Watcher? Sword Maiden?

"So tired, Ingrid. Are you showering first, or am I?"

Before the people arrived, their voices did. Lois, who had been reading in the dormitory, immediately darkened.

The dormitory door was pushed open, and two girls carrying Sword Bags walked in. Fine hairs on their faces were beaded with sweat as they burst in laughing, like a spring breeze filling the dormitory with vitality and the fresh scent of sprouting earth.

"I'll shower first." Ingrid sat down and said, "I still need to wash my clothes afterward. Besides, your legs are weak already. Sit down and recover some stamina."

"That's true." Sonia stretched lazily and sprawled across the desk like a Slime. "Sigh, I'm already starting to regret transferring to the Swordsmanship Department. It's exhausting. Classes would be one thing, but Professor Tello Zan insists that I take another two hours of advanced course, and I even have to spar with him in Sword Art... At night, I still have to continue Swordsmanship Training to master the Ripple Sword Spell Spirit. It feels like every moment of my day has been crammed full."

"Isn't that great?" Ingrid sounded thoroughly envious. "Professor Tello Zan is a Three-Winged Swordsman. Last year, he was even selected as one of the Ten Outstanding Star Sword Saints and was called the Hidden Hand Sword Saint. They say he might challenge for Four-Winged Legendary status... Then, Sonia, you'll be the apprentice of a Legendary Arcanist!"

Lois unconsciously crumpled the book in her hands.

Sonia waved her hand. "Professor Tello Zan hasn't said he'll take me as his apprentice. He just thinks I have talent..."

Ingrid sighed. "I actually wanted to become Professor Tello Zan's apprentice from the very beginning, but he's never publicly taken on apprentices. Sonia, you're only the second exception he's made in all these years!"

"Then I'll recommend you to Professor Tello Zan tomorrow. I can't guarantee anything, but I should be able to get the professor to give you an interview—"

"No need. The professor is clearly focused on cultivating geniuses. I'm just an ordinary person. Not only would he refuse to take me, he'd probably dislike me instead." Ingrid searched for clothes as she spoke. "Besides, I'm close to breaking into the Second Ring. In a few months, I'll be able to summon a Spell Spirit too, and the Swordsmanship Department's resources will be open to me... Maybe I'll catch up to you from behind by then!"

"I won't wait for you." Sonia giggled. "Good thing I have you, Ingrid. Otherwise, I wouldn't know how to refuse Felix's invitation."

Ingrid asked curiously, "I heard he wanted to spar with you again. You don't want another match with him?"

"No!" Sonia said decisively. "He doesn't want to spar at all. He just wants to get closer to me."

"Is getting closer to Felix so bad?"

"Leaving aside the fact that he's a playboy, it's obvious that my future achievements in Sword Art will definitely surpass his. I have no interest in a man who can't even beat me at his greatest strength."

"Sword Flower University is still too small. In the future, I'll definitely go develop myself at Truth University. As for romance, I'll think about it once I've achieved something in Sword Art."

Lois's nails nearly pierced the pages of her book.

Adele, who had been watching a program on the Light Screen, asked with half-feigned concern and half-genuine confusion, "Sonia, are you transferring to Truth University?"

"No, but Professor Tello Zan can help me register for Truth University's Sword Art competitions, and he can also let me use Truth University's equipment. In the future, I might have to run between Truth and Sword Flower." Sonia sighed. "The more I think about it, the more tiring it sounds."

Adele exclaimed, "Then won't you get to meet Truth University's top students in the future? If you run into any handsome guys, remember to introduce them to me!"

"No~ prob~lem~" Sonia drawled. "How could I forget my roommates when good things happen? We're such good roommates who spent a happy year together, aren't we, Lois?"

Lois was so furious that her mouth twisted out of shape. It took great effort for her to force out a smile. "Of course. I'm only afraid Sword Saint Sonia won't acknowledge us roommates anymore."

"How could that be? I'm just a little village girl from the countryside. I'll still need Young Miss Lois to take good care of me in the future." Sonia spoke with Sarcastic Insults. "Ah, Young Miss is reading a Water Art textbook? How enviable. I really want to keep studying Water Art too. It's easy and respectable, unlike the Swordsmanship Department. It's so exhausting~"

Only then did Ingrid realize that although Sonia had been chatting with her, every word had been aimed at Lois.

Too lazy to get involved in their feud, she went straight into the bathroom to shower.

Sonia had been ready for Lois to explode, but Lois remained completely silent, as though she had given up and accepted the mockery.

Sarcastic Insults required PVP interaction. Now that the other side had simply crouched down with her head covered, Sonia found it boring too. She picked up her schoolbag and called out, "Forget it. I'll come back tomorrow morning to shower. I need to go to the Meditation Room now and prepare for my first trip to the Void Realm. Everyone, have a pleasant evening."

Ingrid was showering, and Lois said nothing. Only Adele responded, "Goodbye, Sonia."

As the footsteps faded away, only the sound of water from the bathroom remained in the dormitory.

Adele looked at the silent Lois. After thinking for a moment, she walked over and started a conversation. "Hmph, that village girl Sonia is so smug after getting a little success. So what if she has some talent in Sword Art? It's nothing special. Luo Yi, don't take it to heart. She's so arrogant that she'll hit a wall sooner or later... Hm?"

When Adele went over, she discovered that Lois really was reading. She had even taken out an exercise book and started doing problems.

"I lost this time," Lois said. "That village girl Sonia has now climbed to a height I need to look up to. If this continues, when we meet again a few years after graduation, I'll definitely have to lower my head to her."

As if she had already envisioned her own humble appearance in the future, Lois's lips twitched slightly. "I can't accept that... I refuse to believe I'm inferior even to that village girl!"

Adele did not disturb her and returned to her seat to continue watching her program.

