Sorcerer’s Handbook

In the Virtual Realm, the Sea of Knowledge.

“…Now everything is ready. Tomorrow is the day the plan will be set in motion.”

Ashe checked the Map of the Virtual Realm as he maneuvered the Boat, saying, “If the escape from prison fails and the Hunters catch me and drag me back, then it’s all over, and everything will be as before. But if I succeed in escaping, I must remain vigilant at all times. Until I can confirm my own safety, I cannot enter the Virtual Realm.”

Sonya nodded, fully understanding the Observer’s thoughts.

Exploration in the Virtual Realm could be as short as four or five hours or as long as eight or nine. The Observer, with a regular routine in Prison, could log in to the Virtual Realm on time, but after escaping, not only would he need to find a way to survive, but he would also have to avoid the Hunters’ pursuit. How could there possibly be four hours or more of safe time to enter the Virtual Realm?

She let out a sigh of relief, “You scared me. I thought…”

Ashe raised his eyebrows, “Thought I was going to abandon you?”

Sonya’s delicate frown was pitiable, feigning charm, “Yes, I’ve realized I can’t be without you. Just the thought of not seeing you for the next few days makes me feel empty, lonely, cold, and so sad I could almost cry… By the way, since you’ll be busy, does that mean my Training has to stop too?”

“Of course not, Training will continue as usual. Although I won’t be here, I will still be supervising your Training. Speaking of which, you should have taken an hour of Rest tonight, right? That’s a privilege just for tonight, tomorrow it’s back to normal.”

“You’re welcome.”

Sonya huffed, legs crossed as she stared at the Observer, “So when will you come back?”

“When I’m certain I’m safe,” Ashe said. “Didn’t Destiny’s Inquiry indicate the possibility of me leaving the Blood Moon Kingdom? After a successful escape, I plan to look for a way out of the Blood Moon Kingdom.”

“So there’s no specific time then…”

“Right.”

Sonya cocked her head to the side, watching strands of white mist fly past, and softly asked, “Is there anything I can help with?”

“Haven’t you said before that you hope to become a Songstress? Why not sing a song for me to hear?”

“You—”

“Ha ha, just kidding,” Ashe chuckled. “Tonight, let’s not hunt Knowledge Creatures. Let’s focus on finding Sorcerer Projections instead.”

Sonya immediately understood: “You want to read through other sorcerers’ Handbooks to look for more clues about the Golden Fish?”

Ashe nodded slowly: “Given our pace, even if hunting Knowledge Creatures yielded Experience Orbs, it wouldn’t be enough for your swordsmanship to Breakthrough to the Gold Tier.”

“Even with a rare spirit, it can’t be integrated into my Battle system right away; it would offer only a marginal improvement to combat power.”

“We have only one night left if we want to make a Breakthrough. The Golden Fish is our only choice.”

Although they had hunted many Knowledge Creatures these days, most of the spirits were either used to boost Ashe’s Points or sold by Sonya for some extra cash. Rarely were they kept for personal use. The most important reason was, of course, they were not suitable.

Despite mastering the Swordsmanship, Water Art, Radiance Magic, and Mind factions, in the bizarre world of spirits within the Virtual Realm, what they had encountered was barely the tip of the iceberg. It was quite usual that none of the spoils of Battle were spirits from their specialized factions.

Even if they did encounter a spirit from the same faction, it was more likely to be ill-fitting. For example, within the Swordsmanship Department, “Acoustic Sword”, “Continuous Sword”, and “Poison Sword” represent three different directions: increasing destructive power through high-frequency vibrations, enhancing attack speed with Continuous Slashes, and adding special properties to the Blade.

Beyond the Swordsmanship Department, “Acoustic Sword” requires the support of the Sound Magic Department, “Continuous Sword” necessitates a shift to the Physical Faction to improve physical fitness, and “Poison Sword” means supplementing with the Poison Magic faction.

Delving into any specific area of expertise requires an immeasurable amount of time for a sorcerer, often even venturing into unfamiliar factions. If a spirit is used superficially without thorough understanding, the effectiveness is undoubtedly inferior to a well-researched Battle system. For instance, Sonya’s “Rupture Wave Slash” could instantly eliminate the earlier mentioned three Swordsmanship spirits.

Thus, although they acquired many spirits, those were not indispensable. Instead of focusing on new spirits, it was better to fully utilize their existing ones.

Such problems were, however, a luxury. How many Silver Sorcerers could boast about harvesting two or three spirits each night? Surviving alone was a blessing from the Virtual Realm, let alone gaining spoils to celebrate as if on a festival.

They did upgrade their equipment, of course. For example, Ashe complemented his arsenal with the “Slash Sword,” “Thrust Sword,” and “Cleave Sword,” the three fundamental Swordsmanship spirits. Theory suggests that a Swordcerer should personally summon these spirits to establish a solid foundation within the Swordsmanship Faction. Sonya would not request these spirits, while Ashe, being an unlearned Trespasser, had no concern for foundations.

