In the Star Kingdom of Garlean, there is a Swords and Roses Artificer University.

“…when facing the Corrupted Heart monster, unless the Swordsman can pierce its brainstem at the first opportunity – cutting off its head is useless, as long as the monster has a brain it can still attack – otherwise, they will be affected by its Sorcery Spirit’s ‘madness’. When a Swordsman starts to feel anxious, they must pierce their own thigh to stay conscious with pain, and let the other long-range Artificers in the team kill the Corrupted Heart monster…”

In the classroom, the teacher’s voice was the only sound. Sonia sat by the window, looking at the three shining stars in the sky. The warm sun covered the lawn, the path, and the benches, making everything shine brightly.

“Sonia!” Yingu Lite whispered, “Don’t daydream in class.”

Sonia, who was resonating with reality, smiled slightly, “It’s not an important class, and my bracelet is recording notes. Even if I daydream…”

“But this is the most important ‘Swordsman Introduction’ class!” Yingu Lite was serious, “Don’t you plan on going into the Abyss in the future? Don’t you fear danger? Even with the bracelet recording notes, it’s still important to pay attention to safety!”

“Cough cough!”

The teacher coughed twice on the podium. The two girls sat down and listened attentively.

The ‘Swordsman Introduction’ was not a theoretical course, but one that taught how to deal with different enemies in different environments. The reason for this course was that it was closely related to the future career direction of Swordsman.

Swordsman were undoubtedly pure combat Artificers, unlike Hydromancers who could become Healing Artificers, or Machinists who could become Crafting Artificers. If it were a peaceful era, Swordsman would definitely gradually decline, and even the transmission of their skills might be cut off.

The prosperity of Swordsman in the Star Kingdom was due to the fact that the world was not safe and was constantly threatened by the Abyss.

The Abyss was not a fixed place, but a randomly appearing monster nest. Although it was said to be random, there were still clues: it only appeared in cities with many people, or in places with more Artificers, making it more likely to appear.

As the core city of the Star Kingdom, Garlean naturally suppressed the largest Abyss.

To this day, no scholar can explain the reason for the Abyss’s formation, but the threat it poses must be resolved. The Abyss cannot be eradicated, the deeper it goes, the stronger the monsters become, and even legendary-level monsters with three or four wings may appear. However, the surface monsters are also difficult to deal with.

Because the Abyss changes its terrain every once in a while, Artificers cannot build camps in the Abyss, and every once in a while, the Abyss will erupt, and legendary monsters will run to the surface. Therefore, during that time, Artificers must retreat from the Abyss.

Due to various restrictions, “regularly cleaning the Abyss” has become a very important social division of labor. Except for a few who can become “riot consultants” for nobles or companies, most Swordsman will form teams with other Artificers and regularly venture into the Abyss to clear monsters.

This is not a dirty job, but a very good way out, because in addition to the “extermination gold” given by the country, the various loot dropped by Abyss monsters are extremely valuable, and sometimes rare resource points can even be found in the Abyss.Countless nobles originated from the Abyss Adventurer Team, and there were countless sorcerers who gained adventures in the Abyss.

But risks and rewards were proportional, and almost all Abyss monsters were possessed by sorcery spirits, with combat power not inferior to that of sorcerers. Every day, countless sorcerers died in the Abyss, and even the entire team could be wiped out and become nutrients for the Abyss.

So Yingu Lite was so dissatisfied with Sonia’s attitude: listen to “Swordsmanship Introduction” class for one more second, and be more vigilant when encountering danger in the Abyss in the future!

But Sonia had just absorbed an experience bead, like a child with a new toy, her whole mind was verifying the knowledge of the Radiance faction. Moreover, she didn’t think she would go adventuring in the Abyss anymore – with her talent and the support of the Observer, she could easily achieve the Three-Winged Holy Domain, why bother struggling in the Abyss with others?

After the “Swordsmanship Introduction” class, it was followed by “Swordsmanship Practice,” a sparring class for swordsmanship students. On the way to the training hall, students were constantly observing Sonia and discussing her.

Sonia was not surprised by this. When Teluozan Professor let her skip all the procedures and transfer to the Swordsmanship department, she had already become the focus of students’ attention and daily topics.

But today was a little different – because in addition to Sonia, the students were also observing Felix on the other side.

“Look, she dumped Celia…”

“Sonia will probably be dumped soon too…”

“I knew she was that kind of person at first sight…”

Although she only heard fragments of their conversation, Sonia probably knew what was going on – the news of Felix dumping Celia had spread, and as the woman who recently appeared with Felix, Sonia was inevitably the center of attention.

“Don’t give me trouble…” Sonia just wanted to quietly accumulate her strength and didn’t want to be distracted by such boring matters.

