Chapter 16: The First Real Combat: Echoes of the Past

At four in the afternoon, the outdoor training room was bustling.

Though called a ‘room,’ it was actually a semi-open space. Above, a transparent energy dome allowed glimpses of the sky’s drifting clouds, while impact-absorbing buffer barriers encircled the area.

Beneath their feet, soft soil cradled short, velvety synthetic turf.

Su Xinxin had just completed her afternoon’s magic guidance training. The warm current within her now flowed far more smoothly than it had that morning, akin to a rusted valve finally being gently turned open.

Next, was actual combat.

She stood at the edge of the arena, her gaze fixed on the three entities restrained within pale golden light cages before her.

A knot of tension tightened in her heart.

“Two are N-rank ‘Dust Motes,’ and one is a low-tier R-rank ‘Wandering Soul,'” Jasmine’s voice drifted from beside her, clear and subtly reassuring.

Su Xinxin turned her head.

Jasmine had changed her attire—no longer wearing the simple clothes from the morning, but a pure white, multi-layered lace battle dress. The skirt fell to her knees, resembling layers of blossoming petals, each edge adorned with scattered emerald green light points, like fallen stardust. Her silver-white hair was tied into a neat ponytail at the back of her head, revealing the graceful curve of her neck.

Indeed, she looked stunning.

“This outfit…” Su Xinxin couldn’t help but glance at it again.

“It’s the battle attire, ‘Moonlit Radiance,'” Jasmine twirled with a hint of pride, her skirt swirling into a soft arc of light. “After advancing to a Budding Bloom, the ‘Gardener’ department customizes several ‘skins’ based on personal preference. I used to be just like you, finding the initial short skirt too… uncomfortable. So, I applied to have the hem lengthened and these decorations added.”

She looked at Su Xinxin’s standard goose-yellow short skirt set, her tone turning comforting. “Once you pass your probationary assessment, you can also apply for your own custom battle suit.”

Su Xinxin nodded. The thought that the short skirt, which had embarrassed her for so long, might finally be replaced, brought a genuine sense of relief. Her attention returned to the three ‘Erosion’ creatures.

The one designated as a low-tier R-rank ‘Wandering Soul’ was a blurry black shadow, writhing restlessly within its light cage, its edges continuously emitting gray mist.

The other two N-rank ‘Dust Motes’ were much smaller, barely the size of a fist. They were simply murky gray mist clumps, hovering low and rotating slowly, easily overlooked if one didn’t concentrate.

They were entirely different from the distinct, weeping ‘Dust Mote’ encountered during her test. If she had to compare, the ‘Dust Mote’ from her test seemed more like a demonstration version of this ‘Wandering Soul.’

“Are these… real?” Su Xinxin turned to ask Jasmine, her voice surprisingly steady.

“Of course they are real,” Jasmine moved closer to her, lowering her voice slightly. “However, they’ve all been weakened after capture, with their danger level reduced to the absolute minimum. Don’t worry, I’m here.”

She observed Su Xinxin’s reaction from the corner of her eye.

Su Xinxin took a deep breath, striving to calm her emotions. The warm current of magic slowly circulating within her gave her a measure of confidence to face these ‘demonic creatures.’

Moreover, Jasmine was right beside her—like the real-life jasmine and Jasmin flowers, both with white petals and a fragrant scent, similar and gentle, subtly evoking a natural sense of closeness.

Thus, she tried asking questions, much like she had during her morning lecture—using inquiries to distract herself and to confirm her understanding.

“Speaking of which… why is it called ‘low-tier’ R-rank?”

Jasmine blinked, then her expression shifted to one of ‘Oh, I messed up.’ “Ah… I forgot to mention that this morning! Actually, the original ranking system was N, R, SR, SSR, and UR. But because the gap between R-rank and SR-rank was too large, and their internal manifestations varied significantly, they later subdivided these two ranks into upper, middle, and lower tiers.”

She scratched her head, her silver-white ponytail swaying with the movement. “Simply put, low-tier R means just having crossed the R-rank threshold, middle-tier is standard R-rank, and upper-tier is like the elite monster within R-rank… Uh, that’s roughly the idea.”

Su Xinxin murmured, “Oh,” and nodded.

Her expression of sudden realization after listening attentively, combined with her gentle and serene appearance, unexpectedly conveyed a kind of… docile, charming innocence.

Jasmine inwardly whispered to Xiao Li: ‘Don’t you think Jasmin sometimes reacts a bit… slow?’

