“I hardly have any personal time now.”
Sonia complained, “I have to attend compulsory or general courses starting from 8 am every day. Although I have transferred to the swordsmanship department and don’t need to take courses in water magic anymore, I still have to take two courses in swordsmanship theory and practical swordsmanship. Moreover, Professor Teluozan checks my progress in swordsmanship and practices with me almost every day. I hardly have any free time during the day.”
Sonia felt strange about this. Professor Teluozan was not a retired professor who had nothing to do. He was a famous hidden-hand sword saint and the signature sorcerer of the Sword Flower University.
Although Teluozan took Sonia and Felix as research apprentices, he did not have to care about them every day. Teluozan had seen many geniuses, and the time of a three-winged sanctuary sorcerer was not that valuable.
But Teluozan not only visited them every day but also took the time to practice with Sonia – a privilege that belonged only to her. Felix could only watch on the side.
Although Felix was Sonia’s senior, Teluozan clearly favored her. Sonia felt embarrassed but also secretly happy.
She had considered whether it was the Observer’s means, but it was unlikely – that was the hidden-hand sword saint!
If the Observer could control Teluozan, what was the point of making him beat her up?
“I know you want me to make progress in swordsmanship.”
Sonia tried to persuade him politely, “But my daytime study load is already sufficient, and I don’t need to be forced to train for two hours in swordsmanship at night, which is not very meaningful. Since I have the fluctuating sword, I should summon other auxiliary sorcery spirits based on it, rather than continuing basic training…”
Sonia was actually a little guilty when she said this.
Although what she said was correct, after becoming a sorcerer, she should replace swordsmanship training with “sorcery spirit training,” that is, to improve the skills of using sorcery spirits.
Some people might find it strange that the fluctuating sword was knowledge that Sonia had summoned and fully understood. Why was there still room for improvement?
This was because Sonia fully understood the “theory,” but she had not fully analyzed the “reality.” The process of using sorcery spirits was the practice of combining theory and reality, and there was still a lot of potential to be tapped.
For example, the “inside fluctuating sword” that Sonia used to kill the orc sorcerer was the result of her learning in the past two days.
This move no longer used the fluctuating sword as a long-range attack but condensed it on the tip of the sword, and then exploded when it pierced into the enemy’s body, causing destructive damage in an instant.
There were many variations of the fluctuating sword that could be explored, and sorcery spirit training was undoubtedly necessary.
Moreover, if Sonia studied the skills of the fluctuating sword to the extreme, she could summon corresponding auxiliary sorcery spirits.
For example, if Sonia fully mastered the “inside fluctuating sword,” she had a high chance of summoning the “inside space” sorcery spirit. The inside space sorcery spirit could compress the might of the fluctuating sword sorcery spirit by 100%, and even temporarily store it in an enemy or object, and then suddenly explode when the sorcerer had the intention.
Because two sorcery spirits were used, the “inside fluctuating sword” had become a more powerful and unpredictable “miracle-inside fluctuating sword.”
Of course, this was just a very rudimentary miracle, which was not included in the “Sorcerer’s Miracle Catalogue” and had no commercial value.
But this reflected a normal growth process of a sorcerer: summoning a sorcery spirit, and then summoning other auxiliary sorcery spirits based on it, extending a whole set of miracle systems.
So Sonia’s request was reasonable.But the problem is, she is a Swordsman.
There is a saying among Swordsman: if you just want to be an ordinary Swordsman, then follow the school’s arrangements for learning; but if you want to achieve the level of a two-winged gold, a three-winged holy domain, and even higher levels of Swordsman, then you must master the three Artisans of ‘Slash Sword’, ‘Stab Sword’, and ‘Cut Sword’.
All Swordsmanship Artisans are ultimately derived from these three Artisans of slash, stab, and cut. Although mastering these three Artisans does not necessarily mean that you will be stronger, not being able to master them means that you definitely have shortcomings.
Therefore, Sonia continued her basic swordsmanship training these days, which everyone thought was reasonable, even Felix did not skip the training – any aspiring apprentice Swordsman would seize this opportunity to lay a solid foundation.
So why did Sonia propose to the viewers to cancel the training?
In addition to her being really tired and having no time for entertainment, the main reason was, of course, that she wanted to test her own influence.
It was not about conducting obedience tests on the viewers, but Sonia was not willing to always be under someone’s control.
Even if she was rejected by the viewers this time, Sonia could slowly approach them, step by step, making them remember how much she had contributed and how hard she had worked every day. After all, crying children get milk.
One day, Sonia would figure out the viewers’ psychological bottom line and thinking mode.
At that time, it was hard to say who would be in control of whom…
“You make a lot of sense.”
Asho nodded, seemingly convinced by the Sword Girl.
Sonia was slightly surprised, thinking that the viewers were so easy to persuade?
“But I want to ask you – if you have two extra hours at night, what do you plan to do?”
“Probably… read books, watch plays, attend dance parties to meet more friends?”
“In other words, it’s all entertainment, playing, right?”
Asho tapped the hull with his fingers, recalling how his previous boss had fooled people.
“Have you ever seen someone whose family background is better than yours?”
