Classmate, Is Today's Excuse for Missing Class Also About Saving the World?

[Taking a break to focus on my studies. Updates whenever inspiration strikes. Wishing everyone happiness every day]

You might not believe it, but there really are things in this world that go beyond science, like ghosts and monsters, superpowers, and, yes, magical girls.

More accurately, shrine maidens. High schooler Xu Yuan is the latest heir to awaken her shrine maiden bloodline and inherit its magic.

But that's nothing unusual, since her mother is one too.

After thousands of years of dilution, shrine maiden blood has become extremely faint by the twenty-first century. Even awakened heirs can only manage little tricks like making flowers bloom or things glow. Their most impressive feat is summoning a light rain over a small area.

And by "small area," we mean a circle extending half a meter from themselves.

A perfect example of harming yourself without helping anyone else.

[That's why relying on a little magic will get you nowhere. Only knowledge can change your fate!]

Xu Yuan had heard her mother repeat that line over and over since she was little. The constant nagging had practically given her ear calluses.

So Xu Yuan took it to heart and studied hard, only to discover, to her surprise, that she really wasn't cut out for studying.

Funny, right?

She had just managed to get into a top high school when, during an ordinary evening study session, the school was attacked by unknown monsters. People screamed and fled in every direction. Police cars surrounded the school, and the emergency response unit for special incidents was called in.

Xu Yuan's best friend, Le Ling, was unlucky enough to catch a monster's attention. Step by step, it drove her into a corner of the classroom.

Thinking she was done for, Le Ling sadly thought, I should've told my parents not to make me a late-night snack tonight. Then she closed her eyes and waited to die.

At the very last moment,

A dazzling light illuminated the entire classroom. An enormous, incredibly intricate magic circle unfolded beneath the monster's feet and swallowed the terrifying behemoth in an instant.

It was as if the creature had never been there. The surroundings fell quiet again.

Le Ling opened her eyes in confusion. The monster that had been closing in on her was nowhere to be seen. Standing before her, as if she had appeared out of thin air, was her usually spacey deskmate, Xu Yuan. The girl who could be stumped by any question, especially math problems, and had even secretly cried over them several times.

"Are you still taking the long, roundabout road of studying?"

"..."

"M-My mom says the college entrance exam is the great divide in life."

P.S. The heroine is a special case of atavism, with top-tier magical talent and the highest combat power in the story.

A little bit of everyone-loves-the-heroine, which I think is perfectly fine.

--May 24, 2025

[Important notes] A lighthearted school adventure with a little power progression and plenty of memes. Please don't tell me if you drop it, I'll cry.

Theme: The college entrance exam isn't the only path in life