Chapter 24: Virtual World

"This must be the Virtual World..."

Ashe[1] scooped up a handful of seawater, sniffed it, then gave it a tentative lick. To his surprise, the water tasted faintly sweet.

He lowered his gaze. The sea's surface was hazy, making it impossible to see his own reflection. When he examined his clothes, he found himself dressed in the same deep-black coat from his character portrait.

Quite stylish,

he thought.

At the same time, he murmured, "This is exactly like what the textbooks describe."

With no one else around, Sonya raised her voice. "This must be the Sea of Knowledge... also known as the Silver Sea, or the Initial Sea. It doesn't matter if you're a genius, an ordinary student, a legendary Six-Winged Divine Lord, or a One-Winged sorcerer. Everyone entering the Virtual World always ends up here first. The only difference is... this!"

Sonya knocked on the edge of the small boat and looked around. She noticed a book emblem on the bow and a sword emblem on the stern.

"The textbooks say that sorcerers appear here completely naked."

Ashe looked at Sonya's black camisole dress. "Naked?"

Sonya's face instantly darkened, and she instinctively covered her chest. "Our appearance here is a projection of our consciousness. Naked means we can't have any external aid, like items brought from the real world... But what I don't get is this boat. I heard most people find themselves floating in the sea the moment they enter the Virtual World."

Suddenly, Ashe clapped his hands. "I understand now!"

"What exactly do you understand?"

"This boat is your true form, and you're just the projection of your own soul!"

Sonya stared at him. "What?"

Ashe said confidently, "Your consciousness is split into two parts. Your dense soul has materialized as this boat to carry you, while your agile mind forms your appearance. The soul is the boat, the mind is the traveler, and the boat ferries the traveler to the other shore. That must be it!"

It sounded... almost believable.

"How do you prove it?" she asked.

"If you don't believe me, jump into the sea. If I'm right, you won't be able to get off the boat."

Without hesitation, Sonya jumped into the sea. Thanks to her previous dream trial, she had developed a basic sense of swimming and didn’t sink like a stone.

She climbed back aboard and snorted coldly. "You're wrong. I can leave the boat. This boat isn't my soul at all."

Proving Ashe wrong filled her with a brief sense of satisfaction, until she noticed him staring at her.

His hood continued to conceal his expression, but she could feel his gaze. She looked down and found her soaked clothes clinging tightly to her body, tracing every line and curve.

Sonya snapped. "You!"

She angrily raised up her wooden sword and unleashed her Wave spirit at him. Ashe quickly threw up his hands in surrender. "Wait! Where did you even get that wooden sword?"

Sonya looked at the weapon in her hand.

Huh?

She clearly remembered not bringing anything with her into the Virtual World. But Ashe had irritated her so much that she instinctively wanted to strike him. That was when the sword appeared.

Ashe spread out his hands. "See? The wooden sword showed up the moment you wanted it. The same goes for this boat. You didn't want to swim, so you manifested something to carry you. I just tested it. This boat is clearly part of your mind."

"So staring at me was also part of your test? Absolutely not. The wooden sword is simply the weapon I'm most familiar with, so of course it manifests easily, just like my clothes!"

"Don't accuse me! I wasn't sneaking a look! I was watching openly!"

The small clash broke the tension. Their initial unease about the Virtual World faded away. Because they were together, they each felt they had someone to rely on, no matter what happened. A subtle, steady sense of reassurance settled into their hearts.

But just as Sonya couldn't tell whether this Watcher was the one from her dream, Ashe didn't know whether this Swordswoman was the same as the one from the Shattered Lake Prison.

***

An hour earlier.

After finishing dinner and returning to the prison cell, the Swordswoman had started a serious conversation with Ashe.

"I have good news and bad news. The good news is, you'll have free housing provided by the state for the rest of your life."

"And the bad news?"

"The bad news is that you could be dragged off for execution at any time."

Ashe immediately grasped what the Swordswoman was trying to say. "Are you trying to tell me that escape is impossible?"

The Swordswoman sat on the bed with her legs crossed and arms folded. She glanced at him sideways. "You should already realize that sorcerers are the strongest group in this world. As a mortal, you can never compete with them.

"Even that weak sorcerer who could turn his body into diamonds. Once his link to the Virtual World was severed, he could only become a diamond mouse rolling in a dump. Today's experience should also make you realize that as long as that chip behind your neck is still installed, you'll be chained wherever you go."

Ashe's expression darkened. He had thought the Miracle Chip was merely an implanted computer, but he hadn't expected it would turn him into the computer itself, with his administrator privileges fully controlled by someone else.

Everything, from what he could see and say to whether he could even strike, was under the administrator’s control. One day, they could make him speak politely and follow the rules like a civilized young man; the next, they could force him to eat filth.

Until the chip was removed, all of his plans were like a virus-infected system. The administrator could reinstall the system and wipe everything out instantly. If they deemed him unfixable, they could even scrap him entirely and force him to start over.

Ashe ground his teeth. "Is there any way to remove the chip? Like... ripping out the one at the back of my neck?"

