Within Seven Steps, the Gun is Accurate and Fast

"You're coming?"

Sonia looked a bit puzzled, her eyes filled with suspicion as she gazed at Ash.

In the career of an Arcanist, Void Realm Exploration was undoubtedly a vital link, perhaps even the most important one.

The vast majority of encounters, breakthroughs, and promotions in this world occurred within the Void Realm, and many Arcanists exhausted their entire lives trying to explore it.

Compared to the Void Realm, reality was merely a stage for Arcanists to show off during their leisure time.

Although the Void Realm was so important, there was still no established guide for exploring it to this day.

Perhaps one existed, but it was beyond the reach of Sonia's current status.

During her afternoon class, Sonia had specifically asked Professor Tello Zan if he had any helpful tips regarding the Void Realm, but Tello Zan had simply spread his hands to indicate he had none.

"The reason Arcanists possess equal status is precisely because we are all equally ignorant when we are in the Void Realm."

Sonia knew that Professor Tello Zan valued her, and she could also see that the professor was a typical swordsman who disdained lying to or fooling a weakling like her.

Since even a Three-Wing Saint Domain Arcanist had no effective guide, Sonia didn't hold much expectation for the Watcher.

"The Void Realm is dangerous, you know," Sonia reminded him. "If I die here, it will take three days of mental recovery once I return."

Arcanists could die in the Void Realm.

The most common way to die was, naturally, drowning.

When an Arcanist attempted to explore the deep sea or remained stationary in the water, they risked being submerged by the Sea of Knowledge.

That was why Sonia was so surprised by the boat—it meant they were spared the risk of drowning.

Death in the Void Realm caused severe trauma to an Arcanist's soul; the stronger the individual, the heavier the trauma, and the longer the recovery time.

A novice Arcanist like Sonia only needed three days to recover, while a formal Silver Arcanist needed at least fifteen days, Gold Arcanists were measured in months, and it was said that the recovery time for Saint Domain and Legendary Arcanists was measured in years.

Being unable to explore the Void Realm meant a 90% decrease in one's growth rate, so Arcanists held various views on exploration: some preferred a conservative approach to grow as steadily as possible, while others loved adventure—win the gamble and live like a king, lose and you become the one serving the kings.

The old Sonia had leaned toward adventure because she had nothing, but now she leaned toward caution—after discovering her talent for swordsmanship, Professor Tello Zan had evaluated her by saying, "Twenty years to reach Gold is no problem, and there is hope for the Saint Domain in forty."

In the Star Country, a Two-Winged Gold Arcanist was considered a person of some standing, easily able to pass as a minor noble, which could be said to have fulfilled Sonia's life goals.

If she could promote to a Three-Wing Saint Domain Arcanist, she could even establish a family and become famous for a time.

Therefore, Sonia's petty-bourgeois mentality was perfectly normal. It wasn't that she didn't know she had a brighter future, but the harsh reality forced her to cling tightly to what she already possessed.

The world was beautiful and worth fighting for; she could only agree with the latter half of that sentiment.

However, no matter how conservative she was, Sonia still had to explore the Void Realm; there was no option to "stay in place." Countless school teachers, and even Professor Tello Zan, had specifically warned her: never stop in the same spot.

To this day, no one knew what would happen if one stayed in the same place for too long, but those who entered the Void Realm and stood still soon stopped breathing in reality, and even Healing Arcanists couldn't save them because their souls were no longer in their bodies.

Thus, there was a saying: if you stop moving in the Void Realm, your body will assume you are already dead and simply pass away on the spot.

"I heard that when entering the Void Realm for the first time, walking toward the direction where the White Mist is thinnest is the safest," Sonia said.

This didn't count as a guide; at most, it was a tip summarized by the senior Arcanists of Sword Flower University, and its success rate was less than 60%, with the other 40% of those surveyed encountering danger.

But in this completely unknown ocean, a 60% chance was already worth a gamble.

"No, we're going over there."

Ash pointed toward the area where the White Mist was thickest. His line of sight couldn't penetrate it at all, and the mere sight of it made one feel a hint of fear. Sonia wanted to say something else, but the boat began to sail there automatically, and she immediately shifted her focus: "You can control this boat? Did you bring this boat?"

"Yeah."

"Then why did you trick me into jumping into the sea just now!?"

Seeing Sonia tighten her grip on her Wooden Sword again, Ash hurriedly explained: "I only just discovered I could control the boat myself! What I said about you jumping into the sea earlier was sincere!"

"Sincere about wanting to see me make a fool of myself?"

"Sincere about wanting to see you soaking wet... hey, hey, calm down, calm down! We've entered an unknown area, we could encounter danger at any moment!"

The White Mist rushed toward them, and with danger potentially appearing at any time, Sonia could only sit down, fuming.

However, as they passed through layers of White Mist, Sonia felt something flowing into her body. Her consciousness became increasingly clear, her skin began to glow with a silver luster, and a vast amount of knowledge regarding swordsmanship suddenly surfaced in her mind.

This was the reason why Arcanists had to explore the Void Realm—as long as they moved within it, they could automatically acquire knowledge from the Void Realm and condense their own knowledge into Silver Artificery!

When a large amount of Silver Artificery settled and condensed, it could form the symbol of a Voidwing Artificer's strength: the Silver Wing!

Sonia suddenly understood why Arcanists loved to immerse themselves in the Void Realm.

The feeling of acquiring knowledge every second and becoming stronger every moment was as comfortable as the first stretch of the morning.

While Sonia enjoyed the pleasure brought by the knowledge, Ash, like a slacker acting up in class, kept staring at the map on the Light Screen.

In the center of the map was a small boat, surrounded by eight squares. At this moment, the boat was entering the square to the upper left.

That's right, this was the "Void Realm Exploration" mode provided by the game. When Ash moved the boat in the game, the boat in the Void Realm moved along with it.

In addition to moving, Ash could also query information about these eight squares:

"Waste of Effort," "Seek Death," "Waste of Effort," "Waste of Effort," "Waste of Effort," "Worth Visiting," "A Bit Troublesome," "Better Not Go."

Among the eight hints, "Waste of Effort" clearly meant there was nothing in the square, "Seek Death" meant danger, Ash couldn't guess what "Better Not Go" meant, while "Worth Visiting" was clearly a hint provided by the game.

Soon, after passing through layers of White Mist, a small Island shrouded in thick fog appeared before the two of them.

Seeing this, Sonia suddenly recalled that the place where the Watcher had conducted the dream Trial with her was exactly the same as the Void Realm.

No wonder the Watcher was so confident; if he could utilize the Void Realm for trials, exploring it naturally posed no challenge at all!

The boat slowed to a halt. The moment the two stepped onto the Island, the thick fog suddenly dispersed, and a Hunter wearing a wide-brimmed hat and holding a Long Musket appeared before them.

"Beyond seven paces, the musket is fast."

The Hunter raised his musket to aim at the pair: "Within seven paces, the musket is both accurate and fast!"