Do You Really Not Care Whether You Live or Die?

[Sincerity] [One-Winged Sorcery Spirit] [Requirement: Must possess a heart] [Basic Effect: Transforms the heart into a "Heart of Sincerity." For the duration of the effect, significantly boosts the sorcerer's mental resistances and weakens a range of negative effects acting on the soul, consciousness, and mind, such as dizziness, confusion, and sluggishness.] [Passive Effect: The sorcerer becomes more inclined to speak the truth, prefers sincere communication, and can more easily discern the veracity of others' words.] ["There are only two tragedies in life: one is not telling the truth, and the other is telling it."] Sonia caressed this one-winged sorcery spirit, which looked like a transparent butterfly, a sense of wonder welling in her heart. This was not the first time she had summoned a sorcery spirit, but it was the first time she had done so so unexpectedly, and so delightfully. She knew the Sincerity sorcery spirit had appeared only because of the Watcher's compulsory ritual, yet she had mastered Sincerity with virtually no obstacles, having fully comprehended its knowledge structure. Sonia had a strong premonition: even if she lost Sincerity in the future, she would be able to summon it again. She had never studied knowledge related to Sincerity, and her nature was far from "sincere," yet as she stroked the transparent butterfly, a resonance of knowledge connected her to the sorcery spirit. A feeling like a blood bond rose within Sonia's heart, as though Sincerity were truly her own born sorcery spirit. She suddenly recalled the origins of sorcerers taught in class. The earliest sorcerers did not know how to summon sorcery spirits. They simply lived normal lives, and little darlings would continually pop up to help them. In that distant era, years stretched long and were worth waiting for; every minute and every second, a sorcery spirit might descend to one's side. Yaxiu opened Operator Management and took a look. [Death Frenzy Sword Princess] [Human · Female · Age 18] [Bond Level: 2 (40% Experience Sharing)] [Bond Resonance: Insatiable Greed: When acting together, a chance to obtain better spoils of war.] [Class: Silver Slayer Sorcerer] [Class Feature: Each effective attack restores 0.5% of maximum sorcery power] [Items Held: Wooden Training Sword] [Sorcery Spirits Controlled: Wave Sword, Moon Silk, Torrent, Killing Intent Sword, Splitting Sword, Scabbard, Sword Sharpening] [Swordsmanship Faction: Silver] [Light Faction: Silver] [Water Sorcery Faction: Silver] [Mind Faction: Silver] [Void Realm Exploration: 0.098%] [Knowledge Curse: Vortex Secret Poison] Sure enough, her mind faction had jumped straight to the Silver rank. But why did she have several new sorcery spirits he had never seen before? Sonia recounted her experiences and gains from the past two days to Yaxiu, leaving him both surprised and delighted. He wondered whether this was the missing social development and story module in Aurora's Sorcerer Handbook—even without the player's help, the mature Sword Princess could progress through story events and claim rewards all on her own. Although Yaxiu couldn't help Sword Princess clear "game stages," he was determined not to hold her back, and would try his best to accommodate her needs when dividing spoils of war in the future. "I can teach you the miracle 'Killing Intent Activation,' but I can't tell you about 'Scabbard Concealing Light' or 'Ten Years of Sword Sharpening,'" Sonia explained. "Those two miracles were taught to me by Professor Trozan, and we signed a sealed-film contract. I only have the right to use those miracles, not share them. Until the contract is terminated, I can't disclose any information regarding either of them." Yaxiu indicated his understanding. Those two miracles were Sword Princess's exclusive character story rewards, so naturally they couldn't be shared with other characters. Meanwhile, the source of Killing Intent Activation was the Killing Intent Sword, which was something they had gained together in the Void Realm; Sword Princess had then triggered an extra story event upon returning to her world. That was essentially a side-story bonus, so naturally both could benefit from it. However, he wasn't particularly interested in those miracles anyway. After all, he lacked the key sorcery spirits, and he was an unlearned, ignorant sorcerer to begin with; even if he learned a miracle sorcery procedure, he wouldn't be able to figure anything out from it. Sonia glanced at him, pursing her lips, and asked, "What about you? Did you break out?" Yaxiu shook his head and recounted the bizarre events of the past two days. Hearing that the jailbreak plan had been canceled, a Three-Winged Sanctuary hunter had arrived, and Yaxiu had nearly been murdered in his dorm room by the hunter captain, Sonia's heart rode a rollercoaster of emotions. "Then what do you plan to do? Wait ten days and break out then?" "Hopefully," Yaxiu said, shrugging. "But there's another Blood Moon Trial in a few days. I strongly suspect I'll be selected as one of the lucky eight again—Xilin even called in a Sanctuary Sorcerer, so I don't believe he'd let slip an opportunity to have me die in broad daylight." "Last time Valkas stood in front of me to shield me, but this time I can only rely on my own hard strength to pull through." "You want to take on the Blood Moon Trial?" "I want to play the victim on the live broadcast so the audience votes for other criminals." "In other words, you plan to just sit there and wait to die." Sonia's brows knitted together, a look of dissatisfaction on her face. In the past, Sonia would have brushed it off with a tease or two. After all, the Watcher's reality had