Sorcerer’s Handbook

“Run quickly, run!”

Within the confines of the racing car barrier, unlike Ashe who still had the energy to provoke their pursuers, Sonya and Deya gripped the front-row seated Ashe’s shoulders, urging the driver in hushed tones to flee, their legs going weak with fear.

They had no choice but to be afraid!

Before them were more than twenty Growth Stage Serpent-Scorpion Dragons and eight Growth Stage Thousand-Feathered Dragons. These were not your ordinary Gregarious Creatures; they were Large Creatures on par with Two Wings sorcerers, each capable of taking on a Sonya on its own!

Particularly the Thousand-Feathered Dragons, capable of aerial maneuvers and excelling in long-range combat while in flight. They even used Reverse Golden Rain to obscure their forms, ranking them as dangerous foes to be highly cautious of on the Time Continent’s Knowledge Creature Ranking List.

Sonya still remembered the strategies mentioned in “Time Continent Survival Tips” for dealing with Thousand-Feathered Dragons: “Kneel on the ground, stick your rear in the air, cover your head to protect your vitals, and curl up as much as possible.”

“This way, there’s a high chance only your rear will take damage, and even in death, you’ll only lose the soul of your buttocks. Aside from feeling a bit empty when going to the bathroom, it won’t much affect your daily life.”

These annotations, left by Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters in the library book, were highly regarded by everyone. They even shared numerous tips on the proper way to stick one’s rear out.

While it might have looked comical, Sonya did not laugh when reading them but committed them to memory instead. These shared notes were the crystallization of sorcerers’ wisdom, and if the Seniors found out that their hard-earned experiences were being scorned and mocked by juniors, they would undoubtedly be pleased — any sorcerer who disrespected knowledge deserved to pay a hefty price.

If a Two Wings sorcerer couldn’t defeat a Thousand-Feathered Dragon, then that was that; it was normal. All sorcerers had their strengths and weaknesses, just like a Physical Sorcerer could counter any close-combat physical enemy but was also vulnerable to ranged enemies adept at inflicting negative curse damage. Even the most talented and versatile sorcerers could encounter Virtual Realm creatures beyond their ability to handle.

Even a Legendary sorcerer had vulnerabilities they couldn’t cover.

As a sorcerer, it is essential to have the heart to compensate for weaknesses, but it is equally important to learn risk management. Even Ashe and Sonya, who played the system like cheats, couldn’t escape death, much less others. Deya spent two years before she could step onto the Time Continent, not because of any restrictions by the Faction Realm.

If it could reduce the loss from death, no one would mind presenting their backsides, or even, if necessary, doing a handstand to relieve themselves.

Death in the Virtual Realm is just a part of life; no sorcerer would swear to eliminate every Slaying Fish-Dragon in existence just because they lost their First Blood, nor is there a ‘Slaying Fish-Dragon Protection Association’ out to hunt Ashe for specifically targeting Slaying Fish-Dragons to burst their Swordsmanship Orbs.

“The Virtual Realm is a mad place. Sorcerers against sorcerers, sorcerers against Knowledge Creatures, Knowledge Creatures against each other; all beings inside are killing one another, yet there is no hatred among them. Everyone is greedy for life yet also embracing death.” — Forest Library Second Floor Virtual Realm Reading Room Famous Quotes.

That is why the Swordswoman and the Witch were so scared.

They were not cowards; just half an hour ago, they were braver than Ashe when killing a Giant Fierce Wolf Dragon. It wasn’t death they feared, but the significant loss that came with it!

If they died here, the Serpent-Scorpion Dragons and the Thousand-Feathered Dragons would nibble away at their souls. In reality, their bodies would become paralyzed and clock out; it might take months before they could re-enter the Virtual Realm.

Even in death, one should aim to die far away, to be bitten by fewer Knowledge Creatures!

“Don’t panic.”

The roar of the giant beasts was already close at hand, and the protective barrier began to tick with crisp sounds; the energy slot of the barrier was rapidly depleting, and danger seemed to be about to chew them all up in the next second.

However, Ashe felt no fear, and of course, there was no excitement, only the calmness like that of watching a documentary.

During these two days of battle, he would occasionally enter this ‘confused by homework’ weird state, something that had never happened before. Ashe suspected that maybe the Time Continent was not quite in tune with him.

But in this special observational state, Ashe could notice many details that he usually wouldn’t pay attention to, and even like a seasoned movie-goer who had watched thousands of bad films, he could accurately estimate the enemy’s next move in the plot.

The past two days of battle had not been smooth sailing. The trio, having just entered the new Map, were novices, and team coordination in battles required some polishing. It was precisely because Ashe had nearly every time entered this special state that he could protect them with the ‘Sword Barrier’ just in the nick of time, allowing everyone to get through the initial adjustment period without any mishaps.

The Swordswoman and the Witch certainly noticed his exquisite maneuvers, but they themselves had plenty of perfect micro-operations in battle and naturally wouldn’t pay extra attention to Ashe’s dazzling skills. At most, they would nod in appreciation, even thinking that this was the level that an Observer should have; and Ashe himself thought it was just an occasional stroke of brilliance. He was past the age of getting excited over a pentakill in LoL and naturally wouldn’t show off intentionally.

But this time, the stroke of brilliance… seemed to last a little too long?

“The show is about to begin,” Ashe said calmly as he operated the virtual controls. The sports car performed a frenzied dance in place, spinning like a top and crashing into the group of Serpent-Scorpion Dragons to the left!

Deya let out a scream, her hair mostly turning red, obviously having Little Red take over; Sonya was almost biting her lip, suppressing the panic in her throat, her hands gripping tight to the Observer’s trench coat… Huh?

