Is Her Sorcery Power Reserve Enough?

Starry Country, 10:00 PM, Jialesi National Arena. Inside the arena, terraformed into town alleyways, a two-story cottage collapsed with a crash. As she retreated, Sonia suddenly noticed time slowing down drastically. The flying rubble drifted past her ears at a crawl, the announcer's impassioned commentary stretched into an electronic reverberation, and the entire world seemed to freeze. She immediately realized she had triggered her passive blessing—"Peril Sense"! This dual blessing, combining the prophecy and time factions, used the slowing of time to warn her that she was on the brink of death! "Peril Sense" triggered only a split second before a lethal attack landed. In other words, before the country girl could even cast a defensive miracle, she would be slain, triggering the "Death Prohibition" miracle and losing the match! Yet even now, she had no idea where the danger was coming from! If she was not mistaken, an attack that could kill her in an instant before she could even see it was likely another contestant's gun arts miracle. By now, that deadly bullet had already left the barrel, carving a supersonic corridor through the viscous air. Its destination—her head, her heart, or her throat? All Sonia could do at this moment was shift her body's trajectory, doing everything she could to keep from being hit in a vital spot. And yet... "Sword Princess, I actually chose Peril Sense specifically for you." "Huh? I-is that a riddle? Or some kind of allusion? Give me a hint?" "What are you talking about? I just mean this blessing is very useful for your combat." "This blessing would be useful in the Witch's battles too, wouldn't it...?" "No, no, no. Just as the Witch excels at creating persona sisters, you actually possess a specialty called 'Pitch-Black Mind's Eye.'" "That doesn't sound like anything good... How come I didn't know about it?" "Because that specialty's effect allows you to nip danger in the bud beforehand. But your life has been so fulfilling lately—you're only ever the one bullying others while no one bullies you—so of course you never had a use for it." "When have I ever bullied anyone?! I'm not that kind of girl!" "While it's a good thing you haven't had a chance to use it, no one can win their entire life. There will always come a time when you take a beating. That's why I chose this blessing for you. When Peril Sense triggers and you're out of options, you can choose to believe in your heart." "Does that really work?" "I hope it does." Sonia closed her eyes, her right hand gripping her hilt tightly. How strange: even though every cell in her body was screaming warnings of peril, her winding thoughts still brought her back to that person who wasn't on the field. And then, she truly seemed to sense that speeding malice. Miracle: Evil Light Slash! Clang! She swept her wooden sword upward, slashing a ray of murderous evil light into midair. A resonant clang echoed in the sky, and the scattering shockwave brought down the wall behind her—evidence of its immense destructive power! Sonia's thoughts had taken a long journey, but in reality barely an instant had elapsed. The announcer overlooking the entire battlefield had just been saying that Miss Cervi was in mortal danger, but now he shot up from his seat in shock. "Contestant Cervi actually sliced Contestant Hubert's miracle bullet in half?! Is that some kind of miracle effect?!" Many in the audience hadn't clearly seen what had just happened. Only when the announcer said Sonia had severed the bullet did Adele take the lead, cheering along with the Sword Flower students! "Sword Princess! Sword Princess!" "The Paw-Stretching Club is number one in the world!" "She didn't just slice a bullet, she sliced straight through my heart!" "Sword Princess, I want to be your dog!" Amid the chaotic din, the Sanctuary Sorcerers narrowed their eyes one after another. "A reflection miracle similar to the tonfa faction's 'Arm's Reach Domain'?" "No, reflection miracles require active casting. Hubert timed his strike perfectly. Just now, Cervi was scrambling in body and mind to avoid the collapsing house and had no chance to cast any miracle. She should have been eliminated right there." "Pure talent...? Truth University has really met their match this year." No wonder even Sanctuary Sorcerers were surprised. After all, the contestant who had just sniped the country girl was a fourth-year student from Truth University—a Two-Winged gun arts sorcerer! The reason the gun arts faction could become the most populous top combat faction in just a hundred years lay in its near-dominant destructive power among low-tier sorcerers. Catching someone off guard, it could instantly kill almost any low-tier sorcerer; only Sanctuary Sorcerers could rely on their Sanctuary to completely counter a sniper shot. Barring very few exceptions, the vast majority of Two-Winged defensive miracles could not withstand the penetration of a Two-Winged gun arts miracle. In other words, a gun sorcerer landing a single shot was enough to secure victory. Correspondingly, low-tier sorcerers had only two counters against gun sorcerers: dodge, or parry! The vast majority of sorcerers could only choose to dodge. Deflection was something only a few factions could develop through corresponding reflection miracles. For instance, the tonfa faction's "Arm's Reach Domain" allowed a sorcerer to swat away any bullets entering their attack range in an instant, and the highest realm of deflection was returning the bullet