nothing to do with her; his complaints and worries about his circumstances were at most fodder for idle chatter during their breaks. She had never truly cared about—or rather, worried about—the Watcher's situation. Yet this time, Sonia couldn't help asking, "Don't you have any backup plans or trump cards? If you really face an inescapable predicament, do you have any guaranteed means of escape?" "None at all. If I did, I would've broken out long ago to breathe the sweet outside air." "How could you not? You can force me to train, you can see through the secrets of the Void Realm, you can casually read the Sorcerer Handbook, and you can even make me summon a sorcery spirit I'd never dreamed of—how could you possibly be unable to even save yourself?" "Yet I really can't," Yaxiu said, spreading his hands. "Maybe I just have bad luck. Sorry." Sonia stared intently at him, then suddenly spoke: "Is it just my imagination, or do you really not care whether you live or die?" Yaxiu froze slightly. Turning his head toward the surrounding sea of white mist, he feigned shyness and said, "Hearing you worry about me so much makes me a little embarrassed." "I'm not..." Sonia stopped midway, suddenly taken aback. "Wait, has my ritual ended?" Yaxiu nodded. "Of course. The moment you summoned the 'Sincerity' sorcery spirit, the ritual ended. By the way, your mind faction attained the Silver rank too. Remember to find some books to read when you get back—or maybe I can arrange some mind faction training for you." "No need, I'll study the mind faction myself!" Sonia firmly refused. She eyed Yaxiu suspiciously twice, then blurted out, "Watcher, you're a modest, warm, and kind-hearted person." Yaxiu wondered how he had just received a deluxe "nice guy card." Then he saw Sonia let out a long breath of relief: "Ah, lying really does feel great." Dark lines covered Yaxiu's face, and he clicked his tongue. "I don't have time to shoot the breeze with you. It's time to explore the Void Realm. Since we've both condensed our Silver Wings, let's prioritize stability going forward and stick to low-risk areas as much as possible—" "You still haven't answered my question." Sonia caught Yaxiu's right wrist as he was about to tap the light screen. Her pale red eyes stared straight into his blurred visage. "I've never seen anyone care so little about their own life and death. Do you have some mysterious backup plan hidden away, or do you genuinely not care whether you live or die?" "Hey, how do I not care? I just don't see the point in showing my nervousness. Do you really want to see me trembling in fear and panic that badly? You've got quite a twisted sense of humor, Sword Princess~" Yaxiu's tone was breezy, and his words sounded reasonable enough, but Sonia shook her head. "When I was little, my mother would occasionally bring home pastries and treats. Whenever I told her to have some too, she would always shake her head and say she'd already eaten," Sonia said. "That's how you make me feel—do you take me for a little girl? And even a little girl can see through a lie like that." Yaxiu thought about it, then relaxed his body and lay back in the small boat, chuckling helplessly. "I wasn't lying. I'm telling the truth. If I didn't cherish my life and fear death, why would I be so invested in breaking out of prison? Why would I go through all the trouble of forming a jailbreak crew? I'm afraid of dying too, and I long to live; that's basic biological instinct. It's just..." "Just what?" "The only thing I can think of is staying alive," Yaxiu said, looking up at the gray sky of the Void Realm. "No past, no future, no family, no friends. Right now, the only drive pushing me forward is sheer biological momentum. I don't have a single goal worth fighting for. Living is just for the sake of living." "Sounds a bit melodramatic, doesn't it? I was afraid you'd make fun of me." He shrugged. "I don't even know how to describe this feeling... My whole self feels as light as a balloon, tied to the ground by nothing more than a thin, fragile thread." "Sounds like early symptoms of 'Longevity Syndrome,'" Sonia said. "Some elderly, long-lived Legendary Sorcerers are prone to this particular illness. Because their exploration of the Void Realm stagnates, and their investment in reality is sorely lacking, compounded by being too old to update their social circles or even keep up with the times, they eventually sink into confusion and loneliness." "Many years ago, 'Longevity Syndrome' was considered an incurable disease. Afflicted sorcerers would soon suffer soul withering and die." Yaxiu was startled. "That serious?" "But with the development of medical sorcerers, the illness was quickly conquered. For hundreds of years, no sorcerer has died from 'Longevity Syndrome.'" Sonia held up two fingers. "There are two treatment methods. The first is to directly use the miracle 'Lantern of Hope,' allowing the sorcerer to rekindle the lamp in their heart and rediscover a purpose in life. 'Lantern of Hope' is a very common medical miracle that effectively treats various disorders of thought and consciousness." Although Yaxiu had tried his best to hold this world in high regard, he hadn't expected the sorcerer world to constantly surprise him—it could even cure an existential crisis. Sorcery was truly miraculous. "The second method is talk therapy—lifting your spirits through conversation. Do you need me to treat you?" "Sure. How does talk therapy work?" "First, you have to call me Master." Yaxiu fell silent for a moment, then said, "Sword Princess, I think you're showing some symptoms of 'Longevity Syndrome' yourself. Why don't I treat you first instead... Not even a little boy would fall for a lie like that!"