Chapter 41: The Dream Weaver Ring and the First Simulated Battle

Asherah’s hand trembled, a hand that had vanquished countless Corroded Beings and rescued many in need. Yet, at this moment, its owner was gripped by unprecedented tension. The cat-girl’s keen eyes were fixed on the small opening before her, for she knew her fate lay hidden within.

A single misstep could send her plummeting from heaven into hell, never to recover.

What a cruel choice this was; why must she bear such a heavy burden?

“So, could you hurry up, Asherah? You’ve been hesitating for three minutes now.”

Her teammate Baoyu’s somewhat helpless voice added another stone to her already troubled heart. A ‘tick-tock’ of a stopwatch echoed in her ears, the rapidly dwindling time driving her to distraction.

“Uwaaah! No, no, I can do it, I can do it!”

While psyching herself up, Asherah used her other hand to restrain the one poised to reach into the unknown. She absolutely had to seize this chance. Red, yes, she needed to grasp the vibrant red, the same red as the one in her senior’s hand. Only then could she—

“Watch—me—!”

With a resolve more unyielding than a sprinter nearing the finish line, Asherah’s hand plunged directly into the tube before her. As her fingers brushed against a somewhat rough and unfamiliar texture inside, she took a deep breath, seized one of the elongated objects, and yanked it out.

‘Red, red, it must be red!’

Filled with intense expectation, reality offered the determined girl a vibrant response: under the slightly dazzling sunlight, a strip of fresh green appeared in her hand.

“Oh—no—!”

Across the open plain, the girl’s heart-wrenching wail echoed, prompting the site’s manager to peek out from her shaded hut. “What are you dawdling about? If you want to slaughter a pig, go dilly-dally somewhere else.”

“Why, why? I can’t accept this!” The crestfallen girl knelt, pounding the dirt beneath her, unable to reconcile with reality. “I should have been on the senior’s team!”

“Anyway, Asherah, calm down a bit…” This girl was being far too dramatic, like a child whose toy had been snatched away. Baoyu struggled to maintain her composure as she approached Polaris, who wore an expression of helplessness. “Then, Senior… may I draw now?”

“Yes, go ahead, Baoyu. Let’s not keep Xirang and String Moon waiting too long.” With these words, the girl slightly raised the small tube in her hand, moving it before Baoyu’s eyes.

With an air of complete ease and calm, Baoyu reached into the small tube and pulled out a strip of paper—red. Vibrant red, the red of life, the red of victory, a red dazzlingly bright to the defeated.

“Uwaaah! Why, why, why?!”

Ignoring the wails of the self-proclaimed loser, Baoyu glanced at the red strips of paper in her and Polaris’s hands, and the green one clutched in Asherah’s. This, along with the strip String Moon hadn’t drawn from the bucket, officially finalized the team groupings.

Asherah and String Moon, and Polaris and Baoyu.

As for what kind of teams these were, and why they were forming them, the narrative needed to rewind slightly.

****

At nine o’clock on Saturday morning, before the sun reached its most scorching intensity near noon, Baoyu arrived at the open grounds of the Second Training Field, managed by the Magical Girl Xirang, located in the city’s outskirts. With half an hour still remaining until the appointed time, she first sought out Xirang, who was lounging in a hammock made of earth within the woods bordering the plain. Despite the steadily rising summer temperature, Xirang remained clad in heavy, poorly ventilated protective gear. Upon the newcomer’s arrival, the unenthusiastic administrator merely tossed out a casual remark—”You’ve booked the entire morning”—before falling silent once more, seemingly merging with the tranquil forest.

After the battle two nights prior, which could hardly be called cooperation, Polaris had suggested gathering everyone here today. As the temporary captain of this team, she must have felt considerable awkwardness after witnessing String Moon and Asherah’s behavior.

String Moon… though Baoyu had only heard rumors about her before, their brief encounter that night had indeed revealed her faint team spirit and solitary nature. According to Polaris, String Moon had joined at the Magical Oversight Department’s (TL Note: A governmental body responsible for monitoring and managing magical girls and related phenomena) request, likely disregarding her personal wishes. Under such circumstances, integrating her into any sort of collective was certainly no easy feat.

