Sorcerer’s Handbook

Watching the nine spirits before him, Ashe couldn’t help but perform an on-the-spot calisthenics routine to calm his excitement.

Last night’s Exploration in the Virtual Realm had yielded a whopping twelve spirits!

Three of them were rumored to fetch a good price and were taken by the Swordswoman, but even so, Ashe’s haul from that one night almost surpassed the total gains of the previous days!

Not to mention they also obtained two Experience Orbs!

Ashe felt that unless he drew another artifact for Exploration in the Virtual Realm, it would be difficult to replicate last night’s success before the full expansion of the Silver Wings.

The previous night’s experiences also profoundly validated the life lesson he had concluded while at work: Working is inferior to touch fish, touch fishing is inferior to exploitation, and exploitation is inferior to picking peaches…

When they discovered a Wild Sorcerer nearby on the Virtual Realm Map, Ashe and his companion’s first reaction was to quickly keep their distance—not because they were kind-hearted or benevolent, unwilling to rob an unfamiliar sorcerer they had never met, but because they feared they were no match for their opponent, even with both hands tied!

Indeed, Ashe was certain that neither he nor his companion could defeat the sorcerer alone!

They were very realistic about their own strength: Both the Swordswoman and he had reached their current levels by forcing the pace rather than through genuine growth. Miracles were few and far between, and almost non-existent was their combat system.

The Swordswoman was in a slightly better position, as her innate Talent was evident, and she could catch up with some time. Ashe, on the other hand, was merely an accessory to a strong leg, with nothing but basic attacks and summoning Substitutes to send to their doom. To call him ‘the weakest of his rank among Battle Sorcerers’ would not be an exaggeration.

Bullying the sorcerer projections of Inheritance Island and beating up Knowledge Creatures was their limit, and even that was somewhat beyond their reach—especially after the Silver Wings had formed more than halfway, the intensity of battles they encountered had escalated a level, leaving them nearly exhausted of arcane energy and barely able to defeat their enemies.

Sorcerers like Ashe and his companion were undoubtedly anomalies on the Sea of Knowledge, considering they had only been sorcerers for a mere seven days. Within the normal cadre of sorcerers, they would still be considered novices who hadn’t even left the starting village, still acquainting themselves with the game mechanics!

The sorcerer who appeared near them, without a doubt, had also gathered more than half of the Silver Wings and had been in the Virtual Realm for at least a month, possibly even half a year or a year!

The advantage of time could create a significant gap. To put it in gaming terms, Ashe and his partner were like players who had leveled up with cheats, but hadn’t undertaken any Occupation quests, main quests, side quests, etc., and didn’t even know how to execute a combo.

Moreover, with their artificially inflated level, the Gate of Truth would only transport them to areas with high-level creatures!

Fortunately, they were in a bound team. Had they been solo sorcerers experiencing what they had, they would have likely been killed by the high-level Knowledge Creatures in the advanced monster zones a long time ago.

A normal sorcerer would undoubtedly have to gather the Silver Wings step by step, far surpassing the duo in every aspect, from Faction Realm, combat system, to mastery of Miracles. Not to mention, the opponent would most likely have experience in combat against other sorcerers. It wouldn’t be surprising if, upon engaging in battle, they would quickly realize that Ashe was an easy target.

Although Ashe could gamble that the stranger wasn’t a Battle Sorcerer, there was absolutely no need to take such a risk—his real body was still eagerly awaiting nourishment in the Prison, and if either he or the Swordswoman died, crying out “Give me my life back, I don’t want to play anymore” would be useless. They would just have to obediently wait for the punishment from the Blood Moon Tribunal for their gambling.

So when it seemed that the stranger was about to approach, Ashe quickly maneuvered the Boat to evade. However, due to the white mist, it was impossible for the other party to spot the Boat from a certain distance. At this moment, the Swordswoman suddenly bit his ear and suggested a rather thrilling bad idea.

“Wow, you’re really wicked, but I like it.”

“Cut it out, as if you’re some kind of saint.”

