Chapter 68: Chapter 64 Valcas’s Curse_2
As long as the last Technique Spirit was found, Ash would be able to use the “Miracle purification” on the chip at the back of his neck.
“Jailbreak…” Sonia murmured, “That means, your real body is in the Kingdom of Blood Moon’s prison, under the threat of Blood Moon Judgement, and you don’t have your previous memories…”
No previous memories? Well, he indeed didn’t have Heath’s memories.
Ash gave her a strange look upon hearing this, “Didn’t you already know? My real body was identified as the Cult Leader of The Gods of Four Pillars, caught by Hunters during an illegal underground gathering, but this body is so frail, it must be a scapegoat.”
Yes, the Observer had told her before that he was imprisoned somewhere; she thought it was some sort of hidden divine prison, never did she expect it to be the Kingdom of Blood Moon’s prison—although the Kingdom of Blood Moon was also a distant term that only existed in books, at least she had heard of it, making Sonia feel ‘it’s nothing more than that.’
“With your strength, can’t you escape from the Kingdom of Blood Moon’s prison?”
“What do you mean with my strength—do you not know I am a failure?”
“Haha, a failure? One that can force me to challenge Reonie? Then what am I, a poor wretch controlled by a failure? A plaything that could be betrayed by you at any moment?”
Although she had learned the Water Moon Miracle through a stroke of luck, Sonia was still furiously upset inside.
The last challenge against Felix was tolerable, after all, the gap between Felix and her wasn’t too big, there was still a slim chance of victory, but the difference between Reonie and her was simply colossal this time; if not for Reonie intentionally showing mercy, she wouldn’t have had the chance to use Water Moon.
This time was lucky, meeting Reonie, but what about next time?
And the time after that?
Among the Mage community, there were numerous ruthless and merciless figures. It was one thing to talk about young Mages such as students, but many older Mages, through prolonged and lonely Void Realm Exploration, had experienced too much danger and Death, their hearts carved into gruesome shapes by the cold, harsh winds of the Sea of Knowledge.
They gradually couldn’t differentiate between reality and the Void Realm, instinctively showing no mercy to their enemies, as if believing that killing an enemy would yield spoils, some even became ‘Fallen Demons’, treating reality as the Void Realm and going on rampages.
Although Sonia had her complaints about the forced training, she felt it was for her own good, and could still persuade herself to accept it; but now the Observer was actually making her actively participate in dangerous battles, Sonia could only convince herself to resist the urge to smash the Observer’s head—because it seemed somewhat beyond her.
“Is it really that serious…” Ash tried to brush off her concerns.
“I’m the one fighting life and death battles, I’m the one getting hurt, I’m the one whose life hangs by a thread, only I have the right to say how serious it is!” Sonia tried to keep her Anger under control, “Do you have to watch me become a corpse before sighing ‘I seem to have made a mistake’?”
It’s not that serious, you won’t die… Just as Ash was somewhat dismissive, a thought suddenly crossed his mind: would the Sword Maiden really not die?
There were precedents for game character deaths in the mobile game, and if it was to coerce players into spending, the company might indeed load such a setting and then sell Resurrection Coins to taunt players.
Moreover, the Sword Maiden had repeatedly stated that she did not exist merely as an attachment to Ash, she had her own life, the university she lived in, friends she knew—she existed for real… and reality is the term farthest from immortality.
Even if the Sword Maiden could be resurrected after dying in battle, would the resurrected Sword Maiden still be the same Sword Maiden that he had come to know over many days?
Ash couldn’t bear the risk of losing the Sword Maiden.
Not just because of strength.
But also because the Sword Maiden was the only one he could trust and confide in.
Even the smallest boat feels too empty with one person aboard.
“Alright, what you’ve said makes a lot of sense, I apologize,” Ash chose his words carefully, “But you should know, I did it for your own good; if it wasn’t for my arrangement, you wouldn’t have been able to create the Water Moon Miracle so quickly, right?”
