Chapter 502: Shared Life

At the Cailleach National Arena.

Arsen was practically roaring. His passionate voice echoed through the venue, announcing, "Winner: the Swordswoman, Sonya Selby! Her graceful sword dance resembles a Star Phoenix sweeping across the night sky, and her violent Miracles fall like a vengeful radiance descending into the abyss! Miss Selby, a first-year student competing in Meteor Calamity for the first time, fought her way through countless formidable foes. She stood tall until the very end of the semifinals, successfully earning her place in the finals!

"She created a brand-new record for the Sword and Roses. In the entire history of the intercollegiate leagues, she is undoubtedly one of the rarest geniuses, set to become the brightest morning star in the Starry Kingdom and the most dazzling Rose of Cailleach!

"As a member of Sword and Roses University, I am equally honored by Miss Selby's achievement! Congratulations to Miss Selby on her semifinal victory!"

The entire arena erupted as Arsen's announcement rang out.

The spectator stands for Sword and Roses University burst into wave after wave of applause. Adele and the others nearly ruined their hands clapping, refusing to stop after their palms turned red.

The rest of the crowd, including students from Truth University, offered their admiration freely, blessing the victor with joyful applause.

As the light panels tilted and refracted, the brilliance of countless stars focused onto the red-haired girl standing in the arena.

She held an ordinary wooden sword. Her magnificent battle attire showed some damage, yet it did nothing to diminish her radiance.

Raising her chin, she accepted the cheers. She lifted her left hand and clenched her fist, seemingly grasping the starlight itself. Under the gaze of the entire Starry Kingdom, Sonya firmly seized this honor for herself.

"Swordswoman! Swordswoman!"

"The Claw-Stretching Club is number one in the world!"

"Swordswoman, I want to be your dog!"

In the darkness beyond the starlight's reach, Cherlus refused support from the medical personnel.

Dragging his nearly severed body, he picked up the two revolvers dropped moments earlier.

Compared to his injuries, he cared far more about the scratches carved into the weapons.

Cherlus Cher was a fourth-year student of Truth University and a Two-Winged gunner. Since his second year, he continually ventured into the Abyss. He was also the runner-up of last year's Meteor Calamity.

Last year's competition had been an internal battle within Truth University, where Damian and Cherlus claimed first and second place respectively.

Much like Nagus, Cherlus gathered all his determination, hoping to take revenge against Damian during his final university year.

The moment he witnessed Damian's Inversion Annihilation Wave, however, Cherlus realized he would spend the rest of his life living beneath Damian's shadow. While defeating Damian was impossible, Cherlus never expected to fall short of the finals altogether.

As the undisputed, strongest offensive sorcery class beneath the Sacred Realm, gunners naturally held an absolute advantage in competitive battles.

Cherlus was an elite among them. During his journeys in the Virtual World, he encountered an extremely precious inheritance belonging to an Orc gunner, obtaining the Two-Winged Space Class spirit, Spacethrust.

The Space Class could only be learned upon attaining the third virtual wing, but Space Class spirits did not necessarily start at three wings. A spirit often comprised knowledge spanning multiple sorcery classes in varying proportions.

For instance, a spirit like Flame Sword consisted of fire and swordsmanship knowledge in a six-to-four ratio, functioning as both a fire spell and a sword technique for fire sorcerers and swordsmen alike.

Under the right conditions, a Two-Winged sorcerer could potentially summon a Space Class spirit. The sorcerer required an exceptionally high spatial affinity to summon a spirit with spatial properties exceeding thirty percent by ratio.

Among all sorcerers, the race with the highest spatial talent was undoubtedly the Orcs. The Orc sorcerer leaving behind Cherlus' inheritance was even more terrifying. Spacethrust was a Space Class spirit with a spatial composition exceeding sixty percent.

Had that senior ascended to the Distant Sky Domain, he would have advanced his Space Class to the Silver, Gold, and Sacred Realm levels at astonishing speed, becoming a deeply revered, high-proficiency Space Class Sacred Realm sorcerer.

Unfortunately, he perished on the Continent of Time, becoming mere nourishment for future generations of sorcerers.

The function of Spacethrust was extremely straightforward. Any projectile fired by the sorcerer ignored external factors like wind pressure and humidity. It traveled along a straight line in space, piercing every obstacle in its path.

The firing distance and size of the projectile were both proportional to the amount of mana consumed.

After obtaining this spirit, almost no defensive Miracle could block Cherlus' shots, with Three-Winged spatial Miracles being the only exceptions.

The only flaw of this spirit was its inability to combine with auxiliary Miracles to guide bullets toward an enemy's head. It fired strictly in a straight line, forcing Cherlus to aim manually.

