Sorcerer’s Handbook

Chapter 515: Sword Princesss Stage (?)

“Whew.”

In the single-person training room, Sonya put down her wooden sword and exhaled hot breath. As soon as she stopped, crystalline beads of sweat slid down her temples, ran past her flushed cheeks, and dripped like pearls onto her collarbone, flowing into the crevices of her training vest.

She walked to the side and picked up a water bottle, drinking quickly. As her rapid heartbeat gradually calmed and her nearly exhausted spellforce slowly recovered, the village girl directly took off her training vest-after all, it was a single-person training room, so she could do whatever was convenient.

The vest, soaked in sweat, was so wet that a slight twist would wring out water. She stuffed it into her change bag and took out a dry towel to wipe the sweat off behind her ears, neck, forehead, and under her breasts.

After changing into clean clothes, Sonya let her tied-up hair down, grabbed her training bag and wooden sword bag, and left the training room. In the afternoon, the three luminous stars were spread out in the sky, the sunlight was bright yet not glaring. As soon as Sonya walked out of the spellcasting training hall, she saw a familiar silver advanced car and the person standing beside it.

“Need something from me?”

“Let’s talk in the car,” Felix said, opening the car door. “I’ll give you a ride home.”

Sonya didn’t refuse but didn’t sit in the front passenger seat either; instead, she sat in the back, making Felix look like a chauffeur. Felix didn’t mind and asked while driving, “Are you nervous?”

“Hmm?”

“It’s your first time at the spellcasting training hall.” Felix remarked, “You never used to come here to hone your skills. I remember you once said that spellcasting miracles should be refined through virtual realm combat, and that there’s no need to spend extra time hitting non-retaliatory wooden posts in reality.”

Sonya thought for a moment, “Did I say that before? Then I must have been wrong.”

“Ah?”

“I’m so young; isn’t it normal to say the wrong things sometimes?” Sonya tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking at the scenery outside the window with a smile. “After all, I’m just an ordinary person who makes mistakes.”

Felix paused for a moment, “In that way, you’re a lot like him.”

“Who?”

“Your opponent tonight.” Felix avoided mentioning his name, her face clouding over. “He’s been like that since he was a kid-confident, carefree, humble, sunny. As bright as a luminous star, yet never shying away from his own mistakes and shortcomings. When I pointed out his errors, he would happily correct them…”

Sonya blinked, “You must have had a tough time.”

“Why do you think that?”

“The more dazzling the star of the stage, the dimmer the audience below.”

Felix was slightly taken aback, her nose even tinged with a bit of sourness. She quickly gathered herself and smiled, “But you weren’t always this confident and open.”

“In your eyes, what was my image?”

“A proud yet insecure, ordinary village girl, never backing down, refusing to show weakness, like a porcupine full of quills,” Felix stated bluntly, “The only good quality was your clear goals, never hesitating.”

Sonya thought about it, nodding, “That’s true. When I look back, even I find my old self somewhat annoying. But you got one thing wrong-I wasn’t clear in my goals back then. On the contrary, I was greedy, wanting everything. I participated in meaningless campus activities, accumulated useless peer connections, arrogantly thinking I was hardworking and smart, but I was just wasting time, moved only by my own efforts.”

“My roommates were much smarter than me. Adelle knew she was there to enjoy college life and never envied what she couldn’t have; Lois loved to flaunt her family’s latest fashions, and her accumulated connections could easily transform into family business; Engulite…- Engulite will definitely have the highest achievements among us in the dorm.”

“As for me, having gone through so much hardship, unjustifiable ambitions arose within me. Had I continued down that path, the outcome wouldn’t have been good. If it weren’t for…”

Felix listened intently and asked, “If it weren’t for what?”

Sonya didn’t answer directly, saying, “The me of now is truly goal-oriented. I know what I want to do, and everything else can be set aside for this goal.”

“Does your goal include the Meteor Trial?” Felix asked with a smile. “Do you think an extra session at the spellcasting training room will increase your chances of winning?” ?ÀNò??S?

“Even though I’ve beaten you up pretty badly during sparring, you’re not the type to hold grudges, nor would you come just to verbally humiliate me-unless you want to spar again.” Sonya held her sword bag and said, “You might as well be more straightforward.”

Felix glanced at her, and then a cute two-winged spirit in a green outfit emerged from her shoulder. The spirit pointed at the village girl, and Sonya immediately felt her body lighten, and even her senses like sight and hearing sharpened dramatically!

However, Sonya focused more on the spirit itself: “A two-winged ‘Light Feather’ spirit? Felix, you’ve become a two-wings sorcerer?”

Felix nodded, “Although my progress is insignificant compared to yours… yes, I’m a two-wings sorcerer now.”

“How did you advance so quickly!” Sonya blurted out, “Did you find a Golden Fish?”

“How could that be? That kind of Virtual Realm legend isn’t something you just encounter,” Felix laughed. “I just took a few shortcuts and elevated my wind spell sect to the Golden level.”

