Beguiler, Lead the Way

"Senior Leonie is already a Two-Winged Sorcerer?!" "Stepping onto the Time Continent before even graduating?!" "As expected of our Orange Dancer!" Compared to the jubilant mood at Sword Flower University, Locus University's side looked grim. Skoll's defeat was one thing—it was merely an exhibition match—but the real problem was Leonie's recent advancement to Two-Winged Sorcerer. This meant the days ahead would be a period of rapid growth for her. By the time the Intercollegiate League began, the Orange Dancer would likely become an insurmountable wall for Locus University. Once the Whirling Cherry Fierce Saint and the Hidden Hand Sword Saint finished their commentary, the joy among the Sword Flower squad members noticeably waned, and their gazes couldn't help drifting toward Sonia. With Leonie's victory, the score was tied 2–2. The Chief Bout had become match point, shifting all the pressure squarely onto Sonia. In truth, the news of Leonie advancing to Two-Winged Sorcerer was far more significant than this exhibition match. However, if Sonia were to lose now, all the jealousy, resentment, and malice directed toward her at the school would erupt without restraint. The Red-Haired Sword Princess was simply too much of a prodigy. It had taken Leonie two full years to achieve her current renown, while Sonia had done it in a single month. Far too many people longed to see her fall flat on her face. The recent news of Sonia dying in the Void Realm hadn't come close to sating their malicious appetites; those hiding behind the Curtain were all hoping to see Sonia suffer an utter, crushing defeat to prove that this so-called genius was just as mediocre as the rest of them. Even among the competition squad members, there were plenty who harbored such thoughts. Or rather, they were the ones with the most reason to be envious. Why should a mere first-year become the competition squad's Chief right upon arrival? Just because she was Professor Trozan's student, held a record of fighting the Orange Dancer to a draw, and had unfolded full Silver Wings within a month? *If I could become Professor Trozan's student, maybe I could've done all that too!* *What Red-Haired Sword Princess? She's just a lucky village girl who caught a professor's favor and had resources poured into her!* "Sonia." Leonie strolled over leisurely. Over her top she wore a black leather vest, cinched below her bust with buckled straps that accentuated her voluptuous curves. Long runic sleeves covered her arms, paired with snug shorts and black silk stockings, giving her an agile, untamed look. As combat outfits went, hers wasn't flashy, but it suited her personality remarkably well. "Congratulations, Senior." "You're up next." Leonie sat down beside her without ceremony and patted her shoulder. "Go on, disappoint everyone who looks down on you." Sonia naturally understood what her senior meant. She had long felt the veiled malice from the other squad members. Or rather, ever since she stepped out of the dormitory building in her combat outfit, made her way to the campus gate, and met up with Professor Trozan, that unvarnished hostility had hung around her like a flock of peering carrion crows, several times fouler than farm manure. It was hard for a village girl not to notice. Far too many people wanted to see her eat dirt. Sonia had long grown accustomed to such looks. Back when she was studying for exams in the village, the villagers' stares had been just as searing—their eyes as beady as rats', their malice as glaring red as rats'. Looking at it now, city rats were no different from village rats. "Sonia." Beside her, Professor Trozan called out nonchalantly. Sonia glanced at her professor and suddenly asked, "What time is it?" "12:19," Trozan replied, looking up at the starry sky overhead. "The starlight is just right." "What a fine day." Sonia stood up. "I'll be right back." "When it comes to letting people down, I never disappoint." "And now, the eagerly awaited Chief Bout between our two schools!" the announcer shouted in a rousing voice. "Locus Chief Tida Argent versus Sword Flower Chief Sonia Scervie!" Sonia stepped lightly and leaped onto the stage, resting her hand on the hilt of her wooden sword. Although the university had provided her with a real sword, she was still accustomed to using a wooden sword in reality—after all, the sharpness of the wooden sword gifted by the Watcher was in no way inferior to a real blade. Silently, "Ten Years of Sword Sharpening" was already activated. At the same time, her opponent took the stage. Unlike Sonia, however, the Locus Chief simply walked up the stairs in ordinary fashion, even stumbling once and nearly falling flat on her face. She was a pint-sized girl of barely one and a half meters, dressed in a combat outfit resembling a princess costume for children, having to tilt her head back to meet Sonia's gaze. She had big eyes, curly pink hair tied with a bow, and clutched a teddy bear doll in her arms. Yet something about her felt strange—she seemed a bit too old to be a little girl, but too young to be called a maiden, caught in a delicate superposition between the two. "Big Sister Sonia, you're so pretty!" Tida chirped brightly. "No, I think I'm younger than you, Big Sister Tida," Sonia replied with a smile. "I'm only a first-year. Aren't you... a third-year?" Tida froze, then flashed a beaming smile. "No, silly! Tida is forever fourteen, so everyone is an older brother or older sister to me~" "Except you're actually twenty-one this year, aren't you?" Tida's smile gradually faded, and an instantaneous swell of malice erupted like a volcano. The bizarre aura whipped Sonia's hair into the air. "Has anyone ever told you that discussing a girl's age is very impolite?" The teddy bear in her arms crackled with arcs of miracle light. Amidst an explosion of raging air currents, a five-meter-tall black bear rose up on the arena floor, with Tida perched atop its shoulder. "It's not too late to apologize to your little sister, Big Sister Sonia," Tida smiled. This was Locus's newly appointed Chief, Tida Argent! An alchemist who had shot to fame in last year's Intercollegiate League, renowned as an "Alchemy Saint Seed." Her signature specialty was an alchemical giant bear she had crafted herself—carried around in doll form normally, but able to transform in battle into a terrifying monster with extremely high resistances across the board! It was said that the Truth Academy had once invited her to join. Although there were plenty of sorcerers with combat power equal to Tida's, among those who achieved such might through the alchemy faction alone, Tida was the only one in her age group! "No need, Big Sister Tida. I'm still in my rebellious phase." Sonia gripped her sword hilt, settling into an iai stance without the slightest hint of stage fright. On the contrary, her fighting spirit surged high, a fiery arc gleaming in her pale red eyes! Tension mounted like drawn bows. The announcer sensibly skipped the countdown, turning the stage entirely over to the two Chiefs. Just as the battle was about to erupt, Sonia suddenly heard the sound of turning pages. Time seemed to freeze at that moment. When Sonia blinked, she discovered that the world had changed. Before her eyes was no longer the stage of the Flash Rail Auditorium; she had suddenly arrived at a peculiar plain. In the distant sky, magma flowed; across the nearby fields, blossoms clustered in breathtaking, ethereal violet splendour, while a faint mist drifted through the air. This environment... she seemed to have seen it somewhere before— "Why have you stopped walking? Don't tell me you're scared?" Sonia turned her head and saw an exquisitely enchanting, natural beauty ahead of her. The woman wore high heels, white silk stockings, and an off-the-shoulder dress. Her perfect, supple curves strained against the fabric to create a trap from which no eye could look away, and her makeup was so exquisite it made even Sonia feel inadequate. Though her attire looked so innocent and sweet, every inch of her skin, every movement, and every glance felt like a wicked charm engineered to seduce people into sin. Strangest of all, however, around each of her forearms was a fluffy ring of pink fur, like a pair of wrist cuffs. Just as Sonia was observing this strange woman, she discovered that she had spoken— Her voice was haughty, cold, and sent a chill down the spine: "Beguiler, lead the way."