Sorcerer’s Handbook

Snap.

As Lorens rounded the corner, he collided with a Human Scholar who was running.

Both steadied themselves after a slight jolt. The Human Scholar glanced at his white robe, now stained with blood-tainted water, and his face darkened. He was about to say something when he looked up and saw Lorens, promptly restraining his expression and taking a step back.

“Lorens? Back from Shattered Lake Prison? Sorry for bumping into you just now, my apologies.”

“It’s nothing. Where are you headed now?”

“The Tavern, of course. Today’s the 15th, and the Blood Moon Tribunal is best watched with everyone else for the full thrill.”

“Haven’t you had your fill of that at the prison?”

The other man chuckled, “Guess who is on the Prisoner List announced this morning? — Valcas Uhl, the former Elven Scholar from Kaimon College!”

Valcas?

“Want to join us? It’s been a while since we’ve seen you, and your appearance at the Tavern will surely give everyone a shock—”

“Sure.”

The Human Scholar’s expression stiffened slightly, as he hadn’t expected the normally reclusive Lorens to agree to his polite invitation…

“Uh… then come with me. By the way, do you want to change your clothes, maybe treat your wounds?”

Lorens glanced at the bloodstains covering him: “Isn’t there Blood Wine at the Tavern? It could be just the thing for treatment. Or is it inappropriate for me to enter the Tavern like this, would you mind?”

The Human Scholar shook his head immediately: “No, no, not at all. I actually think you look quite dashing like that, very trendy. You’d definitely turn heads walking down the street…”

Lorens sneered inwardly.

As the only Blue Scale Merfolk in the Research Institute, how could he not know that the other scholars secretly despised and ostracized him?

But he had never cared before, single-mindedly pursuing power. Being ostracized suited him fine, as it meant he could avoid all collective activities.

After all, under the Restriction of the Racial Equality Act, these people could only harbor their grievances silently.

On the surface, they even had to maintain an attitude of ‘I respect you’ and ‘I don’t discriminate against you.’

Otherwise, if Lorens caught them in the act and reported them to the Race Committee, it could ruin the discriminator’s career for life.

However, Lorens was in a particularly bad mood tonight, and faced with his colleague’s insincere invitation, he suddenly felt a mischievous urge to play along and accepted the offer.

But Lorens soon regretted it.

He had never been to the Tavern before.

The blue and purple neon lights, the sultry and lingering music, the clinking of glasses among the scholars of the sacred bloodline, every bit of it made Lorens feel uncomfortable, even nervous enough that his skin began to secrete mucus.

“Is that… Mr. Lorens?”

“Congratulations, Mr. Lorens, on completing the Blood Embrace Ritual and welcome back!”

“Come on, everybody, let’s drink to that!”

After a round of cheers, everyone returned to their own groups, and even the Human Scholar who had brought Lorens didn’t seem to have any intention of introducing him to his circle, promptly excusing himself to use the restroom.

Lorens let out a sigh of relief as he found an empty table and sat down. He ordered a Melancholy Blues, and soon the bartender brought over a cocktail shimmering with a dark crimson and deep blue hue.

“Here’s your Melancholy Blues, mixed with 20% Human Infant Blood and 30% Blue Scale Merfolk Infant Blood. Please enjoy.”

Lorens drank it in one gulp, licking his lips as the festering wound on his body began to heal rapidly.

He looked around the tavern and felt it wasn’t much different from the Merfolk Taverns in the Slum—there was a pregnant woman drinking at the bar, an Orc breeding with a Human in a booth, and someone overdosed on Moon Sugar convulsing and rolling on the floor like a dog.

The conversations here, however, were different from those outside. People were discussing matters like “any breakthroughs?” “someday we’ll slaughter those bureaucrats,” or “this is the last year for Up or Out.” These were the kind of adult problems that could sour the mood even in a tavern.

A shadow passed over Lorens’s crimson fish eyes—he had to sign the young Researcher Contract with the Research Institute since he had completed the Blood Embrace Ritual.

Given the quality of his source blood and the atmosphere of the Research Institute, he was likely to be involved in the “Up or Out” competition. If he couldn’t produce the required results in time and get a Promotion to Associate Professor, he would be dismissed and expelled from the Research Institute. Whether he went to the Sin Hunter’s Hall or started his own business, he would no longer be able to advance within the Institute.

The issue was that there were only a few Associate Professor positions available, and he was competing against dozens of Researchers from the sacred bloodline. It was rumored that a Research Institute in Waihai City was even more outrageous: 30 Researchers vied for zero Associate Professor spots. When the twenty-year trial period ended, they declared everyone unqualified and sent these Blood Saint Researchers out into society, exploiting twenty years of their labor for nothing.

Lorens took a swig of his drink and turned the menu over to the other side, only to find familiar tavern advertisements. There were listed prices for internal organ recovery, specifically for the sacred bloodline, offered by the Red Mist Organ Exchange.

“Human   Blood Saint: Heart 80 silver coins, lungs 50 silver coins, kidneys 40 silver coins, eyes 30 silver coins…”

“Blue Scale Merfolk   Blood Saint: Heart 44 silver coins, lungs 23 silver coins…”

The recovery prices for the organs of the Blood Saint Race were significantly lower than market value. This was naturally because after transforming into a Blood Saint, their organs also mutated, meaning that the organs of the Blood Saint Race could only be sold to those of the same bloodline, resulting in a smaller market.

Since the members of the Blood Saint Race could regenerate through Blood Healing, the demand for buying and selling organs was low, hence the lower prices.

For normal Races, the selling price would be at least two to three times higher. However, normal Races would need much longer to regrow organs, which greatly impacts their lives.

In his poorest days, Lorens had sold his swim bladder and several liters of his blood to make some extra money.

Lorens thought to himself, “Now that I’ve lost my job in the Prison, my subsidy from the Research Institute is much reduced. Things are getting tougher for Grandma Yarn; I might as well sell a few organs to raise some money to send to her…”

Grandma Yarn was the head of the Blue Scale Nursery and the guardian who had raised Lorens.

The Blue Scale Nursery was one of the few places willing to take in Merfolk.

After reaching adulthood, Lorens would typically send half his salary to Grandma Yarn to help alleviate the financial pressures of the Nursery. After all, if the Blue-Scaled Fry Nursery were to go under, it would mean the death of several hundred Blue-Scaled Fry each year.

In the free economy and the free market, infants not accepted by Nurseries are naturally left to be reborn.

Lorens didn’t have many hobbies anyway. He wasn’t into the stock market or consumerism. His room and board were provided by the Research Institute, and the little money he had wouldn’t buy any impressive spirits. He figured it would be better spent on extra meals for the young Merfolk at the Nursery.

As Lorens was contemplating which organs he should sell, suddenly eight Holographic Screens materialized in the center of the Tavern, ensuring all patrons could see the live broadcast.

“It’s starting, it’s starting!”

“Snake Boss, come over and start the betting!”

“Ah, when will we get another ‘Battle Royale’ mode? That was so thrilling to watch.”

“I think the ‘Electric Shock’ mode is the best, the visuals of electricity jumping out of their eyes are just fantastic.”

“It’s not a holiday today, so there’s no way we’re getting a special mode… Forget it, tonight is definitely going to be the classic mode. I love the classic mode, it’s ordinary but always thrilling.”

Even Lorens, who usually had little interest in the Blood Moon Tribunal, found himself unable to resist watching as the Holographic Screens lit up.

The Blood Moon Tribunal had begun.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!