Sorcerer’s Handbook

Crack!

As the Witch snapped the neck of the fourth White Velocidragon, she turned around to find that there were no longer any living Knowledge Creatures in the mine.

Personality Split – Mask Switching – Red Death Eater mode disengaged, White Queen mode engaged!

“Is it over already?”

Deya watched as the corpse of the White Velocidragon turned into light points and sank into the soil, still somehow unable to react—could battles in the Virtual Realm be this easy?

This Resource Point was a stone quarry guarded by a total of eight White Velocidragons. In the past, Deya would have turned and fled. The last Resource Point she attacked had only four Dog Head Dragons, and it took her a great deal of effort to kill two, leaving her own body blurred and nearly drained of arcane energy. If it weren’t for the Time Spirit’s “Fast Forward,” she might not have been able to retreat at all.

But now, having defeated the eight White Velocidragons guarding the Resource Point, Deya emerged completely unscathed. Although their trio had taken advantage of the terrain in the quarry from the start, blocking the narrowest passage to launch a counterattack, the outcome was still surprisingly delightful.

The Observer was responsible for Long-range Attack and support, while the Sword Barrier protected Deya from the White Velocidragons’ assaults not once, but twice; the Swordswoman took charge of close combat bursts, using the wide-range Vibration Sword Miracle to keep the White Velocidragons at bay. As for Deya, she followed close behind the Swordswoman, ready to add damage and seize opportunities. Whenever she spotted a vulnerability in the White Velocidragons, she would trigger the Miracles “water thread” and “Entangle,” wrapping the death thread around the vital points of the White Velocidragon and then tightening it fiercely, completing the harvest.

Although it was a simple collaboration, Deya had underestimated the lethality of a trio of Sorcerers working together, as well as overestimated the combat strength of Gregarious Creatures. In fact, compared to Large Creatures, the individual combat strength of Gregarious Creatures could be said to be quite weak—the difference in combat abilities between them was like comparing a voluptuous lady to a group of flat-chested lolitas.

However, the strength of Gregarious Creatures does not lie in individual power but in the formidable execution of mob tactics.

When Gregarious Creatures gang up on a Sorcerer, they inevitably assign roles such as bait, assault, and restraint, with positions constantly shifting. As a Sorcerer aims to unleash an attack on one creature, that creature will likely retreat to lure the Sorcerer in, while others seize the opportunity to attack. Even if the creatures’ damage is not high, most Sorcerers not from the Physical Faction lack the ‘Super Armor’ buff and can easily be knocked off balance by attacks. If a Sorcerer is knocked to the ground, they can expect to be swarmed and bitten to death.

This is what happened to Deya last time, ground down by several Dog Head Dragons to the point of utter frustration. The intelligence of Gregarious Creatures makes one suspect that perhaps the Virtual Realm is micro-managing them to toy with Sorcerers.

The battle strategy a Sorcerer employs against Large Creatures and Gregarious Creatures is completely different, as are the risks involved. Many Sorcerers who have slain countless foes in the Sea of Knowledge find themselves repeatedly defeated by Gregarious Creatures upon arriving at the Time Continent.

However, when Sorcerers team up in threes, the situation is completely reversed.

With three Sorcerers covering each other, Deya only needs to focus on the creatures in front of her. With the support of the Observer, Deya can attack without always having to reserve strength for a retreat, allowing her to go all out. By taking advantage of the terrain, they can even gang up on a single creature within a small area.

In such scenarios, the weaknesses of Gregarious Creatures—low defense, low health, weak damage, and monotonous attack patterns—become glaringly obvious. Soon, the trio finds the right rhythm and slaughters the creatures one by one.

Such an easy and comfortable battle seemed like a scene straight out of a fairy tale.

While Deya was reflecting on her past battles as if they were horror stories, the other two were quietly assessing the new member’s combat prowess.

Strong!

Ferocious!

Sinister and unpredictable!

Once the battle commenced, the Witch suddenly changed her attire, donning a tight blood-red battle dress and her hair turned into an alternating pattern of red and white. She extended three transparent threads from her hands.

Ashe had an epiphany—this must be the Witch activating her Inherent Talent, switching to a persona better suited for battle.

When she viciously slashed at the White Velocidragon, her threads whipped across its body like steel, leaving clear, bloody marks. It seemed she had also imbued these threads with “Hydrotherapy” Time Spirits, which are typically used for healing. However, when Hydrotherapy Time Spirits are used for treating serious injuries, they often need to be paired with anesthesia or sleep Time Spirits, since the regrowth of flesh can be intensely itchy and painful.

In Shattered Lake Prison, Ashe always woke up after healing without ever experiencing pain, and it was not without reason—[222] he had never been allowed to feel even a hint of discomfort.

