《Magical Girl Gang Wars(Reboot)》


 Prologue: The First Magical Girl

    Wearing a dress completely dyed in crimson blood was a childish girl no older than fourteen. She coldly held out her hands towards the Shadow Emperor, who was being dragged into the earth. The Shadow Emperor¡¯s massive mouth opened wide as he roared with fury as the giant chains pulled him back, ¡°Damn you Magical Girl Quest! The world is mine! MINE!¡±


    Quest smiled even though she was coughing up blood, ¡°Shut up, even though I can¡¯t kill you I¡¯ll make sure to seal you away forever! You won¡¯t be able to kill any more people!¡±


    ¡°You think this seal can hold me, child?! I swear! One day I shall escape from this place and kill everyone on the astral plane!¡±


    His massive hands tore into the land, trying to escape the red-hot chains that dragged him ever closer to the large hole in the ground.


    The Shadow Emperor snarled. As if he¡¯d let this damned girl live after sealing him away!


    Opening his mouth as wide as it would go, the Shadow Emperor shot a beam of pure mana at Magical Girl Quest. Fortunately for Quest, the Shadow Emperor had only managed to blow off her right arm, as the chains stopped him from delivering a killing blow. But the Shadow Emperor was satisfied, for he at least achieved his goal of worming his curse inside of the young girl. Magical Girl Quest would die before the end of the next day.


    Despite her arm being blown off, Quest kept her spell going. Blood flowed from her eyes as the spell taxed her mind and the Shadow Emperor¡¯s curse started eating at her, but thankfully the recoil of his beam attack pushed the Shadow Emperor into the hole. Though he was barely hanging onto the edge of it with his hands, refusing to go in.


    Before being pulled into the abyss the Shadow Emperor played one last card to torment Quest in her final hours, ¡°I CURSE THIS LAND TO SPAWN MY KIN FROM THE SHADOWS! APPEAR AND REAP THE LIVES OF THESE WORTHLESS HUMANS - GO FORTH MY KIN!¡±


    A ball of mist flew from his mouth and shot into the sky, spreading across the globe in an instant and covering the land in darkness. Seeds of the shadows were planted across the land, sea, and air. Weakened from fighting for a full 40 days and 40 nights, Quest could not prevent the Emperor¡¯s final card and watched in despair as the world was tainted.


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    The Shadow Emperor was finally dragged into the pit with a wicked smile still upon his face. Once he was fully inside Quest sealed the hole with a large magical mountain, burying the seal deep within the earth.


    Quest coughed up more blood, but this time she used it to write magical symbols to reinforce the mountain seal. She placed one hundred and eight locks to strengthen the seal even further.


    With a gesture of her hand, Quest sent the locks¡¯ keys all over the world. This expense of energy caused the curse to eat away at her body faster, however. She doubled over in pain. Quest knew that by overextending herself she would shorten her lifespan, but did so anyway.


    Abruptly, it dawned on her that she must spread her power far and wide since she was the only magical girl to have ever existed.


    ¡®I need to die,¡¯ Quest realized.


    Ever since that rare encounter with the Celestial Bear and getting ¡®Marked¡¯ by it, she had gained these wonderful abilities. Now it was time to spread that gift. If the Shadow Emperor ever broke out of her seal, someone needed to stop that monster.


    She pointed her remaining hand at the sky and gathered all of her remaining power, forming a ball of white light. Soon enough, the time came and her young, youthful body became wrinkled and reeked of decay. Her once brown hair turned completely white. The only color remaining on her body was on the dress that had been stained crimson with her blood. With the last bit of her power, Quest prepared to launch the magic into the air with every fiber of her being.


    Yet as she was about to launch the ball into the air she noticed a strange black light inside, making her eyes widen in shock, ¡®Oh no, I must stop it from firing!¡¯


    Alas, she didn¡¯t have the strength nor the power to recall the tainted orb and could only helplessly watch as the ball floated into the sky. Once it had reached a suitable height, the ball exploded and spread countless beams of light all across the astral world.


    Helpless, Magical Girl Quest laid on the ground, shriveled like a raisin as blood gushed out of her wounds. She could barely keep her eyes open as her last thoughts came to her mind, ¡®Dear future magical girls, I wish to say¡­ sorry that your senior has left you¡­ with¡­ such a burden¡­¡¯


    A tear rolled from Quest¡¯s eye. With a final shuddering breath, Quest, the first magical girl, died.

 Chapter 1 - Bombshell

    Tick tock tick tock.


    Within a cold, small beige room, only the constant tick-tock of a clock sounded. In the middle of the room, two figures sat at a folding table. A creak rang out as one of the figures leaned against the temporary table, interrupting the incessant sound of the clock ticking.


    The figure that caused the noise wore a solemn expression, her formal blue police fitting tight against her body, not only pronouncing C cup breasts and her curves but also making her toned frame look sexy yet serious. Although the policewoman looked imposing and ready to lay down the law, the person sitting across from her didn¡¯t seem to care at all and merely toyed with her handcuffs in boredom.


    The detainee resembled someone of middle-eastern descent. Her hair was as black as the night sky, her eyes shimmered a vivid, wild green, and her glossy red lips that any guy would want to steal if they got the chance. Her facial features were quite easy on the eyes. If it was a male cop perhaps he¡¯d feel uncomfortable in certain places, but the female cop wasn''t the slightest bit swayed by the detainee¡¯s looks. She had a job to do.


    ¡°So are you going to talk?¡± The policewoman asked.


    The Middle Eastern bombshell began tapping the desk without a care in the world, more interested in her handcuffs than the murderous stare the policewoman was giving off after being ignored.


    ¡°You know why you''re here, right? You were caught red-handed selling illegal magical tools to normal people near the train station.¡± The officer continued.


    The Bombshell stared at her nails as she replied, ¡°Oh? Is that right? And here I thought you were into some kink play by handcuffing me and bringing me here.¡±


    ¡°You think this is a game young lady!? I would¡¯ve left you with a ticket after confiscating the mundane contraband, but you weren''t just selling the average run-of-the-mill magical tools. Those were military-grade magical tools being sold for chump change to kids. To kids!


    ¡°Did you want to cause a scene? I might be fresh out of the academy, but even I know that just one of those objects you were selling could¡¯ve easily ended a life. Once the magic team identifies them for sure, you¡¯ll be going away for a long, long time. So it would be best if you gave up your supplier. We might even lighten your sentence if you do.¡±


    This big of a score should give my career a boost. Heh, I¡¯ll show those old fogies that I have what it takes to be a police officer.


    Feeling confident that she could break the girl in front of her, the policewoman couldn¡¯t help but grin a bit as she waited for her words to sink in.


    However, the girl didn''t crumble into a sobbing mess as she expected. Instead, she merely spaced out, staring at her cuffs as if she didn''t even hear the policewoman''s threat. Not getting the reaction she wanted, anger surged through the police officer. She jumped to her feet, slamming her palms against the table. Startled, the previously absent-minded girl stared at her with amazement in her eyes.


    Seeing that she had her detainee¡¯s attention the police girl inwardly smirked but outwardly kept an icy demeanor as she barked ¡°Paying attention now, girl? If you keep playing dumb I''ll make sure the judge throws the book at you! You''re looking at getting imprisoned for at least twenty years! If you don¡¯t tell me where you acquired those magical tools, the court won¡¯t show you any mercy!¡±


    The girl¡¯s bewilderment quickly turned to appraisement as she licked her lips, studying the officer before her. This sent a cold shiver down the policewoman''s body, making her flinch backward despite her training. The bombshell leaned forward causing her cuffs to make clicking sounds as her eyes roamed wantonly over the policewoman''s toned body.


    Smiling seductively she began to speak in a voice sweeter than honey,  ¡°Hmmm, guess I really do need to test your body...¡±


    The girl¡¯s remark threw the officer off her game, ¡°Wha-what?¡±


    ¡°But first... these cuffs. They were fun for a bit, even kinky to a degree. But now they¡¯re just a bore. I''m not cut out to be a taker, you see...¡±


    The cop watched in horror as the bombshell began to glow blue. The girl raised her hands slowly and flexed her wrists in a quick motion, causing the cuffs to break into pieces in the amount of time it took a person to blink.


    The handcuff fragments floated above her head as the bombshell''s clothes were covered by a blinding blue light. Her once plain clothing transformed into a frilly midnight blue and white dress under the cop''s terrified eyes. But the strangest thing was the oddly shaped metallic gems embedded in the girl¡¯s wrists, forehead, and in the middle of her chest. They shone with an absolutely breathtaking black brilliance.


    All in all, the girl¡¯s dress was designed for easy movement and wasn¡¯t even that revealing, only showing off the skin on her arms and legs. It took a bit to describe, but the transformation only took a few moments to finish.


    The policewoman tremblingly pulled out her pistol and stuttered, ¡°D-don¡¯t move!¡±


    Eyes narrowed, the bombshell mimicked the cop by pointing her hand at her like a gun, ¡°Ah you pulled out a ¡®toy.¡¯ Let¡¯s put that away for a bit, sweetie.¡±


    Licking her lips once again, the girl snapped her fingers and to the police officer¡¯s shock, her pistol began breaking apart, bullets and all being molded like clay before being added to the girl¡¯s malformed handcuff fragments.


    With a flick of her wrist, the bombshell sent the ball of metal forwards. It split into two pairs of handcuffs as it moved and, unable to dodge, the policewoman was knocked to the ground as the cuffs clicked around her wrists and ankles. Bombshell bounced her finger and the officer flinched in alarm as her arms were forced behind her back.


    Pale-faced and sweating, the policewoman couldn¡¯t believe her eyes.


    I thought she was a thrall at most... How could she be a legit magical girl?!  Why did I have to stub my toe on such a demented existence? Normal officers have no chance when facing them...not even that hard-ass instructor could handle one! Am¡­ Am I going to die here?


    Feeling the threat of death the police officer lost all of her previous arrogance and tears began to roll down her cheeks. But Bombshell wasn¡¯t moved in the slightest. She moved closer, step by step until she stood right next to her captive. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    With a slight grin, she leaned down to look at her new plaything and whispered chillingly, ¡°I need to examine you.¡±


    ¡°Wha-a-a-a... What?!? D-d-don¡¯t come closer!¡±


    Running her hand along the officer¡¯s stomach she continued, ¡°Shhh, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll do it slowly and carefully, so we can both enjoy it.?¡±


    ¡°HE¡ª uof.¡±


    Done talking, Bombshell took off the policewoman¡¯s left shoe and sock and shoved the sock into her mouth, ¡°Shhh silence, ¡®potential.¡¯ Just relax and enjoy~. Oh? Your name tag... Wendy? A cute name for a cute girl.¡±


    With a devious smile, Bombshell started to feel up Wendy¡¯s body with excitement as her prey desperately and futilely tried to get away. Bombshell¡¯s hands moved over the officer¡¯s arms tenderly and reached for her shoulders.


    Then she slowly reached for the officer¡¯s buttons and popped them open one by one, quickly revealing the policewoman¡¯s large chest that was held back by her lacy black bra.


    ¡°What amazing weapons you have here! They¡¯re bigger than mine for cryin¡¯ out loud... These fun bags are just to my tastes... Now let¡¯s see those legs!¡±


    With practiced ease, Bombshell removed Wendy¡¯s belt and slid her pants off to reveal her toned, hairy legs. Frowning, the magical girl looked up at the policewoman with eyes full of scorn, ¡°How could you not shave your legs?! Are you not a woman?! Points subtracted!¡±


    Looking away with tears of embarrassment in her eyes, Wendy¡¯s mind was full of excuses.


    I didn¡¯t have enough time today! They grow like a jungle if I don¡¯t shave them every day... It¡¯s not my fault that the chief has been making me work overtime! Wait, why do I even care about that?! This girl is about to¡­ d-do things to me! Someone, chief, you ugly bastard, Luke, you prick, or Loid, you playboy... Help me! Anyone is fine, just help me!


    Bombshell shook her head with a sigh, ¡°Oh well, it¡¯s a minor matter to fix. The well-defined figure, no injuries to the body... Everything else is good, I just have to check ¡®that¡¯ place and see if it¡¯s there...¡±


    The policewoman stared at her with wide eyes full of fear as Bombshell groped her chest before sliding her hands downwards. Wendy could feel Bombshell¡¯s hands travel along her legs, inching ever closer her black striped panties.


    Fortunately, Bombshell stopped just an inch before pulling down her panties, ¡°Ah, this is the place! Let''s dig in, shall we? Thanks for the meal!¡±


    ¡®Eh? Does she mean to¡­ E-eat me out?!? I-I haven¡¯t even had a man. To lose my virginity like this¡­  I-I¡¯ll never be able to marry!¡¯ The officer panicked.


    Wendy tried to struggle the best she could, but it was fruitless as Bombshell had grown annoyed. She waved her hand, and Wendy was forced to spread her arms and legs. Her restraints fused to the floor, eliminating any possible resistance.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll be gentle~.¡±


    Shaking her head back and forth, trying to resist all she could, Wendy watched in horror as Bombshell¡¯s hand made a pointed palm right at her sacred place.


    She isn¡¯t going to use one finger but all of them!?! I¡¯ll die¡ª  no, I¡¯ll really die!!!


    Bombshell smiled from ear to ear with a crazed look in her eyes, ¡°Now! Let¡¯s see if you have it!¡±


    ¡°Nuoffuu!!!¡±


    Not even bothering to listen to the forlorn plea, Bombshell shoved her hand straight into Wendy¡¯s stomach, making the poor police officer¡¯s eyes open wide.


    It went in with just one move¡­ Was¡­ was I really that loose? Or am I just so hysterical that I can¡¯t feel any pain?


    As Wendy lay there, seemingly delusional, Bombshell dug through the organs just under the officer¡¯s belly button.


    Hmmm¡­ Not here, not in this spot as well... Damn, I thought this girl was the one. It¡¯s just another ¡®void.¡¯ And after all the trouble I went through, preparing her body. What a waste of time. I guess it was someone else in the crowd.


    I¡¯ll have to check the other marked ones later. Oh well, it¡¯s about time for that party the gang is throwing. Tanya should be outside, waiting for me to finish. Guess it¡¯s high time to end it here. It¡¯s a pity, despite the hairy legs this girl could have been good magical girl material.


    Getting off of the delirious officer, Bombshell tapped on her finger and a simple silver ring adorned with a small black onyx appeared in a flash of blue light. Bombshell tapped on the ring and started talking, ¡°Sigh, wasted my time. Guess I¡¯ll head off now. Hey Tanya, open the wall and let¡¯s blow this joint.¡±


    A voice quickly responded, coming through from the ring, ¡°Alright Big Sis Asita! One breakout coming up!¡±


    Bombshell, or rather, Asita''s displeased voice woke the policewoman from her delusions.


    This crazy magical girl is leaving? My life is saved, huzzah! She cheered.


    Tears of joy started pooling in her eyes as one of the walls near her started to break down, opening a path for Asita to walk out unhindered.


    Outside, Tanya sat atop one of the half walls circling the police station wearing a white shirt, a yellow leather jacket, loose black jeans, and a pair of combat boots.


    A pair of dog tags jingled around her neck as she swayed back and forth, kicking her feet. Her long brown hair shook with her movements as her wide blue eyes stared excitedly in Asita''s direction. A fractal scar ran through her pale skin from her left cheek all the way down to her neck, but it did nothing to ruin her beauty. Rather, the scar only added to her charm.


    Tanya was just a tad shorter than Asita, so as she rushed towards her big sister with a smile she resembled a cheerful puppy.


    ¡°So I¡¯m guessing she was a ¡®void,¡¯ right? Big sis you just have the worst luck! Even after checking over twenty girls you still haven¡¯t found a good one to bring to the ¡®ritual.¡¯ Do you need to borrow some of your little sister''s fortune?¡±


    Asita frowned and smacked the smaller girl upside the head, ¡°Brat, you just got lucky and landed one on the first day when I was off on a mission. If I had been there she would have been mine! Humph, just you wait. Your big sister will find a better one!¡±


    The two walked and talked along the quiet streets of the city. Eventually, they came to a neighborhood with shotty lights that were in desperate need of repair.


    ¡°Whatever, let¡¯s just head to the party. I''m sure our sisters are throwing a wild one. I can¡¯t wait to get hammered and forget about this annoying mis¡ª Whoa, what do we have here?¡±


    Asita paused, having spotted a figure walking alone out of the corner of her eye.


    The girl was pretty plain for her taste, extremely plain. Actually, her features could be considered average, but her brown hair was worn straight down and covered her eyes She wore dull baggy clothing and a pair of large square framed rimmed glasses. Nothing really stood out about her except the seemingly random white strand of hair in the midst of her brown locks. It was invisible to the naked eye for all but Asita, who could see it as clear as day. It was one of the countless markers she had placed the other day.


    With a curious smile Asita pulled Tanya back by her shoulder, ¡°Well... it seems my luck might be changing little sister. I suddenly found one of my ¡®marks.¡¯ Shall we have a little more fun before we head to the party?¡±


    Tanya, who was at first annoyed when her shoulder was grabbed, smiled deviously after hearing her explanation.


    ¡°Oh? Another ¡®target?¡¯ Let¡¯s see if this plant will bear you some fruit, big sister!¡±


    Getting the go-ahead from her cute little sister, Asita quickly caught up to the average-looking girl carrying two plastic bags. Asita walked in front of the girl, her smile growing wider with each passing moment, ¡°Hey~. Girl, come play with me and my little sister for a bit. It¡¯ll be a good time, I swear~!¡±


    Raising her eyes from the ground the average-looking girl tilted her head sideways with a small ¡°Eh?¡±

 Chapter 2 - Meatloaf

    Chapter 2 - Meatloaf


    Sun rays relentlessly shon through the curtains, landing upon a mound of blankets and The sleepyhead laying on a fluffy pillow.


    Eyes twitching from the sudden brightness, they groaned and tried to cover their eyes.


    ¡°Ugh, five more minutes¡­¡±


    ¡°Wake up! Wake up! It''s time to get up homie!¡±An alarm clock rang in a Spanish accent.


    Why did I buy such an annoying clock? The person frowned as they moved to cover their  ears, deciding to ignore the annoying alarm.


    Despite their attempts however, it was useless. They would need to leave the comfort of their blanket fortress to slay the evil demon known as the alarm clock.


    They ripped the blankets off like a wild beast and awkwardly tumbled out of bed.


    The cold air attacked its barely protected skin, and the harsh sunlight revealed a plain-looking girl who was shivering uncontrollably.


    I should have worn pajamas instead of just my underwear...


    After a large sneeze the girl started getting ready for the day. She  took a shower, fixed her hair, brushed her teeth, and put on her everyday clothes.


    Just another average morning to another average day...The house was quiet except for the sound of her feet plodding along in the kitchen as she made scrambled eggs and bacon.


    Yet another normal breakfast...


    The girl finished her food without a sound and got her shoes and backpack on in preparation to head over to the bus stop. Nothing happened along the path, and the bus came at the correct time.


    Just another average bus ride to school...


    Finding a free seat in the middle, the girl put her backpack on the seat next to her to make sure no one would sit by her. Staring out the window, the girl silently watched people walk along the streets.


    People dressed up in business  suits, their expressions plain and unchanging as they walked at a calm pace. The pavement and buildings that passed her by were an unrelenting pattern of gray, brown, and black, utterly devoid of anything remotely colorful.


    Watching the people along the streets, wearing masks of civility caused the girl to half close her eyes, bored of the play on the stage. Day in, day out... every time she left the house nothing ever seemed to change.


    Watching people pretend to be who they weren¡¯t, put on fake smiles, and watching the gray world pass by uneventfully day after day made her wish to cause a scene just so that something would change. Something would happen to make life worth living.


    The normalcy of the world was driving her mad, but she couldn¡¯t cause trouble for her parents. Not after finally escaping the boredom of the farm and moving into the city of Taltimore.


    At first everything was new and exciting to her, a change that made her soul shake with joy. But that was it. Just new surroundings. Despite Taltimore being a city it was exactly the same as the farm town where everyone hid behind a mask. The only difference was that here no one knew the people walking along the streets next to them. At least in the farm town, everyone knew everybody.


    Stop after stop people came and left yet she remained, watching people come and go until finally, after half an hour of excruciating boredom, the bus came to her stop. She got off the bus, turned left, and started walking while staring at the ground until she arrived at her school building.


    West Ivory High School. A school she was once excited to apply to and join but now it only felt like an eyesore.


    ¡°Selling magical items! Need a good luck charm? A protective charm? Or even a love potion? Come one come all, I guarantee my products work 100% of the time!¡±


    Across the street, a hooded figure sat with their arms spread wide. Judging from their voice and figure they were female. The girl stood just outside the school''s gate staring through her large rimmed glasses across the road with a strange expression.


    ¡®Street vendor?¡¯


    It was a strange moment for the girl. Finally, a rare sight in the city, but... Someone selling magical tools in broad daylight was an eye-opener for her.


    She stood there watching as the crowd grew bigger and the hooded figure kept talking, ¡°Do you wish to change fate itself!? Do you desire something new, for a chance to break away from this iron cage? Come check out my wares and you might find the answer you seek!¡±


    As the hooded girl talked to the crowd with a smile, her words tempted the girl standing at the gate.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    She desperately wanted to escape this trap of a life, to escape this boring gray world. The desire to do so clawed at her in waves, slowly crushing her sanity.


    Entranced by the hooded figure her legs unknowingly started to move. She walked  across to the other side of the street in a daze. It was as if fate was driving her forward, wishing her to meet this person. Telling her that if she crossed her path with theirs, everything would change. That she would escape this drab gray world.


    Her pace quickened and her heart beat faster. As she got closer to the stall she could feel the change in the air and knew that soon a door to a new world would open up before her very eyes.


    ¡°You''re under arrest!¡±


    Those three words shattered the path before her, ruthlessly awakening her from her dreams of escaping her unchanging everyday life. Her blood grew cold and her legs stiffened as she watched the hooded figure be handcuffed, have her items confiscated, and finally taken away in a police car.


    The feeling of loss made her dizzy. She numbly crossed the street once again, dragging her feet without purpose.


    In the end, she¡¯s still stuck in the birdcage. Back to her meaningless life. She entered her school building downtrodden, slowly making her way to her locker and putting her stuff away.


    No one greeted her in the hallways, and no one bothered to make eye contact with her. It was almost as if she didn''t even exist.


    She moved to her classroom and sat down in the middle row next to the window, staring at a brick wall with blank eyes. The girl let out a self depreciating chuckle.


    What a life.


    She was one of the first people in the class, despite the earlier distraction. She knew that class wouldn''t start for a while, so she opened up a book and began to read.


    The book was the second in the series of the Magical Girl Trilogy. It was her only joy in life to read fantastical stories like the one written by the mysterious author, Wicker W.


    While she waited for the class to start, the girl read the story of Magical Girl Quest. Time flew by as the seats in class slowly filled up. Finally, the bell rang.


    Despite the chatter around her and the ringing bell, the girl was entranced in her reading. Not a single word entered her ears as class began.


    Minutes turned into hours as teachers changed from one to the next. The girl was about to reach the climax of the story when a hand suddenly smashed down onto her desk, startling her out of her trance.


    ¡°Ms. Alexandra Hatchet! Are you listening!? I asked you a question!¡±


    With a dull glaze in her eyes, Alexandra looked up from her book, ¡°Eh? What was the question?¡±


    ¡°I asked you who the leader of the eleven hero magical girls was and in which battle did they first fight!¡± The teacher huffed and puffed with anger written all over her face as the surrounding children chuckled at Alex¡¯s misfortune.


    Not batting an eye Alex promptly replied, ¡°The leading magical girl was codenamed Reaper. The first battle they entered was at Stalingrad. They were a secret American gathered force deployed on August 30th, 1942. The other core members of the squad were codename Duchess, origin of birth: unknown, codename Knight, origin: England, codename Warlord, origin: Brazil, codename...¡±


    The teacher''s anger receded and she waved off Alex¡¯s machine gun like answers, ¡°Enough! I expect you to pay more attention in class instead of reading those fantasy stories from now on.¡±


    A sour look appeared on Alex¡¯s face as if the teacher was asking her to cut her arm off. Still, not wanting to cause trouble, she bookmarked her place and faked a serious expression to keep her teacher satisfied.


    The teacher turned away with a smile on her face and as soon as her back was turned Alex moved her gaze to stare though the window at a much more interesting subject, a brick wall.


    As time passed the teacher rotated out once more. Assignments were given out class by class and soon the school day was over. Alex left the school without a word.


    She went to the bus stop and headed home, idly thinking about what to make for dinner tonight.


    Thinking about it made her stomach growl as she entered her cold and empty house. Even here, nothing ever changed.


    Alex rubbed her arms to stave off the cold air as she set aside her backpack and figured that she would make a hearty meatloaf. Most girls would have frowned at what she was about to eat but Alex took great pride in knowing no matter what she ate, she would never get fat.


    With a small laugh, Alex got to work crushing crackers, meat, and spices together. She put the soon to be delicious loaf in the oven to cook for a few hours and sat on the couch to wait it out.


    She flipped through the channels on the tv and eventually landed on the news channel.


    ¡°Next week a solar eclipse will take place cutting through parts of the United States, Europe, Russia, and Asia! It¡¯s an exciting development taking place in the stars! However, you need to make sure to order your glasses in advance so you can watch it yourself!¡±


    Sinking lazily into her couch, Alex went back to flipping through the channels, waiting for her meatloaf to roast and using sheer willpower to fight the urge to snack on some chips. She sighed and got a glass of water to quench her hunger for a bit.


    Finally, after what felt like ages, the timer went off. With drool dripping from her lips, Alex carefully ripped the meatloaf out of the oven and placed it on the table. Yet as she got out a plate a sudden realization caused her to fall to the ground with a pale face.


    ¡°Fuck! I¡¯m out of ketchup!¡±


    How could she eat meatloaf without ketchup?! That was like asking someone to not dry off with a towel after a shower. Simply inexcusable!


    A crossroads opened up before poor Alex. On one hand, she could eat the meatloaf without ketchup and regret doing so for the rest of the night, or she could head out into the wide boring world and travel to the convenience store to buy some.


    The choice was a no-brainer. Alex needed that ketchup even if it was late at night and her precious meatloaf might get a bit cold. There was no choice in the matter, none at all!


    After putting on her coat and grabbing her purse Alex rushed outside and made her way to the nearest store.


    Despite the darkened sky, the store was still open and Alex was able to obtain some delicious ketchup to grace her lovely meatloaf. She headed back home with a smile on her face thinking about how great her dinner was going to taste. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn¡¯t even notice two figures walking along the path in the opposite direction, gradually coming closer to her.


    ¡°Hey girl, come play with me and my little sister~. It¡¯ll be a good time, I swear~!¡±


    Tilting her head upwards in bewilderment Alex looked up to see two strange girls standing side by side, blocking her path forward.


    ¡°Eh?¡±

 Chapter 3 - Lewd Whispers

    Two girls stood in front of Alexandra. One wore a black jacket, and the other wore a yellow one. Both of the girls were stunning, be it their figures, clothes, or looks - they had it all.


    But why would two stunners ask her, an ordinary girl with a thin shadow, to have a fun time with them? She stood still, holding her bags of ketchup and household goods as the two girls flanked her on both sides.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Alex asked, beginning to show signs of fear as the thought that they might be trying to mug her came to mind.


    The two girls placed their hands on her shoulders, with Asita even going a step further and lightly holding Alex¡¯s chin and whispering in her ear seductively, ¡°Come little girl. Follow your big sisters and let''s have some fun~.¡±


    Asita¡¯s breath tickled Alex¡¯s ears, making her spine tingle as her cheeks flushed red. But Asita didn¡¯t seem to notice a thing as she nipped Alex¡¯s left with Tanya joining to double team the poor girl.


    So there they were out in the middle of the street, blocking the road as the two girls molested Alex¡¯s ears and yet not a single person or car crossed their path. In the meantime Alex¡¯s breath quickly grew rough from the two girls sandwiching her, nipping her ears and touching up her body, growing more daring with each passing second.


    First, they caressed her back, which sent a lightning bolt of ecstasy up along her spine. Then they moved along her arms, and down her belly. When they finally heard her moan out in a sweet voice, the two girls smiled at each other across poor Alex.


    Asita whispered in Alex¡¯s ear, ¡°Go girl... take us to your home and we can get more¡­ private~.¡±


    By now Alex¡¯s mind was muddled and cloudy, so she numbly nodded with a face flushed red, not knowing that the two girls had long since put her under their spell. She walked along the path as the two touched all over her body.


    When they reached Alex¡¯s house Asita caressed Alex¡¯s thigh and felt a somewhat sticky liquid running down her leg and staining her sweatpants. With a charming smile, she stuck one of her wet fingers into Alex¡¯s mouth and whispered, ¡°Suck it while you show us to your room~.¡±


    Alex sucked her finger with a few soft moans as they came to the door of her apartment. Before they entered however, Tanya placed her hand on the doorknob and closed her eyes. She said a small chant that formed a spell that pulsed through the door so that she could ¡®see¡¯ what awaited them inside. She found no one else was in and that, by the layout, this was a single room apartment.


    Once she gave Asita the green light, Asita sent Alex the command to open the door. Alex, like a mindless robot, did as she was told and inserted her key into the lock, allowing them to enter.


    The moment they stepped inside Tanya flicked the lights on and let out a small whistle, ¡°As expected of a plain girl, her digs are pretty normal. Huh? What¡¯s that on the table?¡±


    Sitting out on the table in plain sight was a heafty mass of cooked, topless meatloaf that filled the room with a delicious smell. Tanya stopped fondling Alex and went to check out the tasty treat.


    Tanya was stunned. How could this plain looking girl be so barbaric and eat something so fattening all by herself? Did she not care about her figure at all?


    No that couldn¡¯t be true. The two of them fondled her all the way here, they both knew that she had a great body! Not too fat or slim with curves in all the right places... this girl couldn¡¯t have such a body with eating habits like this!


    To make sure Tanya rushed to the cupboards in a gust of wind, leaving Asita standing wide-eyed and bewildered, wondering why she had started acting out. Tanya ripped open the first few cupboards and was shocked to find boxes of ramen noodles stacked on top of each other.


    The other cupboards held canned food, mostly canned meats, heaps of potatoes, and frying oil. Tanya¡¯s face grew darker and darker until finally she went for broke and checked the fridge only to turn pale as she shouted, ¡°Impossible!¡±


    How could that plain girl keep such a great figure even though she ate nothing healthy?! Except for the potatoes the girl had no vegetables or fruits - everything was basically protein!


    Tanya motioned over Asita, who stared at her with a strange expression until Tanya explained, ¡°This girl only eats meat, ice cream, ramen, and potatoes. How can she have such an amazing figure after eating like a barbarian?! Does she¡­ does she have a legendary body?!?!¡±


    Tanya didn¡¯t mean that Alex was filled with bottomless untapped potential, but rather questioning if the plain girl had the legendary bodily constitution that could ear whatever they wanted but never grow fat.


    Sulking, Tanya''s gaze strayed back to the meatloaf.


    Diet be damned! It smells too good!


    Grabbing a nearby fork, she stabbed into the meaty goodness and took a large bite.


    By now Asita had lost the mood to fondle Alex, and when she saw Tanya digging into such a juicy meatloaf she left the dazed Alex behind to join in on the feast.


    The two ate in earnest, relishing in the delicious loaf, but something was missing.


    Ketchup.


    Tanya went over to check the fridge only to be disappointed to find no red ketchup goodness inside. In a last-ditch effort, she went over to Alex and snatched the bags out of her hands.


    Luckily, the wonderful red filled bottle lay inside the first bag she opened, and Tanya immediately brightened up with joy.


    She opened the seal and screwed the cap back on before mercilessly shaking the bottle and raining wonderful tomato droplets upon the pitifully bare meatloaf. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Asita took a bite and nodded in approval as she chowed down with contentment.


    While the pair were busy Alex¡¯s hand slowly started to twitch as a familiar scent of a meatloaf slathered in Ketchup entered her nostrils. The fog began to lift from her mind, allowing her to regain her awareness, and the lovely scent surrounded her. Yet to her horror she found herself in her house with the two unknown girls she met on the street devouring her prized meatloaf!


    Seeing the two eat her food, for the first time in a long time rage bubbled up inside her. Alex yelled her lungs out as she stalked over to the two invaders, ¡°What the hell are you doing?! Why are you in my apartment?! Why are you eating my meatloaf?!?! And why am I so¡­ why am I so wet!?¡±


    Asita and Tanya stared at her in disbelief, their forks midway into their mouths.


    Realizing what she¡¯d just said, Alex blushed furiously and unconsciously clutched her sweatpants.


    Tanya looked at Asita for answers, ¡°Big sister how did she wake up? Isn¡¯t she just a normie?¡±


    Placing her hand on her chin, Asita gave Alex a curious look while taking yet another bite of the meatloaf, ¡°Hmmm, good question little sis. I don¡¯t know how she did it, but this might be a positive sign that she has ¡®it.¡¯¡±


    Seeing that they not only ignored her but also continued to eat her meatloaf, Alex pulled out her phone. The moment she tried to make an emergency call, Asita had already moved behind her and was breathing down her neck, smiling wildly.


    She blew on Alex¡¯s neck and planted a kiss.


    A tingle ran down Alex¡¯s neck and she ran forward, scared out of her wits.


    She held her neck and pointed at Asita with a trembling finger, ¡°Wha-what? Y-You were just sitting at the t-table! How could you move so q-quickly?! G-Get out of my house or I-I¡¯ll call the p-police!¡±


    A laugh escaped Asita¡¯s enchanting lips, ¡°Haha~. Did you mean to call the police with this phone?¡±


    Asita raised her hand, revealing Alex¡¯s phone dangling within her grasp. Alex¡¯s eyes opened wide as she wiped her head around to stare at her empty hand.


    Fear crept into Alex¡¯s mind as she saw their hungry eyes roam up and down her body, looking at her like she was a tasty treat even better than the meatloaf one of the girls was still chowing down on.


    Abruptly, Alex dashed into the kitchen and ripped open one of the drawers to pull out an enormous steak knife.


    Her hands trembling, Alex pointed the knife at the two girls. The one sitting at the table merely watched her in amusement while the other had somehow unlocked her phone and was going through personal information within.


    Alex yelled at the pair, ¡°G-Get out of my house, g-give me back my phone, and get your filthy hands off my meatloaf o-or else... Or else¡­ I-I¡¯ll have to use force!¡±


    Tanya''s eyes opened wide before she laughed her ass off and fell to the ground holding her sides.


    Gritting her teeth in embarrassment, Alex moved her knife towards Tanya, ¡°What¡¯s so funny?! I could stab you!¡±


    Tanya roared with laughter, not caring one bit about Alex''s threats. She pointed towards the trembling girl with amusement before managing to utter some bone-chilling words in the midst of her chuckles, ¡°Haha~... Wanna use force? That¡¯s the wrong choice of words normie! Unfortunately, that¡¯s one of my big sister¡¯s switch words!¡±


    Confused, Alex couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°W-what do you mean switch words?¡±


    Tanya wiped a tear from her eye, having finally finished laughing, ¡°You¡¯re about to find out!¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Before Alex could even blink a blue light blasted out from her left side as Asita transformed into her magical girl clothes. Although Alex was stunned she wasn''t given time to collect herself before Asita snapped her fingers and the metal knife in Alex¡¯s hands deformed into a pair of crude bracelets that quickly captured her wrists. Her arms were forced to stretch out to her sides, and Alex could only let out a confused, frightened whimper in response to the sudden event.


    With another snap of her fingers, Asita called forth some more metal utensils from the drawer and crafted a second pair of bands to go around Alex¡¯s legs,  spreading them open.


    Asita motioned at a drawer and a pair of scissors flew into her hands. She grabbed Alex¡¯s clothes and began to cut apart her sweatshirt, exposing Alex¡¯s bare white skin and revealing the large chest that had been hidden beneath.


    Asita nodded slightly with approval, reaffirming how great this girl''s body was. The whole process of checking Alex¡¯s body left Asita wanting more.


    By now Alex had recovered from her confusion and was shaking her head, full of anger and yelling at Asita to let her go. Annoyed by her yapping, Asita stuffed Alex¡¯s mouth with her cut-up sweatshirt to shut her up.


    Satisfied, Astia cutaway Alex''s sweatpants to reveal a pair of lovely, smooth, and hairless thighs! A lewd smile crept its way up Asita¡¯s face as she rubbed her cheek on Alex¡¯s thighs like the pervert with a leg fetish she was. Tanya had come over at some point and leaned over Alex, caressing her twin peaks in a lewd manner as she ground against Alex¡¯s leg.


    As a muffled moan escaped Alex¡¯s stuffed mouth,  Asita buried her face into Alex¡¯s crotch and took a sniff while sinking her fingers into Alex¡¯s firm ass. Alex¡¯s eyes opened wide and her head jerked back from the unexpected contact.


    Finished taking her sniff, Asita stood up with her lustful eyes staring straight into Alex¡¯s tearful ones. She slowly whispered into her ear, ¡°Let¡¯s begin the examination, shall we?¡±


    Alex shook her head left and right, struggling to escape.


    But Asita didn¡¯t care about her struggles. How could she when she couldn¡¯t even stop herself with such a fine dish laid out in front of her?! Asita moved her hands down Alex¡¯s sides, looking her in the eye as she slowly started to pull down Alex¡¯s dripping wet white panties.


    I-Is she going to remove my panties?! N-No. Nooooo!!!


    Asita bit her lip as she saw the fear in Alex¡¯s trembling eyes. The sight made her wet.


    Oh, how I¡¯d love to see that expression for a while more... but I can¡¯t break her yet.


    Asita stopped just before something fun was revealed and licked her lips, taking one last look at Alex¡¯s distressed expression before Asita moved her hand onto Alex¡¯s stomach, ¡°Now then! Let¡¯s reveal if you¡¯re a ¡®void¡¯ or a ¡®gem!¡¯¡±


    Watching Astia pull her hand back, Alex paled in terror as the eastern beauty stabbed into her stomach in one swift motion. Alex wanted to thrash, scream, do anything to release the horror she was witnessing, the fear she felt, and yet she was powerless to do anything.


    As she moved her hand around, Asita¡¯s lewd face gradually turned serious as she wiggled her hand around Alex¡¯s internal organs, trying to find a ¡®gem.¡¯ After futilely searching around for a bit, Asita was about to give up and declare this girl a ¡®void¡¯ and go back to having some fun with her when her fingertip brushed against a small round bead no larger than a quarter of an inch.


    Finally¡­ finally she had found one. Now it was time to celebrate.


    ¡°Tanya.¡±


    ¡°Humm?¡± Tanya answered over Alex¡¯s shoulder, still toying with the bound girl¡¯s chest.


    ¡°It¡¯s a ¡®gem!¡¯ Let¡¯s head over to the party and celebrate!¡±


    Tanya¡¯s face lit up for a moment only to turn into a frown.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we play with her a little more?¡± She whined.


    Asita replied with a small chuckle, ¡°Only for a little bit. Then we have to leave.¡±


    ¡°Yey!¡± Tanya cheered as she kissed Alex¡¯s cheek, but Alex¡¯s face had somehow turned even paler as she wondered what ¡®gem¡¯ and ¡®playing¡¯ meant. Before she could draw questions with her eyes, a large black object smacked her in the side of her face as Tanya whispered in her ear, ¡°Don¡¯t worry~. I¡¯ll be gentle~.¡±

 Chapter 4 - Black Card

    In an unassuming area of the city, a normal looking building stood. A gust of wind blew past, and Asita appeared without a sound at the foot of the building. She stood there with no expression on her face with Tanya and Alex nowhere in sight.


    Common people passed this building all the time without giving it a second thought, but underneath that building was a hive of debauchery where countless people came to fulfill their carnal desires. It was a den of a magical girl gang, the Black Card Crew.


    Asita went to the door and knocked six times, seven times, and finally, after a small pause, four more times. An iron slit in the door opened up to reveal an eye as a cold and feminine voice drifted out, ¡°Tattoo or identification.¡±


    With a snort, Asita fluttered her charming eyes, ¡°Asking your big sister for her tattoo? Oh, how the younger generation has grown bold.¡±


    ¡°Humph. You should remember what happened the last time we didn¡¯t check. A bug got in and ruined the party. You know the drill, Asita. Show the tattoo or get lost!¡±


    With a huff of displeasure, Asita turned around and pulled up her long black hair to reveal her nape and the intricate tattoo of a black and purple card of the five of spades upon it.


    A blue light cast from the gap in the door landed on Asita¡¯s nape, scanning the mark on her neck for a match. The light quickly turned from blue to green, showing that a match had been found. A click from the direction of the door could be heard as it opened up. A voice resounded from behind, ¡°Welcome to the party, elder sister. Might I ask where sister Tanya is?¡±


    Asita coolly replied, ¡°She will be coming soon after finishing up a task. Is Mistress Black Card here today? I wish to pay my respects.¡±


    The door girl stepped out from behind the door, and as expected she had bandages covering over ninety percent of her face, only revealing her eyes, purple lips, and short black hair.


