Ash Hiss, the Stowaway

"This is... a Spell Spirit."

In the single Dormitory of Broken Lake Prison, Ash looked at the Spell Spirit sleeping soundly in his palm, dressed in blue-striped pajamas like a human toddler, and felt a sense of blood-deep connection.

During their final adventure in the Void Realm that night, Ash and Sword Maiden headed into the White Mist area marked "Welcome" and discovered an Encounter Island within.

Unlike an Inheritance Island, an Encounter Island held no danger and no Trials. Only wild Spell Spirits played and frolicked across it.

The moment they stepped onto the Island, the Spell Spirits scattered in all directions. Even with their sharp eyes and quick hands, they only managed to catch two. The captured Spell Spirits resigned themselves to their fate and agreed to acknowledge them as masters.

They each received one Spell Spirit. Ash's was the human toddler sleeping soundly in his palm—"Substitute."

"Substitute"

"One-Winged Art Spirit"

"Restriction: The Spellcaster must be an intelligent primate life-form."

"Basic Effect: Creates an illusion identical to the target. It shatters upon impact. If the target is an intelligent life-form, it will obey the Spellcaster's commands."

"Passive Effect: Slightly reduces the sensation of pain."

"'If it hurts, think of yourself as someone else. Then it won't hurt anymore.'"

Sword Maiden, meanwhile, obtained a Water Art Faction Spell Spirit—"Rapid Stream."

"Rapid Stream"

"One-Winged Art Spirit"

"Restriction: There must be unclaimed liquid nearby."

"Basic Effect: Fires a stream of water carrying kinetic impact."

"Passive Effect: Increases control over liquids."

"'Gentle flow is life; violent flow is change. Nothing remains unchanged, except flow itself.'"

According to Sword Maiden, Rapid Stream Spell Spirits could fetch a high price at her school because they were among the rare high-burst offensive Spell Spirits in the Water Art Faction. They could also develop into many powerful Miracles, yet they were difficult to summon. Their prices were therefore exorbitant, even exceeding some Two-Winged Art Spirits.

Ash had wanted to say, What does a paper person need money for? But then he considered that it might be some kind of automatic leveling mechanism in the game. Besides, he still needed to cling to Sword Maiden's thigh. This was absolutely not the time to clash with her—at a critical stage of a project, you could offend anyone but the only technician actually doing the work!

Thus, the two happily completed the Spoils Allocation. Sword Maiden was satisfied, but Ash was even more satisfied, because Substitute was one of the essential core Spell Spirits for the Slay Self Miracle!

Ash's top priority was gathering the several Spell Spirits needed for the Slay Self Miracle and completely shattering the Neck Microchip's control. Otherwise, he would not even qualify for a Prison Break!

He stared intently at the Substitute Spell Spirit in his palm and silently stirred that strange mental energy within his mind.

After returning from the Void Realm, Ash had discovered that his mental consciousness had turned from intangible to tangible. It felt as though imagination had truly become a physical force, or as if he had gained an invisible phantom limb that could drive his mental power to touch everything in reality.

Without needing to ask, Ash knew that this mental energy was the Spell Power Sword Maiden had mentioned several times. Spell Power was a Spellcaster's universal energy source and the foundation for activating Spell Spirits. A Spellcaster without Spell Power was no different from an ordinary person.

Conversely, as long as you possessed Spell Power, you were a Spellcaster, even if you were the most incompetent one imaginable.

But Ash remembered that before entering the Void Realm, he had not possessed even a trace of Spell Power.

Ash knew exactly where this Spell Power had come from. As he sailed through the Void Realm with Sword Maiden, each layer of White Mist they broke through not only tempered his mind but also gathered drifting knowledge for him. Under those dual effects, universal energy—Spell Power—had formed.

Therefore, after returning from the Void Realm, Ash possessed not only a Spell Spirit but also Spell Power.

In other words, he had become a perfectly legitimate Spellcaster of exceptionally high purity.

But...

Ash tried using his mental tendrils to explore the Substitute Spell Spirit's body, but the feedback he received was like the listening section of a level-six foreign language exam. Not only could he not understand it when it all linked together, he could not even understand a single sentence.

It perfectly matched what Sword Maiden had said: "If it isn't a Spell Spirit you summoned yourself, you won't even be able to analyze its structure."

Since he could not analyze it, Ash naturally could not find the Gate of Truth within the Substitute Spell Spirit.

Which meant Ash was a Spellcaster who could not enter the Void Realm on his own!

This completely contradicted the Spellcaster system Sword Maiden had described—every Spellcaster, whether extraordinarily gifted or hopelessly talentless, whether born into privilege or starting as an orphan, first summoned Spell Spirits through study and training, then entered the Void Realm.

Since ancient times, there had never been a Spellcaster without learning or skill!

The very term Spellcaster meant "master of arts." Every Spellcaster could serve as a teacher of some craft!

Yet now, an exception had appeared!

Ash Hiss, an Otherworld Soul without learning or skill, had crossed the threshold of knowledge and become a proper Spellcaster!

He suddenly recalled the legend of the Golden Fish and Stowaways Sword Maiden had mentioned earlier.

