Chapter 117: Watcher, You're So Rotten

At the Sea of Knowledge in the Virtual World.

While guiding the small boat across the Sea of Knowledge, Ashe said, "Everything’s ready. Tomorrow is the day we move forward with the plan. If the prison break fails and the hunters catch me, things return to normal. But if I succeed, I’ll have to stay alert at all times. Until I’m sure I’m safe, I won’t be able to enter the Virtual World."

Sonya nodded, fully understanding the Watcher’s reasoning.

Exploring the Virtual World usually took at least four to five hours. On some nights, it could stretch to eight or nine. While imprisoned, the Watcher had followed a rigid schedule that allowed him to log in at precise times. After a successful escape, however, survival would take priority. With hunters on his trail, it would be unrealistic for him to secure even four uninterrupted hours to enter the Virtual World.

Sonya let out a sigh of relief. "You scared me... I thought—"

Ashe raised an eyebrow. "You thought I’d abandon you?"

Her brows drew together slightly, her expression turning pitifully cute. "Yes... I realized I can’t leave you. Just imagining not seeing you for the next few days makes me feel empty, lonely, and cold. So sad I could almost cry."

She paused, then added, "Since you’ll be busy, does that mean my training stops too?"

"Of course not," Ashe replied. "Training continues as usual. Even if I’m not around, I’ll still be watching. That said, you rested for an hour tonight, right? Consider that a one-time privilege. Starting tomorrow, everything goes back to normal."

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Thanks a lot."

"You’re welcome."

Sonya huffed, crossed her legs, and stared at him. "So when will you be back?"

"When I’m certain I’m safe," Ashe said. "Didn’t you see the Destiny Quiz? There’s a chance I’ll leave the Blood Moon Kingdom. After the escape, I plan to find a way out."

"So there’s no set time..."

"Nope."

She tilted her head, watching strands of white mist drift past the boat. Her voice softened. "Is there anything I can help with?"

"You said you wanted to be a singer, didn’t you? Sing me a song."

"You—"

He laughed. "Relax. I’m joking. We won’t hunt Knowledge Creatures tonight. We’ll focus on locating sorcerer projections instead."

Sonya caught on immediately. "You want to read other Sorcerer’s Handbooks and look for clues about the Golden Fish?"

Ashe nodded. "At our current pace, hunting Knowledge Creatures and collecting Experience Orbs won’t be enough to push your swordsmanship to Gold Rank. Even if we get our hands on rare spirits, they won’t integrate right away into your combat system, so the improvement would be minimal. We only have one night left. If we want a real breakthrough, the Golden Fish is our only option."

Over the past few days, they had hunted a considerable number of Knowledge Creatures, gaining many spirits along the way. However, few were truly compatible. Most were converted into points for Ashe or sold by Sonya for extra income, leaving only a handful worth keeping.

They had mastered four sorcery classes—Sword, Water, Light, and Mind—but even so, that barely scratched the surface of the Virtual World’s vast and bizarre spirit ecosystem. The spirits they found rarely matched their dominant classes, and even when they did, most were impractical to use.

Sword Class spirits were a good example. Oscillation, Barrage, and Poison Sword each represented a different combat path. Oscillation enhanced destructive power through high-frequency vibrations. Barrage focused on consecutive strikes and attack speed, while Poison Sword imbued the blade with special effects.

In addition to the Sword Class, Oscillation required support from the Music Class. Barrage demanded study of the Brute Body Class to strengthen the body, while Poison Sword required knowledge of the Poison Class. Mastering even one of these branches took enormous time and often involved unfamiliar sorcery classes. Using such spirits without proper research was always less effective than a sorcerer’s carefully refined combat system. Sonya’s Fission Wave Slash alone could one-shot all three spirits.

That was why most of the spirits they obtained were nonessential. Refining existing abilities offered far better returns.

Even so, it was a fortunate problem to have. Almost no Silver Rank sorcerers could acquire two or three spirits in a single night. Simply surviving the Virtual World was already a blessing. Gaining spirits on top of that was something worthy of celebration.

Still, they hadn’t been completely neglectful of skill development. Ashe, for instance, had already gained the three foundational Sword Class spirits—Slash, Thrust, and Cut. Normally, a swordsman would have to summon these personally to lay the foundation of their skills. Hence, Sonya would train herself rather than rely on someone to hand her the spirits. That didn’t apply to Ashe. He was an unskilled stowaway by nature and never had to concern himself with such principles.

After selling her loot, Sonya quickly gathered the spirits she needed for the Miracles Sheath Radiance and Decade of Swordcraft, further boosting her combat power.