    She showed a mysterious smile as she replied, ¡°You know the rules. I cannot say who is or who isn¡¯t here, big sister.¡±


    Asita frowned and flicked the girl on the forehead with a bit of force, ¡°Don¡¯t play coy with me Zombia, or I¡¯ll put in a word to have you assigned to a dangerous mission!¡±


    Zombia¡¯s dark brown eyes opened wide and if one could see her face they would have seen that it had turned pale. The deep fear she felt almost made her tell Asita that the Mistress was indeed inside.


    But the little girl somehow managed to keep her emotions in check and replied calmly, ¡°Go inside and see if the Mistress is in. I cannot say.¡±


    A chill entered Asita¡¯s green eyes as she grabbed the girl''s face and whispered in her ear, ¡°Very good¡­ very good!¡±


    Zombia¡¯s eyes widened and froze like a frightened deer at the words of praise that felt more like cold daggers stabbing into her ears. But she had to be firm in her convictions. She couldn¡¯t be a snitch. Those that snitch get sent the ¡®Black Card¡¯ and only one thing could happen to them after that.


    Death.


    But just as Zombia was praying for the Mistresses'' favor, Asita moved away from her ear and playfully poked her bandaged nose, ¡°Good Job! You¡¯ve earned this big sister¡¯s praise for sticking to the code. Here, have a magic crystal for passing. If you¡¯d told me she was here I would have had to skin you alive, brat. Always remember that snitches get gutted and eaten. Such a shame though... It¡¯s been a while since I sent out a black card. Well, enjoy your door duty. I¡¯m heading inside~.¡±


    With those parting words, Asita left Zombia at the door and made her way to the elevator at the back of the dull building. She pressed a button on the side to bring the elevator up, and the sound of turning wheels resounded through the corridor. Soon the doors slid open and revealed a seemingly standard elevator.


    But Asita knew that this was no ordinary elevator, for it had been made by the finest magical girl crafters in the gang when they weren¡¯t high for once in their lives. This elevator had gimmicks within gimmicks built into it, turning it into a terrifying death trap filled with magical saws, guns, and poison gas in case an intruder tried to go underground.


    A normal person would be riddled with countless holes and cut to ribbons if they didn¡¯t put in the secret code correctly in the first two tries. Everyone makes mistakes, even magical girls, but if they made the same mistake twice then eight times out of ten they would die a painful death.


    Asita fearlessly entered inside and started to hum a tune as she casually punched in buttons.


    1 2 9 8 7 1 0 2 8 2 9 -3 -7 G 10 -5¡­


    It was a long code totaling one hundred and twenty-eight entries. It might seem like a lot, and even Asita thought so at one time. Yet after living as a magical girl for so long, you would think this protection was lacking. This code was more of a formal greeting than actual defense.


    Asita finished putting the numbers in after a minute or so and pressed the button for -5. The doors snapped closed and the elevator smoothly descended. Once it reached the fifth underground floor the doors slid open and deafening ear-splitting music exploded into the elevator, ricocheting from wall to wall and making the metal box tremble and shake with each and every beat with Asita stuck right in the middle.Stolen novel; please report.


    The flashing strobe lights, the fog laced with a mild hallucinogenic, and the heated air all bashed into her senses in a torrent that left even Asita stunned for a moment. She stepped forth out of the elevator and came to the top of a double staircase¡¯s balcony. Asita looked down at the floor below to see over four hundred bodies dancing up a storm beneath cages hanging from the ceiling that contained both male and female dancers dressed in risqu¨¦ outfits.


    In the past Asita had been moved by this wild, fervent scene, but after joining a few bouts of this common party, it grew boring for her. Taking the stairs to the left, she made her way down to the dance floor and passed through the mass of gyrating bodies to make her way to the other end of the room.


    Girls and boys brushed up against her, touching Asita¡¯s body as she passed them by, but she wasn¡¯t moved in the slightest by any of them. Other than her there wasn¡¯t a single magical girl present on the dance floor. Asita trudged through the crowd, annoyed by the fact that there was no other way to get to the lower floors than through this test of willpower.


    These people partied every day to their fullest, succumbing to their every desire, addicted to the air around them, forever losing their minds in the heat of the moment. Asita knew just what would happen if she lost herself in desire and the thought of it terrified her.


    After walking through the party Asita came to another staircase leading down below with a magical girl guarding the door. She showed the back of her neck once more and she passed on by, not giving the girl any hassle since she wasn¡¯t a newbie.


    As Asita traveled down the spiraling staircase the heated music behind her started to fade away. She personally knew what went on up to floor -10, but past that she didn¡¯t know how far down this rabbit hole went, as that was something only those of a higher rank in the Black Card Gang and the Mistress herself could know.


    Walking down to the end of the staircase Asita opened yet another door. Those that saw this room for the first time were usually shocked as bare-chested men lay naked on tables as magical girls crushed crystals, mushrooms, and other items into bowls and spread the mixture on the mens¡¯ chests.


    The magical girls then made lines out of the mixture, using plastic cards to move the crushed drugs onto the mens¡¯ abs before taking out some rolled up money and snorting the material. The magical girls were grouped up in two to four people and each passed along the temporary straw after taking a hit.


    Besides the girls doing drugs, there was also a bar in the middle of the room where a woman wearing fashionable barmaid clothing served drinks of all shapes and kinds. From normal booze to exotic and magical ones, the bar had it all. A few girls sat around the bar, drinking from their containers of choice. All in all, it would have been a pretty average sight if it wasn''t for the pillar of human faces standing in the middle of the bar.


    It was one of the Black Mistresses'' habits to cut off the faces of those who defied her and lock their souls inside to be forever tormented by the sight of magical girls enjoying themselves. Every time Asita caught a glimpse of the pillar she was filled with awe and respect. She could only hope to be just as ruthless.


    A few girls called out to Asita once she entered the room, asking her to join them. If it was any other time she would join in, but right now she had to tell the Mistress about the potential magical girl she¡¯d found.


    Asita didn¡¯t stay in the room for long, merely time enough to greet her fellow sisters before she moved onto the next floor, where she figured the mistress would be. After all, that floor was one of her favorite pleasure rooms in the den.


    Walking down another flight of stairs, Asite entered the next floor and scanned the area. Gambling tables and machines filled her sight everywhere she looked, and Asita couldn¡¯t spot any one person in the sea of people. This floor was larger than the one above and even had an upper subfloor in order to split up the high and low rollers, but not many could afford the upper subfloor.


    Souls, money, drugs, magical items, charms, weapons, anything, and everything could be gambled for and won here. That much alone caused people to linger here and try their luck, but it wasn¡¯t just the Black Card Crew who used this area. Members of their allied gangs could join in and bet on this floor with ease since Madam Blackcard made sure that every machine here had a fair chance of winning for everyone.


    Astia made her way up the stairs to the higher subfloor where a game of magic poker caught her eye. A few magical girls sitting at the table were betting with a staggering amount of resources.


    These figures weren''t the regular run-of-the-mill magical girls either. Blackcard of The Black Card Crew, Jester of the Face Crew, Leona of the Zodiac Gang, and Rogue of the Knife Knife Gang. All of them were either high ranking members or leaders of their gangs, here to enjoy some gambling to pass the time.


    The items they bet with made Asita¡¯s eyes widen in awe. There were magical girl souls, high-grade meditation materials, various deeds ranging from buildings and cars to human and magical girl slaves, and even magical beast slave contracts!


    Asita watched on with bright eyes as the game unfolded, standing off to the side to make sure she didn¡¯t see anyone''s hands. Otherwise, Mistress Blackcard would peel her face off, rip her soul out of her body, and add her to the pillars up in the bar.


    From where she stood Asita could take a good look at everyone''s faces and try to guess who would come out on top.


    Jester wore a clown mask tilted to rest on the side of her head, revealing her baby face painted in the style of a smiling clown, silver eyes, and yellow hair. Sitting next to her was Leona, who had her long wild hair hanging around her shoulders as her eyes glowed like a predator¡¯s as she waited to see what card would come after the flop cards.


    The flop cards were the jack and queen of spades, and an eight of hearts. It was a strong hand for spades and a possible instant straight for someone who had a ten and a nine.


    Rouge was expressionless, with a mask covering the lower part of her face. Her eyes were as black as night and her short hair was neatly combed to the sides, making her look just like a doll. Finally, there was Blackcard who sat calmly after merely checking her hand once.


    She had the appearance of a teenager, but her actual age was in her late forties. Still, she was as beautiful as ever even when she awakened so long ago. Her purple gem like eyes gleamed with life, and her long black hair resembled a flowing mess of waves.


    Her skin color was close to Asita¡¯s, and even their faces shared some similarities. She wore a businessman''s suit and kept quite the poker face, not giving off a single tell. Blackcard threw out some soul capsules to up the ante and turned to Leona with a warm smile, ¡°Dare to call my raise, Leo?¡±


    Leona let out a snort as she threw another slave contract into the pot, ¡°Humph, you old sack of bones. You dare call me out?¡±

 Chapter 5 - The Cage

    While Asita watched Blackcard and the other leaders bet at the poker table, Tanya was sitting in the back of a taxi headed out of the city with Alex passed out in the seat next to her.


    She could have just flown and made the trip a little faster, but flying in the city was just asking for trouble. Hostile magical girls from other gangs would snipe down anyone they could in a heartbeat, so most of the magical girls opted to use cars unless they were confident in their power.


    Tanya sighed in boredom as she stared out the window, ¡°I didn¡¯t get to insert it¡­ no fun.¡±


    They drove deep into the forest where the road had long since turned to a thin dirt covered path. Beasts howled in the night, prompting the taxi driver to ready the car''s armaments in case a mana creature attacked.


    Tanya added some of her mana into the defense system as a service, increasing its efficiency. The driver noticed this and felt more relaxed knowing that the magical girl was helping, as not all bothered to care for the driver¡¯s safety.


    He had heard more than once from other drivers that some magical girls would just sit in the back and watch their driver get torn apart by magical beasts. Thankfully it seemed like this drive would be a ¡®delivery¡¯ and not a ¡®feast.¡¯


    It took a bit of time until the car came to a large hill that towered above its surroundings. By all accounts, it was a pretty normal looking hill until you came around a corner and saw two massive gargoyle statues guarding a large hole in the center of the hill.


    The space was just wide enough for the cab to enter, but the driver was sweating bullets by the time they approached within ten-meters of the hole. At that point, the gargoyles¡¯ eyes lit up with green flames and their bodies made some sort of mechanical sounds as they raised themselves off the ground and stood.


    One of the statues approached the driver''s door. Although this was part of his job the driver could never calm down when he saw these mechanical puppets. With magical girls involved you never knew what could happen.


    The gargoyle opened its mouth yet instead of a cold metallic voice, a cute girlish voice rang out.


    ¡°Tattoo please or be crushed by my babies~! You have five seconds.¡±


    Before the driver could reply Tanya stuck her head out the window and pulled up her hair. revealing a four of spades. She yelled at the gargoyle with a snort, ¡°Let us pass Gear, or I¡¯ll trash your golems into scrap metal and dunk your head into a toilet after I¡¯ve taken a shit in it!¡±


    Hearing Tanya speak so venomously the girl controlling the gargoyles quickly became flustered, ¡°Wha- w-well if it isn¡¯t sister Tanya. My apologies, but you know that the boss wishes for the ritual site to be safe! Did you bring another ¡®seedling?¡¯ I thought you already made your quota. Are you trying to one-up our other sisters?¡±


    Tanya replied with a shake of her head, ¡°This isn¡¯t my catch, it''s sister Asita¡¯s seedling. I¡¯m only here to deliver it to the ritual site, nothing more nothing less.¡±


    ¡°Right-O~. I¡¯ll prepare a cage right away! Do you want it next to your catch?¡±


    ¡°Humph, that sounds good!¡±


    Darkness


    Alex awoke to the smell of piss, shit, and fear. The sound of people sobbing could be heard all around her in the dimly lit room.


    Holding her aching forehead, she tried to think of how she ended up here. She was heading back home after getting ketchup from the store and then¡­


    The hazy memories began to click into place, causing her to tremble in fear. She reached for her crotch and felt no discomfort, meaning she hadn''t been deflowered by that strange girl. With a sigh of relief, Alex tried to adjust her eyes to the dim surroundings. It took a bit, but what she saw once they had filled her with shock.


    Rows upon rows of cages lined the walls, all filled with girls of various ages in collars, chained to the roof of the cage. Checking her neck, Alex found that she had a collar on her as well.


    She tried to pull the chain with all her strength, yet the collar wouldn''t budge in the slightest. Stranger though, she couldn''t feel a lock anywhere on either the chain or the collar. The collar was smooth with the exception of the chain¡¯s connector.


    A chuckle rang out from her left.


    In a fit of anger, Alex hissed at the person laughing, ¡°What''s so funny?!¡±


    The laughing girl peeked through the bars of her cage with a smile, ¡°So you''re my new neighbor? Please don''t turn crazy like the one from a few days ago. Save that for the ritual!¡±


    Hearing the girl¡¯s buttered-up voice so close to her ears stunned Alex. The girl had a singer''s voice that seemed to be filled with honey, but it was so sweet that just listening to her almost made Alex stick.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Even in the dim light, Alex could see Sugar¡¯s features, and they were stunning. Golden locks, blue eyes, and a beauty mark underneath her lip that screamed that this girl was an idol.


    ¡°How did such a looker end up in a place like this¡ª is what you''re thinking, right hun? Well, I choose to be here. I guess you¡¯re one of the forced seedlings. Congrats!¡±


    Alex tilted her head in confusion over the term and why this girl was acting like whatever was happening to them was such an honor.


    Seeing her confusion Sugar smiled widely and started filling her in, ¡°You see, you were brought here to become a magical girl! Your luck is pretty good, you only have to wait a few days until the ritual begins. Your big sis here has been waiting for over a month to get this over with!¡±


    Magical Girl? Ritual? Seedling? The questions compounded within her mind one by one as Alex struggled to figure out what was happening. She knew who magical girls were. They were gang bangers with monstrous firepower. Not only that, but the more powerful they were the crazier they would be. It wasn¡¯t unheard of for entire districts to be blown to smithereens during their conflicts.


    But what was this ritual? And this thing about being a seedling? Alex didn¡¯t even know how girls became magical girls. By law, all information about it was wiped from the history books. Only the gangs and the elite held the knowledge about it now.


    Even talking about the subject was a major taboo. In extreme cases merely mentioning it could lead to beheadings. Alex only knew about the heroes of old that ripped through the battlefields due to the history books. Anything and everything about magical girls in the current age were shrouded in mystery.


    Reading her thoughts, Sugar gave a small smile, ¡°Oh, you''re an innocent little sheep that doesn¡¯t know anything? Don¡¯t worry little lamb, let your big sister tell you what great opportunity has befallen upon you.¡±


    Ritual


    Blackcard grinned, sliding all the chips and items to her side of the table while a furious Leona pulled her hair out. She yelled in frustration, ¡°How could you have a straight flush?! How could you bet it all on the river?! I had four of a kind, I should have been the one to win!¡±


    With a chuckle, Blackcard placed the items into her dimensional storage, ¡°Sometimes you just gotta risk it all Leona. Thanks for the items, I¡¯ll put them to good use. Until next time ladies, it seems my subordinate needs me. Play as long as you like.¡±


    Gnashing her teeth, Leona pulled out a bottle of glowing green liquid and took a swing, ¡°I¡¯ll win those items back, Blackcard. I always do!¡±


    Wavinggoodbye Blackcard¡¯s smiling expression turned solemn when she faced Asita, ¡°Come, Iron Fist.¡±


    Blackcard took the lead and headed for a private room and Asita followed closely behind her mother, leaving a distance of two meters between them. They went into the private room and Asita locked the door behind them. With a flick of her fingers, a forcefield covered the room, cutting the space off from the outside world.


    Putting her hand in her jacket pocket, Blackcard pulled out a box of smokes and slid one out. Seeing her mom hold up the cigarette, Asita took out a lighter and lit the end for her. Blackcard brought the cig to her mouth, taking a deep inhale before she blew out a few rings of smoke.


    Asita didn¡¯t dare make a sound and silently waited until she was spoken to. Luckily it didn¡¯t take long for her mother to get into the mood.


    ¡°Iron Fist, did you prepare everything for the gathering? How many are ready for the ritual? Did you fill your quota?¡±


    ¡°Yes Mistress. it went better than we predicted. We¡¯ve gathered 129 seedlings since I last checked. I filled my quota today, and she was a remarkable piece of jade at that. I have great hopes that she¡¯ll make it through.¡±


    Blackcard kept a neutral expression as she stared up at the ceiling, listening to her daughter talk about how the preparations were going. Invitations had been sent out, the security had been tightened around the site, and everything was ahead of the schedule.


    Asita was getting into the details when her mother held up her hand and stopped her, ¡°I understand, Iron Fist. I¡¯ll hear the rest when I visit the site. From now on your mother is speaking. How is the girl you brought in? Does she fit your tastes?¡±


    Seeing her mother speak informally, Asita scratched her cheek, ¡°If I had to say... she¡¯s a very average bookworm, but if you take away her glass and add some makeup she¡¯d be a real looker. She¡¯s a really good cook so if she awakens to a support role she¡¯ll do great! And the best part... she shaves her legs!¡±


    A small smile crept onto Blackcard¡¯s face that quickly disappeared as she put on a mask filled with annoyance, ¡°That¡¯s good news, daughter. I wish we could speak more, but it seems that a problem has happened in one of our bars that requires me to take care of it. We can spend more time together after the ritual. I¡¯ll see you later, Iron Fist. Go play and stay out of trouble.¡±


    Blackcard unlocked the door without another word. Asita watched her mother¡¯s back as she left, wishing that they could have more time to talk. But she knew that being the Boss of Blackcard made her mother a busy person. She was just happy to get enough time to see her.


    Picking herself up, Asita decided to wait at the bar for Tanya.


    We should do some ¡®shrooms when she gets back. Asita mused as she headed upstairs.


    Waiting


    Alex sat in her cage, absentmindedly digesting what Sugar had told her. She didn¡¯t know what to feel knowing that in a few days she¡¯d have a chance to become a magical girl. She¡¯d always wanted something to change in her bleak life, but this!?


    But she didn¡¯t even have a choice in the matter. Powerless in this strange turn of events, Alex could only wonder what this ritual would be about.


    Sugar kept mum about that fact for some reason, only saying something along the lines of, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll be a blast!¡±


    That merely gave Alex the feeling that it wouldn¡¯t be fun at all, however. It would probably be the exact opposite of fun. Yet the only thing Alex really felt sad about was how those bitches fooled around with her and ate her meatloaf.


    When she became a magical girl she¡¯d beat those two black and blue and demand an apology, along with one hundred pounds of meatloaf. Just the thought of so much meat in one place made Alex giggle to herself, making Sugar back a tad away from her cage in the thought that she had yet another crazy neighbor.


    Well, all she had to do was wait a few days for this ritual to start. Even though it would be boring, the meals served by those hot men were pretty good. Some of the captive girls were asking for the guys¡¯ numbers or trying to seduce the men in an attempt to get them to let them out of their cages.


    ¡®Sluts,¡¯ Alex thought as she bit into her hamburger.

 Chapter 6 - Explode or become a Magical Girl

    The days slowly passed by as Alex and Sugar talked to pass the time. Other girls, who joined in every so often on their various discussions. It would have been a warm-hearted scene if it wasn¡¯t for the cages and chains keeping them locked in place.


    They slept, ate, and talked until finally the day their captors were waiting for approached. The first to notice the change was Sugar. She knocked on Alex¡¯s cage to wake her up, ¡°Hey Alex, the ritual is going to happen today. Prepare yourself.¡±


    Rubbing her eyes, Alex put her glasses on with a yawn, ¡°What do you mean? How do you know it¡¯s time?¡±


    ¡°Watch what I do, then close your eyes and listen.¡±


    Alex was confused but decided to listen to her anyway. She glanced at what Sugar was doing, then followed suit. Alex sat cross-legged, put her head down, and placed her hands together. She questioned why they needed to do this, but did it anyway, knowing that Sugar wouldn¡¯t pull her leg.


    It took a few minutes of sitting and listening for Alex to hear a faint screeching sound. She focused on the noise and could vaguely hear people''s voices, chanting something that pulled on her soul.


    Alex couldn¡¯t make out the words but the indistinct sound made her want to bust out of the cage that kept her locked up just so she could join them in singing. The chant entranced Alex so much that she almost didn¡¯t hear Sugar talking to her.


    ¡°Do you get it now? They are preparing the ritual. Soon they¡¯ll take us to the platform. I¡¯d say it won''t be longer than a few minutes. I suggest you build up your resolve or you¡¯re going to die down here.¡±


    Alex didn¡¯t brush off Sugar¡¯s warning. After all their talks she¡¯d learned of the true horrors of awakening as a magical girl. As Sugar predicted, the doors to the dimly lit room they were in soon opened up for two magical girls dressed in military-style black outfits.


    Alex stared at one of the magical girls, recognizing her right away as one of the girls that had kidnapped and molested her.


    Asita, sporting a sleek-looking uniform, was expressionless as she and a childish-looking girl with rust-colored hair walked into the room.


    The two transformed when they got to the middle of the room and used their powers to move the metal cages. Alex watched in awe as the two girls moved over a hundred cages through the doorway at the same time.


    By now, the girls who had been sleeping were wide awake and confused and scared when they saw what was happening. Some cried some laughed, and others showed no emotion at all. Alex and Sugar floated side by side down the hallway, readying themselves for what was to come.


    The faint singing grew louder as the girls grew closer to their destination, and the hallway they moved down was lit up with red lights, making the journey quite grim for the weak of mind.


    It didn''t take long for their transition to end. A large pair of iron doors came into sight, and when two magical girls came close the doors opened automatically, allowing blaring music to blast down the hallway.


    The two girls didn''t stop for a moment as they stepped out onto the middle of a large granite platform. Various patterns were etched into the stone, the sight of which filled Alex with yearning.


    With a wave of their hands, the two magical girls set down the cages in rows on the circular platform.


    Alex looked around in fascination and horror at the large crowd of magical girls sitting in the high stands surrounding them. They were all wearing clothing similar to the two magical girls that brought them here, with the exception of a small group sitting in the middle of the stands that wore fancier clothing trimmed with gold and purple embroidery. These people were obviously the leaders of this group.


    The strange song hit its climax and the centermost magical girl raised her hand, quieting the area in an instant.


    Alex studied her from afar and could see that the leader wore a military styled dress and had a black veil over her face, hiding her features.


    The silence was unbearable for the girls in the cages, but they couldn''t even speak out because Blackcard¡¯s stern eyes swept over them, bringing along an unbearable pressure. A few of them almost went mad from the sweeping glance. Luckily for those below Blackcard didn¡¯t intimidate them for long.


    Blackcard moved her eyes away and placed her hands on the railing in front of her, leaning forward slightly as she opened her mouth to speak.


    ¡°Dear sisters, thank you for your hard work acquiring these lovely seedlings for the prosperity of the gang! I hope that your selected seed will make it through the trial and become our new sister. And to the little seedlings down below... I wish you the best of luck. Let¡¯s begin!¡±


    With a snap of her fingers, the cages fell away. Unfortunately for the girls, their chains were still attached to the fallen cages so they couldn¡¯t run away. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    The sound of grinding metal came from above, causing the girls to look up in surprise. Far above the roof opened up, allowing sunlight to pour into the area.


    Confusion struck the girls as harsh sunbeams fell upon them, making them cover their eyes. Only some of them, like Sugar, didn¡¯t pay any attention to the sunlight. They sat cross-legged and readied themselves for what was to come.


    The platform under them began to rise up, and the girls that were still standing all fell on their asses. Alex¡¯s heart was pounding out of her chest, grateful that she¡¯d mimicked Sugar and sat down.


    This much excitement and fear almost choked her. Alex didn¡¯t know if she could last until the ritual began.


    The magical girls in the bleachers rose together with the seedlings, waiting to see a good show. Some were making bets on which ones would make it, and which ones would bite the dust.


    The bewildered girls on the platform looked around with fear, wondering what this ¡®ritual¡¯ would be. Suddenly, one by one, all of the girls lit up with various colored flames. Then came a sudden pain, a stabbing feeling in their stomachs which caused the girls who weren''t prepared for it to fall over in agony.


    Alex and Sugar were no exception to this, despite preparing themselves beforehand. They lit up like candles, gray and yellow respectively, as pain wreaked through their bodies. Yet somehow they were able to remain sitting in the same positions, gritting their teeth to bear through the pain. They felt as if needles were slowly stabbing into their bodies as an unknown energy source started flowing within their veins.


    Blackcard watched the girls howl in pain, as expressionless as always. She knew the eclipse ritual would last for four hours, and that the beginning and the end were the easiest parts. If these seedlings couldn¡¯t even bear this pain and keep their will firm then during the rest of the ritual they would definitely die or go insane.


    Some of the girls below had signed up for this, but others were kidnapped or bought on the black market. They had no choice but to sink or swim and grab at the chance in front of them. If they died here then that would be the end, but if they lived then they would become beings of untold power.


    It didn¡¯t take long before one of the girls yelled out, louder than the rest, and had a hand rip out of her back. another scratched at her chest as scales started to appear all over her body. Various mutations appeared on a dozen or so girls, all of whom were crying tears of blood as their bodies cracked and their muscles and bones shifted and contorted into strange new forms.


    They screamed louder as their skin began to split and black blood squirted from their bodies.


    Blackcard looked on and mumbled, ¡°Mana rejection. Poor bastards. At least it¡¯ll be over soon.¡±


    The first to mutate now had arms all over her body. Every time she moved her skin ripped apart, showing her newly blackened muscles. She screamed for help, for someone, anyone, to stop the pain. Yet no one from the crowd helped her. Instead, they had smiles on their faces as they watched her struggle.


    ¡°It seems like number 44 is going to be the first to pop, hehe! Reminds me of my ritual. The girl next to me exploded, caking me in her guts!¡±


    ¡°Damn, I put my money on her making it through! Oh well, at least I get to see a show. Blow up, my girl! Pop like a balloon!¡±


    Various laughs rang out from the crowd as number 44 stared up at them in terror. The sight of their laughter and joyful smiles tormented her. Alex was only a couple of rows away from the girl and could see her situation as clear as day. She could see the fear written on the girl¡¯s face as she held her stomach with countless hands, screaming in terror and pain.


    ¡°It¡¯s coming, someone save me! Save me!! I don¡¯t wanna die! I don¡¯t wanna di¡ª¡¯


    An arm exploded out of her mouth cutting off her words, she turned and stared Alex straight in the eye as she lurched forward, her body trembling oddly. Alex couldn¡¯t look away from ¡®number 44¡¯ as her body rapidly inflated like a balloon.


    Horrified, Alex could only stare, silently witnessing ¡®number 44¡¯s¡¯ final moments as the girl exploded into a mass of gore and blood. Nothing remained intact, not even her skeleton. The girl¡¯s parts splattered onto other nearby seedlings and some of the blood even landed on Alex.


    Unknowingly, Alex started to scream and cry.


    How could this happen? Why did this happen? Why did that girl have to die? Why are all those people laughing and smiling? We¡¯re all human beings, how could they do this?!


    Gritting her teeth, Alex roared at the crowd, ¡°What the fuck is wrong with you all?!¡±


    After the words left her mouth her eyes grew wide. This was the first time that she¡¯d ever yelled with such fury, the first time she let her real thoughts out. Alex was bewildered for a moment, and the magical girls in the stands went silent for a second before shouting back at her.


    ¡°Heh, Number 129 has some spunk! Are we still taking bets? I¡¯ll place five hundred green ghost crystals on her making it through!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll bet she¡¯ll explode at the climax! Such a fiery spirit won¡¯t make it through ¡®that¡¯ part! Three hundred crystal toad eyes!¡±


    Alex''s mouth dropped open when she saw how the magical girls brushed her off and even started to bet on her. Were magical girls really so twisted that they didn¡¯t even care about people''s lives? Alex didn¡¯t get a chance to think more on the subject before another one of the mutated girls exploded into a puddle of gore.


    The crowd in the stands went crazy once more. Some were displeased, some were excited, and others just placed more bets. Alex didn¡¯t know what to do. She clenched her fists and slowly lowered her head, silently bearing with the pain and fury rolling in within her chest.


    Sugar, although pained, spoke plainly, ¡°Nasty bunch, right Alex? That¡¯s going to be our gang until the day we die. Congrats on drawing their attention though. You¡¯ll get a nice cut of the profit with all the money they¡¯ve bet on you.¡±


    Alex bemoaned to Sugar, ¡°How can they be so twisted?! They laugh at people dying right before their eyes like it¡¯s some sport. It isn¡¯t right, Sugar. I¡¯d rather die than join them!¡±


    Sugar replied with a shake of her head, ¡°Don¡¯t say that Alex. There¡¯s a reason they act like that. When we make it through this I¡¯ll tell you all about it in detail, but for now, focus on not dying!¡±


    Sugar focused on absorbing the magical energy beating down upon her, ignoring Alex¡¯s confused expression. Alex wanted to cry, scream, and curse at those standing above her, but she knew that her death wouldn¡¯t mean anything to those magical girls.


    She bottled up her emotions, holding everything inside like always, and focused on taking in the solar energy flowing onto her. Alex closed her eyes to the world, yet the sounds of girls screaming and exploding all around her rang in her ears, leaving behind a haunting echo.

 Chapter 7 - Bloody Fireworks

    The girls with mutations had all died and now one hundred and twelve seedlings remained.


    No one exploded for the next half hour, but some girls were tearing at their skin in pain. The sun''s energy coursing through their veins and occasionally an odd cracking sound came from within some of the girls¡¯ bodies.


    As they entered the second stage of the ritual, ten of the one hundred and twelve girls were showing signs of mana overflow.


    Their bones cracked, their pupils dilated, and bloody sweat poured out of their skin yet the girls moaned in pleasure as their souls decayed. One of the ten pulled a pill out from her collar and ingested the substance.


    Blackcard frowned, catching a glimpse of the action. That was a mana condenser. Something magical girls used to store excess mana, kind of like a spare battery.


    judging by the color it was a tank-sized one too. It had enough storage to allow the girl to survive the ritual, but her chances of breaking through and becoming a magical girl had gone from 10% down to 1%.


    If this girl doesn¡¯t become a magical girl, she¡¯d just become experimentation material or be killed outright. It¡¯s really just a waste of a perfectly fine mana condenser...


    Tragic as they were, those were the rules.


    Blackcard turned her sight onto her daughter''s pick. The girl might have seemed plain and look nothing like magical girl material, but Blackcard could see the energy circling in her body.


    The girl was a natural at handling wild, uncontrolled mana. If she didn''t know better she''d think that the girl was a naturally awakened magical girl.


    Naturally awakened magical girls were rare, as around 97% of magical girls were artificially made. Even I, myself, had been awakened artificially. There wasn''t much difference between the two anyway. The only real distinction between the two is that naturals are better at controlling their urges.


    ...


    As Blackcard observed the seedlings below, Alex grit her teeth at the feeling of mana continuously flowing into her veins. It felt like needles were pricking at her brain as worms dug underneath her skin and crawled around wherever they pleased.


    Her muscles and bones were constantly being broken down and reconstructed to better suit the mana flowing into her body. The girls around her screamed and cried in agony, but Alex didn''t make a sound.


    But oh how she wanted to scream, to shout, to wish the pain away, to just end it all. But in the back of her head, Alex couldn''t accept dying this way thinking of the past.


    Every day I studied my brains out, stayed out of trouble, and ate nothing but meat. I never moved according to my wishes and just lived the way people told me to. It was a boring life that held no meaning. I was merely chained up by other people¡¯s expectations and ignored by those around me.


    To die a puppet isn¡¯t my calling. I¡¯ll fight tooth and nail to cut my own path forward from now on, breaking out of the cage and chains that held me back from seeing the world¡¯s beautiful color. I¡¯ll become a magical girl, or even a demon if I need to. It doesn''t matter. I will fight for my freedom.


    With her thoughts sorted out Alex redoubled her efforts to control the energy ravaging her body. However, as she tried to focus, the unending laughter all around her made it impossible to do so. Alex opened her eyes and what she saw horrified her. The deformed girls were bleeding all over and yet they laughed their lungs out as they stared at the sun, reaching outwards and asking for more energy, for more of this sweet addictive power.


    Although she wanted to look away, morbid curiosity kept her eyes locked on their figures. In the end, Alex etched their endings into her memory. One by one the mutated girls exploded, their bodies unable to deal with the building pressure. They simply popped like a cherry tomato, sending body parts flying in every direction.


    To her, the girls looked like black and red fireworks. Alex touched her face and could feel the sticky red and black blood on her hands. Anger and fury raged inside of her instead of fear and disgust, prompting Alex to send a glare filled with hatred at Blackcard. The expressionless leader just smirked under her headdress when she saw Alex¡¯s infuriated look.


    Ah, a feisty one. I wonder if you can keep that face when the eclipse comes along. Which should be right about¡­ Now.


    There was a slight change in the air. One that was hard to notice from the stands unless you were paying attention. The remaining girls on the platform below only felt their bodies grow hotter as the air around them grew colder.


    Alex quickly focused on her own body as the previously steady stream of mana flowing into her increased at a rapid pace, knocking the wind out of her.


    Sugar had also been affected by the escalating mana. She bit her lip and dug her fingernails into the palms of her hands, struggling to control the unceasing flow of mana.


    Both of the girls held onto their fragile little lives as the moon began to cover the sun. It was at this time that some of the others on the platform started to show signs of mana overflow.


    Some girls cried and others laughed hysterically, but all of them had blood flowing out from their bodies. They knew they were doomed to die and yet they still tried their best to keep their bodies from exploding. The rest of the seedlings tried to hold themselves together under the vast amounts of mana entering their bodies.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Despite the increase in mana Alex managed to keep her eyes open and watched the girls around her in their last moments to pay her respects. With each girl that exploded the crowd¡¯s shouts grew louder and louder as the magical girls enjoyed the twisted show as it reached its climax.


    Soon the eclipse would reach its zenith.


    Ninety blood soaked girls were left on the field, but ten of them showed signs of mana overflow.


    Sweat soaked Alex¡¯s clothes as she struggled to absorb the intense amount of mana flowing through her veins. She could feel that her body was about to reach the limit. Alex looked up at the sky and could see the sun''s light fading away from sight.


    Every inch of her brain was warning her to get ready for the final hurdle. Still, Alex had enough energy to glance over at Suger to see if she was still alive. As if on the same wavelength as her, Sugar also looked over at Alex and weakly gave a thumbs up.


    The final beam of light gradually vanished and the mana entering their systems increased by half in an instant. Those that were already affected by mana overflow rapidly bubbled up like a shaken soda before bursting with a pop, covering the platform in a sheet of blood and bits of flesh.


    Alex almost bit her tongue off from the brutal force ravaging around her body. Sugar directly coughed out a mouthful of blood, and both their eyes widened in shock as Sugar began bleeding all over her body.


    Sugar smiled grimly and chuckled, ¡°Haha¡­ I guess this is as far as I go, Alex¡­ Ha hah¡ª What are you doing!?¡±


    Alex weakly got to her legs and stood, and walking over to Sugar with unstable steps. It was only thanks to how closely they were placed she was able to reach Sugar.


    The crowd watched her movements in confusion, wondering what the girl was doing. Even their leader Blackcard didn¡¯t know what her daughter''s seedling intended to do with that doomed girl.


    Sugar''s eyes widened in shock but even as the mana inside her was reaching its limits she uttered a few words, ¡°Stay away from me Alex¡­ I¡¯m going to explode¡­ Don¡¯t die with m¡ª¡±


    Alex lunged at Sugar, grabbing her head and pressing her lips passionately against her friend¡¯s, making Sugar freeze in shock. The taste of iron filled Alex¡¯s mouth as she forced Sugar to the ground and started draining the mana from her friend''s body.


    As Alex¡¯s tongue invaded her mouth Sugar felt her body become lighter and the horrid bloated feeling hinting at her possible explosion lessened greatly. Now that she had some breathing room, Sugar worked to control the energy rampaging inside of her.


    As Sugar reigned in the energy inside of her she watched Alex¡¯s expression out of the corner of her eye, noticing that her eyes were starting to bleed. Knowing that it wasn¡¯t worth it to drag both of them down, Sugar struggled to escape Alex¡¯s grasp.


    Her attempts were futile, however, as the headstrong nerd kept a tight hold on her, not daring to let her go even as the excess mana from Sugar kept beating into Alex¡¯s body.


    One of the magical girls in the stands stood up and yelled in shock, ¡°That girl is draining the doomed one¡¯s excess mana! Is she seeking death?!¡±


    The girls in the crowd that heard their sister''s voice fell into shock. Despite all the rituals they¡¯d held or heard about, no seedling had even done such a thing. Even their leader Blackcard couldn¡¯t hold in her shock when she saw how crazy her daughter''s pick was acting.


    Blackcard had previously determined that Alex had a ninety percent chance to easily pass the ritual, but now that she was taking in the other girl''s excess mana she would only have a five percent chance to make it through.


    What a waste, Blackcard thought.


    Despite the magical girls¡¯ yelling, Alex was determined to keep her first friend alive. She used her body to shield Sugar from the sun¡¯s rays but it did no good. The rays somehow managed to reach Sugars'' body even with Alex blocking her. So all Alex could do was to keep draining the overflowing mana away.


    Blood flowed out of Alex¡¯s body, mixing with Sugar¡¯s, as sheer willpower kept her from exploding into bits and pieces.


    Her mind, on the edge of life and death, was split with two thoughts. Should she abandon her friend and live on for the both of them or keep on draining away in the hopes that both of them would make it out alive?


    Her bones were making cracking sounds, her pain was turning into pleasure, and the urge to laugh weighed heavily on Alex¡¯s unsteady mind.


    Alex felt like she was breaking apart, so she held Sugar tighter, kissing her deeper, trying her hardest to save both of them.


    Giving up isn¡¯t an option! For the first time in my life... I''m going to be a little selfish.


    Seeing Alex¡¯s determined expression, Sugar finally stopped resisting and instead tried her best to absorb the mana going into her body. She tried her hardest to help Alex in any way she could and unconsciously wrapped her arms around Alex¡¯s neck.


    If they die, they would at least die together. Sugar wouldn¡¯t throw away this girl''s selflessness. Rather, she would accept her everything. Kissing Alex back deeply, Sugar accepted that they would fight against the fate of death together.


    The seconds passed by in agony as mana ripped through Alex¡¯s body. She could feel the urge to explode well up inside her, tearing at her from all different directions as she tried to control it.


    Then there was one final snap that Alex felt deep in her very soul as if something important had broken. The pleasure she¡¯d felt moments before was immediately replaced with immense pain as her body started to seize.


    At that moment the sun''s rays finally peeked out from the side of the moon, instantly lessening the mana beaming down upon the fragile seedlings below.


    Alex fell away from Sugar¡¯s embrace, holding her head in agony and screaming her lungs out. Sugar, with the wave of excess mana gone, recovered from the symptoms of mana overload and could now finish the ritual without a problem.


    Yet Sugar sat up and rushed to hold Alex in her arms, making sure that she didn¡¯t hit her head on something as her body trembled and shook. She glanced over at the remaining girls around her, all seventy of them or so but the ones that weren¡¯t still and lifeless on the ground were staring into the sun. No one on the platform was paying attention to them.


    Blackcard¡¯s interest peaked when she saw how Alex convulsed in Sugar''s arms.


    Did her soul break? But then why is she screaming? Those that have had their soul broken simply become brain-dead puppets, unable to think or act. So why is she still screaming her head off? I must check her body after the ritual ends. I need to know...


    Sugar tried to shake Alex awake with tears in her eyes, but the girl just kept screaming, almost as if she were deranged.


    Has she gone mad? Sugar wondered.


    Suddenly the gray light surrounding Alex flashed intensely, blinding Sugar and a few of the girls around her. But even without her eyesight, Sugar could feel that Alex had stopped shaking. Even her screaming had halted.


    Sugar forced her eyes open only to see the light around Alex condense into a strange gray fabric that wrapped around her friend¡¯s body.


    Blackcard wanted to laugh. The insane girl actually pulled it off.

 Chapter 8 - Split

    Alex laid in Sugar¡¯s arms, breathing slowly and steadily. Sugar, seeing that her friend was merely sleeping after transforming and obviously out of danger, had tears falling down her cheeks. She didn¡¯t know how to feel about the fact that she needed Alex, who was a normal, boring girl just a few days ago, to save her life. Should she be happy? Worried? Disappointed with herself?


