Experience Pearl

"I hardly have any personal time left in a day now."

Sonia poured out her grievances. "Starting at eight in the morning, I have required courses or general education classes. Since I transferred to the Swordsmanship Department, I no longer need to attend Water Art Department classes, but I have to take Introduction to Swordsmanship and Swordsmanship Combat. On top of that, Professor Tello Zan checks my swordsmanship progress almost every day and spars with me once. I barely get a moment to stop during the day."

Come to think of it, Sonia found it rather strange too. Professor Tello Zan was not some retired professor with nothing better to do than tend flowers and plants. He was the famed Hidden Hand Sword Saint, Sword Flower University's star Spellcaster.

Although Tello Zan had taken Sonia and Felix on as research apprentices, there was no need for him to check in on them every day. It was not as though Tello Zan had never seen geniuses before, and a Three-Wing Saint Domain Arcanist's time was hardly that cheap.

Yet Professor Tello Zan not only visited them every day, but even made time to spar with Sonia. That was treatment reserved solely for Sonia; Felix could only watch from the side with longing eyes.

Felix was clearly the senior apprentice, yet Professor Tello Zan favored her so openly. Sonia felt embarrassed, but secretly delighted as well.

She had considered whether it was the Watcher's doing, but that seemed impossible. That was the Hidden Hand Sword Saint!

Controlling her was probably already the Watcher's limit. How could he possibly control Professor Tello Zan?

Besides, if he could control Professor Tello Zan, why would he do something as pointless as having the professor beat her up?

"I know you hope I'll achieve something in Sword Art."

Sonia tried her best to persuade him politely. "But my daytime workload is already enough. I don't need to be forced into another two hours of Sword Art training at night."

"And that training isn't very meaningful. Since I have Ripple Sword now, I should use it as the core to summon other supporting Spell Spirits, rather than continuing basic training..."

Sonia actually felt a little guilty as she said that.

Although she was right, after becoming a Spellcaster, she should have replaced Sword Art training with "Spell Spirit training"—improving her skill in using Spell Spirits.

Some might find that strange. Wasn't the Ripple Sword Spell Spirit knowledge Sonia had personally summoned and fully understood? Why was there still room to improve?

That was because Sonia fully understood the "theory," but had not fully analyzed "reality." Using a Spell Spirit was the practice of combining theory with reality, so there was naturally plenty of potential left to uncover.

For example, the "Reverse Ripple Sword" Sonia had used to kill the Orc Arcanist just now was the result of her studies over the last two days.

Rather than firing Ripple Sword as a ranged attack, this move condensed it onto the sword tip, letting it erupt only after the tip pierced the enemy's body and dealing devastating damage in an instant.

There were still many variations of Ripple Sword left to explore. Spell Spirit training was undoubtedly necessary.

Furthermore, if Sonia studied Ripple Sword techniques to their utmost limit, she could summon corresponding supporting Spell Spirits.

For instance, if Sonia completely mastered "Reverse Ripple Sword," there was a high chance she would summon the Spell Spirit "Reverse Space." The Reverse Space Spell Spirit could compress the Ripple Sword Spell Spirit's power by one hundred percent, even temporarily store it inside an enemy or object, then suddenly detonate it at the Spellcaster's command.

Because it used two Spell Spirits, "Reverse Ripple Sword" had now become the more powerful and less predictable "Miracle · Reverse Ripple Sword."

Of course, this was only a crude Miracle. Even the Arcanist Miracle Catalogue would not record it, and it held no commercial value whatsoever.

Yet it reflected the normal growth process of a Spellcaster: summon one Spell Spirit, then use it as a foundation to summon other supporting Spell Spirits and develop an entire Miracle System.

Therefore, Sonia's request was perfectly reasonable.

But the problem was that she was a Swordsman.

There was a saying among Swordsmen: if you only wanted to become an ordinary Swordsman, then simply follow the school's curriculum; but if you wished to become a Two-Winged Gold, a Three-Wing Saint Domain, or an even higher-level Swordsman, then you had to master the three Spell Spirits of "Slash Sword," "Thrusting Sword," and "Cutting Sword."

All Sword Art Spell Spirits ultimately derived from those three: slash, thrust, and cut. Mastering them did not necessarily mean you would become powerful, but failing to master all three meant you definitely had a weakness.

Therefore, everyone considered it reasonable for Sonia to continue basic Sword Art training these past few days. Even Felix had not skipped his training—any Swordsman apprentice with ambition would hurry to build a solid foundation at this stage.

Then why did Sonia ask the Watcher to cancel her training?

Aside from the minor issue that she was truly exhausted and had no leisure time whatsoever, the more important reason was naturally that she wanted to test how much say she had.

It was not exactly a compliance test for the Watcher, but Sonia was unwilling to remain under someone else's control forever.

Even if the Watcher rejected her this time, it did not matter. Sonia could slowly probe around the edges, advance step by step, and make the Watcher remember every day just how much she had contributed and suffered. After all, the crying child got the milk.

One day, Sonia would figure out the Watcher's psychological limits and patterns of thought.

When that time came, it would be hard to say who was controlling whom...

"What you said makes a lot of sense."

Ash nodded, as though Sword Maiden had truly persuaded him.

Sonia froze slightly. Was the Watcher really this easy to talk to?

"But let me ask you this: if you had two extra hours at night, what would you use them for?"

"Probably... reading, watching plays, attending dances, meeting more friends?"

"So, entertainment and having fun, right?"

