Sorcerer’s Handbook

The living room filled with the peppy strains of pop music, a genre Emma was quite fond of, despite her less than impeccable taste. What was more horrifying was that she, possessing a far from pleasant singing voice herself, insisted on singing along, resulting in a torment that was a double taboo.

“No one can match us as we frolic beneath the covers~”

Snap, the door to the storeroom opened, and Emma, who had just been singing, suddenly put on a stern face and silently set two plates down in front of Igor.

On the left plate was dog food, and the right held clear water.

Igor looked up at Emma and weakly raised his right hand. Emma nodded, and he dashed to the restroom.

Upon his return, he lay down on the floor and began to eat like a pet. Igor felt no psychological pressure from such humiliation, which did not touch upon his interests and thus could not reach the soul of a con artist.

But Emma was quite pleased, squatting beside him and saying, “I’ve gathered some intel. Observation Point 53 has been confirmed as a complete Virtual Realm Passage.”

Igor’s head shot up, “That—”

Smack!

Emma suddenly struck Igor’s head hard, producing a loud noise. Her delicate and cute face darkened with a shadow, turning fierce and violent.

Igor obediently raised his hand, and Emma immediately broke into a smile: “You may speak.”

“When is the first exploration of Observation Point 53 scheduled?”

“Tonight, May 2nd at midnight, during the dimming of the Blood Moon,” Emma replied. “A group of adventurers has already been dispatched to the Lakeview Warzone. I’ve prepared the standard adventurer outfit and a bicycle for you. With five hours left until midnight, you have plenty of time to get there. Whether you can blend into the group of adventurers is up to you.”

Igor was taken aback; he felt that Emma would help him, but he hadn’t expected her to arrange everything so thoroughly.

In truth, whether it was living in the storeroom, eating dog food, or wearing a collar, Igor could have resisted, but he chose to comply and appease Emma. She was now his hope for escaping the Blood Moon, and offending her would only hasten his demise.

Not to mention, information like that about Observation Point 53, even though Emma was obligated to share it with Igor due to contractual restrictions, the timing was at her discretion.

If Emma had informed Igor at 11 o’clock, he would have missed out on the prime opportunity to escape—the first wave of exploration into the Virtual Realm Passage, which is inevitably the time with the most loopholes and easiest to touch fish in troubled waters!

Not only did Emma inform Igor in time, but she also made preparations for him to blend into the Adventurer team. Igor couldn’t help but feel a touch of gratitude, that of a ‘victim’: “Thank you, thank you so much for your help.”

Emma was slightly taken aback, then quickly flashed a sweet smile, her metaphorical wolf tail wagging proudly: “You’re welcome!”

Suddenly, she pulled Igor to his feet: “Come on, let’s eat.”

“Huh?” Igor glanced at the dog food on the plate: “Aren’t I supposed to eat this?”

“Good boys don’t need snacks.” Emma had him sit down, “I’ll make you something tasty.”

Though she said that, Emma’s cooking skills were limited to ‘I know how to use this kitchen appliance’, taking out a semi-finished cooked meal from the freezer and simply heating it up before serving. But for Igor, who had been eating dog food for several days, just being able to sit and eat with a spoon was a luxury akin to a restaurant experience.

Just as Igor was about to dig in, he saw Emma with her hands together in prayer: “Thank you for the sunshine and rain bestowed by the Blood Moon, which yield the abundant food from the earth.”

Noticing Emma sneaking glances at him, Igor hesitated, then followed with a pre-meal prayer. Emma was very pleased. As they ate, she asked, “We haven’t gambled in a while, want to bet on something?”

Igor: “But we are eating.”

“You can gamble while eating! Igor, you’re so smart, come up with a fun idea!” Emma said excitedly.

Not wanting to go against her wishes, Igor thought for a moment and said, “Okay, the rules are that each turn we can eat 1 to 3 bites of food, and whoever eats the last bite loses.”

“Interesting bet!” Emma exclaimed, “What shall we wager?”

“One question.” Igor said, “The loser has to answer a question honestly from the winner.”

“No problem! Haha, Igor, you’re bound to lose this time. My record is ‘one bite per Lala Fatty’!”

Just like before, Emma never cared about the size of the bet. However, the key to winning this game wasn’t about how much one could eat, but rather the strategy of turn-taking and calculation. With Igor’s simple strategy, Emma ended up eating most of the food, yet it was Igor who ate the last bite.

