“What? I’m also participating in the Dawn Trial? Me?”
Su Xiaocheng looked at Youzi, unsure if she had heard correctly.
“Yeah. Even though I don’t know the reason either, this is a direct order from headquarters specifically naming you to participate,” Youzi said, looking completely puzzled.
Having a Magical Girl who hadn’t mastered her own domain participate in the Dawn Trial was a first in many years.
It couldn’t be that Lu Yinxi and Su Xiaowei’s applications had actually worked, could it?
The Dawn Trial required venturing deep into the wilderness, where countless wandering Witches roamed. The danger level was extremely high.
Anning City was located in a developed coastal economic region.
Although there was a small undeveloped mountainous area to the north, Magical Girls from headquarters regularly cleared it.
As for threats from the ocean, there was even less need to worry.
A very sturdy defensive line existed over the sea, blocking all malice coming from it.
In summary, Youzi and the others only needed to deal with the occasional Witch born inside the city.
An attack from the Witch Church was an extremely low-probability event.
“This time the Dawn Trial is being held in the Northwest Great Desert? What kind of place is that?”
Su Xiaocheng asked, looking at the unfamiliar location name on the notification document.
“It’s a vast, sparsely populated region deep within the continent. Many high-risk Witches that are too costly to eliminate are driven there. It contains endless dangers, but also massive amounts of treasures,” Youzi explained.
“The Northwest Great Desert is also the necessary route to the neighboring region. Crossing the desert allows you to reach the Council’s controlled territory. That’s a force as massive as the Magical Girl Alliance…”
“I understand the logic, but why are you reading me an encyclopedia entry, Youzi?”
Su Xiaocheng said with a deadpan expression.
“Cough, cough. Because I’ve never been there either,” Youzi replied righteously.
“Fine… I’ll go back and research it myself,” Su Xiaocheng said helplessly.
“Anyway, safety first. The three of you are all from Anning City, so you should be placed in the same group. If you encounter danger, stick close to Xiaolu and Xiaowei,” Youzi said seriously.
Su Xiaocheng felt she was being underestimated and decided to leave while feeling flat.
“…I will.”
***
Back home, Su Xiaocheng began packing her luggage.
“Sister, listen to me. You really need to bring this.”
Su Xiaowei said solemnly while holding up a large bag of white stockings.
“Footless tights, pantyhose, thigh-high stockings, ankle socks… Why are you packing so many stockings?”
Su Xiaocheng asked in confusion.
“The trial location is the Northwest Great Desert! The great desert! What are you bringing so many stockings for?”
“Sister, think about it. Isn’t the desert full of flying sand and stones? Stockings get dirty very easily, right?”
“Yeah, so why bring them?”
“That’s exactly the reason! Because they get dirty easily, we need to bring more for changing!”
Su Xiaowei said as if it were obvious.
“Also, because of Sister, my white stocking consumption has increased several times recently.”
Su Xiaowei lowered her head shyly and spoke softly.
“…Okay, I’ll be more careful next time.”
Su Xiaocheng’s tone weakened.
“Never mind, just bring them. We’re not really short on anything else anyway.”
Su Xiaocheng comforted herself inwardly and stopped arguing about it.
“Beep beep beep~” The terminal rang. It was a call from Lu Yinxi, who was far away in Kyoto.
“Xiaocheng, you were selected for the Dawn Trial too?” As soon as the call connected, Lu Yinxi’s questioning voice came through.
“Mm… I don’t know why either.”
“Maybe… headquarters has their own considerations,” Lu Yinxi said somewhat helplessly.
“I still need some more time here and will arrive a bit later. Once you get there, you two shouldn’t run around randomly.”
Lu Yinxi instructed worriedly.
“I know, I’m not a child anymore,” Su Xiaocheng pouted.
***
“Dear passengers, we will soon arrive at Westwind City. There has been a group of bandits active in the city recently. Please stay safe.”
“Sister, are we almost there?” Su Xiaowei woke up groggily.
Looking at the water stains left on her pantyhose, Su Xiaocheng suddenly felt that the number of stockings they brought might not be enough.
Stretching her stiff body, Su Xiaocheng couldn’t help complaining, “I don’t know how they arranged this. They actually bought us hard-seat tickets on a green-skin train.”
“Yeah, a full day and two nights. And we’re not allowed to go by ourselves. We have to take this one.”
Su Xiaowei felt like she was about to fall apart.
“Xiaowei.”
“Yes, Sister?”
“Help support me. My legs are numb.”
Leaning on each other for support and dragging their suitcases, the two girls walked out of the station with difficulty.
“Beep~” The terminal notification sounded.
Su Xiaocheng glanced at the new message.
“What does ‘magic use is prohibited starting now’ mean?”
The faint magic light in Su Xiaowei’s hand disappeared.
She had just been about to use magic to relax her body when the sudden order interrupted her.
“The trial has officially begun. The first stage of the trial: Complete a good deed in Westwind City. The final score will be determined by the difficulty of the good deed. Magic use is prohibited during this stage. Violators will have their results invalidated.”
“Sister, I feel like they’re making things difficult on purpose,” Su Xiaowei said indignantly.
“Let’s go. First, we’ll head to the reserved hotel to drop off our luggage, then look for a good deed we can perform.”
Although they didn’t know the specific purpose of the scoring, it was clearly an important indicator.
Su Xiaocheng decided to take it seriously.
A camera in the corner turned, capturing the backs of the two girls as they walked away.
***
Westwind City was one of the cities on the periphery of the Northwest Great Desert.
It served as a frontline base and outpost, keeping watch against Witch invasions from the desert.
In reality, however, it was not purely a military facility.
Here, aside from the Magical Girl Alliance branch and the necessary military forces, there were also many ordinary people: explorers preparing to venture into the Northwest Desert, merchant caravans heading to the Council, and so on.
“Can you really cross the Northwest Great Desert without magic? What if you run into a Witch?”
Su Xiaowei couldn’t help asking.
A burly man passing by glanced at Su Xiaowei and said in a deep voice, “Little miss, are you here from the inland for tourism?”
Su Xiaocheng stepped forward warily. “That’s right.”
“I could tell just by looking at you two.”
The uncle gave an honest smile, revealing a set of white teeth that contrasted sharply with his bronzed skin.
He reached into his pocket, rummaged around, and under the girls’ vigilant gazes, pulled out a QR code.
“Need a local guide? 100 bucks a day, honest pricing, satisfaction guaranteed!”
Su Xiaocheng breathed a sigh of relief. Considering they still had the trial mission, she politely declined the uncle’s offer.
“No need, we already have arrangements.”
“Alright then.”
The uncle regretfully put away the QR code and pulled out a strangely shaped handgun from his waist.
Su Xiaocheng and Su Xiaowei almost transformed on the spot, but then heard the uncle say, “Since you two are so cute, I can answer the little miss’s question from earlier.”
“See this gun? It’s made by the Council. One shot and an ordinary Witch will be lying on the ground.”
“There’s something like that?” Both girls’ eyes widened.
“Of course. This thing is hard to get. You two are from the inland, so you’ve probably never seen one.”
Detailed information about the Council couldn’t be found online at all.
Even on the Magical Girls’ exclusive forums, there were only some basic introductions.
Before this, Su Xiaocheng only knew that the Council didn’t have powerful Magical Girls.
Their ability to survive the Witch disasters all relied on their unique technological power.