Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl

Book 2: Chapter 185: Analysis

Vol 2 Chapter 185 Analysis— “One situation we currently know is that different teams are assigned different starting positions when entering this maze.”

In another part of the maze, Xia Liang was crouched on the ground, slowly sketching the maze’s square outline with her magical power, then marking a star at a certain spot:

“So, let’s assume the maze has a fixed exit, and this exit is at the star’s location. What would happen then?”

“What would happen?” Mountain Lily squatted opposite Xia Liang, staring blankly at the diagram on the ground.

“It would become unfair, right?”

Tiger Lily, leaning beside Mountain Lily, seemed to have figured something out: “If every team’s position is different, and the exit already exists and is fixed, then some teams will definitely be closer to clearing the maze, while others will be farther away.”

“Exactly, that’s the case.”

Xia Liang pointed at the star on the diagram:

“If there are no restrictions, in the most extreme case, some examinees might even be teleported directly near the exit when entering the maze. A senior in my team once said that when solving problems, you should try to see things from the examiner’s perspective. If I were the examiner, I would definitely try to avoid this kind of situation.”

“Then, can’t the examinees be sent as far away from the exit as possible?”

Tiger Lily frowned and countered: “Suppose this square represents the maze we’re in. If we split this square maze in half and initially only place examinees in the half farthest from the exit, then…”

She stopped halfway through her sentence.

“Then what?”

Xia Liang suddenly laughed and continued: “That would make the assessment easier, right?”

“Yes… If that’s the case, as long as examinees communicate among themselves and confirm this distribution method, they can ignore almost half the maze and just look for the exit in the remaining half. No matter how you allocate—whether leaving three-quarters or one-quarter empty—it will cause unfairness in positioning because there will always be teams starting closer to the exit.”

Tiger Lily stammered: “According to your logic, from the examiner’s point of view, if they want to ensure fairness but not make the exam too easy, and also give examinees hints to encourage more exploration…”

“‘Don’t set the exit at the start. Add the exit only after the assessment has been going on for a while’ is the best solution.”

Xia Liang controlled the star icon in the simple diagram, making it move around this rough sketch:

“Doing this also allows dynamic adjustment of the exam’s difficulty. If the examinees aren’t making much progress in exploration, place the exit somewhere relatively obvious. If the examinees explore deeply, hide the exit in a concealed spot.”

“This explanation does sound reasonable…”

Tiger Lily nodded unconsciously: “But could it be that we’re overthinking it?”

“It never hurts to think more.”

Xia Liang pushed up from her knees and brushed the hair hanging in front of her ear: “Anyway, exploring the maze should be our top priority. Let’s also see if we can find the exit by chance.”

After the analysis, she had reached a consensus with Tiger Lily. Just as they both clearly knew the plan and were ready to set off, Mountain Lily was still squatting on the ground, somewhat dazedly staring at the simple drawing she had made earlier.

“Sis, we’re about to leave.”

Tiger Lily reminded her.

“What’s wrong? Not feeling well?” Xia Liang asked with extra concern.

“…I don’t get it.” Mountain Lily said softly.

“What?” Xia Liang tilted her head in confusion.

“I said I still don’t get it! Don’t just analyze everything by yourselves and leave me behind!”

Mountain Lily patted the ground, raising her voice: “Hurry up and explain it again! I feel like I’m just a little away from understanding!”

“Sis…” Tiger Lily looked at her helplessly.

“I think as long as the argument is made and everyone knows the conclusion, that’s enough.” Xia Liang clearly didn’t want to waste more time there, so she tried to brush it off with a chuckle.

“Say it again!” Mountain Lily insisted.

“Well, Little Jin…” Tiger Lily looked apologetically at Xia Liang.

Ah, this girl was really nice—Lin Xiaolu.

Xia Liang couldn’t help but think this in her heart.

She didn’t know how things were going with her senior and Xiaolu. The senior’s team should be fine no matter what teammates she got, but if Xiaolu was also a troublemaker, she really didn’t know what that team would turn into.

In the end, could it be that she herself really was the unluckiest one?

She thought so in her heart but still showed a well-behaved and friendly smile on her face, saying to Mountain Lily:

“You’re really impossible. Fine, I’ll say it one more time, okay?”

…

…

“Go forward twenty meters, then turn left thirty meters, then go downstairs.”

At the same time, Team 277 was steadily advancing under Valerian’s command.

Unlike most teams, Team 277 had Valerian, a well-known powerhouse, so the other two members didn’t even want to compete for speaking rights.

Among them, Veronica just wanted to stay low-key, so she barely spoke throughout. Dogtail Grass was simply introverted;she could talk freely only when she was with someone she considered a ‘kindred spirit’—Gentian. But after Valerian, such a great figure, joined the team, Dogtail Grass shriveled up like a frostbitten eggplant.

“I really wanted to latch onto a big shot, but please don’t give me teammates who are so intimidating…”

Faintly, Veronica seemed to hear her muttering quietly.

In the whole team, only Valerian made decisions, and she didn’t seem to think this was wrong at all, naturally becoming the de facto leader.

Since she was ranked fifth on the Power Ranking List, her strength must be impressive. Normally, even if her teammates were average or weak magical girls, with her leading, they should easily pass the exam. So, Veronica felt no need to draw attention and decided to keep pretending to be a silent, ordinary magical girl.

That was Veronica’s plan.

Or rather, that was her plan initially.

But after the team had moved forward in the maze for some distance, she couldn’t hold back anymore and spoke up: “Um… Valerian senior.”

She kept in mind her current identity. As a newcomer, Gentian was supposed to address her as senior to show proper respect.

“What’s up?” Valerian looked down at her.

“Although I’m grateful that you’ve been scouting ahead, could you please stop standing behind me and rubbing my head all the time?”

Veronica sighed: “It’s really inconvenient to move like this.”