    Utterly confused by how she should react, Sugar stared in a daze at the girls falling to the ground around her. They were barely breathing even as the oppressive energy around them started to lessen, but Sugar barely registered their plights.


    Blackcard¡¯s voice boomed out from above snapping Sugar out of her thoughts, ¡°The peak is over now, little seedlings. Your chances of surviving are fading away with each passing second. If you do not become a magical girl before the ritual ends only one end remains for you¡ª Death!¡±


    Shocked expressions appeared throughout the remaining girls as they digested her words with wide eyes. They¡¯d just survived the toughest part of the ordeal but now knew that even if they survived they would be murdered if they didn''t become magical girls.


    Just how cruel were these magical girls staring down at them with laughing expressions? Some of the girls on the platform cried, others felt remorseful, but Sugar didn¡¯t have time to care about them. She sat cross-legged and tried to increase the amount of energy within her veins, doing her best to push her limits.


    Still, no matter what she tried, it seemed that the energy flowing into her was slowly decreasing. Sugar didn¡¯t know if there would be enough. The other girls were also worried about this aspect, wondering what they could do to increase their chances of awakening and living another day.


    Blackcard gave a small laugh as she watched the struggling seedlings down below. She snapped her fingers and the chains holding the seedlings back instantly dropped to the floor.


    Though shocked by this new freedom, the girls were confused. They didn¡¯t understand why Blackcard released them, especially those who didn¡¯t even see her do so.


    Blackcard moved a hand and lifted Alex away from Sugar¡¯s hands and out of the platform. This confused some girls, but their perplexity was soon wiped away.


    ¡°Now that we¡¯ve passed the peak of the eclipse, it¡¯s time for all of you little seedlings to weed out the unfit!¡±


    Only a few of the girls below truly understood what she meant. Sugar was one of them, for she would always remember what Alex did for her, how she drained the excess magical power from her body. Blackcard wanted them to do the same thing to the other seedlings!


    Sugar quickly got up and rushed towards the nearest unconscious girl. On the way over she struggled for an extremely brief moment, but once there she began to rapidly drain away from the girl¡¯s energy. It almost looked like she was administering CPR, but the girls around her all started to wise up to what Sugar was really doing.


    Doing as Alex did, Sugar put her lips on the girl¡¯s and started to drain away. She could immediately feel the girl¡¯s energy flowing into her, and Sugar¡¯s eyes widened as she noticed that, unlike the energy she¡¯d gained from the solar rays, this energy didn¡¯t seem to hurt. In fact, this energy seemed to bring a cool and refreshing sensation as it flowed around her body.


    Sugar guessed that absorbing refined mana was much safer than taking in raw energy.


    Sugar estimated that she just needed a few minutes to drink this girl dry and have enough energy to break through and become a magical girl. Only, she didn¡¯t have the luxury of time. Of the seventy five or so girls on the platform, only fifteen had passed out. Such ¡®golden eggs¡¯ could be only won in a fight, and soon chaos started to fill the ring as the seedlings started punching, kicking, biting, scratching, and even hair pulling each other in their effort to survive.


    Even with the head start, Sugar was soon forced to let go of the unconscious girl when another girl came out of nowhere and sent a kick towards her face. Sugar rolled away from the attack and faced her challenger despite the pain running through her body. She put up her hands, ready to fight.


    Sugar wasn¡¯t going to give up this chance at life, not after Alex had risked it all to save her. She would claw her way to becoming a magical girl if she needed to!


    Sugar lunged at the girl who¡¯d attacked her, catching her by surprise and causing the girl to trip over her own feet and fall to the ground. Sugar quickly mounted the girl with brown hair and started beating her face in with her fist.


    Sugar screamed as she beat the girl''s face into a bloody mess, punching her teeth out and making the girl''s eyes swell shut. The girl tried to fight back but was quickly subdued thanks to Sugar¡¯s better position.


    To make sure that the girl had no way to harm her Sugar broke her arms and legs, causing the girl to scream in agony. Sugar wiped her hands off on her pants and rushed back to her ¡®golden egg¡¯ to suck more energy out. The other seedlings had seen Sugar¡¯s brutality and no one was brave enough to try to rob her again.


    Time passed and brutal fighting still raged on all around her as Sugar drained the mana from the unconscious girl. When there was only about half of the energy remaining within her, a change suddenly occurred inside of Sugar¡¯s body.


    Cracking sounds abruptly rang out as all her senses sharpened to a fine point. Her eyesight, hearing, touch, taste, and her sense of smell all grew stronger. Yet the strangest part of it all was that Sugar started seeing the mana floating in the air around her. It was in all kinds of different lights and colors, with orange being the strongest.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    But that wasn¡¯t the only change, for a chain of words suddenly appeared within her brain, burning themselves into her memory, forever unable to be forgotten. Sugar¡¯s lips slowly began to part as the words started to spill out, one after the other.


    I grow from a little ember into a mighty flame.


    I shall burn everything to ciders all the same.


    Only the ashes of life were left in my wake.


    I¡¯m Magical Girl Sun, and your life is mine to take!


    Rays of orange light expanded out around Sugar as her clothes started to change in shape and color. Her outfit was filled with frills and ribbons, but somehow wasn¡¯t heavy or stifling. In fact, the outfit felt like a second skin. They were silky smooth to the touch and the orange color was quite pleasing to her eyes. Sugar couldn¡¯t help but notice that her hair had also changed, becoming orange and yellow.


    But the thing she felt the most was the rush of power that filled her entire being, making her feel like she was on a high.


    ¡°So this is what it felt like to be alive... this is the power that Magical Girls wield.¡°


    Everything just felt... right to Sugar as she opened and closed her hands, getting used to her newfound energy.


    While Sugar was checking out her new threads, another blast of light appeared across the platform, showing that another magical girl had awakened.


    This one gave off a green luster, and soon a girl in a tight-fitting outfit with her hair tied up in a ponytail appeared from within the light. Her hair was black and green and her eyes shone with an emerald green luster that drew Sagar¡¯s attention towards them.


    A small desire suddenly flashed through Sugar¡¯s mind. She wanted to battle this girl and test out her strength. When Sugar was about to step forward and put her thoughts into action a white orb suddenly appeared around her, trapping her within.


    Another orb appeared around the green magical girl, locking her inside. Sugar quickly concluded that those who awakened would be taken away from the platform. Probably a safety measure to prevent them from endangering the seedlings.


    But Sugar didn¡¯t care about that right now. She just wanted to know what had happened to Alex. Was she ok? Was she hurt? Was there anything she could do for her? The questions ran around and around in her head.


    When the two landed in a nearby tunnel, the bubbles holding them in place popped, allowing them to move freely. Facing them was a girl in a black uniform with a green cross stitched on her chest. Her hair was blonde and her features were quite easy on the eyes. She wore a faint smile as she motioned for the two girls to follow her.


    ¡°Dear new sisters, my name is Incus. I¡¯m pleased to welcome you to our gang. I¡¯d hate to make you, but please follow me for a body inspection. We must see if there is any latent issue that needs to be fixed after your awakening. But don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s mostly a formality at this point, nothing serious. You all are quite lucky to have had your ritual on the solar eclipse, you know? Although quite raw and hard to absorb, the energy from it has very little impurities.¡±


    Sugar stepped forward in a fluster, ¡°Wait! What happened to Alex? Is she ok? Where is she?¡±


    The medical girl turned to Sugar, tilting her head and placing her hand on her cheek to think. She was trying her best to word what was going on without worrying about her new sister.


    ¡°She is currently being examined by our dear leader, Blackcard, and Head Medicus Hema. Of all the rituals we¡¯ve held, she¡¯s the first to attempt such an action¡ª that is, trying to save someone else via a kiss. Currently, we are inspecting her to see if she''s broken or not, as it¡¯s strange for her to turn into a magical girl without using a chant the first time around. When I learn of her condition I shall inform you as the information comes. Will that sate your thirst for the subject, dear sister?¡±


    It wasn''t the type of answer she wanted, but from what her supporter had told her, Sugar knew that she couldn¡¯t skip out on inspections or else she would be beaten severely. Magical girls were very easy to set off. This one was so forthcoming Sugar could only swallow her wish to see Alex and go get testing done.


    ¡°Thank you for answering me, Elder Sister Incus. Your words have put me at ease. Let¡¯s go take this test and get it out of the way.¡±


    ¡°Then, you two follow me this way!¡± Incus said as she beckoned them to follow and started walking away.


    As the three moved down the tunnel Sugar gave a short prayer, ¡°I hope you are alright, Alex.¡±


    ¡­


    In a nearby room, Alex lay silently on a hospital bed with Blackcard and a woman dressed in blood red robes looming over her unconscious form.


    The woman in red, Hema, was currently stabbing a finger directly into Alex¡¯s head. Her eyes were closed and her brows were furrowed as she focused on what she found inside.


    Despite how deep her finger was lodged into Alex¡¯s skull, there was no trace of a wound or even a single drop of blood.


    Blackcard wasn¡¯t idle either. She rifled through the information on the medical screens, and what she saw made a grin appear on her face.


    If these readings are correct¡­ Then we''ve struck gold.


    Everything pointed to something that she didn¡¯t think possible. This girl before her had somehow managed to split her soul cleanly in half, which by itself wasn¡¯t too grand of a feat. But when Hema had called her down here with such urgency she¡¯d wondered what this crazy Medicus had been raving about, yet the results before her clearly showed that the girl¡¯s split soul was only tainted on one half, with the other immaculate and curse free. This discovery excited her the most, for although she had her tricks to keep her sanity in check, even Blackcard didn¡¯t know when she would finally fall over the edge.


    Unable to contain her voice, Blackcard turned to Hema, ¡°Have you double checked your results? Is this really happening?¡±


    Hema opened her crimson eyes at the question and removed her finger from Alex¡¯s head. She took a breath and collected her thoughts, ¡°A magical girl being spared from the curse by just having her soul split in half shouldn¡¯t happen, but I¡¯m reading strong brainwaves so she isn¡¯t even braindead. As long as we heal her soul, at least to my knowledge, she will be the first magical girl since the founder to not be under the Shadow Emperor¡¯s curse. Do you have any of that soul healing medicine on you, leader? She¡¯ll need it fast, otherwise, her soul will start to deteriorate and we¡¯ll lose her.¡±


    Blackcard''s face that had been full of excitement instantly turned into a frown, ¡°You know what I need to make that, right? It isn¡¯t easy to gather the souls of 100 virgins. How many do you even need?¡±


    ¡°Two. One each to recover both sides of the fragmented soul. I fear that if we don¡¯t heal the cursed side soon the blight will jump over to the other and infect it, making this girl less than a regular magical girl.¡±


    As she pulled two objects out of her ring, Blackcard clicked her tongue, ¡°Tsk. Luckily I won a lot in my game of poker the other day otherwise I¡¯d be in trouble. This girl better be worth it or I¡¯m going to be mad, Hema. And you know that you don¡¯t want me mad.¡±


    Hema flashed a charming smile at her boss, ¡°Rest assured. If I¡¯m right, this girl might actually be the key to being rid of our curse once and for all.¡±

 Chapter 9 - DreamLand

    Alex sat up in a cold sweat, feeling as if something sharp was poking her brain. She tried to collect her thoughts and remember what she was doing, but her memory was a haze. It took her a while to get her thoughts in order.


    The first thing that came to mind was the ritual, then Sugar.


    Is she okay? Did she survive? Actually, where am I?


    Alex looked around, taking in her surroundings. She noticed that she was in the bedroom of her old home.


    Posters of the big city were hung up all along the paint-chipped walls, and the scent of wheat floated in the air. Alex was dumbfounded, knowing that she had just been in a life-and-death struggle.


    I shouldn''t be here. I left this place months ago to live in the big city.


    Alex got up from her bed and walked over to the window to pull the curtains away.


    Instead of seeing the golden wheat fields outside, the view revealed the big city streets she once longed for. That wasn''t all, however. For some strange reason, wheat could be seen growing up along and within the building structures.


    Should I explore?


    Making up her mind, Alex went to the bedroom door and opened it. The rest of the house was just like how she remembered it. The kitchen was full of cast iron pans and large steel pots. Wooden furniture livened the place up despite the fact that the walls were desperately in need of a new paint job.


    Alex didn''t stay in the house for long, as she had the urge to go out and explore more. She walked up to the wooden front door and soon the sound of squeaking grated against her ears, reminding her that her father never did fix the door hinges.


    Stepping outside, Alex noticed a change in the air. The warm air now had a bit of a cold breeze blowing through it. As she felt the wind brush past her cheek, Alex felt a subtle voice calling to her in the back of her head, telling her to go in a certain direction. The voice seemed so familiar, yet  at the same time, so alien.


    With a strong urge to find out what the source of the voice was, Alex headed in the indicated direction. She was thrown off a bit when she noticed that the road was made up of cooked meatloaf, however. But she took it in stride and quickly recovered from her shock.


    Alex took in the strange city sights as she silently walked down the street.


    It¡¯s really quite strange seeing the buildings covered in wheat, the windows made up of books, and the weird signs dotting the streets.


    The signs were made up of pencil shaped poles and the books hanging off of them, pointing the way. There were various street names written on the covers of the books, ones such as Favorite Food St., How to Pluck and Cook a Chicken St., or 5th Grade History Class St.


    Alex curiously observed her surroundings and after a careful look, she realized that she wasn''t alone on the streets. A few large books walking on two human legs passed her by, paying her no attention even as she stared at them, dumbstruck.


    Unlike the signs that seemed to point the way towards a wide range of subjects, the books within the streets seemed to contain more focused items such as Classic Meatloaf Recipes, First Day of School in the City, and Sugar.


    Are¡­ Are these my memories?


    Though she was bewildered at the thought, it felt like the most correct answer since, despite everything looking so weird, it all felt so real to her. Was this a dream? Was this another test from the magical girls? If so, what were they trying to accomplish here?


    Alas, there was no one to answer her questions so all Alex could do was to keep moving along the road made of meatloaf. Her memories passed her by, walking along the streets, going to and from the wheat lined buildings.


    Alex didn''t feel like stopping them since they seemed quite busy with... something. So she kept going forward while glancing at the strange signs along the way. As she moved closer to the voice that was calling out to her, Alex noticed that the words on the signs began to scramble, fragmenting the words and even including symbol characters. It got worse and worse the closer she went towards the voice.


    Yet that wasn''t the only change. When she left the copy of her old house, it had been quite sunny but now the light around her had dimmed somewhat, making the area quite gloomy.


    She also noted that her memories were running away from the direction she was heading as if they were afraid of something.


    As she went further the streets she was walking on started to change. First, the wheat and book buildings began to decay at a noticeable rate. Second, the meatloaf underfoot began to mold in a grey and black color, as if it were rotted by something.


    Despite the sunlight fading around her and the signs that something wasn¡¯t quite right, Alex persisted and continued to press forth. Her curiosity got the better of her as she pushed down her ever-growing feeling of unease.


    Further along the road, the meatloaves making up the road had disappeared completely and turned into plain old asphalt while the wheat and book buildings had to return to a natural, boring gray color. The changes that should, by any reason, have made her more relaxed somehow only caused her uneasiness to grow.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The now normal signs had become an unrecognizable jumbled mess, and her book memories that once held a playful appearance were quickly changing into trembling grotesque messes.


    The words on the covers had started melting away, and one covers that she¡¯d once seen that had been a solid brown color now had black cracks running along with its distorted legs, and some of its skin had bloated up and split apart.


    Instead of running with the normal books, these cracked and bloated books rushed towards the same direction that she was headed.


    Alex grit her teeth and kept going, as the urge to find out what was happening was something she could not ignore.


    As she moved deeper into this strange city, the normal buildings along her path crumbled and cracked. The signs turned into a scribbled mess of characters and numbers, their lines crawling together and piled into a tangle. The road under her feet didn¡¯t fare any better, for the asphalt had been broken up and riddled with potholes.


    The worst thing in Alex¡¯s opinion were the pitiful memories filled with mutations crawling along the ground towards an unknown goal, but the buildings and streets pulsating and bleeding black sludge were a close second.


    Something within her subconsciousness told her to avoid touching the black slime, so Alex walked on the pieces of uncracked, sludge free asphalt. The thought of turning around never crossed her mind. Alex knew that she was close to finding the source calling out to her.


    The pathway continued to grow more difficult as she progressed, and eventually, Alex finally reached a point where she couldn''t proceed any further. Luckily she noticed a raft-like object formed from a twisted abomination of what used to be her book memories.


    Alex found some torn-off legs and used them as paddles. The strange boat somehow didn¡¯t leak, and after rowing for quite some time she turned at a ruined street corner and her eyes immediately widened in shock.


    The street had opened up into a large forest park, and in the center rested an enormous black cocoon that pulsated with an evil red light. The cocoon felt familiar yet at the same time foreign, as if it was part of her that shouldn''t exist.


    Alex was disgusted just by looking at it.


    ¡°Is that any way to treat yourself? My, my. How can my manners be so lacking?¡±


    Alex looked around, trying to trace the voice that sounded exactly like hers. She quickly gathered that the voice had come from the black cocoon, putting her on guard.


    Suddenly the cocoon cracked open like a flower, revealing a naked girl.


    But this girl wasn¡¯t just any girl. This girl looked exactly like her, except this girl had pitch-black hair and red eyes. She looked so stunning that Alex couldn¡¯t find any words to describe the girl who stood before her. Although the girl was naked, she didn¡¯t seem to care. Her stance was full of confidence, standing there with her arms crossed and not hiding a single thing.


    Unlike Alex the girl didn¡¯t wear glasses, her hair was well done, and her eyes were filled with conviction. Everything about her seemed to be what Alex dreamed of being. It was like she was looking at her ideal self.


    Someone who didn''t care what others thought. Someone who was able to walk with confidence instead of cowering away.


    Alex felt anger rise up just from looking at this copy of what she wished to be.


    ¡°Who are you?!¡± She yelled.


    The lookalike merely smiled in response. She snapped her fingers and the black sludge around her suddenly converged and headed towards her, wrapping around her body.


    A black, tight fitting leather outfit formed from the sludge appeared upon her body. Now clothed, the lookalike sat down in her newly-formed cocoon chair.


    ¡°Who am I? Well, that''s a stupid question. I am you. Or to be more precise, I am your desire. I am your wish to become confident, your wish to be powerful. I am your wish to not just be another extra in someone else¡¯s story. I am everything that you are, but better.


    But I guess I can''t call myself Alex as well or that would confuse your little brain. From now on I shall be known as Xel, and henceforth I shall be the new owner of this body.¡±


    ¡°Your body? But this is my body, not yours!¡±


    ¡°You see this WAS your body, but now you¡¯re in my territory. I can''t believe you listened to that voice and were so foolish as to actually come here. You can only blame your own incompetence for dying here today. Farewell, useless version of me.¡±


    Raising her hand, the black sludge around them slowly started to rise and surround Alex. Somehow Alex felt that if any of the black sludge touched her, she would be corrupted and killed.


    Only she had fallen too deep into this trap with no means to get out. There was no escaping. If only she had been more cautious and ignored that nagging voice, she wouldn¡¯t die here today.


    Alas, there was no pill in the world for regret.


    Alex closed her eyes, laughing bitterly at her misfortune, and awaited her death.


    She waited. And waited. Yet death never came. Instead, she heard growling in front of her, which she assumed must be coming from Xel.


    ¡°You lucky bitch! Just you wait, one day I will devour your soul and this body will be mine!¡±


    Opening her eyes Alex saw a red shield had, at some point, spread around her, protecting her from the black sludge. But that wasn''t all. The energy slowly made her float in the air and lifted her away from Xel, whose face was contorted with hatred.


    Like a beam of light, Alex was shot straight back through the streets, all the way back to her old home. The door opened automatically and she was thrown straight into her bedroom, right onto her bed.


    ¡­


    When Alex woke up, she was in a strange medical facility that smelled like acid. She wasn¡¯t alone though. Next to her was a nurse dressed in red, who smiled down at her with a strange look in her eyes.


    ¡°My oh my. What a foolish girl. Confronting your curse straight away. Do you truly seek death, little one? If so, make sure to tell this big sis here so that I can help you out with that, okay?¡±


    ¡°Um... thanks for the offer, but I¡¯ll take a rain check. I¡¯d rather not go back to that place anytime soon.¡±


    The nurse shone a light into Alex''s eye and muttered, ¡°Excellent, still responsive even after having her soul split in half. The eyeballs aren''t dilated, showing that she''s conscious. She also isn''t saying gibberish that could be interpreted as her becoming mentally disabled.¡°


    ¡°Soul scan shows no abnormalities other than her split soul. It looks like her memories are intact for the most part, meaning that she isn''t a failed magical girl...


    ¡°My diagnosis is that this girl has completed her magical girl transformation and definitely isn''t insane. End report.¡±


    ¡°Um, hello? Where am I? And where is Sugar? Is she okay? Can I go see her?"


    "You''re currently in the medical ward and...¡±


    Hema, who was finishing up her report, snapped her head back towards Alex with a smile.


    ¡°You¡¯re now finished with your examination, and free to go join the other new Magical Girls. I welcome you to the Gang, little sister. My name is Hema, and you¡¯ll be seeing a lot of me. But for now, one of the meat bags will escort you to the dormitory where your friend is staying.¡±

 Chapter 10 - Mounted

    After Alex left the medical center Hema called up Blackcard.


    ¡°There was a scare but I managed to put up a wall between the two sides of the girl¡¯s soul. For now, she¡¯s still an uninfected magical girl. I''ve slipped the data collector in her body to study her, so hopefully, we¡¯ll get something useful soon.¡±


    ¡°How long will the barrier between the two sides last?¡±


    ¡°Give or take a year unless something unexpected happens, and that¡¯s still more than enough time to last through the training. But even though I can make sure that the souls won''t mix, for now, they can still talk to each other.¡±


    ¡°A minor matter. I''ve had to change plans about the number of teachers to send though. The number¡¯s been upped from two to four, so send your disciple in as one and tell her to watch over our key. This girl cannot be allowed to die until we¡¯ve found out everything we can.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure we should send her out? If she dies we most likely won¡¯t be able to find something like this again.¡±


    ¡°As the key to ridding us of this curse, she must grow strong. She may be our best chance to at least have a shot at killing the Shadow Emperor once and for all. Besides, we won¡¯t get any good data by caging her up.¡±


    ¡°Understood Mistress. May your will be done.¡±


    ¡­


    As Alex walked next to a finely dressed man with blond hair, she couldn''t help but marvel at how handsome he was.


    Why is someone like him called a meatbag? This man was a 10 out of 10 on my hunk meter; even merely walking by his side made me flush with embarrassment!


    A few minutes passed as they moved through the tunnels until, eventually, they stopped by a doorway where the handsome man held open a door and motioned Alex inside, bowing as he did so.


    Alex¡¯s face flushes red at the gesture.


    Noticing that she wasn¡¯t going in, the man asked ¡°Do you have any commands, Mistress?¡±


    ¡°Come here, meatbag!¡±


    Out of left field, a blur ripped past Alex and pushed the man up against the wall. Stunned, Alex turned to see that a woman had captured the man between her arms and was currently pressing her lips up against his and squeezing his ass.


    Alex stared, aghast, at this strange woman in green as she manhandled the pretty boy and gave him a deep kiss with plenty of tongue.


    After what seemed like forever, the girl in green finally pulled back off the man only to turn to Alex and give her a wink.


    As she turned, Alex could finally see her clearly. This strange woman had long black hair, feminine English features, flickering green eyes, and a sarcastic smile playing on her lips.


    Her confident smile reminded Alex of the one Xel had flashed, causing Alex to instantly go on guard. The girl clad in green laughed when she saw Alex¡¯s reaction, and took the pretty boy by the hand and led him to another room nearby. Soon enough the sound of moaning could be heard through the door, making Alex blush.


    How shameless! How bold! How indecent!


    Alex¡¯s face lit up like a red apple, and she quickly walked into the room that a strange woman had rushed out of, in a hurry to escape those shameful sounds. But as if the girl knew how Alex would react, the moaning grew louder and bled through the walls.


    Alex covered her ears to try and block out the sounds as she looked around the room for Sugar. Soon she spotted Sugar¡¯s sexy figure dressed in a new pair of overalls, complete with a white top, laying on a bed and listlessly reading a book.


    Alex smiled after seeing that her friend was alright and ran right over to her.


    ¡°Sugar! I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alright! I didn¡¯t know what I¡¯d¡ª¡±


    When Alex came close Sugar grabbed her by her shirt collar and pulled her down onto the bed in one quick motion. Alex¡¯s eyes widened, her heart beating like a drum, as Sugar sat atop of her and leaned in close. Her golden hair draped over them, hiding their faces from sight.


    Alex started to squirm, feeling a bit like a scared little rabbit, as Sugar hovered inches away from her lips.¡°Um, Sug¡ª¡±


    ¡°Quiet. You need some punishment.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Alex tried to register Sugar¡¯s words as the girl leaned down, moving ever closer before turning away a mere inch from her lips. Instead of the kiss Alex was expecting, Sugar captured Alex¡¯s left earlobe and started to nibble.


    A shock shot through Alex¡¯s body and she grabbed the sheets with a short shriek.


    ¡°Wait sto¡ª Eek!¡±


    Feeling Alex''s body tense up lit a fire within Sugar. She just wanted to tease her friend but that reaction only made her want to go further.


    Sugar bit and breathed on Alex¡¯s ear, and soon her trembling form started to moan with flushed cheeks.


    Alex tried to squirm away but Sugar¡¯s surprising strength allowed her to hold Alex down with ease.


    At this point, Alex¡¯s ear wasn¡¯t enough anymore. Sugar wanted to go even further, so she slowly started to move her hands downwards, aiming to strip off Alex¡¯s top and have her way with her.


    Yet just as Sugar was about to slide her hand under the shirt, a yell sounded out behind them. Sugar sat upright with a frown on her face, allowing Alex some room to breathe, and noticed that the rest of the girls were surrounding them.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    They must be watching us for amusement, Sugar thought as she sent them an irritated glare.


    The girls snickered and started to move away, so Sugar was about to retract her gaze when she noticed a figure standing in the doorway.


    ¡®Staring¡¯ at the crowd inside the room was a woman with a blood-red sash covering her eyes and white hair that contrasted her dark body tone. Her small button nose was wrinkled slightly, and her small ruby red lips were pursed in displeasure. She was wearing a mixed black and white mourning dress.


    In one hand she held the hilt of her sword, and the other had a firm grip on a girl clad in green who had been beaten to a pulp. Alex couldn¡¯t even recognize the girl''s facial features before the blindfolded girl dropped the beaten girl in a pool of her own blood.


    ¡°You may be magical girls but you are still only blanks, yet to even gain a rank. Let this be a warning to you. Don¡¯t touch the gang¡¯s property without the proper authority or you¡¯ll face the consequences. With that warning out of the way... I am Spada, ranked as the Seven of Diamonds, and I will be one of your instructors.


    All of you follow me to get the tattoos that will mark you as one of ours. Those that don¡¯t follow me will be beaten like this one¡­ or worse. Now come.¡±


    Spada''s words left the group of girls speechless. Obviously, none of them wanted to get beaten up, so all twenty-four girls quickly started moving. The only ones to lag behind were Alex, Sugar, and the passed-out girl clad in green.


    Sugar took some time to get off Alex, but they weren''t left too far behind and quickly caught up with the crowd.


    As they walked past the girl in green Alex pulled over Sugar, who had moved past her, ¡°We should help her.¡±


    Sugar gave her a strange look, ¡°Why? She got her ass beat for overstepping her bounds.¡±


    ¡°Although she seems like a slut it¡¯s best to make friends instead of enemies,¡± Alex explained.


    ¡°Who are you calling a slut?! Bitch!¡±


    The girl in green seemed to have woken up just in time to hear Alex¡®s words. She was already quite angry that she¡¯d been beaten up for feeling up that pretty boy, and now this plain girl was dissing her? Unacceptable!


    If she had the strength she¡¯d bite this bitch to death!


    ¡°See? She¡¯s awake now so she can walk by herself.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you see that her leg is broken? She can¡¯t walk on her own!¡±


    ¡°All the more reason to abandon her! Spada must wish to make an example of her, if we get on her shit list don¡¯t you think we¡¯ll also be made an example of?! Think Alex, think!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a test.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Sugar and the girl in green looked at Alex with confusion, wondering what the hell she meant.


    Seeing their confused expressions, Alex realized that they didn¡¯t know what she was alluding to. She didn¡¯t know how to explain it either, but Alex just had this feeling that it was some sort of a test to help this girl.


    Alex forewent the explanation, knowing that she probably couldn¡¯t get the two girls to understand, and grit her teeth as she grabbed one of the girl''s arms and tried to pick her up. She tried her hardest to carry the girl. Maybe she should''ve spent more time working out as her papa told her to instead of just studying and eating meatloaf...


    Seeing that Alex was hard-pressed yet still trying to help the girl, Sugar cursed under her breath.


    ¡°Alex, you''re crazy. But... I¡¯ll trust your judgment.¡±


    Sugar went to the other side of the green-clad girl and put her arm under the girl¡¯s,  and lifted her up with ease.


    The girl in green, stunned by the turn of events, couldn¡¯t help but think. Why are these girls helping me? Do they have some kind of goal? Whatever, this will keep me from being punished again.


    ¡°Hey, you''re just gonna be a limp noodle? Stop dragging your feet or I''ll drop you on your face.¡±


    The girl clad in green wiped away her thoughts and began moving her one good leg. Their group of three lagged a bit behind the rest of the girls, but they managed to make reasonable time.


    As they walked, Alex suddenly asked a question.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s your name?¡±


    Smacking her lips, the girl in green bitterly replied, ¡°Loka. Loka Verde. How about you, bitch? What¡¯s your name?¡±


    Sugar''s hand twitched into a fist and smashed into Loka¡¯s stomach. Sugar didn¡¯t hold back either, making Loka gasp for breath as bile rose up to her throat and threatened to spill out.


    Alex was surprised by Sugar''s sudden outburst of anger, as she¡¯d never shown such violent emotion back when they were stuck in the cages.


    ¡°If you dare talk to my sister in such a manner again, I¡¯ll break your other leg.¡±


    Loka could only choke on a cough and glare angrily in response.


    Alex stared, stunned by Sugar¡¯s attitude¡°Why did you do that Sugar? This isn¡¯t like you!¡±


    Sugar snorted and kept moving, ¡°Humph. Bitches like her think that the world is their oyster. They need to be taught a lesson or they¡¯ll just become more arrogant. And if they mess with you, Alex, then they¡¯ll be taught a lesson¡ª it¡¯s as simple as that.¡±


    Sugar didn¡¯t say anymore and dragged Loka, who was coughing up a storm, away. Alex didn¡¯t push the subject further and hurried to keep up with Sugar.


    After an agonizingly long twenty minutes, the group led by Spada finally reached their destination.


    The room Spada led them to smelled of ink and was filled with strange needles that hung from the walls. Hanging above the various needles were countless strange symbols and different types of art.


    Alex inwardly felt that this place was quite similar to a tattoo parlor she¡¯d seen in a picture before.


    A few beautiful girls covered in tattoos and piercings lazed around inside the room, seemingly bored out of their minds. Sitting in the center of the parlor was the oldest one of the group, who seemed to be preparing needles and setting aside ink that the younger girls had mixed up.


    Bright blue and yellow braids hung over the eldest girl¡¯s bronze skin as she leaned over her supplies. She wore a black tank top that exposed her pierced and tattooed sleeved arms, and a faint glimpse of exquisite scenery was revealed due to the angle her body was at. The girl had a small metal ring hanging from her nose, and a tribal marking ran down the left side of her face.


    Her bright yellow and blue eyes flashed with an exciting light as she smiled at Spada and gave her a nod before turning to the group of magical girls behind the blindfolded girl. Her smile grew even wider when her gaze reached Alex and Sugar¡¯s figures.


    ¡°You two will get an extra tattoo for passing Spada¡¯s test. How did you guess that you needed to save that disrespectful girl?¡±


    The group of girls was shocked at the head tattoo artist¡¯s words. They were supposed to save that slut!? And what were these extra tattoos? Were they important? Why weren''t they getting them!


    ¡°Tsk. I guess you win the bet, Nadel. I wanted to teach all of them a lesson by breaking a few of their bones for leaving a sister behind... Such a lucky group of blanks. When I joined the gang my master broke all of our bones for leaving someone behind. You should be thanking those girls for saving your hides.¡±


    Hearing Spada''s words cause a chill to sweep through the group. They¡¯d seen what Spada had done to Loka, and none of them wanted to end up like that.


    They quickly sent looks filled with gratitude towards Alex and Sugar before immediately changing their tune. Their burning envy from missing out on getting a sweet reward filled their souls, transforming their grateful gazes into murderous, hateful gazes.


    Alex felt wronged when she noticed their death glares. She saved them from a beating and this was the thanks she got?


    What bitches!

 Chapter 11 - Tattoo

    Feeling disgusted, Alex turned her attention away from the girls giving her the stink eye and turned her gaze towards Nadel.


    ¡°So what are these tattoos?¡± She asked.


    Nadel grinned when she heard Alex''s question.


    ¡°They¡¯re marks that show your rank in the gang. They¡¯ll also make sure you don¡¯t betray us or try to run off the moment you get a second of freedom. Now, let''s begin.¡±


    One of the girls behind Spada suddenly let out a protest, ¡°Wait! Won¡¯t that make us slaves?! I thought we were supposed to be free!¡±


    ¡°Mehehe! Did you think you had a choice? Well, you do in a way. You can accept the tattoo or die trying to run away from it, mehehe. Don¡¯t worry though, it won¡¯t affect you in any way...normally, that is. Just think of it as an explosive collar, mehehe. Now line up, or I¡¯ll have Spada start chopping those pretty little heads off your necks.¡±


    Spada placed her hand on her sword hilt, hinting that she was ready and willing to draw, leaving no room for negotiation. The group of girls stood frozen, not sure what they wanted to do. Should they forsake their freedom... or their lives?


    Loka dragged herself forth, gritting her teeth through the pain of her broken leg and beaten body.


    ¡°You¡¯re all pussies! I, Loka, will go first to accept this brand. You bitches don¡¯t know what¡¯s good for you. Sure, you became a magical girl by some stroke of luck, but you pieces of trash have no resolve. Get out of my way, you pieces of shit.¡±


    The group of girls, though quite pissed and wanting to beat Loka¡¯s head in for her remarks, still made a path for the injured girl to limp into the room.


    Loka struggled her way inside, and managed to collapse on the chair next to Nadel before succumbing to her pain and breathlessly waiting for Nadel to begin her work.


    Nadel smiled widely, "Since you¡¯re so eager, I guess I''ll make an exception. And also give you a special tattoo,on the house, even. Prepare yourself, the process is quite painful, mehehehe!"


    Nadel dipped her pen in some strangely colored ink and quickly got to work, but only after having one of her assistants hold Loka down and pull up her hair. As soon as the pen touched Loka''s neck, pain shot through her body, making her thrash and scream wildly.


    She tried to escape, but her body was held tight, causing her to be unable to move even a single inch. Her screams echoed through the hall, making Spada laugh, and the group of new magical girls shiver in fear.


    And that was only the basic mandatory tattoo¡­ that of a black and white card, with a laughing joker in the center. When Nadel got to work on her special tattoo that fanned along Loka''s body, she reached a new level of pain.


    The blanks watched, as the veins popped along her skin, her muscles began trembling and even her bones could be heard cracking.


    Alex and Sugar were quite shocked at how excited Nadel''s face showed at the expense of Loka''s pain. Her arm moved at a swift pace across her back, unfortunately though, they couldn''t see the tattoo form on her back.


    When Nadel finished the second tattoo, she smiled, and motioned for her helpers to carry the limp Loka away. Despite not being able to move her body, Loka still had some spark in her.


    "See? You guys are all pussies, all on that weakass shit. Fucking Pussies..."


    She was then carried away by one of the meat bags. To where Alex guessed to be the medical lab, to be healed. Before they carried her off, Alex caught a glance at Loka''s tattoo. It was that of two green wings made in a complex manner that seemed to be moving.


    It was just a glance, so she couldn''t study it further. With Loka taken away, the girls in the group became braver after her caustic remark. They pushed Sugar and Alex out of the way and got their tattoos, one by one.


    Most of them passed out from the blank tattoo meaning that Loka had some exceptional willpower to make it through the tattoo process awake.


    Finally, it was Alex and Sugars turn for the tattoo. On Sugar''s insistence, she went before Alex, since she didn''t want to see her in pain. She didn''t know if she would be able to control herself when she heard Alex''s screams.


    Sugar walked up the steps and laid down, gritting her teeth, preparing herself for the pain. Nadel got to work, stabbing the needle into Sugar, and causing her to yelp in pain.


    Still, she tried to hold her screams in, she didn''t want to show Alex a side of weakness. It wasn''t in her pride.


    Pride?


    Such a thought ran through her mind. She never really cared about her face so why was she having such thoughts?


    She didn''t have the time to think it through, before a pain stronger than the peak of the solar eclipse smited through her.


    "Shit! This is the pain Loka went through? Fuuuuuuuuuck!"


    The pain made her scream in agony over and over, making her body convulse as Nadel started laughing.


    "Mehehe~ This tattoo is going to be pretty good. You got a good base for a blank, girlie. This old lady is going to have to actually put in some effort!"


    When she finished her remark, the pain shot up another level, causing all the blood veins to shoot up and stretch upon Sugar''s skin. Before long, Sugar lost consciousness and lay limply on the table, twitching every so often.


    Nadel finished the inking after an hour and had her carried away like the others. Alex could clearly see Sugar''s tattoo, it was that of a pure sun, surrounded by clouds as dark as night. She then looked over at Alex and motioned her over.


    She hesitated, before Spada pushed her forth, making her climb the steps quickly. Alex''s face felt flushed and stood staring at the table, it was sleek black with white trim and strange carvings along the sides.


    Nadel gave a cough, making Alex turn her attention to her. She saw that she was motioning for her to sit. She sighed and stopped stalling, laying down on the table face down.


    Her body was locked down by Nadel''s assistants. Having the prep finished, Nadel placed a hand on Alex''s bare back and was given a shock.


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    Talking over her back Nadel hissed.


    "What is this, Spada?! This girl shouldn''t be alive! Is this one of the boss¡¯ monstrous creations?!"


    Alex grew confused by her words. Why shouldn¡¯t I be alive? What is she talking about? Did something happen in the ritual? Did it go wrong and I¡¯m dying?!


    "I assure you, Nadel, this blank was created in the ritual and was a normal girl before taking it. This blank is something the boss is quite pleased about, so she hopes you make her extra tattoo quite special."


    Hearing that the blank before her wasn''t an artificially created monster made Nadel relax. In fact, she felt gleeful. If the boss wanted a special tattoo, then she could bring out that ink.


    "It means I''m allowed to use ''that''?"


    "You have been given permission."


    "Hehehehehe~ I thought I wouldn''t live to ever use it. Such a grand day! I will have my finest work to date. Girl, you are quite lucky. Though try not to die.~ This is going to make the ritual seem like feathers tickling your toes."


    Feeling a sense of danger, Alex responded scared, "Eh? What''s going on? What are you guys talking about? Can''t I just get a normal blank tat¡ª"


    One of the assistants ball-gagged Alex''s mouth open, making her feel fear. She couldn''t see what the three were doing, but one of them walked away. Shecame back not long after, and brought them out something that made her skin crawl with an unknown fear.


    It could be quite said that only feeling fear was a fortune for Alex. Since she couldn''t see what the assistant brought back. There were three massive jars of black, white and gold. The labels were as such; the blood of an emperor unicorn, the blood of the overlord Dullahan, and blood of a golden dragon.


    Seeing the glowing ink containers, Nadel was skipping, practically jumping with joy. Finally, after all these years of hoarding this ink, she would be able to use it.


    "Spada, I''m going to need those two drugs, the Concentrated Pixie Dust and Goblin Adrenaline. If I don''t have those, her body won''t be able to handle the strain.


    Alex''s thoughts were a mess, "Pixie Dust? Goblin Adrenaline? What the fuck are those kinds of drugs?"


    Spada just shrugged her shoulders and dug through her ring.


    "Here you go, the boss figured you would need them. Are you sure she will be able to handle the Goblin Adrenaline side effects? She might go insane because of that."


    "Don''t worry, she''ll be fine. Probably. Maybe. Let''s just say she won''t go insane. Probably. Maybe. Fuck, at least she won¡¯t be useless. Now that everything''s here let''s begin! Number one, Number two, open the jars!"


    Doing as they were told, they opened the containers. The pair of jars, opened after so long, instantly sent out an aura that made Alex start sweating. With no remorse, Nadel injected the needles and poured the drugs into Alex''s bloodstream, and began to work.