"A Silver Arcanist who finds a Golden Fish can stow away to Time Continent and become a Gold Arcanist, while I caught a ride on Sword Maiden's boat and stowed away to the Sea of Knowledge, becoming a Silver Arcanist..."

When others stowed away, it was merely movement up or down the Spellcaster hierarchy, like population migration between regions of the same country—a matter of internal contradictions. But Ash had stowed away from a primitive tribe over the wall into a developed nation. This was practically an invasive species.

This absolutely cannot be exposed, Ash thought.

If other Spellcasters discovered he was a Stowaway, they certainly would not spare him for the sake of protecting biodiversity.

Substitute!

Ash silently called out, but nothing happened. The Substitute Spell Spirit continued sleeping soundly in his palm.

The next second, the Light Screen suddenly appeared, a stream of information flashing across his eyes.

"Warning: You are attempting to output Spell Power! This is a prohibited action!"

Ash slapped his forehead. Of course—the Microchip restricted him from entering the Void Realm, so it would certainly restrict him from using Spell Power too!

To activate a Spell Spirit and cast a Miracle, he had to bypass the Microchip. To bypass the Microchip, he had to activate a Spell Spirit and cast a Miracle to cleanse it... Damn it, he was stuck in a vicious circle again!

"Sword Maiden Doraemon, save me—"

"Sword Maiden?"

Ash called twice, but the Dormitory remained empty. The elusive Sword Maiden did not appear this time.

Then he thought about it. Sword Maiden had spent the entire night messing around in the Void Realm with him, so she was certainly tired. Paper people needed rest too. Better not disturb her today.

"If you have been hurt enough, use a pair of hands to gladly cut apart yesterday's curse. Wait through the night for daylight, leaving only scars..."

Ash raised his head and realized it was already eight in the morning of the next day. The Prison's scheduled Morning Song was playing right on time.

It was time for breakfast. There was still a Deathmatch waiting for him at the Deathmatch Club.

..

Inside a Meditation Room at Sword Flower University, Sonia slowly opened her eyes.

She extended her hand, and a young female Spell Spirit in a white dress appeared in her palm.

If this Spell Spirit were made public, it would certainly draw plenty of attention—people who gained something on their very first day entering the Void Realm were extremely rare, not to mention that Sonia had obtained such precious spoils.

She had not lied to the Watcher. Rapid Stream Spell Spirits were indeed highly sought after on Sword Flower University's Spell Spirit Trading Platform. Even across all of Gala City, they counted among the top-tier One-Winged Art Spirits.

But she had not told him the whole truth: Substitute Spell Spirits were not cheap either.

In truth, Universal Art Spirits were generally a tier more expensive than Specialized Art Spirits. Unless their uses were too narrow, One-Winged Universal Art Spirits could sell for the price of Two-Winged Specialized Art Spirits.

After all, Specialized Art Spirits were only needed by Spellcasters from particular factions, while Universal Art Spirits could be used by every Spellcaster. Demand exceeding supply naturally drove the price sky-high.

Then why had she concealed this information?

She wanted the Watcher to notice this little "scheme" of hers.

Back in the Void Realm, Sonia had already realized that the Watcher could no longer read her thoughts.

Perhaps that was a limitation of the Void Realm, but it did not mean much—after all, once the Watcher returned to reality, he could hear her thoughts again.

When they obtained the Substitute Spell Spirit and the Rapid Stream Spell Spirit, although Sonia could not see the Watcher's expression, she could tell from his body language that he really wanted Substitute. So Sonia went with the flow and gave Substitute to him.

Once they returned to reality, the Watcher would learn from Sonia's thoughts that she knew the value of the Substitute Spell Spirit. Yet she had deliberately withheld half the truth and pretended that obtaining Rapid Stream was an enormous gain, all so the Watcher could accept Substitute without hesitation.

A foolish girl with a little scheming—except all her scheming was for your sake, and her methods were so clumsy that you could see right through them—might not land a critical hit on the Watcher, but at the very least, she could greatly increase his favorability toward her.

I thought you were on the first level, while I was on the second. But you saw through me from the third level. Yet the truth is, I was on the fourth level all along, waiting for you to see through me.

But all of that depended on Sonia concealing the fact that she was actually on the fourth level. This was not difficult for her—after two days of mental training, Sonia had already gained preliminary control over her thoughts, allowing herself to think only what she wanted to think.

Sonia withdrew the Rapid Stream Spell Spirit and walked out of the Meditation Room.

"Watcher, I'm going back to shower. Remember to avoid looking."

"Watcher?"

After leaving the Meditation Building, Sonia looked around and confirmed that the Watcher truly was not there.

For the past two days, whenever Sonia called for him, the Watcher would appear from a blind spot she could not see. There had never been an exception. Yet this time, several minutes had passed without him appearing. That could only mean—

After undergoing Void Realm Exploration, the Watcher had also been forced to rest, temporarily ending his round-the-clock surveillance of Sonia.

Yet Sonia felt no joy at regaining her freedom. Instead, she felt as stifled as someone who had brought cake back to the Dormitory, only to discover the Dormitory toilet had exploded!

I finally found an opportunity and prepared a Sugarcoated Bullet, but you ate the sugar coating and ran away!?