“Sincerity”

“One-winged Artisan”

“Restriction: Must have a heart”

“Basic effect: Transform the heart into the ‘Heart of Sincerity’, greatly enhancing the sorcerer’s mental resistance during the duration, weakening negative effects such as dizziness, confusion, and sluggishness that affect the soul, consciousness, and thinking.”

“Passive effect: The sorcerer will become more inclined to speak the truth, prefer sincere communication, and be more capable of discerning the authenticity of others’ words.”

“The tragedy of life has only two kinds: one is not telling the truth, and the other is telling the truth.”

Sonia gently stroked the one-winged artisan, which resembled a transparent butterfly, feeling a sense of wonder. It wasn’t her first time summoning an artisan, but it was the first time she summoned one without any defenses, which was surprising.

She knew that the ‘Sincerity’ artisan was summoned because of the mandatory ritual of the Observer, but she had almost no obstacles in mastering ‘Sincerity’ and completely understood its knowledge structure.

Sonia had a strong premonition that even if she lost ‘Sincerity’ in the future, she would be able to summon it again.

Even though she had never studied the knowledge about ‘Sincerity’ and her nature was far from it, when she touched this transparent butterfly, the resonance of knowledge connected her with the artisan. Sonia felt a connection in her heart, as if ‘Sincerity’ was her own artisan.

She suddenly recalled the origin of sorcerers mentioned in class.

The original sorcerers didn’t know how to summon artisans. They just lived normal lives, and then ‘little cuties’ would constantly appear to help them.

In that distant era, time was long and worth waiting for. Every minute and second, an artisan could appear by their side.

Asho opened the “Agent Management” and took a look.

“Dead Crazy Sword Girl”

“Human · Female · 18 years old”

“Affinity Level: 2 (40% experience sharing)”

“Affinity Resonance · Greed: When acting together, there is a chance to obtain better loot.”

“Profession: Silver Sorcerer of Annihilation”

“Professional Trait: Each effective attack restores 0.5% of maximum artificing power.”

“Held Item: Training Wooden Sword”

“Controlled Artisans: Fluctuating Sword, Moon Silk, Torrent, Sword of Killing Intent, Splitting Sword, Sword Sheath, Sword Sharpening”

“Swordsmanship Faction: Silver Level”

“Radiance Faction: Silver Level”

“Water Sorcery Faction: Silver Level”

“Mental Faction: Silver Level”

“Virtual Realm Exploration: 0.098%”

“Knowledge Curse: Vortex Poison”

Indeed, the Mental Faction directly advanced to the Silver Level. But why did she have a few artisans she had never seen before?

Sonia told Asho about her experiences and gains from the past two days, surprising and delighting him. He thought that this might be the missing social development module and plot module in “The Sorcerer’s Manual of Orola”. Even without the help of players, the mature Sword Girl had completed the plot and obtained rewards on her own.

Although Asho couldn’t help Sword Girl pass the “game level”, he had made up his mind not to hold her back and to consider her needs when dividing the loot in the future.

“I can teach you the miracle ‘Killing Intent Activation’, but I can’t tell you about ‘Sword Sheath Radiance’ and ‘Sword Sharpening for Ten Years’,” Sonia explained. “The latter two miracles were taught to me by Professor Teluozan. We signed a sealed contract, so I only have the right to use these two miracles and cannot share any information about them until the contract is torn apart.”

Asho expressed understanding. These two miracles were exclusive plot rewards for Sword Girl and naturally couldn’t be shared with other characters. The source of Killing Intent Activation was the Sword of Killing Intent, which they obtained together in the Virtual Realm. Then Sword Girl returned to her world and triggered additional plotlines, which was equivalent to bonus rewards that everyone could benefit from.

But he wasn’t interested in these miracles. After all, he didn’t have a crucial artisan, and he himself was an artificer without any skills. Even if he learned the miracles, he wouldn’t be able to research anything.

Sonia glanced at him and pursed her lips, asking, “What about you? Did you escape?”

Asho shook his head and recounted his strange experiences from the past few days.

Hearing about the cancellation of the escape plan, the arrival of the Three-winged Sanctum Hunters, and the near-murder by the captain of the hunter team in his dormitory, Sonia’s mood fluctuated.

“What are you going to do then? Wait ten days and try to escape again?”

“I hope so,” Asho shrugged. “But in a few days, there will be another Blood Moon Trial. I doubt I’ll be spared from being chosen for the Lucky Eight again—Xilin even invited Sanctum Sorcerers. I don’t believe he will let go of this opportunity for me to die openly.”

“Last time, Wakas stood in front of me, but this time I can only rely on my own strength to get through.”

“You want to challenge the Blood Moon Trial?”