“What does that have to do with your arrangements—”
“Because I knew that when you fought that Reo or whatever his name was, the difference in strength would be so great that you would enter an Awakening State and create your own Miracle, and you wouldn’t come across any danger. Everything was within my plan.”
“You can’t even remember his name properly!”
“That’s not important—the point is that I’m confident I can get you a great deal for only a little cost.”
Watching the Sword Maiden’s still uneasy demeanor, Ash thought for a moment and said, “How about this, if I ever want to arrange for you to participate in a particularly dangerous battle in the future, I’ll discuss it with you in advance, okay?”
That was more like it.
Seeing that the Observer finally conceded, Sonia felt very satisfied. In fact, even if the Observer insisted on pushing her into situations, she had no way to counter him. But with a first concession, a second would follow, and eventually, Sonia was sure she could make the Observer utterly obedient.
Sonia trusted the Observer’s promise. Although he usually acted recklessly, his actions were generally reliable. Plus, with the foundation of a supposed Legendary reincarnation, his judgment should be sound.
If Sonia knew that Ash’s method for judging danger was to read the descriptions on event cards, and that dueling Reonie was rated just ‘medium’ in terms of danger, maybe she would never be at ease again.
“By the way, how did you find me?” Sonia suddenly remembered this issue.
“I entered the Void Realm through the Gate of Truth you left behind, then I simply tracked you down from there.”
Ash returned to his dorm room and opened the Light Screen, discovering that the Sword Maiden indeed had not waited for him; her status was ‘Exploring the Void Realm.’
Ash thought he had missed his chance, but luckily there was the ‘Join Midway’ option. However, it did not directly drop him next to the Sword Maiden, but at her initial location where she entered the Void Realm tonight.
Coming and going from the Void Realm had to be through the Gate of Truth—that was the rule. Without the Bonds between them, Ash would not have been able to enter the Void Realm through the Gate of Truth left by the Sword Maiden.
Sonia wasn’t surprised that the Observer knew where she was, but she did have one doubt: “But I’ve been wandering around in the Void Realm for almost two hours, how did you manage to catch up so quickly?”
“Two hours? But you’re only one region away from the initial location. It took me just over a minute to find you.”
“How is that possible!?”
“Why would I lie to you? Wait, you said you’ve been wandering for two hours, could it be that you… have just been circling around this area?”
Sonia blinked her eyes, calmly sat down, and looked at the distant mist with a sideways glance, saying, “I just thought that you wouldn’t miss out for no reason, so I kept exploring nearby.”
If it weren’t for your blushing all the way to your ears, I might have almost believed you.
With a snort, Ash opened the Void Realm Map under Sonia’s resentful gaze.
Because he was equipped with a Void Realm telescope, he could now observe information about the surrounding 24 grid regions. Most of them were ‘Wasted Effort’, with one being ‘Worth Visiting.’ Ash wasn’t in a hurry and decided to sail around leisurely first.
“What about the Miracle you mentioned just now?” Sonia suddenly remembered, “Valcas gave you a Technique Spirit, but he didn’t give you a Miracle Technique, did he?”
Ash casually said, “I saw him use it once before. Just combine the Earth Sword with the Wind Barrier, and there you have it. But I’m not a Two-winged Mage, so the defense is far from what he could produce with the genuine article.”
Watched it once, combined the elements, and just ‘made it’? Can the Miracle be this simple?
The Earth Sword belongs to the Sword Skill school, and the Wind Barrier is from the Wind Magic Department; cross-faction Miracles have always been difficult…
Sonia felt something was amiss when, at that moment, Ash spotted a glittering golden Legendary clue on the map—’Vortex.’
“Do you know what Vortex means?”
Sonia was taken aback, “You found a Vortex?”
“Go, go check it out!” Sonia instantly surged forward, grabbing and vigorously shaking Ash, as excited as if she had found a winning lottery ticket in the bathroom, “If we’re lucky, maybe we can crystallize the Silver Wings tonight!”