“I have.”
“Have you ever seen someone whose family background is better than yours and whose talent is not inferior to yours?”
“I have.”
“Do you know what the scariest thing in this world is? It’s someone whose family background is better than yours and whose talent is not inferior to yours, but who works harder than you!” Asho said earnestly, “When you can’t help but want to rest, others will take advantage of the opportunity to widen the gap with you.”
Sonia’s heart stirred slightly, thinking of Felix who left in a silver luxury car.
“Don’t waste your life when you should work hard, don’t cling to enjoyment when you should struggle. The starting point for too many people in this world is our end point. Are you willing to only look up at others in the future, to only be an ordinary person, leaving no mark except in the Knowledge Sea?”
Sonia’s lips twitched, but in the end, she shook her head, “I’m not willing.”
“So, Sword Girl, your way of thinking is not good, don’t blame me for criticizing you. Do you feel tired? Tired is good, comfort is for the elderly. Do you want to enjoy life? Wanting is good, enjoyment is for successful people.”
“At the prime of your life, you must bravely step out of your comfort zone and fill your life with struggles. Don’t let other people’s lives blind your eyes. Are you willing to be just an ordinary person like them in the future? Don’t let your inner desires cover your vision, it will only affect your speed of drawing the sword.”
“If you like something, you must strive for it. That way, when you fail in the future, you can blame the world to your heart’s content, instead of being angry with yourself.”
“We Artificers don’t care about the past or the next life, we only seek to live this life to the fullest, to enjoy the thrill of victory and the bitterness of defeat!”Sonia was silent for a long time, then nodded heavily, “You’re right!”
Good, he had fooled her… Asho breathed a sigh of relief. He was still a bit unaccustomed to this kind of work, as he used to be the one being psychologically built up by his boss. Now it was his turn to do it for others.
You wouldn’t believe it, but this kind of work that causes anxiety in others was quite interesting. No wonder his boss often shared anxiety-inducing articles in his social circle.
“Then changing the two-hour training time to one hour shouldn’t have much impact, right?”
Asho blinked and suddenly noticed that the area prompt in the “Virtual Realm Exploration” had changed from “Wait a moment” to “Right now.” He hurriedly changed the subject, “Stop chatting, focus! We’re about to enter a dangerous area!”
The small boat passed through layers of white mist, and a small island appeared before the two of them.
On the island was a huge white-haired fox, its fur reflecting purple and white arcs of light, as if the moon had fallen here. It was so beautiful that it was hard to take one’s eyes off it. The fox was curled up under a tree, its body and tail forming a fluffy ball that made people want to touch it.
“It’s a Fox Illumination Dragon,” Sonia said in a low voice, excitement evident in her words, “It’s asleep!”
The boat quietly approached the shore, and they tiptoed to the head of the Fox Illumination Dragon. They looked at each other and prepared to strike.
Sonia took a stance to draw her sword, while Asho summoned his substitute Artisan. Both of them held blunt swords, aiming at the head of the Fox Illumination Dragon. In the Virtual Realm, Asho’s consciousness was no longer limited by his body, so he was naturally no longer bound by the chip in the back of his neck and could use Sorcery Spirits.
After testing, Asho found that although the substitute would break upon being poked, it could still attack before being broken. For example, in situations like this, the substitute could be used to deal extra damage.
As for the blunt sword, just like Sonia could take out a wooden sword, Asho could naturally summon the weapon he had used in his previous battles. In fact, what Asho really wanted to summon was a gun, but the problem was that he had never touched any firearms in reality and couldn’t imagine them…
Ready, the two of them mouthed the countdown, three, two, one, and attacked simultaneously!
“Draw and Slash Wave!”
“Double Slash!”
The sleeping Fox Illumination Dragon was instantly hit in the head by three swords at the same time. It let out a sharp roar, almost causing Asho and Sonia to temporarily lose their hearing, and the substitute was directly shattered by the roar.
However, the Fox Illumination Dragon seemed to be dazed by the attack and couldn’t even stand up. It could only struggle and bite wildly on the ground.
The two of them, of course, wouldn’t talk about any chivalry with the Fox Illumination Dragon. They took advantage of its weakness and picked up their weapons to beat its head brutally. Asho even took the opportunity to stroke its fur.
After about ten seconds, the Fox Illumination Dragon let out a resentful roar and turned into a puff of white smoke, disappearing.
It left behind three sleeping Sorcery Spirits, who seemed to be still confused about the situation and looked at the unfamiliar Artificers blankly. But Sonia didn’t look at the Sorcery Spirits; instead, she picked up a bright pearl from the ground.
“What is this?”
“An Experience Pearl.” Sonia stared at the pearl, her eyes filled with an uncontrollable desire, “Without any restrictions or requirements, as long as an Artificer absorbs this Experience Pearl, they can gain all the insights of the knowledge creature and instantly master a Sorcery Spirit faction!”
“If it’s the same faction, it can even greatly enhance the Artificer’s realm of knowledge, making their promotion smooth and without bottlenecks!”
“Virtual Realm exploration is the accumulation of a long journey.”
“An Experience Pearl is the epiphany of a single moment!”