Chapter 544: Strongest Operator

When Ashe accessed the Virtual World Map, the new system had popped up on its own.

Before the squad lay three items: a pair of gloves, a small coffin, and a ruby necklace.

[Aurora's Dream Treasury]

[Silver Artifact · Ogre Gloves]

Description

- Increases the strength of both hands by 100%.

[Silver Artifact · Spirit Coffin]

Description

- Seals any spirit below the Three-Winged level inside this coffin. This intimidates your other spirits and increases their resonance critical hit rate. One-Winged spirits gain a 10% critical rate, Two-Winged spirits gain 20%, and Three-Winged spirits gain 40%.

[Gold Artifact · Scarlet Blessing]

Description

- Provides the sorcerer with Sacred Realm protection. When the sorcerer takes external damage, it automatically activates a Sacred Realm barrier lasting 3 seconds, with a 10-second cooldown. While equipped, it constantly increases the sorcerer's Space Class experience.

Weiser looked at the glowing artifacts, a trace of desire surfacing in her eyes. "These..."

As they stared at the items, information regarding each artifact flowed directly into their minds.

The Truth Class sorcerer had subconsciously reached out her hand when she suddenly pulled it back.

She calmly analyzed the situation. "They are neither spirits nor Miracles. They resemble fantasy creations with Miracles sealed inside them... How did you bring fantasy creations into the Virtual World, and how do you make them continue functioning here?"

"Hmph! Go ahead. Say you're stumped," Dia spoke proudly, as if she had not once been the person left speechless upon seeing a sports car for the first time. "This is merely a fraction of our team's humble strength. There's no need to be so surprised!

Sonya looked at the ruby necklace and asked, "Is this a gift?"

Ashe explained, "No. This represents the assistance we can secure tonight. Since this is my first time using the Dream Treasury, I am still figuring things out.

"According to the rules of the treasury, we start with three artifacts each night. Every time we clear a certain number of Mirage Bubbles, we receive new ones. The artifacts are completely random. Besides Gold and Silver artifacts, there are also the even more formidable Rainbow artifacts!

"Based on what we know so far, Silver artifacts only provide a slight boost in strength, while Gold artifacts can significantly reduce the difficulty of a battle. As for Rainbow artifacts, they seem capable of providing a massive leap in combat power, bringing our strength infinitely close to the Three-Winged limit."

"Right now, we only have three artifacts.” Dia counted the people present. "There are four of us. How are we supposed to divide them?”

"Speaking of that, there is one more thing I need to give to you guys," Ashe said. "I have two Umbral Sacred Realm Potions. They allow the user to directly complete the construction of a Sacred Realm.

"With this Gold artifact, Scarlet Blessing, we'll have enough for at least three people to explore the Virtual World tonight.”

Weiser looked surprised. "You haven't constructed your Sacred Realm either?”

"We entered the Distant Sky Domain by sneaking through the Rainbow Tail,” Ashe answered honestly. "We experienced our first Forbidden Ritual of Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon Resonance a little over ten days ago. We haven't even learned the Space Class yet. We still have a long way to go before we can construct our Sacred Realms.”

Sonya noticed the implication. "Either..."

"Weiser, have you only recently become a Sacred Realm sorcerer as well?”

Hearing this, Weiser offered a bitter smile and shook her head. "I've been climbing the Distant Sky Domain for several months already.”

Ashe was astonished. "So even a Truth Class sorcerer can't construct a Sacred Realm within a few months?”

He had originally assumed that becoming a Sacred Realm sorcerer was like entering a new profession, with roughly a month needed to grasp the fundamentals. He never imagined the probation period would last this long.

Sonya explained, "According to the information I've gathered, ordinary Sacred Realm sorcerers typically begin mastering the Space Class after experiencing the Forbidden Ritual of Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon Resonance five times. With sufficient talent, you can shorten that to three times.

