"I'm so tired, Ingrit. Do you want to shower first, or should I shower first?"
The sound arrived before the person. Louis, who was reading in the dormitory, immediately had a dark look.
The door of the dormitory was pushed open, and two girls with sword bags on their backs came in. There were traces of sweat on their faces, and they giggled as they barged in, like a spring breeze that filled the dormitory with vitality and emitted the fresh scent of soil sprouting.
"I'll take a shower first," Ingrit said as she sat down. "I have to wash my clothes later, and your legs are getting weak. Sit down and recover your strength."
"That's true." Sonia stretched her back and lay down on the table like a slime. "Alas, I'm starting to regret switching to the School of Swordmastery. It's so tiring. Aside from classes, Professor Trozan insisted that I take another two hours of advanced class, and I even had to spar with Trozan… At night, I have to continue swordplay training and master the Wave Sword Spirit. It feels like my entire day is packed."
"Isn't that great?" Ingrit was rather envious. "Professor Trozan is a three-winged Swordmaster. Last year, he was selected as one of the 'Ten Distinguished Sword Sages of Astra'. He is known as the 'Hidden Hand Sword Sage'. It is said that he might become a Four-winged Legend… Then, Sonia, you will be the apprentice of a Legendary Sorcerer!"
Louis unconsciously crumpled her book.
Sonia waved her hand. "Professor Trozan hasn't said anything about taking me in as an apprentice yet. He just thinks I'm very talented…"
Ingrit sighed. "I actually wanted to become Professor Trozan's apprentice from the beginning, but the professor never publicly accepted any apprentices. Sonia, you're one of the only two exceptions he's made in so many years!"
"Then I'll recommend you to Professor Trozan tomorrow. I can't guarantee it, but I should be able to get the professor to give you an interview—"
"There's no need. The professor is obviously aiming to nurture geniuses. I'm just an ordinary person. Not only will he not accept me, he will dislike me." Ingrit searched for clothes as she said, "Also, I'm about to strike into the second ring. In a few months, I'll be able to summon a spell spirit, and the resources of the School of Swordmastery will be opened to me… Maybe I'll catch up to you in the future!"
"I'm not going to wait for you." Sonia giggled and said, "It's a good thing that you were there. Otherwise, I wouldn't know how to reject Felix's invitation."
Ingrit asked curiously, "I heard he wants to spar with you again. Don't you want to compete with him again?"
"No!" Sonia said firmly. "He doesn't want to spar at all. He just wants to get closer to me."
"Is it bad to get close to Felix?"
"Aside from the fact that he is a playboy, it's obvious that my future achievements in swordplay will definitely be greater than his. I don't fancy a man who can't even beat me in his strongest aspect.
"Sword Flower University is still too small. I will definitely go to Truth University for advanced studies in the future. As for romance, I'll think about it after I'm accomplished in swordplay."
Louis' nails almost punctured the pages of the book.
Adele, who had been watching a hologram program the whole time, asked in a tone that was half pretentious and half confused, "Sonia, are you transferring to Truth University?"
"No, but Professor Trozan can help me sign up for the swordplay competition in Truth University. He can also let me use the equipment from Truth University. In the future, I might have to travel between both Truth and Sword Flower." Sonia sighed. "The more I think about it, the more tired I get."
Adele exclaimed, "Then, Sonia, won't you get to know the top students from Truth University in the future? If you meet any handsome guys, remember to introduce them!"
"No—problem—," Sonia dragged out her voice and said, "how could I forget my dorm mates when good things come to me? We are good dormmates who have experienced a happy year together. Isn't that right, Louis?"
Louis was so angry that her mouth was twisted. It took her a great deal of effort to force a smile. "Of course, I'm just afraid that Sword Sage Sonia won't recognize us as her dormmates."
"How can that be? I'm just a village girl from the countryside. I'll have to ask Miss Louis to take care of me in the future." Sonia said sarcastically, "Ah, is Miss Louis reading a water sorcery textbook? I'm so envious. I really want to continue learning water sorcery. It's so relaxing and decent, unlike the School of Swordmastery. That's too tiring…"
At this moment, Ingrit also realized that although Sonia was chatting with her, her words were directed at Louis.
She couldn't be bothered with their feud and went straight to the bathroom to take a shower.
Sonia was ready for Louis to fly into a rage, but Louis did not say a word, as if she were rolling over and waiting to be mocked.
Sarcasm required interaction between the participants. Now that both sides were on guard and not acting, Sonia did not feel like it was fun anymore. She picked up her bag and shouted, "Forget it, I'll shower tomorrow morning. I have to go to the meditation room to prepare for my first trip to the Illusory Realm. Everyone, I wish you a pleasant night."
Ingrit was in the shower. Louis said nothing. Adele was the only one who replied, "Bye, Sonia."
…
…
As the footsteps faded away, there was only the sound of water from the bathroom left in the dormitory.
Adele looked at Louis who was silent, thought for a moment, and walked over to initiate conversation. "Hmph, that village girl Sonia is really a case of someone vile getting her way. She just has some talent in swordsmanship. What's so great about that? You don't have to take it to heart, Louie. If she's so arrogant, sooner or later she'll run into serious trouble… Hmm?"
Adele went over and saw that Louis was really reading. She even took out her workbook to work on some problems.
"I lost this time," Louis said. "Sonia, that village girl, has already climbed to heights that I need to look up to. If this continues, when we meet again a few years after graduation, I will have to bow down to her."
As if she had already thought of how subservient she'll look in the future, the corners of Louis' mouth twitched slightly. "I can't accept it… I don't believe that I can't even compare to that village girl!"
Adele didn't bother her. She returned to her seat to continue watching the program.
