Sorcerer’s Handbook

“Is it for freedom? For revenge? Or perhaps… do you relish the pleasure of being at odds with the world?”

In that instant, Sivirin felt she saw a sinister gleam flicker in the pitch-black eyes of Ashe. Such a look, she had only seen in her teacher’s eyes before—a look that yearned to see the world burn.

But Ashe quickly reverted to his familiar jesting smile, making Sivirin doubt if she had seen correctly.

“I just wish I could clean my ears whenever and wherever I want.” He shrugged, chuckling: “Rather than having to make a special trip to the Restroom just to pick my ears or nose.”

“Besides, being exploited without making money is way beyond a working person’s bottom line. Every time I think about it, I get so depressed that my hormones go out of whack and my endocrine system fails.”

“Is it worth dying for something like that?” Sivirin asked.

“Not worth it, but it’s not certain that I’ll die,” Ashe replied with a smile. “As long as I leave the Blood Moon Kingdom, I can start a new life.”

“Leave?” Sivirin was taken aback: “Where do you want to go? How can you leave?”

“Don’t know yet, got any recommendations?”

“Sure! I’ve read about many other realms in books. I’d love to go to the monster kingdom built in the Abyss, or the ethereal realm where every Soul lives eternally, or even the Star Kingdom that controls the skies…”

Ashe waved his hand: “No, I was actually hoping you’d recommend a way to leave Blood Moon.”

“How could I possibly know how to leave Blood Moon… Each realm is a completely closed world. There’s no regular way to travel between two realms. If there was, they would have fought and become one realm already.” Sivirin was somewhat speechless: “You don’t even know how to leave, yet you want to leave Blood Moon? You should stop, Ashe, the Blood Mad Hunter hits very hard.”

“But I’m certain I can leave Blood Moon.”

“I’m seriously starting to doubt your earlier claim that you’re the ‘only sane person in the team.’ With no hope in sight, what kind of Miracle are you expecting?”

Ashe pondered for a moment and then said, “Although it might sound far-fetched as evidence, I learned from Destiny’s Inquiry that I will eventually escape from Blood Moon.”

Sivirin was startled, “Destiny’s Inquiry? Really?”

“Really.”

“Damn, how come such good fortune falls into your lap!”

Ashe blinked, “[222], I’m escaping from prison right now, not going on a vacation.”

“But I’m still so jealous!” Sivirin’s tone was sour, “For us… Medics, our life paths are set early on. We’re only allowed to live under the glory of Blood Moon, with rules and regulations dictating everything we do, and there are untouchable warning lines everywhere in our lives.”

She spoke forlornly, “Apart from Exploration in Virtual Realm and performing surgeries, my future holds no excitement. It’s like a pond of water that’s gradually turning stagnant and foul.”

“Do you want to come with me?” Ashe asked with a smile, “We could use a Medic on our team right now.”

Sivirin couldn’t remember how many times Ashe’s words had left her stunned.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course, I’m not inviting you to the Restroom; this is an escape from prison, not something to joke about.”

“Joking? I’m a Medic with a promising future… why would I want to join you in a precarious life on the run?”

“Why are you asking me?” Ashe spread his hands, “I’m just offering you a choice as a friend. You should be asking yourself—do you want to abandon your current life and come with me?”

Sivirin retorted hastily, “What friend… Oh right! All those excuses you made last time to borrow my Medic uniform, was it for your prison break?”

“Yes.”

“Then what’s this about friends? You’re clearly just using me!”

“Being a friend and using you aren’t mutually exclusive. I do want you to join my team, but I also want you to live the life you desire. Working in a place you love is living; working in a place you hate is punishment.”

“Selfishness is inevitable, but I’m not so selfish as to assume others are selfless, which is why I won’t feed you a line like ‘trust me’—even a Con Artist would find that too trite.”

Ashe extended his hand to Sivirin, “I’ll just ask you, ‘Do you want to come with me?’”

Thump.

Her stagnant heart seemed to beat, her cold blood appeared to warm. Sivirin, born in a Double First-Class Nursery, raised with stringent character education, and inducted into the sacred bloodline as a Blood Saint before even graduating, without ever breaking a rule or law, was faced with a brazen and outrageous invitation for the first time.

It was like a fish in a pond being asked by a passing bird if it wanted to fly away.

“…I don’t want to.”

“That’s too bad.”

Ashe hadn’t expected to coax a Medic away with just a few words. He walked over and picked up the Ogre mayor, “Then, see you next time, [222].”

Sivirin suddenly felt an urge to tell him her real name but restrained herself, “Will there be a next time? Even if there is, you probably won’t recognize me.”

“You’ll have to remind me, then,” Ashe said with a smile. “Next time, I’ll share stories with you about what lies beyond Blood Moon Kingdom. Look forward to it.”

“Wait.”

Ashe stopped and looked at Sivirin curiously. Sivirin was startled; she didn’t know what she wanted to say—was she going to advise him to surrender? To stay and face his demise?

After a moment of silence, she turned her head and whispered, “If, if I could find a way to clear your name, even allow you to leave Shattered Lake and start anew, to live openly and legitimately within Blood Moon Kingdom, would you want that?”

Indeed, a way did exist to exonerate a Cult Leader of heinous crimes and enable their escape from prison.