    The drugs made her body instantly hot, and full of energy to just do something, anything, that thing. That wasn''t all, her sexual desires were on fire, yearning to be touched and making her legs squirm.


    Her mind was swimming when the needle touched her skin, and all that energy turned into waves of extreme pain and pleasure.


    Dipping and poking along the back of Alex, Nadel herself was getting excited. She almost wanted to stop and attack one of the assistants, but she resisted the urge.


    This would be her finest work ever! The celebration could wait until she finished the Magnum Opus of her life.


    Seconds turned into minutes ,and minutes into hours. By then, the drugs were starting to wear off, and Alex had to be given another dose.


    By now, she didn''t know where the pain began, and where all the pleasure ended, the lines between them murked. It was driving her insane, as her muscles broke down and rebuilt, her blood bursting from her skin, and her bones turning to dust before reforming.


    She even almost gagged on the black blood she was throwing up. But Nadel was only half done with the tattoo that went across Alex¡¯s entire back.


    It wasn''t until six hours of torture had passed, that Nadel finished her work and took a gander from afar.


    A large golden flaming pentagon covered her back that seemed to sway left and right. The pentagon''s background was split in the middle that was black and white.


    In the middle was that of a lifelike ouroboros, colored in white and black with gold trim. And in the center, was a horizontal golden roman number one giving off a majestic flair.


    Whipping the sweat off her brow, Nadel did a stretch and gazed at her masterpiece after her assistants washed the blood off of Alex''s body.


    She knew that this would be the best work she would ever do in her life, and took a picture of the work and a selfie with it. Later, she would print it out and put it up on her wall to look back on.


    As she was about to let Alex go, Spada coughed.


    "Aren''t you forgetting something?"


    "Ah, the blank! I''ll get it done in a jiffy! Hey, girl, clench your teeth, I''ll get this done as fast as I can!"


    Alex, who finally regained her sanity, groaned in agony and passed out, since the drugs had worn off. Nadel finished up the blank without fuss, and then took a photo with Alex''s black.


    Having taken care of the project she was somewhat dejected, letting Alex go. She wanted to see what effects that tattoo would have with a little testing.


    "Hey, Spada, can you prolong the sending for at least a few days? I really wanna see that tattoo in action."


    Shaking her head, Spada replied, "You know we can''t delay the sending, it''s been set for tomorrow. Don''t worry, though. I''ll be sure to send a video of the tattoo in action Master Gang-Inker Nadel."


    "Humph! You better, Spada, or I''m going to chop off your hands and feet and throw you into the ocean to swim with the fishes!"

 Chapter 12 - A Legend Born

    Time passed, and the sending was on it''s way. The girls woke up early the next day, with the exceptions of Alex, Sugar, and Loka.


    Those three were knocked out cold, thanks to receiving their extra tattoos. The group of magical girls they met the day before was forced to carry them.


    When they woke up, four high ranking magical girls stood in the room. The members being Spada, Asita, Tanya, and Incus. These four would be trainers of this batch of magical girls.


    Loaded into cars, the girls traveled to the airport. If one looked carefully, that day there was a flock of young girls heading to the airport in droves.


    Dressed in slick black suits, the four magical girl teachers led the group of blanks to one of the air terminals. The blanks had their eyes wide, checking out all the other girls and male hunks that accompanied them.


    The airport had a tense air inside, there weren''t only allies here. There were quite a few enemies as well. If this was out in the street, these girls would have tried to tear each other''s throats out.


    Only during the days like the sending, would they bury all grudges and treat each this as neutral ground. It was a strange unspoken rule that the magical girls followed ever since the first sending.


    The teachers stood at each corner, protecting the blanks from hostile forces. This drew the attention of other magical girl gangs, usually, only two teachers were sent for groups. It was quite rare for four teachers to be sent off in the sending.


    Although they had their questions, no one kicked up a fuss, and the Black Card gang made it to the airport terminal. They weren''t asked for passports by the officials, nor checked for dangerous materials.


    The airport knew the drill, that today was the sending, and if they didn''t want to lose their heads, it was best to look the other way. Past years had instilled that deep fear of the magical girls down into their bones.


    Spada and Asita, who were leading the pack, took the back seats of the plane. They gave a nod to their allies, the Knife Knife Gang, who were already seated on the plane.


    They had taken the left side of the plane, so the Black Card Gang took the right. The two teachers of the Knife Knife Gang had a bemused expression seeing the Black Card Gang had four teachers instead of the usual two.


    One of them leaned over to Asita with a grin. She wore a pair of steampunk goggles over her eyes and had long green hair. Dressed in a black suit with little knives as buttons, unlike Black Card Gang who used cards,Asita could see that, despite being quite fashionable, she didn''t look comfortable in it.


    "Why the extra personnel, Iron Fist? Did you guys take a loss recently? Why didn''t you ask for help from us? Or is it something more... personal?"


    Asita shook her head and smiled, "Me and Tanya just wanted to get some fresh air, nothing much to it. Being the boss''s daughter has some perks, you know? Although, while it is a break from the big city, we are going to seriously train these blanks.


    "Enough about boring old us. How did your ritual go? Ruth or should I call you Green Knife now? Congrats on getting a ''Name'' you''ve been working hard."


    Ruth smiled widely at Asita''s praise. It had been a long ride to get her name. Knowing that Asita had heard of the news filled her with pride, and she felt more at ease to talk.


    Spada and the other magical girl stayed silent while the two chatted. They were the silent types that would rather let their power speak, so they decided to get some sleep on the trip.


    This plane was one of the small ones that had just enough seats to fit the two groups. Besides those two speaking, most of the blanks were quite silent.


    Most of the girls didn''t know each other, and didn''t know what to talk about. Not to mention that what they had to do to live in the ritual was still fresh on their minds.


    So, the plane took off with an odd silence, it wasn''t before they were high in the sky that a screen appeared. It made the girls quite interested, and they turned their focus to it.


    At this time, Loka woke up rubbing her eyes and looking around. She looked around a bit to see Alex and Sugar leaning on each other near the window seat.


    The first question that came to her mind.


    Where am I?


    She wanted to ask the person in front of the seats, but a screen popped to life on the seat she was facing.


    A girl with wild silver hair and gold stars for pupils appeared. She wore a nice white dress that was quite fluffy.


    "Hello! Nice to meet you, new magical girls. I am Izar and I will be the person filling you in on your destination and how long you will be training for."


    Her high beat air sickened Loka, but she forced herself to pay attention to this fool in front of her.


    "The training area is based in Brazil, and the training regime will take six months. The training will include such subjects as stated. Making and distributing drugs; weapon training, medicine, torture tactics, assassination, body cleanup, reputation, magic training, trade and many more!You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Enjoy your refreshments and your trip while you can~. That is all from me, the head trainer Izar signing off."


    With that, Izar gave a bow, and the screen went off. The screen then turned back to a movie selection that the girls could watch from. But no one touched the screen or the headphones as the words Izar said were sinking in.


    Their old life was really over, and now they belonged to the gang, and the gang belonged to them. They weren''t normal girls anymore... When they got off the plane, everything was going to change.


    Loka gritted her teeth and rang for the flight attendant. Shortly after, a handsome male walked over and greeted her.


    "Is there something you need, miss?"


    "I want your strongest booze, and weed. You have that, right?"


    The air attendant looked amused, and respectfully bowed, "Please wait a minute, the items will come quite shortly."


    The girls around Loka looked quite stunned. They didn''t expect such items to be on the plane, but the girls weren''t reserved. The group started ringing up the air attendant for alcohol and all sorts of drugs.


    It was at this point, when Loka was lighting up a blunt and drinking from a bottle of vodka, that Sugar woke up. She looked quite confused and tried to ask where they were.


    What she got was a blunt stuck in her mouth and was told to smoke by Loka. Telling her to enjoy the ride, as that would be the last time they could party for a long while.


    Lighting up the blunt like a pro, Sugar tried to wake Alex up, since the plane was starting to liven up. Unfortunately, she was still out cold and, no matter what she tried, the girl wouldn''t wake up.


    After taking a deep drag, a rush hit Sugar, and she started giggling. She knew that this type of weed was high class; full of THC if it could get someone this buzzed, this fast. She then looked over to Loka, and asked for a hit of Vodka.


    By now, Loka had loosened up as well, and surprisingly handed the bottle over. Tilting her head back, Sugar started chugging Vodka, finishing off a quarter of a bottle in one go.


    Loka, watching this, raised an eyebrow at how much Sugar put away in a single chug. This way, inadvertently, she gained newfound respect. Wiping her lips, Sugar handed the bottle back to Loka, and took another hit of her blunt.


    Watching her, Loka felt she might as well now answer the blond broad.


    "You asked where we are going, so while we''re both high, I''ll tell you."


    After a few minutes of slurring of words, Sugar got Loka''s message across with great confusion. Sugar took another hit of her blunt in, and tried to keep a sober thought.


    So this was what their life was going to be like for the next six months. Tanya had told her that she would breeze through such things, although she didn''t think it would be moving along this fast.


    Well, nothing she could do about it, she might as well get plastered and wait for Alex to wake so she could get her drunk too. Someone on the plane turned on the tunes, and everyone started to party hard.


    ¡­


    The trip had taken a whole thirty-eight hours. After many delays and partying, the girls were above the skies of Sao Paulo. Most of the girls were into their third wave of partying and were now at ease with one another.


    Loka and Suger had now gotten quite close to each other, and were telling each other girl stories. The only one who didn''t join in on the partying was the still knocked out Alex. Sugar was quite sad that Alex had missed such a grand party that took place at the interconnected flight. The thing went on for eight hours, and pretty boys were plenty to go around.


    Shame that she couldn''t have Alex lose her virginity there. It was quite a wild party that even news outlets were over to cover the scene.


    Looking over again at Alex, Sugar blew some weed smoke in her face, in hopes it would wake her up. Unlike the other times she did this there was finally a reaction from Alex.


    Her eyes started twitching, making Sugar perk up. Putting down the bottle of rum and blunt, she started shaking Alex''s.


    "Alex, wake up! Hurry up, you gotta hit this before we land!"


    Alex''s eyes opened slowly, "Eh? Sugar what do you mean? Where are we? What''s going on?"


    "Nevermind that! Loka, help me out here, we gotta get this girl wasted before we leave!"


    Loka, hearing her pleas, nodded her head and yelled.


    "Everyone! Sleeping Nerd has woken up! Pass your bottles over quickly! We gotta get this girl fucked up!"


    They shouted vulgarities as they passed bottles of beer, bourbon, rum, whiskey, vodka, and whatever else they could find to Loka''s waiting hands. Like a mad scientist, Loka poured the remains into a large bottle mixing dozens and dozens of types of alcohol together.


    She finished her job quickly, and passed the concoction over to Sugar while slapping her shoulder.


    "The rest is up to you. Don''t let your sisters down."


    Sugar gave her a thumbs up and put the bottle to Alex''s lips and she started to chant.


    "Chug! chug! chug! chug!"


    Soon enough, everyone was hitting their seats and joining in on Sugar, telling Alex to chug. Alex didn''t know what was going on. but seeing everyone''s pleading eyes. she started to down the bottle.


    It tasted like shit with all the alcohol mixed in, but she kept going on with the shouts of the girls backing her up. One gulp after another, she shotgunned the mixed drink in one motion.


    She then placed the bottle downwards, and not a single drop of booze escaped. The girls went absolutely nuts as the news went around that the sleeping nerd drank the bottle in one go.


    Like savages, the girls were going so bat shit crazy that the plane started to shake. Alex, after drinking the booze, became drunk and joined in their animal cries.


    Sugar on the other side, was rolling up a large blunt the size of three fingers together and lit it doing a few quick puffs. She then handed it over to Alex.


    "Smoke all of it, Alex! Before we land!"


    In her drunken state, Alex grabbed the mega blunt and inhaled. This was her first time smoking, but she was a natural, with lungs to match.


    She sucked and sucked, and the girls around her watched her hit the thing until it became three-fourths ash. And her exhale was as smooth as a baby''s ass.


    It was at this time a legend was born among the new magical girls. A girl who could outdrink and out smoke anyone. From her fellow peers, she was granted the name.


    The Pit.

 Chapter 13 - Travel on Foot

    The plane landed, and the girls got set to vertical next to it, stumbling drunk, leaning on each other for support. Alex, in particular, needed Loka and Sugar¡¯s help to stand straight, or as close to straight as they were able to. She had double vision, and her mind was on cloud nine, walking forward out of the terminal she was laughing at every single thing.


    Over tens of teachers herded the blanks like sheep along to the entrance of the airport. When the girls reached outside, they saw hundreds of jeeps waiting for them. The teachers filled each one with three to four blanks. With the wasted girls loaded in, the teachers took a spot along with the jeep convoy.


    They waited for the allied gangs and branch gangs to join them, before heading off in the same direction. Alex and her group were loaded in, and their driver was a cheery man with dark hair.


    Sugar and Loka wondered where they were heading, and Alex should have too, if she wasn¡¯t so out of it. After the cars were loaded, they took off all at once. The girls enjoyed the warm air on their skin as they moved along the streets.


    Such a movement attracted eyes. Yet once they noticed the magical girls, everyone made way. Those riding in the cars were still tripping out of their minds from the drugs, so they didn¡¯t pay attention, or at least not to things they should have.


    And so, they drove forth through the city and kept going north for hours. They traveled without stopping moving along the road until reaching the end of it.


    Then, the path started to get bumpy, as the road became uneven and narrower as they traveled to the point that it became just  a one-line drive.


    By now, the girls were mostly sobered up after such a long drive, and were clutching their heads while trying to survive their hangovers. They were given neither food nor drink¡ªmaking them grumpy at the very least, not looking around at all. The strange wildlife was watching them though. Some of them were your average animals from the earth and others were strange creatures that prowled the forest.


    Ever since the first magical girl appeared, these monsters popped out of nowhere. Scientists around the world studied these new creatures and found something astounding.


    All known life shared the common DNA double helix, but these creatures that appeared had a shocking triple helix!


    It was when they found this out, that scientists around the world debated over the years until one general thesis was accepted.


    These creatures weren''t from earth.


    These girls riding in the cars knew this from taking history in their classes. Still, a question remained.


    Where did these creatures come from?


    ¡­


    The line of jeeps kept going deeper into the forest. By now, they were traveling along a rarely traveled dirt road, with just enough space for them to turn a jeep around.


    It was at that time that the jeeps suddenly stopped, making the girls confused. Some of the girls were arguing with their jeeps, but they ceased when the teachers stepped out of their cars and knocked on each car telling them to get out.


    They then gathered at large, at a small clearing nearby. One jeep followed over, while the rest left. This made the girls even more confused, as there was nothing around them.


    It was at this time Spada and a few other teachers walked over to the remaining jeep. This gathered more than half of the group¡¯s attention, as it seemed that something was up.


    By now, most of the girls were sobered up, and couldn¡¯t think clearly due to head-splitting hangovers. Alex belonged to the part who was still a little tipsy.


    Spada, without a word, jumped onto the roof of the jeep and stared at the group before her. Gazing at them she almost wanted to smirk, she was reminiscing when she was in their shoes when she was young.


    She shook away her thoughts; she could think about punishing them later. For now, it was time to get this show on the road.


    ¡°Blanks! We will now be marching to the camp. Every one of you will be given a machete for self-defence, for we cannot guarantee your life from here on out. This is a test for you, to see if you have what it takes to survive!¡±


    Not another word, Spada motioned with one of her hands, and a teacher opened the back of the jeep. Inside was a large number of machetes and water bottles.


    Most of the blanks lined up themselves, and some were lined up. But all of them received their weapons and water, then headed to the empty section of the glade, where they were told to wait. When everyone had gotten their items,Alex had by then more or less recovered her thinking capacity.


    ¡°Eh? Where are we? Sugar, what¡¯s going on?¡± Although she got dead drunk, Alex¡¯s head wasn¡¯t hurting over a hangover.


    Seeing that her friend was now awake and sober anew, Sugar wanted to fill her in on the events as they started walking through the forest. Finding out how they were in an unknown part in Brazil and were now marching to the facility made Alex quite shocked.


    She had passed the journey until this point either sleeping or completely intoxicated, and from what Loka filled in, she missed one hell of an extended party. Along with pretty boys to fool around with, and quite a few of the girls in the group losing their virginity in the ensuing 8-hour orgy when they had that long delay.


    The teachers didn¡¯t join them though, as they let the girls have their fun. Seeing their reactions, the blanks partied harder for, deep down, they knew that this might be their last time to let loose. Alex was even told that if it wasn¡¯t for Sugar protecting her, she might have been raped!Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Hearing that, Alex was shook to her core. First, it was how she could miss such a party. Second, these girls around her could be so shameless to have an orgy in an airport. And third, she was almost raped by the girls as a joke.


    Deep in her heart, she made a promise to never be in such a scenario ever again.


    ¡°Thank you, Sugar, for protecting me!¡±


    Hearing Alex thank her made Sugar blush. She scratched her cheek in response, ¡°It was nothing. I mean, you did save my life in the ritual. That debt can¡¯t be paid unless I save your life. And even then, I don¡¯t think it would be enough.¡±


    As the two girls shared a lovely moment between each other, Loka looked at them with disgust, ¡°Damn! Leasbos, go get a room together. Hey, Virgin and Blondie, can you pay attention? We''re not exactly in the city anymore.¡±


    Alex and Sugar blushed and wanted to yell, ¡°I¡¯m not a lesbian!¡± But forced their words back on Loka¡¯s other comment.


    A good chunk of the girls were silent, chopping the vegetation in front of them. The teachers didn¡¯t join them, and only guided the group. The blanks took turns cutting through the thick greenery along the path that blocked them.


    And the reason Loka told them to shut up was that it was almost their turn to cut. And they judged by the yelling and screaming ahead that it wasn¡¯t an easy job. Every time the girls rotated, they saw the girls covered in wounds and bruises ranging from large to small.


    Those that complained were beaten by the teacher of their gang, and had the content of their pockets confiscated. Those that didn¡¯t go to the front were not only beaten by the teachers, but having learned their lesson, other magical girls were mugging them beforehand not to waste lifegiving goods. Those that didn¡¯t move fast enough through the greenery were just beaten.


    Most of the wounds, though, weren''t from the beatings. They came from the thorny greenery and the various animals that attacked them. One of the girls that came back even had a broken arm hung at her side. After the first few shifts, they concluded that it was safer to go forward and work, rather than try to weather the double beating by both ravenous magical girls and the teachers. Especially magical girls who were not pulling their punches.


    So it wasn¡¯t time to mess around. They needed focus, since they were up soon after the next two shifts. Alex, Loka, Sugar, and seven other blanks stood ready, their hands armed with their machetes rearing to go.


    After twenty minutes, it was their time. Every group was given ten minutes to cut away the greenery before switching out. It might not seem like much time, but those who stood on the frontlines were drenched in sweat and blood.


    They weren¡¯t used to the weather, which made them sweat even more, and that greenery wasn¡¯t just common flora. The stuff wouldn¡¯t let you cut it without a fight. Trees used vines to attack the girls, swinging at them.


    Although weak individually, they were great in number, and would relentlessly attack if you didn¡¯t cut it till you were out of its range. Alex and her group learned this lesson the hard way, as they cut and cut, and kept cutting, making slow but steady progress.


    Of the group, Sugar was making the most progress out of them, with Loka a close second. Among them, Alex was around the bottom of the pack, which made her confused by her exhausted state. From all the hell she went through getting that tattoo, she assumed that she should have gotten stronger.


    She could feel the energy on her back pulsating, but she couldn¡¯t tap into it for some weird reason. So she ended up drenched in sweat and wounds all over her body, before they were sent back to the end of the group.


    Alex had gotten some wounds on her arms and legs, but she didn¡¯t scream out or complain. Gritting her teeth, she kept it inside, and there was a reason for this; that she couldn¡¯t show weakness since she was now in the gang. She used the resources that she gathered from the plane to numb the exhaustion.


    Those that showed weakness were beaten by their teachers harshly for making their gang lose face. After that, they were beaten again, this time by other magical girls that were running out of their stuff looted from the airplane and the after-party. She had seen one of the girls who was up ahead of her who had her left-hand fingers broken one by one every time she let out a scream... She didn¡¯t learn to be silent till the third.


    Being pleased, the teacher forced her fingers back in place and threw her back to the group. Magical girls had much fewer inhibitions, as their first argument of choice were their machetes. Still, nothing more grievous than the machetes lodged in both arms occurred. After all, they did it to acquire stuff, not to kill an additional workforce. Like this, the hellish experience had just begun for the blanks.


    Soon after the second rotation, girls started running out of the water to drink, making their throats dry and raspy, since most of it was used to alleviate hangovers. Alex and her group were not excluded in this, as Alex had finished half of her water already, and her group had drunk most of the water without holding back.


    Alex whispered to her group, ¡°Reserve the rest of your water or you will run out.¡±


    ¡°Why? I mean, the place shouldn¡¯t be that far. They did give us a bottle each. Why would we need more?¡±


    ¡°Just trust me, this seems like a scheme.¡±


    The group was quite doubtful at Alex¡¯s remark, but decided to do as she said. After all, it would be better to be safe than sorry, and it wouldn¡¯t be that hard to ration their drinking water. And by the fourth rotation, Alex''s fears were proven right. Besides her group, most of the girls had run out of the water and were breathing heavily.


    They had been cutting for most of the day with no end in sight. It wasn¡¯t until it was close to dark that they finally reached another clearing. At this point, the girls,  exhausted, had their eyes brighten up as the teachers said they were setting up a camp for now.


    That wasn¡¯t the only thing.


    In the center of the clearing was a pile of food and water, laying in the open.


    One of the girls in front yelled out in shock, ¡°Guys, there¡¯s food and water! Let''s feast!¡±


    The voice traveled to the back of the group making everyone excited, even Alex¡¯s group. Unfortunately for Alex¡¯s and co., they were in the middle of the pack and wouldn¡¯t be the first to jump on it.


    Who rushed forward the first was the girl who screamed the news, but she was quickly beaten by her teacher for making a move. Seeing these girls who wanted to rush forward dropped dead in their tracks, the rest waited with fear. The first few rows consisted of the mugged group that had nothing to ease their hunger and exhaustion. The stronger group was further in the back, enjoying the setting sun and pranking each other.


    The teacher stepped forward and looked coldly at the blanks, ¡°This one will not get food! The rest of you go to the field and wait to be called to get your food and water!¡±


    The girls listened and looked at the girl who rushed out with pity. Not being able to eat any food... As they walked, Alex''s mind was working overtime, trying to figure out what the scheme was. This whole part felt fishy to her, as it didn¡¯t feel gang-like at all.


    Why only now did they give them supplies when they could¡¯ve done so in the beginning? What did those smirks mean when they said we could now eat and drink? As the questions floated in her mind the group of blanks were corralled into the empty part of the field.


    It was then that she noticed that near the food and water, a magical girl from the Knife Knife Gang transformed the ground into hard stone. And then it all clicked in her head, what these magical girls were scheming all along.


    What a brutal group of bitches.


    Spada stood in front of the blanks with her arms behind her back cracking a faint smile, ¡°Machete 7, Machete 39, step up and acquire your food supplies!¡±


    Alex wanted to laugh. Instead, she mumbled to herself, ¡°Magical Girls are really fucked up.¡±

 Chapter 14 - Fight for Food

    The group of girls looked confused at one another, except for a few quick ones pulling out their machetes, such as Alex who looked at their number. She breathed a sigh of relief to read her Number, 153. They just got here and she wanted to regain her energy.


    Seeing this, the other girls pulled out their blades and checked their number. Soon, two girls walked upon the rock stage waiting to receive their supplies. Spada and the other magical girls just smirked evilly as one of them picked two containers. One was a nice healthy sized container that could easily feed two, filled with a fine assortment of food. While the other container was much smaller and at best considered half a meal.


    This made the two girls question what the magical girls were playing until Spada spoke up.


    ¡°The winner will get the bigger meal, and the loser will get the smaller meal. It won¡¯t end until I say so. If you don¡¯t fight, you won¡¯t get your meals and will be beaten harshly. If you make the fight amusing we might throw in extra rations. Fail to amuse us and you will also lose your rations. Now, fight!¡±


    Seven¡¯s eyes sharpened and she put herself into a fighting stance. Her long black hair flowing in the air, and her black eyes serious, she rushed forward and went for the first strike. Thirty-nine had short orange hair and smiling eyes that made her seem like a fox. She wasn¡¯t startled by hercharge, and calmly dogged her attack, countering by shoving her knee into Seven''s stomach.


    Having knocked the air out of her breath Thirty-nine was not done, grabbing the black-haired girl''s long hair and smashing her knee into her face. Her confident smile turned to a frown when she didn¡¯t hear the sound of bones breaking.


    Seven had blocked the knee with her hands, and then bit Thirty-nine¡¯s leg, making her howl in pain loosen her grip on Seven¡¯s hair. Seven had recovered her breath somewhat, and smashed her shoulder into Thirty-nine¡¯s stomach, pushing her back and allowing for some space.


    Within that space, Seven wanted to keep the advantage, and charged at Thirty-nine once more, wishing to cave in the girl''s face. Thirty-Nine blocked Seven¡¯s attack by grabbing her arm and throwing her behind by rolling on her back.


    Alex''s eyes opened wide in shock at how well the girls were fighting. She just assumed magical fighting with magic instead of hand to hand combat.


    As if sensing Alex¡¯s questioning gaze, Loka whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, those two are exceptions as they are from magical girl families. Heh, the teachers just want to scare us with this kind of tactic. Bringing out the Knife Knife Gang¡¯s Head''s Daughter and the bastard niece of the Zodiac¡¯s Gang¡¯s Head... They have been trained well. I¡¯m itching to trample them, since they seem like good opponents.¡±


    Looking at the fight seriously, Alex noticed something, then frowned. ¡°That isn¡¯t just it. They are using their powers, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    Loka raised a brow and snorted, ¡°No shit, virgin. No regular human their age could move that way unless they were born monsters. Well, that isn¡¯t far off the truth, besides, there''s also their training before they had awoken to their magical girl talent.¡±


    ¡°Talent?¡±


    ¡°Just wait a bit, and you will see what I mean. Things are about to get interesting.¡±


    The two broke away from each other as if coming to an understanding.


    Whipping the blood flowing from her mouth, Seven snorted, ¡°Guess we can¡¯t solve it this way.¡±


    Thirty-nine cracked her neck and replied, ¡°Indeed. For a bastard, you can fight pretty well.¡±


    ¡°Tsk! Big words for a princess born with a golden spoon. Let¡¯s end this!¡±


    ¡°Born from the Chained Lion, who in earth slumbers.¡±


    ¡°A knife that was forged in the Coldest Abyss.¡±


    ¡°I rule the bindings, no matter their numbers¡±


    ¡°I cut forth my path, in your pain contained bliss.¡±


    ¡°And in my wake to Chaos, Order I bring.¡±


    ¡°In my wake, a Sea of Frozen Corpses left.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the Magical Girl Ruling Lion! You¡¯re trapped in my ring!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Magical Girl Frost Knife! Your end ain¡¯t deft!¡±


    The two¡¯s bodies blazed with an aura of fire for the first line. For Seven, she had a murky dark silver color, and for Thirty-nine, a cyan one. Then, the second line increased the flaming to a blinding light, as their clothes started to transform. And when the final lines came out, the two exploded with power as their transformation became complete. Chains and fur covered Seven¡¯s Magical Girl clothing, from head to toe, her black eyes turned green, and her mouth having grown two fangs.


    Thirty-nine''s transformation was that of a more traditional magical girl than Magical Girl Ruling Lion''s. Her fox-like eyes opened slightly, to reveal her ice-cold colored pupils, and her hair had turned the colors white and blue. Her clothing was filled with frills colored blue, white, and black; the most interesting thing was that her body was covered in knives.


    Alex would have thought it would have been pretty cool if their chant weren''t so chunni. She even wanted to laugh at them for saying such cheesy lines. That is, if they didn¡¯t give off such a terrifying pressure that weighed down on her.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Cracking their bones, the two rushed at each other once again. And shockingly, their firsts'' mere movements smashed the ground of the arena in, causing cracks around them. They clashed in the air, fist against a leg, impacting each other, launching a shockwave around them.


    Except for the clashes, Alex couldn¡¯t seem to follow their movements anymore. Fists, legs, chains, and knives were flying everywhere at the brutal fight, to the point that if the magical girls didn¡¯t cast a barrier they would''ve been swept up in the aftermath of the brawl.


    Alex''s eyes opened wide, ¡°So this is the battle between magical girls. How destructive.¡±


    Loka shook her head and laughed, ¡°This isn¡¯t a true battle between magical girls, after all, we¡¯re blanks, not the real deal. If we were in the midst of a real magical girl battle we wouldn¡¯t even be able to watch. Instead, we¡¯d be blown away, or killed from the aftershock.¡±


    The two girls discussed together, to which Sugar joined in after overhearing them talk casually. The girls around them looked at them weirdly, wondering where they had such gumption to talk about things like these so laidback.


    Still while talking, they tried to keep up and watch the pair''s battle. By now, blood was flying across the ground, as both of the girls were fighting unrestrained, and going seemingly to the death, Sending shockwaves with each attack that made contact, arms and legs smashing into one another as chains and knives flew around the arena.


    Seven sent her chains out like whips, trying to grab the limbs of Thirty-nine, while Thirty-nine sent out her knives and pierced the holes of the chains, pinning them down to the ground. In the midst of that, she still went on the offensive with her knives, to work together with her kicks. In response to which Seven used her chains to clad her fists, to block and smash.


    The two had bloodthirsty expressions, wishing to tear the other apart, yearning for each other''s death. The fight was reaching new levels of intensity as the blood drenching their clothes broke away and the two spat out blood.


    Seven gathered the chains into a massive fist above her head and sent it at Thirty-nine, to crush her under the weight. While Thirty-nine spread her arms, and hundreds of cold knives started to flow around her forming a sharp wall.


    ¡°Die bastard born slut!¡±


    ¡°Die slit-eyed bitch!¡±


    They sent their attack out at the same time, causing dust to cover the platform making the blanks below unable to see the outcome. It was then that Spada, who was silent the whole time, lifted her hand.


    ¡°The winner of this fight is number seven!¡±


    ¡°Tsk, what a trap you pulled, you bastard born. It¡¯s my loss this time.¡±


    ¡°Heh, it was pretty close. If we fought again I¡¯d probably lose now that you know my trick.¡±


    As the dust cleared, they could see that Thirty-nine was wrapped up in a coffin of chains, unable to move. Alex and co. didn¡¯t see how she got into the position, but it seemed from their words that Seven had pulled a trick.


    With her declared the winner, Seven let her opponent go and walked off the stage. They released their magical girl form to their regular clothes which were torn up. Seven received her meal and her bonus with a smile, while Thirty-nine was in a pissy mood as they went off, with the healer Incus and another magical girl going off to tend to their injuries.


    Soon, another two girls were called to fight, one after another. Time passed, and although unlike the first fight, most of the girls weren''t at the level of Seven and Thirty-nine. Their fights ended quite quickly. While waiting to fight, Loka thought of something after another fight ended.


    ¡°¡®Hey, virgin, I wonder who you¡¯ll be fighting. Better hope for a weakling since you lack in power, string bean.¡±


    Alex held her head high and snorted at Loka, displeased in being called a virgin.


    ¡°Humph. I might look this way, but before heading to the city I helped my father and mother on the farm. I have some strength!¡±


    ¡°Number 153! Number 2! Come forth and fight!¡±


    Loka heard the number and then saw a certain girl walk out of the crowd, ¡°Oh fuck. Well, it was nice knowing you Virgin. I don¡¯t know who you pissed off but you have shit luck.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean¡ªIs that even a woman?¡±


    Standing two meters tall, a large cloaked figure walked forward in silence. The girl''s muscles lined her black silk robe. She looked like a bodybuilder that didn¡¯t know restraint. Seeing this, the magical girl blanks gave Spada a curious look when Alex walked forward.


    Even one of the teachers looked at Spada, ¡°Hey now, Spada, are you for real? I don¡¯t think that girl is at the level of ¡®her¡¯... Did that one piss you off?¡±


    Spada smiled and shook her head, ¡°Nope. This was an order from my mistress Blackcard, to test this girl. I hope you guys understand that I have no choice in the matter, sorry to bring this up late, Dragon Fist of the Muscle Crew!¡±


    A woman, who stood two meters tall with a chiseled frame that looked quite sexy, shook her head and snorted.


    ¡°Since Blackcard wants to challenge the string bean, Armor can break her. Sorry that you''re going to lose a blank so soon, that girl doesn¡¯t know how to hold back.¡±


    Spada just laughed, ¡°My leader wouldn¡¯t have it any other way! Oi, blank. Hurry up and get in position or I¡¯ll beat you.¡±


    Hearing Spada¡¯s scorn, Alex cursed inwardly. Biting her lip she got on the stage, knowing full well that she couldn¡¯t escape the fight. Armor in front of her was so massive compared to her figure that she started sweating bullets trying to think of a way to win.


    That¡¯s right, even with such impossible odds, Alex was thinking overtime with the little time she had available to figure out how to beat this hulking wall of flesh.


    Armor stood there in her black robes, waiting for Spada to ring the bell silently, not saying anything to Alex. She slowly took her stance full of seriousness, showing with no mercy that she was ready to crush Alex to paste.


    What a nice girl with a gentle voice, if she just didn¡¯t have such a fearsome figure...


    Thought Alex, before Armor released an aura of bloodlust that almost made her faint. To not pass out, she bit her lip to stay awake. In a last-ditch effort to figure something out, she once more tried to focus on the tattoo in hopes to find a means to fight back.


    Despite it being on the tip of her fingers, she couldn¡¯t seem to tap into the source no matter how she tried. Seeing Alex struggle, Spada intently raised her hand ,slowly basking in while watching this little twig squirming under her. Truth be told, Blackcard did tell her to test the girl with a strong enemy, but not the cream of the crop.


    It was just to vent the little grudge she felt for Alex getting such a masterpiece tattoo from the master inker.


    Still, every good thing must end.


    Motioning her hand down, Spada yelled, ¡°Begin!¡±


    At the sound of Spada¡¯s voice, Two moved faster than Alex¡¯s eyes could follow, sending her massive fist burrowing at her face. As she was about to piss herself silly, a voice rang out in her head.


    Best percent chance to dodge the incoming attack. Crouch down.

 Chapter 15 - Magical GIrl Ein

    Dodging under the massive fist, Alex gulped, imagining what it would have done to her face.


    If that connected I¡¯d most likely be out cold with a broken jaw or worse.


    ¡°Jump back within one second.¡±


    Doing as the voice in her head told, Alex jumped back to see a foot brushing closely to her face. Armor¡¯s legs were like logs as they passed by ruthlessly, still, Alex jumped so quickly that she skidded away a few meters.


    Launching in the air, Armor jumped off the ground and smashed down on Alex''s position with an elbow.


    ¡°Roll backwards now.¡±


    ¡®Tell me how to attack, your useless voice!¡¯ she yelled internally.


    Following the strange voice, instructions threw herself in a roll as Armor¡¯s elbow smashed into the hardened earth, causing large cracks to form and dust to kick up.


    ¡°Circle and attack from behind.¡±


    Doing as she was told, Alex used the dust for cover. And when she got up, sent a strike to the back of Armor¡¯s neck under the voice¡¯s instructions. Although it was a solid strike, Armor¡¯s muscles were as hard as steel¡ªmaking her hand hurt like hell.


    Armor, in a fit of rage, sent her arm out behind, hoping to swat Alex away. She only hit the air, as Alex had already fallen back a distance. Seeing this, Loka turned to Sugar who watched on while gritting her teeth.


    ¡°Hey, could Alex always do that? She looks too nerdy and frail to pull off those movements. Yet she can fight like that? She always struck me as your common nerd that didn¡¯t come out of her room.¡±


    ¡°She told me her life story, and she never once brought up that she could fight. So it makes sense she should have no battle experience.¡±


    With a shit-eating grin, Loka replied, ¡°In that case¡­ Why has your lesbo partner not told you?¡±


    Loka¡¯s comment made Sugar feel a stabbing pain in her gut, feeling betrayed, but happy Alex wasn¡¯t being thrashed. In the end, she didn¡¯t know how to feel, seeing the girl that seemed too weak to fight for herself seemingly holding on her own. She should be the one protecting her life savor from the harshness of the world.


    As Sugar dealt with her inner problems, Alex was sweating bullets, trying to follow the commands the voice gave her to the letter. Dodging, more dodging and trying to give an occasional attack only to do no damage to the walking tank called Armor.


    Alex knew she couldn¡¯t just walk away from this fight. Despite not being able to do any damage, if she didn¡¯t show off well enough she wouldn¡¯t get any food or water. But her movements were getting sluggish. All the moves she was barely pulling off, thanks to the voice, were putting a large toll on her sedentary muscles and joints. Every stumbled step caused the voice feedback to go awry, screaming many things at once like a GPS after a missed turn.


    Seeing that her mosquito of an enemy did not seem to be quite agile. Armor decided to change her strategy. It was time to end this joke of a fight.


    Backing away, Armor started to give off a silver light full of energy. This caused Alex¡¯s eyes to narrow with anticipation at the waves coming from her. The girl was about to transform into a magical girl!


    ¡°Suggested transformation into a magical girl or fleeing.¡±


    ¡°Suggested transformation into a magical girl or fleeing.¡±


    ¡°Suggested transformation into a magical girl or fleeing.¡±


    ¡®How? How do I turn into a magical girl? They use some cringe-worthy lines to transform, but I don¡¯t know my lines!¡¯ As Alex tried to think of how to transform into a magical girl, Armor¡¯s hulking figure was slimming down at a visible pace.


    The cracking sounds of bones and muscles being condensed made Alex¡¯s danger alarm go off. The voice in her head was now almost screaming at her to transform or flee.


    She felt sickly desperate as she looked at Armor, who was now almost at her height and filled with bone cracking.


    Then the voice, that sounded almost mechanical, had in it loud rings but suddenly went silent. It took Alex a bit to notice that time had slowed to a crawl.


    ¡°Now what? First a voice, and now time is slowing down?¡±


    As Alex questioned herself about what was happening, a voice that sounded as confident as it was haughty entered her ears. She knew that voice very well. How could she forget it, even if they only met each other once for a brief time.


    ¡°You really are a hopeless piece of shit, aren''t you. That is why you should just give me the body and die in a ditch.¡±


    ¡°Xel?! What the hell do you want? You know, I¡¯m kinda busy.¡±


    A dark shadow formed in front of Alex and smiled, showing it¡¯s black teeth. It floated over to her and hung on her shoulder. Alex felt conflicted at Xel¡¯s proximity and wished to move, only to find out to her shock that she couldn¡¯t move her feet.


    Xel didn¡¯t seem to mind and whispered in her ear, ¡°Well, the body will eventually be mine, so I guess I can give you a freebie until then. So your chant is¡­¡±


    Listening to the chant, Alex frowned, a feeling full of distrust running amok through her mind. Why would this embodiment of her desires give the chant over so easily? She felt that it was a scheme, badly hidden at that.


    What is she playing at? She herself wasn¡¯t the patient type, so what could her evil variant be?


    The chant was very chunni, like the ones she had heard before, only the one Xel told her seemed wrong. Something was fundamentally wrong with it, yet she couldn¡¯t point out what exactly.


    She compared it to the ones she heard and it wasn¡¯t the same type of flow, it wasn¡¯t any close to what they used to become a magical girl.


    As she was thinking, Xel disappeared and time resumed its normal pace leaving Alex alone to face the shrinking Armor. Closing her eyes Alex dug deep inside to find out her real chant. And then she felt it. Below her belly button, a round object that she had seemingly missed.


    Focusing on the orb, she tried to mentally poke it. As if provoked, power began leaving the orb and rushing into and around her body. In mere moments after tapping into the orb white, black and gold colors started to flicker off her body.


    The lights were like small waves, before growing in intensity with each passing second. It soon reached the level of intensity of Armors'' light. By then, Armor had stopped shrinking and at the same time, the Armor girl started to chant.


    ¡°Flesh tempered in hell, bathed in the blood of foes.¡±


    ¡°I am the fortress, born to deflect all blows.¡±


    ¡°And in my wake, the safe ground claimed for my own.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Armored Knight! All of your vile plans are blown.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°The radiant light reaches the end of the world.¡±


    ¡°I am the eternal judgment, I shall not fold.¡±


    ¡°In my wake, the corpses of sinners remain.¡±


    ¡°I am a Magical Girl Ein, evil¡¯s bane.¡±


    The Armor auras blasted with intensity as their clothes started to transform. Armor''s black robes turned into silver armor full of metal frills that made her look sharp. But thanks to the cloak turning into armor, it finally revealed the girl''s heroic face, long black hair, and silver eyes. And despite being now around a size smaller than Alex, she still seemed like an iron wall looming over her.