Although the program was still interesting, Adele couldn't calm down.
She turned around and glanced at Louis again. She realized that Louis was still focused on her studies. After thinking for a while, she switched off the hologram and took out her book to study as well.
When Ingrit came out of the shower, she was a little surprised to see both of them studying hard.
But she didn't say anything and quietly went to the balcony sink to wash her clothes.
…
…
After the guard checked the student information in her bracelet, Sonia entered a fully enclosed special building.
As soon as she crossed the threshold, Sonia felt as if she had crossed an invisible boundary. Her thoughts suddenly sped up, and the Wave Sword Spirit jumped out of her shoulder, looking very excited.
[So, will you still be by my side after I enter the Virtual Realm?] Sonia asked.
"This is actually considered working overtime." The Observer, who was walking beside her, said leisurely, "It's beyond my service scope."
[So you mean that you're not willing to…]
"So, there must be overtime pay!" The Observer rubbed his fingers and said, "Even if you go to a bar to find someone to chat with, you still have to treat them to a glass of wine, right? If you want someone to accompany you to the Illusory Realm to chat and travel, you should at least express your gratitude, right?!"
[I'm really poor!]
"Other than money, you still have a lot of remaining value that you can sell out."
Sonia slightly raised her eyebrows and hooked her fingers on her close-fitting shirt, revealing her deep cleavage. [The most valuable thing I have is myself…]
"I was just waiting for you to say that! Then you'll be my employee in the future." The Observer snapped his fingers. "But you haven't graduated yet, so you're still on probation. However, since it's the probation period after all, there's no labor contract. As for the salary for the probation period, you have already been paid in the Energy Serum you drank and the wooden sword you used previously, so…"
[So you want me to work for you for nothing?]
"Tsk, what are you saying? I'm providing you with all sorts of opportunities to grow. You're performing some labor to repay me while you're growing. Isn't this a good productivity relationship between employer and employee?"
Sonia did not reject the unfair contract. Instead, she asked, [You spent so much effort to test me in the dream world, arrange my training, and stimulate my talent in swordsmanship, all just so I can work for you? What's my work content?]
"To live."
[To live?"]
"Living is the rarest thing in this world." The Observer seemed to be smiling. "Most people only exist."
[I still don't understand,] Sonia said. [I believe all gifts come with a price. You've spent so much to nurture me, so you must be trying to gain more from me. Unless you're my spiritual phantom, I can't think of a reason why you're so selfless.]
"I am not being selfless. On the contrary, there is no one more selfish than I in this world." The Observer smiled. "Is there anything more selfish than how I asked you to live according to my wishes?"
[But…]
"Haha, I was only joking just now. How could I possibly be a good person who's so considerate to you?" The Observer laughed. "I have something serious to ask of you—for certain reasons, I've become very weak now. I can't even explore the Illusory Realm by myself, so I need you to protect me."
As they spoke, Sonia had reached the room with the door number 311. She opened the door using her wristband. Inside was a narrow, empty meditation room with only an orange carpet that covered the entire floor. The ceiling light illuminated every corner.
This was the meditation room of Sword Flower University, the best place for Sonia to enter the Illusory Realm.
She closed the door and sat cross-legged on the carpet, letting the Wave Sword Spirit float on her palm. She poured all her attention into the spell spirit, searching for the Gate of Truth hidden in knowledge, and attempted to embark on her first journey to the Illusory Realm.
Although Sonia had successfully summoned her first spell spirit, she was not a One-winged Sorcerer yet because she had yet to form her own Silver Wing.
Without spell energy or the ability to create illusions, it was natural that she could not fully activate the spell spirits. She could not be considered a sorcerer at all.
To condense the Silver Wing, it was necessary to enter the Illusory Realm, roam the Sea of Knowledge freely, use the soul to attract knowledge, and extract the spell energy from knowledge. Then, one must condense the spell energy into an Illusory Wing, and use the Illusory Wing to stir the authority of the law to become a sorcerer!
The only way for ordinary people to enter the Illusory Realm was to find the Gate of Truth in the body of their own spell spirit, and allow their souls to pass through the Gate of Truth. Then, they would be able to reach the illusory world created by laws and knowledge—the Illusory Realm!
It was said that the Illusory Realm was tens, hundreds, or even ten thousand times larger than the real world.
Countless sorcerers had never encountered anyone else in the Illusory Realm, so all sorcerers could only rely on themselves to explore the Illusory Realm.
The Pavilion of Meditation was a quiet room specially designed for the sorcerers to explore the Illusory Realm. In addition to being quiet and undisturbed, Sword Flower University also performed the miracle [Starlight Pursuing Shadow]. Not only did it speed up the thoughts of students in the Pavilion of Meditation, making it easier for them to find the Gate of Truth, it also attracted countless beams of starlight from the Deity of the Stars. It caused the souls of the student to emit the fragrance that appealed to knowledge, allowing them to condense the Silver Wing faster!
Very soon, Sonia found the Gate of Truth inside the Wave Sword Spirit.
After all, this was the first time in her life. Sonia could not help but feel nervous, as if she was getting a room at a hotel. She asked in her heart, [Observer?]
"I'm here. Don't worry, there's a bond between you and me. A divine destiny connects us."
Sonia immediately calmed down. When her consciousness touched the Gate of Truth, her vision was drowned by darkness.
When she woke, she found herself lying in a boat, floating on a lead-gray sea.
In front of her was a thick, ink-like sky, surrounded by misty fog.
She was lying at the stern of the boat, and she saw that there was a familiar figure lying at the bow.
Sonia said, "Observer?"
Ash said, "Sword Maiden?"
The two of them looked at each other and heaved a sigh of relief.