Chapter 515: The Swordswomans Spotlight (Part 1)

Chapter 515: The Swordswoman's Spotlight (Part 1)

Inside the private training room.

Sonya lowered her wooden sword and exhaled a breath of scorching air. "Phew."

The moment she stopped, crystal-like beads of sweat slid down from her temples. They passed over her flushed cheeks before falling like pearls onto her collarbone and trickling into the valley beneath her training vest.

She walked over to the side, picked up her water bottle, and took quick, shallow sips. As her rapid heartbeat gradually calmed and her nearly depleted mana slowly recovered, the country girl simply removed her training vest. This was a private room, after all, so she chose whatever was most convenient.

The vest was completely soaked with sweat. With just a little force, she could probably wring water out of it. She stuffed it into her changing bag, then took out a dry towel and carefully wiped away the sweat behind her ears, along her neck, across her forehead, and beneath her chest.

After changing into clean clothes, Sonya untied her hair and let it fall loose. Carrying her training bag and wooden sword case, she left the training room.

It was afternoon, and the three luminaries had already spread far apart in the sky. The sunlight was bright without being harsh. Just as Sonya stepped out of the Sorcery Training Hall, she spotted a familiar silver luxury car and the person standing beside it.

"Do you need something from me?"

Felix opened the door. "Let's talk in the car. I'll give you a ride home while I'm at it."

Sonya did not refuse, yet she refrained from sitting in the passenger seat. Instead, she sat in the back, making Felix look more like a chauffeur than anything else. Felix did not mind and asked while driving, "Are you nervous?"

"Hmm?"

"This is your first time coming to the Sorcery Training Hall. You never used to come here to hone your skills. I remember you once said Miracles should be refined through actual battles in the Virtual World, and that there was no need to waste time in reality beating up wooden dummies that couldn't fight back."

Sonya thought aloud, "Did I really say something like that? Then I was wrong."

"Ah?"

Sonya tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled as she looked at the scenery outside the window. "I'm still young. Isn't it normal for me to say something wrong sometimes? I'm just an ordinary person making mistakes."

Felix paused. "You really are a lot like him in that regard."

"Who?"

"Your opponent tonight."

Felix didn't even want to mention his name, his expression darkening as he spoke. "He has always been like this since he was young. Confident, carefree, humble, and bright. He's clearly as dazzling as a luminary, yet he never avoids admitting his mistakes or shortcomings. Whenever I point out something he did wrong, he's actually happy and willing to correct himself..."

Sonya blinked. "Then you must have had a hard time."

"Why do you think that?"

"The more dazzling the protagonist on the stage is, the dimmer the audience beneath it becomes."

Felix was slightly stunned. His nose unexpectedly felt a little sour, but he quickly composed himself and smiled. "You weren't always this confident and open-minded."

"In your eyes, what kind of person was I?"

Felix was completely straightforward. "A conceited yet insecure vulgar country girl. Someone refusing to back down, refusing to show weakness, and covered in thorns like a hedgehog. Your only good quality was having a clear goal and never hesitating."

Sonya thought about it for a while before nodding. "That's true. Looking back, I also think my past self was a little unpleasant. But you got one thing wrong. I wasn't actually a person with a clear goal back then. On the contrary, I was too greedy. I wanted this and that, participated in meaningless campus activities, built connections with classmates I would never use, and convinced myself that I was hardworking and clever. In reality, I was just wasting time trying to impress myself.

"My roommates were much smarter than me. Adele knew she was simply there to enjoy university life, and she never envied things she couldn't obtain. Louisa showed off her family's latest fashion every day, and the connections she built could actually be converted into business opportunities for her family. As for Angelica... Angelica's future achievements will definitely surpass all of ours in the dorm.

"Meanwhile, having suffered too much in the past, I developed ambitions beyond my standing. If I had continued down that path, my ending would definitely not have been a good one. If not for..."

Felix listened intently. "If not for what?"

Sonya did not answer. Instead, she said, "My current self knows exactly what my goal is. I know what I want to accomplish, and everything else can be sacrificed for that purpose."

"Does that goal include the Meteor Calamity?" Felix smiled. "Can coming here to train increase your odds of winning?"

"You used to take quite a beating during our sparring sessions, but you're not the type to hold grudges. You definitely wouldn't come here just to mock me—that is," Sonya hugged her sword case tight, "unless you want to spar with me again. Why don't you just say what you really came to say?"

Felix glanced at her.

Then, a cute Two-Winged, green-robed spirit emerged from his shoulder. It pointed at the country girl, and Sonya immediately felt her body become much lighter. Even her senses, such as her vision and hearing, grew drastically sharper.

Sonya's attention, however, was drawn more toward the spirit. "A Two-Winged Light Feather spirit? Felix, have you already become a Two-Winged sorcerer?"

Felix nodded. "Compared to the time it took you, mine is hardly worth mentioning. But... yes, I've already become a Two-Winged sorcerer."

"How did you get there so quickly?" Sonya blurted out. "Did you find the Golden Fish?"

"How could that be? A legend of the Virtual World like that isn't something you encounter easily," Felix smiled. "I merely took a small shortcut and raised my Wind Class to the Gold Rank."