“I want to play the victim in the live broadcast, so that the audience will vote for other criminals.”

“So you plan to sit and wait for death.” Sonia frowned, showing her dissatisfaction.

In the past, Sonia would have just made a joke and moved on. After all, the reality of the viewers had nothing to do with her. The complaints and worries of the viewers about their own situations were at most topics of conversation during their breaks.

She had never genuinely cared—or worried—about the viewers’ situations.

But this time, Sonia couldn’t help but ask, “Is it just my illusion, or do you really not care about your own life and death?”

Asho was slightly taken aback, turned his head to look at the misty sea beside him, and pretended to be shy as he said, “Hearing your concern for me, I feel a little embarrassed.”

“I don’t…”Sonia suddenly paused in the middle of her sentence, “Wait, does that mean my ceremony was interrupted?”

Asho nodded, “Of course, the moment you summoned the ‘Sincerity’ Sorcery Spirit, the ceremony was halted. By the way, your mental faction has also been upgraded to the silver level. Remember to read some books when you get back – or perhaps I can arrange some mental faction training for you.”

“No need, I’ll study the mental faction myself!” Sonia firmly refused. She looked at Asho suspiciously and suddenly blurted out, “You seem like a humble, kind, and good person.”

Asho wondered how he had just received a deluxe version of a ‘good guy’ card. Sonia then let out a long sigh of relief, “Ah, lying feels so good.”

Asho’s face darkened, he clicked his tongue, “I don’t have time to argue with you. It’s time to explore the Virtual Realm. Since we both have the Silver Wings, we should prioritize safety and try to explore low-risk areas—”

“You haven’t answered my question yet.”

Sonia grabbed Asho’s wrist as he was about to touch the light screen. Her pink eyes stared straight at Asho’s vague face, “I’ve never seen anyone so indifferent to their own life and death. Do you have a secret plan that I don’t know about, or do you simply not care about your own life?”

“Hey, how can you say I’m indifferent? I just don’t think it’s necessary to show my nervousness. Do you really want to see me trembling in fear? Sword Girl, you have a strange sense of humor~”

Asho’s tone was relaxed, and his words did make sense, but Sonia shook her head.

“When I was a child, my mother would occasionally bring home snacks and delicious food. Whenever I asked her to try some, she would always shake her head and say she had already eaten.” Sonia said, “That’s the feeling you give me – do you think I’m a little girl? Even a little girl can see through such a lie.”

Asho thought for a moment, relaxed his body and lay down on the small boat, laughing helplessly.

“I didn’t lie, I told the truth. If I wasn’t afraid of death, why would I be so concerned about escaping? Why would I go to great lengths to form an escape team? I’m also afraid of death, I also want to live, it’s a biological instinct. It’s just…”

“Just what?”

“All I can think of is living.” Asho looked at the gray Virtual Realm sky, “No past, no future, no family, no friends. The only thing that motivates me to keep going is the simple biological inertia. I don’t have a goal worth fighting for, I live just to live.”

“It sounds a bit melodramatic, doesn’t it? I’m afraid you’ll make fun of me.” He shrugged, “I don’t know how to describe this feeling… I feel as light as a balloon, but only a thin string is tying me to the ground.”

“It sounds like the early symptoms of ‘Eternal Life Syndrome’.” Sonia said, “Some elderly legendary Artificers have a chance of contracting this special disease. They become lost and lonely because their exploration of the Virtual Realm stagnates, they severely neglect their real-life affairs, and they can’t keep up with the changes of the times due to their old age.”

“‘Eternal Life Syndrome’ was considered a terminal illness many years ago, and Artificers who contracted it would quickly die from soul decay.”

Asho was startled, “Is it that serious?”

“But with the development of medical Artificers, this disease was quickly solved, and no Artificers have died from ‘Eternal Life Syndrome’ for hundreds of years.”

Sonia held up two fingers, “There are two treatment methods. The first is to directly use the miracle ‘Hope Flame’, which allows the Artificer to reignite the flame in their heart and find their life goal. ‘Hope Flame’ is also a very common medical miracle, which can effectively treat various diseases caused by thought and consciousness.”

Although Asho had tried his best to overestimate this world, he didn’t expect the world of Artificers to keep surprising him – even melodramatic diseases could be cured, Artificers were truly amazing.

“The second method is talk therapy, which is to make you cheer up through conversation. Do you need me to help you with the treatment?”

“Sure, how does talk therapy work?”

“First, you have to call me master.”

Asho was silent for a moment, then said, “Sword Girl, I think you also have some symptoms of ‘Eternal Life Syndrome’, why don’t I treat you first… Even a little boy wouldn’t believe such a lie!”