"This is the virtual world..."
Ash reached out and scooped up a ball of sea water, smelled it, licked it, and actually felt that it was a little sweet.
Looking down, the sea surface was very blurry and I couldn't see my own face at all.
Examining his clothes, he found that he was wearing the same dark black windbreaker as Ritsu, and he looked quite handsome.
"It's exactly the same as the virtual world described in the textbook."
Since there was no one else around, Sonia spoke up: "I guess this must be the Sea of Knowledge, the Silver Sea, the Sea of Beginnings... Whether it's a genius or a mediocre person, the legendary six-winged master or the one-winged magician, their first stop when entering the virtual world must be this ocean."
"The only difference is this." Sonia knocked on the boat, looked around, and found a book mark on the bow and a sword mark on the stern.
"The textbook says that magicians should be naked when they first come here..."
"Naked?" Ash looked at Sonia's black halter dress.
Sonia's face was immediately filled with black lines, and she subconsciously covered her chest. "Our image in the virtual world is a projection of our consciousness. Naked means that we cannot have any other external help, such as bringing items from reality... I heard from others that when they first entered the virtual world, they just swam in the sea, and there was no way they could have a boat."
"I understand!" Ash suddenly clapped his hands.
"What do you know?"
"This ship is your true self, you are just a phantom of the soul!"
"What?" Sonia was startled.
"Your consciousness is split into two parts. One part is the heavy soul, which turned into this boat to facilitate your sailing; the other part is the smart mind, which turned into your current image." Ash said confidently: "The soul is the boat, and the consciousness is the person. The boat carries the person to the other side, that's for sure!"
It does sound reasonable, but...
"How do you prove it?" Sonia asked.
Without thinking, Ash said, "If you don't believe me, jump into the sea and try. If I'm right, you can't leave this ship at all!"
Sonia did what she said, and jumped into the sea. Fortunately, although Sonia had never learned to swim during the dream trial, she at least knew a little about water and would not sink like a weight.
Soon Sonia returned to the boat and snorted coldly: "You are wrong, I can leave the boat, this boat is not made of my soul at all..."
Sonia was a little smug after personally verifying that what the viewer said was wrong, just like winning against him once, but when she turned around, she found that the viewer was looking at her.
Although his features were still covered by the darkness, Sonia could still sense his gaze. She looked down and found that her clothes were soaked by the sea water, sticking to her body and outlining her graceful curves.
"You—" Sonia was so angry that she raised her wooden sword. She didn't care about the difference in strength between the two sides and directly summoned the wave sword spirit to chop it down. Ash quickly retreated and surrendered: "Wait, where did you get this wooden sword?"
Why
Sonia looked at the wooden sword in her hand. She remembered that she had no weapon in her hand just now. But seeing that the viewer was so angry, she subconsciously wanted to beat him with the wooden sword...
"Look, the wooden sword appeared when you wanted it. Obviously, this ship also appeared because you didn't want to swim." Ash spread his hands. "I just wanted to test it. Doesn't this prove that this ship is indeed a thought?"
"So your peeking at me just now was also part of the test? No, the wooden sword is the weapon I'm most familiar with, so I can materialize it easily, just like I can materialize clothes!"
"Don't slander me, I didn't peek, I was watching openly!"
After this little episode, the strangeness and fear of arriving in the virtual world for the first time were all dispelled.
And because they had someone by their side, it was as if there was someone there to take the blame no matter what happened, and the two of them felt safe.
But just as Sonia doesn't know the difference between this 'Observer' and that 'Observer', Ash doesn't know the difference between this 'Sword Princess' and that 'Sword Princess'.
... ..
...
An hour ago.
After finishing their meal and returning to the prison dormitory, Sword Princess started chatting with Ash about very adult topics.
"There are two pieces of news. The good news is that you will have to live in free housing provided by the state for the rest of your life."
"Is there such a good thing?"
"The bad news is that you could be dragged off and beheaded at any time."
Ash understood: "I can't possibly escape from prison?"
Sword Princess sat on the bed with her legs crossed and her hands folded, looking at Ash with sidelong eyes: "You should know that magicians are the most powerful group in this world, right? As a mortal, it is impossible for you to compete with magicians."
"Even the weak magician who transformed his body into diamond, after being disconnected from the virtual world, he could only become a diamond rat rolling in the cesspool."
"And the experience of this day should also make you understand that as long as you still wear the chip on the back of your neck, no matter where you are, you will be bound by endless shackles."
At this point, Ash's face changed slightly. He originally thought that the miracle chip was equivalent to an implanted computer, but he didn't expect that the chip turned him into a computer - and his administrator privileges were remotely controlled by someone.
Whether he can hit people, what content he can see, and what words he can say are all under the control of the administrator. Today the administrator can make him a civilized young man who follows etiquette and rules, and tomorrow the administrator can make him eat shit.
Before the chip is removed, all his plans are equivalent to a computer virus - the administrator can kill everything in seconds by reinstalling the system. If the administrator thinks that Ash cannot be repaired, he can even recycle it directly and let Ash start his life over again.
"Is there a way to remove the chip?" Ash asked through gritted teeth, "For example, just cut off the back of the neck..."
