Sorcerer’s Handbook

At Swordflower College, in the Combat Hall.

As Sonya pointed her sword at Leoni, a single thought occupied the minds of all the spectators:

What is she doing?

Felix, Sylvia, Engulite, and the others thought the same:

What is Sonya doing?

Even Sonya herself fell into contemplation:

What am I doing?

Leoni, on the other hand, was taken aback for a moment before she couldn’t help but cover her mouth and belly, trying to suppress her laughter, which almost seemed to seep through her teeth and lips. It was evident that she was struggling to hold it in.

After a while, she took a deep breath, still with traces of hysterical laughter on her face, and asked with as much seriousness as she could muster:

It’s a lie! I wasn’t serious! The Observer took control of me!

Observer, you shameless little horn, controlling a girl’s body!

Sonya was practically roaring in her mind, cursing, but she couldn’t voice this reason. She also believed the Observer wouldn’t show up again—at least not until she had finished this combat training session.

It was only natural for everyone to react this way, given that Sonya’s challenge was directed at Leoni.

At Swordflower College, Leoni was the most famous student. Whether it was her talent, her award-winning experience, or her various scandals, everyone talked about her enthusiastically.

She had subdued all the new students in the Swordsmanship Department on her very first day;

In her sophomore year, she was promoted to Silver One Wing and became an apprentice to another Sword saint of Swordflower College, the ‘Rhythm Sword Saint’ Nidhogg;

By her junior year, she joined an Abyss Adventure Team and formed a squad with geniuses from Truth College, reaping many rewards in the Abyss and encountering constant adventures.

Even Truth College wanted to poach her, and countless people saw Leoni as a seedling of a Sword saint, a preparatory for the Sanctuary!

What’s more, Leoni had been intensely participating in Abyss adventures for the past half-year, and everyone knew she was seeking to break through her swordsmanship realm in battle to advance to Two Wings!

This meant that Leoni had fully unfurled her Silver Wings, a complete state for a One Wing Sorcerer!

By comparison, Sonya and Felix had only entered the Virtual Realm a few days ago, not to mention Silver Wings, they hadn’t even condensed a single Silver feather. The gap in arcane energy between them was even greater than that between a child and an adult.

Although arcane energy is just an energy resource, the actual battle still depends on the level of the Sorcerer, but no one believed Sonya had the slightest chance of winning, not even Sonya herself.

Leoni undoubtedly had more spirits than her, and certainly, she had mastered Swordsmanship Miracles, on top of her rich Abyss battle experience.

The more Sonya compared, the more desperate she became—why did the Observer have to harm her like this!

She would have been better off challenging Lorein!

Even if she lost to Lorein, people would only think that Lorein was bullying the weak, but losing to Leoni was different. People would think that Sonya was arrogant and presumptuous, not knowing her place!

Not to mention the boastful words Sonya had uttered just now.

If the loss was too humiliating, she wouldn’t even be able to face Professor Trozan.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Last time it was the same; the Observer had arbitrarily sent her to challenge Felix, which led to today’s trouble. Unexpectedly, the Observer pulled the same trick again, this time pushing her to provoke Leoni!

However, the Observer wasn’t wrong.

Sonya didn’t actually feel irritated in her heart.

Because all she could think about was going to the Virtual Realm tonight to throttle the Observer.

But once the words were out, Sonya couldn’t possibly take them back, so she gritted her teeth and nodded, “That’s right.”

“Good, I admire your courage,” Leoni said with a smile. “As a senior of the Swordsmanship Department, I have no reason to refuse the challenge from a junior.”

“But,” Leoni continued with a smile, “as a member of the Disciplinary Committee, I can’t let a battle with such a disparity in strength take place on campus, so…”

She walked over to a nearby weapons rack, casually picked up a Training Wooden Sword, and said, “Even though I say I’ll try to hold back, anything can happen during a battle, so let’s set some fair rules for victory and defeat—”

“In actual Combat Training, if my sword even touches you once, it counts as my loss.”

“If your sword is knocked from your hand, that means I win.”

“Of course, if you manage to knock my sword from my hand, naturally, you win.”

Laughter rippled through the surrounding crowd—no one believed Sonya could make Leoni’s sword leave her hand; Leoni’s words seemed like an impossible demand.

Looking at Lorein and Felix, Leoni said, “The same rules apply to you two. Lorein, either you ensure victory over Felix without harming him, or you might as well give up… As a third-year student, surely you’re not lacking that much confidence, right?”

