Sorcerer’s Handbook

“Star Swordsman…” Sonya mulled over the term. “Is that what the soldiers transformed from the Serpent-Scorpion Dragon just now?”

The concept of a Soul Summoning Spirit was not difficult to grasp because they had just ruthlessly run over its creation with a sports car. In simple terms, this type of spirit accumulates soul power by hunting other soldiers, then uses that power to bestow troop types upon itself or its followers.

If one could hunt other heroic souls, they could seize their Soul Summoning Spirits for absorption and upgrades, unlocking more troop types.

A single Sorcerer with a ‘collect-exchange-upgrade’ system would cause a technical revolution in the world of Sorcerers if it were to spread.

But it could not be disseminated.

Firstly, it was impossible for it to appear in reality, meaning Sorcerers couldn’t take this spirit out for research in the real world. Furthermore…

“What does Zero Wing Spirit mean?” Ashe was somewhat puzzled. “Can a spirit have zero wings?”

The only rustic girl present, who had received a formal education, shook her head. “A spirit cannot be without wings. Just like us Sorcerers, a spirit’s wings represent its volume of knowledge, only without the arcane energy. A Quadruple Wings spirit symbolizes a legendary level of knowledge, while a Zero Wing Spirit means…”

“It has no knowledge whatsoever,” Deya interjected. “It’s not made of knowledge.”

A knowledge-less spirit seemed absurd, even to Ashe, a Mudblood Sorcerer. By definition, a spirit is a Virtual Realm creature condensed from knowledge. A spirit without knowledge is like a Lala Fatty without flesh, fundamentally negating the definition.

“Do you know?” Sonya suddenly spoke up. “Some spirits have more than one evolutionary path. For example, a Two Wings ‘Sword Qi’ spirit can evolve into a Tri-wings ‘Sword Qi’ spirit, but with special Training and nourishment, it can also evolve into a Tri-wings ‘Sword Light’ spirit.”

Many Low-rank Spirits can undergo mutations during evolution, sometimes transforming into rarer and more powerful spirits. Sorcerers have recorded these phenomena, and later discovered that they could de-evolve High-rank Spirits into Low-rank Spirits using certain methods. These Low-rank Spirits, with their ‘experience,’ can more easily evolve into High-rank Spirits.

A special summoning technique was born from this understanding: Sorcerers would de-evolve an easily obtained High-rank Spirit into a Low-rank Spirit, then through targeted training, elevate and mutate the Low-rank Spirit back into the desired High-rank Spirit.

Some Noble Sorcerers would even intentionally de-evolve powerful spirits to One Wing, specifically for their Descendants to use.

In other words, it’s not impossible for a Sorcerer to devolve a Quadruple Wings Spirit into a One Wing Spirit if they so choose.

Sonya glanced at the Triangular Dipyramid in Ashe’s hand. “Perhaps the Soul Summoning Spirit is a devolved spirit. It’s too perfect. It’s not without knowledge; on the contrary, its knowledge is vast. I don’t believe it’s a native spirit of the Time Continent. I wouldn’t doubt it if it was a Quadruple Wings Spirit.”

“It’s likely a Legend Spirit created from the Fusion of multiple spirits, and Zero Wing is a type of seal that brings it down to a level that a heroic soul can use.”

Ashe nodded in agreement. After all, the heroic souls of the Time Continent were only Two Wings Sorcerers. For them to use a Quadruple Wings Spirit would be like using a toothpick to stir a cauldron – completely beyond their capabilities.

However, Sonya mentioned a new term, prompting Ashe to ask, “Fusion?”

“Fusion is a special summoning method that only advanced Sorcerers can attempt,” explained Sonya. “Simply put, it involves merging multiple spirits into a new one. For example, I could combine Moon Silk, Rapids, and Vibration Sword into a new spirit, ‘Water Moon Rapids.’ This way, I can invoke the Miracle of Water Moon by activating just one spirit.”

“But wouldn’t that mean your three spirits are gone?”

“Correct, they’re gone,” Sonya nodded. “A Fusion spirit is actually designed to invoke specific Miracles, but it can only invoke Miracles, which is a significant limitation. Only Sorcerers above the Sanctuary level would deal with Fusion spirits, because they might encounter situations that require invoking multiple Miracles at once. In those cases, Fusion spirits can greatly reduce the mental effort required.”

“The power of Soul Summoning spirits is formidable but also highly specialized, and it’s very likely that they have devolved from high-level Fusion spirits to Zero Wing. Such a spirit might not mean much in the higher echelons of the Virtual Realm, where the soldiers we fear could easily be subdued by a Legend Sorcerer. But on the Time Continent, it becomes the cornerstone for the heroic soul legion to sweep away all before them.”

Deya understood as well: “It sounds like the story of an imperial Princess who sneaks off to the frontier to punch above her weight starting from zero.”

Ashe glanced at the Witch—her description was notably detailed.

Although they could roughly guess the origin of the Soul Summoning spirit, it was clear that this was not something they could research at their level. It would be best to simply be consumers.

So, who should control this spirit?

Since the troop type includes ‘Star Swordsman’, in theory, Sonya would be the most appropriate choice to use it. However, she had already taken the Commander’s Handbook, and to take the Soul Summoning spirit as well might even make a rustic girl a bit embarrassed.

But Ashe had a different idea: “Speaking of which, what exactly are you to me?”

Sonya and Deya blinked, exchanged glances, and then looked at Ashe.

