Experience Pearl

"I have almost no personal time left in a day now."

Sonia poured out her grievances. "I start mandatory or general education classes at 8:00 AM. Since I transferred to the Swordsmanship Department, although I don't have to attend Water Art Department courses anymore, I still have to take Introduction to Swordsmanship and Swordsmanship Combat. Not only that, Professor Tello Zan checks my swordsmanship progress and spars with me almost every day. There's barely a moment to stop and breathe during the day."

Come to think of it, Sonia actually found it strange. Professor Tello Zan wasn't some retired professor with time to tend to flowers and grass; he was the renowned Hidden Hand Sword Saint, the signature Arcanist of Sword Flower University.

Although Tello Zan had taken Sonia and Felix on as research apprentices, he shouldn't have been concerned with them every single day. Tello Zan hadn't exactly never seen a genius before; the time of a Three-Wing Saint Domain Arcanist wasn't that worthless.

Yet, Professor Tello Zan not only visited them daily but even carved out time to spar with Sonia. This was a privilege exclusive to her; Felix could only watch from the sidelines with longing eyes.

Even though Felix was the senior student, Professor Tello Zan's blatant favoritism toward her made Sonia feel embarrassed, yet secretly thrilled.

She had wondered if it was the Watcher's doing, but she immediately dismissed it—that was the Hidden Hand Sword Saint, for heaven's sake!

It was likely the limit of the Watcher's ability to control her; how could he possibly control Professor Tello Zan?

Besides, if he could control Professor Tello Zan, why would he waste it on making the professor beat her up?

"I know you want me to achieve something in swordsmanship."

Sonia tried to persuade him with the most polite tone possible. "But my study load during the day is already sufficient; I don't need to be subjected to two hours of Forced Training in swordsmanship at night."

"Furthermore, those training sessions don't hold much meaning. Since I already have the Ripple Sword, I should focus on using it as a core to summon other auxiliary Spell Spirits, rather than continuing with basic training..."

Sonia felt a bit guilty while saying this.

Although she was technically correct—after becoming an Arcanist, she should shift her swordsmanship training to "Spell Spirit training," which meant improving the techniques for using her Spell Spirits.

Some might find it strange: wasn't the Ripple Sword Spell Spirit knowledge that Sonia had summoned herself and fully understood? Why was there still room for improvement?

This was because while Sonia fully understood the "theory," she had not fully parsed the "reality." The process of using a Spell Spirit was the practice of combining theory with reality, so naturally, there was still great potential to be tapped.

For instance, the "Miracle · Reverse Ripple Sword" she used to kill the Orc Arcanist just now was the result of her learning over the past two days.

This move no longer used the Ripple Sword as a long-range attack; instead, it condensed the energy at the tip of the blade, which then erupted after piercing into the enemy's body, causing devastating damage in an instant.

There were many more variations of the Ripple Sword to be explored, and Spell Spirit training was undoubtedly necessary.

Not only that, if Sonia researched the techniques of the Ripple Sword to the extreme, she could even summon corresponding auxiliary Spell Spirits.

For example, if Sonia mastered the "Reverse Ripple Sword" completely, she would have a high probability of summoning the "Reverse Space" Spell Spirit. The Reverse Space Spell Spirit could compress the power of the Ripple Sword Spell Spirit by one hundred percent, or even temporarily store it inside an enemy or an object, to be detonated suddenly whenever the Arcanist willed it.

Because two Spell Spirits were used, the "Reverse Ripple Sword" at this point had become the even more powerful and unpredictable "Miracle · Reverse Ripple Sword."

Of course, this was only a very crude miracle, one that wouldn't even be recorded in the Arcanist Miracle Catalogue, and it had no commercial value.

But this reflected the normal growth process of an Arcanist: summon one Spell Spirit, then use that as a foundation to summon other auxiliary Spell Spirits, extending into an entire system of miracles.

Therefore, Sonia's request was considered reasonable.

But the problem was, she was a Swordsman.

There was a saying among Swordsmen: if you only want to be an ordinary Swordsman, then just follow the school's curriculum; but if you want to become a Two-Winged Gold, Three-Winged Saint Domain, or even a higher-level Swordsman, then the three Spell Spirits—"Slash Sword," "Thrusting Sword," and "Cutting Sword"—must all be mastered.

All swordsmanship Spell Spirits were, at their core, derivations of these three. Although mastering them didn't mean you were necessarily strong, failing to master them meant you definitely had weaknesses.

Therefore, everyone thought it was reasonable for Sonia to continue her basic swordsmanship training these past few days. Even Felix hadn't skipped his training; any ambitious Swordsman apprentice would rush to build a solid foundation at this stage.

So why did Sonia want to propose to the Watcher that the training be canceled?

Besides the minor issue that she was truly exhausted and had no time for entertainment, the main reason was, of course, that she wanted to test her own bargaining power.

It wasn't exactly a compliance test for the Watcher, but Sonia was not content to be under someone else's thumb forever.

Even if she were rejected by the Watcher this time, it didn't matter. Sonia could slowly probe and advance step by step, making the Watcher remember how much she had contributed and how hard she had worked. After all, the crying child gets the milk.

One day, Sonia would figure out the Watcher's psychological bottom line and thinking patterns.

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

"What you say makes a lot of sense."

