Chapter 543: Dias Imagination

Chapter 543: Dia's Imagination

The person appearing before Ashe and the others was a quiet young girl wearing a small round hat, round glasses resting on the bridge of her nose, and a trench coat. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Orchid Weiser."

No wonder Ashe and the others failed to notice her earlier. Standing among the crowd, she truly was incredibly inconspicuous.

She seemed somewhat introverted. Gripping her notebook tightly with both hands, she looked down at the ground and said, "It is an honor to join your team."

Ashe began introducing everyone.

"I am the Watcher. My current role in the team is long-range support, responsible for ranged damage, protection, and healing.

"This is the Swordswoman. She specializes in swordsmanship, excels at close-range bursts, and serves as the team's primary damage dealer.

"This is the Witch. She specializes in the Time and Fist and Claw Classes, and her role is control and disruption."

Orchid Weiser paused, slightly stunned, before quickly composing herself. "I am a Truth Class sorcerer. My usual combat method involves first gathering intel on my enemies, then choosing the sorcery classes best suited to exploiting their weaknesses. Um... it may come off as a little arrogant, but I—"

Ashe interrupted. "You use the Thousand Gears spirit as the core of your Miracle system, then rely on your mastery of more than twenty Silver Rank sorcery classes to temporarily construct a counter-strategy against your enemies?"

Orchid Weiser lowered her head slightly, concealing the strange light flashing in her eyes. Yes. Watcher, your analysis is extremely accurate. I was still thinking about how I should explain it. I did not expect you to already understand my spirit and sorcery classes so clearly."

"Of course. I know everything about my operators," Ashe thought for a moment. "From what I can tell, you can probably take on any role the team requires. We will determine your tactical position through actual combat."

"That is wonderful."

"Hm?"

"Your team's division of responsibilities is so clear. I imagine you must have already experienced countless hardships and battles together," Orchid Weiser's face filled with longing. "You do not have to explore the Virtual World and face enemies alone. When you encounter danger, you know your companions will have your back. When you are tired, you can chat with friends and relax... That sounds truly amazing."

She looked at Ashe seriously. "Thank you very much for bringing me into this team, Watcher. I will do my best to contribute! Senior Swordswoman, Senior Witch, Captain Watcher, I look forward to working with you!"

Sonya and Dia exchanged glances.

Since the newcomer had been so humble, they naturally could not continue behaving coldly.

That's not to say they weren't still angry with Ashe for recruiting another new teammate without seeking their consent. Though they certainly never would have agreed anyway, they still had to admit that this newcomer had proven extremely valuable to the team.

The Truth Class ranked among the most mysterious sorcery classes. Its concept was somewhat contradictory. It represented antiquity, yet also unpredictability. Unlike swordsmanship, firearm techniques, and other sorcery classes, where new spirits and Miracles constantly emerged, it remained a field largely unexplored by sorcerers.

Enemies could prepare against physical attacks like swords, guns, and claws, defend against elemental attacks like fire, ice, wind, and lightning, and even stand a chance of defending against mental attacks such as psychic or necromantic spells. Yet they struggled desperately against sorcery classes like Fate, Prophecy, Truth, and Time. Why? It came down to one simple fact. They normally could not even come into contact with such powers. How could they possibly prepare effective defenses against them?

What's more, the newcomer had mastered more than twenty sorcery classes! Merely possessing that much knowledge provided enormous value during exploration.

Most importantly... Sonya and Dia would simply be lying if they claimed they felt no satisfaction from receiving the respect of a genuine Sacred Realm sorcerer.

Alongside Ashe, they were sorcerers who had entered the Distant Sky Domain through unconventional means, with neither of their sorcery class ranks having reached the proper Sacred Realm level.

The newcomer, by contrast, was a genuine Sacred Realm sorcerer who had reached the Gate of Truth leading to the Distant Sky Domain through her own strength.

On the path of sorcery, she had already walked farther than either of them. And that was without even considering that her sorcery class was Truth.

Yet this very person was now timidly addressing them as Senior Swordswoman and Senior Witch.

Sonya and Dia felt somewhat embarrassed, but at the same time, they could not help feeling a faint sense of superiority. Who would have thought that a Sacred Realm Truth Class sorcerer would actually be my junior...

On top of that, the new operator looked quiet and fragile, the kind of person making others feel the urge to protect. She proved simply impossible to dislike.

However, Sonya still remembered the issue of names. "Watcher, why do you call us by our codenames, but her by her real name?"

