleeve, flowing continuously within a certain range. Then, before her, they condensed into a wall of magical power.

Barrier Technique.

This was a spell that functionally enhanced the basic magical shield. As the name suggested, it could create an incredibly thick, city-wall-like magical barrier. Correspondingly, the mana consumption and rune complexity far exceeded those of a regular magical shield. Normally, a Leaf-rank Magical Girl needed over half a minute of preparation to temporarily use this spell.

But now, Valerian cast this spell in just a few breaths.

In theory, this was not impossible, especially to Veronica standing nearby watching. She knew various advanced casting techniques that helped Magical Girls compress spell preparation times.

However, an advanced technique alone could never reduce a spell that normally required thirty seconds to just a few seconds. Valerian’s ability to do this meant only one thing: she could combine multiple techniques.

Indeed, this came with huge mana output pressure. Judging from the dim runes in her hand as she conjured the Barrier Technique, she even used the rune polyphony technique—this technique could speed casting but drastically lowered spell efficiency for a while afterward. Yet from Valerian’s expression, she had no intention of worrying about the “after.”

The blazing magical cannon blast struck the barrier, and the explosion instantly blasted a larger hollow space behind it. The soft dirt walls were no match for such power; in a moment, the dirt hollow expanded by over thirty percent.

Dogtail Grass’s expression grew anxious. She almost raised her wand to rush to Valerian but was gently stopped by Veronica.

“We probably don’t need to go,” Veronica said.

“Huh?” Dogtail Grass was puzzled. But when she looked again toward Valerian’s position, she immediately understood Veronica’s meaning.

Behind the barrier, Valerian stood, only her hair slightly messy.

Clang!

She fixed her gaze on the Remnant Beast above and slammed the flagpole onto the ground again. This time, the emblems on Veronica and Dogtail Grass disappeared simultaneously, replaced by a more magnificent emblem glowing on Valerian herself.

Clang!

Without stopping, she struck the flagpole on the ground once more, and her magical resonance surged further.

And this still wasn’t the end.

Clang, clang, clang, clang.

The continuous pounding echoed densely in the hollow, each sound followed by the light on Valerian intensifying further. Until finally, her entire body was shrouded in radiance. The flag had completely transformed into a blaze wrapped around the flagpole. The originally brass-colored button gleamed like molten gold.

She lifted the flagpole, pointing the spear tip at the Remnant Beast. The blazing light illuminated the entire hollow like daylight, and the gray-white-haired girl standing in the light was like the sun in broad daylight.

“Disappear.”

The sun-like figure spoke as if a god.

Then, the sun descended with its judgment.