The Legend of the Gold Fish

"It didn't catch up, did it?"

"N-no, right? It can't swim, can it?"

"What kind of guide are you? You really put us through the wringer."

"Before I led the way, I told you that it was a little dangerous. Who was the one who acted like a student with the cheat sheet and confidently said that it's fine?"

"Is that just a little dangerous!?"

Amidst the white fog of the Sea of Knowledge, Ash and Sonia lay panting on the small boat. Their figures were as faded as the white fog around them, as if they would dissipate at any moment. Even their arguments were feeble.

Just now, after an hour of fruitless sailing, Ash could not help but suggest to Sonia to explore the area indicated as [Best to stay away] on the map. Sonia, who had just entered the Illusory Realm, was also brimming with confidence, so the two of them broke through the white fog and entered the dangerous area.

However, not only was there no Legacy Island in the dangerous area, there was a giant fish with wings. It directly capsized Ash's boat, and even spat out water cannons that exploded into waves up to dozens of meters on the surface of the sea.

Ash and Sonia were only briefly chafed by the water cannon, but their bodies were already fading like they had been sandpapered hundreds of times.

Fortunately, the small boat was very sturdy. Even if it was capsized, it still floated firmly on the water surface. The two of them scrambled back to the small boat and waded in the seawater with their hands to leave this dangerous area hastily.

The giant fish could actually chase after them, and even fly and charge towards the small boat. Fortunately, Ash had a sudden inspiration and used the [Illusory Realm Exploration] to control the small boat to speed up. It was the only reason they barely avoided the charge of the fish head and did not meet their first deaths in the Illusory Realm.

After regaining her breath, Sonia looked at the drenched Ash. A flicker of confusion flashed across her beautiful eyes. She pretended to ask casually, "Couldn't you kill the that Mud Ichthyosaur?"

Ash didn't suspect anything and said while panting, "Even you couldn't do anything. How could I?"

Was the Observer actually this weak?

Many thoughts flashed through Sonia's mind, but all of them eventually fell silent. Even if the Terminus Observer was very weak, there was nothing she could do. She had no way to kill the Observer, and she still couldn't find a way to resist the Observer's control over her. Even Professor Trozan didn't detect the Observer's presence.

Moreover, after the Terminus Observer showed his ability to explore the Illusory Realm, Sonia's attitude had also changed subtly.

Even though she had just become an Illusory Wing Sorcerer, Sonia knew how important the Illusory Realm was to an Illusory Wing Sorcerer. She also knew how shocking the Terminus Observer's ability to see through the fog of the Illusory Realm was.

Everyone knew that no one could see through the fog of the Illusory Realm. This was also the reason all sorcerers were equal—in the face of unknown risks and benefits, everyone was equal. Even the strong might fall, and even the weak might rise to the top at one go!

This was the so-called equal opportunity!

And now, an existence that could see through unknown dangers and surpass all sorcerers had appeared!

The being superior to all other sorcerers, the Terminus Observer!

If Sonia had more or less been forced to listen to the Observer's orders before, now her attitude had changed slightly. She was convinced by the Observer's abilities and even looked forward to the good life she would lead by hanging on to his coattails. It was like going over to the dark side.

Sonia was originally going to ask the Observer why he chose her and what made her stand out from the rest, but on second thought, what if the Observer suddenly realized he had no use for her and gave up on her? Wouldn't she miss out on an opportunity to become someone superior?

Additionally, if he did not possess immense power, how did the Observer control her movements, see through the fog of the Illusory Realm, and pull her into the dream trial?

She must be wary of the Observer playing the underdog card!

If Sonia fell for it, the Observer might make use of the situation and punish her more severely!

"Speaking of which, what kind of creature was that fish?"

There it is. You're even asking me this kind of common sense question. Keep pretending if you want!

Sonia played along with him. "The Mud Ichthyosaur is one of the most common knowledge creatures in the Illusory Realm. Killing it will grant you access to all kinds of spell spirits, such as those in the School of Water Sorcery and School of Earth Sorcery. If this Mud Ichthyosaur has killed other sorcerers in the past, the spell spirits of other sorcerers might also exist in its body."

There were only two types of intelligent creatures in the Illusory Realm, sorcerers and knowledge creatures.

Just as its name suggested, if a sorcerer killed knowledge creatures, he would be able to obtain the knowledge that they had gathered—spell spirits.

It was different from the legacy left behind by the sorcerers. Spell spirits dropped by knowledge creatures were not stable, even though they basically came from the same faction. For example, the Mud Ichthyosaur would not drop the spell spirits from the School of Fire Sorcery.

However, even within the same school, there were still many different spell spirits, and the drops of knowledge creatures would be updated with the version.

For example, if a sorcerer in reality invented a new knowledge system and summoned a new type of spell spirit, then when other sorcerers killed knowledge creatures in the Illusory Realm, they might directly drop a new version of spell spirit that had just been invented.

If the new knowledge system was too innovative and insane, it might even directly produce new knowledge creatures and expand the biodiversity in the Illusory Realm.

Similar to "equal opportunity", this was also one of the important prerequisites for sorcerers: "equal knowledge".

No one could monopolize knowledge forever. No matter how hard you defended your newly invented knowledge, other sorcerers could still obtain your results in the Illusory Realm. If you wanted to maintain your advantage, you needed to constantly innovate.