Ash nodded, seemingly truly persuaded by the Sword Maiden.

Sonia was slightly stunned, thinking, Is the Watcher really this easy to talk to?

"But I want to ask you, if you had two extra hours at night, what would you plan to do with them?"

"Probably... read some books, watch a play, attend a dance party to meet more friends?"

"In other words, it's all entertainment and play, right?"

Ash tapped his finger against the boat, recalling how his former boss used to hoodwink people.

"Have you ever met someone with a better family background than you?"

"I have."

"Have you ever met someone with a better family background than you, whose talent is no less than yours?"

"I have."

"Do you know what the most terrifying thing in this world is? It's that someone with a better background than you and talent not inferior to yours is working even harder than you!" Ash said earnestly. "When you can't help but want to stop and rest, others will take the opportunity to widen the gap between you."

Sonia felt a slight stir in her heart, remembering Felix leaving in his Silver Luxury Car.

"Don't waste your life in the years you should be working the hardest; don't cling to enjoyment in the years you should be striving the most. In this world, the starting point for many is our finish line. Are you willing to only look up at others' backs in the future? Are you willing to be just an ordinary person, leaving no mark anywhere except in the Sea of Knowledge?"

Sonia's lips trembled, but in the end, she shook her head. "I am not willing."

Ash said earnestly, "So, Sword Maiden, this mindset of yours is really not good. Don't blame me for criticizing you. You feel tired? It's right to feel tired; comfort is reserved for the elderly. You want to enjoy life? It's right to want that; enjoyment is reserved for successful people."

"In the prime of your life, you must bravely step out of your comfort zone and fill your life's value with struggle. Don't let other people's lives blind you. Are you willing to be like them, destined to be an ordinary person in the future? Don't let your inner desires cloud your judgment; desires only affect the speed at which you draw your sword."

"If you like something, you must strive for it. That way, when you fail in the future, you can blame the world to your heart's content instead of resenting yourself."

"We Spellcasters do not ask about the past, nor do we seek the afterlife; we only seek to live this life with passion, settling grudges with a swift blade!"

Sonia was silent for a long time before nodding heavily. "Watcher, you're right!"

Good, that fooled her... Ash breathed a sigh of relief. He still wasn't quite used to this kind of work; after all, he used to be the one receiving psychological counseling from his boss, and now it was his turn to do it for someone else.

Come to think of it, this job of inducing anxiety in others was actually quite interesting. No wonder his boss often shared anxiety-inducing articles on social media.

"So, changing the two-hour training session to one hour shouldn't have much of an impact, right?"

Ash blinked, suddenly noticing that the area prompt in "Void Realm Exploration" had changed from "Wait a moment" to "It is time." He hurriedly changed the subject: "Stop chatting, perk up! We are about to enter a dangerous area!"

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

On the Island lay a giant white-furred fox. Its fur refracted arc-like violet-white light, as if the moon had fallen here, so beautiful that one couldn't look away. It was curled up under a tree, its body and tail tucked into a fluffy ball that made one want to reach out and pet it.

"It's a Fox Zhaolong," Sonia whispered, though she couldn't hide the excitement in her voice. "It's asleep!"

The Boat quietly pulled up to the shore. They crept toward the Fox Zhaolong's head, made Eye Contact, and prepared to strike.

Sonia assumed a sheathing stance, while Ash used a Substitute Spell Spirit to summon a substitute. Both held unsharpened longswords, aiming at the Fox Zhaolong's head. In the Void Realm, Ash's consciousness was free from the limitations of his body and no longer bound by the Microchip in his neck, allowing him to use Spell Spirits.

After testing, Ash discovered that although the substitute would shatter at a single poke, it could still attack before being destroyed. For instance, in this situation, he could have the substitute come out to add damage.

As for the unsharpened longswords, just as Sonia could produce a Wooden Sword, Ash could naturally summon the weapons he had used in death matches. In truth, Ash most wanted to summon firearms, but the problem was he had never touched any in reality and couldn't imagine them...

Ready, they mouthed the count: three, two, one, and attacked simultaneously!

"Iai Ripple Sword!"

"Double Slash!"

The sleeping Fox Zhaolong was instantly struck in the head by all three swords. It let out a piercing roar that nearly left Ash and Sonia temporarily deaf, and the substitute was shattered instantly.

However, the Fox Zhaolong seemed stunned, unable to even stand, and could only thrash and bite wildly on the ground.

Naturally, the two didn't bother with any chivalrous codes; they kicked it while it was down, raining blows upon its head with their weapons. Ash even took the opportunity to pet its fur.

After a dozen seconds, the Fox Zhaolong let out a roar of frustration, its form dissolving into a cloud of white smoke.

It left behind three dormant Spell Spirits, which seemed confused, looking blankly at the strange Spellcasters. But Sonia didn't look at the spirits; instead, she reached out and picked up a bright bead on the ground.

"What is this?"

"An Experience Pearl." Sonia stared intently at the bead, her eyes revealing unconcealable longing. "Without any restrictions or requirements, as long as a Spellcaster absorbs this Experience Pearl, they can obtain all the insights of a Knowledge Creature and directly master a Spell School!"

"If it's the same school, it can even significantly raise a Spellcaster's academic level, paving a smooth path for their promotion with no more bottlenecks!"

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

"The Experience Pearl is a moment of sudden enlightenment!"