“Family?” Deya asked. “But it’s weird to say that. Why would you want strangers to be your family… Don’t you have any family, Observer?”

“Retainers!” Ashe said loudly, seeing that they didn’t get it. “The Exploration in Virtual Realm is my team, and you’re my team members, theoretically my retainers.”

Sonya got it: “You mean, if you take the Soul Summoning spirit, you could assign the troop type to us?”

“That’s a possibility.” Ashe held the Soul Summoning spirit. “So, I’ll take it?”

“I sort of want it…” Deya eyed the new spirit with a touch of eagerness. “You can have this one, but next time there’s something fun, you have to let me have it!”

Sonya also spoke up, “You take it. Even if it can’t be bestowed upon us, the troop armor can at least increase your safety coefficient. As you said, you’re the Captain, and the most important thing about the team is you. Without you, we can’t be driving a sports car while looking at the Map and Exploring the Virtual Realm… You need to take better care of yourself.”

“But without you guys, I wouldn’t be able to explore the Virtual Realm so easily either,” Ashe tightened his grip on the Soul Summoning spirit. “If it can’t be bestowed upon you, then we’ll each take one, consider it a small team benefit—”

As Ashe gained complete control over the Soul Summoning spirit, fog-like energy suddenly rose around the cave and surged towards him like swallows returning to their nest. The Sorcerers couldn’t react in time, and Sonya anxiously asked, “Observer, what’s happening to you?”

“I’m fine, put your sword down first, I’m scared.”

“But it seemed like an evil soul had devoured your Soul just now. I need to verify it’s really you: ‘I feel as light as a balloon, yet only a thin string ties me down to the ground’…”

Ashe pounced to knock Sonya over, straddling her waist in an attempt to cover her mouth.

Sonya pried his hands away with force, and spoke seriously, “See, you’re possessed by an evil spirit, I need to continue quoting your famous sayings to awaken your memory. Swordswoman, to me, you… if you dare spit, we’re through!”

As Ashe was about to make a spitting gesture, Sonya surrendered immediately. Deya, curious, squatted beside them and asked, “Why is the Observer so agitated? Is this some kind of spell?”

“I’ll tell you privately when we have time later,” Sonya said cheerfully.

“Then you’re done for, you’ll never have free time again, not in your entire life,” Ashe said coldly.

“That was the Soul Summoning spirit’s first effect: Soul Summoning. The residual Soul power of the Star Swordsmen we killed was automatically absorbed into the spirit, and now I have 3 points of Soul power, just enough to try to bestow the troop type on you.”

Without waiting for Sonya to refuse, Ashe pointed at Deya and declared, “Witch Evolution—Star Sword Witch!”

Suddenly, deep blue flames erupted from Deya’s body, sweeping along her form and transforming into exquisite body-hugging armor. In each hand, she wielded a slender Thrust Sword and donned a full-coverage helmet, with only her eyes visible to Ashe and Sonya through the helmet’s breathing holes.

“How does it feel?”

“My body seems a little lighter.” The newly transformed Star Witch swung her Thrust Swords: “The armor and weapons are weightless, making movement very comfortable. Wait a moment…”

She discarded the Thrust Swords, touched her fists together, and pulled apart, drawing out three water threads: “I can still use my spirit normally, which means treating the troop type as additional defensive armor is no issue.”

“Good,” Ashe said. “The trial is complete. If we have a chance, let’s test the Combat effectiveness tomorrow night.”

Sonya poked Ashe in the waist and then pointed at herself.

“What?”

“What about me?”

“What about you?”

“Why didn’t you let me try? The Star Swordsman would have suited me better.”

“Anyone could have tried, and having the Witch test it also allows us to see if she can use abilities like water thread and Fist and Claw attacks while in troop status.”

“Hmm, good reasoning. Anything else?”

“Also, you annoyed me just now, so I had to get back at you.” Ashe poked Sonya’s forehead with his finger. “Otherwise, I would have calmed down in a bit.”

“It was just a joke…” Sonya muttered, rubbing her forehead.

“Witch, come here!” Ashe called out to Deya, who was doing somersaults. “No other issues?”

“None!” Deya gave a thumbs up. “The experience is great; let’s fight in this gear from now on!”

“I’d like that too.” Ashe shrugged and exchanged a glance with Sonya. “The sports car is about to explode, and everyone’s tired, so let’s call it a night for Exploration in Virtual Realm.”

“Okay.”

“Alrighty!”

Deya crisply nodded her head, ready to disengage from the Virtual Realm. However, she looked down to see her left hand grasped by the Observer and her right by the Swordswoman.

“Exploration in Virtual Realm is over, but we still have half an hour before the Static Domain arrives, so we have half an hour for the tea party.”

Ashe and Sonya pulled Deya aside to sit down.

“Witch, your hair color was mixed during the Battle, and your voice turned into a strange polyphony,” Sonya said. “Even though you’ve calmed down, we can’t pretend nothing happened.”

“We’ve only known each other for a few days, so it might not seem appropriate to say we’re ‘worried’ or offer ‘help,’ but it would be too hard to just ignore this,” Ashe tilted his head. “Actually, we were waiting for you to speak up first, but since you didn’t, we had to bring it up ourselves.”

“Of course, if you don’t want to talk about it, I can understand. After all, we might not be able to help.”

“But if you’re willing to talk, we’ll listen attentively.”

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