When Hydrotherapy Time Spirits are applied to battle, they amplify sensory damage. The White Velocidragons whipped by the Witch often screamed or even jumped, significantly slowing their pace in battle.

In addition, the Witch had another miracle up her sleeve, “Entangle,” which suddenly wrapped the threads around the target. Then, with a violent tug using her hands, Ashe could see her biceps bulging. Accompanied by the White Velocidragon’s pained howls, its neck was torn open by the Witch’s threads.

The Witch’s mastery of the Time Spirit “Fast Forward” also played a key role, disrupting the White Velocidragon’s desperate defenses and even causing one to blunder into the Swordswoman’s “Killing Intent Rupture Wave Slash.”

Moreover, the Witch kept pace with the Swordswoman’s rhythm, not only avoiding holding her back but also complementing her tactics beautifully. Throughout the battle, Ashe even felt that it was he who was being carried.

“Gregarious Creatures don’t drop Time Spirits?” Ashe looked around, “Isn’t that a loss?”

“Gregarious Creatures typically use Time Spirits to drive production at Resource Points. Unless an overlord creature appears among them, it’s rare for Time Spirits to remain within their bodies,” Sonya explained, glancing towards the mine’s interior, “Once the Gregarious Creatures die, the Time Spirits likely seize the chance to escape, so we hardly ever harvest any.”

“The only real gain from conquering a Resource Point is the resources already produced inside.” Deya seemed eager to try, “I hope there’s a Fist Stone in there.”

Ashe was still unsure about the value of Resource Points, but once he picked up the gleaming deep blue stone from the mine, he understood their significance to a Sorcerer—

“Weak Water Stone: When consumed by Water Faction Time Spirits, it can catalyze their autonomous evolution.”

“Fist Stone: When consumed by Fist and Claw Faction Time Spirits, it can catalyze their autonomous evolution.”

Spirit Evolution!

Ashe hadn’t expected that Spirit Evolution could also depend on external items. He naturally researched at the Bewitcher’s home other ways to obtain high-rank spirits besides hunting monsters and looting equipment. He found two answers: summon a new one or enhance an old one.

Summoning a new one is self-explanatory; it’s akin to finding a new girlfriend, with all the necessary steps such as dating, dining, watching movies, and holding hands. Enhancing an old one is like upgrading and dressing up your wife to look more high-class and beautiful—simpler, but the issue is you need to have a wife to start with.

Generally speaking, a normal Sorcerer will have a Lifeline Spirit—the first spirit they’ve summoned.

After a Sorcerer raises their Faction Realm to the Gold Tier, most of them step into the Time Continent by elevating their Lifeline Spirit to Two Wings.

It is evident that the spirits eligible for enhancement are mostly Lifeline Spirits. In some sense, a spirit is like a daughter married off from the Virtual Realm, and if the daughter’s life becomes increasingly prosperous with the Sorcerer, her natal home adds more to her dowry, upgrading her from a Level 1 loli to a Level 2 young girl.

Other spirits, not personally summoned by the Sorcerer, are akin to a mistress without a marriage certificate and do not receive recognition from the Virtual Realm family.

But if they can consume higher-level Virtual Realm resources, like the faction ores from this Resource Point, even the mistress can continue to be upgraded.

“So, if you thoroughly master your spirit and then let it consume the corresponding faction ore, there’s a high chance it will catalyze the spirit’s autonomous evolution,” Sonya explained. “In fact, consuming ores from other factions also helps, but the conversion efficiency is only 3% of the corresponding faction.”

In other words, feeding a well-developed spirit could completely evolve it into a more special form… Ashe nodded, looking at the pile of glittering ores in the cart and thoughtfully said, “Let’s sort them by faction then. Time Series and Fist and Claw for the Witch, Swordsmanship Department and Water Department for the Swordswoman.”

“And what about you?” Sonya asked. “Aren’t you also from the Swordsmanship Department like me?”

“I’m not in a hurry, I’m not particularly attached to my spirit. If I get a better Two Wings spirit in the future, I’ll just switch to it. You all have a Major Faction, and need to grow with your spirits…”

“But what about the Heart Sword?” Sonya shook her head. “That’s the Peerless Secret Sword of the Five Spirits, and it was also the item left to you by that Elf… I might be able to get an Item to exchange spirits in the Virtual Realm in the future. Until then, you need to properly nurture the Heart Sword!”

Sonya pushed several Sword Heart Stones into Ashe’s arms. Ashe blinked and said with satisfaction, “Swordswoman, you’ve grown up…”

“Don’t talk with that tone you use when you see a dutiful daughter!” Sonya was so frustrated that she didn’t know where to direct her irritation.

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