Is This What a Bond Is?

Human strength had its limits; Truth was boundless.

In this world, where knowledge could summon Spell Spirits and Spell Spirits could give rise to Miracles, spellcasters' pursuit of knowledge was almost an instinct engraved deep within their souls. Yet as spellcasters rushed forward one after another in pursuit of knowledge, an insurmountable chasm stood before them—learning efficiency.

No matter what race or realm a spellcaster belonged to, their method of learning remained unchanged: memorization, comprehension, mastery. Spellcasters of different races had their own advantages. The naturally sharp-eyed Sky Dancer Clan excelled at memorization, the spiritually powerful Elf race excelled at comprehension, and the instinctively keen Orc race excelled at mastery. Though it was not equal, every race had the potential to become spellcasters.

However, once spellcasters entered the Void Realm, they discovered just how laughable their racial advantages were before that immeasurable expanse of knowledge.

No matter how gifted they were, their efficiency in acquiring knowledge was like trying to drink the Sea of Knowledge dry through a straw. The only difference was the thickness of the straw.

Spellcasters had devised many methods for this, such as inventing Miracles like "photographic memory," "accelerated thinking," and "instant comprehension" to increase efficiency; or extending their lifespans and using vast amounts of time to make up for their poor learning efficiency.

The ever-growing pursuit of knowledge and backward learning efficiency were an existential contradiction spellcasters could never resolve.

But the Void Realm had long prepared a solution for spellcasters.

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

Sonia gently held the bright, translucent pearl. Her voice was soft, as though she feared speaking too loudly might hurt it. "As long as someone absorbs it, even a person who knows nothing about the Radiance School can immediately gain Silver Rank Radiance knowledge and become a spellcaster specialized in Radiance."

"After returning to reality, they only need to study and organize that knowledge a little, and they may even be able to summon a Radiance Spell Spirit through their own ability. Because what it provides spellcasters isn't merely 'illusory' knowledge, but 'practical' experience—Fox Zhaolong's experience."

"If Spell Spirits are merely valuable but unavailable, then Experience Pearls are truly priceless."

Sonia's eyes were filled with endless fascination. "Even the poorest spellcaster wouldn't sell an Experience Pearl, and even the most generous spellcaster would covet one. Although Experience Pearls can also be brought out of the Void Realm, almost no spellcaster does so—at the moment they obtain one, they absorb it."

Almost every Legendary Arcanist had absorbed a great many Experience Pearls. It was precisely because Experience Pearls existed that spellcasters could master the knowledge of multiple schools at once, innovate upon school knowledge, create new Miracles, summon new Spell Spirits, and even establish entirely new schools.

The development of spellcaster civilization to its present state owed an immense debt to Experience Pearls.

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

"You make this pearl sound incredibly precious, but didn't we get one pretty easily?"

Sonia took a deep breath and silently recited three times, The Watcher is an idiot Little Speaker, before calmly explaining, "Indeed, Experience Pearls are theoretically not difficult to obtain. Killing any Knowledge Creature may cause one to drop."

"However, leaving aside the fact that Knowledge Creatures often possess combat power capable of defeating spellcasters of the same rank, suppose you find one you can defeat. What often happens is—just when you're about to win, the Knowledge Creature runs away."

"They can run away?"

"Since they're creatures, they naturally have the instinct to seek benefits and avoid harm. How could they not run away?" Sonia retorted. "Could a Knowledge Creature capable of producing a Spell Spirit possibly be an idiot who doesn't even understand common sense?"

Ash felt that the Sword Maiden seemed to be insulting him, but he had no proof. "Wouldn't spellcasters take a huge loss, then?"

"Not exactly. Knowledge Creatures also understand the principle of sacrificing a tail to survive. When they try to escape, they deliberately throw out Spell Spirits to draw the spellcasters' attention. As long as they defeat a Knowledge Creature, spellcasters can at least obtain one Spell Spirit."

"That's not too bad. At least winning doesn't mean a loss."

"Sometimes winning hurts even more—if a spellcaster kills a Knowledge Creature, they might destroy its Experience Pearl as well."

"Huh?"

"Experience Pearls aren't generated only after a Knowledge Creature dies. They already exist inside its body," Sonia explained. "Because Knowledge Creatures disperse upon death, no one has ever discovered where Experience Pearls form. Even different Knowledge Creatures nurture Experience Pearls in different places."

"If a spellcaster is careless while attacking, they can easily destroy the Experience Pearl too."

"Every spellcaster has experienced killing a Knowledge Creature without getting a pearl. They have no way of knowing whether the creature had no pearl inside it, or whether they accidentally destroyed it."

"Now do you understand how fortunate we were to obtain this pearl?"