    Alex also transformed, her clothes transforming into traditional magical girl garb. Her main color was white lined with black and gold frills and strings. Her brown eyes had turned gold with pupils that were the roman numeral one.


    Armor didn¡¯t say anything as she charged at Alex.


    As Armor charged, numbers began to appear in her vision. Although these numbers appeared random to Alex for a second, she quickly figured them out.


    What she gained out of the numbers quickly was that 0 meant guaranteed failure or death and numbers above zero promised a chance for success.


    There were so many thousands of numbers in front of her that it made her brain feel as if it was shattering. But the zeros fell away under her command, leaving a dozen or so numbers left.


    She was dumbfounded at her lack of choice when the highest was 80% chance. Picking the best choice, a blue projection made out of numbers made an intricate movement.


    Gritting her teeth, Alex followed the movement to the letter, as Armor rushed at her. When she was only a few feet away, Alex jumped in the air, spun once, and sent an axe kick to Armor''s heroic face.


    Surprisingly, her body was able to pull off the movements, and it followed her commands to the letter. They were good. Alas, she had solely underestimated magical girl Armor Knight.


    As the attack landed, a helmet appeared, covering Armor''s head in an instant, causing Alex''s foot to propel her upward with a deafening clang. Alex did a backflip and held a dismayed expression at the lack of response. Armor stopped for a while, studying the girl before. Then, as if making up her mind, she began to move.


    Spreading her hands wide, she gathered the energy from within her, and began chanting.


    The siege began


    Survivors understand


    It shall be swift


    By counter fist


    Nemean lion!


    At the end of her chant, she hit her knuckles together, emitting a deafening lion¡¯s roar, followed by a flash of golden light. After it subsided, her hands were covered by massive golden gloves in the shape of lion heads.


    Alex looked at numbers all around her, but couldn¡¯t make herself believe them. Everything was red, except for 2 small blotches on the high right and high left, they read 6 and 5 respectively. The vision of the grim future made her freeze in tracks to think of a better solution.


    Armor made the first step forward, slowly accelerating. The Armor lifesaving numbers changed to 4 and 3. ¡®Oh, for fucks sake¡¯ Alex cursed internally, and decided to go with a higher number. As Armor accelerated to full sprint, Alex jumped high to her right. Armor stopped in half the distance between them, and slammed her right fist into the ground with her whole weight behind it. Her arm went in right up to her elbow, and a shockwave formed a white lion head ripping everything in front of it. Within a second, the head had arrived where Alex was just a moment before, and exploded with another roar.


    The explosion sent the lion¡¯s mane''s hair outward like a scattering of white spears. Everything in close proximity was turned to dust, as each white spear had exploded on impact. Luckily for Alex, she had only got caught on one explosion that hit her left forearm. Her arm bone snapped, and the pain caused her to scream her lungs off.


    Falling to the ground, her vision turned full of red zeros, with a small white blotch in the middle that read 40. Soon she realized why everything was lit up in danger.


    She¡­ still has her left gauntlet.


    Paling at the realization, she started executing the only plan that might leave her alive. Alex tried to get up, but fell on the ground. Seeing her opportunity to strike, Armor smashed her left fist into the ground, sending forth the second lion. Alex sent her mind in overdrive, running the projections. And as her brain cooked, she found the thread leading to life.


    Through sheer willpower, she managed to stand, and pushed her body to the limit to dodge the hell-storm head-on, while using the power of the explosion to shoot her out of the ring.


    Clenching her stomach that felt like it had cracked in a few places, she smiled inwardly.


    I¡¯m alive.


    Now that Alex was out of the ring, Spada frowned, but declared the winner, ¡°Armor, you have won your meal. Come and claim it. Number 153 you get scraps!¡±


    Spitting out blood, Alex stood up and let her broken arm hang limp. Although she lost, she felt good that she kept herself alive. A bottle of water and half a meal were thrown into her chest, making her grit her teeth from the throbbing pain.


    She bent down with great difficulty and picked up her food items, before she walked into the crowd. Not going to Sugar, she directly made her way to Incus, under the gazes of blanks full of disdain and magical girls watching with strange looks. Holding her head high, she didn¡¯t want to look weak although she was defeated.


    Finding Incus, who smiled at her, she was brought away to get healed. While, in the crowd, Sugar saw Alex¡¯s state and wanted to go over to her, only for her number to be called up just in time. As she fought her opponent, the magical girl teachers were talking with each other about Alex instead of Armor.


    ¡°What was up with that strange chant?¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t sound like a magical girl chant.¡±


    ¡°Is she a defect? But she turned into her magical girl form. In fact, she didn¡¯t chant any spells. How curious. What is she?¡±


    Such talks happened between the teachers, only the Black Card teachers remained silent even when they were gazed at by their peers. Spada watched the fights without batting an eye. Inwardly though, she was thinking up an explanation to tell the magical girls.


    Off to the side, Incus was healing the injured magical girls. Alex was playing the fight back in her head trying to understand the numbers. Mulling over it, she figured her powers dealt with numbers, which in her opinion was pretty shitty of an ability since it didn¡¯t increase her strength.


    Without strength, how could these numbers be useful to not get her shit kicked in. As she was sulking over her loss, Armor walked over her with her cloak and large size back to normal. Alex stared at the shrouded figure that stood in front of her.


    ¡°What do you want? You kicked my ass.¡±


    ¡°What are you?¡±


    ¡°Eh? I¡¯m a normal girl that''s a magical girl, what do you mean?¡±


    Hearing that Armor shook her head, ¡°You¡¯re not a magical girl. If I had to say, you''re a fake.¡±


    Alex looked at her confusion, ¡°I can transform using a chant. How does that not make me a magical girl?¡±


    Armor hesitated a bit and replied, ¡°You''re more like¡­ A demon.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ...


    Sitting on the grass, Alex stared at the numbers floating in her eyesight watching the combatants interest. Watching there vectors of attacks be projected in statistical values amazed her.


    ''Amazing. Shifting your foot just a little bit makes such a difference.''


    Alex was so enraptured in the display that she didn''t notice that Sugar had sat next to her.


    Leaning in Sugar whispered in her ear, "Hey."


    This startled Alex causing her to leap to the side put a hand on her chest.


    "Where did you learn how to fight? Why didn''t you tell me?" Sugar asks with a hurt expression.


    "I don''t know how to fight Sugar. It''s my power I can just, see the odds of the best movements do you get me?", Alex sincerely replied.


    "That''s it? You weren''t hiding some secret past?"


    "No? I told you I was a farmers daughter turned into a city girl. Why would I lie to my... friend?" Touching her lips Alex tested the word mentally. Friend? She never really thought about it deeply. As a loner she didn''t really make friends stuck in her own bubble. Sugar really was her first friend.


    Sugar gave a blindingly bright smile as she snatched Alex''s hands, "Best friends?"


    Alex returned the smile despite her sore body, "Best friends."


    ...


    For six more days the girls traveled as such through the thick greenery, with each ending of the day battling it out. Of those days, Alex lost 6 of the 7 fights, Sugar won 7 of 7 fights and Loka won 6 of 7 fights.


    By now, Alex¡¯s body was full of bandages from all the damage she had taken, and she was full of hatred for Spada. Every fight except for the last one was a loss, and the only reason she won was for the fact her opponent was more injured than her.


    And even then, it was a hard-fought victory, with the person being temporarily blind in one eye. She gained a deep understanding that she was weaker than other magical girls. Their abilities were more powerful than her predicting probability.


    They were stronger, faster, had more utility, and their powers were monstrous. It was unfair to her to be so weak to the other girls for no reason.


    ¡°You see? This is why you should use the actual chant then that fake you created.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not that weak that I would give in to you, bitch.¡±


    ¡°Why?! you fucking virgin!¡±


    Alex ignored the harpy screaming in her ear, as before, she learned that if she ignored Xel she would go away and sulk soon enough. As she was cutting the plant shit in front of her, she soon saw blinding sunlight she hadn¡¯t seen in forever.


    Her group also noticed this and cut with more fever. When they cut through the greenery, they could see buildings standing with an imposing air. Alex and the girls were excited, almost crying at the sight of civilization.


    ¡°Welcome, teachers and blanks. I hope you enjoy your stay in Hel¡ªHeaven!¡±

 Chapter 16 - Introductions

    Everyone but Alex knew the person who welcomed them, it was the woman who told them to party it up on the plane before it was too late. Instead of wearing the white dress she had on the video, she was sporting military combat gear that matched her wild silver hair and gold starred pupils.


    The gear looked like the American army''s in style, which confused the girls. Weren¡¯t they in a gang, and not in the military? Seeing their expressions, Izar eased their doubts as every shipment of blanks had the same questions.


    ¡°No, we are not the watchdogs of the government. They know their place not to fuck with us~. I just quite like the American uniforms since they¡¯re easy to move in and nice to use as casual clothing. But let¡¯s get to the main point; teachers, I¡¯m sure you already ¡®graded¡¯ them. Would you hand over the list so they can be given their badges?¡±


    Hearing their call, a dozen or so girls came forth,with a paper in their hands and stood next to her. They then started calling numbers out. Each girl that came forth was given a badge with a rank on it, and told not to lose it or get beaten.


    It seemed they followed the alphabet, as Alex was soon called over by Spada to receive her badge. Standing so close to this crazy bitch made Alex¡¯s skin crawl, even more so, as Spada looked her up and down with a foreboding smile.


    ¡°Humph. You really were lucky to beat that girl and make D-rank. If it was up to me, you would end up at E-Rank with your trash combat skills. Should you have lost that last fight, you wouldn¡¯t even have a chance to survive here. But I¡¯m curious when your luck runs out. Here¡¯s your badge. Don¡¯t lose it, or your life is forfeit. Treat this information as a little service from your senior. Now, form up over to the rank D group.¡±


    Pinning the metal on Alex¡¯s chest ,Spada gave her a few parting words before booting her to the curve. Alex kept her head down and didn¡¯t show any anger. She remembered what happened to the one blank that talked back to the teachers. How many bones they broke, and made her fight in that condition. In fact, it was the girl she fought with.


    That alone spoke about how weak Alex was. She knew that if she didn¡¯t want to be beaten, she¡¯d have to be smarter and more cunning. She told Sugar to do nothing to those who beat her up in those fights¡ªin case they could be separated, she would be doomed if they went to seek revenge.


    Deep down, she knew she couldn¡¯t act weak or she would be eaten alive in this world. She had to throw away her passive self in the world of magical girls. They were greedy, violent, and full of lust that left her embarrassed by just watching and hearing their shameless acts.


    There was no justice in this place. There were no rules to protect the weak, only the law of the gang stood firm. Realizing the wrongness of the law in that place made Alex burn inside. Yet her current useless self could do nothing about it, so she started studying the D-rank badge in curiosity, thinking of what the rank meant. She figured from Spada¡¯s words that she wasn¡¯t at the bottom of the totem pole. Listening as the next girls were called out, she gathered that the ranks went from A to E.


    She watched intently, to see what ranks Sugar and Loka got, since they did pretty good in the fights. They were given ranks A and B respectively, meaning they were at the top of the food chain and they were given shiny badges, made of gold and silver.


    With the last of the magical girls split up, teachers led the girls to different buildings based on their ranks. Sugar gave Alex a worried look, to which Alex shook her head and worded that everything was alright.


    Only two teachers led the D-rank blanks along, not giving them any explanation about what the ranks meant. The two were silently leading them along the path leading further into the depths of the hidden city. Despite it being so far away from the nearest civilization, everything looked clean.


    The girls were amazed at the sights of the buildings that were tall and imposing. Still, they kept walking further in and, as they walked, the buildings were getting less and less well kept. Another thing Alex noticed was that these buildings had letters on them that each had a different range between D and A.


    She noticed that few buildings had D-rank printed on it, for E rank though, there were only about a dozen or so that had any mention of it. After walking for twenty minutes, she stopped at a building that was a little rundown, but wasn¡¯t that bad in shape.


    As long as we clean up the place it won¡¯t be bad, thought Alex. She noticed though that E group was following them and she watched them pass by. Looking into the distance, her eyes widened in shock at them walking to such decrepit shacks. Holes in the walls, broken windows, and half-decayed roofs.


    Such a place isn¡¯t fit for a human to live in. thought Alex, as she watched the few girls in E rank complain before being beaten by their teachers brutally.


    ¡°Hey, looks like more showed up, guys.¡±


    Alex turned her sight away from the E rank girls and turned her head towards the girl who shouted at them from the window. She wasn¡¯t a teacher, as she had a rank D badge on her chest, so Alex figured that their group wasn¡¯t the only one that came here.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Just how many magical girl gangs existed in the world? She threw out such thoughts, since she knew that there was no point in thinking about it. Noticing that the teachers and the other girls were entering the building, she snapped out of it and went inside.


    ¡°Your machete.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    Alex was confused when she finally got inside to see a girl asking for her blade. Although it was a short time with her, she had grown fond of its touch. She didn¡¯t really want to give up on her blade, but if she didn¡¯t give it willingly, the machete would most likely be taken by force. The choice between giving the machete and giving the machete after getting beaten black and blue was quite obvious.


    With a sigh, Alex gave up her blade, to which the teacher took it, then unsheathed and stuck the blade in a hole of a strange machine. A noise rang after the blade was put inside, and a red light soon turned to green, to which the teacher took out the blade and handed it back over to Alex.


    ¡°The blade now shows your grade and rank. Remember that the grade is your letter and the rank is your ranking in the grade. Currently, you are ranked 477 out of 527, as a piece of advice, never let anyone including teachers ever take your blade, no matter the reason.¡±


    But, you just held it¡­ Wait!? You wanted me not to give you a blade!? Alex thought briefly.


    After giving her a stern warning, the teacher waved off the dumbfounded Alex to another teacher down the hall who was waiting. There were still girls coming in, so Alex decided to check her blade out and was surprised at the change of the blade.


    The old imprint of her number was removed, and her Grade and Rank were now listed. Also the material had changed, now as it had become a pure white blade with black numbers and letters.


    Sheathing her machete, Alex waited for a bit, before the girls finished registering their blades after which they were led upstairs. The building had ten floors that Alex counted from the outside, and they walked up to the fourth floor, and those with the lowest rankings were placed inside.


    On the next floor, Alex was told she would be living on it, and by then, Alex figured out how the rooms went. Each floor could hold one hundred girls each, walking into the room she noticed the beds were military style. A trunk and a twin bed that seemed only slightly more comfortable compared to a prison jail bed.


    She noticed at once that there were girls already in, lazing around or talking with each other. Next, she noticed that each bed was numbered by a ranking. At that point, the teacher left. There were twenty other girls with her who spread out into the room, not daring to even look in her direction. Alex followed suit to find her bed.


    When she reached her bed she noticed a girl sitting below her on the bottom bunk. The girl sat up seeing Alex stop in front of her. She had orange hair and a face full of freckles. When the girl smiled, Alex noticed that she had lost one of her front teeth.


    Although she lost it, her smile was still bright and sunny as she looked at Alex who looked like a mummy.


    ¡°So you¡¯re my bedmate? Man, you look like hell. The teacher watching over you must have hated your guts! What gang are you from? What¡¯s your name?¡±


    Giving a small chuckle, Alex winced and replied, ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right about that. I¡¯m from the Black Card Gang. My name is Alex, how about you?¡±


    ¡°Oh! You¡¯re from a famous one! I¡¯m from the River Gang and the name''s Fei! Hey, are you hungry? It¡¯s about time for lunch!¡±


    The girl named Fei seemed pretty perky, as she got up and grabbed Alex¡¯s hands with zeal. Earning some gasps from the other girls, but she didn¡¯t notice. Without another word, the girl led Alex away to the lower floor. Some of the other girls heard about the food, and decided to follow them down below, gossiping on the way.


    Alex was pulled away by the sunny girl as a herd of girls followed them down the stairs, maintaining a safe distance. They walked out of the dorm and to one of the buildings labeled for D-rank. Next to the door, there was a sign that read cafeteria. They entered the building.


    The smell of meat filled the air, making Alex¡¯s mouth water. That one full meal she had won wasn¡¯t enough to make her satisfied. She wanted to eat meatloaf, the meal of the heavens.


    She shook away from Fei¡¯s iron grip, propelled by hunger that could only be quenched by nice meatloaf. Walking fast to the counter, where a nice looking older man stood, Alex almost wanted to grasp his shoulders and demand meatloaf, only to restrain herself with the sheer force of will.


    ¡°May I have some meatloaf?¡±


    The man looked down at her badge and then smiled widely, ¡°It will be my pleasure to serve a magical girl! Please wait at a table and your order will be out. Do you wish for any condiments?¡±


    ¡°A bottle of ketchup.¡±


    ¡°The meal will be ready in a half-hour, do you wish for refreshment as you wait? We have a wide assortment of drinks.¡±


    Hearing his reply, Alex''s hands started to tremble. There was one drink that went really well with meatloaf and that was red wine. Although, since she was too young, she mustn¡¯t drink it unless it was brought out at celebrations. The mix of meatloaf and red wine was to die for. They offered it on the plane, maybe they offered it here as well!


    ¡°Do you have any red wine?¡±


    The man''s smile turned into a frown as he apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry miss, alcohol is only served at C-rank or higher establishments. I could offer you some lemonade, pop, or water instead.¡±


    With a sad expression Alex replied, ¡°Then, I¡¯ll have some lemonade then.¡±


    Alex sat down and sulked, knowing she wouldn¡¯t get any red wine. She cheered right up after remembering that she was finally gonna eat some meatloaf. Fei ordered food as well, and sat by Alex. The other girls followed suit and sat around, making the place packed.


    They all had a hellish week and wanted to kick back and relax. After all, they were told that tomorrow the training really began. The meatloaf was soon brought out and Alex lathered it in ketchup and, with a wide smile, cut a piece away.


    She then lifted the meat, her mouth-watering. Alex couldn''t take it anymore, and took a bite awaiting the taste of meaty goodness.


    And what did it taste like?


    She spat it out.


    It tasted like shit.

 Chapter 17 - The Numbers

    The next day, Alex opened her bloodshot eyes and stared at the ceiling, listlessly. Her body still ached from all the beatings she got. How many bones had she broken on the way here? She remembered that she had gotten two fractures and ten clean broken bones. Yet none of these mattered.


    Only the major injuries were healed by Incus, not the scrapes and bruises covering her body. Every time she tried to move in the bed, her body had stabbing pain, it even hurt to breathe. All the pain in the world could not stop her body twitching in anger, that she failed to contain throughout the night. She didn¡¯t have a minute of sleep. She raised her hand above her head. Clenched her fist hard to make a wave of stabbing pain run through her body. She needed all the help to gather her rampant thoughts.


    Just thinking about that tasteless meal made her want to gag and scream about the injustice that meal caused her. That wasn¡¯t meatloaf, it was just a tasteless sacrilege that shouldn¡¯t exist in the world. It was an unspeakable crime against the meat kind, one that couldn¡¯t be pardoned, couldn¡¯t be forgiven.


    She went to her trunk and pulled out her issued workout clothes and brought them along. Honestly, she had wanted to stay in bed and wait for everyone else to get up, the only thing driving her was to make C-rank. The first step towards gathering any kind of power, as well as access to meat tasting better than horseshit.


    C-Rank Magical Girls could enjoy food with taste. As one climbed in ranks, every part of their life was becoming better than in the previous one. Others here might be fine with eating tasteless food, but she was not. To eat some good meatloaf after so long was Alex¡¯s additional drive to get out and train.


    Waking up Fei, who was immersed in a dream, Alex asked her if there was any place to train. She responded that there were training facilities for D-rank and they were your average gym. There was also a training facility in the basement underneath that the teachers said they could use.


    So, instead of heading out for a run at 5 A.M., she walked to the changing room to take a shower, as well as change her clothes and bandages. Strapping her machete to the back of her belt, and her badge back onto her clothes, she headed forth.


    While walking down the flight of stairs, she tried to mess with her power. Like before, when she was in the jungle getting her ass beat. She had learned painfully that her power so far dealt with numbers and probability, and when she transformed into her Magical Girl Form she got a slight physical buff.


    If you compared it to the monsters she fought, she realized and saw it was at the bottom of the barrel. Before she headed off to sleep, she figured out that her useless ability had some level of redemption, if she could call it that.


    Training.


    During every fight she had gotten into or watched, the numbers floating were collected as the data inside her head. If she thought about it and tried to bring it to bare, she could enter a trance and then fight the shadow she watched. The only problem is that for each strike she took from the shadow, she would feel the feedback of each painful strike against her.


    If it didn¡¯t have that annoying drawback, it would be a perfect ability to train with. Messing with her ability, she looked at it and really wished that she could make a training regime with it.


    As if answering her thoughts, numbers and projections filled her mind at high speed, making her stumble and almost fall down the stairs. There was a slight pain in her head, so she sat down and waited for the numbers to settle.


    Images were forming in front of her that turned green or red. Those that were green were thrown into a pile while those with red were discarded. The sorting finished quite quickly, leaving the green in a pile before it too was sorted again.


    This time the pile of green turned to the colors of yellow, red and white. Like before, red was thrown away again, and those of the same color merged together. This sort went on longer and this pain that was once something minor turned into a throbbing ache.


    After about a minute, her headache subsided, and two colors had turned into crystals that floated in her mind. Curiously she focused on the yellow crystal, her attention caused the crystal to expand. She looked closely at it. When she did, information flowed into her mind like a fresh memory.


    It took her some time to understand that this was a physical training program meant to get her body in shape. Not only in shape, as in fact it was a full crash course with a goal of raising her ability to that of an expert fighter. Excited, she wondered how far it went and tried to see, only to find a wall that said ''not enough information collected''.


    ¡°Figures... Since it¡¯s pulling from my brain it won¡¯t be able to improve the plan. What about the other crystal?¡±


    Moving her attention to the White crystal, the information that came to her was on how to improve her magical girl transformation. The information was quite sparse, with very little information she gained from history class, but there was something to hold onto.


    Magical Girl Transformations were based on a few things; their power, the clothing they wore, and their weapon. If one took, for example, a set of plain everyday clothes as a base for magical girl clothes, then compared the result to clothes made out of a high-grade monster. The power gap between the two would be vast.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Finally, the weapon was something she came upon by chance when reading about history. All famous recorded magical girls used various types of magical girl battle weapons and gears. There was even one magical girl that transformed a tank and used it as her weapon. All it really depended on their affinity and proficiency with the weapon itself.


    The other way that wasn¡¯t recorded in the history books was actually something she had forgotten about. To raise their strength magical girls could take drugs to increase the speed of developing their powers. But these weren''t common drugs that could be acquired in the streets. Those were the types that were hard to come by. Also, a good deal of them only had temporary effects.


    Her power didn¡¯t hold any information on this subject, and asked for more data before presenting any sort of solution. She finished reading it all and let out a sigh. She had spent a good half hour there on the steps, not working out at all.


    She slapped her cheeks, got up, and headed to the basement once more. Since she now had a clear way to raise her strength, she made a mental note to find more information. For now, though, she would raise her base physical strength!


    After reaching the basement, Alex looked around in slight awe at all the machines around. By her standards, they would be considered to be of good quality. Not top of the line, but good enough to provide all types of training. One thing was clear though, the gym was huge.


    She concentrated on the information she had extracted beforehand and pulled all she could out of the yellow crystal. She was provided with a training regime for the entire incoming day.


    Alex was kind of excited to see what kind of top-tier training her powers had in store for her. The small time it took  her to wait felt long and outstretched,  before she frowned at what it told her to do. It was a pretty simple, run of the mill workout. Jogging, squats, leg press, lunge, climb stairs, etc. Most of the exercise focused on the legs instead of all the body parts. She looked at her bandaged hands in wonder.


    Maybe they are not healed enough for me to train them? She thought of her injuries,  getting ready to start her training. It shouldn¡¯t be that hard to do... since the sets were light and not that many in her eyes.


    Alex shook her body to loosen up, which caused her pain. She got through it with a grunt, and began working out. Feeling confident that the workout was nothing, she got into it, only to be sorely mistaken as her legs started to burn and ache.


    It wasn¡¯t helping that the rest of her body was hurting a lot ,as she moved from exercise to exercise. Still, she kept pushing forth, following the regimen and pushing herself, as sweat gathered on her face and poured throughout her body.


    Two hours passed, and the sweat drenched her body.


    What was easy about it? This is brutal!


    Laying on the ground, she tried to get her breathing under control. In all her life, she never had such an intense workout. Her legs felt like wet noodles whenever she tried to stand up. For each step she took, her legs wanted to cave in.


    An hour passed, and the sweat gathered had drenched everything, pooling up beneath her..


    Half walking, half crawling, she made her way up the stairs to take a shower and change. It was torture going up the steps, but gritting her teeth, she made her way up the flights to her floor. By now, Fei was up, sitting in her bed reading a book while lazing around.


    When Alex reached her bed, Fei looked over to the wobbly Alex with curiosity, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°Working out early, huh? Should you really be working out hard with your body in such a state?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t slack off if I¡¯m going to reach Rank C by the end of the month.¡±


    ¡°Man, you''re really shooting for the stars, huh? Although I can¡¯t blame you for wanting to eat tasty food.¡±


    ¡°Well let¡¯s talk later, Fei, after I take a shower, alright?¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡±


    Grabbing her clothes right there and then, Alex walked to the shower room that she was shown the other day by the very girl. Looking at it again, she really felt that this shower was very prisonlike. If not perfectly, it was only for one key difference. Walking up to a showerhead, Alex undressed and unbandaged, putting her gym clothes and fresh clothes in a compartment.


    The only thing she held on hand was her machete and badge, both of which she slotted into two different holes.  A red light appeared around the blade and badge, scanning it, before turning green.


    When she saw this the other day, she truly understood what her teachers were telling her. If just a simple shower needed these items to run, then what about other things? They wouldn¡¯t get a reissue of these items, if she lost those, she wouldn¡¯t be able to eat, shower or even enter the dorm, since you had to flash the items.


    It didn¡¯t matter what gang you were in, if you lost the little status you had, you¡¯d become nothing but a slave. Such thoughts running through her head, the numbers ran amok, as she was reaching out to turn the knob to hot.


    It suggested to better work the muscles that she took a cold shower. She looked at the numbers with half-closed eyes before sighing. She needed to do everything in her power to become stronger so she could reach C-Rank as soon as possible.


    Gritting her teeth, Alex turned the shower to the coldest setting and let the water gush forth. Outside the shower, the girls who were getting ready to eat or take a shower could hear a loud pitched squeal.


    ¡­


    A wee bit embarrassed, Alex walked out of the shower. Whilst doing so, she was already drying her hair with a towel. She calmly walked over to her room, and went straight over to her bed, where Fei was doing a morning stretch. When Fei caught sight of her, she grinned.


    ¡°Did the  water bite you or something?¡±


    ¡°No, I was just taking a cold shower.¡±


    ¡°Cold? Why not a warm one?¡±


    ¡°Cause it¡¯s more healthy for you! Anywho, a change of topic when are we heading out for our first class?¡±


    ¡°In about an hour, but before that, let¡¯s bandage you up and get a bite to eat.¡±


    ¡°Why the bandages?¡±


    Closing her book, Fei gave her a look, ¡°Cause you look like shit! And the bandages make you look a lot better. Man... How many girls kicked your ass in?¡±


    ¡°Fuck off. I¡¯ll get to bandaging after we order some food.¡±


    Putting her workout clothes into a hamper to be washed, Alex grabbed a bundle of bandages and walked out with Fei in tow. She really wasn¡¯t looking forward to eating that tasteless slop. The only thing that filled her with ease was that they gave out unlimited ketchup and mustard to use.

 Chapter 18 - First Day of Gang School

    What did I even expect this to be? A normal school? How naive I was.


    Alex thought, as soon as  she walked into her classroom, with Fei in tow. Inside, there were a dozen or so corpses, lined up on desks. Next to them were surgical tools. At the head of the classroom was a Magical Girl teacher that was a piece of work by Alex¡¯s standards.


    Her whole body was a patchwork mess of skin of different colors all connected with stitching and scars. Hair was a lifeless gray like that of a zombie, her eyes were a piercing silver, looking at the blanks entering the classroom. She wore a black tank top and white shorts, exposing her grotesque skin with pride on her face.


    Although she had pride in her eyes, she didn¡¯t say a word, and stared at the group until they all funneled in. When they all made their way inside, she snapped her fingers, closing the doors, before smiling slightly and causing the blanks'' spines to shiver.


    ¡°Pick a partner and body.¡±


    ¡°Alex, let''s team up!¡±


    ¡°Cutting up a body on the first day, as expected of magical girls. How twisted of an introduction.¡±


    She didn¡¯t say what she thought though, since she didn¡¯t want to get beaten. She needed to drag herself to do her best and not get wounded, in order to train more tomorrow. Agreeing with Fei, the pair picked a naked male body whose skin was a pale white. Alex couldn¡¯t help but grab his arm.


    Having never touched a dead person, she could feel his ice-cold skin and stiff muscles. When she touched him, the corpse''s eyes opened wide, and its muscles twitched in fear.


    The body was alive.


    In shock, Alex let go of the arm and fell backward. Thankfully, Fei caught her before she fell on another body behind her. This time, Alex couldn¡¯t hold it in and yelled at the teacher with hate in her eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t fuck with me! You expect us to cut up a live being!?¡±


    Magical Girl Patch smiled widened, stretching the stitches on her face. She looked like a demonic being as sickening smiles danced in her eyes.


    ¡°Ten minutes, locate the seven drugs in the body. Fail and be demoted to E rank.¡±


    Despite lashing out, she was ignored ruthlessly. Alex¡¯s body trembled in anger, thinking about her ritual, and the shit she went through to get here. And now she had to cut up a live body? She wanted to yell, scream, anything to let out her anger that she held inside herself.


    ¡°Yes, let the anger consume you¡­ Let me in Alex, let m¡ª¡±


    ¡°SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU HARPY BITCH!¡±


    Alex roared in her mind as she got her breathing under control. She could hear the cutting nearby and the sound of blood splashing.


    ¡°What? The little virgin thinks she''s ho¡ª¡±


    But Alex at this point was ignoring Xel, pushing the anger and hate down. Later, she¡¯d unleash it all. Later, she would do something about it. For now, she had to get in control of her mind and kill her emotions just for a little bit. Flipping her switch, Alex shut off her heart like in high school, and looked at the body before as just a slab of meat.


    The other girls were already exploring their victim''s body without remorse. Even Fei had let go of her body and was getting ready to cut up the body. If she didn¡¯t want to end up in E Rank, then she had to cut into this body.


    The numbers swarming in her eyes, she motioned them to find where all the drugs lay inside the man''s body. As they calculated, Alex pushed Fei to the side, picking up a knife on the other hand, waiting for the calculations to finish.


    Fei felt a little annoyed, ¡°What are you doing? You think just because you can¡¯t cut the body I can¡¯t? Well, let me tell you, little princess, the world doesn¡¯t wor¡ª¡±


    Alex¡¯s eyes turned to her, full of coldness and without remorse. It threw Fei for a loop; one moment Alex yelled at the teacher questioning her methods, and the next all the anger on her face was gone.


    All that was left was the coldness close to that of their teacher that made her shiver in fear. Only, it was a different type of cold. The teachers were the type that plays with her food, but for Alex, it was she wasn¡¯t even looking at you.


    ¡°Silence. I will do this.¡± was what Alex said, before turning to the body with her knife.


    By now, the numbers inside her head had given her the seven best places where the drugs could be and three back up choices. Alex moved her hand as the numbers told her, following the lines with precision, she didn¡¯t dare look at the man¡¯s eyes for fear he would throw away her conviction. The first drug was located near his foot that had a little bulge. Cutting in, blood started to flow. The man seeing his foot being cut started to move in the restraints.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Fei, hold him down. I can¡¯t get a clean cut if he moves.¡±


    Her voice was the same, cold. Even staring at the blood, her eyes were as cold as stone,as she widened the incision and pulled out the package of drugs. She moved to the next area near the left thigh, the male''s private parts hanging out; she used her numbers to turn uncaring.


    Cutting another line, she pulled out a package of drugs a foot long, running down his leg. At this point, Fei was holding down the distressed man as Alex got to work. Within less than a minute she had removed the two drugs. Although she wasted thirty seconds in her freak out, she had caught up to the head of the pack.


    ¡°Help me move him on his back now.¡±


    The man tried to resist the move, but Alex grabbed him by the face and stared him straight in the eyes, bloodshot.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stitch you up afterwards, so stop moving unless you want to die like the rest of them.¡±


    Turning the man''s head to the left, his eyes became wide, seeing his fellow men be split into multiple parts. Turning just a bit more to the side,  what was left of a man had most of his skin ripped off. Just from seeing that, he almost fainted.


    He was so stricken with fear that he obeyed Alex¡¯s orders to the letter. Allowing the two girls to turn him over and they got him strapped in ready to go.


    Moving next to under the kidney, Alex cut again, until just above the intestines, causing more blood to flow out as she pulled the drugs out. Throwing it out onto the counter, Alex spoke to Fei again.


    She moved her arm steadily, and cut into the man¡¯s ass and removed a disk-shape fist sized drug package.


    Then, onto the one next to his spine. She moved with enough care that it made Fei gasp at how well she was moving. Five down, two to go. By now, Alex¡¯s head felt hot, and breathing was a little unsteady, as the numbers rushed through her head while she kept trying to go for the best cut she could do.


    Breathing heavily ,Alex turned to Fei.


    ¡°Turn him over once again, these are the last cuts.¡±


    Fai obeyed Alex wordlessly, watching magic take place disregarding  the slaughter around them.


    Moving to the base of his right arm, Alex had a pretty tough cut to do, as it passed right by the man''s artery. If she cut it, he¡¯d bleed out in minutes. Eyes strained, Alex focused her might as the brain-numbing pain kept building up. She knew nothing about surgery, she was putting all her faith in the numbers.


    Cutting down the arm vertically instead of sideways, Alex carefully removed the drugs over the man''s artery.


    Moving her knife close to the neck of the man, Alex could feel the man¡¯s breath on her cheek. It was raised above normal. Putting her hand on his chest, she could feel his heart pounding like a hummingbird.


    She could see his features, black hair, blue eyes, white teeth. This man was a pretty boy, no more than twenty years old. Heck, he might even be a high schooler as he had a hint of a childish look left.


    ¡°Do you trust me? Nod with your eyes up and down for yes.¡±


    She waited for the man to answer, watching the fear and stress in his eyes. The numbers studied his breath, his blood flow, his muscle contraction; the only thing they couldn¡¯t do was read his mind.


    The man stared into Alex¡¯s bloodshot eyes holding the knife to his neck. Her arm was as steady as a rock. He couldn¡¯t speak since his tongue was cut, and even if he could, it wasn''t half easy with all the drugs that numb him to the pain. The effect of the drugs also made his body as cold as ice, making him almost like a corpse, but this girl treated him like a human being.


    Fear fading away from his face, resolve took forth. He nodded with his eyes and readied himself. Getting the greenlight and ready to go Alex, focused again anew, driving her brain into overdrive. Blood started dripping from her nose as the numbers flew by her.


    ¡°Wipe my nose.¡±


    ¡°Y¡ªYes, right away!¡±


    Fei wiped the blood from Alex¡¯s nose and sweat from her forehead, for good measure, before moving out of the way, giving Alex space. Her brain pounding, sweat coming off her body, Alex¡¯s cut sliced through the man''s neck.


    Steady, slow, efficient, she drove herself to her limits and pulled the drugs out of his neck. She threw it on the plate of metal and yelled.


    ¡°Finished!¡±


    Despite all the setbacks she put herself through, Alex and Fei finished second. Still, she didn¡¯t allow herself to fail. She got the alcohol, needle, and thread, and began sewing up the parts. This part was much easier, and she finished within a minute before time was done.


    Magical Girl Patch watched silently at the progress of the rest of the magical girls and, as expected, all the patients were killed. With the exception of Alex''s, who was still alive, the rest were torn to shreds. There was even a pair that hadn''t found their last drug and failed.


    They were dragged away by some magical golems somewhere, screaming and kicking. Patch just smiled as they left the building, dragged out. When they were long gone, she turned to the girls in front of her now.


    ¡°That will be all for today''s introductions. It''ll be over for today, now go on and spend the rest of the day enjoying free time. Tomorrow you¡¯ll have magic training. Don¡¯t be late.¡±


    Patches moved to leave the room, but Alex spoke up.


    ¡°What about him! He needs better treatment!¡±


    Patch was still smiling and looking over Alex. She stared for a long time, appraising the girl before her. Alex felt dirty with Patch looking all over her body like some sick pervert.


    ¡°The drugs are your reward for passing. As for that mute, he can be considered a bonus. Congratulations on gaining a meatbag at D-rank, Blank. There will be no more questions!¡±


    WIth that, Patch left the blanks to their own devices, leaving through the door. This left Alex aghast, wondering what is wrong with that woman. She just looked at the mute before her with a massive headache... Since she had saved him, it was her mess, wasn''t it?


    Alex sighed, ¡°Hey, Fei, help me carry this man back to our room, I¡¯ll split the drugs with you 70/30 70 percent for me and thirty percent for you.¡±


    ¡°Hey, why do I only get thirty percent? You get a meat bag! Even if you did all the work, I had to hold him down! It should be more like 60/40!¡±


    Rubbing her aching head, Alex just brushed her off, ¡°Whatever... Let¡¯s just go home already.¡±

 Chapter 19 - The Mute

    After spending some drugs to get her new meat bag patched up and clothed, Alex dragged him to get some food. The reason being, the boy¡¯s stomach was growling fearsomely. Fei wasn¡¯t with them anymore, since the mute boy was now able to move on his own.


    Alex sat across, watching the mute boy attack the tasteless meatloaf in front of him, drowning the thing in ketchup. She watched silently, her mind racing thinking of what to do with this man.


    As the teacher stated ,she had saved his life and, henceforth, he was now her property.. Inwardly, she rather not deal with a burden, but she brought this upon herself. The least she could do now was to see it through.


    ¡°So¡­ You got a name?¡±


    The boy stopped eating his food and looked up at Alex. His bright green eyes shining through his black hair made him look like a hobo in her eyes. The boy put down his fork and then pointed at his mouth and rolled his eyes.


    Then Alex remembered the boy couldn¡¯t speak, ¡°Oh, right... One second, I have an idea.¡±


    Walking over to the counter, she asked if she could have a pen and notebook. The Chief nodded to her request and handed over the items. Taking the items back to the table, she passed them to the boy who was looking at her with curiosity.


    ¡°You know how to write?¡±


    The boy shook his head in response.


    ¡°Then write me your name.¡±


    The boy moved his plate away... with a lot of reluctance in his eyes. Parting with the food must''ve been though. Grabbing the pen, he began to write down onto the notebook. Finishing writing, he held up the notebook for Alex to see.


    ¡°Sial.¡±


    When he held it up, he had a bitter expression plastered on his face.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You seem pained, did the healing not go correctly?¡±


    Shaking his head slightly, he started to write again on his pad.


    ¡°My name means Unlucky.¡±


    She really wanted to laugh at his response, but kept a straight face somehow. Her own name was a sore spot.


    Looking him in the eye, she asked, ¡°So, can you cook?¡±


    Sial went back to the paper and replied, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Clean?¡±


    Moving his notepad shook the reply, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Make drugs?"


    ¡°No.¡±


    Alex kept asking questions to the youth, and found that he really didn¡¯t know how to do anything of value. It kind of gave her a headache looking at this boy, he was completely worthless, knowing no good or bad life skills.


    Finally, she had enough, ¡°What can you do?!¡±


    Alex stood up and blurted out her response without thinking. She soon registered what she said, and she felt a bit sorry for yelling at him. Oh, well, she could just hand him off to sugar to use, she had a good head on her shoulders.


    Just as she was thinking of what to do with him, the boy started to scratch into his paper. Alex waited for the boy to have some useless skills that she couldn¡¯t use, she had already given up on the man before her.


    With a proud look on his face, Sial lifted up his notepad before Alex. Only one word was placed on that page full of emotion and pride.


    ¡°Fight.¡±


    Alex read the message and started to laugh out loud, ¡°Are you kidding me? That¡¯s your only skill? You do know you¡¯re speaking to a magical girl, right? You know the people with supernatural powers right? What can you do against that with just a mortal''s power?¡±


    Maybe this boy could fight really well in the regular world, but this wasn¡¯t that world, this was a world ruled by the magical girls. At this point, Alex had made up her mind to hand him off to some village whenever she could.


    As a matter of fact, she wasn¡¯t even that strong of a magical girl to begin with, and could definitely not protect someone so weak. Having something that others didn¡¯t would provoke people to come after her and try to steal what was hers. If this boy gave no benefit, then there was no point keeping him around. As a better alternative, she could release him, or give him to Sugar.