After selling her spoils, Sonya quickly gathered the spirits needed for the “Sheath’s Gathered Light” and “Sharpening for a Decade” miracles, further enhancing her combat strength.

While not invincible, in the Sea of Knowledge, this duo had the audacity to act without restraint.

Yet, from another perspective, this also meant that the Sea of Knowledge was yielding diminishing returns for them. They acquired so much in the Virtual Realm that it required a great deal of time to assimilate slowly.

Unless, of course, they could reach the higher levels of the Virtual Realm.

“If I could condense arcane energy of gold, my Sword Barrier would activate at one hundred percent efficiency, quintupling my defense at least,” Ashe explained the necessity of golden arcane energy for him. Unlike the Swordswoman, he had the “Earth Sword” spirit granted by Valcas. With Promotion, his combat strength would surge.

Sonya snorted, “That’s assuming we find the Golden Fish. You sound like you’re planning how to spend lottery winnings before you’ve won.”

“What would you do if you hit the jackpot?”

“First, I’d buy an estate in Gales, then pretend to be seriously ill to coerce my mother into borrowing money from relatives and villagers.”

“Why?”

“Those troublemakers who always bullied us would surely refuse to lend money. Then, I’d rent a fleet of luxury cars to pick up my mother, blinding those troublemakers with our brilliance. Anyone who dares to ask my mother for money, I’d remind her of this incident and cut off their greedy paws.”

“Yeesh, you really are…”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“I think you could arrange for a trusted friend to lend the money to your mother. When you return home in glory, reward that friend handsomely. With a contrast, you’d only spend a little money to make everyone else regret their actions so much they’d run through walls.”

“Wow, Observer, you’re wickedly clever.”

“You flatter me; I might blush.”

During their casual conversation, Ashe noticed a light red area on the Virtual Realm map labeled “Highly Challenging”—the most Dangerous Area they could venture into, and exactly where Ashe wanted to go.

Ashe’s smile faded as he spoke earnestly, “While there might not be a linear relationship, the stronger the Sorcerer Projection, the higher the chance they know information about the Golden Fish. So tonight’s battles will be tough.”

“Anyway, you won’t come to the Virtual Realm after tonight.”

Sonya’s palm shone with the bright steel glow as she gently rubbed the wooden sword, “I’ll join your madness this time. Worst case, I’ll just give you the ‘First Blood.’”

Miracle Sharpening for a Day, activated.

Strictly speaking, although ‘Sharpening for a Decade’ is a Two Wings Miracle, there’s a large range of adjustments that can be made. In the realm of Time Series Spirits, ‘year’ is the rarest, ‘month’ is less so, and ‘day’ is the most common. Accordingly, ‘ten days’ corresponds to Two Wings, ‘a hundred days’ to Tri-wings, ‘a thousand days’ to Quadruple wings, with ‘year’ and ‘month’ following the same hierarchy.

Therefore, ‘Sharpening for a Decade’ could be modified to ‘Sharpening for a Day/Ten Days/Hundred Days/Thousand Days/A Month/Ten Months…’ and so on. As the level of the spirit is adjusted, the power of this Miracle changes accordingly. The reason it’s called ‘Sharpening for a Decade’ is simply because ‘ten years’ offers the best cost-performance ratio.

Yes, activating this Miracle directly consumes the Time Spirit, which must be reacquired. That’s why Sonya only dares to use the most affordable ‘day’ spirit. It’s said that the more advanced and complex a powerful Miracle is, the more spirits it consumes. Hence, when Legend Sorcerers make a move, it could be as if raining Gold and flooding rivers with Silver Coin, enough to crush a multitude under the sheer weight of the currency.

But in line with the cost, the effects of such Miracles are superb. Sonya’s wooden sword began to emit a gleaming gray glow, the ‘Edge Glow’ produced by the sharpening. Her every attack would now receive the Edge Glow bonus, increasing sharpness, capable of penetrating the defenses of even the most resilient Physical Sorcerers.

Ashe took out a longsword from his mouth, the very ‘Honeyed Blade’ he had drawn. He summoned a Substitute, instructing it to dive into the sea and circle around to reach the other side of Inheritance Island.

Ready, the two broke through the white mist, arriving at Inheritance Island. Simultaneously, the Substitute climbed ashore on the other side, drawing the attention of the Sorcerer Projection.

Right now!

Ashe pointed his sword, and the adorable One Wing spirit materialized at its tip, sending a flash of sword light swiftly towards the throat of the Sorcerer Projection!

Spirit Heart Sword!

Sonya pushed off the boat with a leap, drawing her sword mid-air with an anticipatory smile on her lips. Like an elegant dancer entering the island, she spun towards the Sorcerer Projection with waves of evil light swirling around her, as if she were a meat grinder!

Miracle Evil Light Rupture Wave Slash!

The Substitute drew the attention and met its end, Ashe attacked from a distance, and Sonya erupted in close combat—this was their invincible strategy for encirclement and annihilation!

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