along its original path right back to the gun sorcerer. Throughout the entire match up to that point, Sonia had relied on the town's complex terrain to dodge sniper fire, but by the same token, it was difficult for her to close the distance to the shooter. Confronted with a lethal crisis, her sudden display of bullet parrying was, in the eyes of insiders, sheer peak spectacle. Even more terrifying, she hadn't relied on a miracle to parry it; it looked like a flash of inspiration born of pure talent... "Rhythm Sword Saint" Nidala couldn't resist asking Trozan beside him, "You taught her that?" "It's so-so," Trozan said with casual nonchalance. "Sparring with me so much, it's hardly surprising she has that kind of skill." Yet inwardly, Trozan was utterly bewildered. Forget a Two-Winged Gold—even she, as she was now, couldn't slice a bullet in a natural state! Dodging was one thing; after all, a Sanctuary Sorcerer could perceive the bullet's trajectory. But parrying was on a completely different level. Facing a miracle bullet, if you simply placed your blade in its path, the miracle bullet would effortlessly shatter the sword. Even if you reinforced the blade, the splintering bullet could easily injure the sorcerer. Therefore, a genuine parry required the sorcerer to strike the bullet with full force and pinpoint precision, which meant their reaction speed had to reach supersonic levels—in short, it had to be a miracle. Thus, to ordinary people and even low-tier sorcerers, Sonia was casting a miracle. Yet all the Sanctuary Sorcerers were thinking: why hadn't Sonia cast a miracle? Could this be a true miracle? The outside world's astonishment and praise did not affect the competitors' focus. After successfully deflecting the bullet, Sonia continued moving between the buildings, never exposing herself in the open. Unlike a "rookie" like her, the other contestants were sorcerers with at least three years of experience in Void Realm Exploration, and some had even entered and exited the Abyss multiple times to hone their craft. Their sorcery spirit compositions and miracle repertoires completely outclassed hers in every aspect. For instance, the country girl currently only possessed offensive miracles, whereas the other contestants covered offense, defense, movement, healing, and scouting across the board. After all, they wandered the Void Realm completely alone, unlike Sonia, who felt like she was returning home every time she entered the Void Realm. Because of this, however, if dragged into a war of attrition, the scales of battle would tilt toward the other sorcerers. With only three contestants remaining, Sonia had been almost unable to approach the gun sorcerer Hubert, yet he could pinpoint her location, clearly possessing a scouting miracle. That was why, even while running constantly, she had nearly fallen to his sniped ambush. While Sonia's parry was awe-inspiring, it did nothing to improve her situation. In fact, after seeing the contestant roster, most people hadn't held high hopes for Sonia. Adele had even prepared a PR contingency plan titled "Sword Flower's First Defeat." The moment Sonia lost, Adele would mobilize the Paw-Stretching Club to rapidly flood the academy forum with posts highlighting Sonia's status as a first-year student, her participation-first attitude, her glorious record of three consecutive victories, and the fact that Sonia still had a shot in the "losers' resurrection match." Even if she lost, Sonia would only gain everyone's encouragement and sympathy, and her follower count would increase rather than decrease! And to be fair, as a first-year, Sonia's results had already broken Sword Flower's record in the Intercollegiate League. Going forward, she could proudly say that Sword Flower University should take pride in her. Not to mention she could participate in three more Intercollegiate Leagues; her future was undeniably bright. Yet she did not want to lose! Because the classmates who liked her were watching her, and the little trumpets who hated her were watching her too; Because Jialesi was watching her, and the whole of Starry was watching her; Because her mother was watching her, and the gossiping little trumpets who used to look down on mother and daughter were watching her as well; Because she wanted the Watcher to watch her; And most of all, because she refused to lose! Suffering had no inherent meaning, or else vagrants would be great men. Failure did not breed success either—causing depression was more like it. Sonia had no desire to hear comforting words from anyone; she only wanted praise, envy, and adoration! No one can win their entire life? But I've been losing since the day I was born. I've tasted enough bitterness and endured enough cold stares. Having spent all my luck to finally meet you, from here on out, I'm going to keep winning my whole life—in matches, in battles, in life, in studies, in my career, and in love! Suddenly, gunfire echoed from afar, and the announcer's voice cut through the arena: "Contestant Norbert has actually leveled every building in a straight line, charging directly at Contestant Hubert with a movement miracle... Contestant Hubert's reaction is swift, attempting to use a movement miracle to open up distance, but it's useless—Contestant Norbert has caught up! Does his defensive miracle help? No! Norbert bisects him at the waist with a single swing, triggering 'Death Prohibition'—Contestant Hubert is eliminated!" An uproar swept through the spectator stands. The faces over at Truth University's