Sonia looked toward where Fox Zhaolong had vanished. "If Fox Zhaolong hadn't fallen asleep, if we hadn't focused our attacks on its head, if the Experience Pearl hadn't happened to be in its head, if Fox Zhaolong had still had the strength to fight us... if even one of those conditions had been different, this pearl would basically never have fallen into our hands."

As she said this, Sonia could not help looking at the Watcher with astonishment—the Watcher's lingering just now had undoubtedly been to wait for Fox Zhaolong to fall asleep. Such unheard-of, shameless tactics were truly... wonderful!

"Indeed."

Ash nodded, his eyes fixed on the Experience Pearl.

Sonia clenched the pearl tightly, her body trembling slightly. But soon, she let out a breath and handed the pearl to Ash. "Here."

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

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

Sonia deliberately sounded casual. "I'm not in a hurry. You can have this pearl. But next time we encounter a Swordsmanship Pearl, don't compete with me for it."

"Alright!"

Ash reached out to take the pearl, but he could not pull it free.

"Let go!"

"I am, I am, but my fingers aren't listening to me!"

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

As a warm current seeped into his palm, the Light Screen displayed a message:

"Radiance Pearl"

"An essence of Truth left behind by Fox Zhaolong. It contains secret knowledge that ordinary spellcasters cannot obtain through normal means. Absorbing it grants a large amount of Radiance experience."

"Moonlight is a leaping fox; Foxes are walking moonlight."

The instant he touched the pearl, Ash also felt a tremor in his heart. An indescribable hunger spread from within to his entire body. It was Ash's first time experiencing this—an intense desire for knowledge was actually affecting his reason.

It was an indescribable sensation, fiercer than the urge to know what happened when a novel stopped updating at a crucial moment; more anxious than discovering half the answers were missing during an exam; more exciting than an erotic image freezing just as it reached the important part. It was as if every wrinkle and pore on his body urged Ash to absorb this pearl.

Prison, danger, survival—at that moment, all of them had been thrown far beyond the horizon. Knowledge had become Ash's only desire.

Just as Ash could no longer resist absorbing the pearl, his reason flashed with Wisdom's Aura—

Wait, I smell surplus value.

Ash carefully reread the Radiance Pearl's description. It undoubtedly said, "Absorbing it grants a large amount of Radiance experience," which meant...

"Sword Maiden, you absorb it."

Seeing the pearl tossed toward her, Sonia—normally exceptionally agile—became flustered at that moment. She carefully caught the Radiance Pearl and looked at Ash with both anger and shock.

"Could your Radiance School realm already be at Silver Rank or even higher?"

"No, I don't understand the Radiance School at all."

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

"No, no, I can't do anything. You know that."

"Then why won't you absorb this pearl?"

"Because there's a Bond between you and me." Ash spoke as though it were only natural. "You becoming stronger means I become stronger."

This was not the first time Sonia had heard the Watcher tell her, "There's a Bond between you and me," but she had always thought it was simply a more elegant way of phrasing a kidnapping threat—I have a way to control you—until this very moment, when she could not help sighing: Is this what a Bond is?

As for the Watcher's claim that "you becoming stronger means I become stronger," Sonia took it as mere politeness, something along the lines of "everyone doing well is what truly matters."

Sonia did not hesitate. She directly crushed the Experience Pearl, and her body immediately trembled slightly. A flush appeared on her cheeks as she let out a long, melodious sigh.

Although the sight was extremely tempting, Ash had no time to appreciate it. After all, he was in a state similar to Sonia's.

Rather than "absorbing knowledge," this sensation felt more like "memories flooding back."

It was like seeing a difficult math problem and suddenly recalling something a teacher had taught him. Ash naturally and skillfully grasped much related knowledge. He leaped from a beginner who did not even know what the Radiance School was to a spellcaster specialized in the Radiance School.

It worked after all!

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

That was why Ash had given the pearl to the Sword Maiden: if he absorbed it himself, he would gain a hundred percent of the benefits; if the Sword Maiden absorbed it, he would gain a hundred and thirty percent!

Moreover, as long as the Sword Maiden continued advancing in the Radiance School in the future, Ash would receive endless long-term benefits. Wouldn't the surplus value generated this way be far greater than keeping it all for himself?

That was why Ash had not let the Experience Pearl's temptation cloud his judgment. An Experience Pearl was merely a tool, like a hoe. No matter how cool the hoe was, it had to be given to someone who knew how to farm for it to serve its proper purpose. Someone without much talent like Ash only needed to wait and eat the rice.

Sonia gradually recovered from the lingering sensation of being filled with knowledge. Looking at Ash, her face was full of gratitude. "Thank you!"

"Then don't disappoint my expectations. Study the knowledge of the Radiance School properly, and don't neglect your Sword Art Faction training either!"

"Mm!"