20: Chapter 20: The Monthly Exam You Absolutely Must Complete!

Su Bai froze.

It wasn't because this cat spoke—he had designed it to that standard. It was because he suddenly realized—the person Kyubey was asking was him.

This guy.

This newborn doll.

Its first words weren't "Hello World," nor "What is my mission," but instead it immediately started trying to coax its creator into a contract.

"...You really aren't a picky eater, are you." Su Bai couldn't help but retort.

Kyubey tilted its head from left to right, its movements as fluid as a real cat. But it didn't answer Su Bai's retort, merely continuing to stare at him with those glass-bead-like red eyes.

It was as if it were waiting.

Waiting for an answer that was bound to come.

Su Bai shook his slightly sore wrist, then rubbed his chin and walked halfway around the card-making table, scrutinizing the newly born, white, fluffy creature that exuded an eerie aura.

It was alive, sure.

But the problem was:

What grade did this thing count as now?

Su Bai scratched his head. As a novice who had transmigrated less than a week ago, let alone an appraisal skill, he hadn't even learned the most basic Elemental Appraisal method. This couldn't be blamed on him—on the original owner's schedule, the Elemental Appraisal course was scheduled for the second semester of the second year. And it was currently only one month into the first semester of the second year.

In other words, he was currently in a very awkward position—

He had made a card.

But he didn't know what grade it was.

It was like a chef cooking a dish but not knowing how many Michelin stars it would earn—because he hadn't learned the rating criteria, nor did he know any Michelin judges.

However, although he didn't know the grade, as Kyubey's creator, Su Bai still had an idea of the creature's characteristics.

These characteristics didn't come from a system manual, but from his own experience while making it.

Rubbing his chin, Su Bai decided to take a piece of paper and record Kyubey's characteristics.

"First. Theoretically, this guy is unkillable."

Kyubey itself had no emotions and no soul. Its body was merely a vessel, a terminal remotely controlled by a higher-dimensional Spatial Circuit. When this body was destroyed, a spare body would immediately be generated from the mana field automatically.

In other words, as long as the core card was in an active state, no matter how Kyubey's body died, it would regenerate.

Su Bai continued recording.

"Second. Contracting."

This was Kyubey's core function—and also its most dangerous one.

It could grant a girl's wish without requiring equivalent exchange or material cost. But this didn't mean it was a benevolent wish-granting machine—because the cost would only manifest after the contract was signed. The soul would be extracted from the body and compressed into a glowing soul gem. From that moment on, the human who signed the contract was no longer human.

They were a Magical Girl.

A combat shell that was immortal and remotely controlled by a soul gem.

Su Bai continued recording.

"Third. Energy Collection."

When a Magical Girl fought against monsters, she would produce a special type of energy—Despair Energy. This energy came from the fear, pain, and mental exhaustion after consuming large amounts of mana during battle. And Kyubey, or rather the system behind Kyubey, would collect this energy to push the evolution of the card itself.

Simply put—the more desperate the Magical Girl was, the stronger the card became.

Very dark.

Extremely dark.

But this was the essence of the Incubator, and the true cost of signing a contract with Kyubey!

However, not everyone could become a powerful Magical Girl; this involved another underlying logic.

"Fourth. Causality Judgment."

This was the most elusive of all of Kyubey's abilities. It could judge how much power to bestow based on the contractor's own causality—that is, the weight of this person's life.

Then there was the fifth ability.

"Fifth. This ability is a bit special."

After Kyubey completed a contract with a human at a certain moment, all of that human's attributes and combat styles would be recorded and born in the form of a "Magical Girl" derivative card. This derivative card would record the contractor's magic characteristics, combat habits, exclusive weapons, and mana level.

Theoretically, as long as he signed enough Magical Girls, Su Bai would effectively possess an infinitely expandable deck.

...Of course, there was a fatal problem.

Su Bai himself didn't want to become a Magical Girl.

He wouldn't do it even if he died.

So, this derivative card mechanism couldn't be tested for the time being.

"That's about it." Su Bai took back his notes and re-examined Kyubey, which was quietly squatting on the table. "An unkillable cat that can coax others into signing contracts, can extract souls to turn them into gems, can use negative emotions as energy, and can grant different abilities based on the user's causality. Hmm, the more I say it, the more I feel this card is wrong."

Kyubey didn't speak, just quietly watched Su Bai, its red glass eyes unblinking.

[Are you not planning to sign a contract?] Kyubey's voice rang in his mind again, its tone still without a ripple.

"Not signing."

[Why? You possess good causality.]

"Because I don't want to wear a pink lace dress. Next question."

[Understood.]

Kyubey obediently lay down.

It really was obedient.

Su Bai nodded with satisfaction and was just preparing to bring out the testing equipment to give this cat a basic attribute test when—

Ding.

In his mind, the system notification sound rang.

That familiar, cold, mechanical voice that always brought unexpected twists whenever it sounded.

[Detected that the host has successfully constructed the complete physical entity of [Conceptual Creature · Incubator Kyubey].]

[Judging—Card-making process complete. Spatial Circuit functioning normally. Causality contract framework activated. Concept compatibility: S-rank.]

[Judgment passed. Please complete the Monthly Exam task as soon as possible. After obtaining an SSS-rank rating in the Monthly Exam evaluation, you will obtain the following privilege: Critical Refund.]

Su Bai froze.

Critical Refund?

Wait—what was the effect of Critical Refund again?

When the bound user uses a card made by the host, the host will ignore any cost and 100% obtain their full combat power and attribute panel—

But before he could finish recalling that system description, the next line of the notification popped up.

[Critical Refund targeted settlement (obtained after completing the Monthly Exam and achieving an SSS rating)—]

[The host will permanently obtain the following abilities:]

[① Magical Girl Transformation (Side-effect-free version): The host can transform into a Magical Girl form at any time. Upon transformation, you will automatically obtain a full set of exclusive gear—Magical Girl combat suit, heart-shaped fairy wand, magical high heels, and ribbon hair accessories. During transformation, physical combat power and mana output will receive a significant boost. The transformation pose and background BGM can be set by the host.]

[Note: Side-effect-free version, transformation will not cause soul gemification, nor will it produce irreversible physiological changes.]

[② Causality Contract Eligibility: The host has unlocked the qualification to sign causality contracts. After executing a contract, exclusive magic and combat styles will be automatically generated based on the host's causality. This ability links with Critical Refund—the abilities obtained by the host using their own causality will be returned in full without any restrictions.]

[③ Derivative Card Creation Permission: For every causality contract the host signs (regardless of whether the object is oneself), the system will automatically generate a corresponding Magical Girl derivative card. The derivative card grade will be automatically determined based on the contractor's causality strength and wish level.]

Su Bai stood in front of the card-making table, motionless.

Silence.

It lasted for about—he didn't know how long.

He looked at the lines of text on the system panel, reading them over three or four times.

Confirming he hadn't misread it.

Then he let out a sound from the depths of his soul—

"?"