Is This a Bond?

Human effort has its limits, but Truth is infinite.

In a world where knowledge can summon Spell Spirits and Spell Spirits can derive miracles, the pursuit of knowledge is an instinct almost carved into the depths of a mage's soul. Yet, as mages strive one after another in pursuit of knowledge, a chasm blocks their path: learning efficiency.

Regardless of a mage's race or rank, their method of learning remains unchanged: memorize, understand, and master. Mages of different races possess their own advantages—the Sky Dancer Clan, with their naturally sharp eyes, excel at memorization; the Elf race, with their powerful souls, excel at understanding; the Orcs, with their keen intuition, excel at mastery. While not equal, every race has the potential to become a mage.

However, once a mage steps into the Void Realm, they discover just how laughable their racial advantages are in the face of an immeasurable sea of knowledge.

No matter how gifted they are, their efficiency in acquiring knowledge is like trying to drain the Sea of Knowledge with a straw; the only difference is the width of the straw.

Mages have devised many methods to combat this, such as inventing miracles like "Photographic Memory," "Thought Acceleration," and "Instant Comprehension," or extending their lifespans to compensate for the flaws in learning efficiency with vast amounts of time.

The ever-increasing pursuit of knowledge versus lagging learning efficiency is a survival contradiction that mages can never truly resolve.

But the Void Realm has long since prepared a solution for them.

"This is an Experience Pearl of the Radiance School."

Sonia gently held the bright, translucent orb, her voice light as if she feared that speaking too loudly might damage it. "As long as one absorbs it, even someone with zero knowledge of the Radiance School can immediately possess Silver Rank Radiance knowledge and become a Radiance-specialized mage."

"After returning to reality, with just a little study and organization, one could even summon a Radiance Spell Spirit through sheer strength. Because it provides the mage with not just 'illusory' knowledge, but 'actual' experience—the experience possessed by the Fox Zhaolong."

"If Spell Spirits are merely priceless and rare, then Experience Pearls are truly beyond price."

Sonia's eyes held endless infatuation. "No matter how poor a mage is, they would never sell an Experience Pearl, and no matter how generous, every mage covets them. Although Experience Pearls can be brought out of the Void Realm, almost no mage would ever do so—the moment they obtain one, they absorb it."

Almost every Legendary Arcanist has absorbed a large number of Experience Pearls. It is precisely because of their existence that mages have the possibility of mastering knowledge from various schools simultaneously, thereby innovating school knowledge, creating new miracles, summoning new Spell Spirits, and even founding entirely new schools.

The level of development the mage civilization enjoys today owes an immeasurable debt to the contribution of Experience Pearls.

Ash could understand the wonder of the Experience Pearl, but he could not understand Sonia's excitement.

"You make this pearl sound so precious, but didn't we just obtain one so easily?"

Sonia took a deep breath, silently chanting "The Watcher is a brainless Little Speaker" three times before she could calmly explain: "Indeed, Experience Pearls are theoretically not difficult to obtain; killing any Knowledge Creature has a chance of dropping one."

"However, not to mention that Knowledge Creatures often possess combat power capable of defeating mages of the same rank, even if you find one you can defeat, what often happens is—just as you are about to win, it runs away."

"They run away?"

"Since they are living creatures, they naturally have the instinct to seek advantages and avoid harm. How could they not run away?" Sonia retorted. "Could a Knowledge Creature capable of birthing a Spell Spirit be a moron who doesn't even understand common sense?"

Ash felt like the Sword Maiden was insulting him, but he had no evidence. "Wouldn't the mage suffer a huge loss then?"

"Not necessarily. Knowledge Creatures also understand the principle of cutting off their tails to survive. When they try to escape, they will deliberately throw out Spell Spirits to distract the mage. As long as they can defeat the Knowledge Creature, the mage will at least obtain a Spell Spirit."

"That's not bad, at least they don't lose if they win."

"Sometimes winning is even more heartbreaking—if a mage kills a Knowledge Creature, there is a chance they might destroy the Experience Pearl as well."

"Ah?"

"The Experience Pearl isn't generated only after the Knowledge Creature dies; it exists within the creature's body from the start," Sonia explained. "Because Knowledge Creatures dissipate upon death, no one knows exactly which part of the body the pearl forms in, and it even varies between different types of creatures."

"If a mage attacks carelessly, it is highly likely they will destroy the Experience Pearl in the process."

"Killing a Knowledge Creature and having no pearl drop is something every mage encounters. They can never know if the creature simply didn't have one, or if they accidentally destroyed it."

"Now do you understand how lucky we were to get this pearl?"

Sonia looked at the spot where the Fox Zhaolong had vanished. "If the Fox Zhaolong hadn't been asleep, if we hadn't focused our attacks on its head, if the Experience Pearl hadn't happened to be in its head, if the Fox Zhaolong had the energy to fight us... if any one of those conditions had been different, it would have been basically impossible for this pearl to fall into our hands."

