Virtual Realm, Time Continent.
“Witch!”
Along with Ashe’s voice came the warm yellow “sword body barrier.” Only then did the stunned Deya snap back to reality, managing to escape the damage zone just in time before the Raging Slashing Dragon’s tail could break through the sword body barrier.
As if sensing that Deya was their greatest vulnerability, the smaller Blade Fish Dragons swarmed towards her in an attempt to encircle and slay her. However, Ashe had already used the “Heart Pen” to draw a network of ink marks in the surrounding area. As soon as the Blade Fish Dragons entered, they got stuck in those seemingly ink-like ‘aerial strokes,’ their bodies quickly being shredded into pieces by the ink. The horrific sight deterred the other Blade Fish Dragons from entering the dense region of ink marks.
The “Heart Pen” Miracle that Sonya had gifted Ashe was indeed very useful. Normally, the combination of ‘Heart Sword’ with ‘Sword Mark’ to create a trap zone at a distance had a significant issue-the spellcaster had to continuously expend spellforce to maintain the Sword Marks. If Ashe ceased supplying spellforce, those Sword Marks would instantly dissipate.
This not only consumed a lot of spellforce but also required Ashe to constantly divert attention to the Sword Mark area while performing other attacks.
In the early stages of use, it was quite entertaining, but the hassle made it grow tiresome quickly. If one were to say spirits were the spellcaster’s harem, then the Sword Mark spirit was like a capricious and demanding courtesan, and Ashe hardly felt like pampering her.
However, the “Heart Pen” Miracle ingeniously altered the damage mechanism of the ‘Sword Mark’ spirit: Normally, Sword Marks are fixed in mid-air to continuously harm moving targets. The “Heart Pen,” on the other hand, bypasses continuous damage and uses the Sword Marks as consumable ink marks. These can be carried away by moving targets, but within seconds, the ink marks deplete themselves, causing cutting damage to the target.
Because they are consumable ink marks, the spellforce consumption of the “Heart Pen” is significantly lower, allowing Ashe to easily draw a multitude of ink mark traps. Although the overall damage wasn’t decreased, it made his job much less taxing. Moreover, Ashe could also draw ‘ineffectual ink marks’ with minimal spellforce consumption to confuse and intimidate knowledge creatures!
As a high-quality Miracle that Sonya bought for 15 gold coins, it even included instructions on how to disable friendly fire. After all, in Sonya’s world, team combat is the norm for spellcasters. Ashe only needed to apply an ink mark to his teammates beforehand, allowing them to freely move through the ink mark area without disrupting its arrangement!
Their newly developed tactic involved Ashe setting up the ink mark area first. Then the sword Princess and the Witch would lure the knowledge creatures over. Once in the ink mark zone, they could safely hunt the knowledge creatures. After one or two charges, the knowledge creatures wouldn’t dare to step into the ink mark area again.
Thanks to this new trick from the “Heart Pen” Miracle, the Sword Mark spirit’s status in the spirit harem was instantly elevated from a demanding courtesan to a favored concubine, rivaling the Heart Sword and Substitute in affection.
When the Raging Slashing Dragon was finally defeated by the ‘Blood Moon Shattered Lake’ severing its head, Sonya sheathed her blade amid the blood rain, her killing aura all but dissipating. Her sharp eyes curved into crescents as she turned to see Ashe walking past her without a word, heading into the gemstone mine pit to loot resources.
Sonya glanced at his back, muttering something under her breath before pulling Deya to the side. “Witch, zoning out during a battle is dangerous.”
“Sorry,” Deya immediately replied. “It won’t happen again.”
“I’m not blaming you. It’s normal to make mistakes. Look at the Observer; he’s always making mistakes from the back. You don’t need to take it to heart.”
“What mistake did the Observer make?”
“Breathing,” Sonya snorted, her face showing clear contempt for their captain. “Have you ever seen a time when the Observer was charming and gentle? Let me clarify, I haven’t either.”