section were exceedingly grim—Hubert was one of their top three strongest contestants this term, originally gunning for a top-three finish, but now he had been defeated right in the quarterfinals! Although there was still the losers' resurrection match, the tournament structure meant Hubert would be thrown into a brawl with another Truth University contestant. In the end, Truth University still wouldn't be able to secure all top three spots! Now that the gun sorcerer was dead, Sonia no longer needed to hide and walked out into the clearing at the center of the arena. It hadn't been an open space before, but after the chaotic skirmishes, the surrounding buildings had all been leveled to the ground. A towering sorcerer fully two meters tall strode out from the ruins. In his hands was a greatsword nearly as long as he was tall, and he wore a simple yet commanding pitch-black combat outfit. It was none other than Norbert, the fourth-year from Berserker University and heavy favorite to win the championship this term. Though both were sword sorcerers, Norbert and Sonia pursued entirely different sorcery disciplines; his was the greatsword style that crushed technique with brute force. Greatsword sorcerers were Berserker University's signature specialty. Compared to sorcery competitions, greatsword sorcerers were extremely sought after in both the Abyss and the Void Realm. After all, greatswords were inherently designed to slay massive monsters, not humanoid creatures. Yet that didn't mean greatsword sorcerers were ill-suited for sorcery tournaments. On the contrary, their win rate ranked among the very highest in sorcery competitions. Greatsword sorcerers were few in number, primarily because anyone wishing to wield a greatsword had to first cultivate the ascetic faction to build immense strength; otherwise, they couldn't even lift the weapon. But if learning sorcery went against human nature, then practicing the ascetic faction was practically inhumane. Furthermore, Starry citizens nowadays were well-fed and warmly clothed; normal people simply couldn't endure the grueling weight of asceticism. Consequently, every greatsword sorcerer possessed physical conditioning far surpassing their peers, and that immense strength could be converted into unstoppable destructive might— Boom! Suddenly, Norbert slashed horizontally from afar, sending a grayish-white sword light toward Sonia! The sword light was heavy, sharp, and massive in area, impossible for ordinary miracles to counter. The country girl could only unleash her strongest single-target miracle— Blood Moon Shattered Lake! The blood-red sword light and the gray sword light ground against each other and canceled out, erupting in a massive shockwave that blasted away all the rubble in the clearing, as though clearing a battlefield for their final duel! "My apologies. The greatsword isn't suited for close-quarters grappling, so I will simply crush you with 'Gray Erosion Wind,'" Norbert said in a steady voice tinged with regret. "Please don't blame me for being unscrupulous." Indeed, greatsword sorcerers were not skilled at close combat. Their arm length combined with blade length made mid-range their optimal striking zone. Once closed in on by a melee sorcerer, they were little different from sandbags. Therefore, in sorcery tournaments, a greatsword sorcerer's combat style was of the crudest sort—brute-forcing everything with Sword Qi! Crushing every enemy with thicker, longer, harder Sword Qi! Though it looked simplistic and mindless, it proved exceptionally effective, because the qi of a "Sword Qi" sorcery spirit derived from the sorcerer's own strength. The greater their physical power, the stronger the Sword Qi—a perfect fit for a greatsword sorcerer! Right at the start of the Top Eight Meteor Calamity, a sorcerer's defensive miracle had been smashed to pieces by Norbert's Sword Qi, showing just how savage it was! Reasonably speaking, Sonia's best strategy was to breach Norbert's close-combat range, which would tie his hands and force him purely onto defense. Yet she merely nodded. "No problem. I want to get back quickly too... I still have things to do tonight." "Good!" Norbert bellowed, swinging his greatsword once more! Blood-red and gray clashed violently across the arena, raising layer upon layer of shockwaves! "To compete in miracles against Contestant Norbert—Contestant Cervi is really being far too rash," the announcer, Arsenault, said with palpable regret, unable to help remarking, "According to contestant profiles, Contestant Norbert set foot upon the Time Continent back in his third year. In other words, he has been exploring the Time Continent for a whole year. Even if he died multiple times along the way, his Golden Wings should already be half-condensed. "Contestant Norbert's 'Gray Erosion Wind' is a mid-tier Dazzling Gold miracle. It boasts high damage and a broad area of effect yet consumes little sorcery power, as its damage scales with the sorcerer's strength. 'Gray Erosion Wind' is practically Contestant Norbert's go-to miracle, and he can cast it repeatedly in succession. "As a result, this magnificent clash of miracles has turned into a contest of sorcery power: whoever possesses more will emerge victorious. Yet Contestant Cervi has been on the Time Continent for less than a month, and while her new miracle 'Blood Moon Shattered Lake' hasn't been recorded in the Starry Miracle Catalog yet, it is clearly a miracle with an immense sorcery power cost... "Is her sorcery power reserve truly enough?"