Ash tapped the side of the boat with his finger, recalling how his former boss used to fool people.

"Have you ever met someone from a better family than yours?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever met someone from a better family than yours whose talent was no worse than yours?"

"Yes."

"Do you know what the most terrifying thing in this world is? It's someone from a better family than you, with talent no worse than yours, who works even harder than you!" Ash said earnestly. "When you can't help wanting to stop and rest, they'll use that chance to widen the gap between you."

Sonia's heart stirred slightly as she recalled Felix driving away in a Silver Luxury Car.

"Do not waste your life at the age when you should work hardest. Do not cling to comfort in the prime years when you should strive forward. Too many people in this world begin where we end. Are you willing to spend your future gazing at other people's backs? Are you willing to be nothing more than an ordinary person, leaving no mark anywhere except the Sea of Knowledge?"

Sonia's lips moved, but in the end, she shook her head. "No."

Ash said earnestly, "So, Sword Maiden, this way of thinking is very bad. Don't blame me for criticizing you. You think you're tired? Good. Comfort is for the elderly. You want to enjoy life? Good. Enjoyment is for successful people."

"In the prime of your life, you must bravely step outside your comfort zone and fill your life with the value of hard work. Do not let other people's lives blind you. Are you willing to become an ordinary person like them in the future? Do not let the desires in your heart cloud your reason—desire will only affect the speed at which you draw your sword."

"If there's something you like, fight for it with all your strength. Then, if you fail in the future, you can blame the world to your heart's content instead of hating yourself."

"We Spellcasters do not ask about the past, nor seek the next life. We seek only to live this life gloriously, with joy in repaying kindness and avenging wrongs!"

Sonia fell silent for a long while before nodding firmly. "Watcher, you're right!"

Good, I talked my way out of that... Ash breathed a sigh of relief. He was still somewhat unused to this sort of work. In the past, his boss had always given him psychological pep talks; now it was his turn to give them to someone else.

Still, this job of making others anxious was rather interesting. No wonder his boss was always reposting anxiety-inducing articles on social media.

"Then changing the two hours of training into one hour shouldn't make much difference, right?"

Ash blinked, then suddenly noticed that the area prompt in "Void Realm Exploration" had changed from "Wait a moment" to "Now!" He hurriedly changed the subject. "Stop chatting. Stay alert—we're about to enter a dangerous area!"

The small boat passed through layers of White Mist, and an Island appeared before them.

A giant white-furred fox lay on the Island. Its fur reflected arcs of violet-white light, like the moon had fallen here, so beautiful that it was impossible to look away. It was curled beneath a tree, its body and tail gathered into a fluffy ball that made one desperately want to give it a rub.

"It's Fox Zhaolong." Even though Sonia lowered her voice, she could not hide the excitement in it. "It's asleep!"

The boat silently came ashore. They crept over to Fox Zhaolong's head, exchanged a glance, and prepared to charge their attacks.

Sonia assumed the stance of sheathing her sword, while Ash used the Substitute Spell Spirit to summon a Substitute. Both of them held unsharpened Longswords and aimed at Fox Zhaolong's head. In the Void Realm, Ash's consciousness had escaped the limits of his body, so he was naturally no longer constrained by the Neck Microchip and could use Spell Spirits.

Only after testing it did Ash realize that although the Substitute broke with a single poke, it could still attack before being punctured. In a situation like this, for example, he could bring out the Substitute to add some damage.

As for the unsharpened Longsword, just as Sonia could produce a Wooden Sword, Ash could naturally summon the weapon he had used in his deathmatch. What Ash had actually wanted most was to summon a firearm, but he had never handled any firearm in reality, so he could not imagine one...

Once they were ready, they mouthed the countdown: three, two, one, and attacked at the same time!

"Iai Ripple Sword!"

"Double Slash!"

The sleeping Fox Zhaolong was instantly struck in the head by three swords at once. It let out a piercing roar that nearly deafened Ash and Sonia, while the Substitute was directly shattered by the roar.

But Fox Zhaolong seemed dazed by the blow. It could not even stand, only snapping and struggling wildly on the ground.

Naturally, the two of them had no intention of observing any code of honor with Fox Zhaolong. While it was down, they beat it without mercy, raining blows on its head with their weapons. Ash even took the opportunity to stroke its fur once.

More than ten seconds later, Fox Zhaolong let out an unwilling roar, and its body dissolved into a cloud of white smoke.

It left behind three sleeping Spell Spirits. The Spell Spirits seemed not to understand what had happened and stared blankly at the unfamiliar Spellcasters. But Sonia did not look at them. Instead, she reached down and picked up a bright pearl from the ground.

"What is this?"

"An Experience Pearl." Sonia stared fixedly at the pearl, her eyes filled with an undisguisable desire. "There are no restrictions and no requirements. As long as a Spellcaster absorbs this Experience Pearl, they can obtain all the insights of a Knowledge Creature and directly master an entire Spell School!"

"If it belongs to the same school, it can even greatly elevate a Spellcaster's realm of knowledge, making advancement smooth from then on, without another bottleneck!"

"Void Realm Exploration is the accumulation of a journey of ten thousand miles."

"An Experience Pearl is enlightenment in an instant!" PS: Welcome to the new alliance leaders, Boss Zhang Qi and Boss Shiri! Damn, I don't know how to write a thank-you message. Forget it, I won't write one. Anyway, you know that Listen to the Sun is very, very, very grateful!