The Sorcerer's Handbook

Clang!

That attack just now... It’s fast!

Before Sonya could even process what had happened, her body had already moved. She swung her sword at Demon Veela.

The blade cut through nothing but an afterimage. Demon Veela had already retreated beyond the palace. Her figure blurred, then faded, turning transparent as it dissolved into the air.

She looked back at Sonya, her pretty face twisted with vicious mockery. ”Why are you so angry? Isn’t this the battle you’ve been waiting for? Go on. I prepared an opponent just for you. If one enraged Shadow Evil Dragon isn’t enough to satisfy your appetite, then the undead creatures drawn here by its fury should be more than enough to entertain you.”

”Is that your idea, or your master’s?”

”You can ask me that after you crawl out of the Evernight Abyss.”

With that, Demon Veela vanished without a trace.

The Sonya within the memory had no time to pursue her. The Shadow Evil Dragon, robbed of its eye, had already begun to unleash its fury.

”Hmph.”

Sonya faced the dragon, a living embodiment of apocalypse, and heard herself laugh, her voice thick with fury. ”So there’s no cutting corners after all. Breaking through the Evernight Abyss... what’s so difficult about that? You damned veela, I’ll remember this.”

The dragon roared. Dark lightning surged along its claws, while boundless chaos and darkness pressed in from all directions.

Sonya felt her grip tighten around the sword. ”Insect. I’ve just created a new Miracle. I might as well use you to test it. Consider it an honor that your death will serve as a testament to my skill, dragon.”

In the next instant, the Shadow Evil Dragon was cut into countless pieces.

***

”Sonya, if you win, I’ll treat you to a drink!”

Sonya snapped back to reality and found herself standing in the Flash Rail Auditorium.

Leona shouted encouragement at the top of her lungs, while Tida remained perched atop the alchemical giant bear.

It was as if the entire adventure had been nothing more than an illusion. But Sonya knew better that it had been real and an incredibly valuable experience.

She let out a sigh of relief. Though the memory had felt long, only seconds had passed in reality, and the battle had remained unaffected. That meant the Watcher had no intention of harming her.

Nevertheless, the village girl felt no guilt for her suspicion of the Watcher. He should have warned her from the start.

Tida raised an eyebrow. ”You zoned out just now? Planning to surrender?”

Sonya shot back, ”That’s my line. If you surrender now, you’d spare yourself the embarrassment of losing even worse later.”

Tida snorted. ”You really are stubborn, big sis.”

Then, with a sudden bite to her own hand, she let the giant bear lick the blood.

At the taste, the bear roared. Its eyes flared crimson, and its body swelled even larger as it charged straight for Sonya.

Miracle, Blood-Drinking Frenzy!

Sonya faced the alchemical giant bear whose jaws seemed ready to swallow her whole, yet her thoughts lingered on what she had just witnessed.

Against a Shadow Evil Dragon hundreds, or even thousands of times her size, the Sword Demon had needed only a single strike to tear it apart. She could not forget that dazzling slash, and she wanted to recreate it.

While inhabiting Sword Demon’s body, she had experienced the full activation of that Miracle. By coincidence, or perhaps by design, she already possessed almost all the lower-tier spirits required for it.

It seemed too precise to be a mere chance. The Watcher had likely arranged that memory for this very moment.

She was still one step short. One crucial spirit was missing, with no lower-tier substitute. Without it, the Miracle could not be completed.

Yet, despite her lack of study or preparation, a sudden, powerful intuition surged within her. She felt certain she could summon that key spirit directly.

She barely understood it, and her knowledge extended little beyond its name, yet she knew she could do it.

The confidence was as strange as it was absolute, like a student walking into an exam already knowing every answer.

She looked up at the charging bear and made her choice, to trust the Watcher’s guidance, and to trust herself.

Clang!

The Scarlet Swordswoman’s eyes blazed with fierce intent as she silently drew her sword.

Wave! Moonthread! Torrent! And...

Watching from below the stage, Professor Trosan froze. He saw a spirit rapidly taking shape on Sonya’s shoulder. At the same time, his own mana was stirred, surging and boiling in response. The other students sensed it too. Their perception was not as sharp as Trosan’s, yet they could feel it. Sonya was affecting them.

This formation... this wide-scale resonance of knowledge... she’s summoning a spirit! Is she doing it in the middle of a battle!?

Soon, Trosan realized his imagination had been too limited. Sonya was not simply summoning a new spirit. She intended to use it immediately in a Miracle!

As a pair of wings fully unfolded, the new spirit, Sword Shadow, came into being from Sonya’s knowledge.

It appeared as a cold, aloof woman dressed in black, standing silently at Sonya’s side, turning even shadows into blades at her command.

In an instant, countless threads sliced across the alchemical giant bear’s body. Each thread was razor-sharp. In a flash, the bear was cut into nineteen pieces, spraying blood and collapsing into fragments scattered across the stage.

”Miracle... Blood Blossom Watermoon!”

Tida was stunned. The sudden strike threw her across the stage, rolling twice before she scrambled to her feet. She glanced at the blood covering her body, then met Sonya’s icy gaze and instinctively stepped back.

That single step sparked both shame and anger in Tida. Her face flushed red. Just as Sonya expected her to leap forward and strike, she turned and walked off the stage, leaving only one sentence behind. ”See you at the league.”

The alchemical giant bear had been her greatest asset. Now damaged beyond recovery, staying on stage would only bring her further humiliation.

Nevertheless, as the genius alchemist of Trajectory University, she swore that next time they met in the league, she would show Sonya exactly what a true war machine looked like.

”What just... happened?”

”Did Sonya just defeat the Trajectory’s chief with a single strike?”

”No, you’re missing the point! Didn’t you see? She summoned a Two-Winged spirit in battle! That’s a Two-Winged spirit we’re talking about!”

”Can someone remind me when Miss Selby even became a sorcerer?”

”Less than a month. To be precise, on April 12. No need to thank me,” Leona said with a smile.

”So it took her just a month to reach Gold Rank in her Sword Class? Just one month to go from apprentice to a Two-Winged sorcerer?”

”Professor Trosan, are you still accepting students? Would you consider taking me, sir?”

Trosan replied, ”No, I’m not taking any more students. Sonya will be my last, because even I’m tempted to strangle her before she grows any further.”

Finally, Sonya had a chance to examine her new spirit. Seeing the two wings on Sword Shadow, she froze for a moment, then felt her face flush red, almost laughing at the absurdity and delight of it.

She had summoned a Two-Winged spirit on her own. That meant she had achieved Gold Rank in her Sword Class. In practical terms, she was officially a Two-Winged sorcerer.

At last, she could openly show off her status. Ha! The jealous people behind the Curtains would probably be biting their handkerchiefs to sleep tonight!

Not to mention, she was only a first-year student. By now, Sword and Roses University would have no choice but to promote her heavily. Money, fame, and status, every resource would tilt in her favor. Their publicity would revolve around her.

If she wanted to star in a popular drama, the university would pull every string to make it happen. Releasing songs and albums would be just as easy.

Defeating Trajectory’s chief with a single strike and reaching the Continent of Time in just one month... When the radiant star rose tomorrow, the entire city of Cailleach would whisper her name, and cloaked in honor and favor, she would command the admiration of all.

”The match has been decided!” the host announced loudly. ”The winner is Sonya Selby of the Sword and Roses University!”