Content, Emma patted her belly and sighed, “Ah, lost again. That makes it 185 losses to 12 wins…”

Igor, now dressed in the standard Adventurer outfit, pulled up his mask and put on his hood, looked at Emma in surprise: “You remember the count of our bets?”

“Of course, how could I forget something so important?” Emma wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and tossed a set of keys to Igor from her pocket: “The bicycle is parked in the number 16 spot downstairs.”

Taking the keys, Igor apologized, “Sorry to trouble you. If I get caught, the Memory Master could find evidence in my memory of you helping me, and I don’t have time now to find a Memory Master to erase my memories…”

“It’s no big deal.” Emma waved her hand dismissively. “Isn’t it normal to help out a friend?”

Friend…?

A hint of sarcasm appeared at the corner of Igor’s mouth: “But I am a criminal, and you are a Blood Mad Hunter.”

“So what?” Emma sat with her legs crossed on the chair, tilting her head as she looked at Igor, her tail curling inward, a puzzled expression on her face.

“You are a criminal, I am a Blood Mad Hunter, but what does that have to do with us being friends? When we play together, we play gambling games, not the hunter and criminal game…”

“I’ve never heard of anyone keeping a friend locked in a storeroom and feeding them dog food,” Igor said coldly.

“You were a naughty child who didn’t behave, isn’t it normal to be punished?!” Emma declared righteously. “And you still haven’t admitted your wrongs!”

What wrong should I admit? You locked me in the storeroom on the first day!

Unreasonable, incomprehensible.

Shaking his head, Igor walked to the entrance to put on his Boots, and Emma came over and said, “Are you leaving? Be careful on the road.”

“Right, I won the bet. I’m going to exercise the winner’s right to ask a question, and you have to answer honestly.”

“Ask away.”

“Was it you who reported me to the Sin Hunter’s Hall when they captured me?”

Emma blinked, her face showing confusion.

“You were captured by the Sin Hunter’s Hall? That explains why I haven’t seen you for over a year… Wait, does this mean you’re actually a Prison Escapee? You said you were a criminal, that’s actually true?”

Igor was shocked: “You didn’t see my wanted poster?”

“Chasing the Shattered Lake Prison Escapees is the Captain’s responsibility; recently, I’ve been tasked with the security details for the Deputy Mayor…” Emma shook her head: “As for your capture by the Sin Hunter’s Hall, I didn’t even know who you were, so how could I possibly report you… Wait a second.”

“Now that I think about it, about a year ago everyone congratulated me, saying that I had acted as bait and lured a very cunning Con Artist into a trap. Even the Captain praised me and treated me to a big meal. At that time, I had no idea what was happening, I just enjoyed the meal and even got a promotion…”

As improbable as it sounded, Igor felt that Emma was not lying.

From the beginning, Emma had always seemed to Igor as the cute and clueless type, which is why he had relentlessly taken advantage of her, accumulating 9000 minutes on their Contract, not just because he saw an easy target in a fool.

In truth, Igor did not want to believe that Emma had reported him, or else he wouldn’t have asked the question; it would mean a major flaw in his ability to judge character.

If he couldn’t even tell whether his clients were dogs or wolves, then he basically had lost the credentials to be a Con Artist.

Luckily, Emma didn’t disappoint him. She was a natural airhead, and it was just by chance that the Sin Hunter’s Hall had caught him, not because he had walked into a trap set by Emma. The only person who could deceive him was still that undeveloped Cult Leader.

Realizing this, Igor let out a sigh of relief and smiled, “Thank you, Emma.”

Yet Emma, dissatisfied, asked: “Is that all you have to say to me? Like, an apology or something…”

“For all the trouble I’ve caused you, I’m truly sorry…”

“I’ve already said it’s no big deal, not that! I mean something else!”

Which one is it then? Even as a Mind Sorcerer, Igor still couldn’t figure out what Emma was thinking. He simply pushed the door open and left: “Thank you for taking care of me, I hope we have the chance to meet again in the future.”

“Next time, I’m definitely going to beat you!” Emma shouted loudly.

As Igor walked away from the apartment, he took a deep breath, clearing away the gloom of the past few days spent in confinement. His steps became lighter.

In fact, aside from her quick temper and somewhat bizarre hobby of treating people like pets, Emma was not a bad client. Given enough time, Igor was even confident he could develop her into his undercover agent in the Sin Hunter’s Hall.