Approximately ten minutes later, Polaris arrived. Both having a habit of arriving early, they found a shaded spot to chat for a while. Polaris took this opportunity to ask Baoyu for her thoughts on String Moon, even if they weren’t favorable, hoping to hear Baoyu’s true feelings and opinions.

Regarding String Moon, Baoyu harbored no strong feelings of like or dislike. For one, their time together had been brief, and while first impressions were important, they weren’t the fundamental measure of a person’s worth. She certainly hoped to achieve effective cooperation with more teammates to better fulfill her duties as a Magical Girl, yet she also didn’t wish to force others to accept her. More than acceptance or resistance, she sought a balance, a comfortable distance that felt unoffensive to everyone; perhaps such a way of getting along truly existed.

Hearing her reply, Polaris nodded thoughtfully.

When only about five minutes remained until the appointed time, String Moon arrived. In response to their greetings, she casually waved a hand, then climbed a tree, settling onto a thick branch to rest with her eyes closed.

As for Asherah, when she landed clumsily from the sky, shouting, “I made it, I made it!”, Baoyu precisely timed her arrival. Yes, she was exactly fifteen seconds late.

In short, once everyone had assembled, Polaris announced the training that would take place here today: a 2v2 simulated battle.

****

Returning to the present, the Magical Girls, now grouped by lot, entered the training ground constructed by Xirang from magic and earth. This time, the arena was considerably more spacious than before, offering ample room for diverse strategies.

“Senior, what is that thing in your hand?”

The white, high-tech looking ring Polaris held in her hand caught Baoyu’s attention.

“This? Ah, it’s a crucial item for what’s to come, called the ‘Dream Weaver Ring’.”

“Dream Weaver Ring?”

Baoyu watched as Polaris placed it on the ground. After pressing a few buttons on its exterior, it slowly floated upwards from the earth. What sustained its movement wasn’t electricity, but a form of magic.

“A magic-driven device?”

“Yes, it’s a very precious device, conceived by a great senior and ultimately integrated and manufactured by the Magical Oversight Department.”

“Is this… a Dream Weaver Ring, Senior?!”

Asherah, too, had approached, leaning down to gently tap the floating ring, about a meter off the ground, with her finger, her eyes filled with curiosity.

Though String Moon hadn’t physically followed, her gaze had already settled on the device, clearly indicating some interest.

“When you mentioned simulated battles, I was just wondering if I’d get to see it! I can’t believe it’s actually a Dream Weaver Ring, Senior! Where did you get it?”

“Xirang gave it to me. Each month, Xirang receives a certain quantity of Dream Weaver Rings from the Magical Oversight Department, which she then allocates to teams like ours that have a need for them. This item is very precious, so everyone must use it carefully.”

What Polaris didn’t tell the others was that Xirang actually only received two Dream Weaver Rings from the Magical Oversight Department each month. Polaris herself hadn’t held much hope when applying to Xirang for the item, yet to her surprise, Xirang had readily granted her one. It was well-known that due to their scarcity, applying for these rings had always been exceedingly difficult.

“So, Senior, what exactly is this item for?”

“Let me activate it first, then I’ll explain its function to everyone.” With these words, Polaris extended her left hand to rest on the Dream Weaver Ring, and while injecting a certain amount of magic into it, she spoke in a clear voice: “Reflect dreams without harm, battle without true injury. In the name of the Magical Oversight Department, activate the Bound Realm.”

As her words faded, the floating Dream Weaver Ring began to glow and spin, then continued to rise upwards. After ascending to a height almost touching the training arena’s ceiling, it slowly came to a halt, simultaneously emitting a visible wave of magic toward the four Magical Girls present.

Baoyu only felt the wave of magic penetrate her body and spread outwards. Upon contact, her fingertips registered a slight coolness, but she noticed nothing else.

‘It seems… nothing happened?’ Baoyu thought, looking at the suspended Dream Weaver Ring with some confusion.

“Senior! What’s happening to your body?!”

Asherah’s startled cry suddenly reached her ears. Baoyu turned to look at Polaris beside her, her pupils widening abruptly at the sight. “What… what is this?”

Beside her, Polaris’s petite body appeared as if a digital file corrupted by a computer virus. Portions of her armor and body were now filled and covered by mysterious black, block-shaped substances. They flickered erratically before her eyes, seemingly alive, like unstable signals, making Polaris’s very presence unsettling.