    Making up her mind, she looked up at the boy to see him holding up his notepad. His eyes were shining in a boyish light that was proud of himself. It was hard to look him in the eyes since they were so bright. His beamed with the will to live, to take his fate within his hands and not die a dog''s death.


    Alex couldn¡¯t help, but think of this man as similar to her current self. Before becoming a magical girl, she was someone that passed through the world of normalcy as an extra, a nobody that let time pass by.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    While thinking this, she noticed that Sial was holding up the notebook, and she decided to read it carefully.


    ¡°I know how to fight well.¡±


    ¡°Fuck it. Why not give you a shot. Come, we''re going to go fight.¡±


    Scratching more into the notebook, the boy replied as he tilted his head, ¡°Whom?¡±


    She rolled her eyes, ¡°Me, duh.¡±


    ...


    Standing at the bottom floor of the dorm, Alex and Sial stood, facing each other in the ring. Sial and Alex were in workout clothes. Thankfully, the dorm had sets for males as well. Although she had to pay a little of her drug stash to buy them.. but she didn''t really mind.


    Writing this notebook once again, Sial held it up for Alex to see, ¡°Are you sure? I don¡¯t know how to hold back.¡±


    Alex gave a small chuckle, ¡°Heh? I''m a magical girl, I don''t break that easily. And come at me with full force!¡±


    ¡°If you insist.¡±


    Suddenly, they turned around.  The boy stored the pen and pad away and started to change. Before, he felt harmless to Alex. But now she could feel his aura on the rise. In an instant, she felt like she was facing a monster. The boy kicked the ground and jumped into the air doing a flip, sending his foot smashing down at the direction of Alex¡¯s forehead.


    It took a second for the numbers to react to such a fast movement. Thanks to that, Alex was late to react so she couldn''t counter-attack. The only thing she could do was fall back and draw distance. Unfortunately for her, though, Sial wasn¡¯t pulling his punches.


    Following up , he used his kicking foot to launch himself forward, sending his fist straight for Alex''s throat, intending to crush it. Once again ,Alex was annoyed that her numbers weren''t catching up to his movements, as if they were slowed by quicksand.


    She, on instinct, dropped to the ground to avoid his fist, only to be surprised, as his knee was smashing straight towards her face. Using her forearms to block, she could feel the force behind the attack.


    Sial''s attacks were made to maim and kill. She could feel that he was dead serious about killing her.  Fearing for her life, she backed off and tried to transform into her magical girl form. As she tried to speak the chant, Sial was still not pulling his punches.


    His once warm eyes held a coldness to them¡ªas for Alex''s, those were life-dead¡ªset on not allowing her to transform. Although her movements were delayed, and with Sial, distractions came one after another, after a few minutes of fighting she was finally able to transform.


    Now that she was in her magical girl form, the delay had lessened, but it was still there, which greatly confused her. She started to try to study his movements with her numbers, only to be annoyed that it wasn''t working.


    It seemed it couldn¡¯t process what the boy was doing as his movements increased with each passing second. Since the start of the fight, he had doubled the speed of his attacks, that kept Alex on the backfoot even in her magical girl form.


    Although now she could somewhat handle it, thanks to her transformation, and its increase in her body''s power. Alas, even with her transformation, Sial was getting even faster, making her wonder if he was even human.


    At the five minute mark, she was once again having trouble keeping up with the boy. When the seven and a half minute mark passed, she was sweating bullets, while the boy was as cold as ice.


    ¡°What is this power?!¡± thought Alex, as she tried to fight back against Sial''s endless torrent of attacks.


    With a bitter expression, Alex knew at this point she was no match for this boy, ¡°I concede!¡±


    A fist that was an inch away from her throat stopped, the boy retreated, the aura of a beast vanished, and his happy go lucky attitude returned. She felt her headache returning when she saw the boy''s excited expression, as he started to write in his notebook.


    ¡°See?! I fight well!¡±


    With a sigh, Alex held her aching forehead and waved the boy off.


    ¡°Yah, yah... you''re a pretty good fighter. Kicked my ass pretty good, what fighting style is that?¡±


    Sial''s expression saddened at Alex¡¯s response, but picked right back up when she asked about his fighting style.


    ¡°The fire style of the elemental branch of fighting.¡±


    Taking her hand off her forehead, she read what he wrote and frowned.


    ¡°What is that? I¡¯ve never heard of it.¡±


    Sial put his pen to paper, only to stop midway in the air. Alex watched his somber expression and his stiff actions, as he scratched out each letter one by one and she could see the pain gushing out from his eyes.


    He sighed and turned the notebook back to Alex.


    ¡°I learned my art through my master, before she was killed.¡±


    ¡°Killed by who?¡±


    Alex watched his expression turn from pain, to fury, as tears collected around his eyes. She could see the trembling of his hand as he wrote out the message character by character. Turning it for Alex to see that his once neat writing was now shaky and full of mistakes. Yet, Alex could make out the writing reading it word by word. It said,


    ¡°A magical girl in red clothing!¡±


    If the boy could scream, she was pretty sure he would be in agony; his body could only tremble in hatred, losing his happy go lucky demeanor. She figured that it wouldn¡¯t be good to keep testing the boy like this, and decided to call it a day.


    ¡°Come on, let''s turn in for the day, we¡¯ll pick it up again tomorrow.¡±


    The boy just stood there, looking at his hands, almost hollowed. Since he was acting like this, she frowned and slapped his face. The impact caused him to stir from his thoughts and look at Alex confused.


    ¡°If you want revenge, then become stronger, Sial! Do you think you can kill a magical girl in your state? You¡¯re dreaming! In fact, if you train me in your art, I¡¯ll help you seek revenge. Now come!¡±


    He followed behind her numbly, all the way to the servant quarters where he would be staying.


    ¡°Remember, we will be training once again tomorrow, so prepare yourself.¡±


    He merely nodded his head and went into his quarters, not writing another word. Alex turned around and made her way to her room, as thoughts rushed through her head.


    ¡°Just what was that combat art? Why couldn¡¯t my numbers read it?


    Her thoughts were swimming about the boy''s strange fighting style, full of killing intent that she


    couldn¡¯t read well with the numbers.


    How did something like that come into existence? Who was this master Sial learned from? Was she a magical girl as well? But why teach a mortal how to fight like that?


    The more she thought about it, the more she seemed that the truth was something pretty amazing. She could only dig into it by asking Sial about it in detail later, but for now, she needed something to drink and pass out in her bed.


    Rubbing her sore shoulders, she sighed, I¡¯ll think about this a bit more tomorrow.

 Chapter 20 - Aimlock

    Alex scratched her belly while laying on her bed. She inwardly groaned, as she didn¡¯t want to get up because of her aching body. Only... time doesn''t wait for anyone, she had to get started on today''s training.


    Dragging her body out of bed, she began the painful process of walking to the shower and taking an ice-cold bath. She really wanted to squeal at this point, but she had to get stronger, so this little bit of pain wasn''t much to deal with.


    Drying herself off, she rebandaged her body, and got dressed in her workout clothes. She walked past her bed, deciding not to wake up her bedmate, and instead made her way to the servant''s quarters.


    She found Sial sitting outside the door, dressed and ready for her. She had him wait for her instead of going to her, since she knew how Magical Girls acted thanks to Loka¡¯s shameless play.


    ¡°Come on, let''s get working out.¡±


    With a nod from Sial, they headed down the stairs to the workout room.


    When they got to the bottom of the building, Alex turned to Sial, ¡°Today you are going to teach me your combat style and training regiment.¡±


    Sial eyes opened wide, before turning stern. Turning to his notepad, he began writing. ¡°Are you sure? The training style can kill you.¡±


    Inwardly, Alex took a sigh of relief, after thinking her servant would refuse. ¡°Humph, I¡¯m a magical girl. I don¡¯t die that easily.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll start by having you follow my movements.¡±


    And so, the two began to move in a strange pattern of movements, one making its way into the next. The moves were simple, but each movement caused intense pain all throughout her body.  Her veins started popping along her skin, feeling like they were about to blow and burst.


    It was at this time Sial stopped her. Drenched in sweat, some of her wounds opened up, causing her to bleed in pain. She dropped to the ground, gasping for air, ¡°What the fuck was that!?¡±


    Straight-faced, Siad wrote in his notebook and held it for her to see, ¡°The sixteen basic movements of the fire style. As I expected, you could only get to the third stance with your body''s condition.¡±


    ¡°There are sixteen of those stances!? Are you trying to kill me?¡±


    Flipping through the pages of his notepad Sial replied.


    ¡°No.¡±


    With a moment of thought, he turned to a blank page and began to write.


    ¡°I needed to see how physically strong you are, as expected, you couldn¡¯t even reach level four. Now I know where to begin the training. Let¡¯s begin.¡±


    Sial¡¯s eyes were pointed to the paper, making the heavily breathing Alex shudder in newfound fear.


    ...


    Hours later, Alex dragged her wet noodle-body up the stairs with the help of Sial, who was practically beaming. When she got back to her room, she took another cold shower and endured the coldness soaking into her body.


    Getting dressed, she walked out with Fei, who was nice and refreshed after a good sleep and headed out the door to their next class. They were told the day before to head to the target range outside the town.


    The group of girls entered a large field, where a teacher stood, arms behind her, waiting for them. When they got closer, Alex was able to make out her features. Bleach-blond hair, ruby-like eyes, a piercing on her lip and a thousand-yard stare. She wore an old-fashioned military uniform from Russia. Looking at it, Alex wondered if she was hot in her clothing.


    She also looked around to see that, since the days they''ve been here, they had all seen how the E-rank girls were treated. In that little amount of time, the E girls started to feel off. Their eyes, that were once full of life and expectation, were slowly turning hollow.  And the wounds they saw inflicted on the rank E girls terrified them. If Alex thought she was in bad shape, then those girls must have been on death''s door.


    When that last blank entered the field, the teacher shouted, ¡°Get in line, shoulder to shoulder!¡±


    The magical girls picked up their pace and formed a line, getting beaten or worse, getting deranked. The teacher stood stoically, not showing a hint of emotion. When they were in the position, it was then that she began to speak.


    ¡°Good, I see everyone is accounted for! Everyone, stand on a white marker, one per blank.¡±


    Looking down, Alex could see that she was already standing on a mark, and decided to not move. The girls around her made hurried steps, but got into position without much difficulty.


    With them all in place, now the Russian woman snapped her fingers, and the Earth around the blanks started to change.


    Metal lanes were created between the girls, separating them from each other. Touching the metal walls, Alex felt its cool touch. Then, surprising her, the grass in front of her slid off, to reveal a silver-colored table. Next, the tabletop opened, to slowly reveal a rifle, a pistol, and a whole bunch of ammo.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    That wasn¡¯t all, as the walls opened up to reveal throwing knives, throwing axes, a bow, and even more guns. Alex subconsciously reached out for a rifle that looked like it had seen some wear, but its craftsmanship was a work of art, despite how simple it was.


    The numbers started to flow out and analyze the rifle in an orderly manner. She didn¡¯t even notice the table sealing up, and replacing its contents with a row of magazines, fit for the rifle. She was taking in the information of the rifle in her hands.


    A finely made SKS


    Attachments: Scope, Grip, Sideways Red-dot, and Extended Mag


    Condition: Serviceable


    Ammo:30/30


    As the numbers showed her how to handle the rifle, bracing the rifle to her shoulder, and how to look out of the scope, she pulled on the bolt handle to load a round. The crisp sound of the bullet entering the barrel sounded like music to her ears as if it all felt right.


    On the farm, her father had taught her how to use a rifle to hunt down a deer one fall. This gun in her hands felt heavier, though, mainly from the extra amount of bullets in the magazine.


    She was so entranced in the rifle that she almost didn¡¯t hear the Russian woman speak. ¡°You have thirty seconds to pick your gear and start shooting the targets.¡±


    Feeling that this rifle was good enough, she decided to stick with it. With her remaining time, she set up the table for easy access to mags. After she finished setting up, Alex didn¡¯t have to wait long before targets started popping out of the ground. Not hesitating, she took a breath, and started firing. The first shot was a miss. The numbers floated in her eye and told her where to readjust.


    Another bullet cocked into the chamber. Another pull on the trigger let the bullet fly and hit its mark on the bullseye. The hit caused adrenaline to start coursing through her veins. It was like the first time she shot with her old man and the thought made her almost cry.


    Almost.


    She held her emotions in, moving to the next target and firing once more, hitting another bullseye. Looking at the target falling back, Alex felt another emotion coming up. For the first time in a long time, she felt in control. No magical girl was trying to mug her, no dissecting a life target, and no one threatening to beat her up.


    It was just her, the gun, and the targets.


    She was so focused on firing that she didn¡¯t notice that she soon ran out of ammo with the numbers telling her to reload. Following their instructions, she quickly reloaded, and kept on firing into the targets, mowing down the last one before a sound rang to reveal the timer floating above.


    Unexpectedly, a virtual scoreboard appeared in front of the girls shooting. Raising an eyebrow, Alex could see that her name was first, which kind of surprised her. She scrolled down to see that Fei had the 12th position so she wasn¡¯t half bad with a gun.


    As the girls were checking their ranks a voice boomed attracting all their attention.


    ¡°I see some of you aren¡¯t half bad, but some of you need punishment. Lowest rankings ten slaps on the back, middle rankings five slaps! Twenty and above no punishment!¡±


    Alex was bewildered as to what the Russian girl meant, when she heard the loud sounds of wet skin on skin contact, with screams filling the air. It made her body shiver at the sound, as the girls were ruthlessly beaten.


    When the beating was over, Alex could hear girls crying and sobbing over the intense pain. Yet, she couldn¡¯t bother with them, she had to focus on herself, and keep doing the best she could with her new weapon.


    It was at this time that a shadow descended on her, that made her look up in curiosity. Their Russian teacher floated down next to Alex and started to inspect her.


    ¡°Hmm... using an SKS to get those results¡­ Not bad, most girls go for the rifle or pistol on the table. I see that what I planned won¡¯t work on you, that¡¯s it. I¡¯ve decided to bump you up another level. Good luck and try not to fall below twentieth place.¡±


    And with that, the teacher floated away from Alex and left her, bewildered.


    ¡®Just because I did so well I¡¯m being moved up a level? That bitch! Whatever, I¡¯ll take on anything she throws at me.¡±


    The targets came once again, but this time they were moving in and out of the walls. They were moving at a fast pace that made her brain hurt trying to track them all. She decided to focus on the closest target first, then move her way up.


    Reloading her gun she fired and missed.


    And Missed, and missed again.


    After missing the fifth time, Alex knew something was off. The numbers told her that she should have gotten the timing down for the shot. Only every time she was about to pull the trigger, the target would duck inside and not come on out.


    When she moved to another target, that one hid and the previous target came out which annoyed her.


    If you wanna play the games like this then fuck it!¡¯


    Turning the numbers over time, her nose started to bleed, and her head felt like someone was hitting it with a hammer. Her eyes bloodshot, she aimed at the wall and shot. The bullet bounced off the wall and smashed into the target.


    Time seemed to slow down for her, as she bounced bullets off the wall to hit the target. After the five misses, it could be seen that all of her shots were now hitting their bullseye once again. In fact, it was a little faster than before, when she was dealing with stationary targets.


    As soon as she ran out of bullets, she dropped her mag, put another in, cocked the bolt back and kept firing. And for a moment, something seemed to snap inside her brain. as if some clarity descended upon her.


    She was shooting faster now, moving her eyes around the targets and shooting in quick succession. Faster and faster, she shot, processed by the sound and smoke around her, only stopping to reload.


    From above, the Russian teacher eyed her carefully with a smile. What a natural¡­ She might be worth nurturing as a gunner for the alliance. Let¡¯s kick it up a notch.


    Waving her hands, Alex¡¯s targets sped up, and actually started floating in the air, darting around at double the speed. But she wasn¡¯t fazed by the challenge. With the numbers guiding her and her mind in the zone, she destroyed the challenge. Bouncing bullets off walls and other targets, she was unstoppable. It was only when there were no more targets on the field that she stopped.


    And sucked in a full breath of air. She then felt dizzy, and decided to throw up on the ground, as her head was pounding something fierce. Despite feeling like shit, she smiled, feeling the triumph of conquering she yelled to the sky.


    ¡°AAHHHHHHHHHHH!¡±

 Chapter 21 - Gun Fixing

    After that, target practice was over. But the class wasn¡¯t finished, as Anastasia, the Russian teacher, had them put their guns back and dragged them into a nearby building. Although some had been beaten by the unknown slaps, they kept their mouths shut, and kept moving forward for the fear of being beaten again.


    Inside the building, a strong smell of gun oil, rust and metal filled the room, despite it being well ventilated.


    Smiling, Anastasia turned to the blanks, ¡°Before you can leave here you must repair guns. Those of the top rank 1¨C10 have the need to fix  only ten guns. 11¨C20, twenty guns. The rest, thirty guns. You have until midnight to finish, and I will inspect each gun. If it is not up to my standards, then I shall whip you once for each mistake. I assume those who¡¯ve dealt with it know the pain and wish not to repeat it.


    In response, some of the girls shivered, as they clutched their arms trying to forget.


    Seeing them wiggle made the Russian feel all giddy inside.


    ¡°Now, if you look at the left side of the wall, there are manuals on each gun here that¡¯ll walk you through the process of repairing these guns. You each may ask me one question, and only one question per class, and I¡¯ll decide if I want to answer it.


    ¡°Now take your stations and begin.¡±


    And so, the blanks spread out to claim a table for themselves, with Alex and Fei getting a table next to each other. With her station secure, Alex looked at the giant pile of guns, and watched the girls fight over the better looking ones.


    Not feeling up to fighting for guns, she shrugged her shoulders and headed over to Anastasia. Watching Alex come over made the Russian raise an eyebrow, as she didn¡¯t expect a question right away.


    ¡°What do you want, First?¡±


    ¡°Do we get anything as a reward if we do extra things such as drugs, a better score, or better privileges?¡±


    ¡°Hooo? Trying to sweet talk me, blank? If you put in the effort to fix extra guns besides your quota, I¡¯ll pay you in drugs depending on the quality of the work.¡±


    With a sly smile, Alex thanked Anastasia for her response and headed over to the massive pile of guns. By now, the herd had picked up their guns and were currently trying to find a book for them.


    She had thought about also going over to look at the books, but decided to try something she thought about on the fly. Digging through the pile, she picked up only handguns, no matter the type, and carried them over the table in batches. When she finished, she had over two hundred types, ranging from various types of damage.


    Moving the magic within her, she picked up a handgun and began to study it. The numbers began to flow out, revealing the gun''s current status.


    Trashed Glock 19


    Attachments: None


    Condition: Broken


    Ammo:0/0


    Picking up another pistol, she let the numbers study it as well.


    Trashed Desert Eagle


    Attachments: None


    Condition: Broken


    Ammo:0/0


    One after another, she studied the guns to learn their names and how many of each kind she had. After making neat piles, she picked the three best looking pistols of each group and began opening them up for study.


    Around her, including the teacher, people noticed the strangeness of what Alex was doing and wondered what she was up to.


    Meanwhile, Alex was off in her own little world, as information kept flowing into her head and she learned about the inner workings of handguns.


    Soon, the simple information of the handguns became more detailed.


    Trashed Glock 19


    Attachments: None


    Condition: Broken tiger, broken spring, chamber needs cleaning, warped guide rod.


    Ammo:0/0


    Like this, she figured out the problems of each gun, and knew how to put them back together. With a confident smile, she headed over the part section for the list of replacement parts and started gathering them in bulk.


    Heading back to her table, she got to work, as her hands began to fly over the table and the numbers lead her actions in fixing up the guns. Anastasia''s eyes grew wide as she saw Alex moving from one gun to the next, although her first movements were slow and a little jarring, by the tenth pistol, she had gotten to a competent level. By the fiftieth, skilled, and by the hundredth, practically an expert.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    The amount of time it took her to finish was an hour and a half. Wiping the sweat off her brow, she looked around, and saw the looks of awe and disbelief. And when she cast her gaze over at her teacher, she saw her head tilt with eyes filled with a blazing curiosity.


    ¡°Teacher, I¡¯ve finished repairing one hundrerd guns. Would you please check my work.¡±


    In response, Anastasia shook her head and dug into her pockets, ¡°No need. I¡¯ve carefully watched and you¡¯ve done well. Here is your reward.¡±


    Throwing a bag at her. Alex caught it, to find out it was a bag of drugs, high quality at that.


    With a happy smile, Alex was about to leave and head over to the library, when she was stopped by another blank. Bewildered, she looked and saw the E-Rank badge and saw a gun laying on top of her hands.


    Cheeks hollow, the girl asked, ¡°Can you help me fix this?¡±


    Feeling pity in her gut, she was about to agree, when Fei held out her hand between the two.


    With a snarky smile Fei asked, ¡°Sure my friend could help you, but do you have anything in return for her effort?.¡±


    ¡°I wa-¡±


    In a flash, Fei covered Alex¡¯s mouth, ¡°Sorry, I have something really important to talk with my good friend. Can you give us a moment?¡±


    The hollow girl merely nodded her head in response.


    Sending looks at the other girls, Fei dragged her over to a corner to talk.


    After they had a little more privacy, Fei let her hand go.


    Now able to talk, Alex asked grumpily, ¡°What do you think you''re doing?¡±


    Fei just gives her a look, ¡°What am I doing? What are you doing?! About to do free labor without getting anything in return is beyond stupid.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with helping another magical gi¡ªOh.¡±


    Seeing Alex be struck with a realization, Fei nodded her head in approval, ¡°You¡¯ve seen how magical girls act. They are usually greedy, high, drunk, or bloodthirsty. But the most important thing is that they are incredibly lazy. Unlike you who works so hard for some weird damnable reason.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t ask for something in return for your services, then they will just use you.¡±


    ¡°I get that, but what can something basically broke offer me?¡±


    Rolling her eyes Fei replied, ¡°Sometimes I wonder if your stupid or smart, or just a sheltered princess.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    ¡°You can offer them to work for you. You remember that question you asked the teacher, right? The more you trade in, the more rewards you get. She never said that the guns had to be your own.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I teach them how to assemble guns and they give me gun tax for teaching them. I turn those guns in and get a reward. By doing so, I¡¯m not relied on, and they can then stand on their own feet.¡±


    ¡°Now you get it. Now, pay up.¡± Holding her hand up, Fei''s expression showed it was the most natural thing to do.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°I want to be paid for giving you information, and to be your bodyguard.¡±


    ¡°My bodyguard? I don¡¯t need such a thi¡ªOh, fuck.¡±


    ¡°You understand, don¡¯t you? If you acquire such wealth without a means of protection, you¡¯ll just get beaten up and get your stuff stolen. In fact, if this goes on for a while, some of the higher rankers might want to get in on this. So, in case that happens, I want more payment.¡±


    Digesting such information, Alex suddenly thought of something, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll pay you. But you¡¯re thinking too small in just cornering the E-Rank market.¡±


    Fei shook her head, ¡°Your thinking is too greedy. I can¡¯t protect you against all the D-ranks.¡±


    ¡°What if I had a backer? An A-rank and B-rank?¡±


    ¡°If you had that, I¡¯m sure we could expand. Do you truly know someone like them?¡±


    Alex nodded her head, ¡°As long as I can get in contact with them, I¡¯m positive one will help. But the other, the B-rank, will need to have her palms a little greased.¡±


    Hashing out the details a little more, Alex gave Fei one of her drug bags she got out of Sial, and the accord was struck.


    Walking back over, Alex noticed that E-rank girls were now standing together, while the D-rank girls were looking over while fixing their guns. Heading over to the girl who first asked, Alex looked at her shivering.


    ¡°I¡¯ve decided to help you learn how to fix guns, in return you must give me each time we fix guns, five compleated works, and your question for the teacher. There is no negotiation, take it or leave it. This offer stands for everyone here.¡±


    The group of E-rank girls that numbered one hundred brightened, as one by one they shouted for help to grab this chance at life.


    With them all accepting, Alex dragged the girl who had tried asking her to help fix her guns over to the teacher.


    ¡°Now, Rel, I want you to repeat after me. Is it ok for me to take the questions of others as my own?¡±


    Before Rel could open her mouth, Anastasia raised her hand, ¡°No need for a third party first. Since the girls agreed to the deal, and I have technically presided over it, I will enforce it. So you have ninety-nine questions now. But for the sake of my sanity, I¡¯ll offer you a deal."


    ¡°We¡¯ll treat the questions as a type of currency. One question equals one point. One point can be used to ask a common question such as what you¡¯ve asked before for example. Ten points and you can ask a question that doesn¡¯t have to be about class."


    ¡°But be warned, if I don¡¯t know the information, I will tell you just that, and you¡¯d lose those points. For one hundred points, you may ask me for a small favor or some high class knowledge. For a thousand points, I¡¯ll help you once if it¡¯s within my ability, or ask about something of equal value. If you don¡¯t accept my deal, then I¡¯ll just do away with the questions and they will be worthless.¡±


    Replying the words over again, Alex felt it was fair, but was caught up at one point, ¡°How will you decide the worth of a question.¡±


    ¡°Ninety Eight questions left. Don¡¯t worry about that, I¡¯m quite fair with my dealing as long as you don¡¯t try to screw me over. After all, didn''t I give you that bag of drugs? Besides, you have no ground to negotiate, take it or leave it.¡±


    Sighing inwardly, Alex felt bitter that she couldn¡¯t negotiate the terms, but at least it wasn¡¯t too outrageous.


    ¡°Deal.¡±


    ¡°Then we have an accord.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright. Teacher, I have some questions. Can we speak in someplace more private for a few minutes?¡°


    ¡°Ninety seven. If that is what you desire then follow me to my office.¡±


    Alex turned to the waiting E-Rank girls, ¡°Give me ten minutes and I¡¯ll help you with your guns.¡±


    Not waiting for a reply, Alex turned around, and followed the teacher inside.


    ...


    After ten or so minutes, Alex walked out of the teacher''s room with a smile on her face, followed by the teacher who looked at Alex like she was a little monster.


    I should¡¯ve raised the points value of the questions. Lamented Anastasia.


    With this information, I know what to do. Thought Alex, as she made confident steps.


    ¡°All those that made a deal with me, follow me through this door over here.¡±

 Chapter 22 - Gun Fixing

    Entering the room, the one hundred and one girls followed after her. When inside, Alex told them to gather around, and watch her put together a pistol, as she explained the process and what to look out for.


    She allowed questions to be asked and, with the help of the numbers, was able to give an explanation. She went through the guns one by one, then allowed the E-Rank girls to try on their own. As they did, she¡¯d go around and help those who were struggling. To make it easy on herself, she had the same type of pistols being in one area. It wasn¡¯t a problem thanks to the mountains of guns in the pile, so...  there wasn¡¯t a shortage of any particular gun.


    After managing to get them competent within an hour, Alex took a break, and grabbed Fei over to discuss something in private. What they talked about wasn¡¯t privy to the E-Rank girls, but Fei just nodded her head and said she was headed to the bathroom.


    A minor thing that the E-Ranks girls didn¡¯t notice was, as they were focused on putting into practice what Alex taught them, Alex wasn¡¯t idle, as in, between helping the girls, she was also either putting together broken pistols or reading gun manuals.


    The numbers in her head greedily took in the information, and, as such, time passed.


    ¡­


    Three hours had come and gone for the E-Rank girls, in which they completed putting together the thirty guns they owed to the teacher, and the five to Alex. Some had thoughts of not paying, but the teacher was looming over them and making them sweat.


    The girls lined up and handed in their boxes of guns, while Alex leisurely drank a cup of water, feeling relaxed.


    Smiling mysteriously,  Alex waved them off before turning to the teacher.


    ¡°Here are five hundred more guns, plus another hundred from me.¡±


    Opening her desk, Anastasia threw six bags of drugs on the table, which Alex swept up and put in her pockets.


    ¡°You¡¯re all dismissed, go on and enjoy your day.¡±


    The E-Rank girls breathed a sigh of relief and started walking out.


    After the building was clear, it was only Alex and the teacher left.


    Pulling out a bag of drugs, she passed it back to the teacher.


    ¡°Thanks for allowing me to use the room. This can be considered payment for that, and for Fei. Pleasure in doing business with you.¡±


    Chuckling, the teacher put the bag back into her desk, ¡°My pleasure. You¡¯ve helped me out in getting all those extra guns fixed. Still, I have to ask little Ms. First Place... Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re showing off a little too much? With that stunt you pulled, you¡¯re a prime target.¡±


    Alex didn¡¯t respond as she got up and headed towards the exit.


    Watching her student walk over to the door, Anastasia leaned on her hand and gave a faint smile.


    I have to admit, you caught my interest. Let¡¯s see how far you make it.


    Getting up from her seat as well, Anastasia walked upstairs, and started looking out the window to watch the show.


    ¡­


    Pushing open the door Alex kept a calm expression at the crowd gathered around. The E-Rank girls were gathered at the side, as D-rank girls stood in her way. Unexpectedly, Alex raised an eye-brow seeing that a few C-rank girls were standing at the forefront.


    Raising her head arrogantly, Alex asked, ¡°Oh? What¡¯s with the crowd? Did something interesting happen?¡±


    One of the girls with C-Rank, a fat girl with pimples responded by spitting on the ground, ¡°Cut the shit, D-Rank. My sisters told me that someone had something of mine. Those bags of drugs you got on you, hand them over, and we won¡¯t beat the shit out of you. I mean, judging from your appearance, you already get your shit kicked in, so save us the trouble.¡±


    As Alex was about to respond, a skinny faced C-Rank girl in silver clothes butted in, ¡°Oh, right, Gia, don¡¯t forget that this little skank got those E-Rank girls under her finger. She should give us her earnings for protection over this little operation. It would be a shame if that plain little face was made ugly. Isn¡¯t that right, Matty.¡±


    Matty, a girl clad in orange attire and jewelry that screamed gaudy chimed in next,  ¡°Indeed, Jean. In fact, a little birdie told me she has a toy. She should hand that over as well, after all, it¡¯s wasted on her, being her property. She can consider it an advance fee for ¡®protection¡¯ don''t you think so, sisters?¡±


    It didn¡¯t stop with those three, as the other C-Rank and D-Rank girls chimed in, demanding more and more from Alex whose expression remained calm. But her eyes, her eyes carried utter coldness, as the veins along her arms popped up along her skin in frustration and anger.


    But the girls couldn¡¯t see that, because her hair covered her eyes and the bandages covered her arms.


    After a while of their jeering and harassment, the crowd of girls were getting a little fed up that they weren''t getting a reaction, so they kicked the abuse up a notch.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°Are you fucking retarded? Or are your ears fucked up as well? I told you, hand over the drugs. Or do you want me to kick your ass, slut. If you don¡¯t hand it over on the count of three, we¡¯ll teach your body real good on how to obey your betters.¡±


    ¡°One.¡± A girl in the crowd jeered.


    ¡°Two.¡± Said another.


    ¡°Th-¡± As three was about to be said Alex¡¯s voice rang out.


    ¡°Ya know, I¡¯ve never really stood out since becoming a magical girl. I thought the world was grey and boring, with no meaning. I was never picked on, I was never praised. I had never lived.¡±


    ¡°Who the fuck cares about your life story?! Hand over the fucking drugs, you fucking whore! You had your chance, sisters go beat her a¡ª¡± Screamed Gia.


    ¡°Wait! Will you¡­ Will you really leave me alone if I hand them over?¡± Sounding distressed, Alex responded holding her hand out as her body began to shake.


    Gia smiled at Alex¡¯s plea, ¡°Sure. As long as you also hand over that cute boytoy.¡±


    Holding out her hand, Gia demanded, ¡°Now hand over the drugs, you whore.¡±


    Alex, at this point, stopped her trembling and raised her head showing off her now laughing eyes.


    With a smile, her outheld hand turned, and her fingers bent to reveal her standing middle finger.


    With a light tone, Alex smiled, ¡°Just kidding, I refuse. You and you bitches can go fuck yourselves. If you want these drugs and my property, you¡¯ll have to take them out of my cold dead hands.¡±


    A vein appeared on Gia''s head at Alex¡¯s foul tone. In silence, she began walking over to Alex till she loomed over her.


    Suppressing her rage from boiling over, Gia stood only a mere few feet from Alex, before she started talking with a forced smile.


    ¡°I must be hearing things, some little D-Rank getting a little too uppity? Guess we¡¯ll have to break some bones before you can be more sensible.¡±


    Putting her hands in her pockets Alex arrogantly raised her head still smiling.


    ¡°Oh? Sensible? All I¡¯m staring at is a pizza face fatty who thinks she¡¯s hot shit and a merry band of goons. I think I¡¯m being pretty sensible.¡±


    Having been provoked, Gia roared, as she stepped in and sent her fist smashing towards Alex¡¯s condescending face. Alex didn¡¯t make a move, as she kept a condescending look as face and fist were about to meet. The girls behind Gia smiled at the show.


    Suddenly an outstretched hand caught Gia¡¯s wrist, stopping the fist mear inches from Alex¡¯s face.


    ¡°How¡¯ve you been, Virgin? I see that you found some trouble.¡±


    A sarcastic voice rang out from Gia¡¯s side who turned her eyes to this transgresser.


    Clad in green with long black hair stood Loka, who seemed slightly annoyed.


    Anger bubbling up within her, Gia lashed out with her other fist at Loka.


    ¡°Who the fuck are you?! Must have a death wish to dare touch me!¡±


    Looking at the fist coming at her, Loka¡¯s agitation grew.


    ¡°Slow.¡±


    Loka moved her head slightly, making Gia¡¯s fist miss. And with full scorn, Loka hacked up a wet luigi and spat in Gia¡¯s eye.


    As the girl screamed in her hold and at her disgrace,  Loka painfully forced Gia to her knees by digging her nails into her arm, drawing blood. Feeling that it wasn¡¯t enough, Loka sent a kick into the girl''s stomach, repeatedly, until Gia threw up from the pain.


    Moving as fast as lightning, Loka got out of the splash zone. Then, while still holding her arm, bent it behind Gia''s back, then dug in her boot onto the lower back of her, pushing her down and into the ground. She then moved her foot upwards and ground Gia¡¯s face into her puke.


    ¡°Make sure to eat well, piggy. How dare you attack a B-Rank? YOU must¡¯ve had a death wish. Attacking my little virgin sister without my permission. Isn¡¯t that right, Sugar?¡±


    WIth a sigh Alex replied, ¡°Must you call me a virgin, Loka? And how have you been Sugar?¡±


    A voice that sounded like honey floated out, ¡°I''ve been fine, Alex, but I see that you¡¯ve ran into a problem. Mind if I let off a little steam?¡±


    The crowd, already shocked by the current events, and at Loka¡¯s B-Rank metal flashing, felt their veins freeze as Sugar walked out, showing off her A-Rank metal. Wearing, instead of her overalls, Sugar had a black and orange outfit that gave off a devastating effect.


    Still smiling, Alex nodded her head, ¡°Only beat up the C-Ranks. I don¡¯t know their names and if any D-Ranks run, beat them up as well. Thanks for helping me out with this little problem.¡±


    The C-Ranks began to sweat and tried to run away, only for Sugar to hunt them down one by one, as the D-Ranks trembled at the carnage.


    ¡­


    A bit of time and screams passed, before all ten of the C-Rank girls were forced on their knees in front of Alex, Sugar, and Loka.


    Sugar stood at the center, ¡°Now that I know your names and gangs, I won¡¯t make it hard on you. You all owe ten bags of drugs like this one.¡±


    Showing off a baggie she continued,  ¡°You must pay me before the month''s end. Failure to pay will result in me hunting you down and breaking your bones. As for the fat one, it¡¯s double the amount of drugs.


    ¡°Now for you, D-Ranks, for conspiring against my sister who has given me all your names, might I add, you will owe her to make ten guns for each gun class for one month, and a favor. Failure to comply with the terms will result in me or Loka here hopping in and breaking your bones. I want each and everyone of you to stand in front of me and accept.¡±


    And so, without much of a fuss, the horde of girls walked one by one and accepted the terms.


    When they finished, they ran away from the demons in human skin.


    After they were gone, Alex turned to Sugar and Loka and in her hands was a bag of drugs each.


    ¡°As payment for the helping hand.¡±


    Throwing the bags at them the two caught them with Loka stuffing it into her pockets.


    Sugar stood there though, and looked at the bag, then at Alex.


    ¡°You know you don¡¯t need to pay me, Alex, not after what you did for me.¡±


    Alex just shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s the principle of the manner. I can¡¯t always prey on your good intentions. Always pay back your debts and you will live a good life.¡±


    Loka just laughed, ¡°Sure, Virgin, thanks for the fun. If you need any help in the future don¡¯t hesitate to call. Well... as long as the profits are always this good. If that is all, I¡¯ll be off ta ta. Man, I gotta love that rule about no transformations unless allowed. Makes bullying so much easier. ¡±


    Turning her back to the two, Loka walked away with a skip in her step.


    When she was far enough away, Sugar whispered to Alex, ¡°As always, she''s a bitch.¡±


    ¡°But a useful bitch.¡±


    ¡°True. Wanna go get a bite to eat? Catch up?¡±


    Shaking her head, Alex gave Sugar a hug, ¡°I¡¯ll have to give a rain check... I have other business to attend today. How about tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Alright, but I¡¯ll hold you to that.¡±


    Parting from each other, the saddened Sugar and Alex bid their farewells, and headed off in their own directions.


    ¡­


    ¡°Are you sure we shouldn¡¯t have jumped in?¡± Drifted a voice, watching Alex and Sugar depart.


    ¡°We might¡¯ve had the chance if we got here before the terms were accepted. For now, we¡¯ll take a step back and plan for revenge.¡±


    ¡°If you say so, leader. Though, Gia and them might try something.¡±


    ¡°Those girls only know how to pick on the weak. When someone stronger comes along, they run away with their tails between their legs. They won¡¯t, but if they did¡­ well, I¡¯d be amazed, before I then broke half the bones in their bodies.


    ¡°Come on, enough of this boring subject. We have to plan for the examination.¡±


    With that, the two dozen girls walked away from the unknowing trio.

 Chapter 23 - Beaten

    Getting smacked into the mat, Alex held her ribs that groaned in pain.


    As she wallowed in pain, an arrogant voice rang out. ¡°Come on, you''re not done yet. Anastasia said you had some talent, but with the way you¡¯re crying like a bitch, I just don¡¯t see it.¡±


    Just when you¡¯re crawling up in life, it kicks you back down to hell.


    Letting out a pained chuckle, Alex winced at her pained ribs.


    ¡°Hey, gringo, did I kick your ass too hard? If ya wanna puss out, you can. Though, everyone here will think you''re a weak ass bitch.¡±


    Pushing through the pain, Alex dug her hands unto the mat and forced herself to a standing position, as the numbers ran along, showing the damage to her body. It showed she could take way more of a beating before she¡¯d collapse.


    Eyes somewhat blurry, she managed to put up a half-decent guard, as she faced her teacher/abuser.


    The tan girl had thick black wavy hair tied up in a ponytail, showing off her ice-blue eyes. She, like Alex, was wearing easy to move in clothing, going bare-knuckled mixed martial arts.


    Flashing a grin at her student, the teacher taunted Alex, ¡°That¡¯s the spirit, white girl. Even if you look like a mummy with all those bandages, I''ll beat the basics into your skinny ass. Or my name isn¡¯t the Devil Desert Moka. Now, since your ready, here I come~.¡±


    Gritting her teeth, Alex then roared at the top lungs and rushed towards Teacher Moka.


    ***


    ¡°My everything hurts... And fuck, it¡¯s cold.¡±


    Groaning in pain, Alex lay in a bath of ice water, wearing nothing but a look of depletion.


    Next to her was Moka, who lay naked and relaxed in her own tub.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad once you get used to it, white girl. In fact, you¡¯ll enjoy it after you get used to it.¡±


    ¡°Remind me how and why we alone are taking a cold bath together. I mean, in different tubs.¡±


    Eyes closed, Moka replied with a smile, ¡°That frost bitch called in a favor, so consider it a special privilege for my current number one student. Despite your average as hell combat ability, you score top marks in getting your ass kicked and having the will to keep getting back up.¡±


    Alex snorted, ¡°I¡¯m just not made for close combat, like Armor or Sugar. Should just stick to guns.¡±


    ¡°You say that, white girl, but you were holding back on me. After all, you didn¡¯t pull out that fire style you¡¯ve been learning from that boy toy. And don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t notice how clunky you were fighting. You were studying me, weren''t you?¡± Moka''s sudden deceleration caused Alex¡¯s body to suddenly stiffen, as her pained voice suddenly turned cold.


