Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Is This What You Call Bonds?
Human effort is finite, truth is infinite.
In this world where knowledge can summon Technique Spirits, and Technique Spirits can derive miracles, the pursuit of knowledge by Mages is almost an instinct etched deep in their souls. However, as Mages forge ahead in their pursuit of knowledge, a colossal barrier stands before them—learning efficiency.
No matter what race or realm the Mage belongs to, their way of learning is unchanged: memorize, understand, master. Mages of different races have their respective advantages; the Aerial Race, with their naturally sharp eyesight, excels in memory, the Elf Clan, with their powerful souls, excels in understanding, and the Beastman Clan, with their keen intuition, excels in mastery. While it is not equitable, all races have the potential to become a Mage.
However, once Mages step into the Void Realm, they will find that their racial advantages are laughably insignificant in the face of the immeasurable amount of knowledge there.
Even with their natural brilliance, the efficiency with which they acquire knowledge is like trying to drain the Sea of Knowledge with a straw—the only difference being the thickness of the straw.
Mages have thought of many ways to address this, such as inventing miracles like “photographic memory,” “Thought Acceleration,” and “Comprehension at First Glance” to increase efficiency, or extending their lifespan to compensate for the deficiency in learning efficiency.
The ever-growing pursuit of knowledge and the lagging learning efficiency are contradictions in survival that Mages can never resolve.
But the Void Realm has already prepared a solution for the Mages.
“This is a Radiant Faction Experience Treasure Orb.”
Sonia gently held the bright and translucent bead, her voice light as if afraid a louder tone might harm it, “Just by absorbing it, even someone completely ignorant of the Radiant Faction can immediately possess the silver-level knowledge of Radiance, becoming a specialist Mage in Radiance.”
“After returning to reality, with just a bit of study and organization of the knowledge, one could even summon a Radiant Technique Spirit with one’s strength. Because what it provides the Mage is not just ‘illusionary’ knowledge but also ‘actual’ experience—the experience possessed by the fox mirror dragon.”
“If Technique Spirits are invaluable, then Experience Treasure Orbs are truly priceless.”
Endless fascination filled Sonia’s eyes. “Even the poorest Mage would not sell an Experience Treasure Orb, and even the most generous Mage would covet it. Although one could take Experience Treasure Orbs out from the Void Realm, almost no Mage would do so—upon acquiring an Experience Treasure Orb, the Mage would have absorbed it already.”
Almost every Legendary Mage has absorbed a vast number of Experience Treasure Orbs. It is because of the existence of these orbs that Mages have the possibility of being proficient in the knowledge of various factions simultaneously, thus refreshing the old knowledge of factions, creating new miracles, summoning new Technique Spirits, and even founding new factions.
The contribution of Experience Treasure Orbs to the development of the Mage civilization to its current state is indispensable.
Ash could understand the wonder of Experience Treasure Orbs, but he could not comprehend Sonia’s excitement.
“You talk about this orb as if it’s very valuable, but didn’t we obtain one quite easily?”
Sonia took a deep breath and repeated “The Observer is an utter fool” three times in her heart before explaining calmly, “True, Experience Treasure Orbs are theoretically not difficult to come by, as any Knowledge Creature defeated might drop one.”
“However, let’s not mention that Knowledge Creatures often possess the combat power to defeat a Mage of the same level; assume you find a Knowledge Creature you can defeat, but what often happens is—just as you are about to defeat the Knowledge Creature, it escapes.”
“Since it’s a creature, it naturally has the instinct to pursue good and avoid harm; how could it not escape?” Sonia retorted. “Would a Knowledge Creature capable of birthing Technique Spirits be an idiot that lacks common sense?”
Ash always felt like the Sword Maiden was insulting him, but he had no proof. “Then isn’t the Mage at a huge loss?”
“Not necessarily. Knowledge Creatures also understand the principle of cutting off one’s tail to survive, and as they try to flee, they would deliberately throw out a Technique Spirit to distract the Mage. As long as one defeats the Knowledge Creature, the Mage would at least acquire a Technique Spirit.”
“That’s good then, at least you don’t lose out if you win.”
“Sometimes winning feels even more painful—if the Mage kills the Knowledge Creature, it’s possible that they also destroy the Experience Treasure Orb.”
“Experience Treasure Orbs aren’t generated after Knowledge Creatures die; they exist inside Knowledge Creatures.” Sonia explained. “Due to the fleeting nature of the Knowledge Creatures upon death, no one knows exactly where inside them the Experience Treasure Orbs form, not even where different Knowledge Creatures carry the Experience Treasure Orbs.”
“If the Mage isn’t careful when attacking, they might very well destroy the Experience Treasure Orb.”
“Not finding a Treasure Bead after killing a Knowledge Creature is something all Mages experience. They also can’t know if there was no Treasure Bead inside the Knowledge Creature or if they accidentally destroyed it.”
“Now you understand how lucky we were to get this orb?”
