Chapter 485: Gold Blessing

A destination that could be seen forever...

Having already experienced concepts such as the Sea of Knowledge, the White Ox, and the Ascending Golden Rain, Ashe accepted this new setting with remarkable calmness. He glanced toward the entrance of the alley. "So where exactly are we now?"

A blonde little girl who had been peeking at them from the corner immediately ducked back out of sight. After a moment, she cautiously poked her head out again, staring at the group with curiosity.

"A Mirage Bubble," Sonya answered. "In other words, a dream."

"Whose dream?"

"A sorcerer's dream."

"A sorcerer's dream?" Ashe froze, looking as confused as if he had just been punched by a Lala Fat. "Sorcerers can dream?"

Ashe was definitely an exception among his peers. Most sorcerers obtained enough rest within the Virtual World itself. Once they returned to reality, they were full of energy throughout the entire day and did not require any sleep at all. Even if they wanted to rest, they would simply do so inside the Virtual World. Ashe, being the anomaly he was, would occasionally take lazy afternoon naps with Lys while lying on the carpet. What proper sorcerer actually slept?

"I know it sounds strange, but that's how the books described it. I'll investigate more when we return," Sonya said helplessly. "Apparently, the Distant Sky Domain is formed from countless dreams. If a sorcerer wants to condense the Rainbow Wing, they must travel through these dreams and undergo various adventures. And the most common method of traveling between dreams isn't flying there directly, but using doors to perform spatial teleportation. One could even say that spatial gates are the most commonly used exploration method for Sacred Realm sorcerers."

The Swordswoman gave a bitter smile. "When I saw the source of the Rainbow Tail was a door, I should have realized it... The passage between the Continent of Time and the Distant Sky Domain was actually a spatial portal. We were directly teleported into one of the dreams within the Distant Sky Domain!"

"Then if we walk back through it now—"

"The Virtual World only allows advancement, never retreat. We'll only be transported to another dream within the Distant Sky Domain. We won't return to the Continent of Time."

Sonya's lips curled upward as she looked at Ashe with amusement. "Besides... do you still dare to walk through that door now?"

Dia still seemed uneasy. A strand of her black hair remained streaked with white and red. Still shaken, she hugged the Swordswoman tightly. "What exactly happened just now? I almost thought the Virtual World was punishing us for sneaking into the Third Layer."

Sonya explained, "That was just spatial teleportation. We'll experience it more than ten times every night in the future."

"More than ten times!?" Dia shook her head repeatedly. "Even once more is too much! Are all Sacred Realm sorcerers masochistic lunatics!?"

Sonya shrugged. "Sacred Realm sorcerers are obviously not masochistic lunatics. The problem is... we're not Sacred Realm sorcerers yet."

Ashe was slightly startled. A hint of realization flashed in his eyes. "Sacred Realm?"

Sonya nodded. "Exactly. The reason passing through space portals feels so painful is because... hmm, I don't remember the details very clearly, but roughly speaking, it's because we cannot protect ourselves inside the spatial turbulence.

"We're basically broken down into countless particles on one side, then reconstructed on the other. Naturally, the process is agonizing beyond imagination. If we can unleash a Sacred Realm to protect ourselves, however, we can safely pass through the spatial turbulence and arrive at the other side. This is also one of the reasons why Sacred Realm sorcerers must master their Sacred Realm."

Sonya gently pressed down on Dia's messy hair. "Without a Sacred Realm, a sorcerer cannot advance through the Distant Sky Domain at all."

Dreams, space portals, Sacred Realms...

While Ashe was trying to digest this information, a clear ding suddenly rang out. Their Gold Wings unfolded on their own, shining with dazzling golden brilliance!

The three of them immediately brightened. "Gold Blessing!"

Whenever a sorcerer climbed to a new layer of the Virtual World, they received a Virtual World Blessing! These blessings were often specially tailored for each individual, capable of increasing a sorcerer's combat power by 20% to 100%.

While the Swordswoman and the Witch calmed themselves to sense their new powers, Ashe silently opened the Operator interface.

[Death Maniac Swordswoman]

Species

- Human Female

Age

- 18 years old

Bond Level

- 4 (75% experience shared)

Bond Resonance

- Never Enough: When acting together, there is a chance to obtain better loot.

Silver Blessing · Revelry / Savagery

- Each time an enemy is defeated, including but not limited to sorcerer projections, Knowledge Creatures, monsters, sorcerers, or construct creatures, increases critical rate and critical damage. Different traits may be triggered depending on the operator's training path.

(Current trait: Revelry. Maximum critical damage increase: 250%.)

Gold Blessing · Radiant Star / Moon Star

- Every battle increases Insight, Willpower, and Charisma. Different traits may be triggered depending on the operator's training path.

Extra Blessing Trait · Radiant Star

- The Swordswoman desires brilliance. She desires the admiration of countless people. She desires to be loved by everyone. This path activates the Radiant Star effect, granting a Swordsmanship Inspiration bonus. The more people who like her, the greater the increase. Her inspiration can eventually rise to a perpetual flow, allowing her to easily create and improve Sword Class Miracles.