But women had strong prophetic ability, especially in predicting bad things – after entering the training hall, Sonia found many unfamiliar people present, and the only one she knew was her senior, Celia.

Celia was wiping her tears, her eyes were red, and with a simple and elegant dress, she looked pitiful and helpless. Although Sonia believed she had outstanding looks, Celia had temperament, atmosphere, and tearful makeup, which made Sonia unable to win against her at this moment.

“Yingu Lite, I want to skip class.”

“Okay.” Yingu Lite also understood.

However, just as Sonia was about to leave the training hall, a loud shout shook the dust off the ceiling.

“Felix, come here!”

A tall, black-haired swordsman shouted loudly, “How dare you fool around with my sister’s feelings, are you afraid to show up!?”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone’s eyes turned to Felix and Sonia. Felix was calm, it seemed she had encountered this kind of thing before, and she walked calmly into the training hall. After some inner struggle, Sonia also gave up the idea of running away – she couldn’t leave without a word, leaving meant weakness, and running away meant retreat.In the countryside, cowardice and retreat will only make you more easily bullied.

It’s the same in the big city.

There is no essential difference between the country mice and the city mice in terms of short-sightedness.

“Good morning, Luo Lian, Celia.” Felix nodded at them, “Do you want to have lunch together later?”

“Forget it, I feel like throwing up just looking at your face.” The black-haired swordsman showed no face to the young master of Fusoya, “Draw your sword and let me see your courage.”

Upon hearing this, nearby students began to whisper, and Yingu Lite couldn’t help but whisper to herself, “It’s actually Senior Luo Lian!”

With Yingu Lite’s introduction, Sonia learned that Senior Luo Lian was also a talented swordsman in the third grade, although he was not favored by Professor Teluozan, he became a research apprentice of a certain golden swordsman, and became a member of the Sword Flower University competition team a year ago.

Although only from a middle-class noble family, Luo Lian can achieve at least two wings of gold in the future, with a bright future, and naturally does not need to respect a young master of the Fusoya family who relies on his own ability to make a living.

Luo Lian and Celia are not biological siblings. Their fathers are brothers, and they are in the same school and grade, so they have a good relationship on weekdays. Luo Lian almost has a duty to vent his anger for Celia.

But Felix did not agree, but looked at Celia, “Is this what you want, Senior?”

Others may think that Felix has given in, but Sonia knows that he is really confused. As a person who can change girlfriends four times a month, Felix naturally has no feelings for his girlfriend. He thinks that other women are also approaching him under the premise of knowing this, so his indulgence has not caused any trouble.

However, Sonia noticed the look in Celia’s eyes when she looked at Felix, and suddenly understood everything.

It was just a game, but Celia had real feelings.

Only with real feelings can it explain why Celia was so irrational at this time, both cutting off the last trace of possibility with Felix and doing useless things.

Emotions are the most unpredictable thing, and hunters also have times when they fall into their own traps.

Women always think that they are the last one for the other person, and men always think that they are the first for the other person. The losers who fall into it will always hold unrealistic fantasies.

Without getting an answer from Celia, Felix looked at Luo Lian, “Are you saying that you want to beat me up?”

“This is the arena, let’s have a real battle.” Luo Lian sneered, “The treatment center is next door, and I will try to hold back, and won’t let the Fusoya family lose their excellent offspring. Are you afraid?”

“Good, very good, how could I be afraid? It’s just a first-year student sparring with a third-year swordsman, and a newly promoted swordsman fighting with a senior who has been an artificer for more than a year. How could I be afraid?”

Felix showed his white teeth, every word accusing Luo Lian of bullying. He is a nobleman, not a fool. How could he fall for such a boring provocation?The surrounding students clearly did not approve of the battle with such a huge power gap, which was no different from bullying. However, Luo Lian’s expression remained calm as his gaze shifted from Felix to Sonia.

Sonia suddenly had a bad feeling.

“Felix, I heard you recently gained a beautiful ‘study sister’. You two summoned a sorcery spirit during your fight, which must mean your relationship is ‘not bad’ and your friendship is ‘profound’.”

Luo Lian deliberately emphasized his words and sneered, “As a senior, I will not bully juniors but will give you the opportunity to bully those weaker than you. Since I am here to vent for Celia, just fighting you, Felix, is not enough. Let your study sister come too!”

“I can take on both of you alone!”

Although Luo Lian did not say it outright, almost every sentence he spoke implied the same meaning:

I will beat you two up today!

Sonia’s current mood was to smash the heads of the spectators – how did a bystander like her get involved in this mess?

Everyone’s eyes were on her, even Felix.