Xiao Li’s voice held a hint of amusement: ‘A little. But the questions she asks are quite crucial. Perhaps saying ‘back in my younger days’ this morning was just a rather mature way of speaking?’

‘Perhaps,’ Jasmine withdrew her thoughts, looking at Su Xinxin. “Anything else you want to ask?”

Su Xinxin lowered her head, seemingly deep in thought.

Jasmine’s eyes darted around, then she abruptly changed the subject—with a touch of probing, and a hint of cautious anticipation. “By the way, Jasmin, do you usually… have any anime you enjoy watching?”

Su Xinxin’s body stiffened almost imperceptibly.

[Master! Just repeat after me! Uh… *Magical Girl Madoka*, *Cardcaptor Sakura*, *Pretty Cure*… ] Xiao Ming’s voice urgently prompted in Su Xinxin’s mind.

“Uh… *Magical Girl Madoka*, *Cardcaptor Sakura*, *Pretty Cure*…” Su Xinxin quickly replied, following Xiao Ming’s prompt to avoid giving herself away.

Jasmine smiled, attempting to lighten the atmosphere. “You don’t have to stick to magical girl themes. What about other genres? Like the popular ones lately…”

Su Xinxin was stumped again.

She recalled the ‘otaku knowledge’ she had crammed in recent days, but what first came to mind were older fragments, memories from her daughters’ childhoods.

“*Sheriff Cat*, *Tom and Jerry*…” She first named what she knew, then added Xiao Ming’s urgent prompts. “*Bocchi the Rock!*, *Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End*, *Demon Slayer*, *Spy x Family*…”

While the latter few were indeed popular in recent years, the initial two works—caused Jasmine’s smile to freeze slightly.

Her first reaction was *Sheriff Cat* and *Tom and Jerry*? Those were… how many years old? And the later ones, though popular anime from recent years, this shift seemed a bit abrupt. Could Jasmin’s Spirit Companion be secretly assisting her?

She looked at the clear-faced magical girl with goose-yellow hair before her, and the suspicion that ‘her real identity might not be simple’ resurfaced in her mind.

But then, she silently shook her head. There was a reason the organization strictly guarded real identities. Probing too much was not good for anyone.

Yet… that longing to get closer, to make a friend, dimmed for a moment in her heart.

Being a magical girl had many advantages, but this one aspect was the most trying—the necessity of strictly guarding a dual secret.

In reality, they had to hide their magical girl identity from friends and family. Among magical girl colleagues, an invisible wall existed due to confidentiality. It seemed they could only discuss work-related matters like missions, tactics, and Spirit Companions. Deeper topics, such as ‘how to pass time in university classes,’ ‘summer vacation plans,’ or ‘the latest anime they’re following,’ seemed to become forbidden.

She still remembered the loneliness she felt when she first became a magical girl, with nowhere to confide. She spent her days talking only to her Spirit Companion, Xiao Li, appearing to others as a ‘quiet, reclusive girl.’

She had even tried to get closer to her mentor, Senior Cornflower, but the calm and rational mentor was always polite yet distant:

“Jasmine, I have to go to work soon, so let’s not chat, okay?”

“We’re not from the same era. Let’s not discuss things from reality; we probably… won’t connect on those topics.”

So, when she received the task of mentoring a newcomer, there was a hidden thrill in her heart.

Perhaps this time, she could find a companion who could both fight alongside her and share everyday life? Not many, just one. Someone to whom she could tell all those bottled-up thoughts—about funny stories from her university dorm, about a difficult classmate, about a newly discovered delicious dessert shop.

But now…

Jasmine’s eyes dimmed, but quickly brightened again. She took a soft breath, suppressing that fleeting disappointment.

She couldn’t show such an expression in front of a newcomer. She was a mentor; she needed to be professional, to be reliable.

“Alright, enough chitchat.” She clapped her hands, her tone regaining its lightness, even brighter than before. “Time for combat training. You can watch me demonstrate first.”

She walked towards the center of the training field, her white skirt tracing a clean arc in the afternoon light.

Su Xinxin followed behind her, her gaze on Jasmine’s tall but somehow slightly frail back.

She had seen that momentary dimming of her spirit.

Though she didn’t understand the specific reason, that expression of ‘wanting to say something but ultimately swallowing it back’ was all too familiar to her—in her final days on the hospital bed, her daughters often wore similar expressions when they visited her.

The wind gently swept across the training field, bringing the scent of green grass and a faint floral fragrance.

Jasmine stood still in the center of the arena, turning to face Su Xinxin, her face now bearing a focused yet gentle teaching expression:

“Come, let’s begin.”

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