Chapter 23: The Three Troublemakers Rampage in the Trial Forest

“Rather than calling them magical creatures, these guys actually look more like monsters, don’t they?”

After dealing with another monster that had been completely corrupted and lost its mind, Jiang Cha glanced at it — it had already reached about 80% mutation — and casually tried to start a conversation.

“In our terminology, ‘monsters’ mean something else. These creatures that couldn’t withstand the magical pollution and mutated should be classified as severely affected ‘Witch’s Disease’ magical creatures.”

Heqin looked a bit saddened at the sight of those familiar mutated monsters but quickly recovered, still gently explaining the basics to Jiang Cha.

“Eh—this world really is dangerous.”

“Yeah…”

“Truly dangerous.”

Though they shared the same sentiment, the two girls’ expressions were completely different.

Heqin’s sorrow was hard to hide, while Jiang Cha looked rather indifferent. Having amnesia, she lacked much empathy; even when seeing the monsters’ miserable state, she instinctively analyzed their danger and the types of magic they used during the chaos.

The blonde loli quietly approached Jiang Cha, secretly winking behind Heqin’s back.

The girl understood instantly — a subtle magical energy gathered at her toes, passing through her small shoes into the ground, while on the surface, she just gave a sweet smile.

“Lina~”

“Hmm?”

“Let’s fly high~!”

“I’m not a kid.”

Lina looked utterly confused, thinking to herself that Cha Bao’s skill at changing the subject was really terrible.

Then…

Then she actually flew high up!

“Lina-chan!?”

Heqin, feeling sad moments ago, was startled by Lina’s sudden aerial stunt.

“Damn! I really have to admit, Cha Bao, you’re such a sneaky jerk! That’s such a dirty move!?”

The high forest canopy was far from safe. In that instant, Lina sensed hundreds of magical creatures quietly targeting her, and a dense swarm of black dots rapidly approached from the distance.

“Sorry~”

The girl responsible still smiled brightly and cheekily pressed her palms together and closed her eyes in apology.

Then she grabbed Heqin and ran!

“What are you waiting for?! Run~!”

“Hey hey hey! Aren’t you gonna care about Lina-chan?!”

Heqin stumbled a step, quickly catching up while feeling Jiang Cha’s hand gripping hers — surprisingly refreshing.

“Lina will definitely catch up! Hehe~ Let her contribute more to the team.”

The girl grinned mischievously and stuck out her tongue. Though cute, she somehow gave off a bratty vibe.

‘Jiang Cha is getting her revenge, isn’t she?’

Heqin squinted, guessing the upcoming events.

“Jiang—Cha—!”

A furious roar came from the sky behind them. Heqin glanced back and saw the blonde loli, cloaked in blazing flames like a precision-guided missile, speeding towards their path.

“Damn! Lina-chan, I have no grudge against you!!”

Jiang Cha held Heqin’s hand as they sprinted. A blue light flashed, and their speed suddenly increased.

Did Heqin suddenly feel lighter? Was it an illusion caused by magical enhancement?

“Still no grudge!? Cha Bao, how thick is your skin!?”

Lina laughed until she nearly cried and stopped listening to Jiang Cha’s protests. Her dragon wings flapped, bringing tens of thousands of flying creatures, directly pursuing Jiang Cha’s trail.

“Heqin! Heqin! Help! Quickly raise the magical shield! If I get blown up, you won’t benefit either!”

“So you only pulled me along for that?”

A strange female voice came from behind. The girl suddenly felt uneasy.

Just as she looked back, she saw Miss Yamato Fusako gently smiling at her from over a hundred meters away.

In her hand was…

a magical puppet.

A crazily crafted special puppet covered in biomimetic skin and able to talk.

“Hahaha! Die, Cha Bao!”

Lina laughed wildly as she flew above Jiang Cha. Her accumulated flame magic burst out completely in an instant.

“Boom!”

“What are those three little troublemakers up to now?”

Vladimir, sensing the abnormal magical activity, glanced at the fiery explosion, confirmed they were safe, and then looked away.