Thus, the two sneakily moved ahead of the unfamiliar sorcerer, and in the Virtual Realm Map, they found an “A bit troublesome” Area and threw small stones to lure the unfamiliar sorcerer there.

Based on their encounters in the past few days, “A bit troublesome” Areas were mostly habitats for Knowledge Creatures, generally in the Growth Stage, with large bodies and astonishing combat power, capable of skillfully using spirits. Even if a sorcerer could defeat them, they would hardly be able to retain the Knowledge Creatures.

Sure enough, Ashe saw through the Virtual Realm Map that after a battle, the “A bit troublesome” yellow Area gradually turned into a “Go for the loot” green Area, and the green Area was constantly moving, clearly indicating the Knowledge Creature was on the run.

And Ashe’s Boat was anchored right on the escape path of the Knowledge Creature!

Determining which direction the Knowledge Creature would flee to was actually quite simple: unlike the clueless sorcerers, Knowledge Creatures necessarily knew the surroundings of their habitat, which is why they could always escape to a safe Area, rather than invading other Knowledge Creature territories and fighting for dominance.

All Ashe needed to do was observe the surroundings, eliminate routes leading to “Worth a visit” or “A bit troublesome” Areas, and the remaining paths would likely be the escape routes chosen by the Knowledge Creatures. Even with some margin of error, Ashe could watch the Virtual Realm Map and make timely corrections, almost always teaching the young Knowledge Creatures what ‘misfortune never comes singly’ and ‘running away is both shameful and futile’ meant.

With this tactic, Ashe would lead the unfamiliar sorcerer to the Knowledge Creature’s habitat, then wait nearby. Once the Knowledge Creature was significantly weakened and fled, they would go pick the peaches and reap the rewards like a fisherman taking advantage of the tides.

This approach was not only fruitful but also safe. The combat power of the Knowledge Creatures plummeted during the escape, and when ambushed, they were easily caught off guard, like someone being chased by a ghost and then suddenly slipping on a banana peel—anyone would be confounded.

When the unfamiliar sorcerer’s Soul Energy was depleted and they could no longer stay online, Ashe and his companion still felt a tinge of longing. Together, they had slain five Knowledge Creatures, collecting 12 spirits and 2 Experience Orbs.

Especially those 2 Experience Orbs, to use the Swordswoman’s words, were “one night’s earnings equal to half a year’s income for an ordinary sorcerer.”

Most importantly, among the 9 spirits Ashe received was one that was precisely the third type of spirit needed for the Slay Me Miracle!

It looked like a constantly rotating water ball, with a tiny wing made of water, trembling and wobbly in his hand, looking particularly adorable.

“Circulation”

“One Wing spirit”

“Restriction: The target must have a source of water within their body.”

“Basic Effect: Transfers all effects (instant damage, ongoing effects) from the first target to the second target, with the Circulation speed varying depending on the distance and other factors between the two targets.”

“Passive Effect: When the sorcerer’s body contains liquid, it can reduce the impact of physical blows received.”

“‘Water flows downwards.’”

Having collected the Substitute, Heart Sword, and Circulation spirits, Ashe now has all the prerequisite conditions to Cast the ‘Slay Me’ Miracle!

Next, he just needs to quickly master the spirits to the extent that he can provoke a resonance in the Virtual Realm while in the Prison, and then he can attempt to Cast Miracle even in a state where arcane energy is prohibited!

After securing the Circulation spirit, Ashe opens “Aurora’s Sorcerer Handbook” and chooses to Recharge all of the remaining 8 spirits!

One spirit is worth 8 Points, so 8 spirits amount to 64 Points. Added to the existing 40 Points, Ashe now has a massive total of 104 Points, which allows him to purchase ‘a bunch of Source Crystals’!

Purchase successful!

He obtains 20 Source Crystals!

Then, he triggers the first-time Recharge bonus and gets another 40 Source Crystals!

Adding the 4 Source Crystals from the past three days of Check-ins, Ashe now has a total of 44 Source Crystals, enough for 14 Searches!

It’s my turn, Card draw!

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