Sorcerer’s Handbook

Kaimon Comprehensive College, Classroom 107.

“The deconstruction of persona is an important research direction within the Mind Faction.”

“Ordinary people and sorcerers who have not been exposed to Mind Knowledge inevitably engage in ‘preliminary persona construction’ when they first meet strangers, commonly known as Labeling. Rich yet gentle, poor yet insecure, powerful yet domineering, weak yet kind… We extract the most noticeable traits of others and incorporate them into our own realm of thought.”

“Labeling is a very normal mental activity. It helps us quickly find the most reasonable way to interact with others—to be humble in front of a strong adversary, to be aggressive towards the weak. It could even be said that Labeling is an essential survival skill.”

“However, for Mind Sorcerers, this ‘preliminary persona construction’ of Labeling often presents the optimal opportunity for casting spells. We can influence strangers silently through the deconstruction of persona, usually in two ways.”

“The first method is the simplest—Compliant Deconstruction. Generally, after close interactive contact, people gradually modify their perception of others, shifting from simple Labeling to a more complex form. For example, ‘rich yet gentle’ might evolve into ‘rich, miserly to others, gentle, but only towards friends’ and so on. Based on limited information, people deconstruct a complex individual into concepts that are easier to understand.”

“Compliant Deconstruction is when a Mind Sorcerer, after giving an initial impression, continuously reveals traits that the other person would ‘expect.’ For instance, if I dress up as a wealthy, witty middle-aged man in a Tavern and strike up a conversation, the other person might think I own a luxury car, and then, indeed, I pull out a set of luxury car keys; they might think I live in the Upper District, and then I casually let slip that I reside in Phoenix Gardens… So, what do you think were the results of my conversations that night?”

“Displaying the first impression that the other party likes, and continuously revealing details for the other party to automatically ‘complete’ the persona, can quickly garner their trust. Because ‘you’ haven’t actually said anything; everything about ‘you’ is deduced by the other party—people tend to unconditionally trust their own judgment.”

“Many victims of romance scams have been beguiled by this technique, to the point where they believe in the existence of true love in this world. Personally, I don’t recommend using this method, and if you do, don’t swindle money; just enjoy a pleasant evening.”

“There are many other ways to use Compliant Deconstruction, which I won’t elaborate on here. Interested students can purchase ‘108 Practical Persona Templates’ that I’ve written, available for download on the Curtain.”

“The second method is the most difficult—Reverse Deconstruction. You don’t need to consider the impression you make on others; you only need to meticulously construct the impression others make on you. Simply put, through the guidance of spirits, miracles, and rhetoric, you lead others to ‘match’ your impression of them.”

“If you think the other person is kind and generous, then in front of you, they become kind and generous. But you can’t rely on simple Labeling; you must ponder ‘why they are kind,’ ‘why they are generous,’ and then reinforce the other’s cognition through various details, making them unconsciously comply with your ‘impression’—even if they resist fitting that impression.”

“This may sound complicated, but if you have read ‘The History of Social Change,’ you can surely associate it with an ancient social unit—yes, the Family System that Fernand Snow spoke of last night.”

“Within the Family System, male and female Guardians often use this method of Reverse Deconstruction to shape the child into their impression of a ‘good child.’ It is said that in ancient times, the simplest way to become a Mind Sorcerer was to raise a perfect child.”

“In this context, we do not discuss the correctness of Fernand Snow’s statements, but there is no doubt that Reverse Deconstruction can suppress a child’s individuality and strip them of their human rights and freedom. This is one of the reasons why the Family System was relegated to the dustbin of history. However, for us Mind Sorcerers, Reverse Deconstruction is the direction of our lifelong research and study.”

“Powerful Mind Sorcerers are no longer content with simply reverse deconstructing intelligent creatures; they aim to reverse deconstruct the world itself—’the world revolves around me’ is the ultimate realm for a Mind Sorcerer!”

“That’s it for this class, you’re dismissed.”

As the bell rang signaling the end of class, students hurriedly left, and the classroom quickly emptied.

Adra, sitting next to Freya, slumped listlessly on the desk and sighed, “At this rate, when will I ever be able to summon a Mind Spirit to gamble with—this Elective Course really teaches everything but knowledge.”

Freya, wearing a breezy spaghetti strap top today, nodded in agreement.

Kaimon Comprehensive College does not have a Mind Department, nor do any of the universities throughout the Blood Moon Kingdom; at most, they offer Elective Courses about Mind Knowledge, like the “Mind Analysis” course they were taking.

The Professor had been pontificating, but never once explained how to summon spirits; the lectures were just a rehash of interpersonal strategies, even tempting students to buy his book—Freya sensed that the Professor had used something like a ‘suggestion’ spirit to make students believe that “108 Practical Persona Templates” contained methods for summoning spirits.

Though the course quality was low and the Professor’s character questionable, the price was anything but cheap; just for this course, Freya’s Student Loan total had increased by a full 5%.

These days, although anyone could find all kinds of knowledge for free on the Curtain, knowledge that could make money was never free and always came with a high barrier to entry.

For example, the Biology Department, the 17th century was the century of biology, and Biological Prosthesis engineers are currently the highest-paid occupation. However, if one wishes to learn the relevant knowledge, they must become an apprentice to a biology professor, essentially tied to a ten-year employment contract that one cannot easily escape from.

On the surface, the only occupation in the Mind Department is that of a Psychotherapist, but everyone knows that the real Mind Sorcerers are either criminals or politicians (actually, there isn’t much difference between the two), which can be described as high risk, high reward. Therefore, it’s only natural that knowledge from the Mind Faction is hard to come by.

If it weren’t for Freya being a Bewitcher, likely able to summon Mind Spirits on her own, she would have considered using her class money to have some fun at Mud Café for a few days.

Adra said, “How about dinner at Saleth’s tonight?”

“No money,” Freya replied languidly. “I just went to Frostfall last night.”

“It’s on me.”

“Did you win some money?”

“Hehe,” Adra let out a cat-like chuckle, “I placed a big bet on Fernand Snow last night at the Blood Moon Tribunal and made a good amount.”

“How much did you make?”

“All I can tell you is that if I had lost, I’d be working at the Tea Cafe for the next few months.”

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