Deep down, the country girl was shocked. Only she knew the truth behind her advancement to the Two-Winged level. Without the Watcher smuggling her to the Golden Fish, it would have taken her at least three months before she could even touch the threshold of the Gold Rank.

Even her current Gold Rank advancement in the Sword Class had relied on massive advantages, such as obtaining a Two-Winged spirit ahead of time, eating Swordsmanship Orbs like snacks, and stumbling into fortuitous encounters in the Virtual World.

If other people's advancement in sorcery classes resembled a slow romance, with holding hands, going on dates, kissing, and only then making it official, then she and the Watcher had basically skipped straight to living together before slowly building their connection afterward.

Compared to her, Felix was truly terrifying. He had managed to push an entire sorcery class to the Gold Rank in just over two months. Even falling in love took longer than that.

"Wait," Sonya suddenly noticed something. "You said you took a shortcut?"

"Yes. That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Recently, I joined a sorcerer exchange organization that helps its members support each other. The members are idealists pursuing power, but because the knowledge they exchange consists of unrecognized forbidden techniques, they operate in secrecy. Almost no one knows about them aside from the members themselves."

"Mutual assistance, pursuit of power, forbidden knowledge, secret organization..." Sonya muttered. "You've gathered so many suspicious elements that I'm starting to wonder if you're deliberately making this up."

Felix stopped the car outside the dorm. "We're here."

Since they were still inside the academy grounds, the journey took only a few minutes, even at a slow crawl.

"So you came here to recruit me into that secret organization?"

"That's right," Felix rolled down the window, lit a cigarette, and held it between his fingers. Watching the smoke drift upward, he said, "Firstly, you are undoubtedly a genius with immense potential. I want to recruit you and build a good relationship with you. Nothing creates trust between people better than being part of the same secret organization. Secondly, I think you are also someone who takes shortcuts.

"Shortcuts are not necessarily easier or simpler. In fact, the reason shortcuts are considered forbidden knowledge is precisely that they are far more dangerous than ordinary methods. That is why they cannot be shared with the public and can only exist as inheritances within the Virtual World. This is why our organization remains secretive and small. Expansion is impossible, even if we wanted to grow. For ordinary sorcerers, taking shortcuts is no different from digging your own grave."

Felix tapped away the ashes from his cigarette. "I will be upfront with you. I took tremendous risks to become a Two-Winged sorcerer, but the rewards that come with it are enormous. And yet, even with a shortcut like this, I'm barely keeping pace with a genius like you."

Confused, Sonya asked, "You're still young. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Because fate shows no mercy regardless of your age or seniority, so I must arm myself with everything I have."

Felix looked at her through the rearview mirror. "I didn't have a good impression of you in the past, but I never truly disliked you either, because I believe you and I are the same kind of person."

The country girl could not help laughing. "Other than both of us having two eyes, one nose, and one mouth, I really can't see what we have in common, my dear Second Young Master of the Vlozrada Family, born with a golden spoon in his mouth."

Felix spoke seriously, "We are both people refusing to lose. There will always be people capable of winning forever. Why can't it be us? Of course, you probably harbor doubts right now. Upon returning, you can ask Leona or Professor Trosan. It is actually not unusual for sorcerers to join secret organizations. They maintain their own little circles as well.

"You advanced too quickly, Sonya. On top of that, you've been busy preparing for the Meteor Calamity tournament, so no one has had the chance to bring you in yet. After tonight ends, many sorcerer clubs will extend invitations to you. I am simply giving you a heads-up before everyone else."

Sonya nodded and stepped out of the car.

Right then, Felix called out to her once again. "I almost forgot to tell you... Since our organization possesses shortcuts that helped me rapidly master Wind Class sorcery, we naturally have shortcuts that could yield a tremendous leap in your Sword Class as well. So..."

Felix locked eyes with her, enunciating every single word. "Do you want to become a Sacred Realm sorcerer?"

Sonya's expression immediately turned strange. She looked as if she were wrestling with her own words, opening her mouth twice before stopping herself. In the end, she pursed her lips and said, "I'll consider it."

Watching Sonya's departing figure, Felix raised the car window. He took a final drag from the half-burned cigarette, causing it to burn away completely in an instant. The breeze carried the ashes into the car's ashtray.

He then exhaled a cloud of white mist, filling the entire interior. Mermaid Mistscape.

Mermaid Mistscape was a support-type Miracle. Sorcerers enveloped in the mist gained heightened cognitive ability, sharper senses, reduced pain sensitivity, and a sudden surge of inspiration. Ever since learning this Miracle, Felix had grown accustomed to plotting his plans within its white haze.

Felix stared at the burnt-out cigarette, deep in thought. "The seed has already been planted. Now I only need to wait for it to take root and sprout tonight.

"Once she suffers a crushing defeat at his hands, she will naturally develop unwillingness. Unwillingness breeds ambition, and ambition breeds madness...

"I understand that better than anyone.

"Lose, Sonya. The more devastatingly you lose tonight, the better.

"Only by experiencing a painful defeat will you understand your own lingering weakness.

"Only by witnessing that near-insurmountable gap will you realize just how far away you remain from the Sacred Realm.

"Tonight will become the turning point of your life."