This issue proved minor in practice. Cherlus never feared opponents predicting his movements. He usually hid behind buildings, used hearing-enhancing Miracles alongside other abilities to locate targets, and fired straight through walls. His enemies could not even attempt to block his shots.

When the semifinals began, no one, including Cherlus himself, believed he could lose. The participants entering through the loser revival matches had also treated him as their primary target.

It was not until only Cherlus and Sonya remained that he realized he had no way to deal with the Swordswoman.

The reason was simple. She was able to dodge the Spacethrust bullets.

At first, Cherlus assumed she had seen through his shooting trajectories. Yet after hiding behind walls and firing, Sonya still managed to evade the bullets at the exact moment the gunshots rang out. That was when he realized he was facing a second monster.

Sonya was not predicting his attacks; she sensed the spatial trajectory of the bullets, allowing her to dodge in time through an instinctive perception of the Space Class.

Just as an alchemist could look at a cup of mixed solution and determine its components through color and scent, or a Brute Body sorcerer could glance at a naked body and instantly understand its physical condition, or a Mind Class sorcerer could determine from a person's expression whether they were a virgin or a potential virgin, sorcerers who trained in the Space Class were naturally sensitive to spatial ripples.

As for how a Two-Winged sorcerer could develop an instinctive perception of the Space Class? Cherlus himself had no idea. By the time he began wondering about that question, Sonya's Blood Moon Shattered Lake had already crushed his ribs, triggering the Death Prohibition Miracle.

Against any other sorcerer of the same level, Sonya would have definitely lost. For example, Negus with his dual proficiency in Blood and Water Class, or Aisha with her prophetic shield combat style...

Still, there was no point considering endless possibilities. He was a Gunner, an absolute T0 class in the current era. Relying on the advantages of his sorcery class, he had crushed countless opponents before. Now that he had encountered someone who countered him, what right did he have to complain?

Cherlus looked at the Scarlet Swordswoman wrapped in starlight and murmured, "Next, you'll be up against the insurmountable mountain that stands before Nagus and me. Good luck."

***

When Sonya walked off the arena and returned to the contestant lounge, Adele and the others had already rushed toward her. They looked as if they wanted to tear her apart and divide her among themselves.

Louisa's worried cries about the damaged battle attire were completely drowned out by the cheers.

When Trosan walked over, Sonya happily said, "Hey sis, I didn't embarrass you, did I?"

Trosan patted her head. "If you want me to praise you, just say so. I hate this kind of manipulative question."

She could not hide the smile at the corner of her mouth. "Honestly, I never expected you to defeat Cherlus. His Spacethrust spirit is far too threatening to Two-Winged sorcerers... Sonya, did you—"

Thump!

Before she could finish, Sonya collapsed.

Angelica reacted immediately and caught her.

The cheering crowd froze instantly.

"What happened? Was she injured during the battle?"

"Medics! Medics! Hurry!"

"Don't move her! Help her sit down slowly!"

"Sonya, can you still see me? How many fingers am I holding up?"

Thump... Thump... Thump... Thump....

Everyone's voices sounded so distant. All Sonya could feel were distinct, heavy bounces deep within her soul. Once, twice, and three times, until it completely lost all elastic force and sank into eternal silence.

She breathed heavily, feeling as if her body had become weightless, as though she could float away at any moment.

It felt as if the thread that had always been pulling her forward had finally snapped.

It was Shared Life, the blessing she had obtained from the Amnesia Cabin. But why did it not take her life? Why was she completely fine?

Trosan crouched before her and saw tears streaming down her face. "Sonya?"

The Claw-Stretching Club President tightly hugged her professor, letting out sobs that sounded like a boiling kettle.

Trosan gestured for the unrelated people to leave quickly, closed the lounge door, and gently stroked her student's head. "What's wrong?"

"I... I'm too weak..."

Trosan spoke softly, "You've already worked harder than anyone else. You're already stronger than everyone else. Regardless of the result of the finals, in our hearts, you have already won Meteor Calamity.

"Really. You are stronger than every other competitor, because you never relied on anyone else. I can't even say that I helped you much. You earned this respect and honor through your own strength.

"There is not a single trace of impurity in your brilliance. You are the only protagonist in your own life. You have every right to be proud of yourself."

For a Sword Saint with an emotional intelligence practically at zero, delivering such a heartfelt, comforting speech had probably exhausted every kind word she would have for the next five years. Yet Sonya continued sobbing softly.

After hearing those words, she completely broke down and began crying loudly like a child. Trosan had no choice but to hold her in her arms and let her cry.

Through Sonya's choked sobs came her muffled voice, full of self-blame, "I still can't do anything... I can't help with anything... I can't do anything... I really, really... I just want to..."