"The ritual doesn't cause much damage to a sorcerer's soul. At most, it'd only take them half a month to recover. And as their sorcery class experience increases, the damage to their soul gradually decreases. That's why most sorcerers can construct their Sacred Realm within three months.”

"Yes, that's usually how it goes.” Weiser smiled bitterly. "But I need far longer. The Secret Poison leaves my soul far more fragile than that of ordinary sorcerers."

Ashe recalled her profile. "Is it the Phantom Mirror Dragon Secret Poison?"

Weiser nodded slightly. She had expected Ashe to know this, but if anything, it only made her more wary of him. Spirits, miracles, secret poisons, sorcery classes, and even her true name... To Ashe, she remained practically transparent.

It would be one thing if Ashe were merely a stranger she would never encounter again. But he happened to be her relentless pursuer, determined to chase her down until the bitter end. If she were to be exposed...

For a fleeting moment, Weiser regretted adopting the Dragonblood Cultivation System and making an enemy of someone like Ashe.

The thought lingered for only a few seconds before vanishing without a trace.

I must not fear, for fear only strengthens the enemy and weakens me. Do not run. To flee is to abandon hope and surrender what I have gained. Reality is but a fleeting illusion, and so all fate is false. The Virtual World is the eternal future, where all possibilities may yet exist. This is not a crisis, but an opportunity, for the line between hunter and prey has always been blurred.

Countless thoughts raced through Weiser's mind, yet her expression concealed every trace of emotion.

She continued, "The Phantom Mirror Dragon Secret Poison has left my soul recovery and defenses far weaker than those of an ordinary sorcerer. Whenever I die in the Virtual World, it takes me three to four times longer to recover. After the Forbidden Ritual of Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon Resonance a few months ago, it took me until now to fully recover. I'll need to undergo at least one more ritual before I can construct my Sacred Realm. And after that, I'll need several more months to recover.”

"Does this Secret Poison only have negative effects?” Ashe asked. "Is there anything useful in the information it contains? Could it help us explore the Virtual World?”

Weiser shook her head. "It only contains information about the Phantom Mirror Dragon. It's practically impossible to encounter one in the Virtual World.”

"Then try contracting the Golden Fish and Rainbow Tail Secret Poisons.”

As expected, surprise flashed across Weiser's face, but she failed to contract either of them, just as the Witch had before her.

Sorcerers were inherently greedy and skeptical by nature. They rarely trusted secondhand information completely without seeing it for themselves. That was even more true for a Truth Class sorcerer. To them, blind trust was perhaps the rarest luxury of all.

"So that means the four of us don't have Sacred Realms, but we only have three items that can help us construct one.”

"No, don't count me in,” Dia said. "I can already construct my Sacred Realm.”

As if afraid they might not believe her, Dia raised a hand. A transparent Sacred Realm immediately emerged, enveloping both her and Ashe.

Ashe was stunned. "How did you learn to construct a Sacred Realm after only one ritual? Your spatial talent is almost comparable to the Beastmen!”

"That's incredible!” Weiser praised her. "Senior Witch, you really do have amazing talent!”

"Hehe.”

Deep down, Dia felt a little embarrassed. In truth, she had not relied on her talent at all. She had only managed to learn the Space Class thanks to the Gospel's omniscience and omnipotence. The Divine Spirit was as much a sword hanging over her head as it was a treasure of immeasurable value. Every day, she could enter a sixty-second state of omniscience and omnipotence. During that brief state, she could greatly advance the sorcery classes she had already begun learning. She could even delve deeply into classes she had never understood before, such as Fate and Prophecy.

However, the difference in efficiency between the two was enormous, perhaps thousands or even tens of thousands of times. Thanks to the rituals, she had already laid a foundation in the Space Class, allowing her to master it within days. The Fate Class, on the other hand, would probably take her an entire year just to make any real progress.

Sonya stared blankly at the Witch. Then she looked at Weiser, lowering her head as she seemed lost in thought.