"If it were so easy to remove, this prison wouldn't be so busy."
Jian Ji sneered and said, "Although it is called a chip, the miracle chip has gradually integrated into your bones as you grew up. Now every bone, every nerve, and every muscle of yours has the mark of the chip. If you want to remove the chip, you should be able to do it by jumping into the molten steel at a steel mill."
"That is to say, it is impossible to remove the chip by ordinary means." Ash said: "What about the magician's method?"
"A magician has many methods." Sword Princess said, "and the one you are most likely to obtain is the sword miracle "Kill Me."
"'Kill Me' is a defensive miracle of the swordsman, specially used to purify abnormal conditions. Although it is a silver miracle that can be used by a one-winged magician, it can directly purify most of the continuous damage caused by two-winged magic spirits."
"Miracle chips are for mortals and one-winged magicians, and are not immune to the "Kill Me" miracle with two-wing power. As long as you use Kill Me, you can instantly clear all the miracle chips in your body, so that you can have a chance to escape from prison."
"Then how do I get the "Kill Me" miracle?"
"If you want to perform miracles, you must first possess a magic spirit. And to obtain a magic spirit, you have four ways." Sword Princess raised four fingers:
"First, by learning knowledge and resonating with the virtual world, the knowledge in the virtual world can be transformed into magic spirits and appear in reality."
"Second, go to the Void Realm to look for wild magic spirits."
"Third, kill the magician and plunder his magic spirit."
"Fourth, magic and spirit transaction."
"First of all, you can't take the first path." Sword Princess glanced at Ash: "The miracle chip has already disconnected you from the virtual world. No matter how you absorb knowledge, it is impossible to arouse resonance in the virtual world."
Ash glanced at the main body information on the light screen, and indeed saw a 'Virtual Realm Resonance Prohibited'.
"The third way is to kill the magician with a mortal body. It has happened before. Most of the time, it happens when female and male favorites take the opportunity to murder their masters while enjoying their pleasure..."
Sword Princess looked at Ash's face and shook her head: "There's no way you can go this way."
"You don't have to deny it so thoroughly! There's a slight possibility, right? I might be able to make a living by relying on my looks, right?!"
"As for the fourth way, you don't even have the capital to trade with others."
"In short," Sword Princess was too lazy to talk to Ash: "The only way you can get a magic spirit is to go to the virtual world and look for wild magic spirits."
Ash: "Then how do I get to the Void Realm?"
Sword Princess: "The only way to go to the virtual world is to trigger the Gate of Truth in the body of the magic spirit and let the consciousness directly cross to the virtual world."
Ash blinked.
"So what you mean is that if I want to go to the Void Realm, I need a magic spirit?"
"exactly."
"And my purpose of going to the Void Realm is to find a magic spirit?"
"That's right."
"wait wait wait… "
Ash held his forehead and stepped back.
"Isn't this the same dilemma that freshly graduated college students face when they find that all positions require three years of work experience?! I can't go to the Void Realm without a magic spirit, but I have to go to the Void Realm to find a magic spirit. Isn't this a vicious circle?"
"Who told you that you must use your own magic spirit to go to the virtual realm?"
"ah?"
Sword Princess pointed at herself and said, "Have you forgotten? I already have a wave sword spirit, so I am qualified to enter the virtual world. You and I have established a soul bond through the Manual, and we can even share experiences. It is natural for me to take you to the virtual world."
There is such a function? Ash subconsciously opened the "Master's Manual" and wanted to look at his talent again, but found that a function module had been added to the game:
「Virtual Realm Exploration」: Organize a team of operators to explore the virtual realm.
However, when Ash clicked on "Virtual Realm Exploration", checked "End Watcher" and "Death Mad Sword Princess" to act together, and clicked "Ready", the reality did not change at all - because "Death Mad Sword Princess" was still "preparing".
"I've already made my preparations, you should also make yours quickly," Ash urged.
"Then I'll go back and prepare. You just wait."
Ash was stunned: "What else do you want to prepare?"
"A lot, a lot. A virgin like you wouldn't understand."
"What the hell do you have to prove I'm a virgin—"
Watching Sword Lady's teasing smile disappear into the air, Ash could only lie on the bed and wait. Perhaps the regeneration treatment consumed too much energy, or perhaps the night without a phone was too boring, Ash soon fell asleep and closed his eyes.
When he woke up again, he saw Jian Ji and he were sitting in the same boat, floating on a sea full of white fog.
... ...
...
On the boat in the Sea of Knowledge, Ash suddenly remembered something and tried to summon the light curtain with a silent voice.
He both failed and succeeded: the failure was that although he summoned the light curtain, most of its functions were ineffective, and the virtual world did not support physical plug-ins; the success was that the "Sorcerer's Manual" could still run.
He clicked on the "Magician's Manual" - "Virtual Realm Exploration", and a map suddenly appeared on the screen, and a message popped up:
"You have entered the virtual world exploration mode, please read the novice tutorial..."
On the other side, Sonia found that Ash was silent, so she also focused her mind on the virtual world, bent down and poked the sea water with her hands, trying to push the boat forward.
"Wait, Sword Princess, don't move so hastily, let me move."