Chapter 26: True Form and Magic Power Constructs

Fangting City's downtown area was always brightly lit at night. From a high vantage point, the intermingling neon lights and street lamps formed a shimmering river of light.

Emerald Sparrow leaned against the rooftop's guard net, staring at the incomplete blue disc in her hand with a dazed expression.

After several days of investigation, she had all but confirmed that this object was a kind of valve from the sewer system. Without a doubt, since it was found inside the body of a Remnant Beast that was the type to dissolve cavities, it indicated that the beast had once lived in the sewers of the city.

But normally, that was impossible. With the immense size of this type of Remnant Beast, there weren't many areas in the city's sewer system where it could move freely, and it seemed particularly challenging for it to hunt for food, let alone remain hidden and completely unnoticed by people.

Unless there was some entity within the sewers that provided it with food while also concealing its tracks.

Like "Pupa" stage Remnant Beasts.

In the two years since Tumi and the others had left, what exactly had happened in Fangting City that even Pupa stage Remnant Beasts could take root and build nests?

Emerald Sparrow couldn't ignore this issue. Combining this with the urban legend she had found online about the "singing in the sewers," she had been searching everywhere for the potential Pupa stage Remnant Beast for the past several nights.

Unfortunately, there were no results as of yet.

—"Emerald Sparrow?"

The voice of a young girl came from not far away.

Emerald Sparrow looked up and saw Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang watching her from the side. She then realized she seemed to have drifted off into her thoughts, and it was already time for class.

On the same rooftop and terrace, which had nearly become her regular teaching spot, all she needed to do was send a notification on her phone after work, wait for her two "students" to arrive, and class could begin.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about something."

After briefly explaining why she was lost in thought, Emerald Sparrow stood up and walked toward the center of the terrace: "If both of you are here, then let's get started. Tonight, I'm going to teach you some advanced stuff."

"Advanced?" Lin Xiaolu showed a somewhat interested expression. "Does that mean you're going to talk about how to deal with Inchworms?"

"I think your idea of advancement is a bit too ambitious," Xia Liang said with an amused smile.

"What I think has nothing to do with you, right?" Lin Xiaolu retorted with a pout.

The two of them began their usual bickering upon meeting each other, repeating their meaningless squabbles as they followed Emerald Sparrow for a while. Then they saw her turn around and scan the group, clearing her throat twice to signal them to stop and get to the main point:

"Let's start directly. What we're discussing tonight is a capability that's very important for every Magical Girl: Magic Power Construction, also known as Magic Equipment."

"Oh!" Both Magical Girls responded enthusiastically, clapping their hands, with comments like "finally" and "so it's this one" praising the upcoming lesson.

Emerald Sparrow paused for a moment, waiting for their applause to end, before she continued, "Regarding Magic Equipment, I have already given you a brief introduction before, but this time I will explain in more detail."

"First, to give you a refresher, every Magical Girl gains their own Magic Equipment when their powers blossom to the Bud stage. Magic Equipment is the manifestation of a Magical Girl's true essence, so each person's Magic Equipment is different, unique to them. This, you should all remember."

"As for true essence, it is the aggregation of a Magical Girl's Magic Power and her soul. By cultivating Magic Power and strengthening spiritual thought to enhance intuition, and eventually developing the Seed of Heart to merge both, one forms their true essence."

"Once a Magical Girl has formed her true essence, her power's blossoming phase reaches the Bud stage. From this stage on, a Magical Girl's appearance in her transformed state becomes fixed and will no longer change, and she also undergoes an explosive increase in Magic Power. Thus, the Bud stage is a significant milestone for Magical Girls; reaching it in power blossoming greatly enhances combat abilities compared to before."

As Emerald Sparrow reached this point in her explanation, Xia Liang couldn't help but look up in contemplation, then showed a strong initiative, raising her hand to ask a question.

"Go ahead," Emerald Sparrow always felt she wasn't up to any good, but still gestured for her to proceed.

Given permission, Xia Liang immediately asked with a grin, "So Junior, did you reach the Bud stage at age ten?"

As expected.

Emerald Sparrow couldn't help but pull down her eyelid, feeling that she had already gotten used to Xia Liang's style.

"What strange question did you ask during the class!"

Before she could respond, however, it was Lin Xiaolu who first stood up, "Show some respect to Senior Emerald Sparrow!"

"Is that question very strange?" Xia Liang asked with an innocent face.

"You're clearly making fun of her height…"

Lin Xiaolu wanted to call out Xia Liang's pretense, but she stopped midway upon realizing it was inappropriate, turning her head to look at Emerald Sparrow, only to find Emerald Sparrow was also looking at her expressionlessly.

For a moment, she was at a loss whether to advance or retreat, actually not knowing what to say.

"Hmm? Sorry, I didn't mean it that way, I was just curious," Xia Liang said with a smile, squeezing her eyes apologetically, "After all, if one really enters the bud level at the age of 10, that would be considered quite a talented genius, right?"

"Ah, speaking of which…" Lin Xiaolu, who had been frozen, finally became aware and looked at Emerald Sparrow with curiosity.

"No, it's just that my appearance seems younger after transforming," Emerald Sparrow responded to their puzzled looks, her face still expressionless as she answered straightforwardly, "In terms of age when becoming a Magical Girl, I'm actually about the same as you girls."

The rather cold reply obviously didn't satisfy the other two Magical Girls, but she didn't mind the disappointed look on their faces and simply stopped the conversation about age and height.

"Let's get back to magic outfits," she said, clapping her hands to signal a return to the main topic, "Once a Magical Girl has her true form, the magic outfit as a manifestation of that true form will naturally be born. It will become the most suitable weapon for you, even if you don't know how to use it when you first get it."

"The innate potential of magic outfits is differentiated; some Magical Girls' magic outfits are naturally stronger than others, and this will be specifically assessed during the kingdom's examination, but let's not delve into that for now."

"But even if the innate potential is insufficient, the magic outfit can still grow through the Magic Girl's later efforts."

"When the magic power and soul that make up your true form are greatly enhanced, the magic outfit will also evolve and become stronger than its initial state. And in the end, what determines the power are the magic power, the soul, and the mastery of it—these three are the basics of using a magic outfit."

"Now, let me demonstrate with my own magic outfit…"

The class continued as usual.

It had been two weeks since Lin Xiaolu became a Magical Girl, and over a week since Xia Liang became one. The basic knowledge imparted by Emerald Sparrow kept increasing daily.

From the most basic common sense at the beginning, to later combat skills, and now advanced abilities.

Lin Xiaolu's talent was neither good nor bad, but fortunately, her attitude was quite serious, and she made a point to remember what she learned.

Xia Liang was an out-and-out genius. Although she always seemed somewhat distracted, she actually grasped everything Emerald Sparrow taught very quickly.

The former Emerald Sparrow actually hadn't done much to mentor newcomers. The only junior Magical Girl she had interacted with before retiring, codenamed Chaoyan, who was Hong Siyu, only worked with her for less than half a year.

Now, watching the two newbies grow little by little under her personal guidance, one of whom was her own daughter, gave her an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

And so, about two hours later, having covered various bits of knowledge, Emerald Sparrow stood on the rooftop, watching the two Magical Girls say their farewells before leaving.

To provide them with a safer environment for growth.

The image of the shattered blue disk flashed through her mind. Emerald Sparrow waved goodbye with a calm expression, and at the same time, she made a firm decision in her heart.