Chapter 122: I'll Wait for You in the Virtual World

Sonya asked curiously, "Then what's your Silver Blessing?"

Ashe blinked and glanced at the newly acquired entry in his interface.

Silver Blessing · Watcher's Countenance

- Your appearance is deceptive. Unless you behave unusually, others will subconsciously overlook your presence. Within the Virtual World, this effect is amplified. Without a close bond, others cannot perceive your face clearly.

"Can you see my face clearly?" he asked.

Sonya paused, studying him. "I can now."

Ashe blinked again, then gave a brief explanation. "My blessing makes people automatically ignore me when they look at me. But I'm not some stealth operative. I don't plan on stealing from the rich to help the poor, so why would I get something like this? The Virtual World is clearly targeting me."

Sonya chuckled softly. "Or maybe the Virtual World simply saw through your true nature."

"Don't laugh," Ashe said. "You probably noticed it too. We picked up another secret poison."

When the Golden Fish Scales appeared earlier, a fragment of hidden knowledge had flowed directly into their minds.

[Golden Fish Secret Poison]

Number of Infected: 14

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Poison Enhancement Level: 14%

Current Effect: You may convert Silver Mana into Gold Mana at a ratio of 64:36. (If the Poison Enhancement Level drops to 10%, the gain becomes extreme. Reaching 51% reverses the effect.)

It made sense that the Golden Fish Secret Poison was so rare. Even if the truth were made public, a person was still required to personally witness the Golden Fish to be infected.

Still, fourteen infected individuals surprised Ashe. That meant that aside from the two of them, six other pairs had managed to cross from the Sea of Knowledge to the Continent of Time. Ashe had benefited from a boosted team, while the others had relied purely on fate.

Sonya spoke with awe. "This secret poison is incredible. I've never even heard of a Miracle that can convert mana. And the ratio isn't like two to one, or even ten to one. It's sixty-four to thirty-six!"

Normally, Silver and Gold Mana were to be strictly separated. Low-tier mana wouldn't improve just because a sorcerer reached higher levels in the Virtual World. Mana was condensed knowledge. Just as mastering addition and subtraction in first grade did not automatically lead to understanding multiplication and division in second grade, advancing further did not elevate lower-tier mana on its own.

Sorcerers could use low-tier mana to activate high-tier spirits, and high-tier mana to activate low-tier spirits, but the former was inefficient, while the latter was wasteful. To conserve resources, most sorcerers matched mana and spirits of the same tier.

As more high-tier spirits were acquired, low-tier spirits and their associated mana gradually lost value and were abandoned.

For now, Ashe and Sonya had little use for the secret poison. They lacked Two-Winged spirits, and their Silver Mana reserves were more than sufficient. But once they advanced, its value would become obvious. Against other Two-Winged sorcerers at the same stage, the ability to convert Silver Mana into Gold Mana would give them a clear edge. Their blue bars[1] would simply last longer.

Sonya remarked, "First, I got to drink with a senior. Then, I snuck into the Continent of Time, gained my Silver Blessing, and became infected with the Golden Fish Secret Poison."

Her gaze lingered on Ashe's face. "Tonight really has been lucky."

Ashe responded, "The night isn't over yet. Since we still have time, let's explore the Continent of Time. We might even find wild Two-Winged spirits—"

Sonya interrupted calmly, "We don't have time. We're going to die."

Ashe froze and opened the Virtual World map. Every one of the twenty-five grids displayed the same message.

[Prepare to Die. There Is No Saving It.]

Sonya twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "Didn't you notice? Something about me has changed. My hair turned black."

It was not just her hair. Ashe looked around. The lush green forest from moments ago had faded into shades of gray. Sonya herself had lost all color, like a figure from a black-and-white film.

Sonya explained, "Sorcerers pursue the White Ox for more than just the Golden Rain. Outside the River of Flowing Gold, time doesn't exist. The river moves with the White Ox, and if you fail to keep up, you fall into a Static Zone. All color drains away, leaving only black and white."

"If only we had—"

She shrugged. "I saw the grass and trees turning gray the moment I woke up. That meant the nearby River of Flowing Gold had already dried up. From that point on, we were doomed. Even if we managed to catch up, we couldn't outrun time itself."

Ashe clenched his fist. "Then what if we exit the Virtual World now?"

Sonya smiled. "The Static Zone has a massive time discrepancy with the outside world. It might feel like we've been talking for ages, but only a few seconds may have passed out there. From the outside, it takes about twenty seconds to exit the Virtual World. In the Static Zone, that same process can take several hours."

She continued calmly, "Being trapped in a Static Zone where time has stopped is the second most common cause of death for sorcerers. The first is drowning in the Sea of Knowledge."

"How long until we freeze completely?" Ashe asked.

"The textbooks say that if you don't run and simply wait in place, there's about a ten-minute delay," Sonya replied. "So it won't take long."

Ashe looked up. The golden rain had vanished from the sky. The world around them had turned utterly silent, drained into black and white. He asked, "When we enter the Virtual World again, will we come back here?"

"Yes. There's no going back in the Virtual World. Sorcerers aren't allowed to retrace their steps. Even if I opened the Door of Truth of a One-Winged spirit, it would only bring us back to the Continent of Time."

Ashe stretched and lay down on the grass. "That's fine, then."

He plucked a blade of grass and bit down on it. To his surprise, it tasted faintly sweet.

A thought occurred to him. "Does dying in the Virtual World damage the soul?"

Sonya nodded. "It does. But since we weren't defeated by another sorcerer projection, and we weren't attacked by Knowledge Creatures, the damage will be minor. You won't lose any spirits. Until the soul recovers, we just won't be able to enter the Virtual World. Aside from that, you'll feel a bit lethargic, have trouble concentrating, feel sleepy, and notice a drop in learning efficiency."

Ashe muttered, "That sounds like being half-asleep, but not being able to enter the Virtual World is the real issue."

"Either way, you won't be able to enter for a few days. I don't plan to explore the Continent of Time alone while you're gone. This gives me a chance to train properly, digest the knowledge I've gained, and master the new Miracles I acquired. After pushing myself for half a month, it's time for a break."

"A break..." Ashe murmured. "Now that you mention it, I really haven't slept properly in a while. Just thinking about it makes me sleepy."

He yawned and rubbed his eyes. Suddenly, he felt the back of his head gently lifted and rested on something soft and springy.

A gentle song drifted into the air.

It sounded like a lover whispering close to his ear, yet also like ice cubes clinking in a glass on a midsummer afternoon. The melody was pure, with a trace of mischief. Delicate, yet faintly charming. As it washed over him, his body relaxed, sinking into a hazy, dreamlike calm.

By the time the song faded, Ashe was only half-awake.

"This is a lullaby my mother used to sing to me when I was little," Sonya said softly. "You're the first person I've ever sung it to."

Ashe opened his eyes. The Swordswoman was looking down at him, her eyes curved in a smile, as though they alone could restore color to the monochrome world. "I'll wait for you in the Virtual World."

In the next instant, time froze, and the two of them became part of a silent painting.

1. In gaming terms, the blue bar usually refers to a player's mana gauge. It determines how much magic they can use, and once it runs dry, they must wait for it to recharge. ☜