Sonia looked towards where the fox mirror dragon had disappeared. “If not for the fox mirror dragon falling asleep, if we hadn’t concentrated our attacks on its head, if the Experience Treasure Orb just happened to be in the head of the fox mirror dragon, if the fox mirror dragon had the strength to keep fighting us… If any one of these ‘ifs’ weren’t in our favor, we most certainly wouldn’t have this orb in our hands.”
At this point, Sonia couldn’t help but gaze at the Observer with amazement—the Observer’s earlier pause was undoubtedly to wait for the fox mirror dragon to fall asleep, this unheard-of cunning strategy was truly… fantastic!
Ash nodded, his gaze fixed on the Experience Treasure Orb.
Sonia clenched the orb, her body trembling slightly. But quickly, she exhaled and handed the orb to Ash: “Here.”
“You’re willing to give it to me?”
“Aren’t you in a dangerous situation, in urgent need of an item to enhance your strength?”
Sonia feigned indifference, “I’m not in a hurry, you can have this orb. Just don’t compete with me for a swordsmanship orb next time.”
Ash reached out to take the orb but couldn’t move it.
“I am letting go, I am letting go, but my fingers won’t obey me!”
Ash had no choice but to pry her fingers off one by one, under Sonia’s reluctant gaze, and took the orb into his hands.
As a warm current flowed into his palm, a message popped up on the Light Screen:
“Left by the fox irradiating dragon, containing the Truth Essence of hidden knowledge that ordinary mages cannot obtain through normal channels. After absorption, it grants a great deal of Radiant experience.”
“‘The moonlight is a frolicking fox; the fox is the walking moonlight.'”
Upon touching the orb, Ash also felt a throbbing in his heart, an indescribable hunger spreading throughout his body—he had never experienced such an intense desire for knowledge before, and it was even affecting his reason.
It was an indescribable experience, more intense than the desire to know what happens next in a novel when it suddenly stops updating at a critical juncture, more frantic than the urgency of looking for answers during an exam and finding half missing, more exciting than the thrill of a risqué image loading to an important point only to suddenly freeze—it was as if every fold of his body, every pore, was urging Ash to absorb the orb.
Prisons, dangers, survival—all were cast a thousand miles away at this moment. Knowledge became Ash’s sole desire.
Just as Ash could not resist absorbing the orb, a flash of wisdom illuminated his sense—
Wait, I smell the scent of residual value.
Ash took a close look at the introduction of the Radiant Orb. Without a doubt, it read “After absorption, it grants a great deal of Radiant experience.” That meant…
“Sword Maiden, you absorb it.”
Watching the orb being tossed over, the usually graceful Sonia became flustered for a moment, catching the Radiant Orb carefully, both angry and shocked as she looked at Ash.
“Could it be that your Radiant Faction Realm has reached Silver Level, or even higher?”
“No, I don’t understand anything about the Radiant Faction.”
“I get it, the knowledge of the Radiant Faction conflicts with the faction knowledge you’ve already mastered? Like the Dark Abyss Faction…”
“Not at all, I know nothing, as you well know.”
“Then why won’t you absorb this orb?”
“Because there are Bonds between us,” Ash said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “You becoming stronger means I become stronger.”
Sonia had heard the Observer say “there are Bonds between you and me” before, but she had always thought it was just a euphemism for a threat—like saying, “I have a way to control you”—until now, when she couldn’t help but wonder: is this what Bonds are?
As for the Observer’s remark “you becoming stronger means I become stronger,” Sonia took it as mere courtesy, similar to the saying “if you’re well, it’s a good day for everyone.”
Sonia didn’t dawdle; she crushed the Experience Treasure Orb immediately, her body trembled slightly, her cheeks flushed with a hint of rosiness, and she let out a melodious sigh.
Although the scene was very tempting, Ash was in no mood to appreciate it at the moment; after all, he was in a similar state to Sonia.
This feeling was less like ‘absorbing knowledge’ and more like ‘surging memories’.
It was like suddenly recalling the content taught by a teacher when facing a difficult math problem—Ash naturally mastered a lot of related knowledge. He went from a newcomer who knew nothing about the Radiant Faction to an adept Mage specialized in it.
The Radiant experience absorbed by the Sword Maiden from the Experience Treasure Orb—30% of it could be shared with Ash!
This was why Ash had let the Sword Maiden absorb the orb: he would benefit 100% from absorbing it himself, but letting the Sword Maiden do it meant a 130% gain!
Moreover, as long as the Sword Maiden continued to improve in the Radiant Faction in the future, Ash would have an endless stream of long-term benefits. Wouldn’t the residual value created in this way be much stronger than if he had hoarded it all for himself?
Thus, Ash was not blinded by the temptation of the Experience Treasure Orb: The orb was just a tool, like a hoe, no matter how cool, it had to be given to someone who could farm so that it could be put to its proper use. For someone with little Talent like Ash, waiting to reap the benefits was enough.
Sonia slowly recovered from the aftertaste of being filled with knowledge and looked at Ash, her face full of gratitude. “Thank you!”
“Then don’t let me down. Make sure to thoroughly research the knowledge of the Radiant Faction and don’t neglect your swordsmanship training either!”