With Jiang Cha’s group’s strength, they faced no danger in the second-level zone. Compared to these three troublemakers, the other weaker groups were more worthy of attention.

“Why bother, Lina.”

After the big explosion, Jiang Cha activated her magical shield just in time, barely holding up the nearly shattered barrier. With tired eyes, she turned to Lina, who was back-to-back with her, facing tens of thousands of bats.

“You brought this on yourself, Cha Bao.”

Lina’s voice was filled with gritted teeth, but in front of nearly 20,000 bats, she had no choice but to cooperate with Jiang Cha to break through.

Second-level magical creatures. Pegasus System. Third-level medieval world. Vampire bats.

That’s how they’re recorded in the Magical Creature Compendium.

These bats are social creatures. In their native world, their populations easily reach tens of thousands or even millions, with incredible reproductive ability.

Their magic is peculiar — a psychic protective magic linking them all together. It functions as a shield whose strength increases with their numbers.

Thanks to this magic, their mutation rate is low. They still look like normal bats.

But their threat level is still very high.

“Lina-chan, Jiang Cha-chan~ Over here, over here!”

Outside the dense bat encirclement, He Qin raised her puppet shield. The third puppet, Bomber, fired full-power ranged attacks, barely clearing a foothold.

“Can you handle it?”

The girl’s eyes lit up as she quietly asked Lina.

“Who do you think I am!”

The blonde loli was full of confidence. As soon as she finished speaking, flames reignited across her body. The little dragon, with claws and wings aflame, waved a hand, incinerating dozens of bats with intense heat.

Though a drop in the ocean, it was enough to break through.

“Then charge!”

Magical energy surged around the girl; thousands of lightning arrows floated out of nowhere, interlinking to form an electric net, blocking their rear. Lina unleashed a torrent of flames ahead, clearing the path.

The two witches who were just bickering suddenly began cooperating — their teamwork was surprisingly good!

After all…

For them, no matter how many second-level creatures there are, they’re just a nuisance.

Even if those creatures tried to enter their circle, they’d just avoid fighting to save time.

“No more of that next time!”

As the two entered the magical shield, He Qin gave orders to the guardian puppets to advance and scolded them with dormitory leader authority.

“Cha Bao started it first!”

“Hmph~”

The blonde loli pouted, shifting blame, but the girl obediently admitted fault.

Next moment, both laughed.

“Ahahaha~”

“Pfft~ Cha Bao, when did you learn that trick? Hidden casting is so sneaky.”

“I already used it once at the second-level zone’s entrance, didn’t I? Lina, you just slipped up.”

“Keep talking and see what happens!”

Watching the two bicker again, Miss Yamato Fusako sighed softly.

Back when there was only Lina, she could keep her in line. Now that Jiang Cha revealed her true nature, she already foresaw a tiring future.

“Heqin, Heqin, let’s just go straight to the third-level zone?”

After some fuss, Lina took the initiative. Heqin glanced at the bats still tightly surrounding them and reluctantly agreed, “No other choice.”

Still, she worried about Jiang Cha.

“The sooner we go, the sooner it’s over. I want to get back to studying.”

The girl noticed her gaze and nodded happily.

Adapting to combat wasn’t difficult, or rather, she was naturally suited for it.

Even facing tens of thousands of monsters didn’t faze her. Jiang Cha didn’t know why she felt so comfortable on the battlefield or even enjoyed it — maybe it was a witch’s nature, or maybe she hadn’t been a saint before — but no matter what, it was a good thing.

At least for this subject, which felt more like a ‘battlefield class’ than just a combat class, she could handle it without stress.

“Then let’s move out. Jiang Cha, don’t push yourself.”

“Don’t worry~ I’m totally fine.”

“Yeah yeah, He Qin’s being way too cautious~”

“I said don’t call me mom!”

The morning sun blazed down, shining through the dense bats and the bright blue light shield, illuminating the girls’ faces.

This marked the beginning of their new lives.

Every ray of sunlight was filled with the girls’ youth and vitality — as warm and comforting as a photo.