No, You're Going to Practice the Sword

While removing her makeup, Sonia leisurely opened Basic Principles of Water Arts. Using makeup-removal time for reading couldn't have been more fitting. After all, taking off makeup was tedious. First, she had to carefully clean every single eyelash with cotton swabs, then bathe her eyes with eyewash. Today, she had applied sunscreen lotion to her arms, which body wash couldn't wash completely clean, so she had also bought a cheap, large-volume makeup remover specifically to take off sunscreen. After bathing, she still had to do basic skincare: facial mist and serum were both essential, and she even had to apply nourishing serum to her eyelashes, or they would easily break when curled with an eyelash curler. She had little money left to go to Perfect Starlight for eyelash procedures. All the miscellaneous steps added up to nearly an hour. If she hadn't stolen moments amidst her busy routine to study, how could Sonia possibly have earned a scholarship last term? Moreover, she planned to strive to summon her first water sorcery spirit before next year, and ideally fully unfold her Silver Wings before graduation to become a One-Wing Sorcerer. Although Sword and Rose Sorcerer University wasn't a top-tier sorcerer university in Jialesi, its training of sword sorcerers, water sorcerers, and wind sorcerers was second to none. As long as graduates from these three disciplines finished normally, their futures were limitless. Among them, water sorcerers often became healing sorcerers due to their many healing spells, which was why it had become Sonia's chosen major. Having witnessed the prosperous world of Jialesi, Sonia knew full well that relying on herself alone would likely take decades just to secure a foothold in this city. Finding a good man as a shortcut into high society had naturally become her top choice. Otherwise, with all the time, energy, and money she had spent maintaining her beauty, was she supposed to let some poor pauper reap the benefits? According to Sonia's research, more than fifty percent of nobles' wives were water sorcerers. If the nobleman himself was also a sorcerer, that proportion exceeded seventy percent! Being a water sorcerer was unquestionably a massive plus when nobles chose their wives! Compared to water sorcerers, wind sorcerers often became meteorological sorcerers, requiring frequent outdoor work under harsh conditions. Sword sorcerers were even more out of the question—being brawny and formidable was only a minus for women... Sonia's life plan was crystal clear: Become a water sorcerer, then find a way to take part in campus activities at Jialesi Truth Sorcerer University and hook a young noble heir. Unlike Sword and Rose, Truth University was the premier sorcerer university in Jialesi, and indeed the foremost institution in the entire Starry Country; everyone inside was either wealthy or noble. That was where Sonia's future boyfriend belonged; she looked down on every single boy at Sword and Rose. Become a water sorcerer, get to know aristocratic students from Truth University, step into high society as a nobleman's wife, leverage the man's social connections and resources to build up her own personal fortune—that way, even in a divorce, she could maintain her foothold in Jialesi and bring her mother over to live a noble life... "No, you're going to practice the sword." Hearing that familiar yet alien chaotic voice, Sonia's right hand instinctively moved to grip a weapon. Had her seated posture not restricted her movements, she would have directly engaged the Foresight Slash footwork to evade. Yet the next second, she snapped out of it and looked with sheer horror at the bizarre figure who had materialized out of thin air beside her—dressed in a deep-black trench coat, his face dim and blurred! "If I were you, I'd check the others' reactions first." Leaning against the wardrobe, the Watcher raised a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture. "If you want to speak with me, just think it in your mind." Sonia looked toward Lois and Adele. Adele was tapping the air, clearly absorbed in a program on her light screen, while Lois happened to be stepping out of the washroom. As she walked right past the Watcher, she didn't cast a single glance, as if he simply didn't exist to her eyes. Sonia looked down at the floor, and understanding dawned on her in an instant—the Watcher had no shadow. Suppressing the urge to speak aloud, Sonia asked in her mind: *Who on earth are you?* "I am called the End Watcher. You may call me the Watcher. If you're this forgetful at such a young age, I can only recommend you abstain from lust..." *You know that's not what I'm asking.* "Yet that is all I can tell you." The Watcher continued, "Besides, you know what? I used to despise people who acted all mysterious—especially the kind who clung to critical secrets while putting on an 'it's not yet time for you to know' air. It made people want to beat the shit out of them." Sonia said nothing, merely staring at the Watcher. The Watcher nodded. "Yes, just as you're thinking, I've turned into that very sort of pretentious enigma myself, because—I found it's actually quite entertaining. Especially seeing you hopping mad with frustration yet powerless to do anything about it. Truly makes this trip worth it. "Still, isn't that only natural? People often grow into what they despise most. Or rather, obnoxious people usually live longer." Sonia suddenly realized something, and a chill instantly ran down her spine. *You can hear my thoughts!* "If I couldn't hear your inner voice, how would this be any different from performing a pantomime?" *But you can't—you have no respect—you've stripped away even my mental freedom!?* "Relax, Sword Princess. I'm not your enemy," the Watcher said. "I can't even be considered a complete person right now. If you truly insist, I can refrain from appearing before you." *Then what are you, really?* "I am merely a distant thought." The Watcher shook his head. "We've digressed. Let's get down to business. Speaking of which, you won't care about me reading your thoughts soon enough." *What business?* Sonia recalled the cruelty of the dream. "First." A vial of blue potion abruptly materialized in the Watcher's hand. "You're going to drink this." *No, I won't drink it!* Sonia replied instantly. Yet a terrifying scene unfolded before Sonia's eyes—she watched the potion in the glass bottle vanish at a visible rate, and at the same time felt liquid gliding down her throat! "Next." The Watcher held out a wooden sword. "You want to go practice swordsmanship." *No, I don't!* The Watcher had been right; Sonia no longer cared that he could read her inner thoughts. Compared to controlling her words and actions, hearing her thoughts was an utterly trivial matter! Even as Sonia exerted every ounce of strength to resist, she could only watch helplessly as her hands took the wooden sword, and then— *Scrape!* With the harsh screech of a wooden chair scraping across the floor, Lois and Adele turned their heads, just in time to see Sonia's retreating figure leaving the dormitory with a wooden sword in hand. The door slammed shut behind her with a thunderous *bang*! "What's her problem?" Lois muttered under her breath, but immediately realizing how timid that sounded, she scoffed loudly, "Hasn't touched a sword in a whole year, and suddenly goes off to train tonight? Probably trying to seduce some senior from the swordsmanship department, isn't she?" Adele blinked, looking puzzled. "I don't recall her ever buying a wooden sword, and Ingrid doesn't have this style of wooden sword either. Where did she get it from...?"