"Then this is easy,” Ashe said. "Two Umbral Sacred Realm Potions and one Scarlet Blessing.”

"The Umbral Sacred Realm Potion comes with one drawback. It completes the construction of your Sacred Realm, but it does not increase your sorcery class rank.

"The Forbidden Ritual of Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon Resonance exists precisely to help us begin mastering the Space Class. If you skip that step, you may never be able to enter the Space Class in your entire life.

"The Scarlet Blessing, on the other hand, has no such drawback. It even increases Space Class experience. It's practically a gift made for newly ascended Sacred Realm sorcerers.”

He paused before taking out two bottles of potion. "I don't care much about Class mastery, so I'll drink one. As for the other, Weiser, since you're eager to construct your Sacred Realm, you should take it.”

Weiser had no objections. She was just about to reach for the potion when someone suddenly grabbed her wrist.

It was the Swordswoman.

"I'll drink it,” Sonya said. "Most of my talent is in swordsmanship. Even if I use the Scarlet Blessing tonight, I might not be able to comprehend the Space Class. Weiser, on the other hand, has mastered more than twenty sorcery classes. Her talent is far superior to mine. She will definitely be able to construct her Sacred Realm with this artifact.”

Weiser looked at her in surprise. Sonya's words sounded reasonable at first, but no matter how she thought about it, Scarlet Blessing was clearly superior to the Umbral Sacred Realm Potion in every aspect. She herself was also far more tempted by the Gold artifact. There was indeed a possibility that even after obtaining the artifact, she still would not comprehend the Space Class. But at worst, she could simply undergo another ritual.

Unlike herself, the Swordswoman did not have the Phantom Mirror Dragon Secret Poison. At most, she would only need half a month before she could return to the Virtual World. The Watcher's choice was obviously biased toward taking care of his old teammates. Weiser felt that was completely reasonable. So why was the Swordswoman refusing?

Ashe was also somewhat surprised. He gestured for Sonya to follow him aside and asked, "Are you serious? You know how important the Space Class is, right?”

Sonya nodded. "Yeah. But if I fail to construct my Sacred Realm, I'll have no choice but to undergo the ritual tomorrow night.”

"Then undergo it,” Ashe said with a smile. "It's something every sorcerer has to go through. We only skipped it because we took a shortcut.”

"If I die during the ritual, I won't be able to enter the Virtual World for several days.”

Ashe laughed. "What's the big deal? I have the Blazing Soul Essence Tonic to speed up your recovery. And like you said, the more Space Class experience you have, the less damage your soul takes. You'll probably recover within a few days. Isn't that worth spending a few days to learn the Space Class?”

"But I'm not like the Witch or Weiser,” Sonya touched the hilt of her sword, a trace of unease appearing in her eyes. "I'm not very talented at comprehending space. I might need four to five, maybe even six to seven rituals, before I can successfully learn it.”

"Then let it be,” Ashe said. "It'll only take you a month or two at most. Why are you so anxious?”

The Claw-Stretching Club President fell silent. Then she raised her head, widened her eyes, and stared at him with puffed cheeks.

Ashe thought about it for a moment, then it clicked. "Because we have a new teammate joining, and at the same time, you are worried about being absent. You are afraid the new teammate will replace your position and your importance in the team will decrease.”

In truth, Sonya's concern was easy to understand. It was like regularly playing games with a group of friends, then being unable to log in for a few days. By the time you returned, they had already found someone else to fill your spot, leaving you as the outsider who no longer fit in.

Sonya lowered her voice. "You once said that an operator's place in your heart depends on their strength.”

"Did I really say that?” Ashe blinked. "Well, I guess I still think that way. So...”

He casually reached out, and the Scarlet Blessing appeared in his hand. He draped the ruby necklace around her neck before smiling.

"If you don't even learn the Space Class, how are you going to become my strongest operator?”