“You can set the rules to be even stricter,” Lorein said coldly. “I don’t mind.”

Felix spoke calmly, “With such easy victory conditions, I have no reason to refuse.”

When Leoni looked at her, Sonya suddenly understood the underlying motive.

Leoni hadn’t appeared by chance; she and Lorein definitely had this planned, and Sylvia’s incident was just a convenient opportunity.

Leoni was the apprentice of the Rhythm Sword Saint, and she and Felix were apprentices of the Hidden Hand Sword Saint… Was this a clash between two Sword Saints of Swordflower College? Or was Leoni testing their mettle?

But regardless, Sonya had no reason to back down now. Moreover, after Leoni proposed such ‘generous’ rules, Sonya couldn’t help but feel a surge of fighting spirit… and the humiliation of being underestimated!

Sonya took a deep breath, gripped her wooden sword tightly: “I have no objections, Senior Leoni.”

“Then I declare, the battle… begins!”

Blood Moon Kingdom, Shattered Lake Prison.

Ashe looked around the empty restaurant, eating his braised Lala Fatty, wondering if today was some sort of holiday.

Why hadn’t he seen any other prisoners all morning?

Deathmatch Society, Central Hall, Reading Room, Gymnasium, Audio-visual Room… there was no one to be seen anywhere, only a few Prison Guards idly playing with their Holographic Screens, as if everyone had agreed to stay in their dormitories all day and not go out.

But even if you don’t go out, you still have to eat, right? It’s not like everyone could afford to spend Contribution points to have the restaurant deliver meals to their rooms, could they?

The unease in his heart grew heavier by the minute. Ashe felt like a farmer who had seen the animals and plants uprooting themselves to flee, keenly aware that a disaster was imminent but powerless to do anything but wait for the inevitable.

Midway through his meal, Ashe suddenly froze.

A Holographic Screen popped up automatically, projecting a cold, red message onto Ashe’s pupils:

“Dear Mr. Ashe Heath, Prisoner Number 4001623. Shattered Lake Prison hereby notifies you that you are now under Supervision status. Please maintain a clear mood and comply with the instructions of the Supervisor.”

He stood up abruptly and walked to the restaurant entrance, standing ramrod straight, without a hint of sway or tremble, like a statue.

After a while, seven other Prisoners made their way to the restaurant entrance one by one, their movements just as stiff, as if controlled by puppet strings, lining up alongside Ashe.

There was a fist’s width of space between each person, standing in a straight line like a military drill formation.

Among them was the Elven Swordsman Valcas Uhl, the ‘Gourmet’ Langna’s little boyfriend, startlingly present!

Each person’s gaze was complex—fear, resignation, despair, relaxation—but no matter which way Ashe looked, he could see only one message in their eyes:

Save me!

Another minute passed, and a towering Prison Guard arrived at the restaurant entrance. He gave the Prisoners a small smile, revealing his ghastly, pale fangs.

“Hello, everyone. I’m your Supervisor for today, Nago McMillan, pleased to meet you. Now, please introduce yourselves, starting from left to right.”

“Archibald Harvey.”

“Valcas Uhl.”

“Ronat Wade.”

“Rudo Enfield.”

When it was Ashe’s turn, he found he couldn’t control his own mouth, which mechanically opened as he said, “Ashe Heath.”

After the eight men had introduced themselves, the Prison Guard Nago nodded in satisfaction, “Alright, today’s schedule is to finish lunch and then this afternoon I’ll take you to watch a movie, go to the Observation Deck to breathe some sea air… Hmm, due to the recent proposal from human rights organizations, we are granting you one hour of external contact time, allowing you to reach out to family and friends outside.”

“After dinner, there’s not much to discuss regarding the plan. If anyone has any suggestions or questions, you can bring them up now.”

Ashe immediately raised his hand, and the Prison Guard Nago looked at him, “Go ahead.”

With the restriction on his mouth lifted, Ashe swallowed hard and asked the most crucial question, “I would like to ask, after dinner… what is the arrangement?”

He already had an inkling, but he still hoped for the best.

Prison Guard Nago smiled, familiar with the self-deception of death row inmates, but he didn’t dislike crushing their hopes personally.

Instilling despair was both the responsibility and the pleasure of a Supervisor.

“Dear Ashe, the arrangement after dinner is, of course, to take you all to the live broadcast site of the Blood Moon Tribunal.”

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