Chapter 330: Taking a Shot?

D+ peak.

They said that beings at this level were even qualified to become full-time employees of the Universal Megacorp H Corp!

“So that gem of yours really is a Soul Gem, right? You really are a magical girl, right?!”

“...”

Lin Guang reluctantly looked away.

“I don’t remember.”

This girl wouldn’t even dare to dream big.

Vivi’s heart was already soaring with excitement.

So there was a very good chance Teresa really was a magical girl!

She’d picked up an amnesiac magical girl to be her ring-bound grandma!

Awesome!!

She couldn’t help exclaiming to herself, and then a longing and joy she had never felt before welled up inside her.

If that was the case, there was even less reason to give up.

She was going to become a magical girl too!!

Vivi took a deep breath and clenched both fists.

At the movement of her thoughts, a pale-yellow glow gathered on her fair fist as if it were alive.

She’d go practice at the training ground in a bit!

They’d get right to training at the training ground!

Just then.

The silver-white automatic door to the infirmary let out a soft hiss and slid open to either side.

Vivi froze, then immediately turned her head warily, her pupils narrowing slightly.

Tian Zhiya’s hulking, iron-tower-like frame squeezed into the infirmary and walked over, bringing with her the smell of medicine.

A smile that could almost be called kindly was plastered across her rugged face.

Normally, this woman treated Vivi as though she barely even noticed her.

Vivi stared at her, her tail swishing twice behind her. Sitting on the treatment bed, she cautiously asked, “Teacher Tian, what is it?”

“Vivi, you fought beautifully just now. Your Innate Technique awakened, didn’t it?”

Vivi hesitated, then nodded.

There was nothing to hide about that. It had come up during her entrance physical.

“Have you been secretly taking any injections lately?”

“No. I’m all natural. I don’t even take potions... At most, I drink a little magic potion.”

“Good. I can tell you’ve got that line well rehearsed.”

Tian Zhiya looked Vivi over again and again, even sniffing her, as if checking that she didn’t smell of any other body-tempering potions. Satisfied, she pulled over a chair and sat down.

“In half a month, our school will have a joint competition with First Middle School, Second Middle School, and Third Middle School. Are you interested in taking part?”

Her words lacked their usual condescending edge. She sounded almost as if she were asking Vivi’s opinion.

Vivi stared at her, frowning deeply, suspicion filling her gaze. “A competition? Me?”

What was going on?

Was a bottom-of-the-class student even qualified to compete?

“You’ve probably heard that public schools often hold exchanges to compare their teaching results.”

“This time, it’s a running competition.”

Vivi blinked.

Running?

Tian Zhiya nodded and glanced at Vivi’s palm. “Fourth Middle School happens to be short on people for this competition... The technique you awakened today has excellent burst power, so you’d be a good fit to fill the spot in this event.”

“The school has set aside funds for this competition to encourage students. If you place, you’ll not only get an extremely generous cash prize, but also get to make an impression on the company executives coming to watch, representing the four major high schools.”

“If you do well, you’ll get at least this much.”

She held up three fingers.

Three thousand credit points.

Tian Zhiya coaxed her along. “If you do well enough, we can raise it even more.”

“...!!”

A light she could barely suppress flashed in Vivi’s eyes.

To her, this was a huge sum of money!

After all, unless they had some special talent, most E-rank superhumans earned less than a thousand credit points a month. Even when she pushed herself to the limit, going without sleep to take on dangerous odd jobs, she only made around five hundred credit points...

Three thousand credit points was more than six months of her income.

She could buy all sorts of things and take another step forward on her path to becoming a magical girl!

However, she quickly calmed down.

Money didn’t just fall from the sky.

If this were such a great opportunity, one that paid well and put you in the spotlight, those top students with their noses in the air would have fought tooth and nail for it. How could it possibly go to a poor girl like her, who didn’t even have a brain-computer interface?

Vivi stared straight at her. “Why would an opportunity like this fall to me?”

“No, it isn’t just for you... The top students will be competing too. But there are also places reserved specifically for ‘students with special talents’ like you.”

Tian Zhiya’s smile didn’t change as she took out a transparent glass tube.

It held a viscous crimson liquid that shimmered with magic power.

“In short, if you want to place, I recommend pairing your efforts with this Blood-Boiling Potion.”

Tian Zhiya waved the potion in front of Vivi and lowered her voice as she explained.

“It’s a potion that hasn’t been made public yet, designed for short-term bursts of power.”

“Inject it, and your magic power and physical abilities will skyrocket for a short time. The effect is powerful.”

“I’ve observed you. Your technique and control are a good fit for a certain event. With this, you should be able to get a decent placement.”

As Vivi watched, Tian Zhiya continued:

“Oh, right. The effects are too intense, and clinical trials aren’t complete yet, so there may be unknown side effects afterward. The ones currently known include permanent nerve damage and atrophy of the magic circuits... In short, it depends on how strong your Magic Aptitude is.”

“...I knew it.”

Vivi clicked her tongue, the excitement vanishing from her eyes.

Well, that explained it.

Using potions in practical exchange competitions was allowed in the first place. A person’s drug tolerance and ability to withstand magic potions were also among the standards used to measure their strength.

For top students like Xiyuji, who were eager to qualify as magical girls, they’d have to be paid enough before they’d touch a potion that could ruin their future.

But the competition must have some special significance for the school. They needed people to represent them, and at the very least, they couldn’t afford to place too poorly... So they needed willing consumables.

At the same time, the drug company would be getting guinea pigs to test its medicine.

Vivi’s eyes betrayed her displeasure.

It wasn’t that she minded being chosen as a consumable. Tian Zhiya hadn’t hidden anything, either. At least she’d laid out both the pros and cons. It was a transaction.

What bothered her most was the unspoken meaning behind it.

Even after awakening an Innate Technique and defeating Renee... it still seemed to have nothing to do with becoming a magical girl. She was doomed to miss the magical-girl qualification exam.

So they might as well use a dose of strong medicine to wring out the last bit of potential she had.

She was being looked down on again.

The white-haired girl wanted to spit out something defiant, but seeing Tian Zhiya’s muscles, she swallowed her words and prepared to refuse politely.

But then Vivi suddenly heard four words that only she could hear.

“No need to take the potion.”