Was it the reflection of the Witch’s hair, or the distortion of vision caused by the spinning, or perhaps…

Did the Observer’s deep red gradient trench coat really start to glow with a breathing light effect?

Boom!

The Evil Blade perfectly sliced the Serpent-Scorpion Dragon in half, the sports car exerted all its might to grip the ground and spin back, the tires drawing a crescent moon, perfectly avoiding the arrow rain that followed, and then roaring as it collided with the oncoming Serpent-Scorpion Dragon troops!

Boom! Crack! Boom! Crack!

The remnants of the Serpent-Scorpion Dragons flew over the protective barrier, and the dark red blood sprayed over the car like watering flowers. Due to the transparent barrier, the blood was suspended in mid-air, and only Sonya and Deya, looking up, could see the beautiful spectacle of blossoming blood flowers.

But behind the curtain of blood was a dark green poisonous fog thick enough to obscure vision!

Thud! Thud!

At that moment, the Serpent-Scorpion Dragons finally caught up with the sports car, their sharp stingers, stone-crushing claws, and dangerous serpentine kisses all striking at the sports car simultaneously. The barrier let out a sound of being overwhelmed, threatening to shatter like an eggshell at any moment!

But just then, a piercing scream echoed from above the cave!

“Chirp—”

The Thousand-Feathered Dragons screeched as they plummeted, becoming the first victims of the Poison Fog Surge!

With the tactical objective fully accomplished, Ashe maneuvered the sports car to speed away, escaping the Serpent-Scorpion Dragons and safely exiting the cave just before the barrier could shatter!

This was their trump card in daring to challenge the heroic soul legion—the “Poison Fog Surge” and “Refractive Barrier”!

“Refractive Barrier Level 6: The vehicle is enveloped in a barrier with 4000 health points, reducing all damage to the barrier by 32%.

Level 6 special effect: An additional reduction of 30% for long-range attacks (32+30=62%).

Next level requires 630 Ore Essence/630 Wood Essence/315 Mercury Essence.”

“Poison Fog Surge Level 4: The exhaust pipe releases a toxic fog dense enough to corrode souls, obscuring vision while Operators inside the vehicle remain unaffected.

Next level requires 600 Mercury Essence/300 Wood Essence.”

To upgrade these two car peripherals, nearly all the resources accumulated over the past two days had been exhausted, but it was all worth it—without the Refractive Barrier, they would have been easy targets for the Thousand-Feathered Dragons, and without Poison Fog Surge, they would have had no way to deal with such a large group of Knowledge Creatures!

Why was Ashe insistent on taking this gamble? Because he realized that if they missed this opportunity, they might never get another chance to unveil the mysteries of the heroic soul legion—the legion had just entered a cave that greatly restricted spatial areas, and he just happened to have the resources to upgrade the barrier and the poison!

All elements were indispensable: it had to be in the cave, there had to be a barrier and poison fog, and both groups of Knowledge Creatures, the Serpent-Scorpion Dragons and the Thousand-Feathered Dragons, lacked the means to stop the movement. Then, everything unfolded according to Ashe’s plan, fitting together as seamlessly as an original, perfect puzzle, creating a scene akin to a miracle.

—They had managed to trap and poison the heroic soul legion within the cave!

At that moment, Sonya, seemingly dislodged by the movement of the car or something else, found herself sitting in the front seat, tightly clutching Ashe’s right arm and looking around the cave with a shaken expression, “Are they, are they all dead?”

“Not yet.” Ashe glanced at the Virtual Realm map: “Thousand-Feathered Dragons should be all gone, but half of the Serpent-Scorpion Dragons are still there.”

“Then we should run quickly! They’re going to catch up!”

“No, we should block them in the cave and fight to the death!”

The Witch’s voice seemed like a duet as both Ashe and Sonya turned their heads to see her inexplicably in the front row as well. Luckily, the car was spacious enough that even with Ashe in the middle, it didn’t feel cramped.

The Witch’s hair was particularly striking at the moment, a gradient from black to red.

Each Witch sister had her unique hair color: the Secret Princess had shiny black, the Black Butler had light purple, the White Queen had pure white, the Red Death Eater had blood red… When their hair showed a pure color, it indicated a single dominant personality; when it displayed multiple colors with clear separation, it signaled one primary personality with several sub-personalities assisting.

However, this gradient was something Ashe and his companion had never seen before.

It looked as if different pigments had been directly mixed together.

But with the urgency of the situation, no one was in the mood to ponder over what latest dyeing technology the Witch might have used. Ashe pressed a virtual button, and the sports car fiercely gripped the ground as it spun, emitting a heart-wrenching scream, its front end once again targeting the cave.

“We’re not running away, nor are we blocking the entrance.”

Buzz!

With a strong thrust, the sports car charged back into the cave, engaging in a French wet kiss with a Serpent-Scorpion Dragon that was just making its way out!

As the car’s blades bisected the Serpent-Scorpion Dragon, the others, shrouded in poison fog, struck back swiftly, causing the overworked Refractive Barrier, on its first day on the job, to tragically expire on the spot!

The protective screen shattered!

Sonya, while holding onto Ashe’s hand, also touched the hilt of her sword; Deya was tensed, her hands pulling out water thread, seemingly ready to leap out and face the Serpent-Scorpion Dragons head-on at any moment.

“Don’t leave the car.”

Ashe’s voice was calm, as the sports car was about to return to the cave shrouded in poison fog. He leaned against the leather backrest, looking up to the left.

At the same time, Demilo, driving a Serpent-Scorpion Dragon, emerged from the poisonous fog. He slightly tilted his head, locking eyes with Ashe.

One was the calm of pitch-black still water, the other a tranquil lake reflecting a myriad of scenes.

“The second round is about to begin.”

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