Chapter 468: Somethings Off with the Witch and the Watcher

Chapter 468: Something's Off with the Witch and the Watcher

On the Continent of Time.

Two hours had flown by, yet Sonya still hadn't fully recovered from her shock.

Right now, the city of Cailleach, no, the entire Starry Kingdom, was buzzing with the name Damian. Every citizen tuned into the league broadcast had witnessed, with their own eyes, the birth of a new Sword Saint.

What's the significance of a Sacred Realm sorcerer? To put it simply, even Sonya's own mentor, Professor Trosan, had only managed to reach the Sacred Realm level. Across the entirety of Sword and Roses University, there were only four Sacred Realm professors in total. Yet, that handful was enough to give them the highest concentration of Sacred Realm sorcerers outside of Truth University itself. Most other academies possessed only two, and some scraped by with just one.

Because of this, Sword and Roses University was frequently criticized by its peers for disrupting the market, inciting price wars, and engaging in unfair competition. They were accused of giving their Sacred Realm sorcerers a lifestyle of "high pay with zero work." Take Trosan, for instance, she spent almost all her time researching personal spells and had only casually taken on two students this entire year. How was that any different from keeping a powerhouse on the payroll just for show?

However, Sword and Roses University simply didn't care. They had the funds, they spent them as they pleased, and their critics could whine all they wanted. It changed nothing.

This blatant extravagance only highlighted just how precious Sacred Realm sorcerers were. If Sonya ever reached that level, the university would undoubtedly throw a fortune at her feet every year just to keep her. In a mundane world where Legends never walked, Sacred Realm sorcerers were the pinnacle of power ordinary mortals could witness, the living embodiment of miracles, and the ultimate symbols of spellcraft.

To the uninitiated, it might seem like one only needed to find the Rainbow Tail to ascend to the Sacred Realm. But Sonya knew better. Anyone lucky enough to sneak into the Distant Sky Domain that way would only turn out to be a counterfeit, a shoddy imitation like gilded scrap metal coated in a thin layer of paint.

If Silver represented talent and Gold represented genius, then the Sacred Realm was the theoretical limit forged when talent, diligence, and resources were pushed to their absolute extremes. As for Legends? True to their name, they were legends precisely because they could never be replicated.

Currently, the village girl was at the Gold Rank of her Sword Class. While she seemed to stand a mere step away from the Sacred Realm, that one step was actually an insurmountable chasm. It was a barrier that had trapped countless swordsmanship prodigies forever within the Continent of Time, denying them even a glimpse of spatial swordsmanship.

Consider the faculty ranking system at Sword and Roses University: teaching assistants, lecturers, associate professors, and full professors. To even become a teaching assistant, a sorcerer typically needed to fully condense their Gold Wing and officially enter the rank of a Two-Winged sorcerer. Aside from anomalies like Sonya, most sorcerers took two to three years just to achieve this, pushing their primary sorcery class to the absolute peak of Gold along the way.

Teaching assistants were already on the cusp of the Sacred Realm, yet there were still three higher ranks above them. That tiny gap had been meticulously subdivided into four distinct tiers among Two-Winged sorcerers. It was a testament to just how bored, and how unwilling to accept reality, these elite sorcerers truly were.

Even with her diligent daytime training, supplemented at night by the Watcher's guidance, Experience Orbs, and the Commander's Handbook, Sonya still couldn't guarantee she would reach the Sacred Realm within three years.

For Sacred Realm seeds like Sonya, Leona, and Negus, who had miraculously completed both the Silver Voyage and the Golden Path in under four years, the institutional expectation was for them to reach the Sacred Realm within twenty years. Statistically, the "germination rate" for these seeds was less than thirty percent. If even one of the three managed to step into the Distant Sky Domain, it would be hailed as a monumental success for the university's educational system.

It was difficult to intuitively describe the gulf between Gold and the Sacred Realm, but the colors of their virtual wings offered a striking metaphor. Gold wings were just that, solid gold. Sacred Realm wings, however, shimmered with a gradient rainbow. Setting aside the countless shifting hues between them, those seven base colors implied that the body of knowledge required for the Sacred Realm was seven times vaster than that of Gold. Furthermore, all of it had to be seamlessly integrated, fluid and ever-changing like light through a prism, just to meet the baseline requirement.

Most geniuses spent three years pushing a single sorcery class to the peak of Gold. Multiply that by seven, and you get twenty-one years. Viewed through that lens, giving a Sacred Realm seed twenty years to mature was actually a highly rigorous, realistic expectation.

Of course, society wasn't a classroom. Effort didn't always guarantee results, and a sorcerer's choice of sorcery class often dictated their fate far more than their raw power. Combat sorcerers had no choice but to brave the perils of the Abyss, hunting for the scraps left behind by monsters, while creation sorcerers could stay in bright, comfortable workshops and amass fortunes with ease. As for supreme sorcery classes like Prophecy, even a practitioner with only Silver Wing could command a higher status than Two-Winged Gold sorcerers.

Yet, Sacred Realm sorcerers were entirely exempt from these societal divides because every single one of them mastered a Tier-0 discipline, the Space Class.

The Distant Sky Domain was fundamentally different from the Continent of Time. In the Continent of Time, sorcerers merely had a fleeting chance to touch upon Time Class, and the vast majority never truly comprehended it. If not for her bizarre encounter in the Amnesia Cabin, Sonya would never have grasped Time Class sorcery, even if she had soaked herself in the River of Flowing Gold. In fact, "Understanding Time through the River of Flowing Gold" was practically a rite of passage for Two-Winged sorcerers. If you hadn't nearly drowned in it a dozen times, you couldn't claim you were trying.