Ashe spread his hands. "Beats me. When I drew... I mean, when I chose you two, I could only see your codenames. But she was the only one whose real name appeared."

"Wait."

"Could Orchid Weiser not actually be her name, but another codename?"

The quiet girl shook her head. "No. It really is my name. I do not have a codename. Perhaps it is because my characteristics are not obvious?"

"Look, the Swordswoman is beautiful and heroic, sharp and brilliant like a sword blade. The Witch is cute and unpredictable, matching her codename perfectly. But I am rather ordinary... If you are used to calling everyone by codenames, I can come up with one."

"There's no need for that," Ashe replied. "We will just call you Weiser."

Weiser did not seem to mind at all. "Okay. Then we—"

Dia suddenly raised her hand, interrupting the conversation. "Wait."

Her expression turned serious as her gaze moved between Ashe and Weiser. Then she suddenly asked, "Watcher, are you still unable to tell us about your situation in reality?"

Ashe was stunned for a moment before catching on. "No. The contract on me has already ended. I can tell you everything that happened over the past two months. But now isn't the time for that. We need to begin exploring the Distant Sky Domain—"

"You can summarize it. What matters is your current situation." Dia paused. "For example, whether you're in danger or whether you've encountered anyone."

Ashe thought for a moment. Within a minute, he briefly recounted what had happened in the Gospel Kingdom and the Myriad Continent.

"To resolve the Blood Seed curse on myself, I'm currently pursuing the criminal known as Silver Lamp across the Myriad Continent alongside my companions.

"We ran into a few troubles along the way, but at least I'm still free for now rather than being locked up somewhere.

"I don't necessarily have to keep pursuing her forever. If ancient technology created the Blood Seed curse, then relics capable of curing it should naturally exist as well.

"If I manage to remove the curse during my journey, I won't need to remain in the Myriad Continent anymore."

Dia asked, "The companions traveling with you... Who exactly are they?"

"A necromancer, a Mind Class sorcerer, and a martial attendant I met in the Myriad Continent."

"Is that martial attendant a man or a woman?"

Ashe hesitated for a moment. "A man... I think."

Dia remained unsatisfied. She stopped pretending and asked directly, "Do you think Orchid Weiser looks like any woman you met recently?"

Both Ashe and Weiser exchanged surprised glances. Ashe simply felt confused as to why the Witch would ask such a strange question.

Weiser, however, felt shocked that her cover might have been blown.

Thanks to prior warnings from her parallel self, Weiser established a brand-new identity the moment she entered the Virtual World, completely separating herself from her real-world counterpart.

The purpose was to prevent anyone from recognizing her.

The moment Weiser laid eyes on the Watcher, she immediately realized he was Ashe Heath, the very person pursuing her.

Two days ago, when she almost got caught by the Sacred Realm team in the Food Factory Town, she had seen Ashe wearing this exact deep red trench coat.

According to information from her alternate self, the Watcher possessed zero knowledge regarding his teammates' real-world identities.

Therefore, as long as Weiser maintained her disguise, zero risk of exposure existed.

Even so, a chance remained that this constituted a trap devised by Ashe and the others to capture her.

Weiser never blindly trusted information from another timeline.

Nevertheless, seeing the Watcher's team made Weiser's mind up. Even facing danger, she had to remain part of this group.

A well-coordinated Virtual World exploration team proved far too tempting for her. Her spirit system held terrible compatibility with the Distant Sky Domain. Until she constructed an entirely new system, her exploration of the Virtual World would remain exceedingly difficult.

She also remained in hiding in reality. Without support from the Four Pillars Cult, gathering necessary resources proved impossible.

With this team, she could quickly overcome early exploration difficulties in the Distant Sky Domain. Furthermore, Weiser harbored immense curiosity toward Ashe himself.

Forming a team inside the Virtual World already constituted a Divine Miracle in its own right. As a Truth Class sorcerer, how could she resist investigating the secrets behind a man capable of orchestrating such a Divine Miracle?

The only problem was she never expected suspicion to fall on her despite eliminating every potential flaw. Furthermore, it came from a sorcerer who did not even know her.

Prophecy? Fate? Or has the Witch's Time Class already reached such a level that it is capable of glimpsing the future?

Actually, the reason Dia suspected Weiser was very simple. Dia herself was the prime example.

She operated simultaneously as the Watcher's teammate, the Witch, and Ashe's daughter, Lys.

The moment Dia spotted Weiser, she wondered whether this woman had already appeared in Ashe's real life.

Specifically, any woman appearing near Ashe automatically became a prime suspect.