    ¡°How did you¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve trained a LOT of magical girls, and the teachers are always monitoring the students. I see what you¡¯re trying to do, and it can be considered smart.¡±


    ¡°You that I¡¯m¡ª¡±


    ¡°Trying to lay low in the physical battle prowess, as to look weak, after the power move you pulled the other day. All while trying to sharpen your physical battle prowess and use it as a hidden trump card? All for a plate of good fucking food. Did I guess correctly?¡±


    Gnashing her teeth, Alex responded, ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the plan. What''s it to you?¡±


    ¡°I could blackmail you for some easy drugs, but that sounds like a bore. In fact, I¡¯ll make more training for you for the examination. Tell you what, I was called in to beat the basics into you for a week. But I¡¯ve changed my mind. Every morning, I¡¯ll train you personally. The only thing you must do is not tell a soul.¡±


    ¡°And why would you do that?¡±


    Getting out of the tub, Moka stood confidently in the nude, showing off her numerous scars with an outstretched hand towards Alex.


    ¡°To gamble, obviously. That snarky bitch Wio always thinks she raises better talent, and you''re just that good of a material to stick her good right in the pu¡ª¡±


    Alex interrupted her by standing up suddenly, and shook her hand, ¡°I get the message and accept the deal. My only question is, how we¡¯ll keep this a secret.¡±


    With a mysterious smile, Moka looked deep into Alex¡¯s eyes, ¡°Don¡¯t worry your little head, white girl. I¡¯ve got it covered.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Great, then can you put some clothes on?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I like walking around naked after a workout.¡±


    ***


    After making an agreement with Moka, Alex bandaged up, got dressed and walked her way towards a nearby D-Rank Library. She gave Fei a head nod as they passed each other, as Fei headed towards the dorms to rest.


    Entering the library, Alex sniffed the air that gave off that old book smell.


    Although I only spent a little time here yesterday, this place really has a nice atmosphere.


    Basking in the sense of silence, she didn¡¯t notice the man waiting at the counter.


    Seeing her stand there like a fool, the old man lightly coughed to gain her attention.


    Startled, Alex slightly jumped, and looked at the old man who began talking.


    ¡°Excuse me, Madam. Do you need help with anything? I am here to serve.¡±


    Alex just shook her head, ¡°No, thank you. You were such a help yesterday that I know my way around now. Thank you for asking.¡±


    With a slight bow, the old man replied, ¡°If you need anything else, don¡¯t hesitate to ask.¡±


    Nodding to the old as a goodbye, she moved along her way. Walking along the aisle, she headed over to the section listed as history. Having already scoped the place out, she picked out books one by one. Soon enough, she had picked out a dozen books, and found a couch to sit on.


    The first book she picked out of the pile was titled The Rule Of G. It was a book the size of two fingers thick, and was old and worn, seemingly having been held by many people. Alex ran her hand over the leather-bound cover and the faded golden words, as if it held some power.


    She opened the book to be surprised that there wasn¡¯t an index, only a blank page. Turning that page, she found the words and began reading.


    Rule Number 1: Thou earn Your Keep.


    Those of a gang must rely on and help one another. That said, if there''s a leech that doesn''t contribute to the betterment of the Gang, then they have not earned their keep. Those that don¡¯t earn, don¡¯t eat, don¡¯t sleep and, most certainly, are given no protection.


    Rule Number 2: Thou honor is not dead.


    Those of the gang must honor agreements, no matter how absurd the deal, as business is business. Those that shit the bed must clean up for themselves, and live with the repercussions.


    Rule Number 3: Thou does not consort with cattle.


    All men, with the exception of wizards, are to be considered cattle, and used as seen fit by their owners. In another vein, cattle may be taken by force if a magical girl duel is declared for the rights of the cattle, as business is business.


    Rule Number 4: Thou does not allow emotion to destroy the gang''s influence by thy actions.


    You bear the mark of your gang, and with it, their will and integrity. You carry on your back the reputation that has been built. If you tarnish it emotionally or otherwise, your peers are encouraged to make you recover it. By any means necessary.


    Rule Number 5: Thou shall not sell dreams to make a profit.


    A magical girl does not use lies to make a profit. All business deals must be made fairly, based on the power and knowledge of the parties involved. Failure to do so and, if found out, is a smear on the reputation of your gang. And with it, your head.


    Rule Number 6: Thou shall help when an ending is called for.


    As your duty as a member of the gang you will, without hesitation, kill another member when an ending is called. Remember, the time comes for all magical girls.


    Those six embolden rules each had their own pages, and were outlined with more guidelines and detail, but basically boiled down into those points. The rest of the rules that followed were the rules set up by the Gang leader personally, that expanded on the core rules, and showed the list of rewards and punishments.


    Even with the numbers helping her sort the information it still took her an hour to get through the two hundred page book. Putting the book down after finishing it, Alex sat back and digested what she had just read.


    So magical girls are like that, how unexpected of them to use law when they seem to be all chaotic and lazy. Whoever wrote this must have been an idealist, and powerful, if every gang follows these main laws.


    No matter what, I can more or less use these rules to my advantage as long as I become strong enough. If I don¡¯t, then if I consider rules two and five, I won¡¯t have any way to negotiate good deals. It may seem like rule five is made not to screw someone over, but rule two states that bad deals can be made. Fairly in rule five really means: it¡¯s based on power and knowledge of both parties. Lack knowledge, and you can be screwed over with no fault of your own. Lack the power, and the deal will be more against you than for you. The only thing you can¡¯t do is lie about the deal, really... But what magical girl will care about that?


    I mean, the rules our gang leader put in seems pretty harsh, with the harshest being of her ripping your face and soul out, and adding them to the pillar of shame. I wonder if all magical girl gangs have similar enforcement. Well, I''ll figure it out from experience or ask Anastasia for a more detailed explanation.


    Having made up her mind, Alex went to pick up another book, titled history of the Blackcard gang¡ªretracted version.


    ***


    ¡°Now, class, your first lesson will be to make some basic drugs that can be sold to mortals. It¡¯s quite easy to mix up a batch.¡±


    It had to be a drug class.


    As Alex stood in her borrowed, white lab coat, she studied the teacher in the black lab coat. She seemed quite like an airhead, with her wild hair and large rimmed glasses. Her face was quite plain, with a few knicks and scars, seemingly from chemicals.


    She was white to an almost albino degree, and her hair was platinum, which made her pitch-black irises stand out in an off-putting way.


    Of all the magical girls I¡¯ve seen, she is by far the weirdest looking.


    ¡°Now girls, follow after me, step by step. Those that mess up five out of their ten batches will be stripped naked and whipped in the middle of the academy. Ah¡­ Good times, I remember that my old enemy got constantly sent there. But of course, it was because of me tampering with her mixtures... It always brought a smile to my face. Oh, yes, forgive me for going down memory lane. Let¡¯s begin, shall we?¡±


    But like all the rest, she¡¯s bat shit crazy.

 Chapter 24 - Snow Tears

    ¡°Now, to begin, this drug name is called Gummy, and is a byproduct of a magical girl medicine called Snow Tears that is used to relieve stress. To make this drug is simple, but to make a high-quality medicine is quite the effort. First, you will put the base ingredients into the beaker, which are 50 grams of Ice hair, 2 pints of Wag Blood, and a cup of virgin boy tears. We will then place the beaker on the magic burner to dissolve the ice hair into solution. You wanna keep the temperature below boiling at 95 celsius. Next...¡±


    Alex followed along, step by step, and with the help of the numbers, was able to maintain the heat, material amount, and time. The only problem she had was with how much magic power she needed to infuse into the potion. Having not done such a task ever, she almost failed like many of the girls.


    Wiping the sweat off her brow, she looked at her beakers, seven glowing and three dark. Out of the entire group, she tied for second with another girl, with first finishing eight. Although she got second, Alex didn¡¯t feel bad, since she felt confident that with enough practice she¡¯d hit 9/10 success rate with ease.


    As she basked in her accomplishment, magical girls who failed were dragged out by the automatons. Cries and wails could be heard, as they were dragged out to meet their fate. Besides the teacher, only fifteen remained, Fei not included in those numbers.


    After this, I should help Fei study potions as a show of good faith. Maybe make some extra drugs on the side with ¡®tutoring¡¯ again.


    While thinking on how to make some good pocket money, the teacher Albi started clapping her hands, making Alex¡¯s skin crawl.


    ¡°You¡¯ve all done so well, I¡¯m surprised that there''s still so many of you left that finished the first stage. Let¡¯s move onto dropping the mortal byproduct out of solution of the magical girl drug. First and those tied for second, as a reward, are allowed to fail all but one batch. The rest of you, if you fail three of them well¡­ you know what happens to you, right?"


    ¡°Now, listen up so you are not left behind. As you can see on your desk, there is a covered jar. I want you all to carefully remove the lid so as not to spook what¡¯s inside. If you do, well, I hope you don¡¯t mind smelling like shit for a month.¡±


    Alex and the rest listened closely, taking her warning to heart in opening the mysteries covered jar. As the seal was unbroken, Alex had an urge to look at what was inside, but decided against, not following her curiosity.


    Unfortunately, one of the girls in the lab decided to look into the jar to which tiny screeches were heard, and dozens of black strings shot out. The girl wasn¡¯t fast enough to dodge, and the strings hit her face.


    She started to scream as the black strings started tunneling into her skin, turning her once healthy-looking skin pitch black. Then, the girl started to gag, holding her throat and nose as she fell to the ground.


    ¡°Are you oka¡ª OH GOD, THE STRETCH! WHAT IN EVIL IS THAT?!¡±


    One girl near the afflicted girl said, as she forced herself to hold down her lunch. The affected girl wasn¡¯t so lucky, as she began convulsing and throwing up all over the floor.


    As the thirteen other girls moved away in horror, they covered their nose, in hopes they would hold their stomachs contents in.


    As for Aibi, the teacher rolled her eyes with a charming smile, ¡°Carry her out and put her near the people hung up. Make sure to place her upwind to punish those failures, though do take them down in an hour after they have had their fun.¡±


    Clapping her hands, two automatons appeared and dragged the poor girl out to be hung on the cross. As Alex held her nose, to stop the stench of sunbaked rotting flesh and shit, she whispered a silent prayer for Fei, hoping she could escape disaster.


    With a smile, Albi turned her attention back to her remaining students, seeing the terror written on their faces.


    ¡°Let this be a valuable lesson, always be careful when dealing with drug making, girls. Ms. Karen has just demonstrated why you must take the utmost caution when dealing with materials. And as dangerous materials go, this is one of the tamest. Skin Eater Ants, who within minutes, as a colony, can eat an adult female''s skin off, leaving the body in agonizing pain before it dies from blood loss. Bone Jelly invades the body, and melts the bones inside, leaving the body a slime within ten minutes."


    ¡°Or, my favorite, the Anomaly worm, who at high speeds tunnels through your body, leaving it in parts within a minute. But the best part about it is that all bits of body parts are alive and mentally connected to the intact head thanks to the Anomaly worm making it its temporary home."


    ¡°This is because of the worm''s nature, to preferably feed on the body alive. It will then move the head to the center of the temporary home, as the pieces are infected by its unique substance that infects the cells to form tumors."


    ¡°For hours, it will eat the body, allowing the victim to feel the pain of being eaten alive, piece by piece, before the worm enters the head to lay its eggs which will hatch just before the head expires in a few days."If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°Now that that little warning is out of the way, let''s begin extracting the wood slugs to place in solution, shall we?¡±


    The girls could only shake their heads in acknowledgment, wishing to not turn out to be another Karen.


    ¡­


    One by one, the girls fell, until only five remained.


    Four had failed the wood slug extraction and met the same fate as Karren. As for the rest, they failed at various stages of the extraction. Even Alex was shaken as she stared at the two piles of what looked to be about the size of sugar cubes. The bigger one was that of the mortal drug, Gummy, yellow in color, that came out to fifty cubes. While Snow tears came to only be about ten cubes.


    As she sat back in her chair, mentally exhausted, Albi went around the room, inspecting the drugs one by one. She tested them by popping one cube into her mouth, closing her eyes, and sighing.


    ¡°Ah, yes, this one is passable to be sold, but it¡¯s low quality. You added a few too many wood slugs, and the temperatures were off around the fourth cycle of reducing. Take your hard work and go. And remember, if you partake, remember that your body can only handle two at most every twelve hours and it should only be used just before meditation.¡±


    ¡°Low quality¡­¡±


    ¡°Low quality¡­¡±


    ¡°Mid quality¡­¡±


    ¡°Mid quality¡­¡±


    One by one, the girls were graded and left, until it was finally Alex¡¯s turn. Like with the rest, the teacher, Albi, grabbed a cube and popped in her mouth.


    ¡°Hmm... this is Mi¡ª¡± Just as Albi was about to declare the quality of the drug, she stopped, as if struck by lightning. Seeing this, Alex started sweating inwardly, wondering if she had messed up somewhere.


    Did I mess up on the third cycle of heating? But I was sure I caught it before it hit dangerous levels. Maybe it was that extra gram of Wood Slug the numbers suggested. It could have been that maybe some of the materials were bad and it made this batch useless.


    Trying to figure out where she went wrong, or if the world had royally screwed her hard work, Alex stared as Albi opened her mouth.


    ¡°Your name is Alex, right? A blank from the Black Card Gang, correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    The teacher sighed, ¡°A shame. If you were from one of the lesser gangs, I¡¯d have forced them to give you to ours. Well done on making a high-quality drug on your first try. I was watching you and thought your process would produce mid-quality with the mistakes you made. If you wouldn¡¯t mind, could you tell me how you moved your mana? It would be the only way to explain how you got this quality. I won¡¯t punish you if you don¡¯t tell me, so have no worries. I¡¯m just curious, is all.¡±


    Although she said it with a smile, Alex felt her neck hair crawl and her back felt drenched in sweat.


    Her mouth says no worries, but her eyes say I¡¯ll get it out of you one way or another. Fucking¡­ why did I have to try my best? Can¡¯t I just have a normal day anymore?


    As she lamented her predicament for a brief moment, her mind and mouth were already moving.


    ¡°I would like to offer a deal¡­¡±


    ¡­


    And so, a full hour passed, and the two sat across from one another, haggling over an agreement.


    In the end, Albi was smiling, but not smiling, ¡°You are one shrewd blank, Ms. Alex. As long as you can keep your head, you¡¯ll go far in the world of magical girls. I¡¯m glad we could come to an agreement.¡±


    Awhile, Alex was sighing to herself, bitterly. This is how much I can get with my current status. It¡¯s better than nothing, but I could¡¯ve milked out so much more if I had the power to back up my stance.


    Although bitter inwardly,  outwardly, Alex was full of smiles, as she signed the document before her. She then handed it over to Albi to sign, and then she put it in an automaton, which spit out two copies of the contract.


    ¡°This agreement has been overseen by robot 028-X, and has been recorded in the campus database. Each party will receive a paper copy of the contract in case the data is lost. Robot 028-X will also take a scan of the contract in the event of unforeseen accidents. Have a good day, Ms. Alex, Ms. Albi.¡±


    And so, with the agreement reached, the robot left, leaving the teacher and student alone.


    Albi smiled widely, ¡°Now, Ms. Alex, would you kindly teach me the method you found out?¡±


    ¡°With pleasure, teacher Albi.¡±


    ¡­


    Walking out the door, Alex walked as fast as she could to get away. And when she turned the corner on the street, went into an alley. She held her chest, where her heart was beating like a thunderous drum, and leaned on the wall.


    Sweat was pouring down her brow as her body trembled.


    Is my life going to be like his every day? Filled with such cutthroat deals? God, what is wrong with these teachers? Hours¡­ Hours to teach her how to alternate mana gently to increase the synergy of the ingredients.


    I have a feeling that if she didn¡¯t get it, she¡¯d have kept going through the afternoon and the night until she did. Note to self, don¡¯t use the numbers most optimally to make drugs, unless privately, and if I have enough power to sell them without worry. But I can''t believe that the numbers came to such a conclusion after reading some books on drug theory.


    It took her a bit to settle down and get her heartbeat under control.


    When she did, Alex turned to the medium size backpack she held in one hand. Well, at least I got this and a few more things out of that deal. With this, I¡¯ll have insurance getting into C-Rank. Still, I¡¯ll need to do more preparation. I¡¯ll hand these over to Sugar for safe keeping. For now, I¡¯ll go check on Fei and see how she¡¯s doing.


    Dusting herself off, she began making her way to her dorms, when a thought hit her.


    Although teacher Albi''s methods are cruel, it was pretty funny. Heh, put up people on the cross naked to smell shit and rotten corpses from upwind.


    Oh god. Why did I think that was funny?

 Chapter 25 - Cold Weapons

    It was a nice change of pace.


    Thought Alex about the time she spent with Sugar yesterday. It had lifted her mood to keep pushing herself, since today was cold weapons training. Although she was sore as fuck, bruised, and battered, she would give it her all for the first day of cold weapons training, hoping it would be simple.


    That all changed when she walked in and saw Spada standing at the middle platform, holding her sword chained to her scabbard. She still wore her iconic black cloth over her eyes, but the morning clothes were replaced by a sports top showing off her chiseled arms and eight pack.


    When everyone, except for those still being treated for yesterday''s fiasco, entered, Spada began talking.


    ¡°Today I¡¯ll be teaching you on the methods of cold weapon combat. You will be the first to learn, come and choose your weapon.¡±


    Raising her sword with a faint smile on her lips, she pointed straight at Alex.


    Why does she fucking hate me so much?


    Exasperated, she was already winded from this morning''s training with Moka and Sial that she just wanted to lay down and rest her sore body. But now, this bitch was already targeting her right from the gate.


    What did I do to deserve this?


    ¡°Stop stalling, girl! Or I¡¯ll send you to punishment.¡±


    Gritting her teeth in anger, Alex went up and grabbed a training staff from the weapons rack and headed to the stage, where Spada awaited to beat her.


    ¡°The first strike is yours, make it good.¡± Taunted Spada casually, as she placed her sword on her shoulder and motioned with her other hand to come hither.


    Alex tried to use the numbers to find an opening, only to find a field of 0¡¯s and the voice she hadn¡¯t heard in a while rang in her head.


    Assessment: Hopeless


    Advisement: Turn into a magical girl or flee.


    When I need you the most, you are useless.


    With an inward sigh, Alex resigned herself to fate, and charged the wall that is Spada head-on with a war cry. The outcome was obvious, as Spada called out each of her blocks and strikes. And she was brutal in not allowing Alex to fall, aiming her strikes to be as painful as possible.


    The crowd watched with glee, as Alex was brutally beaten, since she had extorted most of them for her own gain. Bruises and welts built upon her body, and her bones felt like they were breaking. Her legs were shaking like a newborn dear as the blows kept coming.


    It didn¡¯t end until Spada smashed her scabbard into Alex''s stomach, causing her to lose her breath and, unable to hold her stomach in, made her vomit all over the ground.


    Even that still missed Spada, who dodged out of the way with grace.


    As Alex started falling downwards into her own vomit, she heard Spada snort, ¡°That¡¯ll show you not to turn up exhausted to my class. Someone like you who doesn¡¯t put in effort needs to become a proper young lady.¡±


    The Rage that was building up in Alex up to that point seemed to snap, as the numbers began to flow in her mind. Time slowed down to a crawl, and within that moment, a line of projection appeared of one percent.


    One out of one hundred? I¡¯ll fucking take it.


    And so, with sheer willpower, Alex grabbed her staff tightly and stabbed it into the vomit pile. Using the last of her strength, she lifted her body into the air and lunged at Spada, screaming bloody mary. Spada, who thought she had beaten and humiliated Alex, wasn¡¯t expecting the last-ditch attack and was slugged across the face with a foot.


    ¡°Take that, you bitch¡­¡± Coughing her lungs out Alex weakly gave her the middle finger before her consciousness faded.


    Meanwhile, Spada, who had been kicked in the face, spat out some blood on the fallen Alex.


    Not bad, little one. I guess you do have something after all.


    As she thought so, she kicked Alex off the platform with enough force to crack a rib, making the girls down below wince.


    ¡°Automation, take her and go get her patched up. But remember, only a patch up. Consider it a punishment for cursing at me. Dumb bitch.¡±


    How petty! Thought the crowd, as they watched the robots start to drag her away.


    ¡°Wait!¡±


    Could she be having second thoughts?


    ¡°Drag that dumb bitch through her vomit. How dare she spill her lunch on this sacred ground. Use her hair to mob some of it up as well. Then clean the rest of it up.¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    She really is petty!


    After that little fiasco and the platform cleaned, Spada then turned to the girls and pointed towards her next victim.


    ¡°My blood is now boiling. Your next, maggot.¡±


    Fei cried inwardly as she cursed at Alex for awakening the demon.


    ¡­


    Hours later, Alex awoke from her coma full of pain.


    The numbers told her that she had a few cracked ribs and massive bruising over her body.


    With a groan, Alex tried to raise herself out of the bed, to find out she was strapped to the bead.


    ¡°Finally come, have you? My, my... Spada did a number on you.¡±


    Turning her head sideways, Alex could see Hema writing on her notepad. Wearing a white set of doctor clothes instead of red, changing her look dramatically.


    ¡°Normally, I¡¯d heal your ribs for free, but since someone else got charged an arm and a leg to make you pay, I¡¯m gonna need payment. Also, aside from that payment, you also need to pay me for washing your body of vomit. The total comes to eight high-quality snow tears.¡±


    Inwardly, Alex gashed her teeth in anger, That bitch dragged me through my vomit? One day I¡¯ll pay back this disgrace ten times over. And someone is fucking with me?!


    Alex outwardly looked at her tiredly, ¡°Which bitch had the balls to make such a deal.¡±


    ¡°That information, since you''re part of my gang, will only cost you one high-quality snow tear.¡±


    ¡°Deal, heal me fully first, and I¡¯ll pay you tomorrow. I¡¯ll sign a contract with you if you want.¡±


    ¡°No need, I know where you live, so if you try to dip out of the bill, I¡¯ll just never heal you again and blacklist you from all the other healers. Now that you agreed with the payment, close your eyes and I¡¯ll treat your ribs.¡±


    ¡°I said full heal.¡±


    ¡°Tsk, fine. Pay me all the mortal drugs you made as well.¡±


    ¡°You fiend, do you not have a heart?¡±


    ¡°Money, drugs and deals make the world go round, honey. I¡¯m just a senior teaching her cute little junior how the world works. Now, do you want a full healing or not.¡±


    Holding back her rage, Alex forced a reply, ¡°Deal¡­ You demon.¡±


    Hema just smiled, ¡°Thank you for the kind words, now try to not bite your tongue. This¡¯ll hurt a bit.¡±


    In horror, Alex watched as Hema''s hands twisted and turned into various needles and, without warning, started poking in various parts of her body. She tried to scream from the sight, only to have a gag placed in her mouth, as needle after needle shot burning liquid throughout her body.


    ¡­


    Expressionless, Alex, all bandaged up, walked out of the clinic as if she lost her soul. She didn¡¯t know what to feel after going through that.


    She¡­ she felt great now, the best in weeks in fact, but at the cost of all those needles and tentacles¡­ She wondered if it was even worth it.


    And so, as she tried to find the answer, she made her way to her dorm unmolested. She went up the steps and into her dorm section, where she could hear groans of pain all around her. As she walked along, she looked at a bed in the room and made a note to herself.


    You¡¯ll get what¡¯s coming to you, just wait until rank advancement class. Guess you didn¡¯t learn your lesson after the gun incident. Don¡¯t worry, Mally, I¡¯ll be paying you back.


    Alex had learned a lot from Hema that Mally made the deal and was an underling of Gia, who was part of the Morderca Gang that was based in Poland.


    They were well known for their assassin work, and an old ally to the alliance. But it seems that they and the Black Card Gang had a little bad blood between each other after a certain incident. It seemed that one of the people higher up in the ranks not directly related to the Morderca gang was pulling some strings on the next rank up advancement on Black Card Blanks.


    But most of the focus would be on her, to make an example out of those who dare to drag the Morderca face through the mud. This also included Sugar and Loka as priority targets, to make them fall through the ranks.


    Falling onto her bed, Alex covered herself in her blanket. Although her eyes were heavy, her mind was flashing with thoughts.


    If it isn¡¯t one thing it¡¯s another. I can¡¯t have one day of peace without someone trying to fuck with me. This unknown party wants to throw down, then we can throw down. I guess I¡¯ll be changing some of my plans for Rank advancement. God, I miss the simple days.


    ¡®But isn¡¯t this what you wanted? To have an exciting life. To be something more? If you wanna give up, I¡¯ll be more than happy to take over.¡¯ Xel, after being quiet for some time,  had reared her ugly head once again.


    Alex just rolled her eyes, Shut up, Xel. I¡¯m trying to think. I doubt you have anything meaningful to say, so just can it.


    Not willing to listen to anything Xel said, Alex began singing show tunes in her head in an attempt to silence her other ego.


    ¡®HISSS! STOP THAT INFERNAL NOISE OF SHIT, I HAVE AN IDEA IN HOW YOU CAN EASILY GET REVENGE ON THE ONE YOU CALL¡­ MALLY!¡¯


    Oh, this¡¯ll be good. Tell me, oh pitiful one. What harebrained scheme did you come up with? Bet it has something to do with taking over my body for a bit. If so, I¡¯m not interested. Rather, I will go to sleep.


    ¡®You already know what the rank up advancement is going to be, right? Then if you do this¡­ and this¡­ we could do this and¡­¡¯


    At first, Alex was not interested in what Xel was saying, but the more she listened, the more her lips curved into a smile. But to be sure, she decided to run the numbers to figure out the probability of it working, and the numbers she saw made her feel confident about it.


    ¡®Well, what do you think? As the smartest of the two of us, I think the plan is great. It makes me wish I could do it personally! Muhahahaha!¡¯


    Alex rolled her eyes, I don¡¯t think you are the smartest out of us.


    Why you! After I have given this master plan, this is how you tr-¡¯


    But.


    ¡®But what? I¡¯m the greatest.¡¯


    I have a few ways. We can greatly improve the plan.


    ¡®Oh? How could you think of anything better than what I can come up with?¡¯


    Shut up and listen. You see, we change this to¡­ and we move this to that¡­ finally, we finish up with this instead of that.


    After Alex had finished explaining to Xel the changes to the plan, she grew quiet, until finally replied.


    ¡®And I thought I was the evil one. Kukuku. Alex, you make the great me proud, when I take over this body, I guess I won¡¯t destroy your spirit and merely torment it.¡¯


    Get over yourself, I¡¯m not evil. And you taking me over is wishful thinking.


    ¡®Are you sure about that?


    Yes, and if I wanted to be evil, I could¡¯ve done this, this, and this¡­ also that.


    And so the two went on talking for a bit more, before they got tired and headed to sleep.

 Chapter 26 - Opening Bets

    One day had passed after another for Asita and Tanya, who lazed around the training grounds when they were not teaching the young gangsterlings. The two were currently sunbathing on top of the teacher''s building, talking with a few other teachers on break.


    ¡°Hey, big sister, it seems your little cute blank is rising through the ranks. It seems today she reached rank 30 in D-Rank, she even earned a boy toy and a few underlings. Aren''t you proud of her?¡± After she said that, she did a rail of angel tears with a rolled-up $100 banknote.


    Asita rolled her eyes, ¡°Oh, stop trying to talk her up, Sugar is the real superstar this year for our gang, with Loka coming in second. Besides those two, most of the blanks are showing talent and are better than expected. If she reaches B-Rank I might consider her somewhat talented. For now, she¡¯s just at the level of a boy toy. Enough of such a boring topic Tanya; Francisco, set up another line of Iron-Snake Dust, I wanna get lit.¡±


    The ripped Bazilian bowed his head politely, ¡°It¡¯ll be prepared right away, madam.¡±


    As the man got to work, a voice rang out, ¡°Oh? So is Iron Fist not going to bet on her own child? How pitiful of that one.¡± The two Black Card Members looked up, to see a teacher wearing a green bandana was poking fun at the relaxing Asita.


    Before she decided to reply, she heard Francisco¡¯s voice, ¡°It is done, madam.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    Taking the one hundred dollar bill from Tanya, Asita did a thick red line that was ten inches in one take. Rubbing her nose, she turned to the green headband teacher, her expression was calm but condescending.


    ¡°Ah¡­ if it isn¡¯t Rittea from the Morderca Gang. Now, who said I wouldn¡¯t bet on her? Even if she¡¯s weak as shit, I wouldn¡¯t ¡®abandon¡¯ her. You know that isn¡¯t the code of the Black Card Gang, unlike yours.¡±


    Rittea¡¯s eyes twitched full of anger, but she kept her voice pleasant. After all she didn¡¯t have a nickname, unlike Asita, which made her inferior.


    ¡°Oh? If that is so, you wouldn¡¯t mind a little bet that your child won¡¯t make it to C-Rank this month. Afterall,  you girls in the Black Card gang love to bet, don''t you?¡±


    In response, Asita held out one finger and turned to Francisco, ¡°Another line, I need to get sober for this.¡±


    ¡°Right away, madam.¡±


    And so, Rittea waited, frustrated, while Asita sat with a smile. But her mind was working overtime.


    How much can I milk out of her? I can¡¯t believe someone took the bait! Gotta make a killing off of this, wonder if I can draw in some extra fools to make bank. Need to earn some pocket money, after all.


    With  the plan having been formulated, Asita flashed Tanya a shallow signal to play along.


    And by that time, Francisco had finished forming the line. She took another hit, causing most of the women watching to shake their heads in praise. After all, most of them could only do lines half that size.


    As expected of a named.


    The group thought, as Asita closed her eyes and felt the rush going through her body.


    ¡°Oh yes~! That hit¡¯s the spot, finally fucking sober. So, how much do you wanna bet, Rittea? If it¡¯s too low for my tastes, get the fuck out. We only take high stakes here in the Black Card.¡±


    ¡°One kilo of high-grade angel dust, two pounds of Iron-Snake dust, ten bottles of Lovatone, and three ounces of mermaid scales, and three grams of Pixie wings, just for good measure.¡±


    The teachers nearby whistled at such a high bet, that was worth a large chunk of money. The total is around one hundred thousand US Dollars, but to Asita, she snorted at the price and turned her nose up.


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty low, double it and you got yourself a deal.¡±


    With such a nonchalant reply, Rittea stiffened up, before forcing a smile. It¡¯s most of my money... but with how well we prepared, I have no worries. This is easy money, and I get to drag these bitches face through the mud.


    ¡°I expect nothing less from someone of your stature¡­ Fine, you¡¯re on!¡±


    Holding back from smiling, Asita turned her head over in a certain direction.


    ¡°Head headmaster, is the betting pool up yet?¡±


    A girl with wild silver hair and gold stars for pupils appeared. She wore a nice white dress that was quite fluffy.


    Lazily, Izar floated along the water in her white bathing suit. Opening her eyes slightly, her golden pupils shined a moment, before closing.


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s around that time... Automatons, open the betting pool.¡± With a snap of her fingers, countless screens opened across the campus, and a robotic announcement filled the air.


    ¡°Attention all faculty and students! Examination betting has commenced. May you make good business choices.¡±


    Soon after, roars and cheers shouted out across campus.


    ***Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    Alex, all bandaged up, was doing the fire arts motions, sweating up a storm as she went through the basics of the fire style.


    Next to her was Sial, running her through the paces, while Moca was lazily watching from her couch, eating potatoes.


    One motion after another, she kept going until she couldn¡¯t anymore, managing to reach the tenth step of sixteen. Exhausted, she fell to the floor, gasping for breath. As for Sial he didn¡¯t stop until he finished his rotation, then got a bottle of water for Alex.


    Saying thank you to Sial, she was about to take a drink when Moca warned, ¡°Remember, just a quick drink. In thirty minutes we will be sparing.¡±


    Taking a drink, Alex felt depressed,  ¡°My bruises have bruises. Can¡¯t we just skip today¡¯s fighting, I don¡¯t wanna spend more drugs to heal.¡±


    ¡°Too bad, gringo. You have an examination to win, and you¡¯re my ticket to make some sweet pocket money. Since we''ve  got a few more days until you need to rest for the big day, we¡¯re going to go hard. You don¡¯t wanna eat shit food anymore, right?¡±


    Just the mention of the food made Alex''s eyes shine with a bright light, as mana trails started to come off her body unconsciously. Even the tattoo on her back started to itch, as if wanting to go all out.


    Raising off from the ground, Alex had a serious expression on her face, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, teacher, I don¡¯t know what got into me. Let¡¯s get to fighting right now.¡±


    She¡¯s giving off magic trails now? Oh, my hard work is paying off now. This is going to be fun training this underdog. Kekeke... all the pocket money I¡¯m going to make!


    Feeling the fire lit within her, Moca got off the couch, ¡°Ok, girl, but don¡¯t expect me to pull my punches just because you''re tir¡ª¡±


    ¡°Attention all faculty and students! Examination betting has commenced. May you make good business choices.¡±


    As the atmosphere was getting heated, a sudden announcement cut through the air.


    The fire for fighting died down in Moca and, in turn, the spirit of gambling reared its ugly head.


    With a whirly grin, Moca put her fists down, ¡°Sorry, my cute little student. Bets are open and I gotta place my money. We¡¯ll go in a few hours..¡±


    And without so much as another word, Moca snapped her fingers and slid through a sand portal.


    Alex, on the other hand, was flabbergasted, then felt a sudden rage, and then fell down on the ground, sighing.


    ¡°Are you fucking kidding me? Welp, guess that¡¯s it for now.¡±


    She then turned head to the awaiting Sial, ¡°Hey Sial, would you kindly run me a cold ice bath?¡±


    In response, he nodded his head and proceeded to run the water in the bathroom, while Alex stared at the ceiling to go over the information she had gathered.


    So this is how far I can go in this short of a time¡­


    Only a week away until the examination comes, I¡¯ve already done my preparations externally. I can only really prepare myself mentally. With my current strength I only somewhat fear the top five in D-Rank.


    Rank 5 - Ling Ling  Magical Girl Power - Plant Leafs


    Affiliation - Bamboo Gang  Nationality - China.


    With current information, 45% percent win rate one on one.


    Rank 4 - Kuro  Magical Girl Power - Wolf Summoning


    Affiliation - Slingers Gang  Nationality - Iceland


    With current information 38.93% percent to win rate one on one.


    Rank 3 - Mally  Magical Girl Power - Shadow Step


    Affiliation - Morderca Gang  Nationality - Poland


    With current information 27.12% percent to win rate one on one.


    Rank 2 - Yoo-Nah  Magical Girl Power - Tiger Eyes


    Affiliation - Foot Foot Clan  Nationality - South Korea


    With current information 21.14% percent to win rate one on one.


    Rank 1 - Moxi   Magical Girl Power - Strengthening


    Affiliation - Muscle Crew  Nationality - Germany


    With current information 10.04% percent to win rate one on one.


    Even with giving it my all to the training, I¡¯m still far behind the top five. Anyone sixth to tenth is around mid-fifty percent, and the rest I have a good advantage. If I get ganged up by more than others, then it¡¯s game over for me, unless they suck at chasing.


    Gonna have to play it ruthless and quick in the beginning if I wanna take it easy in the later stages. Since I¡¯m allowed to bring a gun, but not ammo, I¡¯m going to need to salvage a supply drop fast for bullets and resources.


    As long as I hit them in the chest they will be considered dead, but the noise will draw others in. I¡¯ll have to be fast, fast, and fast if I want to get away. If they catch me, then I¡¯ll have to use my secret weapons as a last resort, I hope I use it on one of the top five if that happens. In my trial and error, I only made five and with the rest of the week, I should be able to make ten.


    Ten shots to change fate against five hundred? What shit odds... but it¡¯s the best I can do. I¡¯ve bribed a few under my banner, and with Sugar and Loka''s threat of beating them, they should listen. I don¡¯t have to worry about one hundred of them betraying me, as they are either Black Card or close allies to my gang.


    If I can sway some more under my banner, then I¡¯ll have a much easier time against Molly¡¯s coalition with Slingers and the Bamboo gang under her banner. If the Foot Foot Clan and Muscle Crew didn¡¯t stay neutral we¡¯d''ve been screwed.


    Still¡­ it''s one hundred vs. one hundred fifty + others trying to claim my bounty. All of that, plus the three of the top five hunting me? What is this difficulty? Demon?


    Rubbing her sudden growing headache, she took a moment, and then kept thinking.


    Alright, alright, so the broad is fucked, but I can fuck them before they can fuck me.


    Ling Ling, I take my chances in close combat.


    Same with Kuro and Molly, if I get a chance. As for Yoo-Nah and Moxi, I¡¯ll only have one chance to snipe them. And that¡¯s if I get the bullets. If I don¡¯t, my chances go close to zero unless I use my secret weapon.


    I¡¯ll have to think more about this, but so far, this is the best gameplan.


    Finished with her analyses, Alex sighed and, as she did so, Sial came around the corner holding his notepad out.


    ¡°Bath is ready.¡±


    Getting up from the floor, Alex thanked Sial, and headed to take her nice cold bath.


    God, besides food, this is probably the best thing ever. With a sliver of excitement, Alex half walked, half and ran to the bath.

 Chapter 27 - Gas Gas Cage

    ¡°Thanks for holding my stuff, Sugar. I couldn¡¯t really trust those at the dorm not to sabotage it. I¡¯ve even had a few girls try to steal my badge to make me a slave and to take over my businesses.¡±


    Sugar stood outside of her building mansion with a wry smile, ¡°People picking on you? Should have told me, Alex. Wouldn''t have been a big deal.¡±


    Alex took the backpack and shook her head, ¡°No, you have to get stronger to keep your position. I can handle the pressure, trust me, it¡¯ll make me strong enough to stand by your side. Thank you again, and remember, be careful about holding your position. People are scheming against us.¡±


    Sugar just laughed and pulled Alex in for a hug, then whispered in her ear as she put her other hand through Alex¡¯s hair.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, most of them are pushovers, and if I have a difficult battle, the thing you made should help me out. You should worry more about yourself, every time I see you, you¡¯re beaten to shit.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all from training to become stronger. Now I have to go, Sugar. I have to be at the explanation place for the examination in a half hour.¡± Alex replied while patting Sugar''s back.


    ¡°I¡­ I got it. Just be safe, ok?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best, and if you see Loka, tell her to suck a dick.¡±


    Sugar chuckled and begrudgingly let Alex go, ¡°Ha! I¡¯ll be sure to relay your message. See ya, Alex, give them hell.¡±


    ¡°See ya, Sugar, I¡¯ll be sure to do so.¡±


    And so, the two parted ways, mentally preparing themselves for what¡¯s to come.


    It would have been heartwarming, if Loka didn¡¯t scream nearby from a cafe, ¡°GAY, JUST FUCK ALREADY, YOU DYKES. ALEX NEEDS HER CHERRY POPPED!¡±


    The two shot a glare at Loka, then proceeded to flick her off.


    She responded in kind with a smile.


    ¡°SLUT!¡±


    ¡°BITCH!¡±


    ¡°GOODLUCK!¡±


    ¡°YOU TOO, VIRGIN!¡±


    And so, the three parted ways, mentally preparing themselves for what¡¯s to come.


    ***


    This is the auditorium, huh? Damn... is it huge.


    Standing in front of the large building, covered in bandages, Alex took in the scene as others entered. She stood, alone, feeling the nostalgic air that came from when she entered her old school. But so much had changed since then, she wondered how her parents were, did anyone in school remember her?  Time seemed to slow down for her like on that fateful day when she met the girls who dragged her into this. Despite initially hating those two bastards for dragging her in; The insane girls who betted over girls exploding; And getting her shit kicked in for the past month¡­


    Deep down, she started hating it less, for now she could once again see the color of the world.


    I can¡¯t change the past, and after all¡­


    Didn¡¯t I want this?


    Didn¡¯t I want this?


    Her and Xel thought at the same time, and time seemed to move again.


    She didn¡¯t pay attention to Xel butting in, and didn¡¯t feel like stressing over it so, pushing herself forward, she entered the building.


    ***


    She found her seat next to Fei and amid her allies. Fei and she had already talked about all there was to say. Instead, they quietly had a staring match against the faction Mally led against them. While the other factions were just as quiet, so as to not draw the ire of the two groups.


    The staring match didn¡¯t last long between them, before the headmaster walked through the front doors wearing her military attire. Instantly, all eyes were on her, as she made her way to the platform.


    Unfazed by the stares, she waved and smiled at the silent crowd, as she walked up the platform and took the mook. Instantly, monitors came to life, ¡°My, my... isn¡¯t this a treat. Our only mini gang war for this examination. As a good-natured headmaster, I will not stop this, and encourage you, students. After all, it¡¯s rare to get this kind of opportunity with such a low chance of death.¡±


    Although her mouth and eyes were smiling, her pupils were cold as ice.


    ¡°Since you''re all raring to go, then I won¡¯t bore you with speech, I¡¯ll just get into the meat of the subject. It¡¯s simple really, you will all be dropped in a closed-off jungle and play a game that gets you as close to death as possible." You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°Seven days to survive, try your best to ¡®end¡¯ other students and gather tags. An end is someone who willingly blows their safe whistle, unable to fight, or doesn¡¯t have a dog tag for twenty-four hours."