The process involves transforming a criminal into a Blood Saint or Moonshadow.

The crimes of members of these two sacred bloodlines are not subjected to standard judicial procedures but are handled solely by the Church and the Research Institute. If a criminal becomes part of the sacred bloodline, they must be turned over to the Research Institute. The most common punishment for kin is confinement and mandatory labor, typically measured in ‘centuries’, but kin are indeed not executed.

However, whether a Blood Saint or Moonshadow, changing one’s race involves a complex procedure, certainly not something a death row inmate in Prison could accomplish unless…

Unless one resorts to the most primitive method of familial propagation, such as the First Embrace Ritual.

But the First Embrace Ritual requires more than the strong will of the Blood Saint; it also imposes requirements on the one receiving the embrace, namely, that the recipient must fall in love—

Sivirin suddenly realized a problem.

Why did she want to retain Ashe, even willing to perform the First Embrace on him? Because she didn’t want Ashe to leave; she wanted him to stay.

A fish in a pond does not leave with the bird but instead pulls the bird into the pond, hoping the bird will become a fish as well.

Is it really necessary for the recipient of the First Embrace to fall in love with the Blood Saint?

In many Biological Prosthesis surgeries, there are instances where the recipient’s personality changes due to the prosthesis. Mechanical Prosthesis can reduce physical desires, shifting the focus to spiritual satisfaction; Abyssal Prosthesis can enhance the desire for destruction, making one more aggressive and irritable; Falcon Prosthesis may cause the recipient to develop a taste for insect cuisine…

Not all of the sacred bloodline are Mind Sorcerers; how could they possibly know the true feelings of those receiving the embrace?

They simply assume that the recipient has ‘fallen in love with them.’

This may not be a prerequisite for the ritual but rather a result of it.

The term ‘First Embrace’ might originally just mean that, a literal first hug. And the truth of the First Embrace Ritual may be more romantic—and more brutal—than the records suggest.

“I am unwilling.”

Sivirin looked at Ashe, who simply shrugged, “Though I’m not sure what method you’re referring to, I’m likely unwilling to go through with it regardless.”

“Why?”

“While it may not be entirely fair to generalize from the little I’ve seen, the intelligence I’ve gathered in Prison makes me feel that the Blood Moon Kingdom outside is just a larger version of Shattered Lake.” Ashe sighed. “I don’t consider myself a freedom fighter, but I get the feeling I’d be just as suffocated out there.”

“It’s not that the Blood Moon cannot contain me; it’s that I cannot contain the Blood Moon.”

“That’s quite a bold statement,” Sivirin said with a light smile. “You really are a Cult Leader through and through.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, although I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

“No worries, I kind of regretted saying it the moment it came out of my mouth. Lucky for me, you didn’t accept.” Sivirin waved her hand dismissively. “Until next time, Ashe Heath.”

It was then that something seemed to dawn on Ashe, “Speaking of which, I still don’t know your name.”

“If I told you my name, I’d be breaking the rules. You claim you’re not a Cult Leader, yet here you are trying to tempt me into committing a crime before you leave?”

“That’s fair, but it doesn’t feel right parting this way. At the very least, we should shake hands.”

Ashe carelessly tossed the Ogre aside and extended his right hand toward Sivirin.

“It might not mean much to you,” Ashe said earnestly, “but I’m truly grateful for you bringing me back from the brink of death every time. I’ve often felt like I could hear a crowd critiquing that my death wasn’t spectacular enough…”

“That might be an early sign of schizophrenia; I’d suggest getting a new brain.”

“Your comments always manage to refresh my understanding of biotechnology…”

Sivirin looked at Ashe’s hand, and a sudden impulse overtook her. She walked over and embraced Ashe.

In the moment of Ashe’s astonishment, Sivirin released her grip and stepped back, murmuring softly, “Not so simple after all… Alright, the farewell Ritual is over, you better get going.”

“Wait, what? Are you really a woman…?”

“Do you have a problem with that? The more you guess, the closer I am to committing a crime.”

“Absolutely no objections, and to preserve the feeling of that touch, I’ve decided never to bathe again—”

“Get out of here already!”

Watching Ashe leave the Treatment room with Fernand Snow, Sivirin felt an inexplicable sense of melancholy, as if there was an emptiness inside her.

Shaking her head to dismiss these trivial thoughts, she turned and headed back to the Rest Hall.

This was but a trivial interlude in her millennia of existence. She could not possibly accept Ashe’s invitation. Her lineage forbade it, her Soul forbade it, her mission forbade it.

For she was Sivirin Gwenn, the highest Talented bloodline heir in a thousand years.

As she reached for the doorknob of the side door, she was suddenly struck by the sound of a heartbeat.

But it wasn’t her heartbeat.

It was coming from below the Prison, from the depths of Shattered Lake, from the Black Coffin tomb guarded by the finger sharks!

“…Descendant… your… Blood Lock… requires assistance…?”

Sivirin didn’t open the door; instead, she gazed at the glossy black surface that could almost serve as a mirror.

She saw her own blood-red eyes smeared into darkness.

They looked like those of an ordinary person, like those of Ashe Heath.

“No need, continue your slumber.”

The heartbeat sound faded, slowly disappearing into the waves of Shattered Lake.

Sivirin pushed the door open and returned to the Medic’s Rest Hall.

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