The Swordswoman scoffed. "If it were that simple, this prison wouldn't be so lively. The Miracle Chip gradually integrates into your bone marrow as you grow stronger. By now, it has spread into every bone, nerve, and muscle. To remove it, you'd probably have to jump into molten steel at a steel mill."

"So I can't remove it by ordinary means. What about the sorcerers' methods?" Ashe asked.

There are more options for sorcerers. The one you're most likely to obtain is the Sword Class Miracle called Slash Me. It is a defense-type Miracle for swordmasters, designed to purify abnormal states.

"Even a One-Winged sorcerer can use the Silver Rank Miracle, and it can directly neutralize most damage-over-time effects[2] inflicted by Two-Winged Sword Class spirits. The Miracle Chip targets mortals and One-Winged sorcerers, but it can't resist a Two-Winged Slash Me Miracle. If you use it, you can instantly purge all Miracle Chips in your body, giving you a chance to escape."

"How do I obtain the Slash Me Miracle?" Ashe asked.

She held up four fingers. "To perform a Miracle, you need a spirit. There are four ways to obtain one. The first is by learning knowledge and resonating with the Virtual World, which transforms that knowledge into a spirit in the real world. The second is by seeking wild spirits within the Virtual World. The third is by killing a sorcerer and seizing their spirit. And finally, the fourth method is through trading spirits."

The Swordswoman glanced at Ashe. "The first method isn't available to you. The Miracle Chip has already severed your connection with the Virtual World. No matter how much knowledge you absorb, you can't trigger resonance."

When Ashe checked his character info on the light screen, the only entry he saw read, "Virtual World Resonance: Forbidden."

"The third method, killing a sorcerer as a mortal, has happened before, but only in rare cases. Usually, it occurs when concubines take advantage of private moments to murder their masters..."

She shook her head. "That path isn't really open to you either."

"Don't dismiss it entirely! There's gotta be a tiny chance, right? I might still rely on my looks somehow!"

"As for the fourth way, forget it. You don't have the capital to trade," she said lazily. "In short, the only way for you to obtain a spirit is to enter the Virtual World and find wild spirits."

Ashe blinked. "How do I enter the Virtual World?"

The Swordswoman explained, "The only way is to trigger the Door of Truth inside a spirit and let your consciousness pass directly into the Virtual World."

Ashe's eyes widened. "So you mean... I need a spirit just to enter the Virtual World?"

"Exactly."

"And the reason I'm going there is to find a spirit?"

"Correct."

"Wait, wait..." Ashe rubbed his forehead and staggered back. "This is like a fresh graduate finding out every job requires three years of work experience! I can't enter without a spirit, but to get a spirit, I have to enter. It's an endless loop!"

"Who told you that you need

your own

spirit to enter the Virtual World?"

"

Huh?

"

The Swordswoman pointed at herself. "Did you forget? I already have the Wave spirit, which qualifies me to enter. Watcher, you've formed a soul bond with me through the Sorcerer's Handbook. If even experience can be shared, then bringing you into the Virtual World is no problem at all."

Ashe froze.

Does it really work like that?

He instinctively opened the Sorcerer's Handbook to check his talents and saw a new section.

[Virtual World Exploration: Organize operatives to explore the Virtual World]

He tapped it, selected Watcher of Doomsday and Death Maniac Swordswoman to act together, and hit Ready

.

However, the Death Maniac Swordswoman was still marked as Pending, and nothing happened in the real world.

Ashe urged, "I've already confirmed I'm ready. Hurry up and confirm, too."

"I'll go prepare. Just wait," she said.

Ashe blinked. "Prepare for what?"

"Many, many things. You wouldn't understand, being a virgin."

"What the hell does that have to do with anything!"

The Swordswoman smirked and disappeared into thin air. With nothing else to do, Ashe lay back on the bed. He drifted off quickly, perhaps out of exhaustion from the regeneration treatment, or sheer boredom.

When he opened his eyes again, he was already sitting in a small boat beside the Swordswoman, floating on a sea wrapped in white mist.

***

On the little boat in the Sea of Knowledge, Ashe suddenly remembered something and tried to pull up the light screen.

He both failed and succeeded. He failed because most of the functions didn't respond. The Virtual World didn't support physical hacks. He succeeded because the Sorcerer's Handbook still worked.

He opened the Sorcerer's Handbook and navigated to the Virtual World Exploration section. A map unfolded across the light screen, along with a message.

[You have entered Virtual World Exploration Mode. Please read the beginner tutorial...]

Seeing Ashe saying nothing, Sonya focused her mind on the Virtual World. She leaned over and stirred the seawater to push the boat forward.

"Wait, Swordswoman, don’t rush and move around so much. Let me handle it."

1. Reminder: Once in the Virtual World, it is Ashe himself, taking the form of the Watcher, interacting with Sonya, who appears as the Swordswoman. Therefore, once they’re inside, we will refer to them as Ashe and Sonya. ☜

2. In most games, damage over time (DoT) effects are the standard way to describe damage that occurs gradually instead of instantly. Examples include poison, burn, bleeding, or curses that deal small amounts of damage every second or turn. ☜