She wasn’t invincible, but in the Sea of Knowledge, she and Ashe held virtually limitless potential together. From another perspective, though, there was the problem of diminishing returns from the Virtual World. Since they were acquiring too much too quickly, they would need significant time to process and absorb it all, unless they could reach the higher layers of the world.

"If I can condense Gold Mana, I’ll be able to unleash the full power of my Sword Barrier Miracle. Its defensive capability will increase at least fivefold," Ashe explained.

Unlike Sonya, he possessed the Two-Winged spirit Earth Sword, which he had obtained from Varkas. Once his mana ascended to Gold Rank, his combat power would skyrocket.

Sonya smirked. "That’s assuming we can even find the Golden Fish. You sound like someone thinking about how to spend the prize before winning it."

"Then what would you do if you actually hit the jackpot?" Ashe asked.

"First, I’d buy a manor in Cailleach, then fake a serious illness to make my mother borrow money from the other villagers."

"Why?"

"The same nosy villagers who always bullied my poor, single mother would never lend her money. Then I’d rent a convoy of luxury cars to pick her up and blind them with the display. If anyone dares ask my mother for money, I’d remind her of this and crush their greedy hands."

"

Ugh

, you’re really..."

"Got a problem?"

"I think you could find a well-connected middleman to lend money to your mother. When you return home in glory, reward that middleman generously. With the contrast in place, the impact will sting even more. With just a little money spent, you could make everyone else regret it so much they'll wish they could smash their heads through the wall."

"

Wow...

Watcher, you’re so rotten."

"You flatter me too much," Ashe replied.

As they chatted, Ashe noticed a light-red area appear on the Virtual World map, marked Extremely Challenging. This was the most dangerous region they could currently access, and exactly where he needed to search.

Ashe’s smile faded as seriousness overtook him. "There may not be a linear correlation, but the stronger the sorcerer projection, the more likely it is to know the Golden Fish’s location. Tonight’s going to be tough."

"That's fine by me. In any case, you won’t be back in the Virtual World after tonight," Sonya remarked, her palms shimmering with white-steel light as she lightly rubbed her wooden sword. "I’ll go all out with you. Worst case, I'll hand over my first death to the Virtual World."

Miracle, One Day of Swordcraft!

Strictly speaking, despite being a Two-Winged Miracle, Decade of Swordcraft was extremely flexible. Among the Time Class spirits, Year was rare, Month less so, while Day was the most common. Ten Days was a Two-Winged spirit, Hundred Days a Three-Winged, and Thousand Days a Four-Winged. Years and Months followed the same pattern.

Decade of Swordcraft could therefore be scaled: One Day, Ten Days, Hundred Days, Thousand Days, One Month, Ten Months, and so on. Adjusting the spirit’s tier altered the Miracle’s effect. It was called Ten Years simply because it offered the best cost-effectiveness.

Using the Miracle consumed Time Class spirits directly, meaning Sonya had to repurchase them after each use. For now, she only dared to employ the cheapest Day spirits. Higher-tier, more complex Miracles demanded vast amounts of mana. Hence, whenever a legendary sorcerer unleashed one, the cost could equal tons of gold or silver. With high price came high power. Such attacks were often capable of obliterating enemies outright.

Sonya’s wooden sword glimmered with a faint gray light. It was the effect of the Swordcraft Miracle, Blade Hue. From now on, every one of her strikes would benefit from Blade Hue, sharpening her edge and allowing her to pierce the defenses of even Brute Body sorcerers.

Ashe drew the Honeyed Tongue Sword from his mouth. At the same time, he summoned a Substitute and ordered it to jump into the sea and swim around the island to the opposite side of the inheritance site.

With preparations complete, the two cut through the white mist and reached the Inheritance Island. Meanwhile, the Substitute climbed the far side to draw the sorcerer projection’s attention.

Now!

Ashe pointed his sword forward. An adorable One-Winged spirit appeared at the tip and transformed into a streak of sword light, striking toward the sorcerer projection’s neck.

Swordheart!

Sonya pushed off the small boat, leapt high, and drew her sword. A smile of anticipation curved her lips. Like an elegant dancer, she landed on the island as swirling waves of sinister light barreled toward the sorcerer projection like a meat grinder.

Darklight Fission Wave Slash!

The Substitute drew attention and sacrificed itself. Meanwhile, Ashe struck from afar, and Sonya erupted in close combat. This was their encirclement tactic, which no enemy had managed to escape so far.