If one were to find a fitting analogy… Polaris now resembled a texture file displaying an error in a video game.

“Ah, so it did turn out this way…” Polaris, however, remained completely at ease, seemingly unsurprised by her body’s peculiar state. After a brief inspection of the changes, she waved at everyone with hands that were almost unrecognizable. “I’m fine, everyone. While it might look a bit frightening, this simply proves the Dream Weaver Ring is functioning correctly.”

She continued, explaining: “I haven’t suffered any harm or effects myself, because the ‘me’ you see before you now, and the ‘you’ I see before me, are merely temporary constructs generated by the Dream Weaver Ring.”

“Upon activation, the Dream Weaver Ring scans the magic of Magical Girls within a certain range, using it to construct ‘substitutes’ for each of them within that area, nearly identical to their true forms. We can still flexibly perceive and use these bodies, but this allows us to circumvent many inconvenient factors.”

Simulated battles, substitutes… connecting these to certain inherent traits of Magical Girls, Baoyu offered her conjecture: “Is this to prevent us from causing actual harm to one another?”

“Precisely, Baoyu, you’ve indeed touched upon the Dream Weaver Ring’s most crucial function.” Polaris nodded. “Our bodies after transforming into Magical Girls have no direct physical connection to our true selves; they are more akin to forms condensed from magic and spiritual energy. While acting as Magical Girls, we can still be injured, even suffering visually fatal wounds, but we don’t actually die. We only lose a significant amount of magic, and once that magic is completely depleted, our transformation is forcibly dispelled.”

“The substitute body created by the Dream Weaver Ring is, in a sense, similar to our transformations.”

“Before the advent of the Dream Weaver Ring, many Magical Girls had considered engaging in battles with one another to enhance their combat experience and strength. However, the cost of such attempts proved devastating. While injuries sustained in Magical Girl form didn’t directly transfer to their true bodies, the toll on their mental state was very real. Fear, pain, and the exhaustion from extensive magic consumption would fully impact their true selves. Consequently, some Magical Girls indeed suffered mental breakdowns, comas, madness, or loss of control during these battles. The worst part was that if a transformation was forcibly dispelled mid-battle due to depleted magic, attacks from other Magical Girls would become truly lethal. Even now, Magical Girls have died from friendly fire while facing the threat of Corroded Beings.”

“Under these circumstances, accidental injuries during practice would severely undermine mutual cooperation and trust. Uncontrollable consequences would make a team hesitant and apprehensive. We could not, and would not, pay such a heavy and exorbitant price.”

“The Dream Weaver Ring, however, helped us solve this problem.”

“While operating, the Dream Weaver Ring can also replicate our five senses, though pain is mitigated to a certain extent, and negative mental impacts are strictly controlled. This allows us to engage in battles in a more positive and stable state.”

“Furthermore, the consumption of magic is also real, allowing us to experiment with more strategies, tactics, and the efficiency and combinations of our magical gear (TL Note: ‘魔装’ refers to the specialized equipment or magical artifacts used by Magical Girls) under conditions closer to reality. Once the magic of these substitute bodies is depleted, we will be ejected from the Dream Weaver Ring’s area of effect, without having to bear the adverse consequences of magic loss.”

“Although battles within the Dream Weaver Ring won’t truly enhance our magic reserves, control precision, or physical strength—these fundamentals must be honed through regular training and actual combat—it also struggles to provide a sufficiently realistic level of pressure. Some Magical Girls might dismiss battles within the Dream Weaver Ring as mere pretense, yet I believe such simulated combat still holds immense value. Rather than individual refinement, it leans more towards the strategic coordination and training of a team.”

“Therefore, I hope this simulated battle will allow me to understand everyone better, and for all of you to consider the results of cooperating with your teammates. After all, opportunities for trial and error in real combat are always scarce.”

‘I see.’ After Polaris’s explanation, Baoyu indeed recognized the significant value of the Dream Weaver Ring. It could allow a team to refine tactical coordination with minimal cost. Taking her own situation as an example, while she and Asherah had the desire to cooperate in battle, the limited strength of initial-level Corroded Beings often meant they were defeated by a few of Asherah’s punches before any coordination could be achieved. Furthermore, she was concerned her firearm magical gear (TL Note: ‘魔装’ refers to the specialized equipment or magical artifacts used by Magical Girls) might hit Asherah, who was frequently entangled with Corroded Beings.