While Dia had her eyes fixed on Weiser, she failed to notice Sonya thoughtfully watching her the entire time.

Ashe shook his head. "I haven't met many women recently, and there's no way I could have met you in reality... Weiser, are you in the Myriad Continent? Do you have any impression of me?"

Under their combined gazes, Weiser displayed a confused expression. After a brief pause, she shook her head. "I don't think I've met you before. I'm not in the Myriad Continent either. As for which kingdom I'm in...

"Living in an era where countless factions exist amid widespread chaos, I don't even know my kingdom's name. I simply refer to the world as this land."

Dia remained unconvinced. "You aren't actually the martial attendant the Watcher recently met, are you?"

"Witch," Ashe interrupted out of necessity. "The martial attendant may be powerful, but he isn't even a sorcerer."

With that explanation, suspicion toward the newcomer cleared entirely.

Dia finally relaxed. She walked over and enthusiastically grabbed Weiser's arm. "Welcome to the team!"

Watching the two laugh together, Ashe let out a sigh of relief.

In truth, he had felt nervous as well. After all, the new teammate was a Sacred Realm sorcerer.

He had had his fair share of interactions with Sacred Realm sorcerers, including Bloodrage Hunter Gerard, the elven leader Quinna, and Weeping Sand Cliose. Those were merely ordinary Sacred Realm sorcerers he had encountered before, yet every one of them had been remarkably arrogant and full of personality. Orchid Weiser was on an entirely different level, as a Sacred Realm sorcerer whose Truth Class had also reached the Sacred Realm level.

Simply put, if an ordinary Sacred Realm sorcerer resembled someone who scored perfectly in standard high school subjects, then a Three-Winged Truth Class matched someone who aced national academic competitions, essentially guaranteeing their advancement to Legendary sorcerer status.

If Ashe secured guaranteed university admission via academic competitions back in high school, he probably would have acted unbearably arrogant too.

If the new operator desired control over the team, or if her personality proved even slightly aggressive, Ashe seriously doubted his ability to manage everyone properly.

Unexpectedly, he drew an incredible card this time.

Not only did the new operator possess immense power, but her personality remained gentle and humble.

In the analogy of a romantic partner, she would represent someone blessed with a great family background, an elite education, stunning looks, a perfect figure, a sweet disposition, a considerate nature, and absolute devotion. If someone matching that description appeared in reality, it would likely involve a scam or some sort of pyramid scheme.

However, since she had come from his own gacha pull, Ashe could only chalk it up to the game developers having retained a shred of conscience.

"I want to hear more about your experiences in the Gospel Kingdom."

Ashe turned to see the Swordswoman standing beside him. He replied, "It may have lasted only a few dozen days, but it was an extremely complicated adventure. I can't explain it in just a few sentences."

"That's fine. You can take your time telling me, and I'll take my time listening. The intercollegiate league is already over. I won first place in Meteor Calamity. Summer vacation starts next, so I have plenty of time."

Ashe smiled. "I'll find a chance to tell you, but you'll also have to tell me how you won the Meteor Calamity championship. I really wish I could have seen how cool you looked on stage."

"There wasn't anything worth watching," Sonya said, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I won under very dangerous conditions. I was completely battered afterward. If you want to see me, just look at me now. You can see me like this whenever you want."

Ashe continued, "Even if you were battered and covered in injuries, you would still shine brilliantly enough to rival the stars."

The Swordswoman tilted her head slightly and blinked at him. "Then it's a promise?"

Ashe nodded. "It's a promise. I just don't know when we'll have that kind of free time."

"We will," Sonya said. "For example, we can find a peaceful dream, sit in a bar there, and you can listen to me recount how I defeated a Sacred Realm sorcerer in the Meteor Calamity arena. Then you can tell me about your incredible experiences in the Gospel Kingdom, alongside the story between you and Lady Annan."

Looking at the Sincerity spirit resting in the Swordswoman's hand, Ashe suddenly felt a strong sense of responsibility as a sorcerer. He had to work hard, and slacking off was completely unacceptable. With that, he clapped his hands together. "Alright. It's time to explore the Virtual World!"

Dia looked around. "Did you prepare any sort of transportation this time?"

Weiser looked genuinely dumbfounded. "You actually have transportation when exploring the Virtual World?"

What exactly are you people doing here? Exploring the Virtual World or flirting?

"We don't have transportation this time," Ashe said. "But I brought something even better. It's called Aurora's Dream Treasury!"

As Ashe spoke, he activated the gimmick. In an instant, three phantom treasures materialized before them!