“Cheers!”
Outside the Sports Arena, Sonya caught the small wine bottle thrown at her and raised an eyebrow. “Why do you still carry alcohol with you?”
“If you lost, this would be a healthy drink to drown your sorrows,” Adelle laughed as she hugged the village girl. “Ah, we actually look quite similar. So why can you take down five opponents with one sword move?”
“It’s not the same at all. Your butt is bigger, and you’ve got more meat,” Lois chimed in.
“It’s called being voluptuous and well-proportioned!” Adelle retorted, showing her teeth. “And all the meat is exactly where it should be. I don’t have an ounce of... extra fat...”
Adelle pinched her waist and fell into a long silence. Sonya twisted open the small bottle and took a sip when a familiar voice came from behind, “Sonya!”
Sonya turned to see her senior sister Leoni. The orange-haired dancer walked over and gave the village girl a heavy hug, smiling, “Nice fight. I can’t wait to face you in the arena.”
“After witnessing my Blood Moon Shattered Lake, do you still have the confidence to beat me?” Sonya asked with a smile.
“Of course,” Leoni snatched the bottle from her and took a sip, chuckling. “I’ll admit, you’re stronger now, but before we meet, I’ll find a way to counter your Miracle. And my Rhythm Melody might just shatter your Blood Moon. If you get cocky, you’ll be in tears after I beat you! By the way, do you want to go to the secret garden for a drink after we get back?”
“No thanks, I already have plans tonight.”
“That’s too bad. I’ll catch up with the professor then,” Leoni waved goodbye. “By the way, Professor Nidhogg speaks highly of you. I think he’s regretting not taking you on as a student earlier.”
“That’s amazing,” Adelle pouted with jealousy. “My professor only regrets giving me passing grades and watching me struggle to keep up in the second semester.”
“Why not work hard and catch up?” Engulite suggested.
“I’d rather my professor regret it,” Adelle responded.
Just then, Professor Trozan approached them and unexpectedly said, “Ride with me back.”
Generally, students take the shuttle bus back on their own since the Sports Arena has direct shuttles to various colleges. However, Sonya’s performance tonight had made Trozan proud, so Trozan reluctantly agreed to be her driver for once.
Her roommates also took the opportunity to hitch a ride with the professor. Trozan’s car wasn’t anything special, but she seemed to use some spirit while driving. The car was not only very steady but also zigzagged skillfully, weaving through the traffic and carving a path despite the congestion.
“Look outside,” Engulite suddenly said.
The city’s holographic screens outside were repeatedly showing the footage of Sonya’s Blood Moon Sword defeating Vereen. It wasn’t just in Galaxia; Abacuray, Magi, Mate-now the entire Stars Kingdom was still reliving the opening Meteor Trial.
“Famed in Swordflower, famed in the Imperial Capital, famed in the Stars...” Lois commented. “You reached your goal in just two months.”
“There’s still a long way to go,” Sonya said, staring at her image on the holographic screens outside, unwilling to look away. “Unless I keep winning until I become number one, everyone will soon forget about me.”
“Could you stop being so smug while pretending to be humble? You’re totally acting like a little megalomaniac! My dog looks just as conceited when I try to take its picture!”
Sonya turned her gaze to Lois, and just when Lois thought she was angry, the village girl placed her hands on her head, mimicking dog ears, and playfully said, “Woof.”
Lois felt her face heat up and turned away, mumbling, “So you want me to take your picture, huh?”
“Sonya, Sonya!” Adelle exclaimed, looking at her wristband’s holographic screen. “Check out the school’s screens! You’re all over them!”
“Is anyone bad-mouthing me?”
“No way, this is your moment. The whole school is proud of you. Anyone who dares to say a bad word about you will get flamed instantly,” Adelle said. “Why don’t you make a post with your verified account to boost your image? Then our Stretch Paw Club could expand!”
“Alright!”
Soon, as the Swordflower College students were still riding the wave of excitement from the night’s events, they saw a post from the Red-Haired Sword Princess on the school’s veil.
In the post, Sonya first provided a brief recap of her freshman year experiences. She shared some funny anecdotes about professors and the cafeteria, making the students realize that she wasn’t some unapproachable genius but an ordinary student just like them.
Next, Sonya reminisced about famous events at Swordflower College over the past few years, triggering nostalgia among the older students and instilling a sense of collective pride in the younger ones.
“Engulite,” Adelle asked while drying her hair, “what do you make of this behavior?”
“I can only say it’s highly terrifying,” Engulite replied. “I used to believe it before I went to the Virtual Realm, but now that I’ve spent days in the Sea of Knowledge, I know there’s something off.”
“After an intense and thrilling battle, all I want is to come back and sleep. I wouldn’t dream of going to the Virtual Realm for a second round of overtime. How can battling be considered rest after a fight? Can you cure a hangover with more alcohol?” Lois exclaimed.
“Well, actually, having a little bit of alcohol the next morning can indeed help with a hangover,” Adelle chimed in. “Don’t ask me how I know.”
“In summary,” Lois concluded, “either Sonya is a super hardworking freak that even Engulite would envy, or her Virtual Realm experience is completely different from ours.”
“How could it be different?” Adelle tilted her head. “Could it turn from an adventure series into a romance drama?”
Virtual Realm, Time Continent.
As soon as Ashe arrived, he quickly opened the virtual realm map to confirm their location. “We’re in the area in front of the Blood Tomb. There’s no detailed map, so we need to act cautiously and avoid the heroic soul legion’s pursuit...”
“Ahem!” Sonya cleared her throat and affectionately hugged Deya. “Witch, our College League just began, and tonight I had my first Meteor Trial match.”
Deya asked, “What is the Meteor Trial?”
“Well, the Meteor Trial is...”
“And then I used Blood Moon Shattered Lake to defeat Vereen...”
“The remaining four were fighting to the death...”
“The entire Stars Kingdom was watching my match...”
When Sonya finished recounting her glorious evening, Deya looked at her with admiration. “That sounds so fun! Competing, becoming famous, having tons of people admire you... Is school really that interesting? Wow, Sword Princess, you must be a super big shot!”
“Not yet,” Sonya replied nonchalantly. “I need to keep winning and eventually take the league crown to earn the Stars Kingdom’s recognition.”
“But it’s already amazing. You basically took on five opponents single-handedly. I can’t even be sure I could defeat five two-wings spellcasters in direct combat...”
“Of course, you can, Witch. Your Time Sect powers are unbeatable. If you took my place, the match would end even quicker!”
The sports car stopped outside a gemstone mine resource point. Ashe clapped his hands. “Quick, quick, quick, we need to loot as many resource points as we can before the heroic soul legion catches up!”
Deya quickly jumped out of the car and dashed toward the mine, while Sonya lingered behind, taking her time.
As Ashe was about to get out of the car, he felt a tug on his wrist.
“What’s up?”
Sonya gave him a look that seemed to say “how could you even ask that,” and pointed to herself. “I won the Meteor Trial.”
“Yeah,” Ashe blinked, “You said it pretty loudly just now; I heard you.”
“Well, don’t you think you should...” Sonya fluttered her eyelashes, “show some appreciation?”
Ashe looked completely puzzled.
“But, but all our spoils always go to you first,” he scratched his head, “How about I give you a ‘Massage Coupon’ that you can redeem anytime?”
“Tsk,” Sonya shook his arm vigorously and pouted in discontent, “Can’t you just give me some praise?”
“Didn’t you say the audience, professors, and even the Witch praised you just now?”
“But they aren’t you.”