At this point, Sonia couldn't help but look at the Watcher with astonishment—the Watcher's hesitation earlier was undoubtedly to wait for the Fox Zhaolong to fall into a deep sleep. Such an unheard-of, despicable tactic was truly... amazing!

"Indeed."

Ash nodded, his eyes fixed on the Experience Pearl.

Sonia gripped the pearl tightly, her body trembling slightly. But soon, she exhaled and handed the pearl to Ash. "Here."

"You're willing to give it to me?"

"Aren't you in a dangerous situation and in urgent need of items to increase your strength?"

Sonia feigned indifference. "I'm not in a hurry, so I'll let you have this one. Don't you dare fight me for a Swordsmanship Pearl next time."

"Deal!"

Ash reached out to take the pearl, but couldn't move it.

"Let go!"

"I'm letting go, I'm letting go, but my fingers won't listen to me!"

Ash had no choice but to pry her fingers open one by one, taking the pearl into his hand under Sonia's reluctant gaze.

As a warm current seeped into his palm, a Light Screen popped up with a message:

"Radiance Pearl"

"An essence of Truth left behind by a Fox Zhaolong, containing secret knowledge that ordinary mages cannot obtain through normal channels. Absorbing it grants a large amount of Radiance experience."

"'Moonlight is a leaping fox, and the fox is walking moonlight.'"

The moment he touched the orb, Ash felt a tremor in his soul. An indescribable thirst spread from his heart throughout his entire body. It was the first time Ash had experienced such a sensation—a powerful desire for knowledge was actually influencing his sanity.

It was an indescribable experience, more intense than the craving for knowledge when a novel cuts off at a critical moment, more urgent than the anxiety of finding half the answers missing during an exam, and more exciting than the thrill of a lewd image loading only to freeze at a crucial spot. It felt as if every wrinkle and every pore on his body was urging Ash to absorb the pearl.

The prison, the danger, the survival—at this moment, all were cast a thousand miles away. Knowledge became Ash's only craving.

Just as Ash couldn't help but want to absorb this orb, a flash of wisdom sparked in his rational mind—

Wait, I smell the scent of surplus value.

Ash carefully examined the description of the Radiance Pearl. It undoubtedly stated, "Absorbing this grants a large amount of Radiance experience," which meant that...

"Sword Maiden, you absorb it."

Watching the orb being tossed over, the usually agile Sonia scrambled in a panic. She caught the Radiance Pearl gingerly, looking at Ash with a mix of anger and shock.

"Could it be that your Radiance School attainment has already reached Silver Rank or higher?"

"No, I don't know anything about the Radiance School."

"I see. Does the Radiance School conflict with the knowledge you've already mastered? Like the Dark Abyss School..."

"No, no, I don't know anything at all, as you well know."

"Then why aren't you absorbing this orb?"

"Because you and I share a Bond," Ash said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "You getting stronger means I get stronger."

It wasn't the first time Sonia had heard the Watcher tell her "there is a Bond between us," but she had previously assumed it was just a polite way of threatening her—I have a way to control you—until this very moment, when she couldn't help but sigh: Is this what a Bond is?

As for the Watcher's claim that "you getting stronger means I get stronger," Sonia took it as mere pleasantries, much like saying "everyone being well is the only true well-being."

Sonia didn't dither; she crushed the Experience Pearl directly. Her body trembled slightly, a flush appeared on her cheeks, and she let out a melodious, soft sigh.

Although the sight was incredibly alluring, Ash had no time to appreciate it, as he was in a state much like Sonia's.

This feeling was less like "absorbing knowledge" and more like "memories flooding back."

It was as if, upon seeing a difficult math problem, one suddenly recalled the content taught by a teacher; Ash naturally and skillfully mastered a wealth of related knowledge. He leaped from a novice who knew nothing of the Radiance School to a specialized Spellcaster of the Radiance School.

It worked!

Thirty percent of the Radiance School experience the Sword Maiden absorbed from the Experience Pearl could be shared with Ash!

This was why Ash had given the orb to the Sword Maiden: if he absorbed it himself, the gain was 100%, but giving it to the Sword Maiden resulted in a 130% gain!

Moreover, as long as the Sword Maiden continued to refine her skills in the Radiance School in the future, Ash would receive endless, long-term benefits. Wasn't the surplus value generated this way far better than eating it all alone?

That was why Ash hadn't been blinded by the temptation of the Experience Pearl: the Experience Pearl was just a tool, like a hoe. No matter how cool the hoe looked, it had to be given to someone who knew how to farm to fulfill its proper purpose. For someone like Ash, who lacked talent, he just had to wait to eat the rice.

Sonia gradually recovered from the afterglow of being filled with knowledge. She looked at Ash, her face full of gratitude: "Thank you!"

"Then don't let my expectations down. You must study the knowledge of the Radiance School diligently, and don't fall behind on your Sword Art Faction training either!"

"Mm!"