‘But… was the body simulated by the Dream Weaver Ring truly realistic?’ Baoyu silently glanced at Polaris. The anomalous marks manifested on the girl’s body suggested that Polaris’s condition might be even worse than any of them imagined.

“Senior, are you really okay…?”

Confronted with Asherah’s face full of concern and pity, Polaris smiled gently and squeezed her hand. “Though it looks a bit strange, you can feel it, right, Asherah? This is my hand, I’m here, and I’m fine.”

Her slightly youthful voice now sounded remarkably steady and reassuring. Asherah felt the sensation of Polaris’s hand amidst the disarray, then bent down and, to Polaris’s surprise, embraced her.

“I swear, Senior, I will definitely restore you to your original state.”

“No matter who it is, no matter how powerful, if it dares to harm Senior, I will never let it go. Never, ever.”

Polaris hesitated, then fell silent for a moment before gently patting the girl’s back.

“…Mm, I believe you, Asherah.”

“In that case, give it all you have and defeat me and Baoyu.”

“Yes, of course, I will—ooh, but I really, really still want to be on Senior’s team!”

“Alright, alright, stop pouting. I see String Moon is already preparing, so you go over there too. Since you just boasted so confidently, I won’t hold back now. Fight with everything you have to defeat us.”

Thus, within the Dream Weaver Ring’s range of effect, the two sides spread out about fifty meters apart. Polaris stood in front of Baoyu, summoning her shield, which, within the Dream Weaver Ring, was covered in black squares. No one would underestimate her due to her petite stature and her almost shapeless magical gear. Without a doubt, Polaris was the strongest Magical Girl here, and for Asherah and String Moon, she was the most impenetrable fortress.

“The rules for this battle are 2v2: Baoyu and I are one team, and Asherah and String Moon are the other. For the sake of fairness, I will not initiate any attacks in this fight. Furthermore, your victory will be secured simply by defeating Baoyu. Is that clear to everyone?”

‘She’s already declared her team’s strategy before the fight has even begun,’ Baoyu thought, placing her hand on her gun holster. Regardless of Asherah’s thoughts, from the moment they stood there, she had noticed String Moon’s attention was fixed solely on her. Once the battle started, String Moon’s target would undoubtedly be Baoyu.

‘That incredibly fast magical gear (TL Note: ‘魔装’ refers to the specialized equipment or magical artifacts used by Magical Girls) with its unpredictable trajectory… could I truly counter it?’

“It’s alright, Baoyu, relax a little.”

Polaris turned her head, speaking to her in a voice only the two of them could hear. “You just need to use your imagination and strength to carry out your actions, and I will protect you.”

‘That’s right,’ Baoyu realized. ‘Since this is a 2v2, I’m not fighting alone from the start. With Polaris’s protection, I can fully unleash my tactics and ideas.’

“Alright, everyone, are you ready?”

Seeing everyone’s expressions gradually grow serious, Polaris raised her shield.

“When my shield touches the ground, the battle begins. Ready—”

As the black of the shield met the gray of the ground, the four standing in place moved simultaneously. First, two gunshots rang out. Baoyu fired twice in String Moon’s direction, while simultaneously retreating several steps. She didn’t expect these two shots to have any significant effect; she merely hoped her attack would delay String Moon’s offensive, allowing her to maintain sufficient distance.

Asherah’s initial target had also been Baoyu, but her plan seemed a bit too simple, as she intended to rely on her body’s mobility and explosive power to directly bypass Polaris and confront Baoyu. Reality, of course, wouldn’t be as easy as she imagined. The moment Baoyu moved, Polaris followed, retreating alongside her. Noticing that Baoyu had targeted String Moon, Polaris slightly slowed her pace, raising her shield to meet Asherah, who was lunging towards Baoyu like a leopard. Polaris successfully intercepted her, forcing Asherah into the close-quarters combat that Polaris, as a defender, excelled at.