“And don’t you think the Observer has been getting more annoying lately? I’m telling you, he’s always been this annoying. Do you know he did something extremely inappropriate to me in the Sea of Knowledge? Just thinking about it makes me so angry I shake...”
There’s nothing like talking behind someone’s back to strengthen bonds, especially when that person is everyone’s boss. Deya listened with great interest as Sonya ranted about the Observer, her antenna-like cowlick bobbing and bending in agreement.
“So you’re really taking care of me because I’ve been distracted and made mistakes tonight, right?” Deya said, looking down at her knees. “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault tonight...”
Ashe couldn’t help but say, “Actually—”
“Actually, Observer, you think the Witch is a burden! That’s why you’re so quick to abandon fighting, so she won’t drag you down or even get you killed!” Sonya interjected, hugging the Witch tightly and glaring at Ashe. “This is exactly the kind of person the Observer is—so profit-driven and heartless! He doesn’t trust his companions at all!”
This! Sword! Princess!—
Ashe took a deep breath, speaking in a cold voice, “That’s your theory, not mine.”
“I’m sorry!” Deya said loudly, rubbing her eyes forcefully. “I’ve been affected by things in the real world, so I wasn’t focused on the battle just now... But I’ve adjusted my mood. If I make any more mistakes, I’ll let the White Queen or the Scarlet Dead Apostles replace me, so I won’t affect our exploration. Observer, please follow the original route and loot the resource points.”
“You don’t need to apologize,” Sonya said gently. “Everyone has rough times. Taking a break for one night won’t stop us from becoming Sanctuary spellcasters. Is there anything we can do to help?”
Deya slapped her face hard, making it turn red.
“If I expect others to accommodate me just because I’m upset, unhappy, or confused, that’s childlike behavior,” the Witch said seriously. “I’m not a child anymore; I don’t have a favorite color.”
She paused, clenching her fists, and said earnestly, “Besides, I do have someone I can lean on. You don’t need to worry about me. In my case, I just need to go back and get a hug and a kiss from him, and I’ll be fine!”
Sonya’s expression froze suddenly, and she forced a smile. “Ah, oh, um... that’s good then.”
“So, Observer, let’s proceed according to the resource point looting route!” Deya said. “I’m okay now!”
“When you first made the request, I already thought about switching back to the original route,” Ashe said flatly. “But halfway through, we found the Golden Flow blocking our path. Now, I’m driving along the edge of the Golden Flow, and the original route is no longer viable.”
This situation is not uncommon; the distribution of the Golden Flow changes randomly every day and can block critical paths. For typical spellcasters, this is a good thing because most two-wings spellcasters encounter the Golden Flow daily. As long as they have the stamina to dive in and collect spirits, they won’t go home empty-handed today. However, for Ashe and his group, who have maps, the Golden Flow significantly lowers their efficiency.
“Then let’s pick a resource point along the way-“
“We’ve already reached a special building,” Ashe interrupted, looking at a golden area marked “Come Here” on the virtual realm map. “But the Blood Tomb Map doesn’t indicate what kind of building this is.”
In fact, most special buildings are not marked, which is one reason why Ashe previously avoided exploring them. The rewards are too unpredictable. On reflection, it makes sense; the heroic soul commanders never enter virtual realm buildings, so they have no need to mark them. Moreover, even the heroic soul commanders may not recognize all the virtual realm buildings.
“Let me go in and check it out first. I’ll figure out the rules inside and come back to update you!” Deya immediately said. “If it’s something like the Amnesia Cabin, you won’t need to take the risk of going in!”
Given that the virtual realm map labeled it “Come Here,” it likely means there’s no inherent danger inside. However, Ashe understood that this was Deya’s way of making up for her earlier mistakes. And, to be honest, he wouldn’t mind some alone time with the sword Princess as well. So with a nod, he agreed, “Leave it to you, Witch.”