    ¡°Rules as follows: at the end of the competition, you must have your original tag. If you lose your tag, you will gain three negative points, meaning you will need two tags to pass.


    ¡°Each tag is worth seven points and, in theory, you can all pass with just your tag. But if you wish to rank up, then you require seventy points. And since the four dorms of D-Rank are duking it out, 2017 tags will be up for grabs.


    ¡°Now, if you only have seventy points, you must challenge a C-rank for the right of rank. But if you can get 140 points, you do not have to fight a C-rank for a seat. You will also get a special reward if you reach the top ten ranking. As for those who fail¡­ they will be fighting the E-Ranks for their position. And if the number of people is reduced to one hundred, then the examination will end early.


    ¡°Now, for gear, at most, you can prepare a backpack worth of stuff. But deadly chemicals, high explosives, ammo, maiming traps and a few other items on the list will not be permitted. You are allowed one gun or a shield if you so wish."


    ¡°For those who choose a gun, remember you will only be provided ammo from drops, which were created to make someone ¡®end¡¯, not dead. So as long as one bullet hits a major area such as the chest or head, you¡¯re out. Arms and legs will be considered removed by the nature of the bullet and shackled. So, for the rest of the examination, you won¡¯t be able to use it until the end of the examination."


    ¡°Also, about these drops; They will also contain food, water, special tech, maps to point sticks, and point sticks of different amounts. There are also one hundred secret point sticks, scattered around the jungle for you to find. The highest being one hundred points for a lucky someone to find.¡±


    ¡°Now, before you register your items to take, please slide in your blade here and hand over your student badge there. Without both, you will not be able to enter the examination. The badge will be taken and your blade changed for the upcoming examination.


    ¡°This will end my explanation, and if you have any questions, ask the teachers, and they might tell you... for a fee. That¡¯ll be all, and you have the end of the day for registration. And no fighting to go first, or I''ll have you strung up to a pole naked and whipped by some automotions.¡±


    And so, under the threat of whipping and naked humiliation, the factions obeyed the headmaster and lined up orderly, to enter their stuff. It took a bit, but eventually, it was her turn. Like she saw others do, Alex went up and placed her bag on the counter. The robot at the desk scanned her bag and okayed its contents after a minute of deliberation.


    With an inward sigh of relief, Alex then placed her machete blade in the hole and locked her badge into its slot. As the badge was sucked away, changes were happening to the blade, as a tick tick tick could be heard, before a ding was heard as the light went green.


    Pulling the blade out, Alex looked at the ghostly appearance of the blade in fascination for a moment, before she heard a cough behind. Chuckling, she handed the blade over to the robot who took it. Empty-handed now, Alex walked out of the building to the awaiting Fei and leaders of their temporary alliance.


    Seeing this, Alex looked them over for a bit and shrugged, ¡°You guys wanna talk? Didn¡¯t we already have a meeting over this?¡±


    ¡°Things have changed poorly.¡± One of the girls belonging to the Black Card Gang gravely replied.


    ¡°They always do, fine, let¡¯s find a secluded place and you guys can get me up to speed.¡±


    ***


    Now late at night, Alex lay in her bed exhausted.


    Of course, those fuckers would bribe another two factions under their banner. Adding another two hundred to their numbers. Fuck. This is going to be a pain in the ass. Just when I had a good plan to deal with them, they pulled this last-second stunt.


    Now, our already brittle alliance has more pressure on it. If we don¡¯t get the momentum going in the beginning, we¡¯ll be scattered to the wind.


    Oh, don¡¯t worry about it virgin. It¡¯s just adding more corpses to the pile. No big deal, as long as you have the great me, and you let me have control over your body. Then it¡¯ll be a piece of cake.


    Stop learning bad habits from Loka, and you just dissed yourself since you share the same body with me.Are you retarded?


    THE GREAT ME IS NOT STUPID, STUPID! HOW DARE YO¡ª Wait, do you smell that? It smells like roses.


    Stopping herself from raging, Xel suddenly turned the topic.


    Alex only momentarily thought it weird that she had never asked Xel if they shared the same senses, before her eyes suddenly got heavy. Then a thought occurred to her.


    Fuck. It¡¯s sleeping gas.


    Before she could struggle and cover her face with her blanket, metal cuffs suddenly shot out of her bed locking her in place.


    Shouts and screams were heard all around her, as she tried to hold her breath. Only to hear the voices dying out one by one before silence. She tried to struggle out, only to reach her limit of holding her oxygen and breathed in a lungful of sleep gas.


    She went out like a light.


    ***


    Chirp, chirp chirp.


    Alex groggily awoke to find herself in an iron cage, planted in a tree. If this was the old her, she¡¯d have freaked out and probably pissed herself.  But with all the shit she had been through, Alex could only sigh and bitterly think.


    As expected of fucking magical girls. They never do anything normal.


    After the thought passed, she began looking and feeling around her surroundings. She noticed pretty quickly that, as far as looking through the holes around allowed,  she was alone. Next, she felt the strap of a knife, her machete, on her belt, while on her back and shoulder, she could feel her SKS Rifle and backpack.


    Having gotten her bearings, Alex tried to open the door in front of her, only to feel it tightly locked.


    She gave up pretty quickly when she noticed how fortified the locks were.


    Soon, she was rewarded by the booming voice that shuddered through the forest.


    It was from that crazy headmaster of this fucked up school.


    ¡°Hello and good morning, students! I welcome you to where you¡¯ll be spending the next week of hell. Ya see, I left some little bitty details in yesterday''s announcement. One thing is about gassing you all and placing you in cages.¡±


    No shit.


    ¡°But the one more important matter before I release you to hunt one another is that¡­ The teachers will also take turns to hunt you on the fourth day onward, and those in the top ten with the most tags will be marked every hour by a beam of light for ten seconds. That is all, and I wish you luck in your hunting. Your cute headmaster will be watching your struggles, so good luck!¡±


    With that, the locks popped off one by one, and the cage door exploded outwards.


    What a way to start a day. Alex sighed, as she jumped out of the cage.

 Chapter 28 - Out of the Gate

    Deep breaths. You¡¯ve worked your ass off this entire month, Alex. It''s time to earn that meatloaf.


    Scanning the area while her thoughts ran wild, Alex got a lay of the land and found a particular  tall tree near here. Letting the numbers run she followed along a simulation, climbing up the tree by swinging her body up the sixty meter tree. Soon standing on top of the tree, gazing down, she stared at her bandaged hands before clenching them.


    I have gotten stronger. The past me wouldn¡¯t have had the physical ability and the dexterity to do this with such ease. The fire style and numbers really pushed me to a level that I would never achieve before becoming a magical girl. But, there are still stronger people in this examination. I need to play this smart, or fail.


    Taking the backpack off, Alex unzipped one of the sides and pulled out some binoculars, using them to scan the area. The area had a few mountainous areas that didn¡¯t seem natural to her in creation, with the treeline not making any sense.


    Must have terraformed the land to make it more interesting. I should find a river in order to refill my canteen as needed... Now, where did they place¡­ There it is.


    To the west, a bit of a distance away, there was a river flowing through the land, traveling from north to south with bends going through it.


    Lucky stars, I can move to the next order of business, then. Time to scout and hunt the competition.


    Running the numbers for trajectories, Alex leapt off the tree branch, falling for a bit before catching a tree branch and swinging off, using a vine to swing onto another tree, pulling off a good show of free running on the top of the trees, moving at a good pace.


    Heh... bet I could get Olympic gold if they didn¡¯t bar magical girls from joining.


    A fun wishful thought, as her eyes scanned the ground floor, while she jumped from tree to tree, as agile as a cat, heading in the direction of the river. Eventually, as she was about to reach her target, she finally spotted someone.


    Stopping dead silent, she used the tree brush as cover to examine her. Pulling out the binoculars, she got a close up of the girl''s face, and ran it in her database that her numbers created.


    She¡¯s not on the list of rankers and isn¡¯t on my friendlies profile. She also isn¡¯t wearing a black armband that would show our group support. Is she¡­ Yup, she is wearing the hair clip designating her as a Morderca Gang supporter.


    Assessment: Take her out.


    Clenching and unclenching her fists, she silently moved along the canopy, stalking the unaware girl moving towards the river. Readying her knife as she closed in, right on top of her, she waited for the numbers to give her above a ninety percent success rate before jumping off.


    Right onto the girl''s back, making her fall to the ground before slitting the girl''s throat and knocking the shit out of her.


    Hunt successfully completed; suggesting scanning the area for other potential threats before looting.


    A message appeared in head and Alex didn¡¯t dwell on it, as she scanned the area around her.


    Opening her senses as her numbers pulsed along the land, they kept showing low danger of being ambushed. With no threats nearby, Alex rifled through the girl''s backpack and along her body. She found a glock-19, three empty mags, pistol belt, bag of drugs, dozen throwing knives with belt, 100ft of rope, two vials of strange potions, a canteen, and her tag.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    A pretty good haul, if Alex had to say so herself, and as she stood, a flash of white light appeared on her location, along with nine other different colored ones in different directions.


    Really? I¡¯m one of the first to attack? What shit luck...


    Frowning, Alex waited ten seconds for the light to pass, before heading for a direction. Deciding to finish packing her backpack with the items she gathered first. When it faded, she immediately made it to the trees, and used the canopy to cover herself once again. It took only a minute before four girls showed up underneath her.


    She studied that they had come together, and wore silver hairpins in their hair.


    Hmmm... how did they gather so fast? Was it just luck, or something else?


    Mulling over it casually, Alex listened for any information she could glean from them.


    ¡°Fuck. It¡¯s one of ours. Which way do you think she headed?¡± One of the girls wearing plain clothes asked one girl in tribal wear.


    The exotic girl, with many bones in her hair, scanned the area.


    ¡°It looks like she was attacked from behind, so must have been stalking her. But none of the nearby foliage seems to be disturbed, so it was quick. Beside ours and hers, there is no trail, meaning she must have traveled back through her trail or¡­¡±


    ¡°Or wha¡ª¡± Before the girl could finish her sentence between the four of them a grenade shaped item was dropped from the sky.


    ¡°Granad¡ª!¡± The girl tried to yell, as the grenade exploded with sound and light.


    ¡­


    Alex played with the flashbang in her hand as she stared at the girls, able to hear their every word.


    Nothing useful and the girl is getting wise, best to take them out now.


    Calling upon the numbers, she pulled the pin and cooked the nade using them to drop it at the optimal time. Dropping the flashbang, Alex took a breath as she took out her newly acquired knives as she made to jump out of the tree, as the flash went off, with closed eyes.


    She threw two knives as the girls tried to wipe their eyes and stumbled around. Hitting two girls'' chests, she pulled out her machete hanging off her back and slashed down with a roar, teasing the girl, digging her electric blade through her torso from her shoulder to her groin. All while she gripped her combat knife and dug into the neck of the remaining girl.


    Their screams were cut short and sweet, as Alex began to loot the passed out group, passing on from grabbing their tags first. Recovering and loading up on a dozen more knives, two more flashbangs, three smoke grenades, and a weird scroll she¡¯ll have to check over later, she moved.


    She could¡¯ve grabbed more, but decided to cut the looting short and run now, as she suddenly sensed bloodlust coming from the east. Figuring her trap would be discovered, she took to the tree again, moving swiftly and silently through the canopy.


    ¡­


    Smashing through the jungle like a force of nature, a muscled girl with Violet hair tied in a ponytail and a cool expression entered the battle scene in under a minute. She wore a tank top and combat pants with a massive sword strapped to her back, locked in place by some magical enchanted clamps.


    D Rank 1 - Moxi of the Muscle Crew


    Power - Strengthening


    Nationality - Germany


    ¡°Missed the fight. Damn.¡± Mumbled Moxi, as she scanned the area in hopes of catching sight of the prey that escaped her. Finding no traces, Moxi shrugged and looked through the items scattered around and that remained in the backpacks, looting them.


    ¡°Did she sense my bloodlust? Should¡¯ve listened to teach and learned how to control it.¡±


    Mumbling under her breath, she stripped the remaining gear from the girls, as a teacher appeared to take them away.


    ¡°My, my, that upper middle double digit ranker really did a number on these girls. Good thing I bet on her.¡±


    Exclaiming out loud, as she loaded her shoulder up with the girls.


    ¡°Who did this?¡± Moxi asked, interested in who this girl could be to take out five magical girls and seemingly escape harm.


    Scratching her chin, the teacher mulled over answering. There were no rules against it, only that she couldn¡¯t describe girls'' powers to exam takers as that was an unfair advantage. And, this girl had a fair chance of making it to A rank with a bit of training, so it would be good to get in her graces. After all, contacts, connections and drugs ran the gang world.


    ¡°Her name is Alexzandra, nickname Alex, Rank 30. That¡¯s all I can give you. Good luck, I¡¯ll be rooting for both of you!¡± Putting magic in a medallion hanging from her neck, the teacher left with a thumbs up and parted away, leaving Moxi mulling over Alex¡¯s name.


    ¡°Alex, huh? I hope they give me a good fight.¡±

 Chapter 29 - Into the Fire

    Chapter 29 - Into the fire


    Running along the trees, not knowing who she dodged, Alex launched herself over the river using a limber tree to slingshot herself.


    I don¡¯t know who it was, but I got easier targets to deal with, rather than with someone carrying around that amount of bloodlust.


    Shooting into the greenery, the numbers kept updating her about her surroundings, finding a nearby group she could hunt.


    Although tempting, it¡¯s too close to where I had the run in. You know what they say, don''t hunt where you¡¯ve taken a shit. Man, I¡¯ve picked up too many bad sayings since I¡¯ve been here.


    Letting the girls go unmolested, Alex kept up the pace, moving silently through the forest like a specter, hauling as much ass as she could within a half hour, not stopping for even a break.


    Finally, when she felt she had gained a good enough distance, she leaned on a tree, opened her canteen and took a breather and a swug. Resting while expanding her senses, a minute later she heard the sounds of people clashing nearby.


    I should keep resting but¡­ If it¡¯s my allies, I should help them. I''m going to need them to deal with that alliance.


    Putting her canteen back into her backpack, Alex got up and headed towards the sounds of violence. It didn¡¯t take long for her to come across who was fighting. One black bandana vs. three silver clips.


    Hmm¡­ They are not on my database to be well off. Let¡¯s finish them off quickly.


    Swinging off a branch with a knife in hand, Alex flew through the sky and landed on the back of what she felt was the strongest of the three. She dug her knife through the girl''s throat, shocking her, as she hit the ground hard.


    As the two remaining silver clip girls noticed the ambush. Alex was already pulling out her machete and throwing a few knives at one of the girls.


    Unexpectedly to her, their reactions were fast, as one girl parried her knives mid air with a short sword, and the other clashed head on with her machete. Alex sent a fire style punch straight at the girl she was clashing blades with and decked the girl, making her flip in the air. She wanted to keep up the pressure, but the killing intent she felt from behind left her no choice but to roll along the ground and avoid the short sword aimed at her neck.


    Pulling a knife out of her hold, she faced the girl wielding shortswords in army camo, as the other girl landed on her feet.


    The black girl spit a wad of blood and gave Alex a dirty look, ¡°Alex of the Black Card Gang. That was pretty fucking cowardly. But you fucked up, now your bounty is going to be mine.¡±


    Alex shrugged, ¡°For an unknown bitch, you sure talk like a big game.¡±


    ¡°Why, you! I¡¯m going to pay you back ten fold for what you did to Rieta! You''re going to have to wear those bandages for life!¡±


    Alex''s eyes widened as the numbers warned her.


    Drop to the ground and roll to the left or be eliminated.


    Never being lied to by the numbers, she did as told, and felt the narrow dodge as an explosive burst came from the black girl, flown over there, before rolling, and seeing the Asian girl dig her weapons into the ground where she once was, having bounced off the trees to pull off the attack.


    Alex''s mind went into overdrive as the numbers updated the danger rating of them around the power of the top ten. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    They are stronger than me, but aren''t listed on the top 100 rankings.


    Dashing in, the Asian spat, as she sent a fury of slashes trying to cut Alex to pieces, ¡°Stop wiggling like a worm and get your ass handed to you.¡±


    There were people who were hiding their strength?


    Alex used the fire style to parry and send counter attacks at the Asian, as the black girl  launched herself like a comet from the sky at her, sending an axe kick aimed at her forehead.


    ¡°Just fucking die!¡±


    Punting the asain with a kick in the chest, Alex used the force to get away from the fight.


    Also they have teamwork?


    ¡°You¡¯re just wasting our time! You insects, just lay down and die already!¡± Roared the black girl as she went for a superman punch.


    Something is wrong! How deep do their machinations lie?!


    Aiming for the right moment, Alex jumped atop the girl''s fist.


    ¡°Wha¡ª!?¡±


    Still.


    ¡°You might be stronger, and you have some grand teamwork.¡± Alex chuckled before sending a brutal kick to the black girl''s head.


    ¡°But,¡±


    Alex smiled as she grabbed the asain''s arms midair above her before the swords could pierce her, before then throwing her at the black girl.


    ¡°Now!¡± Alex shouted and, in response, the black bandana ally threw her rope forth while moving in a strange manner that wrapped around the two enemies.


    ¡°You think this rope can hold me! WHAT!¡± Trying to break the rope, the black girl tried to use her muscles, but was unable to make it budge. Even the asain tried, but couldn¡¯t cut the rope at all.


    ¡°You''re not smarter than me,¡± Alex laughed and tapped her forehead with a knife, ¡°Catch ya later, losers.¡±


    Throwing two knives Alex aimed for their foreheads and tased the shit out of them, knocking them out.


    ¡°Good follow up there, Reipi. As expected of someone reaching rank 15.¡± Alex offhandedly said, as she began looting the bodies of the fallen.


    ¡°Thanks for the assist, Mummy. Thought I was a goner,¡±  replied Reipi, heavily breathing as she bandaged her wounds, wincing at the bruises over her body.


    ¡°What are allies for? Here, you''re cut.¡±


    ¡°You''re only taking a third?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not that charitable. We¡¯re doing fifty-fifty, are you good with that?¡± Pulling out her knives from the girls foreheads and the neck of the one girl, Alex turned to Reipi.


    ¡°Long as you don¡¯t backstab me.¡± Twirling her rope back into her backpack, Reipi gave her a neutral look.


    ¡°Likewise.¡± Alex said, as she played with her knife, digging dirt out of her nails.


    ¡°Then we have an accord.¡± Reipi held out her hand to which Alex shook it.


    ¡°The deal has been struck. Let¡¯s get going, shall we.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s, Can you freely run along the trees?¡±


    ¡°Uhhh. I haven¡¯t had much training in it.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll scout ahead and take point. I¡¯ll be silent and give hand signals. Do you remember them from class, Reipi?¡±


    ¡°If I didn¡¯t, I wouldn¡¯t be Rank 15.¡±


    As they talked about rules of engagement, Alex was thinking.


    Are they cheating? Even if they have more members in their alliance, they shouldn¡¯t be able to team up so fast. Are the teachers on this? No, the headmaster would never allow it. Then, how are they doing it? If it¡¯s within the rules of the examination, although I have some theories, I need more information.


    ¡°Are we good to continue?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re good on the rules of engagement. Lead the way, Mummy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Alex.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm. I¡¯ll think about it.¡±


    Bitch. Why can¡¯t anyone be respectful? Should I change to nicknames as well? Fuck it.


    ¡°Alright, bondage, we¡¯re going north.¡±


    ¡°Wha¡ª? HEY!¡±


    Alex decided not to listen, climbing up a tree and began moving from branch to branch.


    I wonder if I¡¯ll still be marked with me not hunting for a bit. I earned two tags from that fight, it seems they hunted someone before fighting bondage. We should get a lay of the land and pick out a base of operations in order to rally our forces. A hill would be a good idea... Alright lets¡­


    *Whirrrrrrrrrr*


    Is that a plane? And so close? I remember the headmaster said there would be supply drops... There¡¯s no way it would¡­ You gotta be fucking kidding me.


    Staring at the sky, Alex''s mouth was opened wide, seeing the cargo hold of the plane open up, dropping a cargo extremely close to her location. And using the numbers, she was able to come up with a landing projection that put the landing site thirty meters from her location.


    Swinging down to the jungle floor Alex landed in front of Reipi.


    ¡°There is a cargo drop landing thirty meters away from us. I want to go for it.¡± Alex got to the point with Reipi eyes opening wide.


    ¡°You want to go for that death trap? This place is going to be swarming with magical girls, it''s going to be a bloodbath!¡±


    ¡°And fortune favors the bold. Are you a pussy, bondage, or are you a magical girl? I¡¯m going with or without you.¡± Alex declared with utter confidence in her voice.


    ¡°I¡¯m no fucking coward! I¡¯m from the Black Card Gang, and we have a name to uphold! Lead the way, we¡¯ll show those bitches who''s the boss!¡±


    Inwardly, Alex smiled, as she turned around and began to run.


    Ah, so easy to stoke a fire.


    Indeed, let''s gamble.


    Shut up, Xel, no one asked you.


    VIRGIN BITCH!

 Chapter 30 - Drop Fight

    Chapter 30 - Drop Fight


    Ignoring Xel, Alex moved towards the drop zone and took a lay of the land.


    Hmm. I can say that this area, thick with foliage, is perfect for setting up some traps with Reipi. Yah¡­ This¡¯ll work out swimmingly.


    ¡°How much sting have you got?¡±


    ¡°A few thousand feet, why?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to booby trap this area. Each tree I¡¯ll mark with a number, pull the string that corresponds with it when I call out. Set up north of here on that large tree thirty meters out is perfect. Now, hand me¡­¡±


    A half dozen strings of a variety of lengths were cut, and with Alex¡¯s agility and Reipi¡¯s string ability, they managed getting set up in under a minute. With five seconds left, Alex took a deep breath as she opened her bag and readied herself to loot.


    With a thump, the supply drop smashed into the ground, and Alex jumped on it, twisting the lock on the crate and opening it to reveal the goods inside.


    Mother Fuckers.


    Instead of being neatly ordered and laid out, with the exception of the food, it was rows and rows of cases with credit chips spread around half haphazardly.


    It can never be easy. Can it? Even so...


    Taking a vial of drugs Alex snorted some high tier drugs.


    This won¡¯t stop me.


    She formed a fist and hit the container.


    Pushing her numbers to the limits, with the drugs enhancing the sound, Alex was able to see the contents of each case with the sounds traveling through them.


    Cases 7, 23, 44, 79,  99, and 109 contain bullets.


    Case 50 holds a credit stick.


    Cases  42 and 69 contain items of interest.


    Cases ...


    Forgoing the others, Alex whipped her nose ,then grabbed the cases holding the bullets, credits and the cases that held items of interest.


    Opening up case seven, Alex found a mag and a box of thirty pistol ammo. With a rush of quickness, she loaded up the mag and slid it into her pistol, cocking the barrel back and loading one into the chamber.


    With the same quickness, she then opened the other cases and threw three boxes of rifle rounds and two and a half boxes of pistol rounds. Making for a total of thirty six rifle rounds and seventy five pistol rounds.


    Sliding her loaded pistol into her hoster, Alex''s other hand was opening the credit case and  taking out the 100 pointer, then grabbing five ten pointers, and then loading the contents of 42 and 69 into her backpack without checking out.


    She then reached for a case containing flash bangs, and planned on being more greedy, but a sound of a twig snap could be heard by her currently enhanced ears.


    Movement near five.


    ¡°Five!¡± Alex yelled as she threw the flash bang case into cover then covered her ears as she also took cover and closed her eyes.


    *Click*


    ¡°Amb-!¡±


    The flash fuse had been shortened, making it go off on a hair trigger, blinding the intruders. With the bang and flash over, Alex pulled out her pistol and a knife, jumping atop the crate before lunging at the girls without hesitation, tackling the girl and was about to stab her when she noticed the black bandana.


    An ally Rank 72 Wio. Shit we wasted a flash.


    ¡°You bitch! I¡¯ll¡ª¡±


    Having her pistol ready, Alex had it pointed at another girl with a black bandana.


    Rank 142 Task.


    ¡°What the fuck is wrong with you, Mummy?!¡±


    Alex kept her gun pointed.


    ¡°Thought you were an enemy. We cool, Task?¡±


    ¡°Yah, if you put the gun down, bitch.¡±


    Alex lowered her gun and got off of Wio, who gave Alex a dirty look as she rubbed the blindness out of her eyes.


    ¡°What¡¯s the big idea, Mummy? Scared shitless? Fuck, my ears are ringing.¡±


    ¡°We can bitch at each other later. Grab what you can from the crate, make haste. I¡¯ll call out which ones are good. You got under two minutes before we¡¯re leaving.¡±


    ¡°Wha? Who put you in charg¡ª¡± Before Task could bitch and moan, Wio grabbed the girl''s arm and headed over to the crate.


    ¡°Don¡¯t argue with her, Task. She¡¯s one of the leaders here. Or did you forget the debriefing?¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°Tsk... This isn¡¯t over yet.¡±


    Alex ignored her, as she scanned the surroundings, ¡°Numbers 9, 28, 41, 51, 58, 77¡­¡±


    Alex called and the girls pulled out cases, drugs, flashbangs, smokes, communication devices; a good number of things were pillaged. But as they got onto the eleventh, another group had made itself known to Alex. By this time, she had loaded her rifle, but figured her pistol would be good enough to do.


    ¡°Two!¡±


    Alex called out, as she closed her eyes and jumped into the trees, following the numbers suggestions. The flash goes off, causing the girls encroaching to yelp in surprise, as Alex soon lingered above them, staring at the figures. She looked to see identifying marks to see them wearing silver clips.


    Alex raised her pistol firing at a Rank 27 girl, the strongest of the group, and used her throwing knives on the rest.


    Two more headshots and almost a third, if it wasn¡¯t parried.


    Tsk. Another hidden ranker.


    Moving to shoot the remaining girl, who quickly used a tree for cover, Alex commanded.


    ¡°Task, Wio. We¡¯re leaving, head north and I¡¯ll cover your retreat.¡±


    The two didn¡¯t argue with Alex, despite Task wanting to, since even she knew that more would be heading to their location.


    Alex lingered above with her pistol ready to taser the shit out of the girl, as the two made their escape. After a good twenty seconds of waiting, Alex heard more steps coming west.


    ¡°Vola was right, Mummy has been located!¡±


    ¡°Get her! Gia has a bounty on that bitch!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s got a gun, be careful!¡±


    As Alex wondered if she should stick around and take them out, she sensed a large movement, with the numbers screaming for her to flee. Looking at the strings having so much slack, Alex knew Reipi had already left.


    As her numbers warned her to leave, Alex was thinking for herself how to best leave. She couldn¡¯t head north and south, as she¡¯d be leading enemies to her allies north, and south she¡¯d just get surrounded. West wouldn¡¯t be good, as that girl who sandbagged her ranking was there and the newbies to her east were unknown power level.


    Ignoring the numbers on heading north, Alex took the gamble, jumped along the trees and grabbed the remaining strings and pulled.


    The remaining flashes went off blinding the east side girls. Taking her chance, Alex shot forth, gun at the ready, shooting two in the head as one of the girls used another as a shield.


    Figured how many sandbagged this?


    Alex thought, as she swung along the trees away from the two girls, just as twenty girls exited the brushes, led by Molly of the Morderca Gang.


    ¡°Found you~! After that bitch!¡±, Roared Molly, as Alex gave her the stink eye.


    The two sandbagging rankers left cover, as shields covered their bodies, and began giving chase with amazing speed though the trees. Alex''s numbers were tracking a dozen spells that bombarded around her, as vines whipped at her, trying to drag her down.


    Machete in hand, the numbers ran over simulations, giving her a headache. Swinging her blade, she cut through the vines that tried to tie her down. Jumping from a branch, she hid behind a tree, as the dozen spells smashed into it. The two sandbagging rankers used this time to close the distance entering close quarters. Alex dodged a knife aimed at her neck and parried a machete coming at her stomach.


    Then followed up with a headbutt on the girl she parried, stunning the girl through her shield, then elbowing the other girl in the stomach before hitting with a side kick. After knocking them away, Alex returned to running, as the tree she used as cover finally broke from the abuse.


    ¡°Boost!¡±


    Alex heard a girl behind her yell and, giving a quick glance behind her, the enemies'' reactions and speed increased by what her numbers read to be fifty percent. Including the sandbagging rankers, who had shaken off the blows they took, and we''re back at chasing her.


    That wasn¡¯t the only thing, as the noise of combat had drawn more silver clips to the area. Causing more numbers to appear and making her headache grow, as they too powered up spells.


    I¡¯m reaching my limit. Blood began to drip from her nose, as she used a roundhouse kick on one of the sandbagging rankers. Then pushed off the one that aimed to take her leg. Then, digging a knife into a tree, she swung her body to dodge the spells midair.


    Launching herself forward as she quick drew her pistol, Alex head shotted two girls blocking her path


    My mind and body won¡¯t be able to keep up with the simulations.


    Pushing off a tree, Alex opened a pocket of her vest, pulling out a vial. Then I¡¯ll just forcefully push through my limits! Exceed them! With drugs!


    Popping the cap, she put the vial to her nose and snorted the contents.


    Her eyes turned bloodshot, and time slowed down around her, as the numbers around her worked at double the speed and her heart thumped in her ears. With the barest of movements, she dodged forth the spells and put her machete and pistol away, pulling out knives.


    From there, she used her knives to dig into the wood to propel herself forward with erratic movements, throwing the girls below aim off. She now could contend with the two girls attacking her from the sides with ease.


    She was smiling, the adrenaline and drugs running through her body pushing her into euforia, with her life on the line.


    Am I becoming a battle junkie?


    Alex mused, as she finally found what she was looking for: a place that had thick jungle brushes. Kicking the two girls away, Alex put a knife handle in her mouth as she unzipped her backpack and took out a smoke and her special surprise. She popped the pin and threw the smoke into the brush, then pulled the pin on her special and dove where she placed the smoke.


    ¡°You can¡¯t hide from me! Knife storm!¡±


    A yell came from Molly, making the hairs on Alex¡¯s neck tingle. Warnings appeared around her.


    Fuck! I can¡¯t dodge all of them in this confined place!


    Gritting her teeth, Alex dodged the best she could, only taking a knife in the arm. Still, she screamed bloody murder, butting on her knife as a knife dug into her arm and tased the shit out of her.


    ¡°I got her! Enter the bush and get that bitch!¡±


    Alex smiled madly when she heard the footsteps entering the bush, as she pulled the special grenade''s pin. Dropping it on the floor, she ran forth and took a flash from her vest, soon popping the pin and throwing it behind her.


    Get fucked. Alex smirked as she pulled the knife from her arm while running like hell.


    Timing it perfectly, with a longer fuse of her special-made, the flash goes off at the same time, catching the majority of the girls under Molly¡¯s control.


    ¡°My eyes my o-oh god what the fuck is that s-stench oh god no. NOOOOO¡ª¡±


    The sound of gagging and people throwing up filled the air, as they tried to flee from Alex¡¯s special grenade filled with the extract from the bugs from drug making class. Hundreds of small examination qualified needles coated with the stuff to enact shit smelling venange.


    Alex, who had cleared the area, stood on top of a tree with a limp arm and laughed, staring at the shit smelling girls blowing chunks. Only feeling bad that Molly had escaped the area of effect. She wished she could snipe the girl, but she was currently being shielded by another girl.


    Tsk. I¡¯ll get you later, bitch.


    Deciding not to stick around for more silver clips to come to her location, Alex left with a smile plastered on her face, while she heard Molly yell.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get you, bitch. Even if it¡¯s the last thing I do!¡±

 Chapter 31 - I Like Tomboys

    Alex moved through the forest unhindered, feeling a slight aching headache from overtaxing her brain. She had been going from tree to tree, taking a wide detour, and covering her tracks so as to throw off potential pursuers. Slowly, she made it to the hill that they had planned to meet up at and began climbing. It took about an hour to find the three people hiding in a well defensible rock outcrop.


    As she closed in she could hear them talking.


    ¡°Think she got away?¡± Wio''s voice rang out.


    ¡°Nah, Mummy might be good, but you heard those explosions and saw how many there were. Probably got her shit kicked in.¡± As Alex got closer, she could see Task leaning on a rock playing with a knife in the air.


    ¡°I¡¯ll bet a bag of drugs that she got away. Mummy is too crafty to go down from such a trap,¡± Reipi responded, making Alex smile, although wished they would drop calling her ''Mummy''.


    ¡°You''re on.¡±


    ¡°Easy profit.¡±


    A few other voices rang out, and Alex noticed they had met up with other allied forces while they were retreating.


    Laying atop a rock, dramatically leaning her head on her hand, she announced herself to the group, ¡°Sup, sluts. Can I get on that bet? I wanna make some easy profit,¡± saying such as she caught the knife that Task had sent her way from being startled.


    ¡°Alex!¡±, Task''s choked voice rang out.


    ¡°You''re alive, holy shit!¡±


    ¡°Fuck, my drugs!¡± a sad magical girl rang out full of mourning.


    ¡°Told ya she wouldn¡¯t die so easily. Now hand over the goods!¡± Reipi crackled in glee as she held out her hand.


    ¡°What a warm greeting. Here, this is yours.¡± Alex laughed as she sat up and threw the knife back, to which Task caught it with her powers, ¡°So, how many are here?¡±


    ¡°We got three more as we were making a tactical retreat. If you didn¡¯t show up in an hour we were planning on heading out or setting up,¡± Reipi responded with a smile, as she gathered her bag of drugs.


    ¡°Sounds good, then, as one of the leaders, I¡¯ll agree with the motion to set up. Once I have rested, I¡¯ll be heading out to gather the others to this point. Did we snag any earth users?¡±


    ¡°Yah, Jade from the Terra Clan is here,¡± Task pointed over some rocks where Jade popped her head out. Green hair and yellow eyes, she wore a stylish earthen robe that was made for combat. To Alex, she wasn¡¯t bad on the eyes, as the numbers pulled up her rank.


    Jade - Rank 48


    ¡°Great, I¡¯ll leave it to you to fortify our area against attacks. Take it slow and steady, and make sure the natural outer terrain isn¡¯t messed with too much. Our opponents are too organized and have hidden their strength. We need to link up, otherwise we''ll just get run over by them.¡±


    Although there were some frowning faces, no one raised a complaint.


    I¡¯ll have to nip those thoughts of attacking in the bud.


    ¡°I see a few aren''t happy with what I propose, no doubt wanting to acquire tags. I¡¯m with you, as I wanna eat good fucking food. But, I had to escape from dozens of magical girls all allied together. Some were hiding their strength and could easily have reached the top ten. They have something that has allowed them to quickly gather. Meaning, with our forces, we¡¯ll suffer too much if we move now.¡±


    With further explanation, those frowning thought it over and nodded their head in agreement, but a question still remained.


    ¡°Then how will we acquire forces if we just stay up here?¡± Task pointed out which Alex easily responded.


    ¡°Once my arm has recovered, which shouldn¡¯t be long, I¡¯ll be scouting, since I¡¯m the best scout here. I¡¯ll be heading out to acquire information and people. Give me an hour and I¡¯ll be heading out.¡±


    ¡°Hm, true, you are like a monkey. Alright, I¡¯ll support this plan.¡±


    With a smile, the other girls nodded along.


    Alex just rolled her eyes inwardly.


    I know you guys just wanna be lazy, but since I have a need for you, I¡¯ll let it slide for now.


    ¡°Now let¡¯s go over the spoils we got from the supply drop.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡­


    Eating a good fucking burger that was cooked to perfection, Alex went over their supplies. They had dozens of flashbangs, and rope to create a fair amount of traps. Splitting out the ammo, she took three mags for her pistol and one for her rifle, each of which would be enough. The rest would be split between the others for base defense.


    She found a set of 12 adrenaline needles that could remove the effects of paralysis. Alex had already stabbed one into her arm. With little fanfare she felt her spine shiver, as feeling returned to her arm.


    Drinking from an orange pop to wash down the tasty burger, she truly felt alive for once in a while, as she went over the drugs they acquired and nodded as she split it among the party for morale and to sedate them from acting retarded.


    Hmmm, I should begin my scouting as soon as I finish savoring this meal. The girls here should listen enough to not act out while I¡¯m gone. I wonder what mayhem I¡¯ll cause¡­ Oh, god, I sound like a thug.


    Throwing and locking such turmoil away like a normal teenager regarding their life decisions, she turned to the girls doing drugs off the rocks.


    ¡°I¡¯m heading out, hold the fort while I am gone.¡±


    Reipi just waved her hand off, as she did a line of drugs, ¡°Sure, try not to get taken out, Mummy.¡±


    ¡°Go, our fearless leader!¡± Jade laughed as she dug into her steak, seasoned with white powder.


    Fuckers.


    Cracking her neck, Alex re-checked her gear once more, before heading out, letting the numbers guide her way.


    ¡­


    Descending from the hill swiftly, Alex wandered along the tree tops like a cat, letting her ears and eyes scan the area.


    Activity to the west a quarter mile away. 2-5 people.


    With a direction set, Alex began to move along, starting to notice some changes to how she perceived the world.


    After going through that high intensity fight, taking those drugs, and the shot that recovered my body, I feel like I¡¯ve gained a deeper understanding of my power. I can feel the vibrations in the ground more clearly, and the electric current in the air. At will, I can increase my senses to double my normal abilities.


    Before the numbers told me, I already felt the movement in the jungle. I wonder if my numbers are purely based on my magical powers, or a mix of it and my senses. Or perhaps I¡¯m subconsciously enhancing them with magic. Or they are just finding better compatibility. I should ask a teacher what it could be after the exam.


    Something to think about for later. Now, who will I be meeting?


    Crouching in a treetop, well hidden in the leaves, holding her rifle in hand, ready to make someone have a really shitty day, she watched along a trail, clearing the leaves for the group to appear through her scope.


    It didn¡¯t take long to see who it was, seeing that familiar orange hair,


    Ah it¡¯s Fei and a few allies.


    As she was about to move to greet her friend and allies, her senses tingled, feeling a shift in the area.


    Other Humanoids in the area.


    Where¡­ Ah.


    Looking around, she saw a flash of silver heading towards Fei''s group from the north.


    Morderca Gang, some fun hunting then. One, three, seven. Man, I have to figure out how they grouped so fast.


    Taking a breather, as she had a few minutes before contact, she unzipped a pouch and pulled out a small bottle.


    Gonna have to push it with so many targets, I can¡¯t afford to screw up.


    After a minute of waiting, Alex set aside her rifle, and tilted her head back while pushing apart her right eye eyelids.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t wanna use it so soon, but for a friend, it¡¯s worth it. Let¡¯s see how good you are, red eyes.¡±


    One drop of red liquid dripped out of the bottle and entered her eye. She closed her other eye, as her right began to glow red and bloodshot. Everything began to slow, as her heart began to beat in her ears, every leaf was crystal clear to her, as she felt a bloodthirsty excitement.


    The description wasn¡¯t kidding, what a hell of a drug.


    Feeling her senses double, she doubled them again. And actively feeling as if she was swimming in quicksand, she lifted her rifle up.


    Waiting for the right moment, in the clearing, waiting for the group to stall once they spotted Fei, Alex kept a calm breath despite the feeling of blood pumping through her.


    One second. Two seconds. Ten seconds. Felt like an eternity that was driving her mad in waiting, until she spotted the key moment.


    There.


    Bang.


    The leader went down with a headshot, in a foaming tased mess. Yet, Alex didn¡¯t stop moving her rifle, as the click of the chamber loaded another shot.


    Bang.


    Bang.


    Bang.


    Four shots four downed magical girls before the group even began to react to the danger.


    Too late to dodge.


    Mind and reactions accelerating, Alex tracked the fifth girl with ease, smashing into her head as she tried to fall to the ground. The sixth tried to hide behind the tree, but using the numbers to figure out a bounce trajectory, she also went down like a bag of rocks.


    It was only the seventh that managed to survive the first bullet, and just by cutting it in half only. With laser quick reactions, Alex pulled out her pistol and fired with both it and her rifle. Not expecting a second bullet to come after another rifle shot, the final girl went down and done.


    Successful ambush.


    The numbers flashed, as Alex inhaled and exhaled.


    Damn straight, now it''s time to deal with my good friend.


    ¡°Shit, sniper! Everyone hit the ground!¡± Fei¡¯s voice rang out, which only made Alex roll her eyes, as they all began to crawl along the ground.


    ¡°Friendly. Fei, stop crawling on the ground. If I wanted to nail you, I¡¯d already have done it.¡±


    ¡°Alex?! Sorry, but you''re not my type! I like mine tan and ripped, with a tomboy attitude! I hope we can still be friends!¡±


    This bitch¡­ Should¡¯ve shot her.