Mid-range combat would best utilize the advantages of her two firearm magical gears. To achieve this, she needed to constantly use her attacks to draw out her opponent. Moreover, by observing String Moon’s previous battle, she had discerned some weaknesses in String Moon’s magical gear. This type of magical gear, in appearance, was difficult to find a particularly reliable real-world prototype for. However, through the internet, she found a weapon in a game that was extremely similar to this magical gear. In the game, it was called a ‘battle-blade,’ a throwable weapon resembling a frisbee.

Each spinning flight of the battle-blade posed a considerable threat, but its attack interval was noticeable, and the further it was from the target, the longer its flight time. It also took time to return to the user’s hand after hitting a target. If she could disrupt String Moon while she was catching the battle-blade and preparing to re-throw it, she could significantly reduce String Moon’s threat.

The facts proved that her preemptive strike against String Moon had some effect. The moment the gun was aimed at her, String Moon immediately performed an emergency dodge at maximum speed. One bullet passed through her wolf-tail-like hair, while another directly hit the battle-blade in her hand. Although it caused no damage, it directly interrupted her throwing motion.

“Guns, troublesome things.”

The fact that she was targeted and shot at did not make String Moon retreat an inch. While deflecting the bullet with her battle-blade, she pushed off, once again performing the aerial leap she had demonstrated before. Moving in an erratic trajectory, she reduced her chances of being hit by bullets while rapidly approaching Baoyu. As another bullet grazed past her, she threw the battle-blade in her hand, the spinning bladed disc cutting through the air and swiftly rushing towards Baoyu.

‘I leave it to you, Senior.’

“Ugh!” As her abdomen was struck by a shield the size of a washbasin, Asherah was repelled several steps by Polaris’s shield bash, her body almost losing balance. Only she understood how difficult it was to fight against this seemingly thin and small shield. She hadn’t used her full strength in her first punch against Senior, but the moment her fist met the shield, she deeply regretted her complacent assumption. Not only did she fail to affect Senior, but she was even completely overwhelmed by the shield due to a moment of carelessness. All her attacks were precisely parried, absorbed, and then countered with just enough force to make them difficult to handle. Even though she was launching a continuous barrage of offensives, in reality, it felt as though she was being steadily chipped away, without even a moment to catch her breath. She had completely fallen into a disadvantage in her 擅长近身搏斗 (close-quarters combat) domain.

After briefly repelling Asherah, the shield-wielding guardian burst forth with a dazzling speed even more exaggerated than String Moon’s. Under String Moon’s astonished gaze, Polaris reached Baoyu’s side and blocked the incoming battle-blade with her shield.

Upon contact with the barrier, the battle-blade immediately erupted with several powerful gusts of air, enveloping Polaris. Even Baoyu, several meters away, was almost knocked down by the turbulent airflow, the passing currents leaving a sharp, cold sting on her skin.

‘I didn’t expect her to have another trick up her sleeve. Similar to my shotgun, can this battle-blade also generate an explosive-like destructive force through airflow upon hitting a target? If not for Senior’s protection, that last strike would have probably been too much for me to handle.’

Once the wind dispersed, the ground beneath Polaris’s feet was scarred by the impact, yet she remained standing unscathed, making it hard to believe she had directly withstood all the attacks and damage.

“The lifeline of the Rainbow Team, the hero of Fenglai Tower, is it…?”

String Moon pressed hard on her abdomen. She had been careless. Not anticipating Polaris’s incredibly swift support for Baoyu, her momentary hesitation allowed her opponent an opening. Baoyu had fired a shot at her simultaneously with the battle-blade hitting the shield. The gunshot was mixed in with the sound of the wind, and the bullet struck her in a very subtle manner.

This shot hadn’t caused overly severe damage, and the pain felt only like a punch to the stomach, well within a tolerable range. String Moon caught the returning battle-blade and descended from the air.

The problem lay in what to do next, having witnessed Polaris’s impenetrable defense and support. Breaking through Polaris’s defense to attack Baoyu with her own abilities seemed almost impossible now. A gun and a shield… although these two didn’t have strictly defined coordination, their division of labor and actions were clear. Due to the distinct characteristics and limitations of their magical gear, they could quickly find their positions. Even the most inexperienced gun, firing continuously when no one could approach, was still too dangerous.