Sonia’s gaze shifted and she did not leave, standing next to Yingu Lite with a puzzled expression, “Sorry, Senior Luo Lian, I don’t understand what you mean – although Felix and I study under Professor Teluozan together, we don’t have much contact outside of class. This is your personal grudge, and I have no reason to participate.”

Because Luo Lian’s words were harsh, she should rush up to fight alongside Felix?

Sonia was no longer a child, and her likes and dislikes were not the only principle she followed.

She just wanted to grow up quietly and was not interested in Felix’s friendship at all. Moreover, this was also her best opportunity to clarify – if she really fought Luo Lian with Felix, it would confirm the suspicion of being a ‘couple’.

No matter how she thought about it, leaving this vortex was the wisest choice.

Luo Lian no longer paid attention to Sonia, sneering, “It seems that your charm is not that great, Felix.”

“You misunderstood.” Felix said lightly, taking out a wooden sword from his sheath, and the atmosphere was about to explode.

Just when Sonia thought she could skip class, a hand suddenly rested on her shoulder.

“This is unreasonable – battles with such a large power gap, what’s the difference with bullying? As a disciplinary committee member, I cannot allow such one-sided oppression to occur.”

A heroic orange-haired female swordsman pressed Sonia’s shoulder and pushed her forward. Sonia turned her head and saw the work badge on the female swordsman’s chest: “Sword Flower Disciplinary Committee Member: Leonie Victor.”

“It’s Senior Leonie!”

“How did she appear at school?”

“The Orange Dancer herself!”

The orange-haired female swordsman led Sonia to the center of the field, her hand like a tiger’s claw, and Sonia couldn’t break free.

“Felix junior, Sonia junior, you should communicate more often. If Professor Teluozan knew that you two couldn’t even help each other, he would be very disappointed.”

The orange-haired female swordsman looked at Sonia with a smile on her face.”Although Lorian is indeed bullying the weak, you two are the research apprentices of Professor Teluozan. If he bullies you, it’s equivalent to humiliating the Hidden Hand Swordsman. How can you bear this insult? You should know that Felix now represents not only himself but also the only two apprentices of Professor Teluozan. Sonia, my junior sister, you understand this, right?”

Sonia reluctantly nodded and shook her head, “But this is their personal grudge…”

“When Lorian said he wanted to challenge you two, even if it was to uphold the honor of the Hidden Hand Swordsman, you had to accept the challenge. Moreover, with a two-on-one advantage, the odds of winning are so great that refusing would make you appear too weak.”

“As a swordsman, you should have the courage to forge ahead and the confidence to reason with your sword! If you defeat your enemy, you are the most reasonable!”

“Sonia, my junior sister, what do you think?”

As soon as the orange-haired female swordsman mentioned Professor Teluozan, Sonia knew that she couldn’t avoid this battle.

Whether Teluozan cared or not, Sonia did not dare to gamble.

Teluozan was her biggest support at the moment, and she dared not take any risks that might affect his impression of her, let alone the fact that hundreds of people were watching. If she retreated without considering Professor Teluozan’s face, the news would spread throughout the Sword Flower within ten minutes.

But she hated this feeling: being manipulated, being forced, being calculated, and finally having to participate in a battle she didn’t want to!

The strong sense of suffocation and humiliation fermented inside her, causing Sonia’s shoulders to tremble slightly.

However, she was a girl who had come to Garlean from the countryside all by herself, and her reason quickly took over.

But just as she suppressed her inner dissatisfaction, a familiar voice rang in her ear.

“Do you need my help? I promise I can eliminate your inner discomfort.”

「Yes!」

“This is your own promise, I’ll go first, don’t, blame, me.”

The onlooker walked past Sonia and disappeared into the air after speaking.

The next second, Sonia looked at the orange-haired female swordsman.

“Sonia, my junior sister, what is your decision now?”

“I refuse!” Sonia shook her head firmly, “I will never get involved in their personal grudges, never fight side by side with Felix, and never fight against Senior Lorian!”

The orange-haired female swordsman raised her eyebrows slightly: “But in that case…”

“But!”

Sonia looked at the orange-haired female swordsman, her words clear and forceful.

“As an apprentice of Professor Teluozan, I cannot tolerate you provoking me with Professor Teluozan’s honor in front of me again and again, nor can I tolerate you trying to incite student emotions to question Professor Teluozan’s teaching quality, and even more so, I cannot tolerate you using our victory or defeat to slander Professor Teluozan’s character!”

“I didn’t—”

“No need to explain, as you said, if you defeat your enemy, you are the most reasonable. So—”

Sonia took out her wooden sword from the sword bag and pointed it at the orange-haired female swordsman.

“Leonie Victor, I challenge you.”