Although the program was still entertaining, Adele could not calm her mind.

She turned to look at Lois again and found that Lois was not merely enthusiastic for three minutes. Lois was still studying with complete concentration. After some thought, Adele turned off the Light Screen and took out a book to study as well.

When Ingrid came out after showering, she saw both girls studying seriously in the dormitory and was slightly surprised.

However, she said nothing and quietly went to the sink on the balcony to wash her clothes.

After the guard checked the student information in her Wristband, Sonia entered a fully enclosed special building.

The instant she crossed the threshold, Sonia felt as though she had passed through an Invisible Boundary. Her thoughts suddenly sped up greatly, and the Ripple Sword Spell Spirit even leaped off her shoulder, looking extremely excited.

"So, after I enter the Void Realm, will you still be by my side?" Sonia asked.

"This actually counts as overtime." The Watcher, walking beside her, said leisurely, "It's beyond the scope of my services."

"So you mean you're unwilling..."

"So I need overtime pay!" The Watcher rubbed his fingers together. "If you go to a Bar and hire someone to chat with you, you have to buy them a drink, right? If you want someone to accompany you into the Void Realm to chat and sightsee, shouldn't you show some gratitude!?"

"I'm broke!"

"Other than money, you still have plenty of remaining value you can sell."

Sonia raised an eyebrow slightly and hooked a finger beneath her close-fitting shirt, exposing a deep cleavage. "The most valuable thing I have is myself..."

"That's exactly what I was waiting for you to say! Then from now on, you'll be an employee working for me." The Watcher snapped his fingers. "But since you haven't graduated yet, you're still in a probationary period. And since it's probation, there's no employment contract. As for probationary wages, the Stamina Potion you drank and the Wooden Sword you used have already covered them, so..."

"So you want me to work for you for free?"

"Tch, listen to how you put it. I provide all kinds of opportunities to cultivate your growth, and during your growth, you do some work to repay me. Isn't that a fine productive relationship where employer and employee progress together?"

Sonia did not reject this unequal Unfair Contract. Instead, she asked, "You went through so much trouble—testing me in the Dream Realm, arranging my training, awakening my talent for Sword Art—just because you wanted me to work for you? Then what exactly is my job?"

"Live."

"Live?"

"Living is the rarest thing in this world." The Watcher seemed to be smiling. "Most people merely exist."

"I still can't understand." Sonia said, "I believe every gift comes at a price. You've invested so much in cultivating me, so you must want to gain even more from me. Unless you're a projection of my mind, I can't think of any reason for you to be this selfless."

"This isn't selflessness. On the contrary, there is no one in this world more selfish than me." The Watcher smiled. "I demand that you live according to my wishes. Is there anything more selfish than that?"

"But..."

"Haha, I was only joking just now. How could I possibly be such a good person who cares so much about you?" The Watcher laughed. "I do have a proper matter to ask of you—because of certain reasons, I've become very weak. I can't even explore the Void Realm alone, so I need you to protect me."

As they spoke, Sonia arrived at the room marked Room 311. She opened the door with her Wristband. Inside was a narrow, empty Meditation Room, containing only an orange carpet that covered the floor. Light from the ceiling illuminated every corner.

This was Sword Flower University's Meditation Room, and also the best quiet place Sonia could find to enter the Void Realm.

She shut the door, sat cross-legged on the carpet, and let the Ripple Sword Spell Spirit float above her palm. She poured her entire mind into the Spell Spirit, searching for the Gate of Truth hidden within knowledge as she attempted the first journey into the Void Realm of her life.

Although Sonia had successfully summoned her first Spell Spirit, she could not yet be considered a One-Winged Arcanist, because she had not condensed her own Silver Wing.

Without Spell Power or a condensed phantom, she naturally could not fully activate a Spell Spirit. She could not be considered a Spellcaster at all.

To condense a Silver Wing, one had to enter the Void Realm, travel through the Sea of Knowledge, use one's soul to attract knowledge, extract Spell Power from knowledge, condense that Spell Power into Void Wings, and use the Void Wings to lever the authority of laws, thereby becoming a Spellcaster!

The only way for ordinary people to enter the Void Realm was to find the Gate of Truth inside their own Spell Spirit. Once their soul passed through the Gate of Truth, they could reach the illusory world built from laws and knowledge—the Void Realm!

It was said that the Void Realm was dozens, hundreds, or even ten thousand times larger than the real world.

Countless Spellcasters had never encountered another person in the Void Realm throughout their lives. Thus, every Spellcaster could only rely on themselves to explore it.

The Meditation Building was a quiet chamber specifically meant for Spellcasters to explore the Void Realm. Besides ensuring silence and freedom from interruption, Sword Flower University had cast the Miracle Starlight Chasing Shadow, which not only accelerated the thinking of students in the Meditation Building and made the Gate of Truth easier to find, but also guided down countless rays of starlight bestowed by the Star Law Master. This made students' souls emit a fragrance beloved by knowledge, allowing them to condense Silver Wings more quickly!

Very soon, Sonia found the Gate of Truth within the Ripple Sword Spell Spirit.

Since it was her first time in her life, Sonia could not help feeling as nervous as if she were checking into a room with someone. She asked inwardly, Watcher?

"I'm here. Don't worry. There is a Bond between us. Sacred Fate has linked you and me together."

Sonia's mind immediately settled. Her consciousness touched the Gate of Truth, and darkness instantly drowned her vision.

When she woke up, she found herself lying in a Boat, floating upon the Lead-Gray Sea.

Before her stretched a sky as thick and dark as ink, while mist surrounded her.

She lay at the stern and saw a familiar person lying at the bow.

Sonia: "Watcher?"

Ash: "Sword Maiden?"

The two exchanged eye contact and both breathed a sigh of relief.