Extra Curse Trait · Moon Star

- The Swordswoman desires attachment. She desires to be cherished. She desires to drown herself in the gaze of those she values. This path activates the Moon Star effect, granting inspiration flashes across all sorcery classes. The deeper she falls into her own love, the greater the increase. Her inspiration can eventually rise to a perpetual flow, allowing her to easily create and improve miracles across all sorcery classes.

Knowledge Curses

- Whirlpool Secret Poison, Exile Secret Poison, Golden Fish Secret Poison, Bronze Dragon Secret Poison, Concept Secret Poison, Rainbow Tail Secret Poison.

Ashe blinked, unable to stop himself from glancing at the Swordswoman. Ah... When did my bond level with the Swordswoman increase to Level 4? The last time I checked, it was still Level 3... Could it have risen during these past few days? And the Gold Blessing...

Sonya noticed his gaze. "What's my Gold Blessing? I can roughly tell that it's a growth-type blessing. The more battles I participate in, the higher the growth value becomes."

Dia also raised her head curiously. "Watcher, do you know what our Gold Blessings are?"

Because every blessing was individually tailored by the Virtual World itself, there were no precedents to reference. Most sorcerers could only slowly figure out their own blessing effects through trial and error.

"Your Gold Blessing, Swordswoman, is..." Ashe hesitated for a moment. "Radiant Star. The more your battles attract attention, and the more people admire you, the easier it becomes for you to create and improve Sword Class Miracles. Simply put, as long as you dress beautifully and crush everyone who dares look down on you in the arena, you'll keep getting stronger."

"Good!" The Claw-Stretching Club President clenched her fist excitedly. "As expected of the Virtual World! This blessing suits me perfectly!"

"Watcher, you seemed hesitant just now," the Witch suddenly noted. "It felt like you were making a choice."

Ashe quickly shook his head. "No way!"

"Some Two-Winged sorcerers' records mention that their Silver Blessings have multiple developmental paths. By cultivating in different directions, they can develop completely different effects," Dia analyzed. "Could the Swordswoman's Gold Blessing also have multiple routes?"

When Sonya looked over suspiciously, Ashe firmly shook his head. "Absolutely not!"

Ashe gathered his courage and stared straight into Sonya's eyes with complete confidence. The village girl stared back at him for a while, then suddenly burst into laughter. "Alright. If you say there isn't, then there isn't."

She gave a light snort. "As if I could ever doubt you."

Ashe let out a sigh of relief and quickly changed the topic. "Let me check your blessing, Witch..."

[Black-White Witch]

Species

- Human Female

Age

- 19

Bond Level

- 2 (40% experience shared)

Bond Resonance

- Manipulating Hearts: Even without relevant Mind Class spirits, you and the Witch possess a supernatural ability to influence others' hearts.

Silver Blessing · Witch's Taboo

- Secret grants you power, and concealment is your weapon. The fewer people in reality who know your true self, the stronger you become in the Virtual World.

(Current concealment: 85% (unknown to anyone), granting +85% mana recovery rate. (Excludes the Watcher's observations.))

Gold Blessing · Witch's Rebellion

- Rebellion grants you power. Desire is your weapon. The more you wish to rebel against those who love you, or even harbor ill intentions toward them, the stronger you become in the Virtual World.

(Current rebellion level: 91% (Corrupted Filial Piety). Gain 91% additional mana.)

Knowledge Curses

- Bronze Dragon Secret Poison, Golden Fish Secret Poison, Rainbow Tail Secret Poison.

Ashe stared at Dia with a strange expression.

Dia merely widened her innocent eyes at him.

Ashe suddenly remembered something. "Witch, can you still not see my face?"

"I can't."

The Watcher's Countenance was still affecting the Witch. Perhaps it's because our Bond Level is not high enough yet...

Ashe coughed twice and cleared his throat. "Your Gold Blessing is called Rebellion. It increases your mana capacity. If you can cultivate it to its limit, you'll be able to gain an additional 100% mana."

The Silver Blessing increased mana recovery speed, while the Gold Blessing increased total mana. The Witch's future development path was obvious. She was essentially a massive Miracle-casting artillery platform, designed to bombard enemies relentlessly with high-cost Miracles.

"How do I cultivate it to the limit?"

Ashe thought that it had nothing to do with him anyway, so he simply told her the truth. "Basically, you need to rebel against those who love you. The more ill intentions you harbor toward those who love you, the higher your rebellion level becomes. You're already at 91%, which means there's still room for improvement."

"I still need to go further!?" Dia was shocked, her expression turning complicated. "W-we don't think we can get any more rebellious than we already are..."

"Since the general direction is correct, you just need to work on the details," Ashe offered his advice. "For example, how exactly you rebel, and how you handle things after rebelling..."

The Witch nodded nervously. She lowered her head and began counting on her fingers, muttering to herself, "One hour in the morning, two hours in the afternoon, three hours at night, two in three years..."

No one knew what exactly she was calculating.