In the Distant Sky Domain, however, Space Class sorcery was mandatory. Without it, a sorcerer couldn't even unfold their Sacred Realm to explore the Virtual World. Essentially, a Sacred Realm was the physical manifestation of a sorcerer's spatial comprehension.

The combat advantages of Space Class sorcery went without saying, but even in terms of creation and utility, any Sacred Realm sorcerer could easily craft spatial artifacts, items that were perpetually in high demand, with minimal study. By default, they controlled the highest tier of production. They were tactical deterrents in human form.

Before meeting the Watcher, Sonya's dream had been modest. She simply wanted to become a well-respected, Two-Winged Water Class sorcerer.

After meeting him, she finally dared to look higher, dreaming of becoming a Sword Saint of the Starry Kingdom, revered by all.

As for becoming a Legend... it wasn't that she doubted the Watcher's ability to guide her into the fourth layer of the Virtual World. But even if she breached that layer and laid claim to Legendary mana, would that truly make her a Legendary sorcerer?

Deep down, she knew her limit was the Sacred Realm. Or perhaps, more accurately, once she finally reached the Sacred Realm... she would be content to stop climbing.

Her life was not defined by swordsmanship alone. Reaching the Sacred Realm would be enough to guarantee her financial freedom, elevate her social standing, and grant her a life completely free of worries. By then, she could pursue whatever she truly desired. She could focus on film idols and songstresses, romance, and family. She could even research ways to travel to other kingdoms, or perhaps find a Miracle that would allow others to come to the Starry Kingdom.

The village girl could no longer hide her envy, jealousy, and sheer resentment. Ugh! I want to become a Sacred Realm sorcerer so badly! Why is it that those noble brats, born with silver spoons in their mouths and living lives of luxury, get to become Sacred Realm sorcerers anyway? Shouldn't they be drowning in indulgence every day, wasting away under endless pleasures until they ruin themselves and squander their fortunes?!

And if I’m matched against him during the Meteor Calamity, how am I even supposed to compete? There really should be laws forbidding Sacred Realm sorcerers from participating in the leagues!

She glanced over to check on the situation inside the sports car. Hmm... today, the Watcher and the Witch aren't tangled up together.

For some reason, that little observation made Sonya feel a fraction better, and she couldn't help but vent, "You guys have no idea what I ran into tonight..."

...

"... And that's how it went. I finally managed to defeat an Earth Class sorcerer, but our university was utterly crushed in the Star Palace Calamity. To make matters worse, down the line during the Meteor Calamity, I'll have to face an opponent who also specializes in Wave Sword style just like me, except his mana is higher, his realm is higher, and his Miracles completely outclass mine! It's so unfair!"

As she ranted, Sonya grabbed the Witch's hand and shook it back and forth, letting out a heavy sigh. "Looks like there's absolutely no way I can win the Meteor Calamity this time..."

A moment later, Sonya suddenly felt something was off.

It was quiet. The car was far too quiet.

In the past, the Witch would always try to keep the conversation going with her clumsy social skills, responding with things like "Mm," "Is that so?" or "That's amazing." She was genuinely interested in campus life and the intercollegiate league, and it was precisely because she was such a loyal listener that Sonya loved talking to her.

Because of their role dynamic, the Watcher normally wouldn't interrupt. But whenever he noticed the atmosphere turning awkward, he would step in to break the silence, giving Sonya the perfect opening to tease him a bit and keep the group energy balanced.

Yet now, even after Sonya had thrown out a whole topic, neither of them reacted at all.

It felt exactly like typing out a massive paragraph in a group chat... only to receive absolute radio silence. The sheer embarrassment made the village girl want to curl her toes.

She looked closely at the Witch and saw her resting her chin on her left hand, staring blankly at the Ascending Golden Rain outside. Her expression was heavy, with her lower lip caught tightly between her teeth. The Watcher was also staring straight ahead, looking as if his soul had been left behind in the real world.

"Witch? Witch!"

Only after Sonya gave her a firm nudge did the Witch snap out of her thoughts. "Ah? What is it?"

"Did you even hear a word of what I just said?"

Dia hesitated, looking guilty. "I... I'm sorry. I zoned out just now. I didn't hear what you were saying."

"Are you in a bad mood?"

"You can tell?"

"Of course I can. Your eyebrows practically spell out 'I'm miserable.' How could I not notice?"

"Really?!" ℯℯ𝑙.

"No, not literally. But seriously, are you okay?" Sonya asked, her tone softening. "You don't look well."

"I'm just... a bit unsettled..."

Sonya probed gently. "Is it something happening in the real world? Maybe we can offer some advice. If you say it out loud, you might feel better."

Dia's expression turned complicated. Her lips pressed together into a tight line, and after a long silence, she slowly shook her head. "No... I... I can't say it."

"But in your current state, it's not safe for us to go exploring. How about letting one of your other personas take over for tonight?"

Sonya had meant it as a bit of a provocation. The Secret Princess persona was usually incredibly proud and couldn't stand being looked down upon. But to Sonya's surprise, Dia merely hesitated for a second before obediently nodding. "Alright. I think I really do need to calm down. I'll let Sister White take over for tonight."

The moment she finished speaking, the Witch's attire shifted from dark black to pristine white. In the blink of an eye, she transformed into the dignified and elegant White Queen. Among the Witch's four personas, White Queen possessed the highest emotional and intellectual intelligence. She was always polite, composed, and graceful. While she wasn't as naive and easy to tease as Secret Princess, she was incredibly comfortable to be around.

After exchanging smooth greetings with the newly swapped persona, the village girl called out to the driver's seat to get them moving. "Watcher, what are we doing tonight?"

Ashe suddenly jolted, straightening his back instantly. "Nothing! I didn't do anything tonight!"