Those who were conservative-minded and clung to the idea that one invention would give them a permanent lead were no different from idiots who stayed in the same place for a long time in the Illusory Realm.

If you didn't take risks, the Illusory Realm would swallow you; if you didn't innovate, reality would crush you.

After introducing the knowledge creatures, Sonia could not help but test the waters. "Since you know that there's danger in the fog, can't you tell what kind of creature it is?"

"I can't detect it. I only know how dangerous something in the fog is to us, but I can't tell what the specific danger is."

Sonia was a little disappointed. "Then you won't be able to find the gold fish either."

"Gold fish?" Ash was a bit confused. "What is that?"

It was as if Sonia had heard someone ask her how much one plus one was equal to. She pursed her lips and suddenly had a thought: is he trying to train my obedience by asking me stupid questions? If I resist, will he think that I'm not loyal enough and punish me severely?

At that thought, Sonia became more cautious and answered the question seriously, "The gold fish is a fish floating on the Sea of Knowledge. On its back is the Time Continent, and the Time Continent is where the Two-winged Sorcerers go…"

"Wait, continent?" Ash interjected. "How big is this fish?"

"Very. No one has ever seen the entirety of the Gold Fish. It's said that the smallest scale on the Gold Fish's body is equivalent to a large city that can accommodate a million people."

"Shouldn't it be easy to find such a big fish?"

"On the contrary, only very few lucky people can find gold fish in the Sea of Knowledge. And without exception, those lucky people all became famous Legendary Sorcerers.

"Oh," said Ash. "So what are the benefits of finding the Gold Fish?"

"To land on the Time Continent and become a Two-winged Sorcerer."

"What?"

"Become a Two-winged Sorcerer directly." Sonia suppressed the impatience in her heart, thinking that even the children she met when home tutoring were not so stupid. "The biggest difference between One-winged Sorcerers and Two-winged Sorcerers is that One-winged Sorcerers are in the Sea of Knowledge, while Two-winged Sorcerers are in the Time Continent.

"When a One-winged Sorcerer gathers the ultimate amount of spell energy in the Sea of Knowledge, transforms it into Silver Wing and unfurls it, they won't be able to obtain more power during the voyage. If they want to reach a higher level, they have to advance to Two-winged.

"The normal way of advancement is for the sorcerer to summon a Two-winged spell spirit by studying knowledge. Then, they will find the Gate of Truth in the Two-Winged spell spirit and cross into the Illusory Realm. There, he will reach the second level of the Illusory Realm—the Time Continent. Only in the Time Continent can the sorcerer absorb more spell energy and condense the second Illusory Wing: Gold Wing."

One-winged sorcerer sailed through the Sea of Knowledge to condense the Silver Wing. Two-winged Sorcerer walked through the Time Continent to condense the Gold Wings… Ash gained an initial understanding of the sorcerer's power system, but he had a question. "Can a One-winged Sorcerer obtain the Two-winged spell spirit from someone else and reach the Time Continent directly?"

"Absolutely not." Sonia shook her head. "As long as the spell spirit is not summoned by the caster, the caster will not be able to find the Gate of Truth in its body, and even searching the body of the spell spirit will be difficult. The spell spirit is made of knowledge. If you don't understand the structure of the spell spirit, how can you explore the secret of the spell spirit?"

At this moment, Ash finally understood the advancement method of sorcerers: summon a higher-leveled spell spirit and use the spell spirit to cross into a higher-leveled Illusory Realm. After they became stronger, they would continue to summon a higher-leveled spell spirit, repeating the process.

Due to the premises of "equal opportunity" and "equal knowledge", adventure and research continued throughout a sorcerer's life. No one could retire comfortably. As long as one was unwilling to give up the existing benefits, one had to continue taking risks and creating benefits.

Not only would this process ensure the benign development of the sorcerer's system, it would also continuously optimize the experienced sorcerers who had stopped in their tracks and were unwilling to continue working hard… It sounded a little like the KPI system! It would be perfect if there was an elimination system at the end!

When he realized that the sorcerers were just another type of corporate workers, Ash immediately regained his confidence. In terms of corporate work and involution, he had never lost to anyone!

"Wait a minute. If we can find the Gold Fish in the Sea of Knowledge and ascend to the Time Continent, wouldn't it be a shortcut for advancement?"

"We prefer to call them 'stowaways', stowaways who sneak from the bottom to the top… This is why all the sorcerers want to find the Gold Fish." Sonia shrugged. "Who can resist the temptation of reaping without sowing?… So, can you find the Gold Fish or not?"

"I wish."

"Then why are you asking me so many questions? Continue the voyage." Sonia looked at her slightly illusory palm. "Don't go to places where there will be battles. I'm a little tired. I'll have to leave the Illusory Realm after sailing one or two more regions."

Ash nodded. He also felt tired.

The journey to the Illusory Realm was not without cost. While passing through the white mist to gather energy for them, it was also tempering their spirits and depleting their soul energy. When their soul energy decreased to a certain extent, they would have to leave the Illusory Realm to rest.

Every ordinary voyage contained countless precious miracles.

Ash opened [Illusory Realm Exploration[. As expected, he saw many [Waste of effort] and [Best to stay away].

However, this time, he actually saw a golden light appear in the bottom right corner of the map!

The hint below the region was a striking:

[Welcome!]