After all, Emma valued friendship unexpectedly highly, wore her emotions on her sleeve, had a simple mind, and didn’t care about breaking the rules, much like a child…

Igor found the bicycle Emma had prepared for him. Just as he was about to ride away, he suddenly heard Emma’s voice from above.

“Next time you ask for help, you should say ‘please’ first!” Emma yelled from the balcony, without any concern for who might hear: “Don’t be so impolite in the future!”

Igor was slightly taken aback and could only nod hurriedly before pedaling away from the awkward scene.

He wondered why Emma suddenly said such a thing. It took him a while to remember that when he first approached Emma, he had indeed not said ‘please’.

Igor felt a mix of annoyance and amusement. Could it be that Emma was upset just because he hadn’t said ‘please’ when he initially commanded her, “I order you to help me escape the Blood Moon Kingdom”?

“You’re a naughty child who doesn’t mind his manners; isn’t it normal to be punished?”

Screech!

Igor braked sharply, looking back at the apartment building where Emma was.

He recalled some information about the Moonshadow.

The sources of Moonshadow members, besides adults becoming Priests through church examinations, included another pathway—when assessing the potential of infants, the Beloved Church would keep those children whose aptitudes most closely matched the Moonshadow and send them directly to the Church Nursery for cultivation.

Unlike most nurseries, the Church Nursery was completely sealed off, not subject to societal oversight.

In a typical Nursery, regardless of its quality, Camera Eyes must be installed to allow society to see what’s happening inside. In these Nurseries, toddler brawls may be allowed, but Nursery staff are strictly prohibited from physically punishing the children.

Education can be administered through verbal warnings, resource allocation, or even collective isolation, but direct harm and deprivation of freedom are not permitted. Children have the right to refuse.

Due to the closed nature of the Church Nursery, many suspect that it might be engaged in militarized training.

However, the Priests emerging from the Church Nursery often dispel these doubts. Compared to most inhabitants of the Blood Moon Kingdom, Moonshadow Priests are so pure, adorable, earnest, naive, diligent, and well-mannered that they resemble grown-up Angels.

It’s worth noting that the Sin Hunter’s Hall is only tasked with hunting sins. It’s not the place to turn to for neighborhood disputes, lost pets, light bulbs stuck in mouths, tongues stuck to railings, or bodies wedged in washing machines. In such cases, the correct approach is to contact the Church.

Upon receiving a call for help, the nearest Church will send a Moonshadow Priest to assist, regardless of the time. Always cheerful and enthusiastic, Moonshadow Priests never shun trouble, face any issue with patience, and have instilled in the people of the Blood Moon Kingdom the concept of ‘turn to the Church when in trouble.’

Almost everyone has received help from a Moonshadow Priest, and no one dislikes them. Currently, 60% of the Blood Moon Kingdom’s population are regular Church Followers, most of whom have been influenced by the Moonshadow Priests’ actions, hence strongly believe that the Blood Moon Sovereign they pray to is truly a benevolent and virtuous entity.

Fernand Snow’s speech did not cause much of a stir, largely because of the presence of the Moonshadow Priests. If the benefits harvested from the people were solely given to the sacred bloodline, there would surely be an uproar. But if the benefits were shared between the sacred bloodline and the Moonshadow, people would hesitate—sacrificing for the Moonshadow doesn’t seem unacceptable.

There’s also a saying in Kaimon City: “The fake Double First-Class is the Emerald Garden; the real Double First-Class is the Church Nursery.”

As for someone like Langna, calling him a Werewolf is indeed appropriate. His very existence tarnishes the name of the Moonshadow.

Igor suddenly recalled the conversation he had with Langna before his prison escape.

“The Beloved Church actually raised a Moonshadow like you; it’s really strange.”

“I find it strange that the Church hasn’t raised any other Werewolves.”

Was that what it meant…

In fact, Igor should have figured it out earlier—how could an adult be afraid of being locked in a storeroom? Igor wasn’t afraid even without a Chip; if he had one, he could even conduct Curtain anonymity scams from inside the storeroom.

Only a naive, innocent child would fear such a confined punishment.

Moreover, Emma’s house clearly didn’t have a dog, so why did she have dog food? She had just pointed at the dog food and called it a snack.

Adding to this, Emma’s unusual emphasis on politeness and her childlike demeanor, the truth was nearly self-evident.

Igor looked up at the slowly rising Blood Moon, shook his head gently, and pedaled away on his bicycle.

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