The village girl was inwardly astonished-she knew herself well and understood just how valuable her status as a two-wings sorcerer was. Had it not been for the Observer leading her to smuggle a Golden Fish, it would have taken her at least three more months to even glimpse the Golden level threshold.

Her current Golden level swordsmanship realm was also built upon immense advantages like obtaining a two-wings spirit in advance, munching on Swordsmanship Orbs, and triggering Virtual Realm adventures. If others advanced their sect realms cautiously, akin to dating-holding hands, going on dates, kissing, and then establishing a relationship, then the Observer and she were like moving in together first and then working backwards to build the relationship.

By comparison, Felix seemed incredible-she advanced a spellcasting sect to the Golden level in just over two months! Even relationships don’t progress that quickly!

“Wait,” Sonya suddenly noticed something. “You said you took a shortcut?”

“Yes,” Felix replied. “That’s what I wanted to discuss with you. I recently joined a mutual-help sorcerer group. The members are idealists in pursuit of power, but because they share unrecognized forbidden knowledge, they operate secretly. Almost no one outside the group knows of them.”

“Mutual help, pursuit of power, forbidden knowledge, secret organization.” Sonya quipped, “These suspicious elements make me wonder if you’re just making this up.”

“We’re here.” Felix stopped the car outside the dorm area. Since it was within the campus, it only took a few minutes, even driving slowly.

“So, you’re recruiting me to join this secret organization?”

“Exactly.” Felix rolled down the window, lit a cigarette, holding it between two fingers as she observed the smoke’s direction. “Firstly, you’re undeniably a genius with immense potential, and I want to build a good relationship with you. There’s nothing like being part of the same secret group to build mutual trust. Secondly, I think you’re also someone who takes shortcuts.”

“A shortcut isn’t easier or simpler. On the contrary, it’s forbidden knowledge because it’s more dangerous than normal paths. That’s why it can’t be widely shared and only has legacies in the Virtual Realm. That’s why our organization remains secretive and niche. Even if we wanted to expand, we couldn’t-ordinary sorcerers taking shortcuts would be seeking their own doom.”

“I can be candid with you. Becoming a two-wings sorcerer involved great risks,” Felix flicked the ash from her cigarette. “But the rewards were immense-this shortcut was the only way I could barely keep up with a genius like you.”

Sonya asked, puzzled, “You’re still young; why the rush?”

“Because fate doesn’t care about age, so I have to be fully prepared.” Felix looked at her in the rearview mirror. “Although I didn’t have a great impression of you before, I don’t dislike you. I think we’re the same kind of people.”

The village girl couldn’t help but laugh. “Apart from the fact that we both have two eyes, a nose, and a mouth, I really don’t see anything we have in common, my dear Vlozrada, the second young master born with a silver spoon.”

“We both hate losing,” Felix said seriously. “There are always people who keep on winning, so why can’t that be us?”

“However, you might have your doubts right now. But when you get back, you can ask Leoni, Professor Trozan, and the others. Actually, it’s not unusual for sorcerers to join secret organizations; they also have their own small circles. Sonya, you advanced too quickly, and with being busy preparing for the Meteor Trial, you haven’t had the chance to be pulled in. After tonight, many sorcerer clubs will extend olive branches to you. I’m just giving you an early heads-up.”

Sonya nodded and got out of the car. Just then, Felix called out to her, “I almost forgot to tell you… Since our organization has shortcuts for rapidly advancing wind spell sect realms, naturally, we also have shortcuts for quickly transforming your Swordsmanship sect.”

“So,” Felix stared into her eyes and said, emphasizing each word, “do you want to become a Sanctuary Sorcerer?”

Sonya’s expression immediately became bizarre, as if she had something to say but couldn’t voice it.

She finally pressed her lips together and said, “I’ll think about it.”

As she watched Sonya walk away, Felix rolled up the window. She took a deep drag, the cigarette burning down to the end in an instant. The ash was caught by the breeze and collected in the car’s ashtray. She then exhaled a cloud of white mist, filling the car’s interior.

Miracle: Mermaid Misty Scene, an auxiliary type Miracle. Inside the mist, sorcerers experienced enhanced thinking, increased inspiration, diminished pain perception, and heightened senses. Ever since mastering this Miracle, Felix had gotten into the habit of making plans while surrounded by the white mist.

“The seed has been planted; now I just need to wait for it to sprout and grow tonight,” Felix mused, watching the burnt-out cigarette. “Once she suffers a crushing defeat to that person, she’ll naturally feel dissatisfied. Dissatisfaction breeds ambition, and ambition leads to madness… I know this all too well.”

“Lose, the more crushing the defeat tonight, the better.”

“Only through excruciating failure will she see how small she still is.”

“Only by facing that chasm-like gap will she realize how far she still is from becoming a Sanctuary Sorcerer.”

“Tonight will be the turning point of her life.”