A farm in the southern suburbs of Rong City.
The Golden Fox sat on a compacted hay bale, with the dark blue Cat Girl beside her.
The latter was carefully combing the fluffy fox tail with a small comb, and when her slender fingertips glided through the fur, the Cat Girl couldn't suppress the upward curve of her lips.
Using her tail to lure the cat, Su Tianqing was quite skilled at this.
Just a few wags of her tail, and Xiaoyu's gaze would involuntarily focus on it, like a kitten seeing a catnip toy.
The Pink-haired Rabbit Girl and the Gray Wolf Girl stood by the field ridge not far away, watching the golden-haired girl who was panting heavily in the open space.
"...Xiaoyu," Xin Yuehu asked.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"What do you think of Alice's strength?"
"..."
The Cat Girl paused her combing.
Just then, Alice seemed to have gathered another round of magic, the tip of her Magic Wand shining brightly as she lunged at the Ripper not far away—
"Ugh ya—!"
"Hmph! !"
The girl leaped high, holding her Magic Wand with both hands, and brought it down with full force towards the Ripper's face!
Then, before she could even react, she was struck by a blade that extended from the side, her magic shield blocked the blow, but she was also violently thrown flying.
"Thump! Thump!"
After rolling a few times on the ground, Alice was caught by Fenrir, who was waiting nearby, preventing her from crashing into the fence.
"How are you? Are you okay?"
"No...I'm fine...Wuwu..."
Tears welled in Alice's eyes as she struggled to stand upright, and when she looked at the Ripper again, her eyes were still filled with fear.
"Honestly, she's completely a rookie," Hellcat sharply commented.
"Eh? Is that so?"
"Fox Fox, don't mistake Iris and Nightingale for normal rookies; Hyacinth is the same."
Hellcat sighed helplessly, combing the Fox Girl's fur while saying with a bitter smile,
"In the recent Hero Association annual evaluation, Hyacinth and her team won the award for 【Strongest Rookie Duo in History】, which is definitely out of the ordinary."
"Do you know Cang Er from the Bai Lili Squad? I remember when she first transformed, she couldn't even walk properly."
"Is that so...?"
Su Tianqing pinched her chin, muttering to herself.
This somewhat overturned her long-held perception.
In her understanding, Hyacinth was the benchmark for a classic Magic Girl, the kind who would yell and scream while bisecting Monsters.
Even Rabbit, after her first magical exhaustion, quickly mastered meticulous close-combat techniques, becoming a world-renowned Hammer Assassin.
Is there really a gap between Magic Girls? Could it be that she had always encountered only the most talented among talents...?
"! Hey, Alice, don't fight it anymore, your magic is already..."
Fenrir's surprised cry suddenly came from the edge of the open space.
The golden-haired girl took two steps forward, then suddenly knelt on the ground, leaning on her Magic Wand, almost collapsing on the spot.
Everyone paused abruptly, and the Golden Fox immediately raised her Xin Yue Magic Wand, without a moment's hesitation, and instantly threw out twelve Monster capsules from her magic space.
The Zodiac Twelve Witches swarmed forward, slapping the Ripper into the ground, and in a blink of an eye, it dissipated into magical particles.
With the Ripper gone, Alice gritted her teeth, as if losing all strength, and collapsed weakly to the ground.
"Alice! Are you okay?"
Cheshire Rabbit ran to the girl's side, asking with concern.
The girl looked up at her companions beside her, then looked back at the Cat and Fox duo running towards them, and gripped her Magic Wand even tighter.
"Sorry...I, I'm just too weak..."
"Why apologize? Rather, I, Fox Fox, should apologize to you; I didn't consider things thoroughly enough."
Xin Yuehu said, stepping forward to help Alice up, and spoke solemnly to the golden-haired girl in front of her.
Alice was a bit nervous, but still looked dejected.
"I didn't provide you with comprehensive protective measures, and your magic consumption was also a bit beyond my expectation."
"Is it really because I'm too weak...?" Alice hung her head, on the verge of tears.
While everyone comforted her, Su Tianqing also directed her camera familiar to save the recent recording, opened her divine code stone, and sent it to a familiar contact.
【Contact: Inari】
【I received it here, I'll study it carefully later】
Inari quickly replied.
【Then I'll leave it to you, I'll have a delivery familiar send you some delicious things in a few days】
【Why be so polite~ I'm also very interested in Jack... oh no, I'm also very interested in Miss Alice's situation~】
The brief Fox Fox conversation temporarily ended with two different colored fox carrot emojis.
Su Tianqing looked back at Alice, who had recovered from her depressed state, and said to her:
"I originally wanted Alice to confront the Ripper alone; perhaps that's the key to breaking its revival characteristic."
"Eh... you want me to defeat it by myself...?" Alice murmured to herself.
"Yes, because you've never defeated it head-on, and its revival characteristic is very strange; even my summoning magic can't replicate it."
Su Tianqing honestly admitted her limitations.
"But judging from the situation just now, Alice, you don't seem to have grown enough to defeat it yet."
"Wuwu..."
Alice was very disappointed.
"Even though I've been a Magic Girl for two years... I don't have any decent combat power at all..."
"Magic Girls are born to protect, but I haven't protected anything..."
"You can't think that way. Haven't you protected yourself and your father?" Hellcat spoke up, trying to encourage Alice.
"What Cat Cat said is right. Belief is the most important thing for a Magic Girl. With firm belief, we can be active as Magic Girls."
Xin Yuehu said seriously.
But since Alice couldn't defeat the Ripper for now, she might as well try a different approach.
Magic Girls, based on belief, possess a rather idealistic strength.
When protecting certain things, Magic Girls can unleash extremely powerful forces, even awakening a miracle called Star Shadow.
If Alice could build belief in other different aspects, and gradually explore and develop, would that also increase her strength as a Magic Girl?
"I've got it!"
The Fox Girl clapped her hands, saying confidently.
"In that case, little sister Alice, why don't you join our daily activities!"
"Daily activities?" Alice tilted her head curiously.
"It's all the activities we usually do for fun!" Su Tianqing said with a smile,
"If Alice, you can find your own joy, your belief in being a Magic Girl will become even stronger, and perhaps your own power will also increase!"
"...Will that really work?" Fei Yelan expressed doubt.
"I think it's pretty good."
Nan Jiayu was the first to agree,
"You can start by beating Nightingale, then follow Rabbit to beat Iris, and finally join me in beating Hyacinth. You'll definitely improve quickly."
"If she sees the terrified expressions of the Magic Girls, such a rare sight will definitely immerse Alice..."
Xia Taotao said with a chuckle.
Fei Yelan couldn't bear it any longer and loudly complained:
"I'm telling you three! Don't corrupt Alice!!"
